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 the US Marshal and the smell of Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke starring William Conrad, the 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 had been helping me with some paperwork after the regular day ended and we didn't
get through until about 10 o'clock and we were both kind of tired.
Well, I sure never did think I'd hold out Mr. Dillon.
I got a cramp in my hand and a crick in the neck.
What I need is a beer.
I'll join you Chester.
I locked up the office and walked down to the Texas trail with Chester.
I guess the best thing that could be said for the night was that it was still.
Not cold, not warm.
Somewhere in that between that makes you wish it would be one thing or the other.
Or maybe it was because we were tired that it didn't feel right.
The bar wasn't crowded and right off Kitty came over to our table with beer.
I thought she looked kind of worried.
Hard day, Matt?
Oh no, no, not much.
I declare Miss Kitty this beer tastes darker than usual.
New brew probably, Chester.
Yeah, I suppose.
Say Matt, you ever seen the stranger before, the tall one, the bar?
Huh?
No, no.
My heavens, Mr. Dillon, he is a lofty man and that's for sure.
Look at him stretch out.
Yeah.
What about him, Kitty?
Well, I don't know.
Sam gave me the eye a bit ago just before you came in.
Huh?
You trying to make trouble?
Sam's not sure.
Feller's been drinking straight for more than two hours and he doesn't say anything.
He just looks like he's getting ready.
Maybe waiting for something.
Yeah.
Is the woman with him?
Yeah.
He was a lean, almost stringy man, better than usual tall.
And he might have served in the army once because he wore his gun butt forward.
As we sat, Chester and me drinking our beer, he turned around a couple of times and looked at the door.
I never saw a man with eyes as gray or with a skin to his face so dry and tough you'd swear you could get sparks off it with a flint.
The woman standing next to him talked loud and often but he didn't appear to be listening much.
It was like Kitty said, he was waiting.
About an hour went by and the place began to quiet down.
Most of the men drifted out to wherever their way was taking them.
Excuse me, Mr. Dillon.
You want to get on back, Chester?
Well, yes sir, I was thinking about it.
This beer is so dark it's making me sleepy.
Well, you go ahead, I'll see you in the morning.
You staying?
Yeah, yeah, for a while I think.
You want to count on that tall fella?
Yeah, maybe.
Guess I'll get a little whiskey and sugar.
Might keep me awake.
No, you go on, Chester, it's all right.
Jack, how long you have to stand around?
If it's all the same to you, Mr. Dillon, I ain't sleepy.
But Jack, I'm tired.
There's a hotel down the way, miss.
That could put you up.
You shut up.
Nobody asked you.
Oh, now Jackie, you ain't got no call to talk to a man like that.
He's just being helpful.
Say, Mr. Dillon, Chester, be quiet.
I'm tired, I want to go to bed.
Trip on the stage and travel all day.
I swear I've never been so...
You talk too much, don't you?
Be quiet.
Stay in here with me.
But Jackie...
We've been talking ever since we came in here.
I stopped when I'm going to hit you.
Might not be a bad thing if you did, Mr. Dillon.
If there's anything in this world I hate, it's a woman who does nothing but clobber our guns.
Uh, Kitty.
I bet he is miserable to be wed to, though.
What do you reckon's ailing him?
I don't know, Chester.
You're still here, aren't you?
Yeah, sit down a minute, will you, Kitty?
Yeah, sure.
You, uh, don't know their names, do you?
No.
They came in on the six o'clock stage from Oklahoma territory, that's all I know.
She's been talking a lot, but mostly about clothes and liquor.
He don't say anything.
Yeah.
You think they're married?
She's wearing a ring.
Mm-hmm.
I've never seen a man drink as much, Matt.
It's like water with him.
Ronnie!
Hey, you!
Ronnie!
Yeah.
Excuse me, Matt.
Yeah, sure.
What do you want to drink?
Huh?
Sure.
Huh?
Sit down a minute.
Oh, you want whiskey and sugar.
Thank you, honey.
Sure.
Where do you think you're going?
Oh, it is.
I'm going to freshen up, Charlie.
Mm.
I'm coming right back.
See you do.
The woman had just got out of sight when we heard the horses coming down the street outside.
There were only six of us left in the place.
