Around Dodge City and in the territory on west, there's just one way to handle the killers
and the spoilers.
And that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke starring William Conrad, the transcribed story of the violence that moved west with
young America, the story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal.
Chester, you have to do that.
You're just stirring up a lot of dust.
Well, cleanliness is next to godliness, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah, I know, I know, Chester, but all you're doing is getting it off the floor into the
air.
A man can hardly breathe in here.
All right, Mr. Dillon.
I'll do my sweeping later.
Yeah, good.
My mother taught me that, Mr. Dillon.
Taught you what, Chester?
That cleanliness is next to godliness.
She was a fine woman.
Oh, look, Chester, it's a good saying and it's probably true, and I got nothing against
your mother except that she also should have taught you how to sweep.
Well, maybe she just didn't have the time, Mr. Dillon.
You see, there was an awful lot of us and, well, with chores and...
Oh, hello, Doc.
Come on, now.
I'll buy you a drink.
What?
Doc said he'd buy you a drink, Mr. Dillon.
He really said that?
You coming?
Doc, you gotta quit throwing your money around the way you do.
Maybe you don't need a drink.
Wait a minute, Doc.
I'm with you.
I'll tell you all about it when I get back, Chester.
I'd be mighty interested, Mr. Dillon.
Oh, I sure be glad when it gets winter again.
Why, Doc, you'll just complain about the cold, huh?
I suppose.
You go sit with Kitty, Matt.
I'll bring a bottle of Irish.
Okay, Doc.
Hello, Kitty.
Hello, Matt.
What are you and Doc up to?
Yeah, he wants someone to talk to, so he picked me.
And you.
Fine.
I'm a good listener.
Lots of practice.
You like Jameson's, don't you, Kitty?
Sure, Doc.
What are we celebrating?
Let's see here.
We'll drink to a fella that you don't know.
Huh?
Cane Vestal.
Well, here's to him.
Yeah.
Here's to him.
Yes, he'll be dead in a couple of months.
What?
That's what I told him.
What do you mean, Doc?
I'm not the only one who's told him that.
I'm just the last.
Well, who is this Cane Vestal, Doc?
Oh, he's just a fella.
Came in on the train last night, leaving for Arizona tomorrow.
That's where he's gonna die, in Arizona.
He's a musician.
He plays the guitar, he tells me.
How's he gonna die?
Consumption.
He's got it bad.
I'm the last doctor he's gonna ask about it, he says.
Poor fella.
Yeah, the climate out there, keep him going for a little while longer.
Oh, I don't know.
He's such a sad man for some reason.
Well, who wouldn't be, Doc?
No, no, no, no, Kitty.
I think Cane's been sad for a long, long time.
The very nice fella, too.
Nothing can help him, huh?
No, nothing.
You know, it's a funny thing, Doc, huh?
Just sitting here thinking.
Sometimes you have to tell men they're gonna die.
Sometimes I have to.
Yeah, that's right.
Oh, I see.
There he is.
See that fella with the car there?
He just came in.
Oh.
Yeah.
I don't know if anyone knows anyone around here.
Mind if I ask him over?
Sure.
You're partied, Doc.
Oh, good.
Cane?
Over here.
Sit down.
Cane, this is Kitty.
Hello, Cane.
This is Marshall Dillon.
Hello, Marshall.
Pleasure to meet you.
He's doing it, yeah.
Sit down.
Hello, Cane.
There we are.
Have a drink.
Well, thank you, Doc.
Is this your first trip west, Cane?
Yes, Marshall, it is.
Well, where are you from?
Well, no place in particular, Miss Kitty.
I seem to have spent most of my life on the Mississippi River.
I thought you were a musician.
I am.
I was hired to ride the river boats and play my guitar for the passengers.
Well, at least you've had a constant change of scenery.
After 20 years of going up and down that river, it got pretty familiar, Marshal.
Well, Kane, I knew a young fellow back in St. Louis before the war, and he was learning to be a river pilot.
Say, I wonder if you ever ran into him. Name a Clemman, Sam Clevens?
No, Doc, I don't believe I did.
Oh, he was a very amusing fellow. He was just chock full of stories.
You leaving Dodge tomorrow, Kane?
I'm headed for Arizona, Miss Kitty. No reflection on Dodge, though.
If you head a place out there called Tombstone, I wish you'd look up Virgil Earp for me. Tell him I sent you, huh?
Thanks, Marshal, I'll do that.
Say, Kane, I wonder, could I ask you a favor?
Certainly, Miss Kitty, anything at all.
Would you play something for us?
I had an idea, that's what it would be.
Anything in particular?
Oh, play something you like, Kane.
