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 5.07 [127]
"The Outcast"
 Original NBC Broadcast - 26 October 1966
Universal TV
Executive Producer Frank Price
Produced by Joel Rogosin
Written by Lou Shaw
Directed by Alan Crosland, Jr.

Starring:
(shown in the ride in)
Charles Bickford as John Grainger
Doug McClure as Trampas (not in this episode)
Don Quine as Stacey Grainger
Sara Lane as Elizabeth Grainger
and
James Drury as The Virginian

Guest star
Fabian [Charley Ryan]

Complete Ending Credits:

Co-Starring
Milton Selzer as Harold Bitz
*
George Wallace as Portersville Sheriff
Carole Kane as Charlotte
With
Ross Elliott ... Sheriff Abbott [recurring character]
Quent Sondergaard ... Zach
Marvin Brody ... Horace
Boyd Stockman ... Stage Driver
*
Music Score Leo Shuken and Jack Hayes
Theme by Percy Faith
*
Director of Photography Walter Strenge A.S.C.
*
Art Director ... George Patrick
Film Editor ... Robert F. Shugrue
Unit Manager ... Abby Singer
Assistant Director ... George Bisk
Set Decorators ... John McCarthy and James M. Walters
Sound ... Robert Bertrand
Color Consultant ... Robert Brower
Color by TECHNICOLOR
*
Editorial Supervision ... Richard Belding
Musical Supervision ... Stanley Wilson
Costume Supervisor ... Vincent Dee
Makeup ... Bud Westmore
Hairstylist ... Larry Germain
The Title "The Virginian" by permission of EMKA LTD.

Series regular characters appearing in this episode:
Stacey, Elizabeth and John Grainger, the Virginian, Sheriff Mark Abbott

Detailed Synopsis:
In the Portersville jail, Charley Ryan is nervously awaiting his trial
for bank robbery and murder. The sheriff shows him a newspaper with the
lurid headline "Killer to Be Tried." Charley profusely voices his innocence,
but the sheriff counters with the fact that an eyewitness was "almost certain"
he saw him near the bank and adds, "You were running when we caught up with
you." "I tell you I'm not the one who did it!" Charley insists. "They
never are!" the sheriff retorts. The cook from the local bar drops by with
meals for the sheriff and Charley. The sheriff shows a sense of fair play
by noting that Charley's meal is substandard and orders the cook to take it
back and return with a meal for Charley as good as the one for himself.
"That's good enough for that killer!" sniffs the cook. "He's not a killer
until the court says so!" the sheriff answers. The sheriff gives his own
meal to Charley in his cell, but the prisoner gets the drop on him, knocks
him out and escapes.

Charley runs off to the town of Bottleneck, where he meets up with banker
Harold Bitz, who is waiting for a stagecoach. Bitz was apparently Charley's
accomplice in the robbery. Charley tells him that everything went smoothly
and they'll meet later "as planned." Bitz, a meek little man, nervously
asks, "You won't run out?...I don't (really know you), Charley. Just from
having a few drinks together, that's all. Then, the first thing I know,
I'm involved in robbing a bank where I've worked for twelve years!"
"Look, you're not involved. You've got nothing to worry about!" Charley
assures him.

Charley finds his way to Medicine Bow, where he sees Stacey Grainger
admonishing two delivery men for mistreating a horse. When Stacey threatens
to take his business elsewhere, the delivery men respond by attacking him
with their fists. Answering Elizabeth's plea for help, Charley jumps in
to assist Stacey and the battle continues until Sheriff Abbott comes along
to break it up. A grateful Stacey offers Charley a job at Shiloh.

As Charley is settling in at the bunkhouse, Stacey notices that Charley
has a sore arm as a result of the fight. Stacey pops Charley's arm back
into the socket and Charley checks out whether he's recovered by doing a
"quick-draw" with his gun. "Good as new!" Charley proclaims. "Where are
you from, Charley?" asks Stacey. "Oh, here and there, ... why?" Charley
asks nervously. "Just curious. No offense," Stacey smiles. "Oh, none
taken," Charley says with relief.

