The next morning Ben Baker (Eli Wallach), a gambler from the town of Hadleyburg, arrives with assorted townsmen who have caught "gold fever". They have learned about Colorado's plans, including his hideout, when one of his men got drunk in town and said too much. Colorado is forced to allow them to join his party. The townsmen include two wandering Englishmen (Anthony Quayle and J. Robert Porter) who overheard Baker's conversation with the others; a newspaper editor, (Lee J. Cobb); a storekeeper, (Burgess Meredith); a preacher, (Raymond Massey), who has convinced himself that God wants him to get a share of the gold and do great religious deeds with it; and blind Adams (Edward G. Robinson) himself, of the legend. Colorado persuades old Adams to retell the story of how he discovered the canyon. The tale further raises the hopes of the gold-seekers, but later, when MacKenna sneaks off and warns a few of them to return home and that they will just get themselves killed searching for gold that does not exist (he says the tale Adams told is just a story he uses to get free drinks), they hesitate. However, when Colorado steps in and reveals that MacKenna shot Prairie Dog, the townsmen, who never liked MacKenna, are convinced to continue the quest.