patchwork man
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Patchwork Man Full Episode – Bonanza, Season #06, Episode #34

Season Six of Bonanza concluded on May 23, 1965, with yet another of the series’ gripping “redemption” tales. In Patchwork Man, Grant Williams, renowned for his role in the classic sci-fi film The Incredible Shrinking Man, portrays Albert “Patch” Saunders, a self-effacing loner residing in a deserted town. Taking pity on Patch, Hoss Cartwright hires him as a hand at the Ponderosa ranch. However, Hoss soon uncovers Patch’s true nature: he is a timid coward. Bruce Gordon, famous for his portrayal of “Frank Nitti” in The Untouchables, appears as Bronson, alongside Sue Randall, known for her role as “Miss Landers” in Leave It to Beaver, playing Ann. “Patchwork Man” was co-written by Don Tait and actor Walter Koenig.

Explore this episode’s intricate plot and captivating trivia, or indulge in the viewing experience below.

Watch the Full Episode of Patchwork Man

Watch the Full Episode of Patchwork Man:

Main Cast

Besides the main cast, “Patchwork Man,” the thirty-fourth episode of Bonanza Season 6 highlights various recurring and guest-supporting actors. The following are featured in the episode:

  • Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
  • Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright (credit only)
  • Dan Blocker as Eric ‘Hoss’ Cartwright
  • Michael Landon as Joseph ‘Little Joe’ Cartwright (credit only)
  • Grant Williams as Albert ‘Patch’ Saunders
  • Bruce Gordon as Dan Bronson
  • Sue Randall as Ann Fleming
  • Ray Teal as Sheriff Roy Coffee
  • Lane Bradford as Stimson
  • Grandon Rhodes as Doctor
  • Mike Ragan as Charlie
  • Russell Custer as Townsman (uncredited)
  • Ben Frommer as Townsman (uncredited)
  • Bob Hoy as Little Cowboy (uncredited)
  • Rod McGaughy as Bronson Henchman (uncredited)
  • Jack Tornek as Townsman (uncredited)

Full Story Line for Patchwork Man

Hoss develops a fondness for Patch, a solitary individual, and offers him a job as a ranch hand.

During a confrontation between the Cartwrights and a band of miners, Patch succumbs to fear, cowering in terror.

Due to a past trauma during his teenage years, Patch finds himself incapable of dealing with violence, rendering him ineffectual when such situations arise.

Full Script and Dialogue of Patchwork Man

Dad burn it.

I reckon Pa thinks I ain't
got nothing better to do

then come out here

to this dang little old
ghost town and clean bricks.

He lets Little Joe go
all the way Sacramento

and Adam clean to St. Louis.

Dad burn it.

[GROANS]

[SIGHS]




[SNIFFING]

[SIGHS]

PATCH: Come on in
and I'll cut you a slice.

Should be cool enough now.

Heh. Howdy. You,
uh, open for business?

No, I just live here.

I saw you pull in.
You after brick?

Yeah. It's fire brick.

Good fire brick is sort of
hard to find around these parts.

Yeah.

I see here you put
these to pretty good use.

Oh, yeah, I needed me an oven,

so I threw that
together as best I could.

[SNIFFS]




Oh, sit down, please,
the coffee is almost ready.

Yeah. My name's Hoss Cartwright.

Well, Patch. Just call
me Patch. Like these.

Well, dig in, Hoss.

- I'm glad to have company.
- Yeah.

Hot dog. This is what
I call real apple pie.

Well, to tell the truth,
it isn't really apple pie.

- No?
- No. It's called pan pie.

I just make do
with what's handy.

Uh, first, you put crackers around.
See, that kind of looks like apples?

And then you put
plenty of cream of tartar,

give it the apple taste.

Then, of course, some, uh,
salt, cinnamon, sugar, shortening.

You make a crust,
put it in the oven...

I'll take your word for
it. You a regular cook.

I guess I'm a
little of everything.

Uh, wheelwright, carpenter,
ironsmith, harness maker.

Mostly though, I just
pan out slag heaps

around old shut-down mines.

That's why I'm
here in Rockerville.

Sort of funny. A fellow who's as
good at as many things as you are...

