The Secret Full Episode – Bonanza, Season #02, Episode #31

Bonanza’s action-packed episodes, peppered with comedy, made the show a fan favorite for generations. John Hawkins wrote the thirty-first episode of season two, The Secret, which aired on May 6, 1961.

Little Joe Cartwright is arrested and charged with the murder of a pregnant girl named Mary Parson. Joe learns from the girl’s father, Jake (Crahan Denton), and her brothers that Mary allegedly planned to run away with him secretly on the night of her death. What makes things worse was the prosecution’s main witness, Joe’s old friend John Hardner (Russell Collins), attests to proving Joe guilty.

Morgan Woodward, Pat Michon, and Dayton Lummis join the cast members of this episode.

Read more about The Secret, which includes some interesting trivia, or watch the full episode below.

Watch the Full Episode of The Secret

Watch the Full Episode of The Secret:

Main Cast

The actors that appeared in The Secret, Bonanza’s sixty-third episode, are as follows:

• Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright
• Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright
• Dan Blocker as Eric ‘Hoss’ Cartwright
• Michael Landon as Joseph ‘Little Joe’ Cartwright
• Stephen Joyce as Jerome Bell
• Patricia Michon as Betty Mae Wood (as Pat Michon)
• Crahan Denton as Jake Parson
• Russell Collins as John Hardner
• Dayton Lummis as Atty. Hiram Wood
• Morgan Woodward as Deputy Sheriff Rick Conley
• Sherwood Price as Pete Parson
• Bob Harris as Bill Parson
• Roy Engel as Dr. Paul Martin
• Bill Edwards as Man

Full Story Line for The Secret

John Hardner, on horseback, sees a carriage with a piebald tied behind. Thinking it was Mary and Little Joe, John waved a greeting, baffled when they didn’t greet him back.

Meanwhile, the carriage stops—Mary Parsons and an unknown person exit from the carriage. Mary kisses the man as they go for a walk. They reach a cliff, watching the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Later, a scream rings, and Mary is no longer beside the man by the cliff.

Jake Parsons visits the Ponderosa, and Ben warmly welcomes him for coffee. Jake tells Ben that Little Joe and his daughter, Mary, have been dating, much to Ben’s surprise. Joe arrives shortly after, after trying to find a lost horse. Joe couldn’t understand why Jake asked for his daughter, Mary. It appears that Jake believes Mary and Little Joe eloped, so Joe clarified that he hadn’t seen her. Jake insists on knowing Mary’s whereabouts, considering Mary told them that Joe was courting her for two months. Joe denies running away with Mary, which upsets Jake.

As Jake leaves the Ponderosa, his two sons ride up to deliver the news about Mary’s death. They discovered the buggy near Indian Leap while Mary’s body was at the bottom of the cliff.

Ben and Joe visit Virginia City to seek help from Attorney Hiram Wood. He advises the Cartwrights to go straight to the sheriff’s office to declare Joe’s whereabouts for the past few days. However, Sheriff Roy is in Carson City for another case. Hiram sends his partner, Jerome Bell, with the Cartwrights to ensure the deputy in charge, Rick Conley, will record their statements correctly.

The Parsons have brought Mary’s body to town for Doctor Martin to examine. However, Doctor Martine couldn’t confirm any detail regarding the accident, except that Mary was pregnant.

Upon leaving town, John Hardner finds it odd that Ben and Little Joe ignore his greeting. Doctor Martin and Deputy Sheriff Conley tell him about Mary Parson’s death. John tells them that he has seen Mary and Joe on the road to Indian Leap. His statement was enough for Conley to arrest Joe for murder.

Deputy Conley agrees to check the area where John found Mary and Joe riding the buggy. Upon investigating, they find it impossible to identify Joe’s face from the distance John was standing that day. John tells them that he recognized Joe through the gun tied down to his left leg. Deputy Conley arranges an inquest and a trial for the case.

Joe will stand trial for the murder of Mary Parsons. The Cartwrights believe that Mary mentioned leaving with Joe because she didn’t want her father to know her real lover.

Adam and Hoss leave to find out who could have gotten the paint pony and the left-handed gun.

