Rawhide (1959–1965): Season 7, Episode 26 - Mrs. Harmon - full transcript

- Quince, where's Wishbone?
- I told him you wanted to see him.

- Yeah? When?
- About an hour ago.

Well, where is he?

Up in his room,
sprawled out on his bed.

Well, get back and
tell him again, will you?

All right.

- Name?
- My name is Charlie Peck.

- I'm a lot stronger than I look.
- Yeah, you'd have to be.

You ever been to a cattle drive?

No, sir, but I'm a hard worker.

Let me see your hands.



Mr. Peck, I admire
your gumption, but...

You know, those hands
would be raw meat

before you spent two
days on a cattle drive.

I don't care, Mr. Yates. I just
gotta get out of Silver Creek.

I've been stuck in this
town for three years.

You just gotta give me a chance.

I'm sorry, Peck.

The boss is gone and I can't hire a
man I know he wouldn't approve of.

What's the matter with
you, Wish? Let's go.

Come on now, let's go.

Look, Rowdy's getting sore and
you're running more than a hour late now.

Now let's get with it.

Fred Harmon.

- Ever been in a cattle drive, Harmon?
- Plenty of them.



You always drink this
early in the morning?

Just a quick one
with some of the boys.

You've, uh, ever been in
trouble with the law, Harmon?

The law, no.

Sure about that, huh?

All right, I'll level with you, Mr. Yates.
I've been picked up a few times.

- For what?
- Drunk disorderly mostly.

- Nothing more serious?
- No.

You ever been in prison?

You can't beat it, can you?
Just make one mistake.

Sorry, Harmon.

You gonna pass me for something
that happened five years ago?

No, I'm gonna pass you
because you tried to lie to me.

And I got no time for a
person that I can't trust.

- Next.
- Yeah, come on.

Rowdy!

Get out of my way.

I'll be with you
men in a minute.

Where the hell have you been?

And where's the chuck
wagon and the supplies?

Left the check wagon where it
was because I didn't get supplies yet.

You didn't? I gave
you a hundred dollars.

What's the matter? You sick?

- Nothing's wrong.
- Well...

You have lost a little curl
out of your beard today, Wish.

You must've made the mistake
of eating your own cooking.

Oh, I get sick of these same old
jokes about my cooking and my beard.

And I'm tired of
grease burns and I'm...

Oh, forget it.

I'll be at the store
getting supplies.

- You know, maybe
I... ROWDY: No, don't.

- Maybe I... ROWDY:
Leave him alone for a while.

- What's your name?
- Billy.

- Billy what?
- Billy Harmon.

- Where's your ma?
- In there.

Mrs. Harmon?

Mrs. Harmon?

I'll go get a doctor.

Here he comes.

All right, now, this is water.

You saw me scrub the floor with it
and you saw me clean the dishes with it.

Now you got a surprise coming.

We don't like baths. - Yeah.

Oh, you don't?

Well, I'm not in the habit of having
to make my fellow creatures clean up,

so if you wanna be little pigs,
you can just go ahead and be pigs.

Oink, oink, oink. Ha, ha.

She's got a broken rib
and some painful bruises.

But she'll be all right if she
just stays off her feet for a while.

- She wouldn't tell me what happened.
- Yeah, it's an old story.

She's got a husband who
drinks. When he drinks, he's mean.

He's sorry when he sobers
up. That don't help her much.

- Where is he now?
- Who knows?

Well, somebody's got to
take care of her and those kids.

Looks to me like
you're doing just fine.

Whoa, hold on now. I
got a million things to do.

Like I'm starting a
cattle drive in a few days.

Few days is about
all she'll need.

But I don't know anything about
kids and very little about women.

Looks like you're learning just
real fast. There'll be no charge.

Here, here, here, now.

What's the matter
with this town, anyway?

Well, for a while, the
Ladies Aid used to help out.

You know how it
is with crusades.

All full of high purpose, and
then the steam kind of evaporates.

But those kids, they need
food, clothes and shoes and...

More than that, they need attention.
They're just like little animals.

When you're working 18 hours
a day just to make ends meet

like Mrs. Harmon does, you
don't have very much time

for telling bedtime stories.

Don't just seem right.

Well, I can't argue
with you there.

Nice to have met
you, Mr. Wishbone.

I don't know how to thank you.

- Wasn't anything.
- I tried to get out of bed, but I couldn't.

Why didn't you send
Billy to the doctor?

Because we haven't paid
the bill for about a year.

We're very grateful to you.

But I think I can
manage from here on in.

Here, you be careful. You
know you got a broken rib there.

I'll be all right.

