 It's Hop along Cassidy With action and suspense out of the Old West comes the most famous hero of them all Hop along Cassidy star in William Boyd The ring of the silver spurs heralds the most amazing man ever to ride the prairies of the early West Hop along Cassidy This famous hero thrills his 60 million fans with action and dangerous adventure In the role of Hop along Cassidy is the popular star of the motion picture series William Boyd And now another exciting story of the early West the king of Cinnabar in The vast shimmering landscape of Mesa and mountain and sage covered plane there were two moving points of life a Golden eagle make an easy circles in this sparkling blue sky and the stage six hours out of Alta Mesa Rumbling along the ruts of red dusk toward the setting sun The young woman was tired an hour ago or had it begun to nod and now it was resting comfortably on the shoulder of the boy next to her Across from them the third passenger the cowboy was stretched diagonally across the compartment His head in the corner of the seat and his black stetson covering his face Oh, I knew that was too good to last dry wash. Yeah That's all right miss no happens every time I ride a stagecoach just when I find that one soft place from my head We hit a dry wash. Oh, you're awake miss. I guess I use this young man for a pillow. You're mighty lucky I'm here young lady. Why is that that fellow was fit to be tied? He was so mad when you went to sleep on his shoulder. I had to keep a six gun on him to make him hold still Don't you believe a word of it miss? You want my shoulder? She's yours clean in the cinnabar The arm goes with it. Well, I'll take you up on that cinnabar. I want to stay long I hope to I bought a cattle ranch near there. I'm going to cinnabar to stay if I have any luck It's nice Maybe I better introduce myself. I'm Ben Farley, and I'm Jesse Merideth. What about you stranger hop along Cassidy bar 20 North here I get off the next stop. I see Well, is that where we leave it leave one this lady's Jesse Merideth I'm Ben Farley and you're hop along Cassidy. Just that Nobody asks any more questions about what we were before where we came from why we're here. That's right. I Like that. I'm awful tired of answering questions Ah, you'll find things are a little different out here, Ben We don't give a hoot about what a man used to be just what he is Does that go for me too? Yes for you too, Jesse. I hope you're right I've got two hundred and fifty dollars and and I want to start up a dress shop in cinnabar There are quite a few women around there and I can so pretty well You likely know a lot more about sewing than I do about raising cattle Jesse You know a lot more by this time next year, Ben I've just got to make good, Mr. Cassidy. Well, all you need is a pair of strong hands some sand in your gizzard and a few real friends You see You're ahead of the game already. Huh? You've got one good friend right now Thanks, when you find out what you're up against and Trump be aligned the bar 20 never can tell my partner I might find time to mosey down and give you a hand up against What do you mean build my graph? They call him the king of cinnabar Now back to hop along Cassidy in our story the king of cinnabar It was only a few weeks after the meeting on the Alta Mesa stage that the letter came Addressed to hop along Cassidy at the bar 20 Dear mr. Cassidy Ben and I talked again last night about what has happened since we came to cinnabar three weeks ago And again, I ask him to write to you I have a feeling then is up against something too big for one man that I'll have to have help with these to get out of this thing alive You see on the first day he got here. He wrote out with Sheriff Pete Cooney to look at the cattle he bought He found out what you were talking about on the page that day Yes, he found out about King McGrath 500 head not much to look at are they sure scrawny Thirstiest moves miserable bunch of cows north the Rio Grande When you plan to move them then Move them where onto McGrath's range all they need is plenty of water and some good grays I've got that right here not for three months a year Every ranch in the valley dries up in July and stays that away until the October rains Except the lazy M McGrath spread so everybody moves their stuff onto his land to hold them over right How much your head dollar ahead a month? He boards around 5,000 head there during the summer months 15,000 a year it's not bad No other answers in there lesson. You want your cows to die? You better ride back to town and talk to McGrath and talk nice There's all he's got to do is give his form on the sign and you're through in cinnabar. Well, I find him man Let me see it's Saturday afternoon likely find him at the North Star Saloon So you're Bill Farley Ben. Oh, yeah, Ben And you got 500 head. That's right. Mr. McGrath Well, you look like a nice young fellow like we didn't take her to you