Another girl I knew used to like this one.
Nice.
Oh, it's true, right?
Oh, that was fine, Kane, that was fine.
Thank you, Miss Kitty.
I wish you were going to stay here a while. Maybe you could teach me to play like that.
It'd be a pleasure, Miss Kitty, but I'm afraid I won't be around for long.
Morning, Mr. Dillon.
It's noon, Chester.
Yes, sir, I know, but you went off with Doc yesterday, so I figured I had a little time coming today.
Well, that depends on how you spent it. Now, if you've been gambling, I am...
Now, Mr. Dillon, you know I never gamble.
No, sir, I was out helping a fellow learn to shoot a six gun, that's all.
Now, you mean there's a man in Dodge who doesn't know how?
This fellow don't. Never had one in his hand before. He's a musician.
What?
Plays the guitar, he told me.
You mean Kane? Kane Vestal?
Yes, sir, that's his name. Nice fellow you'd ever want to meet.
Yeah, but he was supposed to leave on the stage this morning.
And what's he done with his six gun anyway?
Well, I don't know, Mr. Dillon. He just come by here early this morning and asked me if I'd teach him.
Now, where'd he get the gun?
Said he'd just bought it.
Anything wrong, Mr. Dillon?
No, no, it just doesn't add up somehow, that's all.
Well, he won't cause any trouble. He's not the sort.
You never know, Chester.
No, sir.
My Kitty looks pretty this morning. She's got a yellow parasol, Mr. Dillon.
Kitty?
I think I'll go see her for a minute. I'll be right back, Chester.
Yes, sir, Mr. Dillon.
Kitty?
Hello, Matt.
Kitty, I'd like to talk to you for a minute.
Sure. What is it?
I'm curious about something, Kitty. Maybe you can help me.
Maybe.
How long was Kane Vessel with you yesterday?
Kane? Oh, well, he didn't leave till evening. Why?
Well, he didn't go out on the stage this morning and he's bought himself a six gun.
You any idea why?
A gun?
Doesn't sound like Kane.
Anything happen yesterday, Kitty, or did he tell you anything?
Well, yeah. There was one thing, Matt.
Joel Adams and a couple of his men came in.
Kane got pretty upset when he saw him had a bad coffin spell.
Later he asked a lot of questions about Adams.
Well, what'd you tell him?
Just that Adams is a big landowner around here that nobody who isn't working for him likes him very much.
That's all I know, anyway.
They didn't talk, Adams and Kane.
No. I don't think they even know each other.
Well, anyway, he sure isn't the sort to be packing a gun.
You'll just get into trouble, Matt.
Yeah.
Where's he staying, do you say?
Dodge house, I think.
Thanks, Kitty. I'll see you later.
Come in. Hello, Kane.
Marshal Dillon. Come in, come in.
Thank you.
What can I do for you, Marshal?
I thought you were leaving Dodge on the stage this morning.
Well, I was, Marshal, but I changed my mind. You know how it is.
Sure, Kane, sure. We're glad to have you around.
I'm just curious, though.
Did you stay and have anything to do with that gun you bought this morning?
Oh, Chester told you. I thought he would.
He's a good teacher, Marshal.
Yeah, but that doesn't answer my question.
Do I have to answer it?
I'm just trying to help you, that's all.
Yeah, I appreciate that, Marshal, but I'm afraid there's nothing you can do.
Look, Kane, you're new in this country.
A man like you just can't pick up a six gun and call himself a fighting man.
Not an expect to live through it.
I certainly lay no claim to be a fighting man.
Then why did you buy that gun?
There's no law out here against a man having a gun, is there, Marshal?
No, but any man who carries one is expected to use it when the time comes.
You'd be a lot safer without one.
Being safe doesn't mean a whole lot to me, Marshal. Not now.
Yeah, I know. Doc told me.
What's it all about?
It's a long story, and an old one, I suppose.
I'd really rather not talk about it.
I can't force you to.
But tell me this, does it have anything to do with Joel Adams?
Yes, it does, Marshal. I'm gonna kill him.
When?
I don't know. Anytime.
Why?
That's a long story, I imagine.
All right, Kane. But if you try to face him, he'll kill you before you got that gun halfway out of your belt.
And if you shoot him any other way, you'll hang for it.
You've forgotten something, Marshal.
What?
No matter what I do, I'm gonna die soon anyway.
A month or two isn't gonna make any difference.
You hate Adams that much?
I wouldn't kill a man I didn't hate, would I?
I didn't think you were the sort of man who'd kill anyone.
Only Joel Adams, Marshal.
Then I got a warning about you.
I understand, Marshal. It's all right.
He doesn't know me anyway.
