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>>