Caine happens upon the aftermath of a massacre involving a platoon of soldiers waylaid by roving bandoleros. With his dying breath, the lone civilian asks Caine to take his watch and give it to his widow. Only one soldier survived, Lt. Bill Wyland (Tim Matheson), injured by shooting himself in the leg, taking Caine as his prisoner in the mistaken belief that he was among the killers. The widow does obtain her late husband's watch, and is comforted by the knowledge that she was uppermost in his dying thoughts. Lt. Wyland, having followed in the footsteps of his late father, long revered as a great soldier, believes Caine to be guilty of lying to the grieving woman about not killing her husband, eventually coming to realize that he was wrong not only about Caine, but also about himself, not guilty of cowardice. During one flashback, young student Caine blindfolds himself in an attempt to emulate his blind Master Po (Keye Luke), who confides that, for him, walking in darkness is "unavoidable," adding "is it not better to enjoy the gift of light that is yours than to seek a darkness you are spared?" In another, Master Kan (Philip Ahn) amusingly proves that Caine is wiser than a monkey!