Meanwhile, Betty Mae questions her fiancé’s love for her, thinking Jerome loves his work more than her.

Betty Mae goes to Jerome’s hotel room and finds a picture of Mary Parsons. Betty Mae realized Jerome was in love with Mary and was using her to achieve his plans since Mary couldn’t fulfill them. Understanding that Betty Mae now knows he is responsible for Mary’s death, Jerome goes after Betty Mae before she can speak to her father.

On the other hand, Adam and Hoss present the evidence they found proving Joe wasn’t Mary’s murderer. They find that Jerome purchased a paint pony and a left-handed holster. The Parsons and the Cartwrights, together, decide to confirm everything with Jerome Bell.

Jerome and Betty Mae scuffle on the hotel balcony, ending with Jerome falling to his death.

Proven innocent, the Cartwrights, together with Little Joe, finally go home in peace.

Full Script and Dialogue of The Secret

[Music]

hmm

hi mary little joe

[Music]

see

[Music]

oh

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Music]

so

[Music]

my

[Music]

jake pause well bye gulley it's good to

see you

i figured you might feel like that yeah

nice to see you too ben

well come on in

not many days happen like this ben i

figure man ought to enjoy him while he

can

yeah like it says in the good book

it ain't what a man's got it's his

begets that counts

well uh jake i

agree with you there i guess we're lucky

to have our children

you're right come into this world with

nothing we go out with nothing

yeah what reason for man's existence if

it ain't to look out for his kids

very little i guess well i've been

blessed that way

two strapping boys the girl of course

the boys have given me some trouble

but not my mary she's as good as i come

i agree with you jake she's a mighty

fine girl

sometimes i used to think that the only

thing i could raise on my land was a

ruckus

two years without rain or grass and when

the grass came

fire and rustlers

well you've had your share of hard luck

jake there's no denying

the lord's will keep working hard and

sweating and things get better

i'm going to send a 600 card of cattle

to market this year

600 heads well by golly jake that's

wonderful

ben i want to do my share for the

youngins

well every father should you got good

land to spare i got cattle

and together we can scrape them up a

nice little spread

start him in right

my mary and your little joe

been hoping that it happened i'm purely

happy it did

jacob

i i don't really know what you're aiming

at

well now a church wedding would have

been more to my taste and a

barbecue and a dance after and but

i finally tracked that sorrow down fine

how you doing mr parsons well little joe

how's mary

mary uh joe i um

sit down

it was bad enough for married elope but

the least you could do would be to

bring it back afterwards so we could

help celebrate hey mary eloped huh who

with

oh now little joe i know about you

younguns

i couldn't be happier

jake jake believes that that you eloped

with his

daughter mary me oh heck no sir i had in

love with anybody

no little joe there's no no need to lie

about it

well i'm not lying i haven't even seen

her

mary told me and the boys that you're

gonna take her on a picnic yesterday

me yes you she drove out in the buggy

to meet you a little afternoon

and she ain't been back since

now if you didn't elope suppose you tell

me where she was

all last night and where she is now well

i don't know i told you i haven't seen

her

where was he last night my son is old

enough to answer for himself

well you know where i was i was out

looking for that sorrow got late so i

camped in buckhorn flats

it's your answer jake where is she and

look all i can tell you is the truth

i didn't see her if she went on a picnic

with someone it wasn't me jake

she said she is going with you well you

must have heard her wrong

she says you've been caught in her for

two months you deny that

i have to because it isn't true you

calling my mary a liar

no sir i'm saying there must be some

mistake

appears to me there is some kind of

mistake

some bad mistake

appears to me too there's going to be a

wedding when my mary comes home and

tells me the truth about it

jake i know you're upset but my son

doesn't lie

neither does my marry

[Music]

parsons may not be as rich as

cartwrights but we do know the

difference between right and wrong

we found mary paw

[Music]

she's dead

the buggy was near indian leap her body

was at the bottom of the cliff

jake this this is terrible

is there anything cool we could do it

you car tracks are done enough

i want to see my daughter

you boys take me to it

we'll be back

[Music]

