Maverick (1957–1962): Season 2, Episode 15 - Game of Chance - full transcript
A strand of pearls appraised at $40,000 leads Bart to loan $10,000 to the owner. When they skip town leaving him with a strand that's worthless, he enlists Bret to help him get his money back - for a fee, of course.
Less care, more speed, huh?
The baron is not gonna
stay fooled for very long.
Oh, no.
BANDIT: Let's have the pearls.
- What pearls?
You've got them and I know it.
If I have to kill the both
of you to get them, I will.
Just a minute. Those pearls
have been in the family since...
[GUN COCKS]
today.
ANNOUNCER: From the
entertainment capital of the world.
Produced for television
by Warner Bros.
BRET: The odds against filling
an inside straight are 12-to-1...
so a poker player isn't
very wise to make the draw...
unless, of course, he's
feeling light-headed...
and the pot is at least 12
times the size of his bet.
Which is exactly
the way it happened.
A thousand dollar bet
had brought back 12,000.
And I was doing the only thing that
should ever be done with money...
spending it.
A hundred and fifty dollars.
Hey, thank you.
There's a fine gentleman
who knows a beautiful
thing when he sees it.
- Uh, thank you, sir.
- One hundred seventy-five.
One seventy-five. One
seventy-five is bid, sir.
Uh, two hundred.
Two high is better,
sir. But still not enough.
A prized Palomino of Arabian
and thoroughbred stock.
Two hundred is bid now.
Am I offered more than 200?
Two twenty-five.
AUCTIONEER: Two
twenty-five, that's a little better, sir.
Two twenty-five
just isn't enough.
- Two fifty. AUCTIONEER:
Two fifty on bid now.
- Three hundred.
- Three hundred, thank you, sir.
- Three twenty-five.
- Now, 325 is bid.
- Do I have any more then?
- He ain't worth any more.
AUCTIONEER: Three hundred
and twenty-five, the once.
Three hundred and
twenty-five, twice.
- Four hundred dollars.
- Four hundred dollars. Thank you, lady.
Four hundred
dollars is bid, once.
Four-hundred dollars, twice.
Sold to the lady for
$400. Thank you, ma'am.
Hey, could I have your
name, if you please?
La Contesse De Barot.
[CROWD MURMURING]
AUCTIONEER: And that concludes
today's sale, ladies and gentlemen.
I thank you for your kind
and generous attention.
Uh, thank you, ma'am. I
shan't keep you a moment.
I'm afraid you paid a little
too much for that horse.
But I'll be around Denver for a while, and
if you want to get rid of him for $325...
- I'll be glad to take him off your hands.
- I beg your pardon?
Well, excuse me. Allow me
to introduce myself, countess.
My name's Bart Maverick.
Monsieur Maverick.
Uh, here's your bill of
sale, milady countess.
- Thank you.
- He's all yours.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
I wish to have him delivered at my
hotel stable. I'm riding a horse now.
I'm sorry, ma'am, but me and the boys
is on our way back to the ranch in a hurry.
Otherwise, I'd be delighted.
Good day to you, now.
[COUNTESS MUMBLES]
I'd be happy to ride your horse
back to town for you, countess.
Oh, I don't believe...
Ah, what did you say
your name was, monsieur?
Bart Maverick.
Monsieur Maverick, I live at the
Denver Plaza Hotel. Thank you.
There is one condition,
however, countess.
- Condition?
- Yeah.
That you, uh, join
me for dinner tonight.
Well, I'm sorry, but I have
an engagement this evening.
Your horse, countess.
[BOTH LAUGH]
Oh, you are drôle, Monsieur Maverick.
Don't you think so, Uncle George?
Uh, I'm not in the mood
for humor, Michelle.
Last night, Monsieur Maverick, I
ordered the most simple dish possible.
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
Oh, what is it? Merely poulet.
Chicken.
With almonds, uh, sliced razor-thin,
naturellement, peeled, fresh, champignon.
- Uncle, please.
BART: Heh, heh, heh.
Monsieur Maverick may not
be interested in French cooking.
But I am, baron. I'm interested in
anything that, uh, comes to us from France.
BARON: Heh, you heard that.
Monsieur, I have written the most
complete encyclopedia on cooking...
that exists in the world.
I'll get it, excusez-moi.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
I, uh... I think we have
enough time for a dance.
Mm-hm.
- Oh.
- Oh, my pearls.
- Oh, that's too bad.
COUNTESS: Oh, oh.
Oh, do search carefully,
Monsieur Maverick.
I will die if I lose
a single pearl.
BART: You know how many you
had? COUNTESS: Mais oui, 41.
Uncle George told me this would
happen. I was always tugging at them.
Well, let's see how we're doing.
[IN FRENCH]
One, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18.
Seventeen.
[IN ENGLISH] Oh, 22.
That's 39.
- Ah, 39.
- Ah.
- Forty.
- Oh, forty-one, heh.
[SIGHS]
Thank goodness
we found them all.
This necklace has been
in the family for 300 years.
Uncle George would
march me to the guillotine...
if he knew I broke the necklace.
Do you know where a
good jeweler can be located?
No, but I can probably
help you find one.
- Here he comes.
- Oh.
[IN FRENCH] Heh, here you go, sir, The
Encyclopedia of International Cooking...
by the Baron George-Henri
Jacques de Montaigne.
[ALL CHUCKLE]
International Cookbook
by the Baron de Montaigne.
[IN ENGLISH] Heh, yes, sir.
Wunderbar. I've
never seen such pearls.
May I ask where they come from?
They're a family heirloom.
Huh, sir, they
are perfect pearls.
And so perfectly matched.
- Do you want them restrung now?
- Uh, do you mind if I watch?
- You better. Wait, I'll get a new string.
- Heh, heh, heh.
[SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
Such luster.
Is it possible you want
to sell these pearls?
They don't belong to me...
but, uh, just a point of curiosity,
what would you say they're worth?
I'll give, uh, $40,000 for them.
Sir?
Heh, how much for restringing?
Oh, $5.
[BOTH CHUCKLING]
Exquisite.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
[IN FRENCH] Uncle George, I'm
so busy this morning, I don't have...
[IN ENGLISH] Oh,
hello, Monsieur Maverick.
Are you leaving?
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
Oh, it's kind of sudden,
isn't it? For where?
New York. Oh, that dusty
train ride, quelle idée?
- Do you have to go?
- Uncle George has to.
- May I ask why?
- It is too complicated, Monsieur Maverick.
BART: Oh.
I, uh... I got your pearls.
Oh.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
Are you going to come back here?
Oh, the minute we can.
All Uncle George needs in
New York is one day. And why?
Because his money
from France is suddenly...
for some unexplained
official reason, delayed.
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
And New York is where Uncle
George is going to un-delay things?
Hm, it will only
take a few days.
Then why can't they be
straightened out from here?