Sam, Kitty, Chester, and me, the stranger at the bar, and a cowboy sleeping it off at a
table across the room.
The tall man called Jack, who was the son of the horses, turned to the door, and there
was a gun in his hand.
You fellas at the table, get up.
Come over here.
Well, I kind of wondered what you were waiting for.
I know you've been wondering.
That's why you've been hanging around.
I don't want no trouble with you.
Stay out of the way, you won't get hurt.
Why don't you put your gun away, mister?
Don't bother me.
There's trouble coming through that door any minute.
Put it back, I don't allow gunplay in Dodge.
What you allow ain't up to you now, mister.
If you're in trouble, it's my job to protect you and your wife.
This is private trouble.
You want part of it, I'll give it to you right now.
In the belly.
Jack, they're here, outside.
Yeah, I know.
We can get out the back.
I ain't running no more.
You either.
Come on, get behind the bar.
Yeah, honey.
You two fellas, unhitch your belts.
Leave them lay where they fall.
Go on.
Honey, you give me a gun, will you?
I give you one, I give you one.
Wait a minute.
Okay.
You two get around behind the bar.
All right.
At the end.
You.
You and the lady.
Well, listen, you can't shoot up this place.
Sam, do what he says.
Chester and I did as we were told and got behind the bar along with Kitty and Sam.
The tall man picked up our guns and tossed one to the woman and then dropped the others
beside him on the floor.
Then we waited.
All of us behind the bar except for the cowboy drunk asleep at the table.
They only had that mirror in for a month.
It's going to be busted for sure.
Honey, we should have kept going.
Got the train in the morning for the West.
We'd have had to stop somewhere.
This is as good a place as any.
Listen, mister, I'm going over and get the boy sleeping at the table there.
He's going to get hurt.
I'll move an inch from where you're at and I'll shoot you.
I shot up all of you.
I hear him out there.
Yeah.
Start shooting when that door swings in.
Mr. Dillon.
We're.
Stay down, Kitty.
Don't worry, Matt.
I know.
Well, come on.
Might as well start looking in here.
Yeah, we'll be all right.
Let's do it again.
Mary.
The shooting went on for about five seconds and when the glass started to come down behind
us, we covered up.
And at that, I felt a warm trickle along the side of my face where a splinter had slashed
me.
There wasn't anybody behind the bar hurt beyond a scratch or two from the glass.
But out there by the door and sprawled out beyond onto the walk were four men.
They never had a chance.
They'd never have another.
Watch out for the glass, Jack.
We got him.
Yeah.
Yeah, we got him, honey.
When I'm still alive.
Who is it?
It's Acton.
Let me.
Never did like him.
Come on, let's go.
All right, Jackie.
Sorry I messed up your place, honey.
Don't you try coming after us, mister.
Jack's had a taste of blood.
Come on, come on.
Jackie, we're going to have to ride now?
Yeah.
Oh, honey, I'm tired.
Take it easy later.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, my God.
Are you all right, Kitty?
Well, I think so.
Look at that mirror.
Just look at it.
Chester, get some guns from the office.
Saddle up and get back here.
Yes, sir.
All right now folks.
There's just been a little shooting.
That's all and everything's going to be good.
Kitty.
Yes.
Get Doc, quick.
What is it, man?
That man isn't dead.
Huh?
Well, go on.
Hurry up, will you?
And she ran out into the night for Doc.
And I stayed in the Texas trail watching the life flow out of the bullet hole in the chest
of the man the killers had called Acton.
We will return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment, but first you can help your
fighting men and our children win the fight for life if you act now.
On the battlefront, our fighting men need blood to replace the precious substance they
have so valiantly lost. Only through contributions to your Red Cross fund drive can we keep up
that lifeline of blood to our wounded men. But time is running out. Give now. Your Red
Cross must also have funds to transform blood into anti-polio serum. The polio season is
just around the corner. Red Cross gamma globulin is the one weapon that will spare our children
from death or the crippling paralysis of polio this summer. Polio won't wait. Your community,
your neighbors, perhaps your own child, can be saved from the horrible effects of the
dread disease if we do something now. Your Red Cross will not distribute the anti-polio
serum. It will be sent to critical areas by government health agencies. There will not
be enough to protect every child this year, but many thousands will be spared polio paralysis
this summer because you gave to your Red Cross. When your Red Cross fund volunteer calls,
give generously. Do it today. You give, they live.