oh no someone might come in let them

we're engaged aren't we i want the whole

world to see and know how lucky i am

dolly do you think the governor will be

at the reception

i don't know that's the tenth time

you've asked me that

does it really matter that much well of

course it does

i want to meet him contacts like that

are very important in the legal

profession

jerome can't you ever forget business

sweetheart i didn't have the start that

your father did

if i want to be worthy of you i've got

to make every moment count

you mr carter right i didn't know you

were coming in this afternoon

well we hadn't intended to uh mr bell

hello betty may is hiram in please yes

sir i'll tell him you're here thank you

mr cartwright to see you sir ben little

joe

well this is a pleasant surprise what

brings you into virginia city

ben well i'm uh trouble

we need your help oh i'm sorry to hear

that ben

oh that's what i'm here for come here

come here

i don't uh this isn't an ordinary legal

matter

i can make it sound pretty serious ben

well it is it's quite personal

i'll be outside if you want me mr wood

what do you think the trouble is jerome

i've never seen ben cartwright so upset

people are always upset when they come

to a lawyer's office that's why

attorneys like your father get such

large fees

jerome that's a fine way to talk about

your future father-in-law

if you worked as hard as he did darling

i would but every hour i work is an hour

away from you

we'll try working for an hour anyway

i'll be back at two

we can leave for the reception from here

i'll be waiting for you

man i can understand your concern about

this but i don't see what you got to

worry about

little joe is chasing a horse and buck

on flat all day there's no way he can be

implicated in the death of this girl

well maybe not legally but

jake parsons and his boys think he is

implicated man it was a terrible tragedy

they were overwrought

well i can understand that but i don't

want my son gunned down by someone

taking the law into his own hands

why don't you worry about the parson

boys but i can take care of them you do

no such thing

you'll go to the sheriff and give them a

full account of your whereabouts these

last few days

and ben you tell him what transpired

between jake parson and yourself

that way any protection that needs to be

done will come from the law

all right haram came to you for advice

if that's what you think we should do

that's what you should do well roy

coffee will know how to handle it

yeah no sure if coffee's not in town

he's in carson city on that wrestling

case

oh new deputy rick conley i think is in

charge

you think that'll make any difference on

him i haven't had a chance to get

acquainted with

david conley but just to make sure i'll

send jerome along with you to see that

your statements are taken down properly

thank you

jerome would you step in please yes sir

jerome i want you to go to the sheriff's

office with ben and little joe they're

gonna make a statement

and i want you to protect their interest

and see that it's recorded correctly

do you want that taken care of

immediately sir you know betty may and i

do at the reception well i don't have to

wait

of course is this ponderosa business

well not exactly

little joe is going to make a statement

as to his whereabouts at the time of

mary parsons death

mary parson i hadn't heard her body was

found at the bottom of indian leap

[Music]