It move them over tomorrow You $500 for the first month payable in advance. That's why I'm here, huh? 500 is all I got to my name. I got a million things to take care of before I can get going they can wait the cattle can't What about this second month better borrow yourself another 500 somewhere and if I can't that ain't hard to figure You move them off. Just like you moved them on and they die. Yeah, they die Unless you decide maybe to sell them to me How much oh dependent what kind of a mood I'm in at the time from three to five I'd say And you'll get 24 them at the railhead. Well, that's my proposition. Take it or leave it. Oh, uh, I Wouldn't knows around for any other offers When I make a price on the cow around here, they're generally ain't any other bidders You've been having things your own way around here for quite a spell, haven't you? There's an old saying sonny The man who holds the water is king of the cinnabar sounds fine the folks who have any use for kings I don't you're a short on brains as you're on money. Maybe I'll feed my stock to the buzzards before I'll pay you a dime So long McGrath King McGrath Well, what's happened to you, Ben? I haven't seen you for over two weeks. I've been busy Jesse I don't know yet, but I think I found something what the answer to this McGrath business The man who holds the water is king of the cinnabar. He said and he's right 5,000 head in this valley eight miserable little ranches There's grays for 10,000 head if you can find water for him. That's a trouble. You see McGrath's got the ranchers jumping around like train seals. He told him there was no other answer He's got him believing it, but I think I found a way to lick it. I think then Huh, then this is mrs. McGrath one of my customers How do you do well the dress is lovely Jesse, I'm so pleased with it. I'm glad What did your husband think why I I never showed it to him? I see you see he's such a busy man You know he can't be bothered with silly things like new dresses such Jesse maybe I'd better be going no No, not yet, please You see I couldn't help hearing what just said about mr. McGrath You're such nice young people both of you Please please don't try to fight him. He's different now from when I married him. He's cruel He's Well, I came to tell you to go while you can I don't want to see any more of it I don't want to see any more killing what makes you think they'll be any more My husband called in every man on the ranch had a meeting in the bunkhouse last night about that damn on cash Damn, that's what I start to tell you about Jesse It's a natural dam site on cash Creek about five miles up the gorge. I found it last week It'll hold back enough spring runoff to keep every ranch in the valley over the summer You know what this dam will mean. This is my I don't care anymore. I only want to help you you can't help me I'm telling me what kind of a stew your husband's cooking up for us if and when he picks out the recipe The fella named Starbucks an engineer ought to be here Thursday to take a look at the site That gives me four days to get the ranchers together Clip my shoulder There he goes You got a mighty determined husband, Mrs. McGrath. I tried to tell you too many for you Ben. No, no Jesse Remember what he said All it takes is a pair of strong hands and some sand in your gizzard and a good friend You'd better write to hop along Cassidy then not yet Not till I try it alone But I'm writing you anyway, mr. Cassidy for the last three days and nights Ben's been writing from ranch to ranch talking to cattlemen All of them are afraid to say anything Like Ben and offered to put up some money He was found dead in front of his barn this morning with a bullet in his back So I'm asking you for help before it's too late Jesse Meredith Well, California I got a thousand feet of fence to put in up at North Spring Yeah, and there's that two-year-old Philly. I supposed to gentle this week Bunkos needs a coat of paint and I promised Johnny. I'd ride line with him tomorrow Got a million other chores crying to get done right now me too Well, California, I Were you going just beating you to the draw hoppy going out to wrangle a peg horse I reckon we'll be set to leave for Cinnabar in about a half hour Now back to hop along Cassidy and the king of Cinnabar With four days on the trail behind them and one more to go hoppy in California ride up to the Adobe stage station The last one before Cinnabar The host a fat red-faced little man seems to want to talk as he fills glasses with cool water from the hole in the corner Yeah Yeah, if you ask me there do for a blow off over to Cinnabar yet real first-class six-gun blow off ain't nobody in town That's neutral King McGraths that kind of a man. You know you're either firm or you reckon him you seem to know all about it Oh, yeah, yeah, the engineer came through day before yesterday big lanky red-headed fella named starbuck Yeah, he reckons