Oh, it is too complicated, and we have
no money to live on in the meantime.
Uh, how much money
would he need to stay here?
Quite a bit, I'm afraid.
We live rather expensively.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
- So I've noticed.
- Mm-hm.
Would $10,000 carry him over?
- Oh, you are joking.
- No, I'll lend you the money.
- Uh, Monsieur Maverick.
- What?
I did not think you were
so naive as to lend money...
to someone you
know only a few days.
Michelle, I'm not only
not naive, I'm mercenary.
You can give me your
pearls as collateral.
Oh, I hadn't thought of
the pearls as collateral.
Well, that would make it a business
deal, wouldn't it? If you took them back.
- Absolutely.
- Hm.
I think my uncle would
allow me to do that.
In fact, I know he would, heh.
There is just one more
condition, countess.
- Dinner?
- Mm-mm.
- Lunch without Uncle George.
- One o'clock?
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
[INAUDlBLE DIALOGUE]
CLERK: Yes, sir. Room 202.
- Yes, sir?
- I'm Mr. Maverick.
Did the Contesse De Barot
happen to leave a message for me?
No, sir. She and the
baron left quite hurriedly.
- Left?
- Yes, sir.
They checked out two hours ago.
No, sir.
These are not the
pearls I strung for you.
These are imitation.
Brother Bart, didn't your long
association with Dandy Jim Buckley...
or Samantha Crawford
teach you anything?
BART: The first
pearls were real.
Anyhow, let's not talk about
what's over and done with.
It's what we're gonna do to get
back my money that interests me.
We?
- Well, what can I do? They know me.
- Yeah, what's the difference?
You're just gonna have them
arrested when you find them.
For what? They
didn't break any laws.
I made a voluntary loan of
$10,000 and took these as collateral.
But they're fake.
What difference does that make?
She didn't say they were worth anything.
- And besides, there's nothing on paper.
- Heh.
Well, I'm sure you'll
think of something.
- I have.
- Good.
Remember the banker,
Mr. Bates, in Sunny Acres...
and the $15,000
we got back for you?
You have a point there.
Well, I'll do everything
I can to help...
for 25 percent of
what we recover.
After all, I'm taking up valuable
poker time. That's worth something.
- Fifteen percent.
- Twenty.
- Seventeen and a half.
- It's a deal.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
You sure talked me down fast.
BRET: The first thing we had to do
was find out where the countess...
and the baron were.
It wasn't easy. The
hotel clerk told us
for a price, his life...
that they had taken the train
from Denver for San Francisco...
which meant, of course, that San
Francisco was the only place not to look.
So Bart and I played leapfrog,
working the alternate stops between.
There were a lot of them.
Leadville, Colorado Springs, Pueblo,
Trinidad, Socorro, Silver City, Santa Fe.
And each time the answer
was no, until I hit Phoenix.
CONDUCTOR: Yep, I remember them.
He kept yelling for his
"ba-ga-gee. Ba-ga-gee."
That's them. They got off here?
That's what I said. I don't
like to chew my cabbage twice.
No, sir. Say, could you tell
me where they went from here?
- Yep. I took them up there myself.
- Up where?
- The spa.
- What spa?
The only spa around
here. Red Sulfur Springs.
That's a mighty fancy place.
It's about two miles north of here.
Uh, could I send a telegram
to the next station west?
- Nope. But I could send it for you.
- Heh, heh.
Shoot.
[CHATTERING]
[IN FRENCH] Look!
- Perhaps?
- [IN FRENCH] Yes.
- No.
- No, pfft.
[BARON SIGHS]
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
- He's handsome.
- But more importantly, he looks familiar.
Where's the book I was
reading this morning?
It's on the table
in the library.
Thank you, hold for a minute.
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
- Look, dear.
- Yes, that's him.
What can I do for you, sir?
[IN ENGLISH] That painting
on the wall over there.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
CLERK: Yes, sir?
Uh, the painting, The Springs,
can you tell me how much it is?
- Uh, yes, sir. It was $200.
- Was?
Yes, sir. It was just purchased
by the Contesse De Barot.
[IN FRENCH] You know,
for $200 we got a good deal.
You can see it's an original.
BARON: It's classy.
- Hmm.
There are going to be other
paintings by the same artist.
- An exhibit at luncheon on the terrace.
- Thank you.
You're welcome, sir.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
Congratulations. You got
yourself a nice painting.
[IN ENGLISH] I beg your pardon?
Oh, excuse me, I
better introduce myself.
- My name is Donald R. Gray.
- Mr. Gray.
There's something
you might wanna know...
- about your painting.
- Yes?
The fellow who did it is giving an
exhibition out on the terrace at lunch.
Thank you.
- Would you care to join me?
- I'm afraid not.
[LAUGHING]
How drôle, Mr. Gray. Do you
not think it's funny, Uncle George?
[IN ENGLISH] No, I'm not in
the mood for humor, Michelle.
Last night, Monsieur Gray, I
ordered the most simple dish possible.
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
What is it? Merely du bœuf rôti.
"Roast beef."
Marinated with
cooked langue de bœuf.
"Ox tongue."
- To that we add tranche de porc.
- "Pork."
Burgundy, uh, tarragon
vinegar, bay leaf, fine citron.
Please, Uncle George. Mr. Gray
is not interested in French cooking.
Oh, but I am, countess.
Heh, it's sort of my hobby.
- Hm, you heard that, chérie,
heh? COUNTESS: Mm-hm.
Monsieur, I have written the most
complete encyclopedia on cooking...
that exists in the world.
I'll get it, excusez-moi.
[COUNTESS CHUCKLES]
Countess, have you seen the
view from the end of the terrace?
Yes.
But, uh, I'd like
to see it again.
Oh, my pearls.
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
Oh, do search carefully, Mr. Gray.
I will die if I lose a single pearl.
Perfect. Every one of them.
They've been in the
family a long time.
It's good as money in the bank.
How much money in the
bank would you say was there?
Thirty-five thousand
dollars. Maybe a little more.
- Can I get them restrung now?
- Sure.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
- Oh, hello, Mr. Gray.
- You're leaving?
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
- Well, it's kind of sudden, isn't it?
- Mm-hm.
- For where?
- New York.
Oh, that dusty train
ride, quelle idée?
Well, do you have to go?
Uncle George has to.
May I ask why?
It is too complicated, Mr. Gray.
- Oh, I've got your pearls.
- Oh, heh.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
[BARON & COUNTESS
SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
Well, no problems at all.
You'll have your
$10,000 by 4:00.
And you will have
your collateral.
[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]
Oh.
Countess.
What a delightful surprise.
Good to see you, Michelle. Baron...
Excuse me. Baron de Montaigne.
I wondered what happened to you
folks. You just up and disappeared.
Oh, uh, we had to
visit some friends here.
Emergency.
Yes, an emergency.