As time goes by and Charley is settling into ranch work, we see him drop
off a load of firewood at the house. Elizabeth asks him in to have a look
at the stove. She has nothing but wet kindling and wants to cook a meal
for her granddad. Charley eyes some old newspapers, rolls them up, ties
them at each end and plops them in the stove. "Best kindling in the world!"
he declares. Stacey walks into the kitchen just as Charley is showing
Elizabeth how to do this. Suitably impressed, she invites Charley to stay
for supper. Looking at Stacey, Charley declines and leaves. "Liz, I've
never heard you make a special point of inviting any of the hands to dinner
except maybe the Virginian or Trampas," says Stacey when they're alone.
"There isn't any reason why I shouldn't, is there?" she asks. "No, but
...Charley's kind of new to us and, uh ..." "Then having him to supper
would be a good way to get to know him!" she replies.

Several days later while on roundup, Charley finds Elizabeth sitting by a
brook with a calf. She invites him to sit for a spell and admits that
she had been sitting there dreaming. "I come up here often," she says,
"Do you know what I was dreaming about?" "They'll never come true if you
tell people about them," says Charley. "Haven't you ever told anyone your
dreams?" she asks. "Never had any to tell," he answers. "Everyone has!"
she insists. "I guess I lost mine along the way somewhere," he says.
"You've had a hard time, haven't you, Charley? ... Are your parents gone?"
she asks. "Oh, I never knew 'em," he answers. Stacey rides up nearby
and sees them having their conversation, but doesn't make his presence known.
"What did you do alone?" Elizabeth asks. "Stayed alive. That's the main
thing...When you don't have anything, just living is a pretty important
thing," he replies. "You've never wanted anything more?" she asks. "Oh,
I know all about wantin'," he answers, "It's the gettin' I'm not too familiar
with!" "Granddad says you have to make things happen for you," Elizabeth
says, "You've got to keep your eye out for opportunity and when it comes,
you've got to see it and take it!" "He's right. I agree with him. Well,
we'd better get this little baby back to his momma," Charley says, grabbing the calf.

Later, while Stacey and Charley are chopping wood, Stacey says, "I've been
meaning to talk to you...You've probably been around some. You've got a
little bit of experience, probably...Well, you know, there's just my granddad,
Liz and me. Well, we kinda look out for her...She's a nice kid, Elizabeth,
but she's young." "What?" says Charley, "Stace, look, I've got no eye for
your sister. Just to say hello is all. Pass the time of day maybe. It
doesn't mean anything." "Maybe not to you, Charley, but she might take it
differently. Maybe it might be better if you spent your time somewhere
else," says Stacey. "Are you saying I can't talk to her? She talks to
everybody else. Why not me?" "I think with you, it's different, Charley,"
Stacey says. "Oh, I get it. Maybe I'm not good enough to talk to the boss'
granddaughter!" says Charley, "Now you got something to say about my work,
that's one thing, but you've got no right to stick your nose in anywhere else!"
Charley slams down the hatchet and walks away.

That night in the living room Stacey is pacing the floor while his granddad
John is trying to read a book. "All right, what is it?" John asks. "Granddad,
have you met this Charley Ryan?" Stacey asks. "Yes, Elizabeth introduced
him to me," John says. "What do you think of him?" asks Stacey. "Well, he
seemed polite, well-mannered, pleasant looking," John answers, "Is there
something else I should have noticed?" "I think she's stuck on him!" Stacey
says. "That happens some times," says John. "I wish you'd talk to her,"
says Stacey, "She's young, impressionable..." "Are you bothered because
Elizabeth has met a young man she likes?" asks John, "Or is it because we
don't know too much about him?" "A little of both, I guess," says Stacey.
"Well, I'll tell you one thing," says John, "If Elizabeth wasn't noticing
or being noticed, we'd both have something to worry about!" "Maybe," Stacey
sighs. He tells John he has to get up early and heads up to bed. John stops
him and says, "Stace. I'll talk to her...Just as soon as I can figure out
what to say, that is!"

