the abduction
Bonanza Western TV
The Lone Writer  

The Abduction Full Episode – Bonanza, Season #02, Episode #08

The legendary Western show Bonanza kept its viewers tuned in weekly through its action-packed stories mixed with great morals and occasional laughter. Herman Groves wrote the program’s fortieth episode, The Abduction, which made its television debut on October 29, 1960. 

Joe and Hoss Cartwright find themselves in a perplexing mystery while attending a garish carnival with their girlfriends when Joe’s sweetheart (Jackie Russell) mysteriously vanishes. Determined to find her girl and unravel the secret behind her disappearance, Joe enters the strange and secret world of the “carnies.” Displeased with his intrusion, this group of people stops at nothing to block his way. 

Gerald Mohr appears as the evil owner of the carnival, and Theo Marcuse, a dependable TV series actor, joins the cast. 

Read the storyline and the episode’s interesting trivia, or watch it below.

Watch the Full Episode of The Abduction

Watch the Full Episode of The Abduction:

Main Cast

The Abduction, Bonanza’s eighth episode for its second season, stars a few of the show’s special guests, recurring and supporting actors in addition to the lead cast.

  • Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
  • Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright
  • Dan Blocker as Eric ‘Hoss’ Cartwright
  • Michael Landon as Joseph ‘Little Joe’ Cartwright
  • Gerald Mohr as Phil Reed
  • Barbara Lawrence as Della Thompson
  • Jackie Russell as Jennifer Beale
  • Theodore Marcuse as Roudin the Great Mystic
  • Jerry Oddo as Gerner
  • Bob Hopkins as Carnival Announcer
  • Laurie Mitchell as Harriet
  • Stafford Repp as Sheriff Brady
  • Robert ‘Big Buck’ Maffei as Hercules (as Robert Maffei)
  • Mary Orozco as Daisy the Fat Lady
  • Sam Bagley as Roustabout (uncredited)
  • John Barton as Carnival Attendee (uncredited)
  • Bill Clark as Carnie Thug #1 (uncredited)
  • Joe Garcia as Vendor (uncredited)
  • John George as Roustabout (uncredited)
  • Chester Hayes as Carnival Attendee (uncredited)
  • Eddie Hice as Carnival Attendee (uncredited)
  • Walter Lawrence as Roustabout (uncredited)
  • Martha Manor as Carnival Attendee (uncredited)
  • Maurice Marks as Carnival Attendee (uncredited)
  • Rex Moore as Roustabout (uncredited)
  • Al Roberts as Carnival Attendee (uncredited)
  • Cosmo Sardo as Ticket Seller (uncredited)
  • Jack Tornek as Carnival Attendee (uncredited)

Full Story Line for The Abduction

Hoss and Joe take their beloved ladies to a colorful carnival to enjoy the day.

At one point, Jennifer Beale, Joe’s girlfriend, caught one of the carnival workers’ attention. The carnival owner, Phil Reed, recognized her as Joshua Beale’s daughter. He tells Gerner, the mentioned employee, that he can only dream of her.

Jennifer volunteers at Roudin the Mystic’s magical show, thinking it will be a fun experience. Backstage, she meets Phil and develops an interest in him. Phil’s sweetheart, Della Thompson, could only watch their conversation from across the room.

Books Worth Reading:

Later, Hoss, Joe, and the two ladies attend another show. However, while the three are enjoying the act, Jennifer disappears from her seat. Phil finds Jennifer roaming around the carnival, looking for him. He invites Jennifer to his wagon. Della sees them and goes back to her tent, upset.

Gerner tells Phil about his plan to abduct Jennifer for one million dollars from Joshua Beale, the wealthiest man in Comstock. He encourages Phil to help him, guaranteeing that her father will pay the ransom to ensure her safe return. The initially hesitant Phil agrees, so they tie and hide Jennifer in Reed’s quarters.