three weeks prior to the company and a

person in the company of others

well this seems to be perfectly all

right all right people to sign it

i'll just witness it

that should take care of things unless

there's an end quest

inquest i see no reason for an inquest

there's obviously a case of accidental

death well maybe it was and maybe it

wouldn't

that's not for me to decide that's up to

the corner

well i i feel that an inquest would be

completely out of order in a case like

this

well mister i don't care what you feel

i'm running this office until sheriff

coffee gets back now i'm not about to

decide anything until doc martin tells

me whether it looks to him like this

girl was

hit choked shot or whatever before she

took that fall

we can understand your position rick and

we'll go along with anything that's

necessary

do you uh you want us to stay in town

might be a good idea mr cartwright jake

and his boys brought the girl's body and

doc martin's making the examination

right now

you gentlemen excuse me i'm late for an

appointment however i must advise you

that even if there is an inquest there's

no need for you to stay in town

there was no witness to involve little

joe i'll be able to handle everything at

the proper time

thank you mr bell bye sir

he's right mr cartwright i can't keep

you in town unless you want to stay

well we'll uh we'll stay in town until

after the

doctor's made his examination we'll be

in his office if you need us

alright

what's the doctor gonna be able to tell

us

i don't know the more information we

have the better we'll be able to reason

with jake parsons

yeah well that girl fell till on her

feet i don't see they could tell

anything

doctor were you able to reach any

conclusion there's one conclusion that

was easy to reach

what was that every bone in our body was

broken

was there anything to indicate that well

it was anything but an accident

not specifically well then it was an

accident then

it could have been or

it could have been suicide suicide

what makes you say that she wasn't

married was she you know she wasn't

she should have been

my son oh bye i was never even alone

with her

i'm gonna have to tell this deputy

conley right away i guess you know that

ben

yeah i know that i i was just thinking

about

what jake parsons gonna do when he finds

out the truth

thank you doctor better go

[Music]

[Applause]

hi man

[Music]

hello john oh hello doc

what's got in the van cut right you

little joe went by me like i was a rock

in the road

oh it's nothing personal i'm sure

they're concerned about mary parson

being found dead

mary parson dead when was this

our brothers found her body yesterday

happened the day before though

the day before i saw her that day around

noon

where'd you see her why right on the

road to indian leap

must have happened right after i saw

them them

you mean there was somebody with her

sure there was she was with little joe

cartwright

i even waved to them when they went by

are you sure you saw her a little joe

cartwright

don't you think i know little joe when i

see him well you had better be sure

because you're gonna have to tell that

to ben cartwright

tell ben cartwright why because as soon

as you've signed a statement of that

effect and everything's legal

you're going with me out to the

ponderosa to arrest little joe for

murder

doc you better witness this all right

[Music]

mr hardner

[Music]

howdy rick mr hardner howdy host hoddy

haws

your paw home yeah he's inside come on

in

come on in man

john well come on in gentlemen sit down

uh thank you mr cartwright but uh we're

here on official business

oh well what does that mean

you go ahead and tell them what you told

me mr hardner

sorry as i am to say it ben i saw little

joe and mary parson driving up toward

indian leap day before yesterday

you what you were in parsons buggy

little joe

your paint horse was tied on behind mr

hardener that's not the truth

i wish it when somebody else saw you joe

it ain't easy to do this to a friend

paul he's lying oh little joe wasn't in

that buggy he wasn't nowhere near indian

leap

and i know that well what are we doing

standing here listening this far well

john

for some reason thinks that he saw

little joan marrying that buggy

he believes it well that kind of

believing can put a rope around joe's

neck

[Music]

and you still say that you weren't there

of course i said i wasn't within 20

miles of that place

all right comes down to your word

against mr hardness

in a case like that a jury's going to

have to decide

i'm sorry joe but i'm gonna have to take

you in

[Music]

get your horses ready we're going to

[Music]

town

[Music]

we believe you boy never doubt that for

an instant

i'll take that jump

stop right there all of you you don't

have to do this

little joe's under arrest we're on our

way to town get out of the way cut right

i come out here to get one but i'll take

two if i have to lil joe's not wearing a

gun you can't shoot an unarmed man

what chance did he give my sister i

never even saw your sister and that's

what you'd say sure

but she said she was gonna beat you and

that's good enough for me get out of the

way cut right

don't be a fool pete let the law handle

this

well cartwright's a big name around

these parts one kind of law for you and

another kind for the rest of us

that isn't true pete not this time it

ain't i'm gonna have me and i for an eye

[Music]

he ain't out of the woods yet cut right

making my pond brother hear about this

[Music]

my

[Music]

okay

let's get it over with joe

i'll say it again i was within 20 miles

of indian leap then you got nothing to

be afraid of

now haven't i all i saw was a rabbit a

buck in that sorrow

they gonna testify on my behalf

well i guess somebody better tell jake

parsons about pete don't worry i don't

doubt that all the parsons have heard

about it by now

yeah i guess you're right i'm not going

to say higher wood

you boys coming along no we'll keep joe

company yeah make sure you don't get no

uninvited gummy

i didn't want to hurt pete but i i just

couldn't let him kill somebody in cold

blood could i had to shoot course you

did ben of course you did

but right now the parsons are the least

of your words well let's face it

this has turned out to be a lot more

serious than i'd anticipated

with a witness like john harner

john have any reason to lie blind oh no

not john hardner what

ben this is a difficult question for me

to ask you

are you sure that little joe is telling

the whole truth

you asked me to doubt myself no no i'm

not asking that

all i'm asking is do you think there's

any chance the little job

if i were to start doubting my son at

this point

everything i've lived and worked for

would be lost

well ben i'm your lawyer i have to think

the way a jury's gonna think

believe me with this latest news about

the girl and john hardin's testimony

this is going to come before a jury

[Applause]

