Little House on the Prairie S06E09 The King Is Dead

You were sleeping. Why didn't you wake me? Oh, you do not wake a sleeping beauty except when it is. I brought you flowers. They're lovely. Am I? I must go away for a while. Milo. No. May you wrestle again. Anna. You are too old to wrestle. Why won't you admit it? Anna, I am strong. You wrestle to pay for this. The hospital. The medicine. I wrestle because I love it. What you do now is not wrestling. It's not the Greco-Roman. A sideshow. Tell me of it. Times change. People change. You give them what they want. You give them your pride. You let them take it. Is there anything you need before I go? No. I will be gone two weeks. Don't be angry. I don't want to go away having you angry with me. I'm not angry with you. I'm angry at me. At my sickness. That makes you do this. Never say that. You are my life. I am not whole person without you. You are my heart. Nurse, I will be gone for a while. I leave you a address if hospital have to get in touch with me. Certainly. Take good care of me, Anna. We will. Time for your medicine. No. Come along now, Mrs. Stavropoulos. I said no. If you don't take it, I'm going to have to get the doctor. Get the doctor. He will find out. It's no use to argue with Anna Stavropoulos. We better make a lot of money in Mankato or I won't break even on the food bill. I need much food for strength. You don't see Milo eat like that. He is old. I'm just a growing boy. I am the champion. I am the king. Look, we only got a couple of days to set up the elimination bomb. So as soon as we get to Mankato, we'll go right to work. They've had a good harvest this year. The farmers ought to have a lot of money to spend. Good, good. We take all they got, huh? You head on over to Mooney's and see if those saw blades came in. I'll start unloading this. Fine with me. As long as you're unloading, I won't hurry. See you later. I've been drawing a blank so far. If we don't find a Patsy here, we'll have to start looking in some of the other smaller towns. We find one. We always do. Yeah, well, come on. We'll try another saloon. Somebody's got to have a reputation in this hick town. Hey, Melo, take a look. Sure got the size for it, don't he? Plenty strong. He's all yours, Melo. Where you go, clumsy farmer? I'd say we both better watch where we're going. You say it's my fault? I'd say it's an accident. Let's just forget about it. Maybe you say that is action. Hey, hey, fight! Fight! Fight! No. But I'll tell you, that old man was strong as a bull. Melo Stavropoulos. So? So, he's just the number one contender for the heavyweight wrestling title is all. Look, he's going to wrestle Hero Township's best man a week from Friday. The winner fights the champion, Hans Mueller. Well, that's interesting, mister. But that don't get my work done. Look, my name is Hart. Jimmy Hart. I'm promoting this event. I've been looking for the best man to represent Hero Township, and I'd say you're it. Me? I'm just a farmer. Farmer or no, you just whipped Stavropoulos easy. You'd be a shoo-in to beat him. And from what I've seen, I'd say you could take the champ. Like I said, mister, listen, I'm just a farmer. Will you stop that and listen to me for a minute? The winner of the first fight gets $100. How much? $100. The winner of the title bout gets $300. You're kidding me. Jimmy Hart doesn't kid. How long would it take you to earn that kind of money farming? I ain't ever seen that kind of money. All right. What do you say? Well, I'll have to think about it. All right, but don't think too long. I gotta get the word out about this fight pretty quick. Newspaper ads and such. My name would be in the papers? All over Hero Township. You win the big one, it'll be all over the United States. I'm at the Brower Hotel. You know where it is? Yeah, yeah, I do. Room 14. I'll need an answer today. I'll think on it. You do that. Room 14. He sure is. No, but he will. The fellow, what's his name? Stavropoulos. Yes, Stavropoulos. You sure he's the number one contender? Positive. He's real strong. I put him down easy. Well, he's kind of old. Charles, the way I see it, it's a sure $100 and a chance for $300 more. I just can't believe it. Well, neither could I until this Hart fellow told me about it. He's staying here. Come in, come in, come in. Mr. Hart, this is my friend, Charles Ingalls. Mr. Hart. I decided to take you up on that offer. Well, well, I thought you would. I took the liberty of filling out the contracts already. Just sign right there. Big John Garvey. That's it, that's it, that's it. That's Hart will be on the posters. And in the newspapers. Big John Garvey, the pride of Hero Township. Big John Garvey. I kind of like that. I thought you would. It'll be in every newspaper in Hero Township by tomorrow. Big John Garvey. Sign mine, Big John. Sure, Mrs. Olsen. It's so exciting having our very own celebrity in Walnut Grove. I ain't so sure I'm a celebrity. Well, I am. After all, your name's right there on the front page. And practically everybody from Walnut Grove is going to Mankato to see you win. You are gonna win, aren't you? It'd be terribly embarrassing if you didn't. Sure my pa's gonna win. He's already whipped him once. Didn't you, pa? Are you sure he can take him? Sure he's sure. Aren't you, pa? Yeah. Yeah, I can take him. Well, I'll take that at your word. I'll have my money