You sure will, as long
as you don't get any ideas

about chopping wood
and carrying water.

Those boys out there are
big enough to do that for you.

- No.
- Now just lie back and rest.

I'll get the boys started
on supper, and after I leave,

all you have to do is just
come out and watch the pot.

All right, now you boys
are gonna help with supper.

- No!
- Yes.

- No!
- I said, yes!

Now come here, you
crack that out now. Stop it!

Look here what I've got here.
See these? These are potatoes.

And they're dirty and your
mother is in no condition,

- so you're gonna have to wash them.
- No!

I said, yes. Now you come
along here. Behave yourself!

First you put them in the water.

And you bring them over
here and you get a brush.

And you scrub these skins until
they're bright and shiny clean, you hear?

Then you get some kindling

and all your mother
has to do is light the fire

and tell you when they're done.
- No!

Here.

Hey, what do you want
for that gold bracelet?

Two dollars. Ain't
real gold of course.

I'll take it. - Fine.

Yeah, yeah, just stuff it in my pocket
there somewhere and put it on the bill.

All right, all right.
Wait, I'll get it. I'll get it.

You need some help
with that, I'll get you a boy.

No, no, I'll manage all right.

Just put the thing right up
there on top of the other...

There we are. Bye.

There.

Hey, where's your mother?

I said, where's your mother?

Why don't you use
a handkerchief?

Haven't you got a handkerchief?

You know what a handkerchief is?

Here, that's a handkerchief.

Here, come on over here.

I bought you some
presents. See this? Toys.

Come here, let me
show you something here.

Look. Look, see that?

Here, and here's a stagecoach.
Look at that, real iron.

And here's a monkey on a stick.

He said he'd be back with the
money, but I ain't seen him since.

Yeah, neither have I.

I ain't seen him since I was
kidding him about his grub

and he got so doggone mad.

Something's bothering
him, that's for sure.

- Mushy?
- No, sir, I've been looking for him too.

I had these lists to check over,

but he didn't sleep in
his hotel room last night.

- You sure?
- Sure.

Well, I mean, I fell
asleep waiting for him.

And it was daylight when I woke
up and he hadn't come in yet.

Well, I don't know where he is, but at
any rate, I'll pay you what he owes you.

- How much?
- Eighty-seven dollars.

Wait a second.

- Much obliged to you.
- Thank you very much.

I'm gonna get you, Billy!

Boys, could you not make
so much noise, please?

Now come on, hush up!
Hush up and sit down.

I don't believe I have
ever seen them so happy.

Oh, well, I was just
getting overalls and things

and I happened to
see these toys, so...

No, you're very kind.

Well, I know places you could
get an argument about that.

Ahem, uh...

Got this one for you.

Well, it didn't cost anything.

I mean, well, just seemed a
shame, the kids getting presents

and your not getting anything.

Thank you.

- It's awful pretty.
- Yeah.

Would you mind going
outside, please, before you...?

My husband's name is Fred.

He's a...

He's not a bad man,
but he drinks and...

He was in jail once, and since
then he can't hardly seem to get a job.

When he does get one,
he can't seem to keep it.

I think he thinks the
whole world is against him.

You know, sometimes
a man gets so mixed up,

he just has to lash out
at something, so he...

Man's wife is the
nearest thing to him.

Those are his kids, and he
can't feed them, and so I do,

when I'm able.

Ladies Aid sends things
over every once in a while,

- but I wish they wouldn't.
- Why?

It just makes him worse.

We ain't got much,
but we do have pride.

And we don't want charity, and we
don't want people looking down on us.

Where is he now?

Well, you see, I don't know.

Sometimes he doesn't
come home for weeks.

Mr. Wishbone.

We're beholden
to you, all of us.

But I don't believe that you
had better come here anymore.

Because I'm afraid of
what Fred will do to you.

- You wanna do what?
- I wanna quit the drive.

You can't quit the drive.
What am I gonna do for a cook?

Maybe Mushy can handle it.

You know that Mushy couldn't
handle it in a million years, Wish.

Now, come on. Good
cooks are hard to find.

Why, you're one of the most
important men on the drive.

Sorry.

You just sit down here
and be sensible, will you?

No, I am being sensible.

Now, look, I haven't got
too many drives left in me.

And after that, what
have I got to show for it?

There's more to living than
bouncing over chuckholes

and driving a bunch of mangy steers
from one end of nowhere to the other.

I knew I should've never let Mr. Favor
talk to me into subbing for him.

After all, I'm the
ramrod, not the trail boss.

Well, it's nothing against
you. I'll tell him that.

Swell, but in the meantime
half the crew will quit

when they find out we
don't have a decent cook.

