Around Dodge City and in the territory on west, there is just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that's with the U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
Gun 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, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
I tell you one thing, Doc, this thing doesn't ride like a feather bed.
Well, if your skin's too thin for it, you can always get out and walk.
It isn't my skin that bothers, Doc.
I can't remember inviting you to come along.
That's right, Doc, you didn't.
Then why'd you come?
Out of curiosity.
You're curious about a sick grover in a trail herd?
Uh-huh.
Well, you must have a lot of time to waste thinking of things like that.
Well, I'm curious any time anybody threatens to kill you if you don't make a cure, Doc.
Oh, sure, Matt, that fellow came after me with just all the world up. There was nothing to mount anything.
Now, let's say I'm just going along for the ride, then. Any objections?
Not if you stay out of my way.
Now, there's the herd.
I see it.
Now, the cook wagon's over there at the edge of the clearing.
I can see that for myself.
Oh, you're out, Cheetah Day, aren't you?
I can't.
Well, I guess you might as well pull up here.
I will.
I don't see any sick tent.
Hey, you the doc?
I'm the doc.
Where's the sick tent?
He ain't no tent, Doc. He's yonder. I'll direct you over there.
Can you climb on?
Climb aboard.
You afraid the rest of you'll catch it, moving him off this way?
Oh, it ain't us the boss is afraid about. It's the cattle.
The cattle?
Got to keep him pinned up, keep him away.
Right over there.
If Waddell's with him, I'll go get him.
Seems peculiar, Matt. Mighty peculiar.
Yeah. You might be glad I came along after all, huh?
Maybe I will at that.
Over here!
Coming, Matt?
Yeah.
This way.
I'm coming. I'm coming.
Well, mighty glad to see you, Doc. I'm Harb Waddell.
I'm Doc Adams. This is Marshall Dillon.
Pleasant to know you.
Marshall.
Well, now, where's the patient?
You're looking at him, Doc.
You? You sick?
Not me. Right down there.
That steer?
He's awful sick, Doc.
If you don't pull him through, ain't no man the outfit sure of his pay.
What do you mean?
He's the lead steer, Doc.
The man we ride for sets a terrible store by him.
Says he's worth any ten hands he's got.
Oh, now look, I'm not a veterinarian.
I know that, Doc. But ain't there something you can do?
Well, I would...
Well, I'll take a look at him.
You fix him up, Doc.
Ain't no other way about it, anyway.
Let me see.
If we don't get him back to Texas in good shape.
Oh, if I ever say if you don't stop fussing, I won't be able to do anything.
Matt.
Yeah, Doc?
Walk him away with you, will you?
He's worse than a first-time father.
Yeah, sure.
Come on, Waddell, let's leave Doc alone, huh?
You don't need me to help you, Doc.
I do not.
Come on, Waddell.
Well, all right.
We'll be over at the cook wagon, Doc.
That must be quite an animal.
I tell you, Marshal, there ain't another like old Beller on any trail out of Texas.
Old Beller?
Oh, yeah, I've heard of him.
Be surprising if you hadn't.
Well, Doc has a way with everything, animals included.
He better have.
Tell me, what's so special about that bell's deer?
Yeah, it's like he's got a human brain to which those long horns, Marshal.
Well, that's not always a sure sign of being smart, you know.
With old Beller it is.
That steer gets a herd of goons, heads them up on the trail,
gets them to follow them across streams a man can hardly get a horse across.
The herd beds down nice and easy, just as easy as you please when he stops.
Old Beller has some way of dealing with them.
I don't know what it is.
Keeps them spooking in storms.
That steer even leads them into pens at Abilene.
He sounds like a good sergeant.
Old Beller don't take no more nonsense than a sergeant, I'll tell you that.
He has the run of the camp.
Why, the boys even feed him off in the cook wagon.
Well, Doc will fix him up.
Sure do hopes him.
Charlie.
Yes, sir?
Give us a couple of mugs of coffee.
