Around Dodge City and in the territory on west there is just one way to handle
the killers of the spoilers and that's where the US Marshal and the smell of guns smoke.
Guns smoke starring William Conrad, the 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 chancey job
that makes a man watchful and a little lonely. That's the sound of the village school bell,
bringing back memories of our childhood when we learned our ABCs. And that's a sound similar
to the historic ringing of the Liberty Bell in 1776. It serves to remind us of the vital
part we play today in our nation's government. Be an informed American. Know the ABCs of
your government. Under the letter L in the dictionary of US government terms is the word
lobby. A lobby is an organized group which seeks to influence legislators for passage
or defeat of a bill. The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees all citizens the
right to petition for or against government decisions. Years ago, people with special
favors to ask would stop congressmen in the capital lobbies to talk to them. Soon they
became known in political slang as lobbyists. There are lobbies for and against everything.
There are lobbies for low tariffs, lobbies for high tariffs, lobbies for federal aid
to education, lobbies against federal aid to education, lobbies for rigid farm price
supports, lobbies for flexible supports. Lobbies have been referred to as the third house of
Congress which works behind the scenes. Keep the spirit of the Liberty Bell ringing. Be
an informed American. Know the ABCs of our nation's government in action.
You know, Mr. Dillon, I sure would feel a lot safer if we had Brad Cotter locked up
there in jail like his brother had.
So would I, Chester.
You'd think if he was around town somebody would have saw him.
Maybe he doesn't want to be seen.
A mighty upset feeling not knowing if any minute you might get a bullet in the back.
And that's probably the way you'll try it too, in the back. Now let's take another look
in the Long Branch.
I see.
Hello, Matt.
Nothing wrong.
Hello, Kitty. Have you caught Brad Kyler yet, Matt?
Haven't even found a trace of him, Kitty.
Seems to me you could make his brother talk.
Not so far.
You got him locked up in jail. Isn't that some way of forcing him?
Taking an ax handle to him, do you mean?
No.
Well, you can't get down to it, Miss Kitty. I don't think even that is breaking down them
collar boys' tougher and army news.
Brad and Ray's both.
They're just a pair of cold-blooded killers.
Sure they are. I'm proud of it.
Ray sits over there in his cell, brags about the things he's done, admits all of it.
He says he'll never stand trial, though, that Brad will get him out before then.
Oh, he's just blessing them, Matt.
No. Brad will make a try, at least.
Matt.
Oh, hello, Doug.
Say, Matt, if you want to stop a big fight, maybe a killer.
Huh?
You better move in on that poker game over in the corner.
Huh.
Looks peaceful enough to me.
No, no, it isn't. It's crooked, Matt.
I smelled it, so I pulled out just now.
And some of the others are getting kind of itchy, too.
I think Ben Stoddard's about to call a showdown.
Who's doing the cheating?
Well, I figure it's that old fellow over there by the wall.
Yeah?
With the fancy vest and the soles off his boots.
Well, he's marked the deck somehow, the way it looks to me.
You know who he is, huh?
I know, he's a stranger in town. Claims he's a big-time stage actor back East.
But I think he's mostly hot air and bad whiskey.
All right, mister. This has gone far enough.
There it is, Matt.
Yeah.
You've been winning all two fired regulars.
It doesn't suit me, mister.
Right. I beg your pardon, my dear sir.
Don't hire me, you fancy dude.
All right, Ben. All of you, take it easy now. Now, what's the trouble?
This man's been cheating on us. That's trouble.
Sir, may I ask if you represent the law here?
Am I the U.S. Marshal? Yeah. Who are you?
I, sir, have the distinction of being Edward Vandermann,
a name with which you are no doubt familiar.
No, I can't say that I am.
Then may I inform you, Marshal, that I am the Edward Vandermann
who has trod the boards for loyalties many years before the crown heads of Europe,
always to the wildest of claims...
That's very interesting.