Never even saw me before.
But you want to kill him?
Yes.
Well, I'll take your gun away from you, but you'll just find another one.
And I can't arrest you unless I catch you trying to bushwhack him.
I'm sorry for the trouble I'm causing you, Marshal.
I've never had to deal with a man like you before, Cain.
Maybe I ought to just tie you up and throw you on that stage.
You could.
But I'd just come right back.
I guess you would.
I'm sorry this has to happen here in Dodge, Marshal.
Then why don't you leave?
I guess I hate Joel Adams too much.
All right, Cain, I'm through trying to convince you.
So long.
Goodbye, Marshal.
I never heard a Cain Vestal, Marshal.
I never saw him before last night.
You must have known him somewhere, Adams.
You're trying to make me out a liar, Marshal.
I'm trying to save Cain's life and yours, maybe.
No, he ain't going to shoot me.
I'll kill him first time he looks sidewise.
Maybe you won't see him.
Oh, shoot me in the back, eh?
Well, in that case, it...
In that case what?
Why, nothing, Dillon, nothing. Forget it.
If Cain's shot in the back, you'll be the first man I take in, Adams.
I don't even know him. Why should I shoot him?
I'm only warning you.
Well, just leave me be, Marshal. I can take care of myself.
See that you do, Adams, and only yourself.
Why, sure, Marshal.
I don't much like the idea of some stranger gunning for me.
Makes me sort of uneasy.
There must be some reason for it.
Don't start it again, Marshal. There ain't no reason.
I know. You've led a blameless life. You never hurt anyone.
I told you twice not to.
There are men around here who'd shoot you on sight if they thought they could get by with it.
I don't think you were ever any good, Adams, so don't tell me that Cain's got no reason.
I don't believe it. You're pushing me now, Marshal.
I'm tired of your talk, that's all.
Maybe it's true you don't know him, but he sure knows something about you.
Well, then he'll wish you didn't.
That's all I got to say.
Well, just keep out of his way.
Give it a little time, and maybe there won't be any killing at all.
Why, sure, sure. All the time in the world.
All right, Adams. I've done all I can.
Just don't worry about me. I'm not.
Then goodbye, Marshal.
Goodbye.
We will return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment.
But first, back tomorrow night.
Pull up your chair, or better still, roll back your rug.
It's the Vaughan Monroe Show, returning to the Star's address.
Listen for Vaughan, the Moonmaids, the Moonmen, and their wonderful way with popular music and songs,
once again at their old, familiar Saturday night time on CBS Radio.
Remember, they're coming back tomorrow night.
You and the whole family are invited to this season's scintillating premiere of the Vaughan Monroe Show on most of these same stations.
Now, the second act of gun smoke.
Sure is quiet around town tonight, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah.
There's a trail here doing in a couple of days.
I suppose business will pick up then.
You'd think those cowboys be too tuckered out after a ride like that to have any juice left in them at all, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah, they're too poor to cut loose any other time.
Well, that don't stop them down in Texas, Mr. Dillon.
No?
No.
It's just like an uncle of mine back in Waco.
He was poor, oh, he was mean poor.
But he always said the only good money was, was to have fun with.
Well, did he have fun?
No, sir. He was too poor, like I said.
All right, Chester, all right. All I ask is that you don't try to explain it to me.
Well, but there's nothing to explain, Mr. Dillon. It's just, it's just that he was the one poorest man you'd ever...
Forget Chester. Chester.
Marshal, say, you want to talk to Kane Vestal?
What?
Kane. He's upstairs in my office.
He been shot?
No, no, not shot. Beated up.
Well, how is he, Doc?
Well, it is not too bad. A couple of cowboys found him just outside of town.
They heard a shot and said two men rode off before they could stop them.
Yeah?
And I guess whoever it was, they didn't have time to finish the job. They just got started working on him.
So Adams made the first move, huh?
I'll be back soon, Chester.
Yes, sir, Mr. Dillon.
They hit him on the head with a gun butt, scratched him up some.
Outside of that, he's fine.
It's still a saw, even if they didn't kill him, Doc.
Yeah, I suppose it is. Anyway, they took a shot at him when they heard those riders coming along.
Went right through his coat.
Yeah. They probably think he's dead.
So that's where you went, Doc. I might have known.
Didn't even give you a chance to use that gun, did he, Kane?
I didn't have a gun on me, Marshal, but it wasn't he. It was they.
Huh? Do you recognize them?
I don't know many people around here.
You know Joel Adams, so you told me it wasn't Adam.
Could you pick him out if you saw him again?
No, Marshal, I don't believe I could.
Where were you when they grabbed you, Kane?