Joe meets Della upon searching for Jennifer. He tells her that one of the reasons why someone might take her is that she’s the daughter of the wealthiest man in Comstock. Della offers to find Jennifer for Joe. Upon leaving, several carnival workers enter, beating Joe under Gerner’s orders.

Suspicious of her lover and envious of Jennifer, Della confronts Phil about her whereabouts. Phil initially denies her hunch but later reveals he has Jennifer after Della brought up knowing about Jennifer’s father and their motive for holding her hostage.

Della informs Joe about her suspicions about Jennifer’s disappearance. Before she can say more about the situation, Gerner discreetly shoots her in the back using Joe’s gun, leading to her death. The gunshot draws the attention of Hoss and the carnival people, who accuse Joe of killing Della.

Books Worth Reading:

Reed summons Sheriff Brady to the scene, and Joe explains that Della died because she was helping him find Jennifer. Brady believes Jennifer’s disappearance was no different from the ones he had before. However, determined to find her lover, Joe flees from the scene, and the party organizes a search to capture Joe for the murder of Della.

Rodin the Mystic helps Joe, believing he didn’t kill his close friend, Della. Hercules arrives to kill Joe, thinking he killed Della. Roudin believes making Hercules an ally would be great, mainly because he loves Della and hates Reed.

Joe travels deep into the carnival’s bowels to find Jennifer. They encounter intense resistance from the carnival people, who devise various ways to stop them from finding even a trace of her. Joe’s hiding leads him to Reed’s quarter. However, Gerner piled several pieces of clothing on Jennifer, causing Joe to fail to find her.

Roudin, Hercules, and Hoss meet up outside of town. However, out of rage, Hercules attacks Joe, and all three stop him. Rodin tells him that Joe didn’t kill Joe, implying that someone else killed her. He reminds Hercules how Phil often makes Della upset, and Reed is the key to finding the truth.

Together, the four turn the tables on Reed and Gerner. Phil reveals that Gerner killed Della, including Gerner’s idea of kidnapping Jennifer for the ransom money. Gerner throws a knife at Phil, which kills him later. Rodin talks to Daisy to reveal where Jennifer is, but Gerner threatens her with a knife from behind. Joe attacks Gerner, and Roudin tells Daisy about Phil’s death.

Books Worth Reading:

Joe finds Jennifer tied up in Reed’s quarters.

With Phil dead, Roudin manages the carnival, and Hoss and Joe wish him the best of luck.

Full Script and Dialogue of The Abduction

[Music]

no it's different it's all alive on the

inside step right up people there we go

it's new it's different it's all alive

see the fabulous little egypt

who once danced for the queen of england

little egypt the shimmy dancer now in

all confidence folks for those of you

who've never seen the female figure in

delicious movement from head to toe

you can see it here for only 25 cents

one quarter of a dollar

on the inside

i'll eat this sweetness dead gum thing

you ever seen

virginia city's really come of age now

that the carnival circuit has hit it

oh i can't stand and look at him

supposedly you wouldn't miss oh yeah

well you don't look very scared jennifer

what said to be scared of

i'd give anything in the world to change

places with that girl up there

well adam i guess you and i better get

on our way we've been here longer than

we planned

harriet jennifer good night

joe you promised mr beale faithfully to

get the girls home by 10 o'clock tonight

right

mr carter please do you have to remind

me

don't worry paul keep an eye on him good

sure but who's going to keep an eye on

him

25 cents a quarter of a dollar the most

delectable package

you're going to see this charming little

lady move every muscle in her body

[Music]

so

[Music]

so

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

good night girls good night boss joe

good night

good night

[Music]

it's just a beating snack burn thing you

ever seen joe well you're just not

kidding

are you getting anything special gurner

that girl the redhead

she looks familiar hey you're right

we'll take you in first

how about the mystic tent like to have

my fortune tell all right that's what

i'd like to hear about wouldn't you

harriet well not if it's any bad news i

wouldn't

she's been plastered all over the front

pages of the san francisco paper for the

past couple of months

that's joshua beale's daughter joshua

beale

the silver king he's one of the richest

men in the world

stop dreaming gurner before the big show

begins the most electrifying

act ever to appear on the midway west of

the mississippi

just once in my life i'd like to get my

hands on some real money

more money than we'll ever see guys

hey horse are you going to let this guy

read your future i don't know i might

just take him on

ever since that old pirate squad read my

palm and told me i was going to be

taking that long trip i i've been

plumbing off my feedback i can't eat but

five or six meals

[Music]

