The Young Riders (1989–1992): Season 1, Episode 14 - Hard Time - full transcript

Look at this, Cody.
Beautiful, ain't it?

Huh? Oh, yeah, sure.

You know, kid,
there's somethin'
they didn't warn us about

when we signed on
for this job. Boredom.

Come on, let's go.

If we wanna make
fort laramie for supper,
we best get a move on.

Bet you we can get a meal there.

Prosperity.

It's got a nice ring to it,
don't you think?

I don't know.

Come on, kid.
We could be there in an hour.



Besides, after the ride
we just made to St. Joe,
we owe it to ourselves.

Howdy, ma'am.

The ground must be
mighty interestin'
around here

'cause it seems that's all
anyone's payin' any mind to.

Here you go, monte.

What happened to you?

Wind was kickin' up
in the salt flats.

When are the kid and Cody
comin' back, anyway?

Saturday.

What's the matter, Lou?
Double duty ain't your idea
of a good time?

Yeah. Me, too.

He says next time
teaspoon sends some
special couriers to St. Joe,

he's volunteering.

I'll take winner.



Come on, boys, it's ready.

This I gotta see.

What?

A crate came in
from Chicago today.

Teaspoon says it's gonna
make the horse absolute.

Obsolete.

Whatever.

Just arrived this mornin'
all the way from Scotland.

As soon as I read about it,
I knew we had to have one.

What is it?

Boys, this here

is a velocipede.

It's gonna change the world
as we know it.

What's it do?

Takes a body
from point "a" to point "b",

at speeds up to
14 miles per hour.

How?

Ain't figured that out yet.

I think it has somethin'
to do with this wheel.

Well, now, ain't that
a sight for sore eyes.

What about supper?

It's still early.

Come on.
Let's have a look-see.

Uh, I don't know.
I ain't much in the mood.

Oh, if I had to
wait for that,
I'd die of thirst.

Come on, kid.
What harm will it do?

You comin'?

Just don't lose
all your money, all right?

Remember.

Just to show you
I'm a man of my word,

I'll even let you hold my money.

Now, let's go.

Bartender,

would it be
any trouble to pour us
a couple sarsaparillas?

♪

That'll be $2.

$2?

Wait a minute.

Pay him, kid.

Thank you.

Enjoy it.

It's over 500 miles
of hard ridin' in that glass.

Worth every inch.

Just give me a minute
to talk it over
with my friend here.

I'll be waiting.

Another 500 miles?

Well over a thousand.

That about clears you out,
doesn't it?

Well, of course, there's...

Not a chance.

Oh, come on, kid.
She said she liked you, too.

That's nice. But I'm hungry
and you owe me a meal.

Next time you need a favor,
don't bother askin' me.

Meet me in the cafe in an hour.

Buy a girl a drink?

Uh, I'd like to, ma'am,
but at these prices...

Oh, come on.
What's a little drink?

I'm sorry, but I can't.

Ned.

I'm Tulsa.

So, what brings
a nice lookin' boy like you
into a place like this?

Well, ma'am, truth be told,
I'm a pony express rider.

Me and my friend
were just ridin' back
to Sweetwater from St. Joe

when we saw
the sign on the trail.

Sure, you got a lucky look
about you.

Let's say, uh,
we go and try
to win you some money.

I'm sorry, ma'am,
I can't do that, either.

You're a tough one, aren't you?

Well, I tell you what.
You come with me
for good luck and I'll try.

Can't hurt, can it?

I guess not.

Place your bets,
ladies and gentlemen.

Odd or even?

You look pretty even to me.
Even it is.

We won!

9. And the winner is 9.
Pay 9.

What?

Now, give the lady her winnin's.

Results stand.
Place your bets
for the next spin.

You can't do that.
Give me that.

You're hurting my arm.

I said let go!

Ugh!

You all right, ma'am?

I'm fine.

Excuse me.

I'm deforest whitcomb,
proprietor
of this establishment.

Good.

The lady bet even
and it came up odd.

When I cleared the table,
she attempted
to reclaim her bet.

I tried to intercede
and the gentleman struck me.

Now, that's not the way
it happened and you know it.

Sheriff, how do you recommend
we handle this?

Well, Mr. Whitcomb,
I think it's a simple case
of assault.

I think a few days in jail
might do him some good.