Uh, Bart, I would like you to meet
Mr. Gray. Mr. Gray, Mr. Maverick.
- Mr. Maverick.
- How do you do, Mr. Gray?
Monsieur Gray, would you
excuse us for a little while?
- Uh, you know, business.
- Of course.
- Mr. Maverick.
- Mr. Gray.
Well, it certainly is a
relief to find you people.
I have been scared to death
ever since I lost track of you.
Carrying around a $40,000
necklace is quite a strain.
Forty-thousand-dollar necklace?
Well, certainly.
[CHUCKLES]
This one.
But, monsieur, did my niece
represent this necklace...
as being worth $40,000?
- Did you?
- Uh, no, I did not.
Bart, I never told you the
necklace was expensive.
Come to think of it, you didn't.
The jeweler told me
it was worth $40,000.
Heh, he made a mistake,
monsieur. The pearls are imitation.
Excellent workmanship. The
kind you can find only in Europe.
But still, heh, imitation.
But the jeweler offered
to buy them from me.
He made a mistake.
Oh.
Um, well, what about my $10,000?
Everything straightened out?
I'm sorry, monsieur.
Uh, there are
still complications.
Oh, too bad.
You know, I still think that
jeweler back in Denver...
would be willing to pay
me a good price for these.
Heh, heh, perhaps. He obviously
knows little about genuine pearls.
Would you be willing to give
me a bill of sale for the pearls?
And I'll just forget
what you owe me.
But the pearls are
imitations. They are worthless.
Not to the jeweler in Denver.
Is not that dishonest?
Oh, you mean, if you keep the
pearls, we no longer owe you $10,000?
The pearls and the bill of sale.
After all, I want the jeweler
to know I really own them.
BARON: Ha, ha, ha.
- Yes.
Well, is it a deal?
Yes.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
Heh, there is a pen and
paper in the alcove. Shall we?
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
[IN FRENCH] Oh,
what a lovely dress!
Do you think we got lucky?
- [IN FRENCH] Something's bothering me.
- What's on your mind?
Isn't it weird that he didn't
examine the pearls after we left?
Heh, heh, why would
he? He had no reason to.
- Yes, but... Oh.
- What?
I think I made a mistake.
- A mistake?
- Mm.
You wouldn't make a
mistake, heh, don't be silly.
- Check them out.
- Check them? Come on now.
- Hurry up.
- Don't waste my time checking pearls...
when we know they're real.
[SCREAMS]
These are fake, they're copies!
Less care, more speed, huh?
The baron is not gonna
stay fooled for very long.
Oh, no.
BANDIT: Let's have the pearls.
- What pearls?
You've got them and I know it.
If I have to kill the both
of you to get them, I will.
Just a minute. Those pearls
have been in the family since...
[GUN COCKS]
today.
You've got exactly 10
seconds to let me have them.
Drop them over
there near the door.
That's far enough.
Now drop them.
Now get in the
closet, both of you.
BRET: We'll pay you twice
as much as the baron is.
BANDIT: Move. BRET: Yes, sir.
Now, keep your backs
to me all the way in.
- Aah! COUNTESS: Oh!
[IN ENGLISH] Don't shoot,
monsieur. You may keep the pearls.
- We may what?
- The pearls, they are yours.
We've been out with it.
Move the guns away, please.
Oh, come on, baron. You know
we don't have the pearls anymore.
[BOTH SPEAK IN FRENCH]
Listen, countess, and
you too, Uncle George.
You played a neat little game
and we played one back on you...
but when you start calling in
gunmen, nobody's playing anymore.
[IN ENGLISH] We did not
call in any gunmen. I swear it.
It is the truth, monsieur. I would
not have anything to do with guns.
It is against the law.
You believe them?
I don't dare. They're
such good liars.
Nobody else knew we had the...
The jeweler.
[SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
Yes, yes, I have.
But he's out to lunch.
Lunch? It's nearly dinner time.
Yes, I know. I was
wondering why he wasn't back.
He's new here, you know.
My friend, a masked gunman stole a
pearl necklace worth $40,000 from us.
- We think it was your Mr. Murdock.
- Good heavens.
Do you know what trains
leave from Phoenix today?
Uh, there are two. One
at 4:00 for San Francisco...
one at 10 minutes
to 5 for Santa Fe.
We were going to
be on one of them.
But wait. It's 20
minutes of 6 now.
Yep, I remember him.
He kept marching up and
down here like a lion in a cage.
He couldn't wait for
the train to get here.
Which train?
San Francisco. Oh,
or was it Santa Fe?
- Think. It's important. The man's a thief.
- Really?
- What do you know? What did he do?
- The train, which one did Murdock take?
Murdock?
That's the man we're
talking about, mister.
Oh. Well, I don't rightly know.
BRET: When's the next
train for San Francisco?
- Four o'clock tomorrow.
- Ten to five for Santa Fe.
- Yep.
- We can split up.
- You take the one to Santa Fe.
- He's got a big lead.
It'll take time to
sell the pearls.
He's an amateur. He's already
made mistakes. He'll make more.
He would not break up the necklace.
It would lose half its value that way.
Thanks.
Uh, wait. Wait. Oh, just a moment.
The pearls are ours, remember?
They are? I've got a bill of
sale that says they belong to me.
- Robbers.
- Only the first $10,000 is really yours.
Plus our expenses. Do you know
what that spa up there charges a day?
Not to mention, our chasing
you all over the countryside.
- Plus what it's still going to cost us.
- Uh, plus our time.
We'll send you the
difference in silver. Goodbye.
May I sit next to you?
It might be easier
for you that way.
I'm not following you. I'm
just going to San Francisco.
While the baron just
goes to Santa Fe?
You are angry?
As my pappy used to say,
countess, never cry over spilled milk.
It could've been whiskey.
[CHUCKLES]
You, uh... You will need
help in finding this Murdock.
- We will look for him together, no?
- No.
- Why not?
- Because you're a crook, countess.
A pretty one, an exciting
one, and even a dignified one...
but a crook just the same.
You double-crossed me...
Oh, heh.
Mind your manners, countess.
You... You are
quite right about me.
Except for one thing.
I am not a countess.
I never wanted to be one.
I was happy when he found me.
He, the baron?
Are you really French?
I met the baron in Lyon.
At a party at the school where
I taught classes in English.
His nephew was
one of my students.
He taught me how to speak
with the accent of the aristocracy.
How to dress, how to eat.
He spent a year of his life
making a countess of me.
And then one day...
after making me so very
much indebted to him...
he proposed this, uh,
would you call it a scheme?
At the least.
I accepted his proposal.
I did not feel I could
refuse him then.
How long have you two
been at it? Uh, this scheme.
Only a few months, but...
Oh, but too long for me.
Much too long.
- Did you enjoy your nap?
- Mm-hm.
Finding you gone woke
me up a little too fast.
- You need not worry about me any longer.
- That'd be nice.