hey

now if one of you will give to my

assistant

some personal objective

don't be afraid ladies and gentlemen

nothing will happen to it

if you please some personal object

are you ready mr wizard i

am ready then can you tell me what i'm

holding in my hand

i see a round object

of precious metal i hear a strange sound

very strange sound i believe it is

a gold pocket watch

joe how do you write when he does that

it's the heck out of me you think of

some sort of trick

of course it's a trick how do you know

well i just

silence and now

i will bring to you one of the most

astounding

disappearance acts in the annals of all

magic

and tonight just to prove to you that

this is truly

an outstanding and remarkable feat

instead of using my regular assistant

i shall ask one of you to assist me

is there a young lady in the audience

who would like to disappear for a few

minutes

i assure you it's a thrill that you have

never realized before

i'd like to try yeah you know what your

paul said about leaving little joe's

site

he didn't say anything about this and

besides this will be fun

but if if you disappear that's going to

be leaving his side ain't it

jennifer sit down everybody's looking at

you

hey joe don't you think you're gonna

stop her i'm gonna let it go ahead

it's just a trick

it seems a shame to make such a pretty

young lady disappear

don't worry young man i'll have her back

to you soon enough

now see you ladies and gentlemen that

this is an ordinary wardrobe

young lady

[Music]

[Music]

where am i backstage

and i open it

why she was doing things like that like

the time she ran off to san francisco

i kind of like it show she's got a lot

of spunk the young lady will reappear

when the mystic spirits are willing and

now ladies and gentlemen

while that beautiful young lady is out

there floating around in space

i offer you for two bits a quarter part

of a dollar

this elixir of life no young ladies

since you were kind enough to join our

act i hope you'll be discreet enough to

keep our secret

i'm phil reed owner of the show oh i

won't tell

but i must say i certainly expected much

more than a back door and a trunk

hmm i guess that magic is pretty simple

huh

you know the most fascinating place i've

ever seen

i uh i think you better get back in the

trunk it won't take long before he sells

all the snake oil

even when you know the tricks there's

such a strange atmosphere

such an air of excitement about it all

it's a living

oh i'm sure it's much more than that

much more

i think you better get back to your

friends huh please mr reed

i can get away from my friends now look

if you're not in that box when he opens

it the whole act is gonna be ruined

isn't there any way i can change your

mind mr reed

aren't you afraid of what could happen

to you in a circus side show alone

afraid mr reed

i'm not afraid of anything i'll bet

you're not

[Music]

and now ladies and gentlemen i think

that the beautiful young lady

who has been so far away from us they

have returned

hey where'd you go off to far far away

no really it's all the way behind that

curtain over there well jennifer aren't

you going to tell us about it

maybe someday and that's only the

beginning folks

only the beginning i want to call your

attention to one of the most sensational

acts ever presented west of the

mississippi

in just a few moments directly next door

we're going to present

that 350 pound strong man hercules just

follow me right this way

the greatest act of his kind ever

presented on our midway

right this way you'll love it it's the

most sensational outstanding act

and now ladies and gentlemen hercules is

going to bend this solid one-inch iron

bar

like it was made out of this sawdust on

the floor

[Music]