I don't wanna cause you
any trouble, but I can't go.

Why? Just tell me why.

It's a personal matter.

All right, far be it from me to
butt into a man's personal affairs.

He doesn't wanna work,
he doesn't wanna work.

- Just one thing, though.
- What's that?

It's kind of hard to put.

- But that money you owe Mr. Case.
- Oh, that.

I ran into him this morning.

He said you promised it to
him, but you didn't show up.

I've been kind of busy.
I'll do it right away.

Oh, no need to now. I've
already squared it with him.

- You have?
- Now you can just square it with me.

Well, I can't. Truth
is I spent it already.

You spent it?

Now, you'll get it back,
every cent. You know that.

All right, Billy,
you can take it in.

Come on, fellas.

We had a cow back home.

I used to have to milk it every
morning before I went to school.

Well, we'll have to
teach Billy how now.

She was very
expensive, wasn't she?

Oh, practically nothing.

Feeding bill's all paid
till the end of the year.

I shouldn't let you do all this,
buy the clothes and the food and...

- Oh, well, it's just selfish.
- Selfish?

Yeah, I get such a kick
out of seeing the kids laugh.

I don't know what they're
gonna do when you leave.

I'm not leaving.

It's on account of us, isn't it? I
mean, on account of the children.

I'd be an awful liar if I
said it was just the kids.

Come on, kids, get
in the bedroom quick.

Take your toys
with you. Hurry up.

What happened to you?

I'll give you three guesses.

You trying to tell
me that I did that?

About four or five days ago.

You came home just
like you are now, drunk.

I'm not drunk now.

You wanted money
for another bottle.

When I told you I didn't have
any, you didn't believe me.

I'm sorry.

- I know.
- I am. I don't even remember.

I didn't expect you to.

- Is it bad?
- Oh, it'll get better.

Did you get the job?

Do I look like I got a job?

Same old story. I've
got a prison record.

I'm a better drover than
any man in this town,

but I ain't ever gonna
get a chance to prove it.

Where'd this come from?

Somebody from the
village brought it for Tad.

I told you before, I
don't want no charity.

We'll do for our own
or we'll do without.

Where are the children anyways?

What are they doing in
there? It ain't their bedtime yet.

We heard a bottle crash outside.

We didn't know what
condition you'd be in.

- Daddy, Daddy!
- Hey, hey, old Tad.

You've been a good
boy? A real good boy?

Where'd you get them clothes?

Mr. Wishbone bought them.

What's he talking about?

Children need those clothes,
Fred. School's gonna start soon.

- Mine.
- Yeah, it's yours.

- Who'd you say brought it?
- Mr. Wishbone.

- Who's Mr. Wishbone?
- He's nice.

Answer me! Who is this Wishbone?

- You're frightening him, Fred.
- Stay out of this!

Answer me!

He stayed with us
when Mommy was sick.

He's funny.

Who is he?

He is a kind, decent man

who saw Billy steal some flour
one day and followed him home.

And just stayed on, is that it?

Yes, he stayed on.

He got a doctor for me and he
cleaned this house because I couldn't.

He bathed the children and he made
food for us and he told them stories.

He told them jokes and he
made them laugh for a change.

All the things a father ought to do
that you have never, never done.

- What are you gonna do?
- I'm gonna kill him!

You know a man called Wishbone?

Sure, he used to
cook for Favor's outfit.

What do you mean, he
used to cook for them?

Well, he ain't going on the drive.
Leastwise, that's what the sign says.

- What sign?
- There on the hotel.

It says starting tomorrow morning
he's gonna cook in the hotel dining room.

- Your name Wishbone?
- That's right.

Well, I'm Fred Harmon.

Stand up.

I was gonna kill you, but
now I got me a better idea.

As a lesson to the rest of
the saddle bums in this town,

I'm just gonna beat you to
within an inch of your life.

Fred, stop it!

- Fred, stop it! You'll kill him!
- Get away from me!

Let go.

- Let go or I'll shoot.
- Go ahead, shoot.

He's hurt bad.

Come on, we gotta
get you out of here.

- You saw?
- I seen, she shot him.

Just like that, she shot him.

- No.
- What are you doing?

I'm telling you, she
didn't shoot anybody.

She wasn't even
here. Now you got that?

- Yeah, I got it.
- All right, you remember it.

Because if you forget,
you're in bad trouble.

- I won't forget, honest.
- All right.

Now you get out of here.
And get him a doctor. Quick!

- I think he's dead.
- No. Come on.

That's better.

Oh, Wish, I didn't mean it.

- I didn't mean to do it.
- I know, I know.