pardon what do we do well

you two have a good time at the

reception oh father was absolutely

wonderful

jerome made such an impression on the

governor the governor hardly noticed

anyone else

i was surprised how young he is we did

seem to have a lot in common

even want to know my views on politics

that's fine jerome it's fine

right now politics can wait we've got

something much more urgent to consider

at the moment

well yes sir of course as a matter of

fact it's been on my mind all during the

reception

i'm glad to hear that you come up with

any ideas

also i don't like to say this about the

dead but with that girl's reputation i

don't think there's a jury in virginia

city that would convict little joe

jerome what a dreadful thing to say

i'm sorry sweetheart but we're fighting

for a man's life adam

i don't suppose suppose we took jake

parsons buggy

back up to indian leap again and have

john hardness show us exactly what he

saw

that might be an excellent idea ben if

there's any possibility of showing that

john hardner was mistaken why i think

that's just it

but what happens sir if it confirms john

hardin's statement

and we'll have no case at all in court

also i think we've got to fight this out

on the basis of the reputations of that

girl and mr cartwright's son

mr bell we are going on the assumption

that little joe is innocent

yes sir of course i'm just pointing out

that legally we might be taking

unwarranted risk

he's got a point there ben there would

be some risk involved

it's a risk i'm perfectly willing to

take

i hope we don't regret this mr wood

[Applause]

[Music]

i want the man that shot my son the

rifle jake

put it down you won't need it in here

where's ben cartwright

i'm right here jake

pete took the law into his own hounds

tried to shoot an unarmed man

mr carter i did the only thing he could

do in self-defense

it's true jake i saw it

pardner seems to me like you jumped the

fence

he was going to testify little joe was

with my mary

now you're siding with cartwrights i'm

not siding with anybody

i saw little joe and mary up at indian

leap i'll say it under oath

i also saw pete trying to shoot an

unarmed man

i'll swear to that too i had no choice

i'm sorry to happen pete one of mine

dead one shot

and all i hear anybody say is i'm sorry

there's one thing we can do jake

we can take your buggy up to indian leap

again in the morning

why the john hardneck can show us where

he was

when the buggy passed him we can all get

a good look at what he saw

hardness says he's seen little joe you

want him to change his mind

my son's life is at stake i'm just

trying to get at the truth

all i'm thinking about is my daughter

was killed

and your son did it well now supposing

it wasn't little joe suppose it was

somebody else would you want to know who

it was

all right boys we'll give them that

chance

but if we find what i think we will

there won't be no need of holding a

[Music]

trial

all right bring on the buggy

[Music]

all right

john is this as close as you got to that

buggy just about the exact spot man

we can't see the man's face and we're a

foot how can you see him sitting as high

as you are

i didn't say i could see his face from

here i sure saw his paint horse tied on

behind the buggy

and he probably turned and looked when

you got down on the road ah stop putting

words in his mouth

move the buggy on down the road now you

ride down to the road and make your turn

i remember now i can tell you how i knew

it was little joe

and the buggy made the curve the man had

his foot on the dash

i could see his leg what does that prove

when did you see his face

i didn't have to see his face his leg

was enough

he was wearing his gun tied down to his

left leg

that's how i knew it was little joe

well what'd you find out just what we

knew we'd find

well deputy what do you say now

inquest will be in my office at two

o'clock

i'm just saying to it that whatever

needs doing is done proper and

legal my sister's dead the man that

pushed her off that cliff is still alive

you call that legal improper

i said there'd be an inquest in a trial

there'll be a trial and a hanging we

heard what you said mr hardner

and if you don't say it again so

everybody can hear

you won't live to get off that witness

chair

thank you very much

well the foreman of the coroner's jury

please rise

have you reached a verdict yeah we sure

have

stated mary parson was murdered

by little joe cartwright jim you know

better than to say that

all you're to determine is the cause of

death anything else will be decided by a

judge and jury at the proper time

well that is the cause of death little

joe cartwright pushed her off of that

cliff

if the jury finds that she died by

violence it'll have to be it

is that the economy

joseph cartwright you're

hereby bound over to stand trial for the

murder of mary parsons

[Music]