hercules

how about that oh

hey would you like to uh

examine that bar sir to see that it's

genuine

thank you

would you like to examine this sir try

that right in there sir

ladies and gentlemen and i what are you

smart alligators

ladies and gentlemen if there's anybody

in the audience who doubts the genuine

strength of hercules

or thinks that this is some form of

trickery hercules

is now ready to match his strength

against any two men in the audience

and furthermore we're prepared to offer

50 bucks 50

to any man or woman who can force

hercules

across this white line within the time

limit of one minute

do we have any takers huh what about you

two stalwart young gentlemen down there

i'm with the two beautiful young ladies

huh

us yeah you two come on up boys and show

the girls how strong you are

go on little joe you're not afraid to at

least try

are you why he's bigger than anything

would you like to try your luck come on

house i think we can take him yo

let's go

all right gentlemen the time limit is

one minute remember to pull hercules

across this white line

are you ready go

and now there ladies and gentlemen is

the greatest advertisement in the world

for our elixir of life would you believe

it folks at one time

this poor boy was only a 74 pound weekly

but after 90 days and 90 nights

hercules taking this elixir of life

today look at the results

355 pounds of solid blubber per muscle

there he is folks hercules one time the

74 pound weaklings

come on

hey hercules is the winner hercule's the

winner now

thank you very much gentlemen thank you

let's keep moving it along folks keep it

moving along some wonderful shows out on

the midway

see the sword swallower and the fire

eater who swallows that fold right now

janice they're waiting

out of the she's gone did you see her

leave i was watching the stage

why is she always doing things like this

well it's probably just her idea of some

kind of a joke

we gotta find her oh we're gonna find

her and when we find her i'm gonna hug

tire for the rest of the evening

come on come on let's go let's find out

where she could be

you didn't do so good tonight out there

dilla

don't start an argument with me phil not

tonight i'm tired i'm talking about the

good of the show

those robes pay their money to see you

give a performance

how long do i have to keep on doing this

you told me a year ago we could get

married i could get out of the act and

help you run the show next time you go

on you give them their money's worth

another argument oh no not really

just that i know him so well he saw a

pretty young girl out in the audience

tonight

captured his fancy he looks at her

wanting her and

then he looks at me

why don't you let me be the mystic in

the show huh

i'll tell you what we'll do as soon as

hercules finishes his act

the three of us will go out and have a

cup of coffee together

i'll tell your fortune

[Music]

oh mr reed i was looking for you i can't

say i'm not flattered

what are you doing wandering around out

here alone what do you propose to do

about it

send me back again is there any reason

why i shouldn't

just one mr reed it wouldn't do any good

how does your father put up with you oh

father he just doesn't understand me he

doesn't realize i'm not as conservative

as young ladies of his day

why don't we go someplace where we can

talk i was hoping you'd say that

my wagon's right here let's go

[Music]

someday i'll kill him for what he does

to her

hercules do you think that will make her

love him

[Music]

i had no idea sideshow wagon would be

like this well not all of them are

there has to be some compensation front

in the show

i'm sure there must be what do you mean

by that

let's say uh compensation such as uh

entertaining young ladies in your

private quarters isn't that right mr

reed

you're a very attractive young lady

thank you

and you're a very handsome man

now mr reed i i thought we came in here

to talk

can't you knock i can if i want to

hello miss beale i didn't tell you my

name

oh i know your name i know your father's

name too

joshua beal the richest man on the

comstock

how much do you suppose you're worth to

that father of yours miss beale

are you out of your mind gurner i'm mr

reed or you

if you miss this chance we can break

camp tonight

by tomorrow morning we can be over the

mountain and well on our way to

placerville

all you have to do is write a note to

joshua beale

one million dollars that's all it'll

cost him to get his pretty little girl

back home

y'all never get away with it with your

help i can read

listen read one million dollars you know

what that could mean

you always wanted to make some big money

shut up don't scream lady this is a

sharp knife

where do you think it'd hide her i

thought you'd figure out a way

you ought to hold her like i'm doing you

don't know how good it feels to hold a

million dollars

we're gonna have to tire up phil get the

rope it's right behind you

go on phil

[Music]

me

[Music]

