There's nothing worse then a father having to bury his own son. I can only imagine how Roy Merrick felt when they brought his son Joey into town, dead. He was stabbed in the back. Ted Penn found him out by the 12 mile marker to North Fork. As we all gathered around the body Roy came running over 
to the wagon. When he got to the wagon he approached it slowly. He looked under the covering. As he began to weep he said "He was riding up to Hait Flats, we got family there. He was gonna stay the night. Why would anybody want to kill him? Why? He didn't have any money”. ”He had a gun and a horse," said Micah. He's just a boy, Mark's friend. I just can't imagine anybody wanting his horse or his gear. He had a horse, a pinto, everybody knew and a saddle with his name burnt in it. This person must be loco. "Stabbing the boy for no reason, who could do a thing like that?" Roy cried. "Brud Evans, maybe" said Micah. Micah had gotten a wire on him. Evans broke away from the marshal a couple of days ago while they were transferring him to Yuma. He had killed that way before, with less reason for it. Roy stood there crying. Micah told him to go on home; he'd take care of the boy. Roy left crying. I know each and everyone of us felt his sorrow. I told Micah I'd stay and lend him a hand. "Mark, think you can take the buckboard home alone?" He nodded. "Start the fence, will you?" "I sure feel sorry for Mr. Merrick," said Mark. "Seems like a man has to face his worse times alone, son." Mark turned and headed for home.
Mr. and Mrs. Avery were in town when they brought Joey's body in. They overheard what Micah had said about Brud Evans. We didn't know that the Avery's were really the Evans, Brud's parents. I felt sorry for Roy, loosing his son. I didn't know the Avery's were living in fear o
f their son and with the killings and wrong doings Brud had done. Mrs. Avery was sure Brud had no way of finding out where they were or what name they had taken. They were tired of running.
While we were in town Mrs. Avery told Mark to stop by their ranch a little later. She was going right home and bake up a batch. When they got home she hurried on into the house to get the cinnamon rolls started. They were surprised when they entered the house and there stood Brud. They were not glad to see them.
We were working on the fence. I could tell Mark was still thinking about the events that had happened today. "Joey never hurt anybody, why did it happen to him?" asked Mark. "I don't know Mark." He found it hard to understand why people get hurt or killed for no cause. Why do people have to loose the ones that mean the most to them? "Like Ma." He apologized for saying what he did. I told him that it was alright. "Listen son, it's just human nature to wonder about things. Don't ever be scared to ask questions. But you gotta remember one thing. There are questions we don't have the answers to. That's the way it is and we just have to do what we can and, well, try to get along with the answers we do have." He couldn't forget how Mr. Merrick looked. "Pa, if anything
would ever happen to you....." "It won't son, it won't." I told him to put his mind somewhere else, like cinnamon rolls. "I plum forgot," said Mark. I told him to hurry and get washed up. He would still have time to ride over there and back before dark.
Brud told his parents that a couple of years ago a friend of his by the name of Pete saw them here in North Fork. He was counting on them to hold him up. "We don't want you here," said Walt Avery. "Now Pa, your not going to turn out your own loving son." "We have no son," said Mrs. Avery. He knew they wouldn't turn him in. It would ruin everything. They would blow their cover and have to move on, again. They pleaded with him to go away and leave them the few years they had left. Just then they heard Mark ride up. Brud told them to get rid of him. They greeted Mark on the front porch with a pan of cinnamon rolls. They told him to take the whole pan of rolls. Walt Avery put them right in Mark's saddle bags. Mark wanted to do something for them. Some chores or cut wood. They didn't want him to, but he insisted. He headed for the back of the house looking for the ax. As he passed by the open barn door he noticed a pinto horse and Joey's saddle hanging over the corral. He went into get a closer look. Suddenly Brud approached Mark and asked 
him "Does that bother you boy?" He told Mark he was staying with the Avery's, an old friend. Mark was uneasy and Brud could tell. "You figurin' I killed that boy?" Asked Brud. He threatened Mark. He told him if he told anybody, he would have to kill them. He told him to forget that he ever saw him. He scared Mark alright. Mrs. Avery was standing in the doorway of the barn. As Mark was leaving he said to her, "I won't say anything Mrs. Avery, well, I won't." Then he ran off.
When Mark got home I thought he still seemed uneasy. Maybe a good nights rest would help him. He went to bed early. I was out in the living room reading when I heard Mark. He was dreaming, yelling in his sleep. I woke him. He looked at me and hugged me. I told him it was alright and that he had a bad day and now a bad dream.
The next morning I told Mark he better get moving or he'd be late for school. I asked him if he'd drop off the Avery's pan off after school. He said he couldn't, he had too many chores to do. He was making all kinds of excuses. I asked him what was wrong. He didn't want to tell me, he just wanted to go to school. Now I knew something was wrong. I handed him his pencil and he left. While on his way to school he ran into Micah. Micah was on his way to our place for a cup of coffee. He had been riding since sun up trying to track down Brud. 
I had already left when Micah got to our ranch. He decided to have a cup of coffee and wait for me.
