Gunsmoke brought to you by Chesterfield. Made the modern way with Accuray.
Smoother. Cooler. Best for you.
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 US Marshal and the smell of Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke starring William Conrad. The transcribed story of the violence that moved west with
young America and the story of a man who moved with it. I'm that man, Matt Dillon, United
States Marshal. The first man they look for and the last they want to meet. It's a
chancy job and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
Dodge had been real quiet all that week. No new herds had come up the trail. No Buffalo
hunters had drifted in off the prairie. No ox trains had arrived back from Santa Fe.
The town just sat there like a playing girl at a party waiting to dance. But there was
no dancing for Dodge. Not until Friday night there wasn't. I'd gone out to see a rancher
friend that afternoon and it was near midnight when I got back and rode up Front Street.
Thought a small crowd gathered opposite the Long Branch. I dismounted and walked over.
At the center of the crowd I found Doc and Chester crouched over a man sprawled in the
dust. A man somebody had put a bullet in. It's Ben Williams, Mr. Dillon. Who did that
Chester? Nobody don't know. He rode off too fast. Anybody see it? Miss Kitty did. She's
standing over there by the Long Branch now. He's dead, Matt. There wasn't much I could
do for him. Nice fellow like Ben Williams. Never hurt nobody. He bled to death. Somewhere
inside. Was he conscious at all, Doc? He was until a few minutes ago. Did he say anything
about who shot him or why? You know somebody called El Cater? El Cater? That's a town,
Doc, not a person. Ray, they kept trying to say something about it. All I could make out
was the name. I didn't want him talking anyway. As I recall Williams came from up around El
Cater, didn't he Chester? Well he had a little ranch up there one time. Yeah. Ben Williams
was a good man, man. Yeah, Doc. Jesse. Yes, sir. I'm going over and talk to Kitty for
a minute. Find me a fresh horse and saddle, one of your own, huh? We're going to be riding
out of here in a few minutes. Yes, sir. I'll hurry, Mr. Dillon. I hope you get him, Matt.
Whoever he is. Ben didn't deserve that. Not being killed that way. He didn't deserve being
killed at all, Kitty. Of course he didn't. How did it happen? Well, Ben and I were having
a drink inside and we heard a couple of shots in the street here and then somebody yelled
for Ben to come out. The man who killed him? It must have been. Ben didn't want to go but
I guess he figured he had to. I got by the window. I could see Shippen out there on his
horse. Shippen? Lou Shippen. That's what Ben said when he heard him yell. Ah. All right,
then what happened? Well, Ben walked out into the street right up to him. He didn't even
draw his gun but Shippen must have been holding his and his lap. He suddenly shot Ben twice
and then rode off as fast as he could. He murdered him, Matt. Can you tell me what this
Shippen looked like, Kitty? It was too dark. I don't even know what color his horse was.
Yeah. Yeah, that's not going to make him very easy to find. But you find him, Matt. You
find him.
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always milder. That's because Accu-Ray controls your Chesterfield in the making. Gives you
the more even distribution of fine tobaccos that burn more evenly, smoke much milder.
A Chesterfield is better tasting. That's because an Accu-Ray Chesterfield draws more easily,
lets you enjoy all the wonderful flavor. And a Chesterfield is cooler smoking. 14% more
perfectly packed than cigarettes made without Accu-Ray. You enjoy cooler smoking pleasure.
No hot spots. No hard draw. So the next time you buy cigarettes, stop. Remember, an Accu-Ray
Chesterfield is A, always milder. B, better tasting. C, cooler smoking. Put a smile in
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All I had to go on was a name and a place. The place was El Cater, a little sunburnt
town a hundred miles to the north. There was a saloon and a restaurant and a hotel and
a stable and, miraculously, a telegraph office. But even so, El Cater didn't add up too much.
It was still the crossroads of nothing. It was noon of the second day when we rode up
the almost deserted main street, hot, saddlery, hungry.
Where are we going to go first, Mr. Jones?
We'll put our horses in the stable, Chester, then we'll take a look around.
I've already seen all I want to of this place, except maybe the inside of that restaurant.
And I've been thinking, Chester. Maybe we'll stop there first?
Oh, no, no. Bob Lou's shipping. I finally remembered. I've seen his name.
You have? Where? He's wanted over in Wichita. And I can't
remember his description. Well, that's easy. All you got to do now
is telegraph for it. Yeah.
Ain't there nobody at this stable? That doesn't look like it.
Oh, here comes somebody. Hello.
You got room for a couple of horses, mister? I reckon.
They've had a hard ride. You got any grain? I might scare some up.
Yeah, good. Wait a minute.
Yeah, what? Where'd you make this hard ride?
Where are you from? Dodge.