[Applause]

is

the most magnificent monstrosity ever

mounted on the midway

she's beautiful she's glamorous she's

fat 500 pounds of feminine poker tubes

you're a good girl daisy just keep quiet

about it

anybody ask you you haven't seen

anything you understand

[Music]

you've always been my favorite daisy

you can have a job with me as long as

you want it

just keep quiet

500 pounds

[Music]

you ain't seen a little red-headed girl

about so high have you

why don't you look inside buddy get a

ticket right over there

right this way folks follow me right

[Music]

here

he wouldn't tell you anything anyway

these carny people stick together

tighter than those bartenders in san

francisco the time they tried to

shanghai our park

halloween knows she's even here at all

now where else would she be

salt lake or saint louis for all we know

plus i think we can cover more ground if

we split up why don't you inherit look

out here i'll check behind those tents

all right you be careful you're here

right all right kelly that knowing if he

don't get mixed up with some of the

dangerous women i ever saw

now you be careful what you say haas

jennifer's my best friend

well listen if you're staying close to

her why don't you tell her to be real

friendly and come on back here

yes what is it i saw your wagon i was

just trying to find out who's in charge

of the show

i am why do you have a complaint no no

complaints

see i came here with a girl tonight now

she's disappeared i just wondered if you

might have seen her

sonny i see an awful lot of people and

happily all paying customers

yeah well about this girl her name's

jennifer jennifer beale

she's 18 she has light red hair brown

eyes

well from your description i can

understand why you feel badly about

losing her

but you know what they say they don't

always go home with the fellas that

brought him

sorry i can't help you

[Music]

hey

[Music]

my name is joe cartwright i just

wondered if you're a little young for

this sort of thing aren't you joe

cartwright

oh look you don't understand you see i

didn't come here to uh

but what i mean is exactly what do you

mean joe

well i'm sorry i barged in on you like

this miss little egypt call me della

thanks stella say i brought my girl to

the show tonight yes i remember seeing

her

she's very pretty now she's disappeared

i've been all over the carnival asking

questions nobody seems to want to give

me any answers

that's why when i saw your light i sure

it hurts to lose someone doesn't it oh

it's not quite as painful as all that

it's just that i am supposed to make

sure she's all right i don't think she's

run off with another fella

all right tell me about her who is she

her name's jennifer beale

but is there anything special about her

or some reason

someone might want to harm it yeah

there's one big one

my father's one of the richest men on

the comstock

yes that is a reason you stay here joe

i'll go ask some questions

maybe i can find your girl for you

thanks stella

what you doing here boy you looking for

something to steal

no wait a minute mister i'm no thief

well i think you are

i think we better teach you a lesson

now look wait a minute fellas we can

[Applause]

talk

[Music]