The next day Stacey is angrily hammering away trying to fix a broken corral
fence. He seeks out Charley and yells at him for not having noticed the weak
planks. "Sorry, Stace, I guess I missed it," says Charley. Charley then
apologizes for getting mad the day before when Stacey told him to stay away
from Elizabeth; "I can understand how you feel about a stranger spending
too much time with your sister." Stacey calms down and says, "Well, maybe
I shouldn't have said anything. Tell you what. Come Saturday, how about
me buying you a drink in town?" "On one condition," says Charley, "I buy
you one!"

That Saturday, while Charley is waiting for Stacey outside the saloon, he
is approached by Zach, the delivery man he had fought with when he first
came to Medicine Bow. "Well, I've been lookin' for you!" says Zach, "Seems
we've got some unfinished business to take care of!" Charley looks around.
Zach continues, "Who you lookin' for? Stacey Grainger? He ain't around.
Now, if you want to find him, I'll be happy to wait!" "I don't need him,"
says Charley and the two walk into an alley to have it out. Once in the
alley, Charley draws his gun; "Now you talk real nice and maybe I'll let
you live!" "Now wait a minute! Wait a minute!" says Zach. "What's the
matter? No stomach for it?" asks Charley. "Look, I didn't mean to..."
says Zach. "Now listen real good, mister. You picked the wrong guy!" says
Charley, "Now you still want trouble, I'll be happy to oblige!" "I don't
want any trouble. No trouble!" says Zach. "That's reasonable of you,"
says Charley, "Now you keep clear of me, friend, or you're gonna have a
serious accident and the sheriff will think you're a troublemaker and got
just what you asked for. Now get out of here!" Stacey arrives just in
time to see Charley and Zach emerge from the alley. "Is Zach making
trouble again?" Stacey asks. "No. No more!" answers Charley.

Meanwhile, Harold Bitz returns to Portersville on a stagecoach. He immediately
goes to the hotel room of a girl named Charlotte. He has missed her while
he's been away and tells her that she's "the only girl I've ever loved."
Charlotte has no feelings for him whatsoever and tries to put him off.
He tells her he'll be coming into some money soon. "How?" she asks
sarcastically, "Are you going to rob a b--?...For a second there, I thought
you were in on robbing the bank, but where would you ever get that kind of
nerve? Beat it now, will you? I'm going to be busy!" "I'll be back,"
he promises, "And with the money. You just wait!"

Bitz then drops by the sheriff's office to see how much the sheriff knows
about the robbery. He learns that it didn't go as smoothly as he had
heard from Charley and that his boss, the bank president, was killed.
The sheriff shows him a wanted poster for Charley Ryan, saying, "No sign
of him so far, but it's just a matter of time till somebody spots him."
Visibly shaken, Bitz leaves the sheriff's office.

Back in Medicine Bow, Sheriff Mark Abbott looks through the newest batch
of wanted posters and sees the one for Charley. He immediately saddles
up and heads out to Shiloh. Before he gets there, we see Stacey pacing
on the front porch. He's upset because Elizabeth and Charley went out
on an errand and should have returned by now. "I thought you liked Charley,"
says John. "I don't know. It's a funny thing," says Stacey, "He's been
kind of rubbing me wrong lately...Nothing I can point a stick at. It's
just this feeling I've got, that's all."