And now, the second act of gun smoke.
His eyes were open, but he didn't see me. And when I talked to him, he didn't hear.
While I waited for Doc, I went through his papers. His name was Brad Acton. That's all
I could find. About two minutes later, Kitty came back with Doc. Didn't take Doc long
to shake his head.
Poor fellow. He's done that. There's not a living chance.
If I could just get him to talk. We got to find out who he is and what they've done,
those two. I don't know. He's putting it gone. We can't...
Acton? Acton, can you hear me? Acton? Acton! Acton, that fellow, Jack Farrow, he and the
woman, what did they do? Acton? Now listen to me, Acton. Acton, who are they? Why did
they shoot you? Come on, come on. Now you're wasting time. I got to get after them. Now
what did they do?
We've all got to die. Oh, Matt. That ain't kindly, mister.
I want you to wake up. You hear what I'm saying?
I hear you. If I was on my feet...
Now listen to me. Farrow, I heard you call him Farrow and the woman. Now what about them?
Why did you come gunning for them? Let it come.
Why? What did they do? Don't matter now.
It matters. If you're going to die, get it off yourself. Now come on. You and your pals
there. If you did nothing wrong, you'll die more comfortable.
Oh, Matt, let him be. It's not fair.
Matt, don't. What about it, Acton?
Matt, now you can't... That's enough, Jack! Acton!
California. California. Farrow, me and the boys, we held up a stage and Farrow took the
money and went out with that woman. We've been following. Look out for her. She's mean
with a gun. Martha Lou...
Here he's gone, Matt. Yeah.
I guess you had to do it that way, Matt. But...
But what? Nothing.
All set, Mr. Dillon. All right, Chester.
You going after him, Matt? Why not? They done murder, haven't they?
You have to figure the odds of a man forgiving you for what you do when a thing has to be
done. And then you split the difference and depending on the reasons for doing it, you
feel better or worse. I had to do what I did because I had to find out about them. But
it didn't help. Even if he was a gunman, I'd given no peace to a dying man. And for that
he had to die harder. A man a long way from home.
Chester and I rode out into the East the way we figured Farrow and his wife would be headed.
The sun's coming up, Mr. Dillon. I got eyes.
Yes, sir. There's a homestead up around the bend. We'll
stop and find out if they've seen anything.
No more than a half hour ago, Marshal. I was fixing to fetch some water when I heard them.
They stopped, huh? Yeah. The woman looked tuckered out. Never
see a woman with all them skirts ride the way she did. It was some picture.
How long did they stay? Five minutes maybe. Wife had some coffee and
they drank it, scalded it, and then took off. Headed East?
Yeah. They wanted to know how far to Kinsley or maybe they wanted to know the next station
and I told them Kinsley. I don't know. Santa Fe's due in there for Hutchinson about eight.
Did they do something wrong, Marshal? Just four murders back in Dodge. Come on, Chester.
The Farrow's had enough start on us that if they got the train in Kinsley before we caught
up, we'd have to use the telegraph. I hope they could be stopped further down the line.
With killers like that, there'd be a lot of shooting and I forget it was my job to be
there when it happened. We rode hard. It lacked a couple of minutes before eight when we saw
the smoke of the engine. We still had a couple of miles to go to reach the station and she
was moving out when we got there. I swung aboard and held out a hand for Chester.
My, running like that gave me a stitch in the side. And the puffs. Take it easy, Chester.
I sure wish we'd have had time to find out if they was on this train, Mr. Dillon. If
they ain't, we've lost them good. We'll see. Now look, there's a lot of people in those
cars up ahead. The Farrow's see us and they're going to start shooting. And I don't want
that. So go slow. We see them first get out of sight. We'll wait until they get off the
train. Yes, sir. Okay. No, Chester, put away the gun. No shooting on the train. Yes, sir.
Yes, Mr. Dillon. We started from the last car and moved up. That way they wouldn't see
us first. I hope we could get them without any gunplay at all. Mostly for folks who would
get hurt. But I didn't have any stomach for shooting a woman, even though she was a killer.