[SIGHS]
This is the first time I have been
free of the baron and the countess.
I plan to stay free of them.
What will you do?
When I reach San Francisco, uh,
the countess, the baron will vanish.
I will become myself again.
Teach school right here in America.
What's your real name?
Michelle Bussot.
And you really plan to
give up this countess grip?
Mm-hm.
I'll probably regret
this later on...
but right now, I believe you.
Thank you.
BRET: In San Francisco, Michelle
went her way and I went mine.
Looking for a man with a
pearl necklace for sale...
and getting nowhere.
Yes, he was in here.
You're sure? He's, oh, about so big,
black mustache, very rough-looking.
Well, the man I don't remember so
much, but the pearls you describe...
you know something? I came
within an inch of buying them.
Why, I spent all day yesterday
trying to borrow enough money.
- Uh, but you didn't buy them?
- Not after she came in here.
And I've got the money now too.
She?
A pretty woman
with a French accent?
I was all set to
close the deal...
but I wouldn't think of buying
the pearls after I heard her story.
What was that?
Why? What do you
have to do with all this?
Everything.
See, I'm her doctor. She's
very sick. She has hallucinations.
Which story did she tell you?
Well, about her
mother, the family jewels.
- Oh, when did you talk to her?
- About an hour ago.
Well, go on, what did she say?
That she'd sold the
pearl necklace to this man.
- Murdock.
- Because the family needed the money.
- And now they don't need it any longer.
- Right. She came into an inheritance.
And she wants to buy the pearls
back so her dying mother would...
Who didn't know they were
missing in the first place?
Would hold them in
her hands once again.
It's not true, doctor?
Not a word.
- Did Murdock say when he'd be back?
- No, he didn't.
No, he said if I raised the money,
come to his place with it in cash.
You didn't tell her
where she could find him?
Surely. At the Harbor Hotel
at the end of Water Street.
[GASPS]
Why, Michelle...
imagine finding you here.
I thought you were out
looking for schoolmarm work.
- I can explain this.
- Of course you can, bless your heart.
- He fainted when he broke that vase.
- Oh.
- Okay, give it here.
- I have no gun.
No pearls either.
Get in the corner.
- But I...
- Countess, love, the corner.
You didn't miss much, did you?
Have you tried him?
Oh, I...
Women are so illogical.
[MURDOCK GROANING]
- Uh, can't we, um...?
- No. No, we can't.
No.
Now, Michelle, you let
this be a lesson to you.
But what am I to do now?
Well, I suggest you
get him to a hospital.
You really conked him.
JEWELER: Of course.
Of course I'm still interested
in buying them, doctor.
For how much?
Well, uh, since there seems to be
something kind of odd about all this...
shall we say 30...?
Well, what's the matter?
I'm no fool, mister.
These are imitation.
Why, they can't be. I just took
them out of Murdock's pocket.
That...
She switched them.
She saw me coming.
Oh, but, Bret, what happened?
How did she get them?
Bart, did I ask you how
she got $10,000 out of you?
- Yes, you did.
- Oh.
Well, the problem
is to find her again.
And of course the baron
knows exactly where she is.
Sorry, I do not.
You don't have to call
him baron anymore.
He's just a waiter the countess
picked up and made over.
She tells me she was a teacher
he picked up and made over.
Teacher this time. Last
time it was a barmaid, heh.
She hates being an aristocrat.
Where is she?
Baron, I could
beat it out of you.
- But I don't think I'll have to.
- No.
No.
Murdock is following her.
I don't think he'll be
gentle when he catches her.
How could you know
he's following her?
I checked to see if she
left San Francisco by train.
She hadn't.
But Murdock had asked the
same question an hour ahead of me.
[GRUNTING]
You know that hurt? But at least
it tells us you know where she is.
And so does Murdock by now.
You must help me.
I told Michelle to meet me back at
the Denver Plaza if she got the pearls...
and to go there by
stagecoach, not by train.
Well, we still got a chance. That
stage can't even be in Denver yet.
You get packed,
I'll buy the tickets.
Three tickets.
- Is there any message yet?
- No, countess.
As I said, we'll be sure to let you
know the moment a telegram comes in.
Mm-hm, I'm in Room 12.
I know, countess.
Of course.
Oh, uh, I'll be having dinner
before I go up to my room.
Yes, countess.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
- In which room is my niece?
- Room 12, baron.
[WHIMPERING]
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[WHISPERS] Answer.
Speak up.
- Who is there?
- C'est moi, George.
- Tell him you'll meet him in the lobby.
- No.
Tell him.
I will meet you in the
lobby, Uncle George.
Something is wrong.
She answered in English.
[COUNTESS SCREAMS]
[COUNTESS SOBBING]
He tried to kill me.
[IN FRENCH] There,
there, hold your tears.
You wouldn't be saying
you're through, would you?
[IN ENGLISH] Oh, yes. We are
finished with all this kind of thing.
Shh, shh.
It sounds like he means it.
I think she does too.
COUNTESS: Three
thousand, 4000, 5000...
6000, 7000, 8000...
9000, 10,000.
- Plus my expenses.
- Oh.
Uh, plus mine.
- Uh, by the way, countess...
- Which reminds me, are you a countess?
I am.
What about Uncle George?
He is my uncle, and also
le Baron de Montaigne.
However, our titles
are all that we have.
Our estates were taken from us,
and now even our money is gone.
You just got $40,000 for the pearls. Even
with our little cut, that's quite a stake.
Enough to buy another necklace
and start back into business again?
Oh, never.
What are you going to do?
It is difficult.
Uncle George has no profession.
I have never had to work, heh.
I know nothing about nothing.
You mean you didn't really
write that cookbook either?
That was just part of the act?
Oh, pardon. I wrote
every word of that book.
Well, then you
have a profession.
Why don't you open up a really
good restaurant right here in Denver?
You'd have to fight
the customers off.
We were talking
about it last night.
You've got more than
enough money for a start.
It would be an act of mercy.
It would be a famous restaurant.
- Chez George.
- No, Chez Michelle.
Oh.
Uh, there is one problem though.
Um, how many people did you get with
that pearl routine before you got to me?
There were only six of them.
Five, chérie.
Five too many.
Sooner or later one or two of them are
gonna walk into that restaurant of ours.
Of theirs.
And that would be the end of
our... Heh, of your business career.
Uncle, you have the
name of the five people.
It was only 5- or
6000-dollars from each.
Maybe we could give
the money back, huh?
Michelle.
Foolish girl.
However, baron...
you do have quite a
stack of money there.
And Denver really does
need the Chez Michelle.
No. It is still out of the question.
We can't give back the money.
Matter of principle.
A matter of the practical.
If we give back the money, how do
we get money to open the restaurant?
A donation.
Oh, heh, countess, please.
An investment?
Yes.
Oh.
Partners.