Stacey goes inside, but John continues to wait on the porch. When Elizabeth
and Charley return, she happily skips up the steps, kisses John and asks,
"How's my favorite granddad on this most perfect of perfect days?" John
decides to take this opportunity to have a talk with her; "Honey, there's
a lot of things we haven't talked about since, uh, since you've grown up."
"I'm not all that grown!" she replies. "I don't think I have to tell you
that I love you very much," John continues, "You know what you mean to me.
There's a couple of generations, a lot of years between us...You're very
young. You haven't had a mother around to talk to, to explain things.
I just don't want to see you jumping into something without giving it a
lot of thought." "You're not talking about Charley, are you? Charley
and me?" she asks. "It's not only Charley," says John, "It's things in
general." "But right now, Charley!" she says, "You don't have to worry
about Charley. He's nothing but a very good friend!"

They're interrupted the arrival of Sheriff Abbott, looking for Charley.
John directs him down to the corral. "He's not in trouble is he?" asks
Elizabeth. "Afraid so," Mark answers. Elizabeth starts to head down to
the corral with him, but John tells her to stay behind, saying, "This is
a job for the sheriff!" Charley sees them coming and jumps on a horse
to get away. "Don't try it, Charley!" yells Mark, firing a shot that
clips him in the shoulder.

Charley manages to elude Sheriff Abbott near the spot where he and Elizabeth
had had their earlier conversation about "dreaming," but he's badly wounded.
The sheriff returns to Shiloh and says he had to give up the chase because
it got dark. "What's he wanted for, Mark?" John asks. "Robbery and murder,"
the sheriff answers. "He couldn't kill anyone! He couldn't! I just know it!"
Elizabeth blurts out, "Stacey, you're his friend, you should know that!"
"Yeah, well I'm not so sure any more," Stacey replies. "But Stacey!" she
protests. "I think we should leave the judging to the courts!" John says.
"You mean if it gets that far," says Stacey, "You heard the sheriff. He
said he was hurt. We don't know how bad. And if we catch up with him and
he decides to fight..."

Elizabeth has trouble sleeping that night and at dawn sees the sheriff, John,
Stacey and the Virginian heading out to continue the search. She has an idea
where Charley may be, so she heads out on her own without telling anyone.
Sure enough, she finds him by the stream where they'd had their earlier talk.
He tells her he can't go back because he'll be hanged. Elizabeth insists on
staying with him and treating his wound. He swears "by all that's holy" that
he is innocent. She takes him to an old abandoned cabin nearby to recuperate
and hide out.

Once at the cabin, he again tries to tell Elizabeth to leave. "If you're
innocent, why did you run?" she asks. He takes the newspaper clippings from
his pocket and shows her the prejudicial headlines. "They had me tried,
convicted and hung even before I had a lawyer," he says, "You want to know
why I ran? There it is." "That's terrible!" says Elizabeth, "You didn't
have a chance in a hundred!...But you can't run forever. You've got to stop
and face it sometime!" "Do you believe I'm innocent?" he asks. "Yes," she
replies, "I know you couldn't kill anyone." "That's the point," he says,
"I know it and you know it, but there isn't a chance of convincing anyone
else!" "I'll talk to Granddad," she says, "I know he'll want to help you."
"One thing's for sure. I can't go back to Portersville," he says. "They
won't send you there! Not when they know all the facts!" Elizabeth says.
"But if they do, I'm as good as dead!" says Charley, "If you're wrong and
they don't back me up somehow, I'm dead! Are you so sure?" Elizabeth
sadly shakes her head and says, "I don't know."

