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The Rifleman Season 4 Episodes
Season 4 Episode Guide
32 Episodes 1961 - 1962
Episode 1
The Vaqueros
Mon, Oct 2, 196130 mins
Lucas and Mark have traveled deep into Mexico looking to buy a seed bull. They are stopped by a bandito, Miguel, who takes their horses and ties Lucas to a tree for a slow death. Mark is taken prisoner and forced to work for the bandits. Lucas manages to escape and makes his way to a small village who know only too well about Miguel. They nurse Lucas back to health and when Miguel shows up in town with Mark in tow, Lucas has a chance to set things right.
Episode 2
First Wages
Mon, Oct 9, 196130 mins
After a week away, Lucas returns to the ranch to learn that Mark now has a job at Nils Swenson's livery stable. Despite Mark's assurances that he can both work at the stable and still get his chores and homework done on time, Lucas has his doubts. He also doesn't quite understand Mark's sudden need for money. When Swenson sends Mark to deliver a re-shod horse to a nearby ranch, Mark decides to take a shortcut but encounters a desperate killer.
Episode 3
Sheer Terror
Mon, Oct 16, 196130 mins
Lucas is asked to stand guard when $50,000 is transferred from a specially designed stagecoach strongbox to the North Fork Bank's vault. Sloan, a former bank clerk plans to rob the shipment with a couple of henchman and uses the general store as a base to launch their attack. Meanwhile, Milly and Mark are held captive in a back room, helpless to prevent the heist.
Episode 4
The Stand-In
Mon, Oct 23, 196130 mins
A prison wagon is transporting Rudy Croft to Yuma for execution but stops off at the McCain ranch with the guards looking to buy a couple of bottles of liquor. Lucas sends them on their way and they eventually get their liquor in town. While drunk and asleep, Croft escapes and the two guards hatch a plan: they'll put Lucas in the wagon and pass him off as Croft when they get to Yuma. While Lucas is their prisoner, Mark returns to the ranch to find the wounded Croft lying in wait.
Episode 5
The Journey Back
Mon, Oct 30, 196130 mins
Mark McCain is a bit afraid of their new neighbor, Will Temple, who has bought the neighboring ranch. Temple seems a nice enough fellow but is badly scarred. Mark comes around however when Temple offers him a job. A Cavalry officer, Lt. Vaughn, arrives looking for an army deserter who is responsible for the death of his entire company. His description of the scar on the deserter's face is identical to Temple's and Mark's yet again has to re-examine his opinion of the man.
Episode 6
The Decision
Mon, Nov 6, 196130 mins
After Lucas McCain sees Corey Hazlett shoot and kill a man in cold blood, he reports it to Marshal Torrance and Hazlett is arrested. The young man's father, Frank Hazlett, isn't about to take it all lying down. Lucas turns down a lucrative bribe and takes special precautions when they threaten to do Mark harm. Lucas is steadfast however in his decision to testify as to what he saw and sets a trap for the Hazlett clan.
Episode 7
Knight Errant
Mon, Nov 13, 196130 mins
Lucas McCain welcomes his old army friend Don, who now goes by the name of Don Chimera del Laredo. He's awaiting the arrival of another mutual friend, Col. Charles Black. He regales Mark with tall tales but also has an ominous message. When Col. Black arrives the two of them will go to war with each having the intention of annihilating the other. It's not quite as dramatic as its made out to be as the two men will face each other across a chess board.
Episode 8
Honest Abe
Mon, Nov 20, 196130 mins
Lucas and Mark are friendly with their neighbor, Able 'Abe' Lincoln. Not only does Able have a remarkable resemblance to the former president, he thinks he is the former president. Everyone in North Fork accepts that Able is a bit touched, but he is a pleasant man who causes no harm to anyone so almost everyone goes along. In the local saloon however, a stranger makes fun of him and Able challenges him to a wrestling match where the man's arm is broken. He's also now determined to get his revenge on the 'president'.
