A Place of Still Waters

In one of the best episodes in the series, a notorious gunman and bank robbery, Pierce (Red) Martin, has a large price on his head comes riding into town. It is not long before word gets out to the community that Pierce is in the area and they send for the Territorial Sheriff to hunt the killer down.

Pierce does have a friend in the town and it just do happens to be the local minister, Jim Hallett. The minister gets word to meet Pierce at a special spot that the two men call 'A place with still water' which happens to be a small valley overlooking a stream. This was a place that was special to both men. We learn that the minister and the outlaw were in the same prison camp in the Civil War. Jim, was so sick that he was sure to die but Pierce saved his life and both men were released and fled to the small valley before going their separate ways as a preacher and a bank robber.

A posse is set up in town to find Pierce. And when the possibility of the minister helping the outlaw is found out by the townsfolk, it will put the minister's position in the community in jeopardy. And it gets worse when Pierce come into town and viciously kills two innocent men. The town wants answers from the minister- and what is revealed may make some understand the bleak situation the minister finds himself.

This was actually a moving story even with the ruthless acts committed by the outlaw. Darren McGavin, who played the outlaw, and Edward Binns, that played the minister, gave the story so much realism that the viewer felt like part of the story. The writer made the outlaw so ruthless and the minister do forgiving, that the viewer was at conflict on how to judge this tale. There was not an easy feeling to this tale. However, by the time the episode came to an end, the viewer knew that they had witnessed an entertaining show.