I headed over for the Avery's. They heard me ride up. Brud was getting ready to shoot me. "Your wrong, that boy never told," said Mrs. Avery. She convinced him I knew nothing. That I wouldn't be riding in here alone if I knew anything. "Don't add killing to killing Brud." He told them to let me in. I told them that I thought Mark was worried about them. I was worried too. Them living out here by themselves. I told them that's what neighbors were for; if they needed any help.....they cut me off. They assured me everything was ok. They just wanted to be left alone. I started to leave when I saw lying on the table what appeared to be part of a handcuff. I walked past them and went to confirm what I saw. Brud was waiting for me. He had me covered. I handed over my rifle.
While riding to school Mark got to thinking about the Avery's. He decided to come back to the ranch and tell me what had happened. When he got there, he saw I had left, but Micah was there. "I thought you said your Pa was home?" Asked Micah. Mark said, "He didn't say anything about going anywhere." Mark remembered I had the baking pan in my hands when he left. Mark started looking for the baking pan that the cinnamon rolls where in. When he realized the pan was gone and that I was on my way to the Avery's, he got upset and told Micah about seeing Brud over at the Avery's.
They left for the Avery's Ranch.
Brud was going to take me out back and kill me. Mrs. Avery pleaded with him not to hurt me. She wanted Brud to leave. He said with me dead he'd have a 5, 6 hour head start. Walt told him they would hold me here if he gave him my rifle. "You mean you'd do that for me?" Ask Brud. "For him," said Walt. He agreed. He gave Walt my rifle. Just then they heard Mark and Micah ride up. "It's the marshal! That kid, that kid brought him," said Brud. He went to grab the rifle from Walt. Walt quickly gave it to me. "You mean you'd help him, you'd let your own flesh and blood....." with that he drew his gun. He was going to shoot his own father. I had no choice but to shoot him. They wanted to bury him on their land. They knew the truth would come out sometime. He was their son. "No power on earth can change that," said Walt. Micah, Mark and I rode off.
piddlin' stuff.....Skip Homeier played Brud Evans. He's the one who killed Joey. Skip began acting at the age of 6 on radio. He acted in a Broadway play as a menacing Nazi child in "Tomorrow the World" and made his film debut at age 14 in the film
version. He began playing lead roles as an adult but eventually became cast as villains and unsavory characters. He played in many of westerns and crime drama. He appeared in two TV series - "The Interns" as Dr. Hugh Jacoby ~ Lieutenant Dan Raven as "Dan Raven." He appeared with Chuck & Johnny in "Branded" as Luke Garrett in 'Coward Step Aside'. Besides this episode he appeared with Ellen Corby in "The Ghost & Mr. Chicken" and "The Gunfighter."
Ellen Corby played Mrs. Avery in this episode of 'The Spoiler' and as Mrs. Morgan in this episode of 'The High Country.'
Her real fame came in the highly watched and highly acclaimed "The Walton's" from 1972-1979 as Esther "Grandma" Walton. The role resulted in the prestigious Emmy award for 1973, 74, & 75.She was a regular on "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" as Martha O'Reilly, maid and "Trackdown" as Henrietta Porter. Remember her in "The Glass Bottom Boat" with Doris Day and Rod Taylor? She played in "The Night of the Grizzly" and "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte." Besides this episode she appeared with Skip Homeier in "The Ghost & Mr. Chicken" and "The Gunfighter." She appeared with Chuck as Abigail in "Support Your Local Gunfighter." Ellen has done so many great things.
Chubby Johnson played Avery in In 'The Spoiler.' He was the father of 'The Spoiler', Bud Evans. In 'The Horse Traders' he was the one who originally bought the stallion, but then took it back ~ He is the Old Man in 'Guilty Conscience.'
He also appeared as Chuck's comic sidekick in "Big Foot Wallace" and in "Support you Local Gunfighter."
Remember him in "Bend in the River?" I do. He played
Cap'n Mello, of the Riverboat River Queen. Johnson worked in a huge number of Westerns as a character actor among other things. This gruff western comedy sidekick was a jack-of-all-trades in real life―at different times of his life he was a reporter, columnist, journalist, radio announcer and even a butcher.
Ralph Moody played Joey's Father in this episode. Ralph Moody has appeared in many TV show and movies. He has played roles as an Indian, Doc, hotel clerk, Dentist, Justice of the Peace and so many more. He first appeared on TV in 1949 in "The Long Ranger." He has been on "The Rifleman" three times as Doc Burrage and three other times as different characters. 'The Visitor' as Jonathan Dodd ~ 'The Spoiler' as Roy Merrick ~ 'The Hangman' as Eban Muchen ~ 'Dark Day at North Fork', 'The Man from Salinas' and 'Quiet Night, Deadly Night' as Doc Burrage.
Malcolm Cassell played Joey Berrick, the boy who got killed. He started acting in 1952. He appeared in "Letter to Loretta" several times ~ "The Rebel" ~ "Room for One More" ~ "The Kid from Left Field" ~ All American ~ "Life with Father" ~ "Andy Hardy Comes Home" ~ "Operation Petticoat" and The last thing he did was "Pirates of Tortuga" in 1961. No record of him since 1961.
'The Spoiler' episode #61—Mrs. Avery promised Mark some cinnamon rolls. When she & Mr. Avery arrive back at the ranch, she tells Mr. Avery....."Now.....I've got to get those rolls a bakin'.....that Mike ain't one for being late!"
*If anybody has any information on any of the stars, and would like to share it, please get in touch with 