on you. Hey, Big John. They can take you away from your public. You still have some work to do. I'll be right there, Charles. Did I get everybody signed here? Well, I'll see you later. Bye-bye. I think we'll all make a killing on this fight. Sure enough, I'm gonna put every dime I got on it and maybe borrow some more. Like stealing? Harriet, what on earth are you... Shh. I'm counting money. I can hear that, but why at this hour of the night? Nils, for heaven's sake, now you made me lose count. I hope you can finish before I get back from the water closet. I'd like to get a little sleep tonight. The church fund money, isn't it? Mm-hmm. Love to know why I have to count it in the middle of the night. Because I have to know how much there is to bet on the fight. To what? To bet on the fight. Harriet, that is not your money. It belongs to the church. Oh, I know whose money it is, for heaven's sake. Would you just go do your business and let me count? No, I won't. Suit yourself. It's your bladder. I won't allow you to gamble with the church's money. Oh, Nils, I'm the church treasurer, and it's not gambling. Gambling is when you can lose. Now, Big John can't lose. Big John? Yes, Big John. He already beat the man once, and he's going to beat him again. And I'm going to double the church fund. Will you please just get out of here? Let me do the Lord's work. What a night. What a night! These farmers are going for Big John in a big way. Look, I want you to let him take you out early in the match, so it's not even close. Then on Saturday, we'll let the champ do his bad back act. I figure by Saturday night, those hicks will be giving four, maybe five to one odds. How does that sound? It's good. Good? It's great! I gotta go tell Mueller. I'll see you later. What they got on the side of them wagons? Big John Garvey. What do you think of that? Very nice. Aw, come on, Alice. Jonathan, you know how I feel about all this, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. All right, I'm going to my office. You should. Wish me good luck? I love you! Eat me low. I'm not hungry. Listen to that racket. Sounds like a circus, don't it? It is circus. It's what the people want, Meelo. They don't want real wrestling anymore. They want a show. Like you say, a circus. And I am clown. Why do you complain? You make money. All you have to do is lose. I am the one who has to win. You think Meelo Stavropoulos could not beat this farmer? Easy, Meelo. I was champion. All of Europe, I was champion. Yes, that's right. Boss. You are an old man. We see, old Hans. Come, we see. That's enough. Both of you. We're here to make money, not to fight amongst ourselves. Now sit down, Hans. You want to keep paying those hospital bills, don't you, Meelo? Don't you? All right, then. You just see to it that that farmer takes you out in less than a minute. You understand? Good. Now, maybe I can eat my lunch in peace. He was a great one. I always remember when I was a child, Meelo, the great Greek. In Europe, he was a god. They should see him now. I want a bet. Six dollars and 13 cents on Big John Garvey. So, 46 dollars and 13 cents? 13 cents. You mind just making it 46 dollars? It's easier to keep the books. Oh, well, all right. No. Here you are, lady. Oh, all right. Thank you. It's bad enough that you gambled with the Lord's money. You don't have to scream for blood. Well, it's the Lord's money that's on the bet. You silly thing. Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the heavyweight elimination fight. As you know, the winner of this fight will meet the champion tomorrow night. And here he is, the champion, Hans Muller. Hans had a back injury during his workout today. But, being the true champion he is, the fight will go as scheduled. And now, and now I would like to introduce the man who last fought the champion in Chicago. A bout that will be long remembered. A close contest that lasted two years. Two hours and 26 minutes. The Greek god Milo Stavropoulos. And his opponent tonight, the giant from Walnut Grove, the pride of Hero Township, your very own Big John Garvey. They'll both fight cleanly. No kicking and no biting. The fight will continue until a man has been pinned or cannot continue. May the best man win. Dearest Milo, I've written this letter, my darling, because I've things to say that you don't let me say when we're together. You make me stay in hospital to keep me alive a little longer. And each time I see you go, I die inside. You let people laugh at you and pretend you don't care. Well, I don't pretend. You are Milo Stavropoulos. You are my love. Always remember, Milo, living is a temporary state. Love is forever until I see you again. Poulos passed away in her sleep Thursday morning. One hundred dollars. I shouldn't surprise you. That's the fourth time you've counted it. I know, Charles, but I can't believe it. A hundred dollars cash money for a minute's worth of wrestling. Well, not even a minute, Pa. That Greek fellow lasted two hours with the champion. You're going to beat him for sure. Well, I hope so. The odds sure are favoring him. Folks betting he'll have to give four to one. You're going to win him, Pa. I just can't believe it, Charles. A hundred dollars tonight and three hundred tomorrow night. But hold on a minute. Don't start counting that three hundred dollars. You still have to wrestle him and he's a