You're the marshal. Yeah, that's right.
I thought marshals traveled alone. Sometimes they do.
Well, I tell you, marshal, I got a little mixed up.
I've been asleep. You woke me. I plum forgot.
Forgot what? I can't get your horses here.
There ain't no room. Well, now, here, you just said you could.
The stable's all full. And I got no corral.
I can see some empty stalls through the door there.
Them spoke for us. What is it, mister?
Everything was fine until I told you I'm a marshal.
I can't help it if the stable's full. These horses are going in there, mister, and
you're going to feed them. Now, look, mister... Now, we're going to be back directly to see
that they're all right, and believe me, that better be.
All right, let's take them in, Shester.
Yeah, they sure don't look like much of a hotel.
Yeah, we don't have much choice.
My gracious onion trouble, where I'd rather sleep outdoors.
Good morning, gentlemen. Hello.
We're looking for a room. You mean two rooms?
All right, two rooms. Of course, one room would be cheaper.
And noisier, my friend here, snores. Oh, now, you always say that, but I never
heard me snore. Have I ever thought you were lying awake,
snoring? I'd ram a gun barrel down your throat.
Now, gentlemen, please. You don't mean it.
Do you, Mr. Dillon? Dillon?
Marshal Dillon? Yeah, is there something wrong?
No, no. You've been expecting me, is that right?
I never heard of you before. Oh, that's one lie. Now, tell me another
one. Have you ever heard of Lou Shippen?
Shippen? No, not around here. Never heard of him.
Uh-huh. All right, let's see those rooms.
I'm sorry, Marshal. I made a mistake. I forgot there are a lot of people coming in tonight.
Our rooms are all taken. A lot of people coming in from where?
No, it's true. I forgot all about it. Well, you just go on forgetting about it.
Now, throw me a couple of those keys before I lose my temper.
We're here and we're going to stay.
That's where I begin to feel like a frothy dog, Mr. Dillon.
Like a what? You know, one of them slavering dogs that
runs around drooling and biting people and making them sick.
Oh. I never been treated so bad before in all my life.
That's Lou Shippen, Chester. He's here somewhere.
My guess is he's told everybody in town they got to get us to move on.
Well, why would they care? He's a killer, Chester, and they know it.
And they're afraid of him.
You want something? Yeah, I want to send a telegram.
You do? Where? Wichita. Here, I wrote it out at the hotel.
Sheriff Wichita. Needful description of Lou Shippen.
All right, what's the matter? Nothing, nothing.
Send to me in El Cater at once, Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Look, Mr. It's... It's Hinkle, Marshal, Mr. Hinkle.
All right, Mr. Hinkle, are you going to send that or am I going to have trouble
with you too? Trouble? I know Lou Shippen's got this
town scared to death of him, but maybe it's about time I made some of you
people scared of me. I might as well start with you.
Now, Marshal, I don't want any trouble. I'll send your telegram as soon as the
line's free. Good. Come on, Chester.
Shouldn't we have waited to make sure he's really going to send it, Mr. Dillon?
He isn't going to send it, Chester, and there's no way I can make him.
Why ain't there? I don't know Morse code. He could send anything he wanted.
Oh, God, Mr. Dillon, this town scares me. Any man here might be Lou Shippen just
waiting for an easy chance to shoot you in the back.
And I got an idea how I can smoke him out, Chester.
I'm gonna have to tell a few lies to do it.
Yeah, right now let's get something to eat, huh?
Stop!
Start smoking with a smile with Chesterfield. Smooth to cool and milder, Chesterfield.
Put a smile in your smoking, just give them a try. Chesterfield's best for you.
They satisfy. Yes, put a smile in your smoking. It's as easy as A, B, C,
because Chesterfield's made with Accu-Ray R.A. Always milder.
B, better tasting. C, cooler smoking. Yes, a Chesterfield is always milder.
That's because Accu-Ray controls your Chesterfield in the making.
Gives you the more even distribution of fine tobaccos that burn more evenly,
smoke much milder. A Chesterfield is better tasting.
That's because an Accu-Ray Chesterfield draws more easily.
Let's you enjoy all the wonderful flavor. And a Chesterfield is cooler smoking.
14% more perfectly packed than cigarettes made without Accu-Ray.
You enjoy cooler smoking pleasure. No hot spots, no hard draw.
So the next time you buy cigarettes, stop. Remember, an Accu-Ray Chesterfield is A,
always milder. B, better tasting. C, cooler smoking.
Put a smile in your smoke and just give them a try. Chesterfield's best for you. They satisfy.
Now I know what's wrong this time, Mr. Billings.
Now what? The way they eat.
My, that restaurant puts out the mustiest smelling beef stew I ever smelled.
