User Reviews

This episode focuses on young Barnaby West (Michael Burns) who joined Chris Hale's wagon train at the end of the sixth season. Barney remained on the show for the rest of its run, and occasionally the writers made him the central focus. This time Barney and some other lads his age have been causing mischief. A lot of it. Chris has left the train on a long errand, and during his absence, he has put Bill Hawks (Terry Wilson) in charge. Since Barney joined up and started doing jobs to help the men, Bill has always felt paternal towards him.

So it's no surprise when Barney's recent misbehavior alarms Bill. In addition to looking after the rest of the men and their fellow travelers, Bill tries to straighten Barney out. However, the youngster is resistant to Bill's methods and the two engage in a battle of wills. When Barney is injured fixing a wagon wheel and gets his leg broken, he lashes out and blames Bill who made him do the difficult chore by himself. There is still the possibility Bill is going to whip Barney for those earlier hijinks. Hence the episode's title.

But Bill cannot whip Barney while Barney is recovering with a reset leg. Barney milks his recovery time for all its worth and plays on the sympathy of cook Charlie Wooster (Frank McGrath) who advocates on the boy's behalf. But Bill is still determined to give Barney the whipping he deserves. The conflicts that develop because Barney tries to get out of his punishment are nicely played, and the interplay between the characters makes this a good episode to watch.

In addition to Barney and Bill, there's a subplot involving Jeanne Cooper and Martin Balsam who play a couple with their own problems. Balsam's a raging drunk, dealing with the death of his son; and Cooper is a woman who supposedly has rheumatoid arthritis. Her hip gives out in one scene and she takes a nasty tumble. But she's hiding the secret she really has a wooden leg. Cooper's scenes nicely mirror the scenes involving Barney's leg. Meanwhile, Bill loses faith in his parenting skills and gets rip-roaring drunk, giving him something in common with Balsam's character. It's a well-structured double plot; and the performances are among the best ever featured on Wagon Train.