Gunfighter
EMMA, TEASPOON AND KID TRY TO STOP HICKOK FROM FACING A NOTORIOUS GUNFIGHTER...
In a nearby town, Cody sees a notorious gunfighter named Longley call out a man and kill him. He tells his fellow riders about the incident and the rumors that Longley had supposedly killed about a hundred men. Lou notices an old watch Emma wears on her apron. She asks to see it and the riders pass it around. Jimmy points out that the watch doesn't work. But Emma contradicts him saying "it works just fine." Asked what she hears, the housekeeper says "memories."
The
talk about memories, though, stir up some bad ones for Jimmy. In a dream,
Jimmy sees his father Stefan rough up his mom. Bothered by the recollection,
Jimmy takes an unassigned ride and crosses the path of Longley -- who is
on the trail of a former gunfighter named Bryan Ludey. Because of his haste,
Jimmy fails to notice how he spooked the gunfighter's horse, throwing Longley
into a mudhole. Longley doesn't see Jimmy but he takes note of the rider's
golden palomino.
Sometime later, the boys go to town to pick up supplies for the station and for Emma. Longley, whose pursuit of Bryan, leads him to Sweetwater, notices a golden palomino outside the general store. When he goes in and asks the boys who the owner of the horse is, Jimmy steps forward. Longley asks for an apology but Jimmy wasn't inclined to say sorry. Longley calls him out and he readily agrees after the older gunfighter insults his mother.
Outside, Kid stops the fight by knocking Jimmy out and tying him up. Cain arrives just in time to see Buck and Coy load their unconscious friend into the buckboard. At the station, Jimmy and Kid go at it until Teaspoon breaks up the fight by dousing both riders with water. When they continue fighting even after Emma steps in, the exasperated stationmaster drags the hotheaded young Hickok to the hothouse to cool him down.
Meanwhile in Sweetwater, Bryan Ludey appears at Marshall Sam Cain's office with his young son. The boy is named after the marshall who happens to be a very good friend. Bryan is trying to tread the straight and narrow, even changed his name to Bert Caldwell, but knows that trouble is coming for him. He asks Sam to look after his young namesake if anything happens to him.
Despite being advised to avoid Longley, Jimmy continues to practice his shooting. He is joined by the Kid who proves to be really good, maybe even better than Hickok. They meet Bert Caldwell (aka Bryan Ludey) when his son wanders into their practice area. He tells them to "stick to cans" because "the better you get, the more you have to use [the gun]."
Emma, on the other hand, asks Sam to run Longley out of town. When Sam says he can't do that because Longley hasn't done anything, Emma goes to the gunfighter, whom she apparently knows quiet well. She asks Longley to forget Hickok and gives her precious watch to him in exchange for Jimmy's life. The gunfighter said he'll do that only if Jimmy apologizes. When she arrives home, Emma asks Jimmy to apologize to Longley. When he says no, she begs him to do it for her. The young man agrees but he tells Emma never to ask a favor like that again.
Back in town, one of Longley's men spots Bert and the gunfighter calls him out. It isn't a fair fight, however, since another gun was already trained on Bert. It is a common practice for Longley's men to take out their boss's opponent, ensuring his success. After Bert is killed, Marshall Cain takes little Sam to the station so he could stay there overnight. The young boy asks Jimmy if will take on Longley. When the rider hesitates, little Sam promises to kill Longley when he grows up.
Hickok rides to town to apologize to Longley and get Emma's watch back. The gunfighter, on the other hand, is intent on ridiculing the young man. He finally stops toying with Jimmy and calls him out again. Kid and Cody save Jimmy when they take on Longley's hired guns. The older gunfighter manages to wound Jimmy, but the rider kills him with one shot. When Jimmy hands the watch back to Emma, she asks him if it was worth it. The young man defends himself saying he had no choice. Rather than live with Emma's disappointment, Jimmy tries to leave the Pony Express but the housekeeper calls him back.
TRIVIA: There are many firsts in this episode -- this marks store owner Tompkins' first appearance. It is also the first time Hickok is taken to the hothouse. He will be seen inside the hothouse a couple more times after this, in Ten Cent Hero and in Ghosts.
This episode also shows the first time Kid and Hickok go at it each other. There will be several more fistfights between the two riders; one in Daisy, over Lou and one in the first part of Till Death Do Us Part, over their seemingly different allegiances in the Civil War.
It is also in Gunfighter where we first get a feel of what lies ahead for Jimmy Hickok. After saving him from the deadly bite of a snake, Buck tells Jimmy, "Remember Hickok, there will always be one more waiting."
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