[ALL LAUGHING]
Chez Michelle.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
[GLASS SHATTERS]
[GLASS SHATTERS]
[English - US -SDH]
The baron is not gonna
stay fooled for very long.
Oh, no.
BANDIT: Let's have the pearls.
- What pearls?
You've got them and I know it.
If I have to kill the both
of you to get them, I will.
Just a minute. Those pearls
have been in the family since...
[GUN COCKS]
today.
ANNOUNCER: From the
entertainment capital of the world.
Produced for television
by Warner Bros.
BRET: The odds against filling
an inside straight are 12-to-1...
so a poker player isn't
very wise to make the draw...
unless, of course, he's
feeling light-headed...
and the pot is at least 12
times the size of his bet.
Which is exactly
the way it happened.
A thousand dollar bet
had brought back 12,000.
And I was doing the only thing that
should ever be done with money...
spending it.
A hundred and fifty dollars.
Hey, thank you.
There's a fine gentleman
who knows a beautiful
thing when he sees it.
- Uh, thank you, sir.
- One hundred seventy-five.
One seventy-five. One
seventy-five is bid, sir.
Uh, two hundred.
Two high is better,
sir. But still not enough.
A prized Palomino of Arabian
and thoroughbred stock.
Two hundred is bid now.
Am I offered more than 200?
Two twenty-five.
AUCTIONEER: Two
twenty-five, that's a little better, sir.
Two twenty-five
just isn't enough.
- Two fifty. AUCTIONEER:
Two fifty on bid now.
- Three hundred.
- Three hundred, thank you, sir.
- Three twenty-five.
- Now, 325 is bid.
- Do I have any more then?
- He ain't worth any more.
AUCTIONEER: Three hundred
and twenty-five, the once.
Three hundred and
twenty-five, twice.
- Four hundred dollars.
- Four hundred dollars. Thank you, lady.
Four hundred
dollars is bid, once.
Four-hundred dollars, twice.
Sold to the lady for
$400. Thank you, ma'am.
Hey, could I have your
name, if you please?
La Contesse De Barot.
[CROWD MURMURING]
AUCTIONEER: And that concludes
today's sale, ladies and gentlemen.
I thank you for your kind
and generous attention.
Uh, thank you, ma'am. I
shan't keep you a moment.
I'm afraid you paid a little
too much for that horse.
But I'll be around Denver for a while, and
if you want to get rid of him for $325...
- I'll be glad to take him off your hands.
- I beg your pardon?
Well, excuse me. Allow me
to introduce myself, countess.
My name's Bart Maverick.
Monsieur Maverick.
Uh, here's your bill of
sale, milady countess.
- Thank you.
- He's all yours.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
I wish to have him delivered at my
hotel stable. I'm riding a horse now.
I'm sorry, ma'am, but me and the boys
is on our way back to the ranch in a hurry.
Otherwise, I'd be delighted.
Good day to you, now.
[COUNTESS MUMBLES]
I'd be happy to ride your horse
back to town for you, countess.
Oh, I don't believe...
Ah, what did you say
your name was, monsieur?
Bart Maverick.
Monsieur Maverick, I live at the
Denver Plaza Hotel. Thank you.
There is one condition,
however, countess.
- Condition?
- Yeah.
That you, uh, join
me for dinner tonight.
Well, I'm sorry, but I have
an engagement this evening.
Your horse, countess.
[BOTH LAUGH]
Oh, you are drôle, Monsieur Maverick.
Don't you think so, Uncle George?
Uh, I'm not in the mood
for humor, Michelle.
Last night, Monsieur Maverick, I
ordered the most simple dish possible.
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
Oh, what is it? Merely poulet.
Chicken.
With almonds, uh, sliced razor-thin,
naturellement, peeled, fresh, champignon.
- Uncle, please.
BART: Heh, heh, heh.
Monsieur Maverick may not
be interested in French cooking.
But I am, baron. I'm interested in
anything that, uh, comes to us from France.
BARON: Heh, you heard that.
Monsieur, I have written the most
complete encyclopedia on cooking...
that exists in the world.
I'll get it, excusez-moi.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
I, uh... I think we have
enough time for a dance.
Mm-hm.
- Oh.
- Oh, my pearls.
- Oh, that's too bad.
COUNTESS: Oh, oh.
Oh, do search carefully,
Monsieur Maverick.
I will die if I lose
a single pearl.
BART: You know how many you
had? COUNTESS: Mais oui, 41.
Uncle George told me this would
happen. I was always tugging at them.
Well, let's see how we're doing.
[IN FRENCH]
One, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18.
Seventeen.
[IN ENGLISH] Oh, 22.
That's 39.
- Ah, 39.
- Ah.
- Forty.
- Oh, forty-one, heh.
[SIGHS]
Thank goodness
we found them all.
This necklace has been
in the family for 300 years.
Uncle George would
march me to the guillotine...
if he knew I broke the necklace.
Do you know where a
good jeweler can be located?
No, but I can probably
help you find one.
- Here he comes.
- Oh.
[IN FRENCH] Heh, here you go, sir, The
Encyclopedia of International Cooking...
by the Baron George-Henri
Jacques de Montaigne.
[ALL CHUCKLE]
International Cookbook
by the Baron de Montaigne.
[IN ENGLISH] Heh, yes, sir.
Wunderbar. I've
never seen such pearls.
May I ask where they come from?
They're a family heirloom.
Huh, sir, they
are perfect pearls.
And so perfectly matched.
- Do you want them restrung now?
- Uh, do you mind if I watch?
- You better. Wait, I'll get a new string.
- Heh, heh, heh.
[SPEAKING IN GERMAN]
Such luster.
Is it possible you want
to sell these pearls?
They don't belong to me...
but, uh, just a point of curiosity,
what would you say they're worth?
I'll give, uh, $40,000 for them.
Sir?
Heh, how much for restringing?
Oh, $5.
[BOTH CHUCKLING]
Exquisite.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
[IN FRENCH] Uncle George, I'm
so busy this morning, I don't have...
[IN ENGLISH] Oh,
hello, Monsieur Maverick.
Are you leaving?
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
Oh, it's kind of sudden,
isn't it? For where?
New York. Oh, that dusty
train ride, quelle idée?
- Do you have to go?
- Uncle George has to.
- May I ask why?
- It is too complicated, Monsieur Maverick.
BART: Oh.
I, uh... I got your pearls.
Oh.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
Are you going to come back here?
Oh, the minute we can.
All Uncle George needs in
New York is one day. And why?
Because his money
from France is suddenly...
for some unexplained
official reason, delayed.
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
And New York is where Uncle
George is going to un-delay things?
Hm, it will only
take a few days.
Then why can't they be
straightened out from here?
Oh, it is too complicated, and we have
no money to live on in the meantime.
Uh, how much money
would he need to stay here?
Quite a bit, I'm afraid.
We live rather expensively.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
- So I've noticed.