I mean, panning slag is
sort of aimless, ain't it?

It's sort of lonesome
too, ain't it?

Oh, I don't mind.

Life is kind of aimless
and lonely anyway,

no matter where you are.

You know, a fellow
as talented as you are

would make a good permanent
hand on the Ponderosa.

[CHUCKLES]

I don't know about that. I
never stay in one place too long.

Yeah, but you'd like
it at the Ponderosa.

No, Hoss.

You wouldn't want
the likes of me around.

How come?

Because I'm not
worth a plugged nickel.

Oh.

Patch, there ain't no use
in running yourself down

just because things ain't
going so hot for you right now.

My pa would be mighty happy

to have a man like
you on the Ponderosa.

Maybe I could do
a couple of things.

Say, uh, maybe I could help
you get that new mine started.

Mine? We don't do no
mining on the Ponderosa.

That's funny.

I only saw it from a
distance the other morning

when I cut across the flats,

but it sure looked like
a mine setup to me.

Hmm, reckon a couple of
prospectors got out there,

couldn't read
signs or something.

Oh.

We'll go over after a while
and shoo them off, huh?

What if they won't shoo?

Well, we'll just give them
a little nudge, then, heh.

Hey, uh, how come we
don't eat the rest of that pie?

I mean, if we're gonna
be going in a minute.

There ain't no use in
packing something like that

that we can eat, huh?

Oh. Oh, sure, Hoss,
here, help yourself.

All you want.

Whoa.

- What are you doing here?
- What does it look like?

Well, your sign
says it's mining,

but it looks more like
you're fixing to put out a fire.

It's hydraulic mining, tubby.

We wash it out with
high-pressure water.

- Are you Bronson?
- Bronson's office is in town.

I do the talking here.

Well, you're going to do
a little listening right now.

I know about hydraulic mining

and you ain't gonna wash
nothing out of nothing around here.

This is Cartwright property.

MAN 1: Now, maybe
it is and maybe it isn't.

Mr. Bronson wouldn't do anything
unless it was legal and proper,

so why don't you talk to him?

I'm talking to you.

And I'm telling you
to get this gear packed

and get out of here right now.

Hoss.

Hoss, they probably mean well.

Maybe it's just some
misunderstanding, huh?

You're doggone right a
misunderstanding. On their part.

Now, you quit interfering.

But these fellows just
seem to be obeying orders.

Once you talk to this Mr. Bronson,
maybe it will all be straightened out.

Maybe you got
something, at that.

Giddyup.

Whoa.

Howdy, fellows.
Charlie, you seen my pa?

Yeah, he, uh, left about a half
hour ago, headed for the hotel.

Thanks. See you
in a minute, Patch.

[LAUGHING]

Hey, boys, get a load of the
clothes on this dude, will you?

Look at them clothes
and those colors in there.

Patches. Reds,
blues, greens, yellows.

What kind of a man would
wear clothes like that?

Hey, Hoss, you're going to have to
start paying off your hands in money

instead of old clothes.

[LAUGHING]

[BOTH MEN LAUGHING]

I've been looking
for a fellow like him,

scare the crows
out of my cornfield.

[BOTH LAUGH]

Come on, Patch, we'll
take care of you first.

Did you get that?

ANN: Good morning, Hoss.

Good morning, Miss Ann.

Miss Ann, I'd like you to
meet a friend of mine, Patch.

Patch, this is...

This is Ann Fleming.

I'm pleased to meet
you, Miss Fleming.

How do you do?

Patch is going to be
working for us, Miss Ann.

He's gonna need
some new clothes.

So if you'll just put
them on our account.

Oh, Hoss. Maybe you better wait
and see how things work out, huh?

I'll be back here as soon as I can
find Pa. I want you to meet him too.

Uh, Patch, you might as well
wear your new duds on home.

All right, Hoss. Thanks.

And I sure hope you
won't regret all this.

Well, now then, Mr., uh...

What's your real name?

Oh.

I answer to most anything.
"Patch," or "Hey, you."

Even a good loud
whistle will do.

Well, do you want to start
with the boots and work up?

Or the hats and work down?

HOSS: Hey, Pa.