um i never thought on a paint pony and

being left-handed you get to feel in so

much trouble

hiram the boys and i know that joseph

didn't murder mary parson

i don't care what anybody says he didn't

do it paul wait a minute

what what joe just said about the pony

and being left-handed

no what about it well now harner didn't

say he saw the man's face

he just said he saw a pink pony and a

left-handed gun

yeah it's enough to hang me yeah but is

it what are you driving at adam

but why would mary parson tell her

father that she was going out with

little joe and we know that she wasn't

yeah why would she paul well obviously

because she didn't want her father to

know that she was going out with the

whoever it was yeah and yeah and whoever

it was must have a left-handed gun a

paid pony right

how about that iron fine but how do we

prove it

well first let's find this whoever it

was us

you check what the harness make is adam

check the liberty stables all right

i don't know why we didn't think of this

before ben if this works

i'll get your own belt working on it

right away

[Music]

sweetheart what a surprise

i really shouldn't be here but i wanted

to talk to you

and papa said you'd be here working i'm

glad you're here

i'm always glad to see you

it's shy and proper betty may

all these books do you have to go

through them all

i'm planning little joe's defense or

trying to

if i had it my way in the first place

we'd be in a lot better shape jerome

i'm sure father knew what he was doing i

hope he lets me take over this case

i feel i can do as well as any man alive

in that courtroom

i'd have to win your father over first

sweetheart you could help me with that

this is such an important case jerome

little joe's life's at stake that's what

i mean if i win this case

i'll be the most sought-after lawyer in

virginia city

we can get all the things that we've

planned for your father will take me on

as a full partner and

well who knows the governor was a lawyer

that's the way he started

of course jerome i'm sure all those

things will come in time

but right now we must be thinking about

little joe

thinking isn't enough the evidence

clearly indicates his guilt

well i don't think he's guilty but what

i can convince the jury of that counts

well i can't believe he's guilty jerome

i don't believe he'd push anyone off a

cliff

given sufficient provocation any man can

commit a murder

that's not my definition sweetheart but

you'll find it in any legal text just

the same

it was such a shuddery feeling sitting

in that buggy and indian leap

i dreamed about that girl only she

didn't have a face

you know i always was a little envious

of her

she was such a pretty girl i never paid

much attention to it

she was cheap and flashy

let's not talk about morbid things

darlinglets

let's talk about us you will help me

with your father

jerome must we always talk about my

father why not we both want the same

things a big house beautiful clothes

fine horses

i just want happiness i just want

no i have to say this jerome

you want success so badly that

sometimes i wonder if you want to marry

me just because i'm hiram wood's

daughter

you silly girl you know better than that

all i want is you

[Music]