Mr. Whitcomb,
it wasn't his fault!

I don't wanna have
to haul you in, too.
Deputies.

Wait a minute.
I didn't do nothin'.
This is crazy.

Place your bets,
ladies and gentlemen.

Place your bets.

Cody, am I glad to see you.

Somethin' I can do for you?

He's a friend of mine.

Is it ok if I talk to him?

Put your gun on the table.

You got 2 minutes.
And I'm watching.

Thank you.

This is the last place
I expected to find you.
What happened?

I hit a guy who was cheatin'.

Bullyin' a lady at the saloon.
Next thing I knew,
they were hauling me in.

Now what?

I don't know.
I'm in for 5 days.

5 days.

Kid...

What do you want me to do?

I don't know.
There's not much you can do.

Go back and tell teaspoon.
Tell him it wasn't my fault.

If I'm lucky,
maybe he won't fire me.

He won't fire you.

Probably have you
ridin' double duty
for the next 10 years.

Time's up.

You gonna be all right?

I can handle 5 days.
I'll see you next week.

Watch yourself.

Hey, Cody.

You still owe me supper.

I have another friend, sheriff.

A United States marshal.

And when I get out of here,
I'm gonna make damn sure
he hears about this.

About what?

But there's somethin'
funny going on here.

You know, boy, I don't think
I like your attitude.

Yeah, well, your face
don't do much for me, either.

Oh, is that right?

Well, you just talked yourself
into some real trouble.

Jessup, McCallister,

Wait a minute.
Where are you takin' me?

You'll find out soon enough.

Let go of me!

Ain't gonna do you no good, now!

Get that door.

Say hello to your new friends
there, cowboy.

Look, I don't know
what ya'll are in here for,

but as far as I'm concerned,
this is a big mistake.

Shut up.

You don't understand.
I don't belong here.

And we do?

I didn't mean it like that.

It's just that
I didn't do anythin'.

I thought I told you to shut up.

That's nice.

You better get some sleep.

Morning comes fast around here.

I wonder what
kid and Cody are doin' now.

Probably
sittin' around a fire,
sippin' coffee,

and cookin' bacon,
laughin' at us.

Ugh!

So, you're the new boy, huh?

Rise and shine.

Morning work detail.
Everybody up.

Let's go.

I was hopin'
this was all a bad dream.

It is.

Keep movin'!

Come on, boys.
Time to go to work.

Move it!

Come on, pick it up!

Come on, pick it up!

Maybe I was seein' things,

but I could have sworn
I saw you diggin' a tunnel
last night.

You don't know
what you're talkin' about.

All right,
get your back into it!

Quit talkin' over there!

Not like that. Like this.

Thanks.

You got a name?

Richard.

Richard Elliot.

They call me the kid.

What are you
in here for, Richard?

The original complaint
was resisting due process.

Due process?
That's a good one,
don't you think?

That was a year ago.

That was a year ago?

You've been here ever since?

Oh, I've been here
most of my life.

This was my father's mine,

in the old days
when prosperity
lived up to its name.

Before whitcomb came along

and bought the bank
that held loans
on every business in town.

I don't understand.

When his thugs
came to foreclose,

my father fought back
and was killed.

I went to the sheriff
seeking justice

and ended up here.

How come no one ever
stopped him?

He bought protection
from powerful people.

After that,
everyone who opposed him

either ended up dead

or had a sudden change of heart.

And this is how
he keeps folks in line?

It is rather effective,
don't you think?

No talkin'.

Get back to work.

Welcome to hard time, kid.

Ok, let me go.

Nope. Wait till he's straight.

Nope.
Got to be 14 miles per hour!

Whoa!

Ok, let me go!

Let him go!

He's good at that.

Ike?

Whoa, ike!
Whoa, ike!

Whoa, I can't reach the stirrup.

Hey, don't let go!

Don't let go!
I can't reach the...

I'm tellin' you, boys,
you gotta work the treadle.
It's that simple.

Now, who's next?

Marshal?

No.

Oh, not me, Mr. Spoon.

Step aside.

What are you laughin' at?

This thing does
what teaspoon says it'll do,
and you're out of a job.

Hey, Jimmy, how you doin'?

All right?

Let her go.

Bring her on home.

Hey, look at me.

Doin' good, Jimmy.

Hey, this ain't so hard.