The posse follows the trail to the spot by the stream. The Virginian picks
up a handkerchief and says, "Dried blood. He was here." Stacey, noticing
that it's Elizabeth's handkerchief says, "So was Liz!" The trail now leads
to the cabin where Charley is preparing a getaway. "Charley, I can't help
you any more. I just can't" says Elizabeth. "I know it, Liz," Charley says,
"You're caught in the middle. I don't want you getting in any deeper.
You've done enough already. Too much!" "But how can you get away?" she
asks, "They're all out there looking for you: the sheriff, the Virginian,
everybody!" "I've got a better chance with them than with a rigged jury!"
he replies. The posse arrives at the cabin and yells for Charley to release
Elizabeth and come out with his hands up. Charley at first thinks Elizabeth
led the posse to him, but thinks better of it, saying, "I must have gone
loco. I know you'd never do me in." He tries to sneak out, but Elizabeth
stops him, saying, "Don't! Charley, don't! They'll kill you for sure!
Even if you could get clear of the cabin, you can't get far with your shoulder!"
"I know what my chances are," he says, "I've got no other choice!" "But
you do!" insists Elizabeth, "I'll help you! Granddad will help you. We'll
make sure you get a fair trial!" "You believe in fairy tales, don't you?" he
says. "No, in you!!" says Elizabeth, "Please, Charley! For me!" Charley
looks at the posse surrounding the cabin and then looks at Elizabeth. "All
right, I'm coming out!" he yells. He sends Elizabeth out first. "Don't hurt
him!" she says. "Are you all right?" Stacey asks Elizabeth. "I'm all right,"
she answers. "It's a good thing for you she is, Charley," says Stacey.

That evening, Elizabeth approaches John in the study, seeking help for Charley.
He at first scolds her for her recklessness, but then agrees to talk to him
after she shows him the newspaper clippings that already have him tried and
convicted. She points out that he could have run, but he voluntarily let
her go and that should count for something. "I think his best chance is a
possible change of venue," he says. The next day he relates this strategy
to Charley in his cell, who eagerly accepts. "I'm going to do my best to get
the change of venue. You'll have a lawyer and everything else that can
assure you of your day in court. Then, whatever the verdict, you'll have to
live with it," John says. "I'll live with it, sir!" says Charley, "I tell
you, right this second there's nobody nowhere feeling as good as I do!"
"I'm glad," says John, "Incidentally, the lawyer says that, considering the
evidence, considering the witnesses, there really isn't a very strong case
against you." Afterward, as the sheriff is locking up, Charley tells him,
"I'll tell you, sheriff, I feel like I just came from the bottom of a pit
to the top of a mountain and, if I wanted to, I could fly away!" Sheriff
Abbott replies, "Well, Charley, feeling something is just fine. Trying it
gets a man in trouble!"

Several days later Harold Bitz rides into Medicine Bow on a stagecoach.
That night he goes to Charley's cell window and calls to him. Bitz has
heard about Charley's request for a change in venue from the sheriff in
Portersville. Bitz is getting cold feet and wants his money now, but Charley
is the only one who knows where it's hidden. Charley pleads with him to
"trust him." He'll be out in a few days because he has Shiloh, "the biggest
ranch in the area," behind him. Bitz tells him he can't wait and insists
that Charley tell him where the money is hidden. A devilish look breaks
out on Charley's face as he pauses and tells him, "I'll do better than
that...I'll go with you!...That's right. You, me and the money!" "But
how are you going to get out of here?" asks Bitz. "You," says Charley,
"That's right, you! First you've gotta handle a few things. Then you're
going to bust me out of here!"

Over in the saloon the Virginian and Stacey are having a drink. Stacey is
deep in thought. "Come on, Stace. What's eatin' you?" asks the Virginian,
"Is it about Charley Ryan?...I guess a lot of folks are wondering about him."
"Put everything I know about him together and it keeps coming up the same
way. One big question mark!" Stacey says. "Well, what DO you know about him?"
asks the foreman. Stacey replies, "Pretty handy with a gun...He's got a bad
temper when it comes to answering questions about himself...I had a feeling
when he was out at the ranch, he wasn't really working. He was just working
at making it look that way...I know. It doesn't look like very much!" "No
it doesn't. You've left out one thing, too," says the Virginian, "Elizabeth.
She likes him, trusts him, believes in him." "Yeah, well, she's pretty
green, Elizabeth," says Stacey, "I guess what it boils down to is what if
Charley goes scot-free and it turns out he's guilty?" "There's another way
to look at it, you know," replies the Virginian, taking a drink, "What if he
hangs and he's innocent?"