idea young Farley has for a dam on cash creeks a mighty good one Thanks The starbuck ran alone. Yeah, that said one of the boys from town was to meet him down the road a ways horses is all watered hoppy Right. Thanks, mister. Guess we'll be on our way figure to make Cinnabar by nightfall You ever knew there was a war brewing around here hoppy. Oh Cinnabar is a nice quiet-looking town. Oh that is Jesse Meredith newest pair of fashions She'll make good. All right. Come on. Let's dive here Easy boy, you'll get that saddle off of you before long Where do you reckon we'll find this Farley teller? No tell him He's been riding across the country like a band she for the last week from what I hear Cassidy Mr. Come on now hoppy who is closer friends than that our things in the bar 20 Fine, I guess. How about you just dandy? We got a big improvement society around here now, you know ambitious young fella named Farley Who's gonna make a lot of changes? I Ain't quite made up my mind yet what I'm gonna do when you decide. Let me know will you don't worry when I decide you'll know it See you later boys Don't know as I like the way that man wears his head that's trees in California You're talking against the King come on and that's all you can tell us Jesse. Yes, Mr. Cassidy We don't know what's going on when I wrote you it looked like war any minute windows were broken at ranch houses Mysterious notes stuck under doors and suddenly it all stopped a grass showed up in town with a big smile on his face And started patting people on the back Oh, I knew a horse like that once Toadie up to your nicest pie and then when you wasn't looking he'd haul off and kick you over the closest hill That's my grass. Come on, California. I want to find Ben like to write up case Creek Canyon If you have a talk with him on the way hoppy not buy it. Yep buy a damn side Come on Well, there she is hoppy that's the gorge down there. That's unnatural all right They never thought of it before the grass to carry that he had him so buffalo that wouldn't take a step without permission Yeah, this is gonna change a lot of things What's the matter how long since you've been up here? About a week. Why looks like someone was here a couple of hours ago in those tracks Yeah, they get out over the rim toward the face of the overhang there painted rock Any reason for anyone to be fooling around here now? Not that I know of hoppy Let's leave the horses here and get out on foot Whoever made those tracks is still there Oh Get up your hands. I said wait a minute hoppy. What is this? Ben who is it then sorry Mike? We're a little jumpy I guess this is hop along Cassidy Mike Starbuck the engineer Starbuck. Yeah, it's lucky. My horse didn't jump clean down to the canyon. Mr Oh, I'm sorry Then and I just came up to look things over here. That may be one of my grass boys with nosing around Oh, no offense. I was making a few last-minute sketches, Ben I'm gonna use them at the meeting tonight. I'll see you there. Good. Good. Well, better be moving along Come on What's up, I'll let you know in a minute This is as far as he went what's on your mind hoppy we shine new look at that Left a little pile of rocks here at the base of the cliff. What are you suppose he is up to? I sure do suspect him or something. I wish I knew what it was Look, I hired the guy to work for me. You hired an engineer named Starbuck. What do you mean? I heard Starbuck was a tall lanky fellow with red hair red hair But this fella. Yeah After making a pretty careful survey of cash creed Canyon I figure we can throw a temporary earth dam across the creek at the gorge in about six weeks Back up enough water to get us through this summer The total cost will be around $50,000 Gosh, I never would have believed it Then Let's sneak out the side door. I want to talk to the sheriff So this engineer is a phony so McGrath had the real one killed and maybe done it himself He's done it before dozen times. Well, I know it's his usual way of dealing with a man who stands up to him What are you waiting for Pete? Just this I've said it before and I'll say it again You can arrest some poor wadiot in a range without two bits in his pockets and maker stick But not King McGrath when I go after that man I want both barrels loaded with the right kind of ammunition and until I got it I ain't making a move. What kind of ammunition you need Pete a confession You get him to confess he hired the killer of that engineer or that he ordered someone to shoot slim hardest in the back And by saying Peter I'll hang King McGrath from the tallest tree in Cinnabar Valley Ben Jesse, what's up? This is McGrath. I just talked to her. What is it Jesse? She knows you know, she knows what's going on. Can you trust it? Sure you can go ahead Jesse the engineer He's an imposter one of McGrath's men already guessed that much the two of them are meeting at midnight at Kelly's Delivery stable to get a wagon a wagon. Don't