a good job boys very good that'll teach

him some snooping errata

wait a minute is this his gun that's

right

hello della how'd you do oh pretty well

how did you do what's that supposed to

mean

nothing on your mind well a young man

just

paid me a visit in my tent and it seems

he lost his girlfriend

but what's that gonna do with me well it

just sounded familiar that's all oh

honey i thought we weren't going to have

any more of those suspicions

i saw you talking to a girl earlier phil

and i saw you bring her in here

mm-hmm and if you'd hung around a few

minutes you would have seen her leave

oh she was a child an innocent kid

looking for adventure

i got rid of her fast

you are telling me the truth aren't you

you're not lying to me

oh dylan there's nobody else but you

can't you believe that i'm sure

i can believe it well then let's forget

about the girl

i saw the kid who visited you in your

tent i told her maybe his girl saw a boy

she liked better and went home with him

i guess that's what she did sure now

come on you're tired

get a little rest because we're pulling

out tonight tonight

mm-hmm why tonight i thought we were

going to play this stand for the rest of

the week we were

but i changed my mind see later you have

got the girl haven't you phil

are we gonna start that all over again

stop lying to me

i know who she is and what you're trying

to do all right so you know

tell her this is the biggest thing that

ever happened to us do you think you can

kidnap joshua beale's daughter and get

away with it she fell into our laps

i didn't invite her in here she walked

in she's worth a million dollars to us

do you know the kind of life we can have

with a million dollars

i love you i guess i always will

but i'd rather see you dead than mixed

up in something like this stella we're

not gonna harm the girl

when joshua beale pays off we'll turn

her loose how can you stand there and

say you're gonna turn her loose

don't you know she'll remember you if

you go through with this you can't turn

her loose who said anything about

turning her loose

does she know where the girl is no

you shouldn't have told della about the

girl phil that didn't tell us you

figured it out

well that's too bad yes that's very bad

isn't it phil

all right it's too bad

all right

i don't know where else we can look

we've done covered every inch of this

carnival

twice yeah i think i might as well be

getting you at home harry ain't no using

your folks thinking you disappeared too

i don't know what happened little joke

house

hey joe what happened what's the matter

boy

four guys just piled him up in there

i'll be all right

what happened you're gone yeah they must

have taken it after they beat me up

oh you know there's something real wrong

around here horse i got dumped because i

was asking questions about jennifer

you mean this is just one of her jokes

you think something's happened to her

hey listen cos you take harry at home on

the way stop by tell sheriff brady to

get over here the car out as quick as he

can

what are you gonna be doing in the

meantime now the only thing i can do

keep on looking

joe you gotta find her yeah harry i know

i'll bring the sheriff myself be back in

a minute come on

joe joe what happened to you where were

you

oh honey that's a fine question for you

to ask me i have to have your four

friends work me over

work you over sure i didn't

i've got to talk to you it's about

jennifer

[Music]

all right you said you knew something

about jennifer please believe me joe i'm

trying to help you find your girl

she's somewhere here in the carnival oh

we're gonna find her all right i've

already sent for the sheriff

please joe uh let me do this my way

don't call in the sheriff

the carnival people are good friends of

mine they'll help i've already seen the

way they help i'll take the sheriff

but if the sheriff comes then a lot of

innocent people will be hurt

people i love and that are good people

that know nothing about this

i'm sorry i can't help that joe let me

tell

[Music]

you killed her

no no actually no stella wouldn't want

it that way

[Music]

come on come on hurricanes come on

i'm gonna kill you no

come on

[Music]

what happened

there's a lot of things i got to know

well first of all i didn't do it

second i got jennifer hit out around

here someplace you better forget about

jennifer there's been a murder here yeah

i know that girl was killed because she

was trying to help me find jennifer

you know anything about this reed well a

boy talk to me i've questioned everybody

in the show and nobody knows anything

about her

is this your gun yes it's my gun but i

didn't have it when this guy i think you

better come along with me

look i'm not gonna leave it'll be fine

jennifer son i know jennifer as well as

you do

maybe better i had a posse out comb in

the hills for her that time she ran off

to san francisco

joel maybe you ought not to make any

more trouble for yourself

come along hey look what happened

in here i'm trying to help you in here

i don't know what you're up to mr but

thanks a lot i'm not up to anything

i'm rudow i was de la thompson's closest

friend

i don't believe you killed her now

are you sure you didn't see him come by

here i didn't see anything

i just sit here i don't see nothing

[Laughter]

sheriff i know little joe didn't kill

that woman

but had a heap of heat brothers even

your jail is running loose around here

now we're not gonna learn anything here

now listen to me

there's only so many wagons and so many

tents so we'll search them one by one

boss you take one party i'll take the

other right

it could be kidnapping i'm sure della

thought so too

they're just getting ready to tell me

something when she was killed

i believe you joe but i don't know what

to do about it

what can you do well we're a funny bunch

here

in time we get to believing our own acts

maybe i can do a little mind reading

[Music]

in here

[Music]

there's no you searching for the girl in

here hercules i'm not looking for the

girl i'm looking for the man to kill

della

do you think i'd protect anyone that

harmed della

i gotta find him i gotta kill him with

my bare hands

i always told dyla i'd kill anybody that

harmed her

i'm your friend hercules don't you trust

me all i know is della is dead

[Applause]

