Several of the valley's ranchers join their herds with the Barkleys' herd
for a cattle drive but all does not go well.
Several of the hands are resentful of Heath's new status and refuse to
accept him as a Barkley or to take orders from him. One in particular,
Barrett, even makes a comment that the B brand on Heath's horse doesn't
stand for Barkley, at least not for Heath.
Heath tells Barrett to pick up his pay and leave. Later, he finds out that
Nick hired the man back on. Nick is concerned about the upcoming drive
and feels great pressure to make sure the drive comes off without a hitch
because it is not only their cattle and income that is at stake. He doesn't
feel they can afford to lose any of the men at this point and he is not made
aware of the reason Heath fired the man.
Heath and Barrett have a confrontation in the bunkhouse that leads to a
fight. Heath emerges victorious but during the fight oil was knocked onto
the hot stove and a fire starts in the bunkhouse, with Barrett unconscious
inside.
A stranger rides up and rescues Barrett from the flames. Nick recognizes
the man as his former General from the war, General Wallant.
AS BARRETT REFUSES
TO TAKE AN ORDER.
BETWEEN THEM LEADS TO
A FIGHT.
stares at Wallant's horse out in the corral. He has a feeling that he has
seen the animal before.
When he asks Nick what Wallant was doing before arriving at the ranch,
Nick angrily tells him that it is none of their business.
The next day while discussing their intended route, Wallant informs
them that the lake they intended to use enroute is dried up. He proposes
a different route that Nick accepts. Heath remains suspicious of the man.
Once again watching Wallant's horse, Victoria spots Heath and asks him
what's bothering him. He finally remembers that he saw Wallant's horse
at the Sample farm during the gun battle, with the railroad's hired men.
In the meantime, Wallant is integrating himself with the hands, espec-
ially those that don't like Heath.
TO HEATH.
FRIENDLY WITH THE
HANDS.
NICK'S PROPOSED
ROUTE.
NEW ROUTE THAT NICK
AGREES TO.
AT WALLANT'S HORSE, CONCERNED
SHE GOES OUT TO TALK TO HER
NEW SON.
WHY WALLANT'S HORSE
LOOKS SO FAMILIAR.
taken to a nearby town, Heath is placed in charge of the drive.
There is immediate dissention among the men and Wallant convinces
some of them to help him steal the herd and join him in the fight
against the Mexican government.
Heath follows Wallant that night as he sneaks away from camp. He
discovers that Wallant has a literal army of weapons stored at an old
cabin.
When Wallant and the hands make their intentions clear, Heath man-
ages to slip away to the cabin and hold up there.
During the following confrontation the men see that Wallant is
mentally unstable and after Heath is forced to shoot him they change
their ways and begin to treat Heath with respect.
ON THE DRIVE
CABIN WHERE WALLANT'S
ARSENAL IS HIDDEN AND
PREPARES FOR BATTLE
collection this is the only episode that shows the men actually working
cattle on a drive, I like this one because of the complex emotions that
are shown.
It seems to me that Nick is still not completely adjusted to the idea that
Heath is his brother and is uncertain how to treat him. As Jarrod states to
Nick, Heath did not grow up a Barkley. Nick knows this and seems to want
to get to know his new brother better.
Heath is having to adjust himself, not only to being a Barkley but also to
the responsibilities that come with it and the resentment of others for his
presence.
Both men are being pulled in several directions by conflicting emotions
and it is interesting to watch scenes where Nick is snapping at Heath one
moment then giving him a heartfelt and sincere apology the next or Heath's
facial expressions showing his hurt at Nick's words and actions in one scene
then in a later scene he smiles and forgives Nick without hesitation.
While all siblings snap at each other then apologize, it seems that not hav-
ing grown up together causes their emotions to be more profound. Heath is
cut more deeply by Nick's actions and Nick feels stronger regret for those
actions than what is normally seen between siblings that have been raised
up together.
Also, while it occurs in several episodes, this is the first time where Heath's
failure to communicate with his family leads to misunderstanding by them
and hurt feelings on his part.
His reasons for not sharing his negative experiences with certain individuals
with the family is never made clear but I suspect he is too reluctant to truly
open up about his confrontations with these people. Whatever the reasons, we
also see this theme in other episodes such as The Lost Treasure and Guilt of
Matt Bentell.
time and the emotional anguish and pain is a delight for all true Heath
lovers. It's interesting to watch him trying to accept his new role as a
Barkley and to interact with his new family members. One can almost
feel his need for their love and acceptance and his confusion about exact-
ly where he stands within the family unit.