Yes, Mr. Wardell.
Here you are, Mr. Wardell.
Thanks, Charlie.
I don't mean to go on like an old woman, Marshal,
but a steer like old Beller can sure be a problem.
Oh, in what way?
Well, he's worth a lot of money to any drive, keeping the herd together like he does.
He's always some other outfit trying to get me to sell him,
or they try to steal him.
Ain't so sure right now that he ain't been poisoned.
Who'd want to do that?
Anybody, just with spite maybe.
Tell you, Marshal, nothing's going right with this whole drive.
If I lose that steer, might as well keep right on going straight north.
Mr. Wardell.
What is it, Charlie?
Old Beller. I wondered how is he?
Doc's looking at him.
Just don't seem right, him not wandering by the cook wagon.
Yeah, better not find out he wanted by here once too often.
I don't rightly know what you mean.
Ah, here comes Doc.
You fixed him up, Doc?
No, I didn't.
You mean you ain't going to cure him?
I don't have to.
You mean he's dead?
I mean he's cured himself.
And if it's all such caring's on about a sick animal in my life.
Old Beller's all right.
Whatever his name is, he's on his feet.
He's taking on some feed. Yes, he's all right.
What was the matter with him, Doc?
I don't know, man. He had something in him he had to get rid of.
And like a sensible animal, he laid low until he did.
He might have eaten something that poisoned him.
So he was poisoned, huh?
Wait a minute, no, I didn't say that.
He didn't have the chokes or the heaves.
It could have been bloat or colic.
Or it could have been poisoned.
You hear that, Charlie?
Yes, Mr. Wardell, I hear.
Always know the way he was handing out leftover food to that steer, we'd wind up in trouble.
Well, I wouldn't do nothing to hurt old Beller.
He likes my cooking.
Well, he ain't going to get no more of it.
Oh, sure, Mr. Wardell, if you say so.
I won't feed him no more.
You bet you won't.
No, sir, I won't.
You ain't going to get a chance to.
Well, I watch it real close.
You're through, Charlie.
Oh, now, Mr. Wardell.
You pack up your gear and get out, Charlie.
Well, where will I go?
I don't care where you go.
I ain't going to be hanging around this cook wagon no more, sickening the lead steer.
Now, you be out of here by dinnertime.
And don't you come back.
Now, here's a rock on.
Now, the business keeps up like this, Kitty.
You'll be able to retire.
Sometimes I wonder if all this hurrah is worth it.
Well, now, the boys swallow a lot of dust on the cattle trail.
You wouldn't want them to go thirsty, would you?
Oh, no.
But I wish they could be a little quieter about how they do their drinking.
You're not running a church socially enough.
I'll say I'm not.
Hello, Marshall.
Miss Kitty?
Oh, hello, one.
Hello, Hob.
How's your steer?
Well, I tell you, Marshall, that guy got his thing.
He's frisking around like he was newborn.
He is, huh?
Well, Doc will be glad to hear that.
He ain't no doctor and had done it.
Old Beller, he know it when he was sick and when he was cured.
Hey, Mr. Wardell, I got to talk to Mr. Wardell.
Go on, Charlie, you're drunk.
I may be drunk, but I got to talk.
Ain't got nothing to hold, Beller.
Ain't no call to make me go.
I told you to get...
Never fed no poison.
Me and that old ox is friends, real good friends.
Let me come back, Mr. Wardell.
Now, look here, you...
Let go of him.
What, though?
I don't want to see him no more.
I said let go of him.
All right, Charlie, you better go along.
He ain't got no place to go.
Well, you go on over to the livery stable.
Mars will put you up for the night.
Old Beller will be missing me.
Go on, Charlie.
All right, Marshal, all right, but there ain't no right in it.
Ain't no right in it.
He really feels bad, doesn't he?
He don't deserve no better.
Maybe not, but he sure doesn't deserve any worse.
Ain't no right about it.
