#22 - "No Bugles, One Drum"
SEASON ONE
1965 - 1966
Reese suggests a plan to capture Linda Little Trees using her heart's desire, Joe, as bait. The Captain puts him off because he has another plan in the works he hasn't told Reese about. Tinney, a Ranger from Company A poses as an outlaw.
After getting chewed out by the Captain, Reese is sent to replace Tinney at Company A and doesn't reappear in this episode. The Captain and Chad spend the rest of the episode in the office fretting about Joe. Tinney, still undercover, follows Max and Blue Dog to the hideout where Joe has been captured by Little Trees. Little Trees locks Joe in a room with a wedding outfit and sings him a Comanche wedding song outside the door as he desperately tries to escape. He manages to cut through one of the bars, but when Linda bursts in the room, she compares the hole in the window to her visualization of Joe's muscular torso and opens the wardrobe to find him cowering inside.
NiteOwl Review: A good episode for the Bill Smith fans although not for the Peter Brown or Neville Brand contingents.
Cast Note: Michael Conrad was an enjoyable presence in this episode. Had they decided to take the second year of Laredo in a slightly more serious rather than a goofier direction, he would have been a good addition to the cast. He was amusing but not silly. Bill Smith and Peter Brown both told us that he was one of the actors under consideration to replace Neville Brand who was incapacitated with increasing frequency as the series progressed. Conrad later became well-known as the Hill Street Blues sergeant who concluded every morning's briefing with "Be careful out there."
Tinney is placed in the jail cell next to Max and Blue Dog, members of Little Trees' gang waiting for the prison wagon. He escapes using a derringer smuggled in his boot. He releases Blue Dog and Max so they will lead him to Little Trees' hideout.
Reese spoils the Captain's plan
Linda Little Trees
Tinney bargains with Blue Dog and Max
Some fumbling by Blue Dog and help from Tinney enables them to capture the gang. Little Trees tells Joe she "won't love him no more if he takes her to jail," but he is not deterred.
Chad and the Captain await news of Joe's fate
Joe tries to escape
Caught by Linda
Linda going to jail
Original air date Feb 24, 1966
Directed by Earl Bellamy
Written by John D.F. Black

Regular Cast
Neville Brand as Reese Bennett
Peter Brown as Chad Cooper
William Smith as Joe Riley
Phil Carey as Capt. Parmalee

Guest Cast
Shelley Morrison as Linda Little Trees
Michael Conrad as Willie G. Tinney
Ralph Manza as Blue Dog
Richard Devon as Max Vander
Mike Ragan as Jonesy
William Vaughn as Sid
Russ McCubbin as Howie Walker
Chuck Courtney as 1st outlaw
Everything goes as planned until Chad, Joe and Reese, who were ordered to stay in the barracks, spoil the escape. Joe goes after Max and Blue Dog while Reese takes Tinney prisoner.
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