The Thunderhead Swindle

April 29, 1961

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Bonanza - S2 - E30

With Virginia City on the verge of economic ruin, out of work miners put their hopes in word of a strike at a mine everybody believed was played out. Ben suspects the new owners have been stealing silver from an adjoining mine also thought dry, and resolves to prove it.

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Bonanza: Season 2 - 34 Episode s

2x1 - Showdown
September 10, 1960
A young bank robber hires on at the Ponderosa in order to keep his gang informed of the law's efforts to discover their whereabouts.
2x2 - The Mission
September 17, 1960
Filmed almost entirely outdoors, this is more like a feature than a series. Captain Pender is looking for a scout to lead him and his company of men across the desert, along with a currency shipment they are carrying to another army fort. Charlie Trent, a former scout and now a drunk, still blames himself for his troops being led to massacre. Hoss sees that this is Charlie's opportunity to redeem himself and win back his honor. Meantime, Captain Pender is having trouble with Cutter, another scout who is a devious and cunning bear of a man, who agreed to lead him across the desert, but Pender lets him go and with Hoss' suggestion, Captain Pender agress to have Charlie be their scout.
2x3 - Badge Without Honor
September 24, 1960
Adam's life is saved by an enigmatic U. S. Marshal who has come to Virginia City to arrest a friend of the Cartwrights.
2x4 - The Mill
October 1, 1960
The Cartwrights construct a grist mill to provide income for a crippled rancher who blames Ben for his predicament. Ben has to contend with the man's depraved caretaker, and finds himself attracted to his wife. "Sons can't be everything," Ben tells her.
2x5 - The Hopefuls
October 8, 1960
Adam guides a wagon train of Quakers and falls for the leader's daughter, Regina. The force Adam must employ to protect them, conflicts with their passive philosophy of life.
2x6 - Denver McKee
October 15, 1960
While celebrating the return of his daughter Connie, former lawman McKee is asked to assist in the capture of an outlaw gang. While Joe is courting Connie, no one realizes that McKee is involved with the outlaws.
2x7 - Day of Reckoning
October 22, 1960
Prejudice erupts on both sides when Ben gives an Indian named Matsou and his wife, some of his land, after saving Ben's life from a renegade Indian who almost killed him on the Ponderosa. An intense and magnetic performance by Ricardo Montalban.
2x8 - The Abduction
October 29, 1960
Hoss and Joe take their sweethearts to a colorful and strange carnival for the day. Joe's recent girlfriend Jennifer Beale is abducted by the sinister owner, Philip Reed and his accomplice Gerner. Her father is Joshua Beale, the richest man in the Comstock. Gerner convinces Reed to hold her for a million dollar ransom, and her father will gladly pay them to ensure her safe return. Reed's girlfriend Della Thompson is jealous of Jennifer and has second thoughts about the abduction. Hoss and Joe take notice of Jennifer's disappearance and travel deep into the bowels of the carnival, meeting fierce resistance from the carnival people at every avenue. They come up without a trace of finding her.
2x9 - Breed of Violence
November 5, 1960
Joe's friend Dolly Kincaid is the daughter of the sheriff and she's always getting caught up with the wrong crowd. When she gets close to Vince Dagen, Joe gets worried and tries to intervene.
2x10 - The Last Viking
November 12, 1960
Gunnar Borgstrom is the leader of a vicious band called the Commancheros. They burn houses, kill people and steal anything of value. When the Commancheros get to Nevada, Gunnar decides to visit his relatives, the Cartwrights. Meanwhile the gang capture Little Joe and his girlfriend. When Gunnar returns to the gang, he has no idea who Joe is because he'd never met his nephew before.
2x11 - The Trail Gang
November 26, 1960
On a cattle drive back to Nevada from Texas, Ben hires a young man who is both an outlaw and the son of the sheriff whose town the Ponderosa cowhands are entering.
2x12 - The Savage
December 3, 1960
Adam's life is saved by a woman known to the Indians as White Buffalo Woman, but who is actually the daughter of Norwegian immigrants.
2x13 - Silent Thunder
December 10, 1960
Captivated by the pretty, deaf-mute daughter of a reclusive mountain man, Little Joe teaches the young woman sign language. Thrilled with her newfound ability to communicate, Annie mistakes her gratitude to Little Joe for love, much to the chagrin of Albie, who is determined to have her for his own.
2x14 - The Ape
December 17, 1960
Hoss becomes friends with dull-witted Arnie Gurnie, who is a brute of a man with the mentality of a child. His temper scares everybody, including the Cartwrights.
2x15 - The Blood Line
December 31, 1960
Ben feels responsible for the son of a man he was forced to kill, but the young man is determined to get even. A professional gunman offers to do the job for him.
2x16 - The Courtship
January 7, 1961
Hoss plans to marry the widow of one of Ben's friends, not knowing she is a compulsive gambler and refusing to believe it when the other Cartwrights confront him with the truth.
2x17 - The Spitfire
January 14, 1961
Joe becomes the target of a tough and vengeful Kentucky family, after he kills one of them who almost sets the Ponderosa on fire and the Cartwrights take in the dead man's daughter.
2x18 - The Bride
January 21, 1961
The Cartwright boys are surprised to find that a woman, claiming to have recently married their father, shows up on their doorstep. When Ben gets home, he is just as surprised as they are. Has the lady been swindled by a con-man, or is she something of a con-woman herself?
2x19 - Bank Run
January 28, 1961
When they "rob" the bank in Virginia City to save depositors from being cleaned out by its president, Hoss and Joe wind up wanted by the law.
2x20 - The Fugitive
February 4, 1961
Adam goes to Mexico to find out how the son of a family friend was killed, only to learn the man is still alive.
2x21 - Vengeance
February 11, 1961
Hoss accidentally kills a drunk he was trying to disarm. The man's brother bushwhacks Hoss, who has lost the will to live. Joe makes a promise to Hoss that he will kill Red Twilight, the vengeful brother who bushwhacked Hoss, no matter what happens, and will not let Adam stand in his way.
2x22 - The Tax Collector
February 18, 1961
The kindness Hoss extends to shiftless Jock Henry is not exactly repaid when Henry becomes an assistant assessor and raises the Ponderosa's annual tax bill from to .
2x23 - The Rescue
February 25, 1961
The Cartwright boys are concerned that Ben might be getting on in years, yet it is he who saves them from cattle rustlers.
2x24 - The Dark Gate
March 4, 1961
Adam is confused by the sudden behavior of his good friend, Ross Marquette. He beats up his wife, Delphine, after accusing her of having an affair with Adam. He also joins a group of rustlers and killers and helps rob a gold shipment. Adam thinks Ross is suffering from insanity, in this highlight of season two.
2x25 - The Duke
March 11, 1961
Hoss takes on The Duke Of London, an arrogant, abusive bare-knuckle fighter, though his brawn is no match for the Duke's agile skills.
2x26 - Cutthroat Junction
March 18, 1961
When freight company detective Jed Trask is fired after a decade of service, he joins the thieves preventing supplies from reaching Virginia City.
2x27 - The Gift
April 1, 1961
While crossing the desert to Yuma, Arizona with a white stallion intended as a birthday present for Ben, Joe runs into a pack of merciless comancheros. His companion, a former comanchero, Emiliano, who raised the horse, must get he and Joe through safely.
2x28 - The Rival
April 15, 1961
Jim Applegate, Hoss' rival for the affections of Cameo Johnson, is a member of a vigilante group who lynched an innocent man and his wife.
2x29 - The Infernal Machine
April 22, 1961
Hoss believes in his friend's primitive version of the automobile in this lighthearted, yet sad episode. When the "car" uses up the last of its fuel, Hoss remarks, "Dadburn it, I still say it woulda worked".
2x30 - The Thunderhead Swindle
April 29, 1961
With Virginia City on the verge of economic ruin, out of work miners put their hopes in word of a strike at a mine everybody believed was played out. Ben suspects the new owners have been stealing silver from an adjoining mine also thought dry, and resolves to prove it.
2x31 - The Secret
May 6, 1961
Joe is the victim of an elaborate frame-up, accused of murdering a pregnant girl. When Ben is asked if Joe is telling the truth, he replies, "If I were to start doubting my son at this point, everything I've lived and worked for would be lost".
2x32 - The Dream Riders
May 20, 1961
To finance his dream of constructing an airship capable of crossing the Atlantic, Ben's old friend plans to rob the Virginia City bank while diverting the citizens' attention with a hot air balloon.
2x33 - Elizabeth, My Love
May 27, 1961
At the bedside of a seriously ill Adam, Ben thinks back to his days as a first mate in the merchant marines and his marriage to Adam's mother, Elizabeth Stoddard.
2x34 - Sam Hill
June 3, 1961
Blacksmith Sam Hill fights to keep the land on which his mother is buried, after his drunken father signs the deed over to Colonel Tyson and his private army. Poetic episode written by John T. Kelley and directed by Robert Altman.