Get it up to speed.

Jimmy!

Jimmy!

Now, that ain't so hard,
teaspoon, is it?

Let's try again.

Now, hurry it up.

What you so happy about?

I was just thinkin' that

my friend ought to get back
to Sweetwater by tomorrow.

A few days after that,
they'll start wonderin'
what happened

and come lookin' for me.

They know that?

Sheriff does.

Be careful.

Why?

Damn it, you said be careful.
Why?

Tell him.

Men who are on the tail end
of their sentences

have a strange way
of gettin' in deeper.

Especially outsiders.

What's his name, anyway?

Hinton.

Hinton.

Hinton, would it be all right
if I troubled you
with another question?

Go to hell.

Tulsa,
whitcomb wants to see you.

It's open.

You wanted to see me,
Mr. Whitcomb.

Yes.

Would you mind terribly
scrubbing my back, Tulsa,

please?

That's excellent.

Let me help.

Go inside.

Take the dirt from little hawk
and hand it back to me.

You want me to go in there?

I know, dumb question.

As soon as the first person
makes it across,
the next one goes.

Who's going first?

What about Richard?

No, I can't, kid.

Whitcomb's got my wife, Tulsa.

He'd kill her if I escaped.

I suggest you hurry.

Draw.

Good luck.

Hey, kid,

I'm sorry I gave you
such a hard time.

Don't worry about it.

Let's get out of here.

What do you want,
Mr. Whitcomb?

Come around here, please.
Tulsa.

Look at me.

You know,

if I were to argue on
your dear husband's behalf,

it's possible I could
convince the sheriff
to expedite his release.

If

You were willing
to do something for me.

What?

Oh, come, my dear,

need I really be more explicit?

Quiet or you're dead.

Ugh!

Take him to the smokehouse.

I'll take care of him.

Lookie here what just
popped out of the ground.

Get in.

Yeah.

Hinton, that you?

Oh, my god!

Well, now, looks like
we got us a killer here.

Caught him in the act.

Hope you like our little
arrangement here, boy.

'Cause you're gonna
be spendin' the rest
of your born days here.

Damn you.

Stop slackin'!

Got a friend for you, boys.

Name's davitch.

Tried stealin' tobacco
from Mr. Whitcomb's store.

Crazy!
I didn't do nothin'!

He didn't do nothin'.

Why, you... let go of me!

Shut up and relax.
I'm tryin' to help you!

Get back to work.

What kind of crazy place
is this?

About as crazy as they come.

Just do like the man says.

Water.

Oops. Sorry.

Rider comin'.

Cody.

Hey, there, Cody.

Thanks, ike.

Where's the kid, Cody?

He's all right, Lou.
That's the good news.

Bad news is he's in jail.

What'd he do?
Steal candy?

No. He punched some guy out
in a saloon. He said
he was cheatin' a lady.

Got himself 5 days
for the trouble.

Well, that sure sounds
like the kid.

And, uh,
where was you, Mr. Cody,

when the kid was doin'
his gentlemanly duty
in this here saloon, huh?

Well, uh,
let's just say I was, uh...

Well, I was, uh...

Well, I was sort of
preoccupied, teaspoon.

Uh-huh.

Happened in a little town
called prosperity.

About 4 hours
the other side
of fort laramie.

Funny place, too.

What do you mean, funny?

Well, there was this sign
outside of town sayin'
how friendly it was.

Now, there's a lot
in this world I don't know.

But I do know friendly.

And if it's one thing
this town wasn't,
that'd be it.

It was like everyone was afraid.

Afraid of what?

I just know somethin'
definitely wasn't right.

Cody, is the kid in trouble?

Hell, 5 days ain't so bad.

That ain't what
I'm talkin' about.

I wish I could say no, teaspoon.

But I just can't be sure.

I've been thinkin' about it
the whole ride back.

Any ideas, Mr. Spoon?

Now, hold on.

I seen a drover
by the hotel in town
the other day.

It seems he worked
that part of the country.

I think the real reason is

we always thought
someone else would come along
and take care of it,

but by the time
we realized no one would,
it was too late.

That's the craziest story
I ever heard.

Well, now you're part of it.

What's with him?
He loco or somethin'?

No more than the rest of us.

He wouldn't talk,
so they beat him up.

Kid?

Kid?

Are you asleep?

No.