Episode 9
The Long Goodbye
Mon, Nov 27, 196130 mins
Grandpa Fogarty lives in an old shack in desperate need of repairs and cleaning. He lives with his grandson, Woody, and home schools him. Milly and Mrs. Dalrymple think this is wrong and the living conditions are terrible. They want Woody to live in a proper foster home until Grandpa can show he has made the necessary changes in his lifestyle to bring up Woody properly. Grandpa resents this intrusion into his privacy and refuses to give up Woody. Trouble comes when an escaped convict from Grandpa's past comes looking for money he thinks Grandpa has hidden.
Episode 10
The Shattered Idol
Mon, Dec 4, 196130 mins
Mark McCain is agog when the stagecoach stops at their ranch because of trouble with a wheel. The only passenger on board is Samuel Clemens, none other than Mark Twain. Mr. Twain isn't very nice and doesn't really want to talk to anyone. When Mark asks him to tell him what happens in a future chapter of his serialized book Huckleberry Finn, he tells him that Finn is dead and tells him to go away. Lucas learns that Twain is carrying a heavy burden but Mark is not in a forgiving mood.
Episode 11
Long Gun from Tucson
Mon, Dec 11, 196130 mins
Several of the townsfolk in North Fork are frightened when John Holliver returns. He had first come some 5 years before and several of them, including Nils Swenson and Eddie Halstead ran him out of town. Perhaps the most affected however is the town's gunsmith, Henry Waller who has convinced himself that Holliver is out to get him personally. Lucas is acting Marshal and Waller is embarrassed by his own cowardliness. With no one apparently ready to stand with him, Lucas prepares to meet Holliver and his pals alone.
Episode 12
The High Country
Mon, Dec 18, 196130 mins
Two mountain men ride by the McCain ranch and one, Ambrose, is enamored with Lucas' rifle. He tries to trade for it but Lucas won't trade. He is set on getting the gun and later that night they return to ranch and try to steal it. In the scuffle, the other mountain man, Gorwin Morgan, is accidentally shot dead. Lucas returns his horse to his people in the high country but Ambrose has lied about what happened to Gorwin and the hill people hold Lucas accountable. A trial is called and Lucas is found guilty of murder and sentenced to five years labor to pay for Gorwin's mother's loss.
Episode 13
A Friend in Need
Mon, Dec 25, 196130 mins
Mark is kidnapped by a man who had spent most of the day drinking in the saloon and Lucas receives a ransom note demanding $5000. Lucas has no idea how he would ever get that sum of money and bank president John Hamilton can't lend him that amount of money. The funds do become available from a neighbor who insists that he get the money. Ransom in hand, Lucas rides out to meet the kidnapper.
Episode 14
Skull
Mon, Jan 1, 196230 mins
Out hunting for game, Lucas and Mark are separated after Mark has a fall and knocks himself unconscious. While searching for him, Lucas is taken prisoner by Holt Coyle, the owner of the notorious Skull Ranch that has become a haven for outlaws. Coyle thinks he's found the perfect man to get rid of the pesky local town Marshal and after Holt has found Mark and taken him prisoner, Lucas feels he has little choice but to go along with Coyle until an opportunity arises.
Episode 15
The Princess
Mon, Jan 8, 196230 mins
Lucas and Mark take in a young woman and her younger brother who have been hiding in the McCain's barn. The boy, Charles, is sick but Doc Burrage says it's only measles and no one has anything to worry about. His sister Jennifer dreams about having her own ranch or farm and gladly helps out learning as she goes along. She also becomes quite enamored with Lucas. Lucas is also aware of news reports that a foreign princess and her brother have recently run away from their boarding school.
Episode 16
Gunfire
Mon, Jan 15, 196230 mins
Charlie Gordo is sitting in Marshal Micah Torrance's jail awaiting his transfer to Yuma prison to be executed. He seems far too relaxed about it all, telling Micah he has no intention to just sit aback and let that happen. Gordo's men have every intention to bust him out and won't stop at killing the Marshal, or Lucas, if that's what it takes.