2x1 - Showdown

2x2 - The Mission

2x3 - Badge Without Honor

2x4 - The Mill

2x5 - The Hopefuls

2x6 - Denver McKee

2x7 - Day of Reckoning

2x8 - The Abduction

2x9 - Breed of Violence

2x10 - The Last Viking

2x11 - The Trail Gang

2x12 - The Savage

2x13 - Silent Thunder

2x14 - The Ape

2x15 - The Blood Line

2x16 - The Courtship

2x17 - The Spitfire

2x18 - The Bride

2x19 - Bank Run

2x20 - The Fugitive

2x21 - Vengeance

2x22 - The Tax Collector

2x23 - The Rescue

2x24 - The Dark Gate

2x25 - The Duke

2x26 - Cutthroat Junction

2x27 - The Gift

2x28 - The Rival

2x29 - The Infernal Machine

2x30 - The Thunderhead Swindle

2x31 - The Secret

2x32 - The Dream Riders

2x33 - Elizabeth, My Love

2x34 - Sam Hill

S1: Season 1

S2: Season 2

S3: Season 3

S4: Season 4

S5: Season 5

S6: Season 6

S7: Season 7

S8: Season 8

S9: Season 9

S10: Season 10

S11: Season 11

S12: Season12

S13: Season 13

S14: Season 14