The Memoirs of Nicodemus Legend: Mr. Pratt Goes to Sheridan

"Mr. Pratt Goes to Sheridan" was the second episode of Legend, and first aired on April 25th, 1995. It was written by Michael Piller & Bill Dial and directed by William Gereghty. You can watch the episode via Amazon Prime Video or DVD.

The town of Sheridan, Colorado is abuzz as “Nicodemus Legend” returns to make his home there. No sooner does Pratt arrive than he is informed that Gentleman Jim Siringo, a notorious bank robber (recently accused of murdering a bank guard in cold blood), is turning himself in, but he will only turn himself in to Nicodemus Legend himself. Pratt tries to decline, but quickly learns that his publisher has pledged “Legend’s” full cooperation. Roscoe Barnes, chief of security at the Midland Merchant’s Bank in Tucson, Arizona (the site of the guard's murder), pledges Pratt’s protection at the scheduled surrender. If Siringo makes one wrong move, he’ll be shot. Repeatedly.

Siringo arranges to meet Pratt in private before the scheduled surrender, and Pratt is surprised to learn that Siringo is a fan of the Nicodemus Legend dime novels. Siringo confesses to being a bank robber, but not to the murder of which he’s been accused. The shots, he claims, were only fired after he left the bank, and although he’s accused of stealing a quarter of a million dollars, Siringo claims that he couldn’t have stolen that much if he’d robbed every bank in Arizona. Specifically, there was only $10,000 in the Midland Merchant’s Bank vault. Someone, it seems, is trying to soil Siringo’s reputation (he’s something of a Robin Hood, although Bartok’s assistant Ramos prefers to use the analogy of Joachim Murrieta. After all, they don’t always have to be English…), and Siringo puts his hopes in Nicodemus Legend to investigate and find the truth. Touched by Siringo’s story, Pratt agrees.

Pratt, Bartok, and Ramos travel to Tucson, and quickly determine through simple forensics that the murder was most likely committed not by Siringo, but by Barnes himself. The murder, we soon learn, was committed to cover up embezzlement, and Siringo remains a loose end. Barnes has no intention of letting Siringo survive to see trial.

While Pratt (as Legend) attempts to tell the authorities that they have evidence to prove Siringo’s innocence, it is dismissed as far-fetched (“I don't know much about your ‘forensic science,’ Mr. Legend. Frankly, it could work better in a book than in a court of law.”), but the sheriff promises that it will be investigated once Siringo is in prison. Although Pratt expresses his concerns that Siringo survives to get to prison, he refrains from accusing Barnes directly, not yet having any direct evidence with which to make such an accusation.

When the time comes for Siringo to surrender, Pratt observes a man setting off fireworks to cause a panic, whereby one of Barnes’ gunmen can shoot Siringo under the pretense that Siringo was attacking first. Although Pratt is not able to respond quickly enough to prevent Siringo from being shot, the shot is a shoulder wound, and Pratt and Bartok are able to rescue Siringo before anything further can happen by making it look as though Siringo is taking “Legend” hostage.

Having secured evidence that the murder was committed by an agent of the government (although still not enough to specifically accuse Barnes), our heroes determine that proof of embezzlement could only be found back at Midland Merchant’s Bank. To get this proof, Siringo proposes another robbery. He even takes the opportunity to give back the $10,000 he originally stole, further cementing his reputation in the minds of the innocent witnesses present. Although the “robbery” doesn’t go quite as planned, the books necessary to prove embezzlement are delivered into the sheriff’s hands, and both Barnes and the bank manager are exposed for their crimes. The charges against Siringo are dropped, and the bank even gives him a reward for his part in exposing the larger crime.

Additional notes:

• While "Mr. Pratt Goes to Sheridan" is a catchy title, it seems to fit the pilot better than this episode. Indeed, there are no further scenes in Sheridan once our heroes arrive in Arizona before the end of the first half of the episode.
• Pratt’s arrival in Sheridan at the top of the episode seems a touch odd, given the ending of the previous episode. We are left to assume that Pratt returned to San Francisco to get his things, and thus has been away for a little while before returning to make Sheridan his new home.
• Likewise, the main characters often tell each other things that they should already know. I can only assume that this was done so that viewers who missed the pilot could be brought up to speed on the premise of the series.
• First example of Pratt using a teacup to hide bourbon. This will come up later.
• First appearance (of five) of Robert Donner as mayor/undertaker Chamberlain Brown.
• The dialogue draws parallels between Siringo and Legend, each having reputations created as much by the public as by their own actions, but those reputations having the effect of allowing the subject to transcend his former self and become someone better.

Next week: "Legend on His President's Secret Service"