Episode 17
The Quiet Fear
Mon, Jan 22, 196230 mins
Jake Striker has just moved to North Fork having purchased Brice Hornsby's farm. Brice wasn't much of a farmer and he's now just drinking and gambling his money away. Several people in town take an interest in Jake's attractive daughter Abbey who is deaf and cannot speak. Mark takes an interest in the young woman and helps her learn the alphabet and how to write her name. Brice takes a liking to her as well and Jake gives him a job. When Abbey is attacked in their barn, suspicion fall on the young Brice and it's left to Lucas to sort it out.
Episode 18
Sporting Chance
Mon, Jan 29, 196230 mins
Both Lucas and Marshal Micah Torrance are left shaking their heads when Englishman Jeremy Pennebroke arrives in North Fork. He's a master gunsmith by profession and has come to North Fork for only one reason: to kill Lucas McCain. Lucas has never seen or heard of him but Jeremy knows all about the Rifleman and has decided he will become famous if he guns Lucas down. Lucas for his part has no intention of taking him on but when a gunfighter comes to town, Jeremy may be getting himself into trouble.
Episode 19
A Young Man's Fancy
Mon, Feb 5, 196230 mins
When Millie's pretty niece Sally Walker arrives in North Fork for a visit, Mark McCain falls madly in love. She's a nice girl who already has her eyes set on Bruce Henry, a young man she knew from back home and who now has a ranch just a few miles out of town. Mark isn't aware of her interest in Henry and is hurt when he sees the two of them having a picnic. Henry's something of a brute however, something that works to Mark's advantage.
Episode 20
The Man from Salinas
Mon, Feb 12, 196230 mins
Lucas is acting deputy in Northfork while Micah is away on business. When the bank is robbed, Lucas shoots and seriously wounds the robber during his getaway. The robber is Rudy Gray from Salinas and Lucas wires the sheriff of Salinas. But the telegraph is intercepted by an unscrupulous clerk, Dave Foley, who decides to travel to Northfork impersonating Rudy's brother to bring him back to Salinas before Lucas can find out there is a $2,000 reward on his head.
Episode 21
Two Ounces of Tin
Mon, Feb 19, 196230 mins
A man rides into Northfork whom everyone seems to recognize. His name is Tip Corey and he has a reputation as a ruthless killer. Micah tells him to ride out of town and Corey refuses and delivers Micah an ultimatum...take his badge off and throw it into the dirt by sundown or he'll kill him. Lucas convinces Micah that Corey won't be back by sundown so Micah leaves on business and Lucas pins on the badge. The threat still holds and Corey delivers his ultimatum to Lucas.
Episode 22
Deadly Image
Mon, Feb 26, 196230 mins
Lucas meets his doppleganger after a local rancher tells Micah he saw Lucas kill his brother in cold blood. No one quite believes him and Lucas can prove where he was the night of the killing. When Earl Bantry rides into town, there is little doubt as to the resemblance between he and Lucas. Bantry has a large drooping mustache and a nasty scar across his forehead but otherwise, they are virtual twins. When Bantry hears about Lucas, he decides to pay the McCain ranch a visit.
Episode 23
The Debt
Mon, Mar 5, 196230 mins
Mark is amazed when he and Lucas meet Micah, who is transporting a prisoner named Renolds. This is the same man who saved Mark's life three years before when Mark was bitten by a rattlesnake. Mark can't quite come to grips with the fact that Renolds, the man who saved his life, is also a killer. Feeling that he owes Renolds something, he fails to sound the alarm when Renolds manages to free himself and escape. Lucas is quite upset with the boy and sets off with Micah to recapture him.
Episode 24
Tinhorn
Mon, Mar 12, 196230 mins
After a man in danger of losing his farm to a professional gambler enlists McCain's help to prove the man is cheating, Lucas sits in on several poker games, much to the dismay of Mark and Millie. Lucas finds no evidence of cheating, but when he learns the man is leaving town in a day or two, Lucas tries to force his hand.