Just then, Harold Bitz enters the saloon. He orders a drink from the bar,
turns to Stacey and the Virginian and makes a big point of introducing
himself. He gives his name as "Jack Steele," says he's from Pueblo, Colorado
and is heading back there tomorrow. "Have a nice trip!" says Stacey, totally
disinterested. "Thank you," says Bitz, "You remember. Jack Steele. If
you're ever in Pueblo, you look me up!" He finishes his drink and exits.

Bitz goes over to the sheriff's office just as Mark Abbott is locking up for
the night. At gunpoint, he orders the sheriff to release Charley. "Don't
do it, Jack!" yells Charley. The sheriff tries to resist, but Charley advises,
"Don't do it, Sheriff! He's a mean one! I know!" With his gun trained on
the sheriff, Bitz hands the keys and Mark's gun to Charley. Charley lets
himself out of the cell and watches Bitz attempt to leave via the front door.
Charley yells, "Watch out, sheriff!" pushes Mark out of the way and shoots
down the surprised Bitz. Handing the gun back to Sheriff Abbott, he says,
"I just couldn't let him shoot you in the back." "I'm grateful, Charley!"
says Mark, "Who is he?" Charley concocts a story that he knew him in Pueblo
and once did a favor for him. When "Steele" heard that Charley had been
arrested, he came around to his cell window, offering to break him out, but
Charley told him not to try, saying he was "through running." But Steele
wouldn't listen and swore "no one was going to hang me." "Now there he is,
dead!" he adds. Having heard the gunshots, the Virginian and Stacey run into
the sheriff's office. "Charley here just saved my life!" Mark tells them.

A day or so later, when things have calmed down, Sheriff Abbott tells Charley
that he wired the sheriff in Pueblo about Steele, but that nobody had heard
of him. "I told you I knew him from Pueblo. I just figured he came from there,"
Charley says. "Must have been a big favor you did for him to want to break you
out of here. Especially when you didn't want him to," says Mark. "Funny man,
Steele," replies Charley, "He'd get something in his head and just wouldn't shake
it. Just wouldn't believe the facts." They're interrupted by the arrival of
Elizabeth, who had dropped by to visit with a basket of food. She excitedly
tells him that his change of venue has come through. "What are you going to
do after the trial?" she asks. "Well, that's IF they let me go," he says.
"They will," she assures him. "Well, the first thing I'm going to do is buy you
the fanciest dinner at the hotel. Won't be as good as this, though!" he says.

Back at Shiloh, Stacey asks John for some time off so he can check on a few things.
"There's not one part of him I buy any more," Stacey says, "It just doesn't
add up. He had a chance to stay in the clear. Why'd he let his friend even try
it? On top of that, the Virginian and I talked to him. He was almost as meek
as they come. There wasn't any Jack Steele from Pueblo, either." "Who was he,
then?" asks John. "I don't know," Stacey answers, "The sheriff in Pueblo never
heard of him...Now, why would he want to make so sure we got his name and where
he was from? It didn't make sense then. It makes even less sense now. He was
sure laying it on for us!" "What would you do with the time off?" John asks.
"I thought I'd take a ride over to Portersville," says Stacey. "Well, you
might as well clear the air. Go ahead," says John. Stacey rides out and
Elizabeth returns. "Stacey's been as grouchy as an old bear since that day at
the cabin!" she complains to John. "Well, he's got a lot on his mind...
Questions that need answering," says John. "About Charley?" she asks. John
nods and Elizabeth continues, "Why can't he just leave it alone? I went to
the jail today. I saw Charley. He's happy. Making plans!" "Honey, Stacey
loves you and he's concerned about you," John says, "He just doesn't want to
see you hurt!" "The only thing that would hurt me is if Charley's punished for
something he didn't do!" Elizabeth replies.