- Anything wrong?
- I'll say there's something wrong.

There's a wildcat mining
outfit putting in a hydraulic unit

out there on that east
section by Rockerville.

- Who told you that?
- I saw it.

Don't they know they're
on the Ponderosa?

Yeah, I reckon they do,

but it didn't seem to
cut nothing with them.

The foreman, or
whatever he was, told me

that they had legal
right to be there.

Oh, he did?

- What's the name of that outfit?
- It's a new outfit, just moved into town.

Bronson Mining Company,
according to the sign right over there.

Oh.

Hoss, get over to the
land and abstract office

and get me a copy of the
cleared title of that piece of land.

- Meet me in there.
- Be right back.

- I'm Ben Cartwright.
- Pleasure.

I've heard the name,
of course. Dan Bronson.

My son tells me that you've
started a hydraulic mining operation

on the Ponderosa.

Bronson's 7 is out that way,

but I think you'll find that
it's situated on public land.

I bought that land from
Sam Hendricks 20 years ago.

Maybe it wasn't his to sell.

Hendricks homesteaded that land
when the territory first opened up.

He proved up on it and lived
on it until he sold out to me.

Well, apparently he neglected
to apply for a patent on his land.

Some of those old-timers
were pretty careless about titles.

Well, uh, I think Hendricks'
ownership is a matter of record, I saw it.

Did you see the
title, Mr. Cartwright?

Produce the title, I'd be most
happy to vacate the premises.

Meanwhile, of course, I'll have to
proceed with my operations out there.

Don't try it.

Violence isn't the
solution, Mr. Cartwright.

Roy, I've just come from
that Bronson Mining office...

I know, Ben. I just
heard about it myself.

Bronson Mining has set up a
hydraulic operation on your land.

- You bet they have.
- Wait a minute.

Before we go
further, don't you think

you better check the record
to make sure it is your land?

Roy, you know that's my land.
What are you talking about?

If there's something going
on here I ought to know about,

- you better tell me, Roy.
- Ben, you're not the first one.

There was a couple
of small ranchers

that yelled to high heaven
when Bronson moved in on them.

But they couldn't prove their
title, leastways not locally,

and as much as I hated to do it,

I had to back Bronson
to prevent gunplay.

So that's why I say,
let's go to the record.

- Where's that title?
- There ain't one.

There's a record of our
purchase of that property,

but there ain't no
record of Hendricks' title.

I've seen what that hydraulic
mining can do, so have you.

Tears trees out by the roots,

gouges deep scars
into good pastureland,

covers rich topsoil
with rocks and boulders.

Well, Roy, it's not gonna
happen to the Ponderosa,

- and I'm telling you that right now.
- You know that I'm with you,

but right now he's got the law on
his side because in this territory,

mining claims take
precedence on all land,

unless they're held by
the United States Patent.

That's not public land,
Roy, and you know it.

I don't know any
such of a thing, Ben.

I believe that is your land, but
you don't have the proof of that.

And that's why I say... And I'm
just gonna say it this one time.

Ben, keep it legal.

DAN: Mr. Cartwright,
I have a suggestion.

I expect to net upwards of
$50,000 from this mining operation.

I'd be happy to relinquish my
claim if you can match that figure.

Mining operation?
Blackmail scheme.

That's pretty strong
language, Mr. Cartwright.

I hope you don't
mean to repeat it.

I'm well able to protect myself.

How many men did
you say were out there?

Well, I, uh, saw three.

They were all armed and they
sure didn't look like no miners to me.

I sure wish Adam and Little
Joe were here. We'd be four of us.

There is three of us now, Pa. I
hired a new man this morning.

- Huh?
- Lucky I run into him too, I guess.

Very talented fellow and he...

[LAUGHING]

Come on, boys. Let's
give old Patch a real bit of...

Hey, stop it. Give me my hat!

[MEN SHOUTING]

Stop that! Leave him alone,
do you hear me? Stop it.

- My new hat, please.
CHARLIE: Let me have it.

Please.

[GASPS]

No, don't shoot! Don't!

This ain't none of
your affair, Hoss.

Patch here works for the Ponderosa.
That makes it some of my affair.