you stay here i'm going out back

you stay here

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

you there rodin yes i'm here

i told you there was no trick i'll find

him and when i do

i'll kill him

well i wish there was some way to

convince him you were innocent

i said oh i oh he'd make a good ally

he's really a nice man and he was in

love with dela thompson

him well we're all

freaks here one way or another

doesn't mean we don't have any heart

thanks

[Music]

what are you going to do keep on

searching

i know these folks are friends of yours

but one of them's a killer i gotta get

to jennifer before he does

[Applause]

don't make a sound

my you're a forceful one aren't you

look i'm uh i'm terribly sorry about

that sir i

uh see i thought you were to scream just

because a handsome man came in my tent

why what makes you think i'd scream

well you're the one they're looking for

aren't you oh yeah yeah and then uh

well they're looking for me all over the

place i think i better get out of here

before i get you in a lot of trouble

don't

go okay maybe i'd like to get into a lot

of trouble

hey well uh oh man maybe sometime we

could uh we could talk

that's what they all say now why don't

you just relax and we can get acquainted

well ma'am i i just really don't think

this is a time to get acquainted

i saw you earlier this evening with that

girl

now i thought she was too young for you

i think you'd prefer a more

sophisticated lady like me

now wouldn't you oh mama

can i come in ma'am quick behind the

dresses

i'll protect you and uh after they've

gone

uh you've seen a young fella go by here

doesn't belong to the carnival

no i haven't seen anyone ma'am

they're gone honey honey

[Music]

bye

[Music]

say has anybody searched this wagon yet

i'm sure the other party searched it

thoroughly

they've searched here daisy haven't they

yes they've searched very good

well i didn't see it i think i'll take a

look as sheriff if you don't mind

there are very few people with daisy

lets into a wagon i'd rather somebody

search it that she knows

you understand yeah i think i understand

garner why don't you take a look and

satisfy the sheriff well if that's what

the sheriff wants

look in there behind those clothes

garner look in the back of the wagon

[Music]

nobody here sheriff

[Music]

um

[Music]

any luck at all nope it's like that

little brother of mine disappeared as

completely as that gal did

well sheriff you convinced she's not

here i'll decide that

as you wish just trying to cooperate

sheriff um we got to start tearing down

camp we open in placerville day after

tomorrow

isn't that right mr reed mm-hmm we're

gonna find the guy that killed della

there's coffee up in the cook tent why

don't we all settle down for a bit it's

a good idea mr rhodium

right this way sir

i'd like to talk to you phil what about

i think you know i'm no more of a mind

reader than you are

no but you are a carnival man

a lot of people depend on you phil well

haven't i always come through for them

yes but will you come through for them

now

you think i had something to do with

that girl's disappearance don't you i

think you could

shed some light on it yes

well you're wrong

if i am i'll back you up but

if i'm right i'll turn your people

against you phil and i can do it

hercules for one has always hated you

for the way you treated della

hey thanks for not sneaking up on me you

little galoot what are you trying to do

i'm still trying to find jennifer she's

around here someplace horse

della knew it so she was trying to tell

me when she was killed

now let's go over it again just how much

was she able to tell you

nothing though she wanted me to know and

yet she didn't want me to know

i don't know maybe she was trying to

trying to protect someone

of course i should have known

phil reed she would want to protect him

mr rudine

if phil reed knows something about this

and he ain't telling how you'll get out

of him

then you'd have the carnival people and

the sheriff down on you

i know these people i got a strange kind

of

loyalty i can believe that i couldn't

find anything from any of them

hercules is the only one that that might

turn against reid

you got any idea how you can convince

him to help us

well not so long as he's with the others

it was supposed we could get him away

some places we could talk to him yeah

but how are you figuring on doing that

i mean he's pretty anxious to get his

hands on me let's just let him know

where i am

yeah wait a minute you think that a

little risky look i'll chance it what do

you think mr rooney

well reed is afraid of hercules deathly

afraid

and with reason might work yeah well

just in case it don't i'm gonna be

around

thanks look i'll meet you outside of

town there's a grove of live oaks house

knows the place

right let's go

i thought you said there wouldn't be any

trouble there won't be

[Music]