...23 weeks as Hamlet at the Covent Garden Music Hall,
31 weeks in the unforgettable role of Macbeth.
All right, but what about this poker game?
What a ridiculous accusation.
I had the impression I was playing with gentlemen
instead of these cropping, haggling creatures.
Let me have him, Marshal.
Just let me and the boys take him out back for just five minutes.
How do you know he was cheating, Ben?
He was cheating!
We all know it.
Look at these cards, Nick and Clip and Corner, every one of them.
He's been working them over for the last hour.
His luck's been getting better all the time.
How about his table stakes there? Most of that's yours?
Most all of it.
He had only five dollars to start with.
All right, then keep it and split it up however you figure.
Come on, Vandermann.
I beg your pardon, sir.
Come on outside and I'll move.
Out this door.
Come on, Chester.
Yes, sir.
All right, Vandermann, I'm going to make this short.
We don't like card sharps and darts.
You get out of town tonight.
Sir, I am not a card sharper.
You were cheating, weren't you?
I was.
Yes, I was cheating.
But it was out of desperation, sir.
That and a drink on an empty stomach.
Marshal, I can't get out of town.
Oh, why not?
Well, to put it quite simply, sir, I am broke.
What?
A matter of unfortunate investment, you might say.
At any rate, Dodge City is the end of the line.
I haven't a cent.
As you can see, I'm not very well equipped for walking.
When did you eat last?
Oh, approximately 24 hours ago.
All right.
Chester, take him over to the jail and give him some of that stew that you made.
You can sleep on the cot tonight.
Maybe we can figure out something in the morning for him.
Okay, Mr. Dillon.
Oh, Marshal, you have not only earned my undying gratitude,
but I promise I will never crimp another deck as long as I live.
Furthermore, you may call me Edward.
All right, Edward.
But you should save your gratitude until you taste that stew at Chester's.
Times have changed, and so has the man.
In the year 1775, a patriotic, enterprising American by the name of David Bushnell
invented a strange craft.
It was constructed of two oak beams resembling two platters clapped together
and propelled by a water screw attached to a hand-operated crank.
Another water screw regulated the depth to which the craft could descend.
This was the American Turtle, the first United States submarine.
179 years later, in 1954, the United States came up with another first.
This time, however, it was a 3,000-ton, $55 million vessel
powered by an atomic reactor.
It was the Nautilus, the world's first atom-powered submarine.
And where the American Turtle was a one-man operation
dependent on courage and brawn, the Nautilus is a complicated network
of advanced electronics, the operation of which is dependent upon a team
of highly trained, skilled Navy men who know their jobs and do them well.
Yes, times have changed, and so has the man.
The Nautilus
There.
My son, you've gone clean out of your mind.
You think so, Joe?
Instead of running that old fella out of town,
you stand here and ask me to give him a job.
Joe, you need a waiter. You said so yesterday.
And where else are you going to find one who can fill in his cook
if you want to take a morning off now and then?
How do I know he can cook?
Well, he says he can. Try him out.
Well, what have you got to lose?
My restaurant, maybe, if he was to take a notion of sell it while my back was turning.
Oh, don't you worry about that, Joe.
Nobody's buying it once they've got a look at all them cockroaches.
I got no more cockroaches than anybody else in Dodge.
Yeah, but yours is bigger.
That's because the food here is better.
Well, what do you say, Joe? Edwards is waiting outside.
You want to give him a try?
I can't figure what you're up to, Marshal.
Spending time trying to get some stranger a job ain't got much to do with law enforcement.
Well, it might have in the long run.
He was broken, desperate.
That's why he cheated in that card game.
And he's still broken, desperate.
Now, how about it, Joe?
All right, Marshal, call on him.
Thanks, Joe.
Edward, come on in.
Hey, Joe, just don't get in no card games with him.
Why, that fellow can't even open the bottom of the...
Edward, this is Joe Carpy, your new boss.
Mr. Carpy?
If a dollar a day and grub it, he can sleep on a cot in a store room.
