Father Murphy

Establish Thou the Work of Our Hands

60 min

Murphy befriends an embittered black boy and teaches him a useful trade—wagon driving. But a wagon wreck causes the boy to lose the use of his hand, and Murphy must help him cope with living without the only task which ever made him feel worthwhile.

A Horse from Heaven

60 min

Father Parker mistakenly trades some of the stock for a fast, beautiful horse... that no one can ride. He'd hoped to race it in the territorial fair to win the $1000 purse, but he's injured while trying to break the animal. A little retarded girl at the school proves to be the only one who can tame it, and despite everyone's concern, she indeed rides the horse to victory. In the comic B-story, Rodman tries to indict the school for gambling and horse-playing, but it turns out Rodman's boss likes to play the ponies too ... and wins a bundle on the big race.

By the Bear That Bit Me (1)

60 min

A mountain man deposits a young boy at the orphanage. The boy soon turns out to be a young girl, attracting the amorous attentions of young Ephram. When he feels rejected by her, Ephram runs away, is caught, and thrown into a work farm. Will and the girl get arrested in a failed attempt to help Ephram. break out.

By the Bear That Bit Me (2)

60 min

Murphy and Eli must finally wade in to con the authorities into releasing the kids from the workhouse.

False Blessings

60 min

Falling on hard times again, the school is seduced by an offer of ""state aid"" by a local official. Mae accepts the aid, only to learn that by doing so she has unwittingly agreed to some'terrible conditions ... including the departure of Murphy and Moses and putting the children to work making leather goods. She's finally able to kick out the unscrupulous officials when she discovers them tampering with the money earned by the children's labor.

The Ghost of Gold Hill

60 min

Comic episode in which the son of the original owner of Gold Hill Mine comes back to reclaim the school. Mae and Murphy are worried until they discover he's harmless, loveable... and a little bit nuts.

Graduation

60 min

Claiming he's an orphan because his parents are dead, an old man joins the school to achieve a lifelong ambition... to learn to read and write. Comical conflict arises with Rodman and Tuttle, but the old man succeeds... and wins the heart of a ladyfriend.

Will's Surprise

60 min

When Will happens upon a large gold nugget, his drunk father shows up in town and kidnaps him, convinced the boys know where there's more. Will is locked in a dank root cellar and nearly starves when his father is injured without telling the boy's whereabouts. Murphy and his dog, Mine, manage to find and save the boy.

Eighty-Eight Keys to Happiness

60 min

Moses discovers that music is the key to reaching a withdrawn blind girl. But the only way the school can afford a piano is by letting a local entrepreneur use the saloon building temporarily as a casino. Rodman seizes upon this to attempt to shut down the school ... but fails when he himself succumbs to the gambling bug.