ask me why they're going to take it up. Cash Creek Canyon up the rim She said tonight Guy what's King McGrath doing with the wagon? That's all she heard Kelly stable at midnight. Hey, thanks. Jesse. We'll take it from there On this here stable. I can't even see to think Hold it now. Here's the wagon Load it down. Do you feel anything? Wait? Guess it's safe to let a man get a look at that Dynamite. Yeah. Lantern high. That all right? Yeah Good work, mr. Starbuck Look, okay, McGrath. How much we got ten cases enough to move a couple of mountains into cash Creek Canyon and then some They'd rather take care of the little boy with a big idea, huh? You know, there's no you shooting up a lot of people and maybe getting a sheriff down on you When he can do the same trick so peaceable with ten cases of dynamite What time you got ten o'clock? We'll meet here at 12 like I said I don't want to take a chance of being seen pulling this thing out of town If you see Cassidy again, give my regard Watch on your mind happy if I may express a natural curiosity Confession We've got two hours for midnight now listen, I want you to get this straight Bell in the sheriff and I'll have our hands full round up a posse the rest is gonna be up to you me and get it the first time Take it easy McGrath nervous. Why not you hit a rough the wrong way Jocelyn those boxes back there Down the avenue. Yeah, but be careful anyway Dynamite does funny things How much father? Is that juniper tree up there in the moonlight? Yeah, that's it We'll have to carry it down the trail a box at a time. I marked the spot with a pile of rocks, huh? You're nervous. Yeah, all right, Jen put him up The next one parts here to pay and number three gives you indigestion. I said put him up That's better Well, if it ain't mr. McGrath, what are you one? I hate to bust up a romantical buggy ride boys You two fellas out sparking in the moonlight. I got a line camp up the cannon. We're taking up supplies supplies Hey hand good ain't you a mite off in your range McGrath? I thought the lazy em was 10 miles to the other side of the ridge Oh, but that don't matter now because I come to hear you sing What are you talking about? I'll explain while you set up there on top of them boxes of canned goods Now first place I want to know what you did with an engineer named Starbucks and second place I want to know who you hired to kill slim hardest. Yeah crazy get away from those boxes Why nothing but canned goods these wooden boxes, you see when I need some luck I always knock on wood like this Shut up, it's his high tooth it blows. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you told me a fiver. They're into canned goods in them boxes Well, maybe I'll just back off a weeds and put a 44 slug into one of them. No, no, no, no, no, no Once again, that was a little high Next one goes through the label. All right. All right. I did it. I killed Starbucks Shot him on the trail stuck his body in a crack in the rocks of juniper spring 10 miles out of town What about slim Logan did that I paid him who's Logan me It's okay, hobby. Oh, they're jabbering like magpies this way, sir Stim this turn you can start fitting them both for a rope necktie Yeah, they figured a blow painted rock and half the ridge here down into the canyon That would have finished any idea to put a dam in this spot once and for all Okay, I Ain't exactly sorry. It's over. I'll be got quite a bit to tell you and I've got something to tell you Come on. Let's get back to town time. The sheriff started earning these money Now back to hop along Cassidy. Well, you're on your way now Ben. It looks like it happy Oh, it was just like you said happy to good hands and measure of sand and a good friend You've got a lot of good friends now Ben How much long you're gonna keep Jesse in this dress shop about five minutes Well, you'll have to have someone to keep house for him with a new dam going up and I heard of cattle to look at You'll work it out. There'll be plenty of trouble ahead. There always is but you are the kind of people who can lick it It's like a new life. Yeah Oh and speaking of that, I'd like to put some new life into california You see, I just told him told him what that we got our wires crossed and he was pounding on a box of real dynamite in that wagon Matter of fact, that's why I'm here got any smelling salts Jesse Goodbye from hop along Cassidy Hoppy in california hitting the trail homeward again and after this little adventure the bar 20 is going to be a restful site Hope you enjoyed this friendly visit and that you'll remember to tune in next time these two fighting cowboys get involved in another thrill and escapade Hop along Cassidy star and william boyd is transcribed and produced in the west by walter white junior The king of cinnabar was written by harold swaton All stories are based upon the characters created by clarence e mulford. This is a commodore production