You, sir, are overwhelming in your generosity.
You can start out washing them dishes there.
Very well. Unaccustomed as I am to exercising my unique talent in his scullery,
I nonetheless approach the task at hand with a high heart and dowdy courage.
Where is the soap?
Does he always talk this way?
Yeah, mostly.
Now, come on, Chester. Thanks again, Joe.
Just one thing, Marshal.
Behind this masquerpulity, I am eternally grateful to you.
Forget it, Edward.
Your trust, sir, is not misplaced.
I will not disappoint you.
Now, drop out of jail when you've got a chance, huh?
Let's go, Chester.
Come, come, my good man. The soap.
There's the soap.
What's the matter, Chester? You don't look too happy.
Aren't you glad he got the job?
No, I'm not sure, but I just suddenly remembered Brad Cawley.
You ain't forgot about him, have you?
Chester, when a man like Cawley is gunning for you, you don't forget it too easy.
We've got the tray all fixed, Mr. Jones.
We can take it back to him whenever you're ready.
All right, Chester, let's get it over with now.
I swear, it sure ain't much pleasure to pick supper for somebody that don't appreciate it.
A race-cutter wouldn't appreciate anything we did for him.
And jail don't have to be so mean about it.
Being mean is what got him in jail in the first place.
Grace, here's your supper.
What is it, that same slop you've been bringing every night?
Larry.
Whatever it is, it's what you get, take it or leave it.
I'll take it, to make you too happy if I was the star.
All right, get back away from this cell door.
All right, Chester, set it aside.
Thank you.
I can smell that stuff clear over here.
Well, I'm going to go here tomorrow night, I'm going to cook you griff.
Tomorrow night, I may not be here.
All right, Chester, come on.
You'll be here a race until the day you stand trial.
Maybe my brother will have something to say about that.
No, he's had plenty of time to say it.
What's keeping him?
He'll be here, don't worry.
Before we leave town, we're going to get to you, Marshall.
You do that, Grace.
Come on, Chester.
You'll find out.
You just wait.
I need to clear that to honor you and me not ever seeing it.
Yeah.
Marshall.
Huh?
Hey, come on in.
What's the matter, Joe?
Marshall, I ought to make you pay the loss yourself.
What are you talking about?
That galled-down card shop he got me to take on, he's gone.
Huh?
Took every cent out of the till along with him.
Lord knows where he is by now.
I got a pretty good idea of where he is, Joe.
I wish I didn't.
Yeah, here, Matt.
Whoop it up down there by the end of the bar.
I see him.
He had had a few drinks before I came in, and he's had more since.
Where'd he get the money, Matt?
Stole it?
Huh?
From Joe Carty?
No.
After you got him the job.
And I should have known better, I guess, but I hate to see a man down and out pushed against a wall.
I'm sorry, Matt.
Well, I'll see you later.
No, I'll see you later.
A toast, gentlemen.
To the royal bludger of the House of Barleycorn.
Barleycorn.
All right, boys.
All right, I'm sorry.
Edward, the party's over.
Oh, dear me, Sheriff of Nottingham.
Yes, indeed.
Come on, let's go.
No, wait, Marshal.
This is merely a natural misunderstanding which I can explain quite easily if you will only permit me.
Don't bother.
But I feel it's the least I can do under the circumstances.
Only one moment, Marshal, if you will listen to me.
All right, let's hear it.
I accepted my menial role this morning with proper humility, Marshal, and throughout the long day I labored diligently,
conscientiously, gratefully, lumbly, then, as even tide drew nigh, in Master Carpies' cupboard I found a bottle.
So?
I tasted, I imbibed, and morality and ethics were flung to the winds.
As I warn you, drink is my weakness.
On an empty stomach, so you said.
I neglected to add that a precisely similar effect occurs on a full stomach.
I'm sorry, Marshal.
Come on, let's go.
No, no, wait, wait.