- Mm-hm.
Would $10,000 carry him over?
- Oh, you are joking.
- No, I'll lend you the money.
- Uh, Monsieur Maverick.
- What?
I did not think you were
so naive as to lend money...
to someone you
know only a few days.
Michelle, I'm not only
not naive, I'm mercenary.
You can give me your
pearls as collateral.
Oh, I hadn't thought of
the pearls as collateral.
Well, that would make it a business
deal, wouldn't it? If you took them back.
- Absolutely.
- Hm.
I think my uncle would
allow me to do that.
In fact, I know he would, heh.
There is just one more
condition, countess.
- Dinner?
- Mm-mm.
- Lunch without Uncle George.
- One o'clock?
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
[INAUDlBLE DIALOGUE]
CLERK: Yes, sir. Room 202.
- Yes, sir?
- I'm Mr. Maverick.
Did the Contesse De Barot
happen to leave a message for me?
No, sir. She and the
baron left quite hurriedly.
- Left?
- Yes, sir.
They checked out two hours ago.
No, sir.
These are not the
pearls I strung for you.
These are imitation.
Brother Bart, didn't your long
association with Dandy Jim Buckley...
or Samantha Crawford
teach you anything?
BART: The first
pearls were real.
Anyhow, let's not talk about
what's over and done with.
It's what we're gonna do to get
back my money that interests me.
We?
- Well, what can I do? They know me.
- Yeah, what's the difference?
You're just gonna have them
arrested when you find them.
For what? They
didn't break any laws.
I made a voluntary loan of
$10,000 and took these as collateral.
But they're fake.
What difference does that make?
She didn't say they were worth anything.
- And besides, there's nothing on paper.
- Heh.
Well, I'm sure you'll
think of something.
- I have.
- Good.
Remember the banker,
Mr. Bates, in Sunny Acres...
and the $15,000
we got back for you?
You have a point there.
Well, I'll do everything
I can to help...
for 25 percent of
what we recover.
After all, I'm taking up valuable
poker time. That's worth something.
- Fifteen percent.
- Twenty.
- Seventeen and a half.
- It's a deal.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
You sure talked me down fast.
BRET: The first thing we had to do
was find out where the countess...
and the baron were.
It wasn't easy. The
hotel clerk told us
for a price, his life...
that they had taken the train
from Denver for San Francisco...
which meant, of course, that San
Francisco was the only place not to look.
So Bart and I played leapfrog,
working the alternate stops between.
There were a lot of them.
Leadville, Colorado Springs, Pueblo,
Trinidad, Socorro, Silver City, Santa Fe.
And each time the answer
was no, until I hit Phoenix.
CONDUCTOR: Yep, I remember them.
He kept yelling for his
"ba-ga-gee. Ba-ga-gee."
That's them. They got off here?
That's what I said. I don't
like to chew my cabbage twice.
No, sir. Say, could you tell
me where they went from here?
- Yep. I took them up there myself.
- Up where?
- The spa.
- What spa?
The only spa around
here. Red Sulfur Springs.
That's a mighty fancy place.
It's about two miles north of here.
Uh, could I send a telegram
to the next station west?
- Nope. But I could send it for you.
- Heh, heh.
Shoot.
[CHATTERING]
[IN FRENCH] Look!
- Perhaps?
- [IN FRENCH] Yes.
- No.
- No, pfft.
[BARON SIGHS]
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
- He's handsome.
- But more importantly, he looks familiar.
Where's the book I was
reading this morning?
It's on the table
in the library.
Thank you, hold for a minute.
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
- Look, dear.
- Yes, that's him.
What can I do for you, sir?
[IN ENGLISH] That painting
on the wall over there.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
CLERK: Yes, sir?
Uh, the painting, The Springs,
can you tell me how much it is?
- Uh, yes, sir. It was $200.
- Was?
Yes, sir. It was just purchased
by the Contesse De Barot.
[IN FRENCH] You know,
for $200 we got a good deal.
You can see it's an original.
BARON: It's classy.
- Hmm.
There are going to be other
paintings by the same artist.
- An exhibit at luncheon on the terrace.
- Thank you.
You're welcome, sir.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
Congratulations. You got
yourself a nice painting.
[IN ENGLISH] I beg your pardon?
Oh, excuse me, I
better introduce myself.
- My name is Donald R. Gray.
- Mr. Gray.
There's something
you might wanna know...
- about your painting.
- Yes?
The fellow who did it is giving an
exhibition out on the terrace at lunch.
Thank you.
- Would you care to join me?
- I'm afraid not.
[LAUGHING]
How drôle, Mr. Gray. Do you
not think it's funny, Uncle George?
[IN ENGLISH] No, I'm not in
the mood for humor, Michelle.
Last night, Monsieur Gray, I
ordered the most simple dish possible.
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
What is it? Merely du bœuf rôti.
"Roast beef."
Marinated with
cooked langue de bœuf.
"Ox tongue."
- To that we add tranche de porc.
- "Pork."
Burgundy, uh, tarragon
vinegar, bay leaf, fine citron.
Please, Uncle George. Mr. Gray
is not interested in French cooking.
Oh, but I am, countess.
Heh, it's sort of my hobby.
- Hm, you heard that, chérie,
heh? COUNTESS: Mm-hm.
Monsieur, I have written the most
complete encyclopedia on cooking...
that exists in the world.
I'll get it, excusez-moi.
[COUNTESS CHUCKLES]
Countess, have you seen the
view from the end of the terrace?
Yes.
But, uh, I'd like
to see it again.
Oh, my pearls.
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
Oh, do search carefully, Mr. Gray.
I will die if I lose a single pearl.
Perfect. Every one of them.
They've been in the
family a long time.
It's good as money in the bank.
How much money in the
bank would you say was there?
Thirty-five thousand
dollars. Maybe a little more.
- Can I get them restrung now?
- Sure.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
- Oh, hello, Mr. Gray.
- You're leaving?
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
- Well, it's kind of sudden, isn't it?
- Mm-hm.
- For where?
- New York.
Oh, that dusty train
ride, quelle idée?
Well, do you have to go?
Uncle George has to.
May I ask why?
It is too complicated, Mr. Gray.
- Oh, I've got your pearls.
- Oh, heh.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
[BARON & COUNTESS
SPEAKING IN FRENCH]
Well, no problems at all.
You'll have your
$10,000 by 4:00.
And you will have
your collateral.
[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]
Oh.
Countess.
What a delightful surprise.
Good to see you, Michelle. Baron...
Excuse me. Baron de Montaigne.
I wondered what happened to you
folks. You just up and disappeared.
Oh, uh, we had to
visit some friends here.
Emergency.
Yes, an emergency.
Uh, Bart, I would like you to meet
Mr. Gray. Mr. Gray, Mr. Maverick.
- Mr. Maverick.
- How do you do, Mr. Gray?