Episode 25
None So Blind
Mon, Mar 19, 196230 mins
Mark meets and befriends a man from Louisiana, Lafayette Blye. He gets around quite well considering he is blind and teaches Mark how to play the banjo. He carries a great sorrow however and revenge burns within him. Lucas meanwhile is told by John J. Mack, a veterinarian traveling under the authority of the territorial governor, that he will have to destroy his entire herd. It also turns out that Mack is the same man Blye has been looking for.
Episode 26
Jealous Man
Mon, Mar 26, 196230 mins
Jake and Fay Owens are newcomers to North Fork. Marshal Micah Torrance knows Jake, now a former lawman, and thinks the couple will make a good addition to the community. Lucas isn't so sure, having already had a run-in with him when he and Mark stopped by the Owens ranch to say hello. It's obvious that Jake is a jealous man who assumes the worse when anyone goes near his attractive wife. Trouble is in the offing when one of Fay Owens' former beaus, Andy Travis, comes to town seeking revenge against Jake and puts Lucas right in the middle of it.
Episode 27
Guilty Conscience
Mon, Apr 2, 196230 mins
A somewhat eccentric woman Mrs. Loretta Carreway and her son Habcock arrive on the stage and she no sooner steps off the stage that she screams out and faints. The cause of her shock is none other than seeing the husband who abandoned her 16 years before - Marshal Micah Torrance who she claims is really Norman Carreway. Micah denies it all, though he admits to Lucas that he drank heavily in those days and his memory has dimmed as a result. It all goes from bad to worst when a new wanted poster arrives with a photo on it of someone who is the spitting image of Micah. It's left to Lucas to sort it out.
Episode 28
Day of Reckoning
Mon, Apr 9, 196230 mins
Lucas and Mark return to North Fork after being away two weeks selling their cattle. Lucas learns that the town has hired a new preacher but isn't quite prepared for what he sees. The man they've hired is the Reverend Jamison, who Lucas knew 25 years before as a gunslinger who roamed the Territories burning out homesteaders and forcing people off their land. He simply can't believe that a man who was capable of doing that could now be a man of the cloth. When two men come to town gunning for Jamison, Lucas has to decide what to do.
Episode 29
The Day a Town Slept
Mon, Apr 16, 196230 mins
Lucas and Mark return to North Fork after a three week absence only to learn that in their absence, Micah was voted out as town Marshal and a newcomer, Ben Judson, is now in charge. It seems that several locals were away and many simply didn't bother to vote assuming Micah would win in a landslide. Lucas thinks the fix is in when Judson declares that a wanted outlaw, Bob Barrett, is a free man and can come and go as he pleases. Judson and Barrett realize that to get away with their scheme, they'll have to get rid of the only witness to Barrett's crimes - Micah Torrance.
Episode 30
Milly's Brother
Mon, Apr 23, 196230 mins
Harry Chase comes to North Fork and meets Lucas in Milly's store. Lucas was Chase's training officer during the Civil War. When he mentions his regiment, Milly immediately realizes that Chase served with her brother, who was killed in action. Chase remembers him and claims her brother was standing beside him when he was shot. Chase and Milly are clearly attracted to one another and Lucas is a bit jealous but Chase's tales of the various battles he was in suggest something else.
Episode 31
Outlaw's Shoes
Mon, Apr 30, 196230 mins
On his way to visit the gunsmith in a nearby town to get a new spring for his rifle, Lucas is ambushed by two men hiding in the bushes. One of the gunmen is a notorious outlaw, George Vale, who takes Lucas' horse leaving his own behind along with his personalizes six-shooter. When Lucas awakens, he has no memory but from what information is available to him, thinks he might be George Vale. As word spread through the community that Vale is in town, a lynch mob decides to take justice into their own hands.
Episode 32
The Executioner
Mon, May 7, 196230 mins
After Russell Ganaway is released from prison, he returns to North Fork intent on showing the people there that he is rehabilitated. Ganaway had been convicted of robbing the stage just outside of town some years before and killing the driver. Not all of the money was recovered and it is generally assumed that either Ganaway or one of the two men who helped him but were never caught still have the money. When his two accomplices show up wanting the cash, he desperately tries to lay the blame on someone else.