- Besides that, he's a friend of mine.
- Hoss.

Hoss, it's all right. They didn't
mean it. They were just funning.

Yeah? Well, I
just joined the fun.

Charlie, you just
bought yourself a hat.

You hear that, ma'am?
Put that on his bill.

Now, ain't you fellows
got something better to do?

Oh, thank you, Miss
Fleming, thank you.

I...

- Pa.
- Hoss.

Want you to meet Patch
here. He's our new hand.

- Sure pleased to meet you, sir.
- Patch.

They were just having fun.

Hoss, we better get going. I
want to get to the mine site,

see what's going on there. Yeah.

You better come along with
us, Patch. I'll get my horse.

Right. Come on, Patch.
We'll get you a hat later.

HOSS: Whoa.

Whoa.

I wonder how they could have
got all that equipment in here

without us knowing about it.

I don't know, but we probably
never would have known about it

if old Patch here
hadn't told me.

Better take a closer look at it.

Here. You may need that.

Tsk. Tsk.

Giddyup.

HOSS: Whoa, whoa.

Anybody here?

I'm here. We're all here.

All around you.

[CLICKS]

Look out. He's going to shoot.

[HORSE NEIGHS]

[MEN YELLING]

Patch. Get him.

Patch.

Hold it. Hold your fire.

Ben, I ought to run
you in for armed assault.

I warned you to let
the law handle this.

Law? He's using the
law as a license to steal.

Besides, we didn't
start this fight.

Then how did it start?

Well,

almost by chance, you might say.

You men get back to work.

I expect to be operating
here within the week.

Ben, I want your word that
you won't come back here.

Until we get a
legal ruling on this.

All right.

I'm certain we can
work something out

to our mutual
satisfaction, Mr. Cartwright.

My former offer
still holds good.

Try not to move that for a while
and I'm sure it will heal nicely.

I'll drop by tomorrow. You
were mighty lucky, Ben.

Couple of inches over and you
would have been in real trouble.

[SIGHS]

Well, I'll be going.

- I'll walk you to the door, doc.
- Thank you.

- Good night, Ben.
- Thank you, doctor.

Come back and see us, doc.

[SIGHS]

Well, Pa, I don't want you
worrying about things around here.

I'll take care of the ranch. You
just take it easy and get well.

I don't know how you're
going to take care of a ranch

if you're gonna pick up
ranch hands like that Patch.

Tsk, yeah.

Seems to me, a man is
willing to work for a ranch,

- he ought to be willing to fight for it.
- I reckon so.

But doggone it, Pa,
it wasn't Patch's fight.

I can sort of understand it.

I don't blame him
much for what he done.

It seems to me, it wasn't
your fight either, earlier today,

and you dealt yourself in.

Yeah.

See, I sort of talked
him into coming with me.

He didn't want to
in the first place.

I reckon the best thing to do

is take him back to
Rockerville where I found him.

People living up there again?

No, just him.

It's a ghost town like Rhyolite,
Persimmonville, Genoa.

Genoa, heh.

You know, that's where I went
up to see old man Hendricks.

He was doing some mining up
there in Genoa just before he died.

When I went up to buy
that piece of land from him

- that Bronson is mining on now.
- Yeah?

Yeah. You know, they tried to
make that the county seat once.

- Is that right?
- Yeah.

- I didn't know that.
- Yeah. One night a bunch of fellows,

they broke into, uh, the
town hall in Virginia City,

took out a whole bunch of
papers and took them up to Genoa

trying to force them to
make that the county seat.

Hey, Pa.

You don't reckon that the
record of old man Hendricks' title

might be up there in Genoa
with those other papers?

Oh, no. An old ghost town,
everything's tumbled down.

Uh...

Wouldn't hurt to ride up there
to find out though, would it?

You're doggone right.

I'm gonna do that first
thing in the morning,

right after I talk with Patch.

Yeah. Hoss?

- You do agree with me...?
- Oh, yeah, I agree, Pa.

I got us on this hook, I'll get us off.
He's out there in the tack room now.

Patch.

- Patch. PATCH: Ah.

- Patch. PATCH: No. Don't shoot.