Monsieur Gray, would you
excuse us for a little while?
- Uh, you know, business.
- Of course.
- Mr. Maverick.
- Mr. Gray.
Well, it certainly is a
relief to find you people.
I have been scared to death
ever since I lost track of you.
Carrying around a $40,000
necklace is quite a strain.
Forty-thousand-dollar necklace?
Well, certainly.
[CHUCKLES]
This one.
But, monsieur, did my niece
represent this necklace...
as being worth $40,000?
- Did you?
- Uh, no, I did not.
Bart, I never told you the
necklace was expensive.
Come to think of it, you didn't.
The jeweler told me
it was worth $40,000.
Heh, he made a mistake,
monsieur. The pearls are imitation.
Excellent workmanship. The
kind you can find only in Europe.
But still, heh, imitation.
But the jeweler offered
to buy them from me.
He made a mistake.
Oh.
Um, well, what about my $10,000?
Everything straightened out?
I'm sorry, monsieur.
Uh, there are
still complications.
Oh, too bad.
You know, I still think that
jeweler back in Denver...
would be willing to pay
me a good price for these.
Heh, heh, perhaps. He obviously
knows little about genuine pearls.
Would you be willing to give
me a bill of sale for the pearls?
And I'll just forget
what you owe me.
But the pearls are
imitations. They are worthless.
Not to the jeweler in Denver.
Is not that dishonest?
Oh, you mean, if you keep the
pearls, we no longer owe you $10,000?
The pearls and the bill of sale.
After all, I want the jeweler
to know I really own them.
BARON: Ha, ha, ha.
- Yes.
Well, is it a deal?
Yes.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
Heh, there is a pen and
paper in the alcove. Shall we?
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
[IN FRENCH] Oh,
what a lovely dress!
Do you think we got lucky?
- [IN FRENCH] Something's bothering me.
- What's on your mind?
Isn't it weird that he didn't
examine the pearls after we left?
Heh, heh, why would
he? He had no reason to.
- Yes, but... Oh.
- What?
I think I made a mistake.
- A mistake?
- Mm.
You wouldn't make a
mistake, heh, don't be silly.
- Check them out.
- Check them? Come on now.
- Hurry up.
- Don't waste my time checking pearls...
when we know they're real.
[SCREAMS]
These are fake, they're copies!
Less care, more speed, huh?
The baron is not gonna
stay fooled for very long.
Oh, no.
BANDIT: Let's have the pearls.
- What pearls?
You've got them and I know it.
If I have to kill the both
of you to get them, I will.
Just a minute. Those pearls
have been in the family since...
[GUN COCKS]
today.
You've got exactly 10
seconds to let me have them.
Drop them over
there near the door.
That's far enough.
Now drop them.
Now get in the
closet, both of you.
BRET: We'll pay you twice
as much as the baron is.
BANDIT: Move. BRET: Yes, sir.
Now, keep your backs
to me all the way in.
- Aah! COUNTESS: Oh!
[IN ENGLISH] Don't shoot,
monsieur. You may keep the pearls.
- We may what?
- The pearls, they are yours.
We've been out with it.
Move the guns away, please.
Oh, come on, baron. You know
we don't have the pearls anymore.
[BOTH SPEAK IN FRENCH]
Listen, countess, and
you too, Uncle George.
You played a neat little game
and we played one back on you...
but when you start calling in
gunmen, nobody's playing anymore.
[IN ENGLISH] We did not
call in any gunmen. I swear it.
It is the truth, monsieur. I would
not have anything to do with guns.
It is against the law.
You believe them?
I don't dare. They're
such good liars.
Nobody else knew we had the...
The jeweler.
[SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
Yes, yes, I have.
But he's out to lunch.
Lunch? It's nearly dinner time.
Yes, I know. I was
wondering why he wasn't back.
He's new here, you know.
My friend, a masked gunman stole a
pearl necklace worth $40,000 from us.
- We think it was your Mr. Murdock.
- Good heavens.
Do you know what trains
leave from Phoenix today?
Uh, there are two. One
at 4:00 for San Francisco...
one at 10 minutes
to 5 for Santa Fe.
We were going to
be on one of them.
But wait. It's 20
minutes of 6 now.
Yep, I remember him.
He kept marching up and
down here like a lion in a cage.
He couldn't wait for
the train to get here.
Which train?
San Francisco. Oh,
or was it Santa Fe?
- Think. It's important. The man's a thief.
- Really?
- What do you know? What did he do?
- The train, which one did Murdock take?
Murdock?
That's the man we're
talking about, mister.
Oh. Well, I don't rightly know.
BRET: When's the next
train for San Francisco?
- Four o'clock tomorrow.
- Ten to five for Santa Fe.
- Yep.
- We can split up.
- You take the one to Santa Fe.
- He's got a big lead.
It'll take time to
sell the pearls.
He's an amateur. He's already
made mistakes. He'll make more.
He would not break up the necklace.
It would lose half its value that way.
Thanks.
Uh, wait. Wait. Oh, just a moment.
The pearls are ours, remember?
They are? I've got a bill of
sale that says they belong to me.
- Robbers.
- Only the first $10,000 is really yours.
Plus our expenses. Do you know
what that spa up there charges a day?
Not to mention, our chasing
you all over the countryside.
- Plus what it's still going to cost us.
- Uh, plus our time.
We'll send you the
difference in silver. Goodbye.
May I sit next to you?
It might be easier
for you that way.
I'm not following you. I'm
just going to San Francisco.
While the baron just
goes to Santa Fe?
You are angry?
As my pappy used to say,
countess, never cry over spilled milk.
It could've been whiskey.
[CHUCKLES]
You, uh... You will need
help in finding this Murdock.
- We will look for him together, no?
- No.
- Why not?
- Because you're a crook, countess.
A pretty one, an exciting
one, and even a dignified one...
but a crook just the same.
You double-crossed me...
Oh, heh.
Mind your manners, countess.
You... You are
quite right about me.
Except for one thing.
I am not a countess.
I never wanted to be one.
I was happy when he found me.
He, the baron?
Are you really French?
I met the baron in Lyon.
At a party at the school where
I taught classes in English.
His nephew was
one of my students.
He taught me how to speak
with the accent of the aristocracy.
How to dress, how to eat.
He spent a year of his life
making a countess of me.
And then one day...
after making me so very
much indebted to him...
he proposed this, uh,
would you call it a scheme?
At the least.
I accepted his proposal.
I did not feel I could
refuse him then.
How long have you two
been at it? Uh, this scheme.
Only a few months, but...
Oh, but too long for me.
Much too long.
- Did you enjoy your nap?
- Mm-hm.
Finding you gone woke
me up a little too fast.
- You need not worry about me any longer.
- That'd be nice.
[SIGHS]
This is the first time I have been
free of the baron and the countess.
I plan to stay free of them.
What will you do?