- What if he dies?
- He won't die.

Yes, but what if he does?

Quiet, you want those
kids in there to hear you?

- Well, they've gotta know sometime.
- No, they don't.

Not if you use the good
sense the Lord gave you.

- What do you mean?
- You didn't shoot your husband.

- What?
- You weren't even there.

Now, he'd been drinking.

Everybody in Silver Creek knows
what he's like when he's drinking.

He come after me and I had
to shoot him in self-defense.

Oh, Wish, you never
should've gotten mixed up...

- It wasn't any of your doing.
- Yes, it was my doing.

Quiet. You want those kids to grow
up knowing that you shot their Pa?

- No, but...
- Well, then no buts about it.

It's a simple matter
of self-defense.

Won't be any trouble
getting them to believe it.

Wait till they get
a look at this face.

Wish.

Come on, get some rest now.

And remember, you weren't
even out of the house tonight.

What's the matter?

My bracelet.

You had it on tonight?

I haven't had it off
since you gave it to me.

I must have lost
it at the hotel.

- Give me that.
- Finders keepers.

Now look, you, I'm not
exactly in the mood to argue.

Give me that or
I'll bust you apart.

You touch me, I'll yell so loud I'll
bring half of Silver Creek in here.

- Where's Harmon?
- He's with the doctor.

- Is he gonna live?
- I don't know.

Now, what'd you tell the doctor?

I told him Fred was beating up on
you and you shot him. Now let me go.

All right, just be sure
you remember that.

- I ain't so sure I can.
- What?

Knowing about something like
this makes me an accessory.

I told the doctor what
you wanted me to say,

- but I ain't so sure I can tell the sheriff.
- Are you trying to tell me something?

I got a conscious, Mr. Wishbone.

I lied about something
this important,

I don't know if I'd ever
get a good night's sleep,

long as I stayed in this town.

Oh, and in some other town,
you could sleep real good, huh?

Only need a hundred dollars.

Hundred dollars.
I haven't got 25.

- You can get it.
- Where?

- Mr. Yates.
- I don't work for him anymore.

You can get it. I know you can.

- And if I don't?
- Well, I'm just trying to help you.

I just wanna get out of this town
so nobody can make me talk.

All right, I'll try.

Now, I wanna be on that
stagecoach tomorrow morning.

- Well, it's late. He'll be asleep.
- He can wake up, can't he?

He's right upstairs
in this hotel.

Wait here.

- Who is it? WISHBONE:
It's me, Wishbone.

What the devil happened to you?

Well, I can't talk now. I
gotta have a hundred dollars.

A hundred dollars? Wish,
you already owe $187.

Well, yeah, I know that.

It isn't easy for me to
ask, but I gotta have it.

Now, you'll get it back, every
penny. Now I got a job here, you know.

Yeah, I also know it'll
take a month of Sundays

to pay back that kind of money.

What are you doing with
all this money anyway?

Rowdy, please.

Wish, if I had a hundred
dollars, I'd give it to you.

But the money I
have isn't mine to give.

You really need this
hundred dollars, huh?

More than anything
I ever needed.

I think I might have a
way you could get it.

How?

Just a minute.

Yeah, you could just sign
this little contract right here.

- I can't.
- Why can't you?

For a lot of reasons.
I got a job here now.

Well, they're not gonna
miss what they've never had.

You just sign this contract

and I'll advance you a hundred
dollars on the next drive.

- I never thought you'd do this to me.
- Only sorry I didn't think of it sooner.

All right, I'll sign, but I gotta
add one thing to this contract.

And what's that?

I'll go only if I'm not
forcibly detained.

Forcibly detained?

I don't see why anybody would
forcibly detain you here in Silver Creek.

Here you are.

Well, Wish, it's good
having you back with us.

- What about the money?
- Oh, yes, I'll get that.

One hundred dollars. Now,
we leave day after tomorrow.

I know when we leave.

You know, just given
a little more time,

you'll turn out even more
sneaky than Mr. Favor.

Heh. Nicest thing
you ever said to me.

There you are.

- There's only $50 here.
- That's right.

There's somebody else
needs $50 more than you do.

I said a hundred.

Fifty dollars is more than
enough to get you out of town

and leave some left over.
Now take it and get out.

And don't you dare say
one word about Mrs. Harmon

or I'll tear your tongue out
by the roots. Understand?

- I understand.
- All right, then.

Get out of here, and stay out.

Doc says you saw
the shooting in here.

- That's right.
- Who done it?

Him.

- Let's go, mister.
- How's Harmon?

He's still alive,
no thanks to you.

You got any kind
of an explanation?

Only it was self-defense.