Pete. Pete.

Shorty, look out. Look out, Red.

Don't. Don't kill
me. Don't kill me.

- Don't kill me.
- Patch, Patch, wake up.

No, don't...!

It's me. It's me, Hoss, Patch.

You must have been having
a nightmare or something.

Who were them fellows
you was talking about?

Red and Pete and them?

I don't know.

Nobody. Nobody.
I just dozed off.

Well, I better clean up
here and go to bed proper.

I gotta get up early now that
I'm working for the Ponderosa.

Patch.

[SIGHS]

We... Pa and me were talking
back there at the house...

And you decided
I better move on?

Well, Pa just don't feel that we
can take on another hand right now.

Maybe when the fall...

It's because of what
I did this afternoon,

or didn't do, isn't it?

Oh, don't take on, Hoss. It ain't
the first time this has happened.

Doggone it, Patch. I don't
understand why you do it.

How come you let those
fellows hoorah you around

in the street like that?

And then this afternoon
when Pa got in trouble?

How come you want
to do things like that?

Because I'm a coward.

Everybody gets scared
every once in a while,

but they don't huddle up like a rabbit,
wait for the wildcat to strike them,

like it was something natural.

There's a difference between
being scared and being a coward.

I heard your Pa calling

and I knew I should help
him but I couldn't move.

I just couldn't move
any part of me.

It was like I was stuck to the
ground. Can you understand that?

You know, I warned
you when we first met

you wouldn't want
the likes of me around.

I'll get my gear and leave.

You don't want to be saddled
with me any more than you have to.

Oh, well, uh...

I'll stop by that store in town,

pick up my old clothes,
give them back the new duds.

They're almost like new.

No, I don't want you to do that.

Keep the new ones as
a personal gift from me.

There ain't no big rush
about you leaving neither.

I'm gonna be going into
town in the morning anyhow,

and you can just
ride in with me.

Now that's settled. I'll
see you in the morning.

- Good night, Hoss.
- Good night, Patch.

No more nightmares, you hear?

[DOOR CLOSES]

No more nightmares.

I'll leave your mount at
the livery stable, Hoss.

Well, there ain't
no need in that.

I'll be passing through Rockerville
on my way back from Genoa.

- I can pick her up there.
- Genoa?

What are you going there for?

Well, Pa thinks maybe that the
records for the sale of that east section

might be over there.

I'll tell you, since
we're in town,

you're going to probably
want to pick up some supplies.

Oh, no, thanks, Hoss,
I don't need a thing.

Well, sure, you did a day's
work, you get a day's pay.

- It's yours, take it.
- All right. Thank you.

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

I wonder if I might see you
both in the store for a minute?

Sure.

I...

I found this in your old clothes
when I was throwing them away.

You might as well
show it to Hoss.

It's not a secret
anymore, Mr. Saunders.

"Plainville, Kansas.
Three youths slain.

Red Lindel, 17, Pete Saunders,
18, and Edwin "Shorty" Barnes, 18,

were killed last night in
bloody and unwarranted gunplay

they provoked when
they rode into Plainville

bent on taking the law
into their own hands.

Sixteen-year-old Albert
Saunders miraculously escaped

the fusillade of bullets
that rent the night."

Your, uh...

Your real name is Albert Saunders,
ain't it? You were there that night.

I've never really
gotten away from there.

That scene has been with me
every hour of my life since then,

awake or sleeping.

Why don't you tell
us what happened?

There were five of us,

all young hellions
sprouting our oats,

doing men's work,
thinking we were men.

Well, this Friday
night, Dick Turpin...

He was about my best friend.

He got into a
poker game in town.

Dick was cleaning everybody.

Then this one man, he...

A guy who had lost a lot of
money, he called Dick for cheating.

Well, he kept after
him, pressing him,

until finally Dick
had to go for his gun.

Dick used to think
he was pretty fast,

but this man killed him
before he got off a shot.

Well, no one did
a thing about it.

Not a thing.

So we came back that
night to even things up.

[GUN FIRE]

Yeah, but they were
waiting for us on the roofs,

behind barricades on the street.

We never even got off our
horses, we were shot off.