might as well come out now my mystic

powers have told me where to find you

just as they let me read through a

blindfold

oh wait hercules if my powers told me

where to find him they live let me read

it

[Music]

come on come on

i got him in a hammer don't hold him

yeah hercules actually it's like

me we don't want to hurt you but we just

want you to know that joe didn't harm

your dulla

and if you go chasing after little joe

while the guilty one gets away

you're not showing any love for della

you're letting her down

you say you love della you think you're

the only man who loved somebody that

didn't love him back

listen hercules mr reed is the only one

who really knows what happened to della

he used to make dela cry

remember hercules

we want mr reed to tell us what he knows

will you help us

[Music]

i'll go with you

think the sheriff has given up yet he

never did think we had the girl didn't i

tell you'd be easy

i'll think of it phil one million

dollars that's what that girl's gonna

bring us

mr reed garner i think there's something

you ought to know

[Music]

you two know what's good for you keep it

quiet you made miss dela cry and you're

gonna pay for this that ain't all you're

gonna do buster you're gonna tell us

everything you know about that little

girl that disappeared about miss dulla

i don't know a thing about it maybe you

better ask him your way then hercules

stop him

stop him

[Music]

tell us and i'll make him quit was

garner

gonna kill della i had nothing to do

with it

you're a dirty liar you liar

you're the one that killed dulla it was

all gurna's idea

he kidnapped the girl and then he killed

ella because she was going to tell where

the girl was hidden

well where is she man she's down

[Music]

get it hey read the girl

where is she

ask daisy

[Music]

yo sure

joe well young fellow are you ben you

caused us enough trouble wait a minute

sheriff it was gunner that killed a girl

he just killed mr reed and he got away

and hercules after him did you find out

anything about jennifer

just before mr reed died he said ask

daisy that's the fat lady well let's go

better let me handle this you keep the

others back i will never get anything

out of her

you come with me little joe right

daisy i'm your friend you know that

don't you

mr reed said that you knew something

about the girl that disappeared

can you tell us anything

all right daisy thanks a lot

[Music]

daisy daisy are you sure

[Music]

are you sure that you can't tell us

anything about the girl

no daisy no you don't have to protect mr

reed anymore

mr reed is dead do you understand daisy

mr reed is dead mr

reed dead

[Music]

daisy

[Music]

jennifer where are you

wait i'll leave you tied up till i get

you home

all right you're okay what are we gonna

do now mr roderick

we're going on just as usual it's the

only thing we can do

if you need anything mr roelian you let

us know well thanks very much

but there's very little pleasure people

like us have except the satisfaction of

helping ourselves

joe don't you let that gal out of your

side no more you here

little joe can you ever forgive me

well

yeah yeah i think i can forgive you of

course it's gonna take some time

quite some time

[Music]

so

[Music]

you

Behind the Scenes of The Abduction

The Bearded Lady puts her arms around Little Joe in one scene. The audience will find her hands behind Joe’s back when the camera focuses on her. However, her hands are on Joe’s chest when the camera shifts its focus to Joe.

“Hercules” hands the iron bar to the announcer after bending it. The iron bar given to Hoss for demonstration differs from what Hercules had. Apart from its color, the difference also lies in its angle.

When the knife thrower, Gerner, is ready to silence Daisy if she reveals any information, he holds his knife out of the tent, enough for everyone to see.

Books Worth Reading:

Joe emerges from the tent without a bruise on his pretty face even after being beaten up by four men.

Looking for More Bonanza Episodes?

Bonanza, which features the tales of Ben Cartwright and his sons, is a fantastic show to watch alone or with your beloved ones. All 14 seasons and over 400 episodes of the program ran on NBC from September 1959 to January 1973. The Abduction is the 40th episode out of 430 and the eighth for the second season.

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

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