Stacey arrives in Portersville and goes to see the sheriff. The sheriff says
that with the change in venue, it looks like Charley might get off. "He must
have all of Medicine Bow on his side now, if I know him," says the sheriff.
"Do you think he's guilty?" Stacey asks. "I said so in my deposition,"
replies the sheriff, "I've seen 'em like Charley before. Pleasant enough,
but kind of restless like there's something eating at them. Bad blood,
maybe trouble growing up. Whatever it is, it might settle right with you
and me, but it festers in them. They start figuring they've got things
coming to them and when they don't get them, they reach out and grab them.
Some get caught. Some talk their way out and some keep getting away with
it." Stacey reaches in his pocket and hands him a picture; "Ever see her
before?" "Mm-hmmm. Charlotte Rivers. Works at the saloon. Where'd you
get this?" asks the sheriff. Stacey says it was found on a man trying to
break Charley out of jail. He describes "Jack Steele" and the sheriff
tells him the description fits Harold Bitz, who, come to think of it, hasn't
been seen around town for several days.

Stacey talks to Charlotte and learns that Bitz had been to see her and had
told her that he was coming into money soon. Meanwhile, a wire comes from
Medicine Bow that the trial is over and Charley has been acquitted due to
lack of evidence and lack of positive identification. In a brief scene at
the Medicine Bow courthouse, we see Charley giving thanks all around and
telling Elizabeth, "You're the best thing that ever happened to me!"
Back in Portersville, Stacey finishes reading the wire and notes, "It says
here he left town. Sheriff, I've got an awful strong feeling that money's
gotta be around Portersville somewhere." Thinking that Charley will be
coming back to get the stolen money, Stacey asks the sheriff to show him
where they caught up to him after the robbery. Sure enough, Charley shows
up there and they find him retrieving the loot from a hollow log.

"Look, I'll make a deal!" says Charley after they surprise him with their
guns drawn. "Hand's played out, Charley," says the sheriff. "Well, you
can't take me in," Charley says, "You can't try a man twice for the same
crime. That's the law!" "I know the law, Charley," the sheriff says,
"I'm taking you in for busting my jail and killing Bitz." "I really
wanted to believe you, Charley," says Stacey, "Just like Elizabeth did.
I'm just sorry for her sake that it turned out I was right." Charley
goes for his gun, but the sheriff shoots him As he lay dying, he says to
Stacey, "I couldn't stand the money here and me not with it. I waited too
long. Stace, tell Elizabeth...tell her..." He dies before he can finish
what he was saying.

Stacey returns to Shiloh with the news of Charley's death. "Oh, Granddad!"
says Elizabeth, "I trusted him and believed in him! He couldn't have been
all bad!" John comforts Elizabeth and says, "You just be glad you saw the
good in him. You did the best you could. Remember what he said? You're
the best thing that ever happened to him!" Elizabeth nods, looks at Stacey
and walks off to be alone for a while.[rho]

Observations:
Although this episode can hardly be classified as memorable, we do get to
see how awkward it must be for Elizabeth to be growing up in such a male
-oriented environment. Stacey is certainly overly concerned that she not
get hurt and John even admits that it's been tough for her because she
hasn't had a mother around to "talk about things."

This is the second time there was a lead character named "Charley Ryan."
Leif Erickson played a character by that name in 3.10 "Return a Stranger."

Guest Star notes:
This is the third and final guest-starring appearance by former teen idol
Fabian. He can also be seen in 1.18 "Say Goodbye to All That" and
3.17 "Two Men Named Laredo." As in "Two Men Named Laredo," he delivers
a pretty good performance as a young man with a dark secret.

Dick Shane (series regular "Dick") was Fabian's stunt double in this episode.[rho]  

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Main Contributor for this episode:  Robert Henry Ohlemeyer [rho]  (July 2006)