We got to the third car when Chester spotted them. There they are, Mr. Dillon. All right,
we're back. Okay, we'll just stay here. Conductors coming this way. Good. Howdy, Marshall. Mr.
Hineson. You on a pleasure ride or business? Business, Mr. Hineson. That couple there
in the fourth, fifth seat from the front. The tall gent? Yeah, and the woman. Yeah, I
wondered about them when they got on. Sure are a funny pair. She looks trouble wore out.
They both done murder. Marshall, there's kids in the car. I want to get them without any
shooting. As long as they don't see us, it'll be all right. Now, where's your next stop?
About 30 miles down the line. No. Well, we'll try to figure something out. I hope you can,
Marshall. The train rolled on. I saw Ms. Farah take a kid on her lap, play with it. And the
mother in the next seat looked on with fond eyes. I wonder what she would have said if
she knew. Jack Farah just looked out the window. We didn't make a move at the next stop. Two
men got off and there were still some 20 people left in the car besides the killers. About
15 miles beyond, the train pulled up again. I could see a big herd of cattle crossing
the tracks. It was going to take a few minutes. Mr. Hineson came down the aisle to the platform
where we were standing. Hey, Marshall, I got an idea. See what you think. Yeah. We'll be
about 10 minutes waiting until that herd gets across. How about if I tell the folks in the
car they can get out and stretch their legs for a bit? Might give you a chance. All right,
go ahead. Hey, stand there, folks. There's a little delay for a cattle crossing. If you
want to get off for a spell, stretch out a bit. We watched. And slowly, one at a time,
they made up their minds. The women glad to let the kids work off steam. The men to size
up strange land or somebody else's herd. And they straggled out. There was one old couple
that wouldn't move, though. And I saw Mr. Hineson making an eye on a shrug at me. Then
they changed their minds and hobbled off. And I'd left the car empty except for the
Pharaohs, Chester, Mr. Hineson and me. That's your deal, Marshall. Lucky they didn't decide
to get off. I didn't think they would. All right, go ahead, Mr. Hineson, and get those
people down the line a bit. Yes, sir. All right, Chester.
This ain't nothing like California, Jackie. I've never seen anything so flat. How far
you think it goes like this? I don't know. You know, I ain't gonna take me in that. You
want to take my gun for a while? Dig him in the rib. Hold on to it. Honey. I said hold
on to it. All right, get your hands up, both of you high, and don't turn around. But she
must have had her gun already in her hand. Wanted to give it to Pharaoh to hold. She
was fast. One minute she was upright in the seat, and then she was gone. Fire into this
from behind the seat. Jackie! Jackie! All right, throw out your gun, Ms. Pharaoh. Jackie!
Throw out your gun and stand up. I don't want to hurt you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you!
Look out, Mr. Dillon. She's going for his gun. Here. No, don't kill me! Chester, give
me a hand, will you? Now stop it. Stop it. I'm Jackie! Stop it. I'll kill you! Jackie!
She was like a crazy woman. It took both of us to hold her, and we couldn't even do that
right until we had her handcuffed to the seat. And then she shot up. She just sat there looking
at her husband's body. When we got off at the next stop to wait for the next train back
to Dodge, Jack Pharaoh was taken away in a wagon to be buried. His wife stood by the
tracks watching it as it moved off. And it wasn't until the wagon became a dust cloud
out on the plane that she started to cry. Gunsmoke Under the Direction of Norman McDonald
stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal. Tonight's story was specially written for
Gunsmoke by Anthony Ellis, with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Featured in the
cast were Michael Ann Barrett and Tom Tully, with John Danaer, Lornece Dobkin and Jack
Crouchon. Parley Bear is Chester, Howard McNear is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty. Gunsmoke
is heard by our troops overseas through the facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service.
Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal, fights to bring law and order out
of the wild violence of the West in Gunsmoke.
The scholastic standards are rigid at Madison High. You must have a sense of humor to attend.
Listen in to Eve Arden as English teaching Our Miss Brooks any Sunday evening and you'll
get the point. When Eve takes over the class, everybody's favorite subject is comedy. So
don't forget, your Sunday Eve is Our Miss Brooks over most of these same CBS radio stations.
Be sure to enjoy her tomorrow night. George Walsh speaking. America's 45 million radio
families listen most to the CBS Radio Network.