cochran i'd like a word with you

i said i'd like a word with you

well to what do i owe this unexpected

pleasure huh

i thought you and jerome are going to

the governor's ball this evening

we are father a little later jerome went

to the hotel to change

he's been working so hard i was

i was lonesome so i thought i'd wait

here

am i interrupting anything no no just

catching up on some odds and ends here

here's

dad i'm sorry i've been neglecting you

lately darling but

i just never seem to get caught up now

this nasty business with a parson girl

has to come up

i know dad it's been a strain on jerome

too

i wish you both could slow down

now you sound just like your mother used

to i can't imagine mother ever scolding

you about anything

she was a wonderful woman wonderful

woman

i just hope that you and jerome will

have the happiness your mother and i had

of course you will i hope so dad

well you don't have to sound so

desperate about it

dad we don't have to lie to one another

most girls my age

are married five years and have a family

well i'm not the prettiest girl in town

and

i just don't want to make a mistake no

no no no no watch this

if you and your young man have words or

something

i suppose i'm being silly it's just that

sometimes sometimes it seems as if

jerome loves his work more than he does

me

oh so that's it well sweetheart

i doubt very much that you're the first

woman ever to say that jerome's a very

ambitious young man

that's it ambitious so terribly

ambitious

it frightens me dead at the reception

when jerome met the governor it was just

as if suddenly i

ceased to exist baby baby now you are

being silly

i suppose i am

i shouldn't be bothering you with my

troubles of course you should

of course you shouldn't that's what i'm

here for now you run along and have a

good time

world looks a lot prettier under a full

moon you know

thanks for talking to me dad

[Music]

betty may what are you doing here

is anything wrong no there's nothing

wrong

i just wanted to see you you shouldn't

have come here

why i'm in love with you

i was lonesome someone might have seen

you you know how the gossips are in this

town

let them talk

i'm not ashamed of my love are you

of course not i just didn't want you to

see how i live

i'll be with you in a moment

[Music]

but i want to see where you live

i want to know everything about you

i want to know every thought you have

come on sweetheart let's go who's the

girl in the picture

well just some girl nothing important

that's a picture of mary parson isn't it

i picked it up today in connection with

the trial you knew her didn't you

betty may you're being unreasonable

being a lawyer i meet many people

if you had told me i wouldn't have cared

i knew there were other women

jerome why did you lie to me

there wasn't anything to tell you there

wasn't anything between us

then why did you lie i didn't want your

father to know i was afraid he might

object

darling please let's forget it she was

very lovely wasn't she

she was prettier than i am younger and

prettier

that isn't so you're the prettiest girl

i've ever seen

darling i love you don't you know that

no i don't know it i wish i did

but it isn't so i guess i knew that

right from the start

how can you say that after all the plans

we've made

a big house fine clothes the best

carriage in town

the governor's mansion those were your

plans jerome not mine

well what's wrong with that why do you

object to those things

mary parson couldn't get them for you

could she i told you to forget about

mary parsons

can you forget her she was nobody she

was

cheap she was trying to blackmail me

she was going to go to you you killed

her

no no no it was an accident sweetheart

we we went for a ride

it'll be all right i'll i'll win the

case it'll joel go free and

and we can get all the things that we've

always wanted

what are you going to do

i'm going to tell my father betty may

i couldn't let you do that i couldn't

let you do anything like that

[Music]

betty may betty may

[Music]

may

[Music]

right there cartwright dumbo

you want to see your paw don't you move

[Music]

what's this all about oh these stupid

people think they can take the lawn to

their own hands

we don't think it we know it we're gonna

move on that jail take out your son and

string him up

little joe didn't kill you mary we got

the proof

there's a bill a sale for a paint pony

you see here's one for a left-handed

hoster signed by john sally

jerome bell that's right

do you believe us now jake i hope this

ain't a cartwright trick

all right we're gonna pay a visit to mr

jerome bell

all right boys

[Music]

bill stay away

you try anything and i'll throw her off

of here well it's no use

we found out well you don't try to stop

[Music]

me

[Music]

you better go to your daughter

[Music]

jerome

it's all right

you know i don't think i could ever get

used to living in there good to have you

oh i don't know it's been kind of

peaceful around the ponderosa in the

last couple of days

[Music]

so

[Music]

so

[Music]

Behind the Scenes of The Secret

John Hardner, the primary witness, saw a man and a woman riding a buggy, whom he believed were Mary and Little Joe. However, he appeared to lie in his statement when he mentioned seeing a gun tied to Little Joe’s left leg. John never saw the man in the buggy carrying a firearm.

In one scene, Mary’s brother threatened the witness’s life regarding his statement. By then, the deputy in charge, Deputy Sheriff Rick Conley, should have charged him with witness intimidation.

Looking for More Bonanza Episodes?

Bonanza is a classic Western series you’ll enjoy watching alone or with your family. From September 1959 to January 1973, each hour-long episode of the 14-season show aired on the NBC network. The Secret is the 63rd episode out of 430 and the thirty-first for its second season.

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