The episode has three parts.
The middle section, the action part linked to the mine, is actually the least interesting of the three. It is not outstanding but adequate to its purpose, with at least one bright Paladin idea which does not seem to have been used too often.
The opening and closing parts are those for which the episode is worth remembering. They are quite touching, using a slightly easy means to move us - broaching the subject of the loneliness of old miners who are close to the end of their life and never have known anything close to real happiness, let alone love. The opening is charming and folksy. The ending is a trial scene which fulfills the two main requirements most often missed by such scenes - it is crisp and to the point, and it manages to generate emotions - through close-ups of the old miners.
They are pushed by Paladin to identify themselves with their much happier fellow prospector Leadhead, and we spectators are encouraged by the story to identify ourselves with them, their past suffering and still not extinct longings.
Both may appear in a way as manipulative tricks, but in the end they are well-meaning tricks and therefore, quite interestingly, they both work out fine...