That was goat stew, Chester. Goat? I need a drink.
Here's the place to get it. If they'll service.
They'll service all right.
Bartender.
Hello, Marshal Dillon.
Now word gets around fast, doesn't it?
El Cater's a small town.
Uh-huh. Small and scared. I don't know what you mean.
You don't know Lou Shippen either, do you? Lou Shippen? No, no, I don't know him.
Well, he might be one of the men sitting at that table behind me there.
You better do your drinking someplace else. There isn't any other place.
Now fetch us a bottle of rye or I'll come back there and do it myself. I aim to have a drink.
Well, all right. Yeah.
One of those men gave him a go-ahead sign, Chester. Did you see who it was?
No, I didn't. I was watching the bartender.
One of them's Lou Shippen.
Yes, sir, but there's six of them to choose from.
There comes a telegraph operator.
Oh, Mr. Hankel. Come over here.
What do you want me for?
I want to buy you a drink. Bring a glass for Mr. Hankel, bartender.
Here you are.
I don't want a drink, Marshal.
That's what you came in here for, wasn't it?
I don't need a drink.
Shippen.
There's going to be a fight.
You stay here, Mr. Hankel.
All right, tell him it's all right to drink with me, Shippen.
There are six of you men sitting there and one of you is Lou Shippen.
And by 10 o'clock tonight, I'm going to know which one. Isn't that right, Mr. Hankel?
I didn't send that telegram. That's the truth. I didn't send it.
You sent it. I stood there and watched you.
But I didn't.
You sent my telegram and we'll have an answer by 10 o'clock tonight.
Now, you're lying. That isn't true.
I'd be wasting my time here if it wasn't.
Now, you drink up.
Drink up, Mr. Hankel.
Okay, I'll be over about 10, Mr. Hankel.
I'm coming with you.
Are you afraid of Shippen? All right, come on.
But I'm not going to wait around your office with you.
You've got to help me, Marshal. He'll kill me now. All those lies you told.
Which one is he, Mr. Hankel?
The one that I told you about.
All those lies you told. Which one is he, Mr. Hankel?
I can't tell you. Why not?
He's a devil with a gun. He could kill you and then where'd I be?
All right, it doesn't matter. I'll find him later.
But I didn't send any telegram. There ain't going to be an answer.
Doesn't matter, Mr. Hankel.
What are you going to do?
Now, for one thing, I'm going to see you're in your office tonight and that you stay there.
That's all you have to worry about. I'll handle the rest.
Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, what, Chester?
It must be close to half past nine, ain't it?
Yeah, just about.
Can you see Mr. Hankel?
Yeah, he's in there. He's pretty fidgety, too.
I don't blame him. He knows Lou Shippen is going to come after him
and he don't know we're laying out here waiting.
No, he doesn't.
Maybe Shippen will figure you was lying and stay away.
He can't take that chance, Chester. He's got to come.
We're sure stuck if we don't. We won't never find him.
Shh, quiet, Chester. They're coming.
He's heading right for the telegraph office.
Yeah. You stay here.
All that Shippen.
Reckon you killed him?
I don't know. Watch him.
So you're Lou Shippen, huh?
You sure outsmarted me, Marshal.
You were lying about Hankel sending that telegram.
Yeah. I had no way of knowing for sure.
Shippen, why did you kill Ben Williams?
I never liked him.
You killed him because you didn't like him?
Good reason as any for killing a man.
Why did you stay here on El Cater? Why didn't you ride on?
Because here's my home. Nobody's going to push me out of it.
Except you, Marshal. You pushed me all the way out.
I swear I never heard nothing like it, Mr. Dillon. He must have been plumb crazy.
He's probably killed a lot of people we don't even know about, Chester.
And for no better reason.
It's a good thing he's dead.
Yeah. I guess so. I guess it is.
In a moment, our star, William Conrad.
If you want tomorrow's better cigarette today, next time you buy cigarettes, stop.
Remember, only Chesterfield is made the modern way with Accu-Ray.
You'll notice how fresh and good Chesterfield's made with Accu-Ray taste.
How smooth they are and how they satisfy.
So buy Chesterfield today. Smoother. Cooler. Best for you.
You know, some of the roughest citizens on the frontier were bred in Oklahoma territory.
And when two of them arrived in Dodge at the same time, that meant trouble.
And that's our story for next week. So until then, good night.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman MacDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Our story was specially written for Gunsmoke by John Meskin,
with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Sound patterns by Tom Hanley and Bill James.
Monday, October 24th is UN Day, the 10th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.
The strength of the UN as a force for peace depends on your support.
Remember, the UN works for you.
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Be sure and listen to Gunsmoke again next week at this time.
Transcribed for Chesterfield.