champ. I know that, but it's like Andy says. This Milo fellow went two hours with him and the champ's back is hurt now. A hundred dollars. I can't wait to see your ma's face. I'll get it, champ. I have come to talk to Mr. Garvey. Come on in. It is about fight. Perhaps we should talk alone. That's not necessary. These are all family and friends. You did not win fight tonight. I've got a hundred dollars here that says otherwise. I let you win. You let me win? And I suppose you wanted me to have this money out of the kindness of your heart, huh? It's not kindness. I'm paid to lose. It's the heart. He pays me to lose. That's a lie. My Pa won you fair. And he's going to be the champion. No, young one. Your father will not be champion. He'll last only as long as Milo wants him to last. You must let me wrestle Milo. What? If you say you were hurt, I wrestle in your place. Otherwise, all your friends, neighbors, they lose much money. They're not going to lose any money because they're betting on me. I think you'd best be getting out of here. We need to get some sleep. We wrestle again. Now. I told you, we've had enough talk. Saloon is closed. We go wrestle now. If you're not afraid. My Pa's afraid of nothing. I'm sure you're right, young one. It took you less than a minute to win when we fight. It should take you only a minute to prove whether Milo Stavropoulos speaks the truth or not. We all closed up. You go. We will lock up. I can't do that. We will take nothing. You have my word. You will go now. We wrestle. Simple throw. Arm bar. Let him go! Are you okay? I think so. I'm sorry, but it's better this way. Milo would not be so gentle with you. If you forfeit bout, all your friends lose their money. If you fight, you will lose anyway. You think you can whip him? I am Milo Stavropoulos. You said you wanted to see me. Yes. I leave right after fight tonight. Hey, hold on. I just made arrangements for another match in Dakota Territory. No. No more matches for me. You give me my money. What are you talking about? How are you going to keep that wife of yours in the hospital? She has no more pain. I promise her I stop. You pay me now. All right. But I wish you'd stay. I must keep my promise to Anna. Here you are. I got to get over to the saloon. The farmers are crying to bet. You going to watch the bout tonight? I will be there. All right. I'll see you then, huh? Harriet, you've already doubled the church's money. Why take a chance? Oh, no, I'm not taking a chance. Good grief, I'm listening to you. I know, but why press your luck? Now look, if you insist upon betting, why don't you just use your winnings? That way, no matter what happens, the church has still got their money. And if you win, you've got three times the budget. All right, coward. I can give you four to one odds. I'm not going to take these bets in the first place. Oh! Oh, dear, for heaven's sake. I'm just going to have to bet it all. Ninety-two dollars, please. Harriet, you promised! Bill, let's go bet three to two odds. Here you are, lady. Thank you. All right, who's next? I am, 200 on curve. We should make a bundle. What's the matter with you? Drinking before a fight. Ah, a few drinks won't hurt. Yeah, well, I don't like it. Yeah, I don't care what you don't like. I do the fighting. I could break this farmer with one hand. A few drinks keep me from getting bored. All right. Suit yourself. You'll probably get a surprise one of these days. That farmer could be tougher than you think. I show you how tough this farmer is. I break his leg. You've got about five minutes. Give me strength one more time. Let me be as I was for last time. Let Anna see and be proud. You're not nervous at all, are you? No, why should I be? What if something goes wrong? Oh, Bill, what could go wrong? Will you stop trying to spoil my fun? Well, I feel like Joan of Arc carrying the cross into battle. Well, if Jonathan loses, you're really going to feel like Joan of Arc when Walnut Grove burns you at the stake. You're so funny, Bill. I don't know what to say. I was injured in a freak accident in the hotel. I think my arm's busted. I ain't going to be able to wrestle. Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, I know how you all feel. Joan, how do you feel now, Joan? But as you know, any fighter who cannot toe the mark for a contest automatically forfeits the match. No! All wages are still valid and the winner wins by default. No! It's my understanding, according to the rules, the number one contender can't toe the line. He can designate another fighter. Yes, that's true, but... Milo Stavropoulos. Oh! Oh, there goes the Lord's money. All right, you both know the rules. The fight to last until a man has been pinned or cannot continue. Shake hands and come out wrestling. There we go. This time, I'm not wrestling like a clown. That's the way, Milo! And for you! Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo. Are you okay? Shake me. Go back to the hotel. Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo, Milo. Your boy is waiting in the room. Can I get you anything? I'm fine. Just rest. No need to stay with me. I'm fine. Just... light lamp before you go. It's dark. In old country... they call my name... Milo. They pray my honor. I... honor. You heard them. You heard. All days. I wanted you people. I want big champion... for my honor. Honor. Love... is forever.