Take me from old Beller, sleep him in the livery stable,
so I ought to be...
Oh, sorry, mister.
That's all right, old timer.
Well, now, if it ain't old Charlie Batt.
Who are you?
Why, you remember me, Charlie, Abslate.
We was on the drive together last time you'd come up.
Abslate?
Sure, Charlie, you remember me, all right.
I seen you on the cook wagon.
Yeah, that's where I would have been, all right.
You used to give scraps and such to that lead steer.
Old Beller.
Sure, old Beller.
I heard about the bad deal they give you, Charlie.
Eh, hook a deal.
You know, ain't nobody got no call to make you leave Addox.
Ain't nobody can take care of him like you, Charlie.
Now, that's a fact.
That's a sure and certain fact.
He ain't gonna get along so good if you ain't there now, is he, Charlie?
Nobody takes care like me, for sure and for certain.
That's what I say.
Yeah, that's what I say.
Seems like we ought to do something about it.
Do something?
To help that lead steer.
You want to do that.
Oh, want to help old Beller?
Sure you do.
Addox needs you.
Old Beller needs you, Charlie.
Gonna help him.
That's right, Charlie.
Let's go.
Yeah, let's go.
Let's go help old Beller right now.
Tell you, Mr. Donah, there's one thing that sure does seem like a waste of time.
It's washing windows.
Uh-huh.
Wash a window and it ain't no time at all, but it's dirty again, just as dirty as it ever was.
Yeah.
Same to me either.
When a fella got to inventing things, you do something about windows.
Don't it seem that way to you, Mr. Dillon?
What? What was that, Chester?
I say, don't it seem like to you that a fella could invent a window that was nice and dark
so that it wouldn't show up with that dirt?
Well, you'd tell me what's wrong with that idea, would you?
Wrong with it?
Don't see a thing in the world wrong with it, Mr. Donah.
Well, you couldn't see through the window either.
Well, maybe so, but there sure ought to be something that...
Looky there.
What?
Old Charlie Babb.
Looks like he's coming in here. My goodness, he's gone and got himself drunk again.
He's just a-weaving all over the street.
No, he ain't.
No, he ain't. Get him, Mr. Donah. He's hurt. Look.
What?
Marshall?
Yeah?
Marshall Dillon?
Here, let me give you a hand, Charlie.
Got a charge, huh?
Yes, sir.
Marshall Dillon, I got to talk to you.
What happened to you, Charlie?
You got to go after him, Marshall. You got to get him quick.
Tell me what happened.
I've been a fool, Marshall. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't know.
All right, Charlie, just settle down. I'll start from the beginning.
Well, Marshall, last night I got myself pretty liquored up.
Yeah?
And when I came out of the long branch and started down the stable, he was there, just like he was awaiting.
Who was there?
My ab slate.
Go on.
Well, he talked to me some. It seemed like he was the only one in the country with a good word for old Charlie that.
Well, go on, Charlie. What happened then?
Well, Ab said I ought to do something for old Beller. Nobody could take care of that steer but me.
So we went out to the herd and got him.
You stole that steer?
No, I didn't mean it like a thievery. I just wanted to tend to him.
Where's the steer now?
He took him off.
That slate?
Yeah.
Which way?
Well, he was heading east along the river.
It was slate that beat you, huh?
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, he must have had it all planned out, Marshall. I sure been a fool.
Well, don't worry about that now. You better go up and see Doc.
Well, Marshall, ain't you taking out after that slate, fella?
Yeah, right away.
Well, I ain't going to be sitting around no doctor's office.
Are you sure you'll feel well enough to ride with us?
How I feel ain't in it. I got to get old Beller back. I can show you the way, Marshall.
All right, Charlie, you show us the way. Get the horses, Chester.
You remember the trail so far, Charlie?
This is the way we come, Marshall. I was sobered up some of that time. I remember it good.
Well, sing out when we get near the place where slate left you.