I was quite sincere this morning when I promised not to fail your trust, Marshal.
Nonetheless, I did fail it.
There is no excuse, of course.
I suppose that I really should face the fact that I am just a bit on the worthless side.
I'm inclined to agree with you, Edward.
Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, what is it, Chester?
Just a few minutes ago, Mr. Dillon, three different people sent him down to the depot.
Who?
Brad Tyler.
He's here, all right.
This is Dick Sinclair.
You know, a great deal of publicity has been given lately to NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
For over eight years, this alliance of the free world has been protecting the peoples of its fifteen member nations from Soviet aggression.
Its reason for being echoes the words of Woodrow Wilson back in 1917.
Quote, our object now is to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power,
and to set up among the really free and self-governed peoples of the world such a concert of purpose and of action as will henceforth ensure the observance of these principles.
Unquote.
No matter how you describe the work of NATO, just remember it's guarding your freedom.
What?
Who is it?
It's me, man.
Oh, hello, Doc.
Can't you find any place to lope except in front of the jail?
Well, with you and Brad Tyler on the prowl for each other, I figure I might as well just wait right here until one of you need it.
Ah, you're wasting your time, Doc. I can't find a hide or hair of him.
He's here in town somewhere. Folks have seen him.
Yeah, and I'm not one of them, though.
Come on in.
Ah, Chester.
Has he got it locked?
Yeah, I guess so. Chester!
Who is it?
It's me, Chester. Open up.
Oh, all right. Just a minute.
Hello, Doc.
Yeah, Chester.
Sure am glad to see you, Mr. Jones.
I've been sitting here with this rifle and jumping out of my skin every time I owled.
Who did?
There are no owls this time of year, Chester.
Well, I know that, Doc. It's just kindly a... Well, I'm Brad Tyler, Mr. Jones.
No, not a sign of him, Chester.
Great. Tyler's been yelling for the last 15 minutes. He wants to see you when you come in.
No.
That poor old actor fella ain't had much to say. Just sits there in his cell, looks at the floor. I think he's feeling real remorseful for letting you down.
Yeah, he should have thought of that before he stole the money.
That's right, no. But I still think it's bothering him considerable.
Chester!
Oh, Bear Race yelling again.
All right, I'll go see what he wants. Boil up some coffee, will you, Chester?
Chester won't take a minute. I got some water all ready.
That's you, Chester.
No, it's not Chester.
Ah. You finally got back.
What do you want, Race?
You didn't run into my brother, did you?
If I had, he'd be in that cell with you right now.
My shoe.
Yeah, what an...
Don't mind him. I got a little business with you myself.
No, Marshall, he's got a gun under that blanket.
You keep your mouth shut.
Drop that gun, Race.
All right, race.
You all right, Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, I'm all right, Chester. Get the cell keys.
Sister?
Yeah?
Take it easy, Edward.
His brother came outside, through the garden in, through the cell window a little while ago.
Don't try to talk, Edward.
Which one first?
Never mind, Race. I had to kill him here. Let me get the cell.
Marshall?
Yeah, I'm right here. All right, Doc, see what you can do for him.
Race planned to shoot you, said he'd kill me if I'd warned you.
Yeah, but you did warn me, Edward.
It's no use, man.
His brother is waiting. Two horses north end of River Bridge.
I'll get him.
You trusted me, Marshall. Nobody has for a long time.
It's funny. Never much good at living, but on stage I was always very good at dying.
Death scenes, they were always my best.
Edward.
That's it, man.
He knew Race had shot him, but he still warned me.
I don't know, Doc, maybe he was worthless, but like he said, he was pretty good at dying.
Gunsmoke. Produced and directed by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
The story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Les Crutchfield, with editorial supervision by John Meskin.
Featured in the cast were John Danaer, Vic Parren, James Westerfield, and James Nusser.
Marley Bayer as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitter.
This is George Waltz inviting you to join us again next week for another story on Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke has come to you through the worldwide facilities of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
Thank you.