In DeFront Street. I was taking a walk after supper. They rode up behind me, one on each side, lifted me up, and carried me out of town a ways.
You must have got a good look at them, at least when they got off their horses.
It was too dark, Marshal.
Yeah. Doc, how long has he been here?
Oh, about half an hour, Marshal. Why?
Those cowboys who saw you, Kane, they brought you right in here, didn't they?
Yes.
So it was maybe an hour ago when those two men hauled you out of town? It was plenty light enough then.
Was it, Marshal?
You're going to fight it yourself, aren't you?
Yes, Marshal, it's my affair.
It was, Kane, but you've been assaulted and shot at, so it's the law's business now.
I won't prefer any charges, Marshal.
You don't have to. I've seen you and I know who did it, or who hired it done as well as you do.
Please, Marshal, I've got to handle this my own way.
There's a law that says you can't murder a man, Kane, and the same law says he can't murder you.
Are you so full of hate you can't get that through your head?
I guess that's it, Marshal.
All right, Kane, you do what you have to do, so will I.
Hello, Adams.
Are you here?
Yes, sir.
Hello, Adams.
Hello, Adams. I've been looking for you.
It's late, Dylan. Can't you see me tomorrow?
It's not even midnight. That's early for you.
Do you see how this Marshal's always trying to get me on the prod, boys?
These boys of yours play pretty rough themselves, Adams.
Meaning?
Didn't they tell you?
Tell me what?
What, they did the Kane Vestal?
They did not kill Kane Vestal, and you can't prove it.
No, Adams, I can't. Kane isn't even dead.
What?
You know, I'm curious, Adams. Why'd you think he might be?
Why, why, somebody said he got himself hurt.
Joel Adams.
You arranged this, Marshal?
Yeah, no, I didn't.
Who is he? What does he want?
Hello, Joel Adams.
Don't strain yourself so you don't know me.
Who are you?
Kane Vestal. But my name doesn't matter.
What are you haunting me for? I never saw you before in my life.
That's true. You didn't.
But we had a friend in common once.
A friend? Who?
Julie Travis.
What about Julie?
You were a riverboat gambler then, Adams, and you had money and fine clothes
and a way with women, especially young girls.
Julie was only 16 at the time.
Never mind all that.
So she went away with you to be married, you told her.
Oh.
I think I guessed the rest.
You wanted to marry her, but I got her instead. Is that it?
That's it, Adams.
That's exactly it.
Oh, now I thought you really had something on your mind, Vestal.
Well, all right, why don't you get out of here and quit bothering people
while you can still walk?
Julie killed herself, Adams. She committed suicide.
What?
You didn't know that, did you?
Well, it's got nothing to do with me.
Because you never married her after all.
It was just a year after you abandoned her in New Orleans.
I think it has a lot to do with you, Joel Adams.
What are your plans, mister?
I see you got a gun on your belt.
I'm going to kill you.
Oh, so? When?
Now. Right now.
All right, Vestal, draw.
Leave the gun where it is, Cain.
One thing I always promised myself, Adams,
someday I'd spit in your face.
Why, you...
Give me the gun, Adams.
He's dead.
Well, he was going to kill me. You heard him.
He wanted you dead, Adams, any way he could manage.
I know it. That's what I say.
You're under arrest for murder.
For... What?
It was a gunfight.
Cain never even moved for his gun.
Well, then I'll hang for this.
He couldn't have got me any other way.
No, don't suppose he could have.
Remember the river gamblers used to say,
don't matter how you win so long as you win,
that Cain should have been a gambler.
Maybe he was.
Come on, let's go.
Music
Gunsmoke, transcribed under the direction of Norman McDonald,
stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Tonight's story was especially written for Gunsmoke by John Meston,
with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Featured in the cast were Harry Bartel with Georgia Ellis and Larry Dobkin,
Parley Bayer as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc,
Clancy Cassell speaking.
Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal,
invites to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West in Gunsmoke.
Both back this Sunday night, Edgar Bergen and company,
and Eve Arden as our Miss Brooks.
Yes, it's the Bergen and McCarthy show,
with Mortimer Snird, Poneen Puffington,
Effie Klinker, Ray Noble's Orchestra, and guest stars.
It's Sunday nights at the Stars Address starting this weekend.
Returning the same night is our Miss Brooks, starring Eve Arden as an English teacher,
ever seeking her special degree in romance.
For a comedy galore, enjoy Bergen and McCarthy and our Miss Brooks
on most of these same stations, back this Sunday night, presented by CBS Radio.
This is Amos, but my real name is Freeman Gosden.
I urge you to vote, and as Amos would say,
to follow the election returns on the CBS Radio Network.
Thank you.