When I reach San Francisco, uh,
the countess, the baron will vanish.
I will become myself again.
Teach school right here in America.
What's your real name?
Michelle Bussot.
And you really plan to
give up this countess grip?
Mm-hm.
I'll probably regret
this later on...
but right now, I believe you.
Thank you.
BRET: In San Francisco, Michelle
went her way and I went mine.
Looking for a man with a
pearl necklace for sale...
and getting nowhere.
Yes, he was in here.
You're sure? He's, oh, about so big,
black mustache, very rough-looking.
Well, the man I don't remember so
much, but the pearls you describe...
you know something? I came
within an inch of buying them.
Why, I spent all day yesterday
trying to borrow enough money.
- Uh, but you didn't buy them?
- Not after she came in here.
And I've got the money now too.
She?
A pretty woman
with a French accent?
I was all set to
close the deal...
but I wouldn't think of buying
the pearls after I heard her story.
What was that?
Why? What do you
have to do with all this?
Everything.
See, I'm her doctor. She's
very sick. She has hallucinations.
Which story did she tell you?
Well, about her
mother, the family jewels.
- Oh, when did you talk to her?
- About an hour ago.
Well, go on, what did she say?
That she'd sold the
pearl necklace to this man.
- Murdock.
- Because the family needed the money.
- And now they don't need it any longer.
- Right. She came into an inheritance.
And she wants to buy the pearls
back so her dying mother would...
Who didn't know they were
missing in the first place?
Would hold them in
her hands once again.
It's not true, doctor?
Not a word.
- Did Murdock say when he'd be back?
- No, he didn't.
No, he said if I raised the money,
come to his place with it in cash.
You didn't tell her
where she could find him?
Surely. At the Harbor Hotel
at the end of Water Street.
[GASPS]
Why, Michelle...
imagine finding you here.
I thought you were out
looking for schoolmarm work.
- I can explain this.
- Of course you can, bless your heart.
- He fainted when he broke that vase.
- Oh.
- Okay, give it here.
- I have no gun.
No pearls either.
Get in the corner.
- But I...
- Countess, love, the corner.
You didn't miss much, did you?
Have you tried him?
Oh, I...
Women are so illogical.
[MURDOCK GROANING]
- Uh, can't we, um...?
- No. No, we can't.
No.
Now, Michelle, you let
this be a lesson to you.
But what am I to do now?
Well, I suggest you
get him to a hospital.
You really conked him.
JEWELER: Of course.
Of course I'm still interested
in buying them, doctor.
For how much?
Well, uh, since there seems to be
something kind of odd about all this...
shall we say 30...?
Well, what's the matter?
I'm no fool, mister.
These are imitation.
Why, they can't be. I just took
them out of Murdock's pocket.
That...
She switched them.
She saw me coming.
Oh, but, Bret, what happened?
How did she get them?
Bart, did I ask you how
she got $10,000 out of you?
- Yes, you did.
- Oh.
Well, the problem
is to find her again.
And of course the baron
knows exactly where she is.
Sorry, I do not.
You don't have to call
him baron anymore.
He's just a waiter the countess
picked up and made over.
She tells me she was a teacher
he picked up and made over.
Teacher this time. Last
time it was a barmaid, heh.
She hates being an aristocrat.
Where is she?
Baron, I could
beat it out of you.
- But I don't think I'll have to.
- No.
No.
Murdock is following her.
I don't think he'll be
gentle when he catches her.
How could you know
he's following her?
I checked to see if she
left San Francisco by train.
She hadn't.
But Murdock had asked the
same question an hour ahead of me.
[GRUNTING]
You know that hurt? But at least
it tells us you know where she is.
And so does Murdock by now.
You must help me.
I told Michelle to meet me back at
the Denver Plaza if she got the pearls...
and to go there by
stagecoach, not by train.
Well, we still got a chance. That
stage can't even be in Denver yet.
You get packed,
I'll buy the tickets.
Three tickets.
- Is there any message yet?
- No, countess.
As I said, we'll be sure to let you
know the moment a telegram comes in.
Mm-hm, I'm in Room 12.
I know, countess.
Of course.
Oh, uh, I'll be having dinner
before I go up to my room.
Yes, countess.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
- In which room is my niece?
- Room 12, baron.
[WHIMPERING]
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[WHISPERS] Answer.
Speak up.
- Who is there?
- C'est moi, George.
- Tell him you'll meet him in the lobby.
- No.
Tell him.
I will meet you in the
lobby, Uncle George.
Something is wrong.
She answered in English.
[COUNTESS SCREAMS]
[COUNTESS SOBBING]
He tried to kill me.
[IN FRENCH] There,
there, hold your tears.
You wouldn't be saying
you're through, would you?
[IN ENGLISH] Oh, yes. We are
finished with all this kind of thing.
Shh, shh.
It sounds like he means it.
I think she does too.
COUNTESS: Three
thousand, 4000, 5000...
6000, 7000, 8000...
9000, 10,000.
- Plus my expenses.
- Oh.
Uh, plus mine.
- Uh, by the way, countess...
- Which reminds me, are you a countess?
I am.
What about Uncle George?
He is my uncle, and also
le Baron de Montaigne.
However, our titles
are all that we have.
Our estates were taken from us,
and now even our money is gone.
You just got $40,000 for the pearls. Even
with our little cut, that's quite a stake.
Enough to buy another necklace
and start back into business again?
Oh, never.
What are you going to do?
It is difficult.
Uncle George has no profession.
I have never had to work, heh.
I know nothing about nothing.
You mean you didn't really
write that cookbook either?
That was just part of the act?
Oh, pardon. I wrote
every word of that book.
Well, then you
have a profession.
Why don't you open up a really
good restaurant right here in Denver?
You'd have to fight
the customers off.
We were talking
about it last night.
You've got more than
enough money for a start.
It would be an act of mercy.
It would be a famous restaurant.
- Chez George.
- No, Chez Michelle.
Oh.
Uh, there is one problem though.
Um, how many people did you get with
that pearl routine before you got to me?
There were only six of them.
Five, chérie.
Five too many.
Sooner or later one or two of them are
gonna walk into that restaurant of ours.
Of theirs.
And that would be the end of
our... Heh, of your business career.
Uncle, you have the
name of the five people.
It was only 5- or
6000-dollars from each.
Maybe we could give
the money back, huh?
Michelle.
Foolish girl.
However, baron...
you do have quite a
stack of money there.
And Denver really does
need the Chez Michelle.
No. It is still out of the question.
We can't give back the money.
Matter of principle.
A matter of the practical.
If we give back the money, how do
we get money to open the restaurant?
A donation.
Oh, heh, countess, please.
An investment?
Yes.
Oh.
Partners.
[ALL LAUGHING]
Chez Michelle.
[SPEAKS IN FRENCH]
[GLASS SHATTERS]
[GLASS SHATTERS]
[English - US -SDH]