I saw my brother, Pete... He
was dead before he hit the ground.

And Red and Shorty lying
in the mud, not moving.

My horse reared, and
that's what saved me.

So I slid behind
this horse trough,

but you know, they
kept shooting at me.

I didn't want to get killed
like my brother, Pete,

so I started yelling and I
kept on yelling, I couldn't stop.

They told me
afterwards I kept that up,

yelling on and off for two days.

I remember the doctor saying
it was some kind of shock,

that it would wear
off in time, but...

Well, that was more
than 12 years ago.

What a horrible
thing for a boy to see.

Yeah.

You know, I wasn't
even scratched that night,

but somehow they blasted
the backbone clean out of me

and I've been a coward ever
since. Afraid to fight, afraid to get hurt.

You know, I can look up and
see some man walking toward me

and I get cold all over
for no reason at all.

And then I break out in a
sweat. And sometimes...

Oh, sometimes, I wish I'd been killed
back there with Pete and the others.

You quit talking like that.

You got a lot of good
living ahead of you yet.

You just got to get
ahold of yourself.

What, do you think I
want to be like this?

Just smiling at everybody all the
time, but really afraid of their guns?

Do you think I want to be a
buffoon in front of a lady like her?

You're not a buffoon.

And firing a gun at somebody
doesn't make a man.

That's right.

You're a good woman. Thank you.

Patch.

I'll talk to you some
more about this.

Right now, I got to
get on over to Genoa.

We'll discuss it
later, you hear?

What do you suppose
he's up to at this hour?

Nothing. He's too
dumb to know anything.

Oh, he's big, but he's not
dumb, don't you ever forget that.

I've been following the two of
them since they left the ranch.

He just ordered supplies.

Saw him talking to
the girl from the store.

He probably said
goodbye to the new hand

after seeing him
in action yesterday.

You want me to go follow him?

There are easier ways. Come on.

[PATCH GROANING]

PATCH: Oh, please
let me go, please.

MAN 1: As soon as you tell us

what the Cartwrights are up to.

PATCH: I don't
know. I don't know.

- Maybe he doesn't.
- I think he does.

He and Cartwright were
thick as thieves this morning.

No Cartwright is worth this.

- Why hold out any longer?
- I don't know where he is.

I don't know.

[PATCH MOANING AND WHIMPERING]

- Please. He's my friend.
- All right, let him down.

[GASPING AND GRUNTING]

Oh, thank you. Thank you,
Mr. Bronson. Thank you.

[CLICKS AND FIRE]

No, no, no.

Don't shoot me.
Don't hurt me. Don't.

Don't hurt me. Don't.
No, no, no, don't, don't.

[PANTING]

[LAUGHING MANIACALLY]

Anything come
back to you, Patch?

[CLICKS]

He went to Genoa
to get some records.

There ain't a thing
in that ghost town.

They wouldn't go all
that way for nothing.

They're after proof
of Hendricks' title.

We'd better make sure
he don't come back.

Patch, did your friend tell
you what trail he'd be taking?

I don't know.

Did he say he planned on
coming back through Rockerville?

Uh-huh.

[COUGHING]

[KNOCKS ON DOOR]

[GASPING]

[WIND WHISTLING]

[DOOR KNOB CLICKS]

Howdy, partner. I didn't
mean to spook you.

Hello, Hoss.

Man, I don't care
how you slice it.

That pie still smells
mighty like apple pie to me.

Sure did have a long, lean ride.

Well, sit down, Hoss.
We'll have some pie.

Doggone, I didn't think
you was going to ever ask.

Been waiting for you.

That pie is about the
best-looking thing I've run across,

except this ledger
I found in Genoa.

I got the proof right
there that's gonna fix it

so we can run that Bronson
bunch plumb out of the territory.

What's the matter?

Don't tell me Charlie and
them been picking on you again.

No, no, that, uh, horse of
yours shied coming over the ridge

and dumped me on a
pile of rocks. I'm okay, heh.

I did me a little thinking
while I was out there riding.

I come up with a
dandy idea for you.

We've been needing a
wheelwright shop in Virginia City

for a long time.

And there's a
great spot for one.

