Trail of Hate

Trail of Hate" is the 1st episode of The Rifleman Season Three and the 77th episode overall. Directed by Arnold Laven and written by Calvin Clements, it aired on September 27, 1960.
==Synopsis==
Lucas is out for vengeance when Mark is used as a pawn in a bank robbery scheme.
==Plot==
The episode opens with Mark and Lucas working peacefully on the range. Suddenly, a man on horseback arrives and introduces himself as Benjamin Stark. He tells Lucas that he will be conducting a transaction at the North Fork Bank that day, and it will go more smoothly and profitably if Lucas goes along to "vouch" for him. When Lucas casually goes for his rifle, Benjamin shoots near him, making Lucas realize the serious nature of the situation. Two more men named Cougar and Noley arrive on horseback, and they inform Lucas that Benjamin's brother Noley will stay with Mark at the farm while Lucas comes to the bank with him and Cougar, and if Lucas doesn't cooperate, Mark will be put in harm's way. Lucas reluctantly goes along and leaves Mark with Noley at the ranch.
Noley, who is an unintelligent but kindhearted and harmless man, tries making nice with Mark and reassures him nobody will hurt him, but Mark is cold to him. As Noley helps Mark with chores, Noley tells Mark about his life; how Ben raised him, bought him a farm, and how he used to have a wife and a son whom he loved, but his wife left and took their son with her.
Mark throws a bale of hay at Noley and runs off. Noley chases after him, but Mark trips over a log, and hits his head on a rock, getting knocked unconscious. Noley carries Mark back to the ranch.
Meanwhile at the North Fork bank, Lucas introduces Benjamin to the bank manager, John Hamilton. As the group discusses a loan, the heist begins and Hamilton is forced to put the contents of the bank vault into Benjamin's bag. Benjamin and Cougar tell Lucas and John to stay at the bank for exactly one hour before leaving.
Benjamin and Cougar travel back to the McCain ranch, and Noley tells Benjamin that Mark tried to run away and hit his head. After checking on him and finding that he's still breathing, the three men take off.
An hour passes, and Lucas frantically rushes home to find Mark in his bad condition. Lucas calls for Doc Burrage, who treats Mark and tells Lucas he'll be alright. Lucas packs his things and gets ready to set out after the robbers. Doc Burrage asks Lucas if he intends to kill the men; Lucas responds, "I'm not going to kill them, Doc. Before I'm through, they're going to wish I did. Before I'm through, they'll be beggin' me to kill them."
Benjamin, Noley, and Cougar ride all night on horseback and stop for a rest, unaware that Lucas is following close. As Ben goes for a drink of water from his canteen, Lucas shoots it from his hands from afar, and fires shots near the horses, scaring them off. Lucas fires holes in all of the robbers' canteens, draining the water and leaving them with nothing. Lucas orders the men to walk back to North Fork, which is a 50-mile walk through the blistering desert.
The men march on, and Lucas follows close behind, always staying hidden and watching from afar, commanding them to continue whenever they slow down. As the men grow weaker and weaker, Cougar gets the idea to try to bribe Lucas with the stolen bank money, but Lucas doesn't take it. Then Cougar turns on Noley, tells Lucas it was Noley that hurt Mark, and that they'll send Noley up to Lucas if Lucas lets him and Ben go; this also fails. Benjamin confronts Cougar about offering up his brother to try to save his own skin; the men argue, and it ends in Cougar grazing Noley's ribs with a bullet and Benjamin fatally shooting Cougar.
Ben and Noley march onwards, becoming ever weaker, with Noley struggling with his bullet wound. They come up on a watering hole, but Lucas fires shots towards them before they can drink any. As Noley gets closer and closer to death, Ben desperately pleads with Lucas, saying Noley will die if he doesn't get help and Noley's his brother. Lucas silently looks on as Ben apologizes to Noley for everything. After contemplation, Lucas silently approaches the men and crouches down to give aid to Noley.
==Characters==
===Main===
*Lucas McCain - Chuck Connors
*Mark McCain - Johnny Crawford
===Recurring===
*Doc Burrage - Jack Kruschen
*John Hamilton - Harlan Warde
===Guests===
*Benjamin Stark - Harold J. Stone
*Cougar - Marc Lawrence
*Noley Stark - Harvey Johnson
Category:Episodes
Category:Season Three episodes
Category:Episodes where Mark gets kidnapped
Category:Episode pages with completed plot sections