That's very interesting.

On account of Fred
Harmon wasn't wearing a gun.

You better pray
he lives, mister.

Because if he don't, you're
gonna hang for murder.

There he is, Rowdy.

- Well?
- Harmon won't press charges.

So you're gonna let
Wishbone out, huh?

I've got no choice. If I
did, he could rot in there.

What are you getting so
hot about it if he didn't do it?

Nobody said he didn't do it.

All I said was Harmon
won't press charges.

Maybe there's just
something about this thing

- that we don't know about.
- There's a lot you don't know about.

Harmon took after Wishbone

because your friend has been
carrying on with Harmon's wife.

I don't believe that.

And you're the only one
in Silver Creek who don't.

It's all over town.

Wishbone's not
only been seeing her,

but he's been buying her
jewelry and clothes and...

Hey, Wish.

- You heard what happened?
- Yeah, we heard.

All I gotta say is I didn't do
anything to be ashamed of.

Wait here for a
minute. I'll be right back.

All right.

How come they let him go?

Huh? Oh.

- Harmon didn't wanna press charges.
- Huh. I don't wonder.

- What did you say?
- I was the one that seen it.

- I seen the whole thing.
- What'd you see?

Well, he made me
promise not to tell.

- Hurry up, mister, we're leaving.
- Hold the stage.

Is it worth $50 to you?

That's enough. This
is all we can spare.

He never shot nobody. It
was Mrs. Harmon that done it.

Here, she dropped
this on the floor.

Hyah, hyah!

- Who is it? STURDIVANT:
Dr. Sturdivant, ma'am.

I'll be by tomorrow,
Mrs. Harmon.

But all you can do for him
is make him comfortable.

No sudden movements, of course.

I didn't expect you.

No way you could've known.

The doctor thought I'd
get better care at home.

I didn't have the
strength to argue with him.

Fred, it...

It ain't gonna heal
you none, but I'm sorry.

I thought I'd killed you.

How'd you feel?

Like someone lifted a
headstone off of my back.

I'd like to get back
to the beginning, Liz.

Remember the river?

I'd like to take an ax and cut right
through the debris and get back there.

Back to the first
days, the first child.

Too much has happened.

For both of us. You
found another man.

Yes, I found another man. I
didn't look for him, but I found him.

I didn't know how
you felt about him,

but I told the sheriff the
shooting was an accident.

He's an old man, Liz.

Is that better than what
we had at the beginning?

Now, listen, you can stay here.

I will take care of you
as long as you're sick.

And after that you're free to leave
for good if that's what you want.

I appreciate that.

But this is my home, Liz.

I put it up plank by plank.

I put sod against the walls,
filled in the cracks with mud.

Made a warm place for us.

The first summer I cut a
window in the bedroom,

screened it off against the flies
so the children could sleep cool.

I dug a well.

I put up a shelter
to hang venison.

I made troughs to
carry off the rain.

Sure, I've been away most of
the time, but this is my home, Liz.

When I get well, I'm
gonna run outside

and get me a stick and
write my name in the ground.

Do you wanna leave?

I was worried about you.

Sorry, thought you'd
still be with the doctor.

That's being honest, anyways.

She was very upset. I
wanted to see how she was.

You're in another man's
home, Mr. Wishbone.

If you wanna talk to Mrs.
Harmon, you go ahead and talk.

I ain't in any position
to leave the room.

It's all right, Wish.

Thank you.

I married Mr. Harmon
on September 2nd, 1862.

In Sensibaugh, Ohio
on the banks of the river.

I've been married to
him these 10 years.

And I gave him three children.

And whatever he
wants is up to him.

I'm married to him
and I always will be.

That's only right.

Say something
to the kids for me.

Hey, now, what's going on?
Who said to start without me?

No one's starting without you.
Just checking the supplies, that's all.

I signed on, didn't I? That means
I'm in charge of the supplies.

Here, Mushy, put these
things away for me.

Who's got my checklist?
Quince, give me that checklist.

Now, before we go any
further with any of the checking,

we open up some of these things
and find out what they've given us.

Half of the time I
get rotten supplies.

Now, will you just stop moving
around and leave things alone?

The way you check
supplies is just ridiculous.

You can't check everything at once.
You've gotta check one thing at a time.

First the flour, then the beans,
then the fruit, then the bacon.

Mush, will you stop
pushing things off to him

and carry some of
the stuff yourself?

First we'll take the
beans. That's fine.

Now you've got
beans there or flour?

That's beans. Put
it in the wagon.

Is there a nice, uh,
heavy tanned leather

under those beans
to put in there?

Hit them up! Move them out!