Paladin is in the lobby of the Carlton and gets a wire about someone
who needs his services. He rides out and stops for the night in the town
of Bonanza. The town is all but abandoned, but the light at the saloon
is on. Paladin goes inside and finds four elderly men standing at the
bar, all looking at a portrait of a beautiful woman hanging over the
bar. Paladin steps forward and orders a drink, and the four men stare
intently at him. The bartender, Jack Foster, asks if he's passing
through, and admits that almost no one stays in Bonanza since the silver
mine closed. When Paladin admires the portrait, one of the old men,
Elmer Jansen, introduces himself and his friends: Rafe Adams, Ezekiel
Becket, and Double G. Phillips.
The men congratulate Paladin on
his taste and explain that the woman in the portrait is named Annie.
Jack figures that they're empty-headed fools mooning over a painting,
but Double says that Annie is the only reason that they stay in Bonanza.
Elmer admits that Bonanza is a ghost town now with no entertainment,
and Paladin points out that they still have Annie. He buys drinks for
the house so they can toast the painting and the elderly housekeeper,
Miss Felton, immediately comes running out when she hears that there are
free drinks.
Once they're done, Jack has Miss Felton take
Paladin up to choose whatever room he wants. As they go upstairs, Miss
Felton complains that the men spend all their time staring at a
painting. A man, Armand Boucher, comes out of his room and stares
suspiciously at Paladin. Miss Felton leads Paladin to a room and
explains that Boucher is leaving the next day. She turns down the bed
and opens the window, and then wishes Paladin a good night.
The
next morning, Paladin is abruptly woken when the four men storm into
his room and start searching the place. Rafe draws his gun on Paladin,
who easily relieves him of it and orders them out. They refuse, saying
that Paladin is going with them no matter what. Intrigued, Paladin meets
them downstairs and discovers that the painting is gone. They figure
that Paladin stole the painting since he's the only stranger in town
that arrived the previous day. Paladin suggests that they report it to
the sheriff but they admit that there's no law in Bonanza. Jack explains
that he owns the painting and that he discovered it was missing that
morning when he opened up at 6 a.m. The doors were locked from the
inside, suggesting the thief was still inside. Paladin sends the four
old men out to check the town to see if anyone has stolen a wagon or
shipped out any large packages.
Once they're alone, Jack tells
Paladin that the whole thing is ridiculous. Paladin figures that Jack
stole his own painting and tells him to hand it over. The bartender says
that he'd have no reason to fake stealing his own painting, but Paladin
isn't convinced. Once Jack leaves to get some supplies, Paladin checks
the back room and finds the painting frame, broke into pieces. Jack
comes in with a gun and orders him to leave town. Paladin realizes that
Jack plans to frame him for the theft and make sure that he's not around
to answer any accusations. He disarms Jack and knocks him through a
railing, easily subduing him.
Paladin demands answers and Jack
pours himself a drink and admits that he didn't think his four customers
would make such a fuss over the painting. When he realized how attached
that they were to it, Jack couldn't tell them that he sold the painting
to Boucher. Boucher arrives and tells Jack that he's leaving on the
stage, and then realizes that Jack is Paladin's prisoner. He runs
upstairs and Jack tells Paladin that he sold the painting to Boucher for
$500 because he needs the money. As much as he needs the money, Jack
clearly feels guilty for betraying his friends. With a little prodding
from Paladin, Jack agrees to give Boucher the money back and keep the
painting.
When Paladin and Jack visit Boucher, he accuses Jack
of stealing the painting from him. Paladin confirms that there's no way
in or out through the second-story window and Boucher confirms that he
locked the door. The gunfighter wonders why Boucher came to Bonanza and
the man explains that he's been searching the west for the paintings of
Henry Sewtel. Paladin recognizes the artist by name and and points out
that $500 is cheap for one of Sewtel's paintings. Boucher admits that he
may have bought the painting for a bit less so he could make a personal
profit. Jack confirms that he, Boucher, and Miss Felton are the only
three people who have keys to the room, and Boucher figures that the
housekeeper took the painting. They go to her room and Boucher accuses
her, but Miss Felton says that someone stole her keys. Boucher and Jack
go to search the town, and Paladin glances at Miss Felton suspiciously
before going after them.
Later, everyone gathers in the saloon
and Jack tells the four men what he did. He apologizes and gives Boucher
the money, but they still don't have the painting. Paladin tells the
four old men to watch Jack and Boucher and then goes to Miss Felton's
room. He knocks and calls out that they found the painting, and she runs
out immediately, asking why. She has the supposedly stolen keys in her
hands, and realizes that Paladin has tricked her.
Paladin
escorts Miss Felton down to the saloon with the woman on his arm. She
sits down and Paladin tosses the keys on the table. When Boucher accuses
Miss Felton of stealing the painting, she insists that she took it but
she didn't steal it. When they wonder what she means, Paladin tells Miss
Felton to explain and she tells everyone that she is the Annie in the
portrait.
The men don't believe it, saying that Miss Felton is a
preposterous old woman. Paladin gently explains that Miss Felton wasn't
old or preposterous when Sewtel came to Bonanza and was looking for a
model for his work. Miss Felton boasts that Sewtel painted her over and
over again. Boucher eagerly wonders what happened to the other
paintings, and Miss Felton tells him that the artist burned them all.
Sewtel gave her the last one as a token of his love, because he wasn't
the marrying kind. The artist couldn't pay the hotel bill he owed to
Jack's father so the sheriff threw him jail. Miss Felton gave Jack's
father the painting to cover Sewtel's debts, and the artist warned her
that people would come looking for his paintings.
Paladin
points out that the painting belongs to Miss Felton. When Boucher
objects, pointing out that she gave it up to cover the hotel bill, Jack
cheerfully rips up the bill. Miss Felton tells them that the painting is
hidden in a closet and the four old men rush upstairs to get it. Jack
gives the $500 back to Boucher, who tries to buy the painting from Miss
Felton for the same amount. When she refuses, he offers her $5,000.
Paladin, disgusted tells him to pay what the painting is really worth:
$50,000. Boucher tells Miss Felton that she can have fame and
immortality when he hangs her portrait in a gallery, but she tells him
that her lover already gave her immortality. Paladin chuckles and
Boucher walks off, disgusted. Jack pours himself a drink and wonders if
he should have kept the painting and sold it to Boucher for $50,000.
Paladin tells him that it's his decision, but that if he refuses then
he's doing it for himself, not the others.
The four men return
with the painting and put it back above the bar. Jack proudly helps them
and offers drinks on the house. Miss Felton comes running and they
toast the portrait. When Miss Felton hesitates, Paladin gently strokes
her face and points out that they're toasting her, and she thanks him
for his help.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 6, 2018