Sure thing, Marshall. You'll be able to see it easy. Old Beller was stomping down the bush or something fierce.
Yeah.
Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, Chester?
It just don't make sense to me that he'd be bringing that steer this way.
Oh, why not?
Well, it's the opposite direction from Texas or the cattle trails or anything else.
Seems to me if slate wanted lead steer, he'd take him back that way.
He'll get back there.
Well, I don't see how.
Slate's probably heading for Wichita to sell it.
Wichita? Along this cow trail?
I think he'll hole up someplace, Chester. And then when he thinks it's safe, he'll move him along.
He sure is going through a lot of trouble, ain't he, Mr. Dillon?
Bell locks like that is worth a lot of money.
Well, that's not working your eyes.
Up there, Marshall. Right up there are ways. You see all that trampled bunch grass?
Yeah.
That's the place. That's the place right there. Right there is where Slate left me for dead.
Yeah, looks like there was a ruckus all right.
Yeah, I ain't very young and I ain't very strong, but I'd give him as good as I could.
I'll take a closer look here.
We gonna be able to follow the trail, Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, Chester, we'll follow it. Right to the end.
You holding up all right, Charlie?
Don't worry about me, Marshall. We'll see. Maybe we ought to stop and rest some, Mr. Dillon.
Tell the truth. I wouldn't mind stretching my legs a little bit myself.
Next time we reach some cover, we'll stop for a bit.
You don't have to bother none about me.
You're under there, Mr. Dillon, right around there are eyes. They can freeze.
Oh, yeah. And a couple of buildings, too.
Come on.
You think Slate might be there?
He might be.
Don't be no ox.
There's an old barn. We can come up behind it.
Yeah, he might be in there all right.
Marshall, there's Slate coming out of the barn.
Yeah. You stay back here, Charlie. Chester and I'll go talk to him.
Right, if he...
You stay back out of the way. Come on, Chester.
Yes, sir.
You, Slate.
It ain't worthwhile to come no closer, fellas.
I want that steer.
Well, now you ain't gonna get it.
I want that steer and I want you.
I'll tell you how I feel about it, fella.
I'll kill that steer before I give him up.
Well, that's up to you. But I'll still take you back.
It ain't that easy, fella.
Hey, he's going back in to bother me, Dillon.
Yeah. Come on.
He's still... he's right in the lookout. He's gonna shoot.
You got him. You shot him right out of the saddle.
Yeah.
He's dead.
You better find old Charlie and go get that steer.
Yes, sir. I'll go.
Look here, Mr. Dillon.
What?
The barn. Smoke.
Come on.
That steer's in there.
Yeah. That's what Slate wanted.
Well, maybe we can get to him along the side.
We gotta get to that steer somehow.
We can get in there now. The whole place is on fire.
Look, Mr. Dillon.
Charlie's back leading that steer out of there as nice as you please.
Easy now. Easy. You're all right, old Miller.
Well, how did you get there, Charlie?
Well, I had a feeling he'd be needing me.
Old Miller would, so I didn't do what you said, Marshall.
I didn't stay back.
That's a good thing you didn't. Are you all right?
Sure, I'm all right, Marshall. Old Miller's all right, too.
Thank you, boy.
You could have got yourself burned up mighty easy, Charlie.
No, Marshall. Old Miller led me out just like he leads them herds.
We better get him back where he belongs.
That's right. I never should have took him.
Marshall. Yeah, Charlie.
Will you speak a word for me?
Will you tell Mr. Wardell that I took some care
not to let no harm come to old Miller?
Sure, Charlie. I'll speak a word for you.
I think your trail boss will listen.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed in Hollywood by Norman McDonald,
stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
The story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Marion Clark,
with editorial supervision by John Meskin.
Featured in the cast were Ralph Moody, Ken Lynch, and Harry Bartel.
Harley Bear is Chester, Howard McNear is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty.
This is George Walsh inviting you to join us again next week
when CBS Radio presents another story on Gunsmoke.