Mayberry had been dealing with a string of cow thefts when the Andy Griffith Show episode — "The Cow Thief" — aired on this night in 1962.
Mayberry was a rural town with several farmers in the area, and the mayor was determined to get this case solved. To that end he summoned an investigator from the state capitol to help Andy (Andy Griffith) and Barney (Don Knotts) crack the case.
The investigator had some pretty good observations to make, but let me tell you something. I grew up in a small town that was really only a slightly larger version of Mayberry. As an adult, I have lived and worked in much–larger cities. Based on their respective realities, city and country have their own ways and logic that aren't necessarily transferable to the other. Neither is wrong. It is just that neither is adequate as a one–size–fits–all kind of thing.
And so it was in this episode. Applying city logic, the investigator made some observations that even Andy admitted made "good sense." But Andy was a country boy, and this case required a country eye, not a city eye.
Andy's country eye had spotted the presence in town of a vagrant named Luke (Malcolm Atterbury), and he had let Luke know that Andy knew he was in town. Andy kept an eye on Luke, but he never mentioned what Luke had done in the past. My guess is that it had something to do with theft because Luke apparently jumped to the top of Andy's list of suspects — quickly.
The investigator, of course, had no reason to suspect Luke. If he saw him in the street, he would no doubt mentally dismiss him as one of the town's residents. Nothing more, nothing less.
He certainly wouldn't have thought about Luke based on the forensic evidence in which he placed so much faith.
The investigator had determined, after examining footprints that had been found at the scene of one of the thefts, that there were three men involved — one who was of about average weight and two others who were much heavier. That made sense, based on the forensic evidence.
But Andy always thought outside the box, and he realized there was a set of footprints that was missing — the cow's. Putting two and two together, Andy guessed that Luke was putting shoes on cows to throw others off the scent.
But, without any real evidence, it was simply a guess — and not a good one as far as the mayor (Parley Baer) was concerned.
See, Andy had set Luke up, allowing him to overhear his conversation with a farmer about keeping his new cow secure — and to call him at the office if he was needed because Andy said he would be working late.
Truth is they were baiting the hook, and Luke took it.
Andy had summoned the mayor, the investigator and Barney to the farmer's home to wait and see if Luke showed up. After Andy explained his conclusion, the mayor said it was a harebrained scheme and stormed out, calling for the investigator and Barney to follow him. The investigator did so without hesitation, but Barney wasn't convinced and was slower in following.
A few minutes later Barney returned and told Andy that he'd been about to leave when he remembered another time when the mayor of Mayberry accused Andy of having a harebrained scheme.
"Do you remember?" Barney asked. "That was when you had the idea of making me your deputy."
Andy's confidence in Barney had been justified. They made a good team — albeit one that was a bit unorthodox.
And Barney's faith in Andy was proven to be justified even if Andy's methodology was also a bit unorthodox. Luke's calls for help summoned them to the barn, where they discovered that a "nearsighted old man" had tried to put shoes on "an ornery old bull."
I guess there are a few lessons to take from this episode.
Primarily, never dismiss country wisdom as being inferior to city wisdom. Country wisdom is founded in experience and observation of the natural world. It is logical. In the words of an insurance company's advertising, "We know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two."
Andy had seen a thing or two.