Talk more about it after I
get this ledger to Roy Coffee.

Come on, eat, buddy.

This is a celebration,
not the Last Supper.

Mm, mm.

[WOOD RATTLES]

That was just a shutter. Wind's
blowing up a storm out there.

Hoss, I'm going
to get some wood.

- Oh, wait a minute. I'll help you.
- No, no, you stay here.

You enjoy your pie.

Hoss.

Hoss, you've been
good to me. Too good.

Aw.

Friends just help
one another, that's all.

I ain't worth it,
Hoss. I told you.

You shouldn't have had
anything to do with me, ever.

I got him.

[GRUNTS]

Get him. Get him.

Keep firing, boys.
Get him out of there.

[GUNFIRE CONTINUES]

Patch. Patch.

They got me pinned
down in a cross fire.

You're going to have
to help me, Patch.

[GUNFIRE CONTINUES]

[GUN CLICKS]

ANN: And firing a gun at
somebody doesn't make a man.

[GROANS]

Hoss. Hoss!

Hoss. You all right?

[PANTING]

Yeah.

Well, we did them in,
partner, thanks to you.

Hey, what's that?

[CHUCKLES]

I'd forgotten about
it. It doesn't hurt.

It doesn't even hurt.

Yeah, well, it will later on,

but you're going to feel so
doggone good elsewhere

that you won't even notice it.

Thanks for helping me,
Patch. I knew you would.

I don't know what
made me able to do it.

Yes, I do. I heard you calling.

And I knew if I didn't help you,
I'd hear you the rest of my life.

Nah.

You just saw somebody in trouble
and decided to help them, that's all.

I'll tell you this, if it hadn't been for
you, partner, I never would have made it.

If it hadn't been for you,
Hoss, I'd never have made it.

I'll put this
ledger in the safe.

It's been recorded and notarized
and signed by three witnesses,

so the next time some claim
jumper tries to move in on that land...

- You tell me and I'll run them off.
- Thanks, Roy.

You know, Hoss, the
only thing we need in there

is a forge to sweat our rims.

We got plenty of hardwood
out on the Ponderosa.

Hi, Pa.

- Patch.
- Mr. Cartwright.

- Patch. A couple of...
- Pa, it ain't Patch.

It's Albert Saunders.

Yeah, you're perfectly right.
I forgot about that, Hoss.

Mr. Saunders, I've been
looking over our place,

and I believe we could use the
services of a man who does brickwork.

Pa, it's a good
idea, but see, AI's,

AI's going into business
for himself, a wheelwright.

As a matter of fact, I'm kind of
going in with him, as a financier.

[CHUCKLES]

Mind you, I'll just
be a financier.

Still have plenty of time for
my chores at the Ponderosa.

Well, by golly, I'm
glad to hear that.

- Well, congratulations. Good luck.
- Thank you, sir.

[CHUCKLES]

I reckon, Al, that the first
thing you'll be wanting to do

is pick up a few things over
there at the mercantile store, huh?

I'll, uh, tend to
that later, Hoss.

- Uh, let me get your horses.
- Al.

You know, sometimes it's
harder trying to buy a new hat

than it is facing up to a
man with a cocked .44.

Ain't it?

Yeah.

Uh-oh.

Miss Fleming, ma'am,
I'd like to buy a hat.

Hoss, I think you've made
yourself a good investment.

Son, I'm proud of you.

You're getting to be
a good judge of men.

- How about a beer?
- Hey, yeah, Pa.

Uh, I hope you've got
the money, Mr. Financier.

Behind the Scenes of Patchwork Man

The final episode featured Pernell Roberts in Bonanza before he departed from the cast.

Tumbleweeds scatter across the deserted town. The show is set in the 1860s—’70s, when tumbleweeds were introduced to the United States from Russia.

Looking for More Bonanza Episodes?

Bonanza offers wholesome entertainment suitable for solo viewing or family gatherings. Patchwork Man marks the 202nd episode out of 430. Bonanza, produced by NBC, graced the network’s lineup from September 1959 to January 1973, enjoying a remarkable run of 14 seasons.

You can find more about any of the 430 Bonanza episodes here>>

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