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 a U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
Music
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.
Music
Hey, hey!
Over here.
When the boy said you wanted to see me.
Yeah.
Well, it better be important, mister.
I don't make a habit of coming running with some saddle punk whistles.
Now, maybe you had an ought to make a habit of calling people saddle punks.
No offense, just an expression.
Sure.
I came up from the Pecos country.
Been here in Dodge about a week.
Maybe you've seen me around.
I've seen you.
I've been talking to people.
Oh.
Everybody tells me you was a big shot back in Abilene,
had all the games sewed up, three or four saloons paying off,
a couple of hotels and so on.
Then the boom busted and you come here.
Since you've been here, you got nowhere.
You know why?
You're talking, you tell me why.
Dillon, a fella named Matt Dillon.
He tried to scare him and he wouldn't scare.
So he tried to buy him, he wouldn't buy.
Tried breaking him and he wouldn't break.
So, be worth a thousand dollars to you if I kill him?
It might.
All right.
Get it and go.
Keep it handy.
Am I hired?
Yeah?
Yeah, you're hired.
I'm hired.
You know, Chester, you haven't said three words in the last 20 minutes.
It's not like you.
Well, I...
Miss Dillon, did you ever get a funny feeling
that somebody was keeping an eye on you?
Oh, yeah, but...
Well, I got one right now.
You know, Chester, I think you got a touch of the heebie-jeebies.
As far as I can see, there's nobody in the whole place
paying any attention to us.
Somebody is.
I had the same feeling the day of the Butler Brothers
had come back from San Fe.
Yeah?
I didn't even know they was in town,
but I knew somebody was getting ready to call us.
And about six o'clock that evening, they made their plays, you remember?
Yeah, I remember.
I was one of the Hall Bearers next day.
Well, it's the same doggone thing right now.
You know, I think you've got the wind up over nothing, Chester.
That town's never been quieter.
Jail's been empty for two weeks.
The only new faces around is that bunch of trail drivers
that came up from the pagans.
They're all strangers.
Oh, Marshall. Hey, B.
What?
Been looking all over for you.
Oh, hiya, Billy.
I waited over at the jail for nine hours, an hour.
I got to talk to you, Marshall.
You know, Billy, every time I've given you money,
you botchers up a bottle and stay blind drunk for two days.
Well, I ain't money this time, Marshall.
I got something to tell you.
Oh, what?
Something I heard.
There's a couple fellas talking over by the labor stable.
They didn't see me. I was back at the water cross.
Sort of, well, resting, you might say.
Well, you know how it is, Marshall.
Yeah, I know.
A man gets dry in his prairie country.
What were they talking about, Billy?
About you.
One of them offered to kill you for a thousand dollars in gold,
and the other one took him up on it.
Oh.
Who were they, Billy? Do you know them?
No, sir. It is dark, and I didn't recognize their voices.
They was already there when I woke up, and they left right after that.
Uh-huh.
Well, uh, maybe it was some kind of a joke.
It didn't sound that way to me.
It ain't no joke, Mr. Dunn. I told you I felt it.
There's somebody around who's been hired to kill you.
Can you figure who'd want to do such a thing, Mr. Dunn?
Well, I can figure a dozen or two, just...
Well, I mean...
Here we are. Come on.
Oh, yeah. Good morning, Marshal.
I haven't seen you since the robbery last month.
Attempted robbery, Mr. Barkin.
So it was, thanks to you.
Well, Marshal, the bank's at your service. What can I do for you?
Give me some information, if you will.
Well, if it isn't confidential.
It is, but I want it anyway.
Well, I hardly know what to say.
Perhaps we'd better step into my office.
All right.
This way, gentlemen.
Thank you.
Well, just what was it you wanted to know?
I want to know whether one of your customers has drawn a thousand dollars in gold from the bank in the last few days.
Any particular person in mind?
Oh, that's what I want to find out.
Well, I hope this won't go any farther, Marshal.
Who was it, Mr. Barkin?
I certainly wish to make it clear that I don't approve of this man, but after all, he is a good customer. It's not my place.
Yeah, I know.
Who was it?
Lawson Hale.
Lawson Hale?
He took the gold out just this morning, as a matter of fact.
Said he was working on a cattle deal of some sort.
I do hope you'll regard this as confidential, gentlemen.
Yeah, sure.
Well, Chester, we know who one of them is now.
But who's the other? The one who's actually going to do it.
Some punk who wants a thousand dollars bad.
Doesn't care much how he gets it.
I sure don't narrow it down any.
Oh.
I know.
Sure is quiet tonight, Mr. Doane.
Yeah.
Ain't many people out.
No, not many.
That moon's throwing quite a bit of light.
Mm-hmm. There I guess it is.
Kind of makes a target out of a man.
Yeah, it does, kind of.
If somebody was out to shoot somebody, this would sure be a good night for it.
I suppose so.
Mr. Doane, would you mind if I make a comment?
I thought that's what you were doing, Chester.
Let's go on back to jail and stay off the streets.
This way you're just asking for it.
Look, Chester, if it's going to come, it'll come.
I'd rather meet it halfway than just sit and wait for it.
Asking for it, asking for it. That's what you're doing.
It's been two days now, Chester.
It gets on your nerves.
When you go out to bring a man in, you know you may have trouble and you're ready for it.
But this way it's...
Well...
I understand what you're doing.
Kindly bothers a man.
Yeah.
Let's walk on down to the long ranch.
Hello, Kitty.
Hi, you, Matt.
It's good to see you, Matt.
You've been avoiding us the last couple of days.
Been busy, Kitty.
Want to sit down?
I don't think so. Not right now, anyway.
Something bothering you, Matt?
Huh? Bothering me?
Well, yes. You seem to be on edge about something.
Mr. Dillon.
Yeah, what?
Lawson Hale just come in.
Down in the bar there.
Yeah.
Maybe I ought to have a talk with him, Chester.
Well, that's one way.
That's the one I haven't tried yet.
Excuse me, Kitty.
Sure, Matt.
Matt, now you be careful.
And I had it right in the palm of my hand.
A minute of trail driving hit that town, the boys grab her pay and they'd head straight for one of these.
Something I can do for you.
Yeah.
I want to talk to you, Hale.
Well, I don't see nothing stopping you.
Let's move down the barways.
Sorry, but I'm fine right here.
Why don't we move down the barways?
If it's that important to you. Pardon me, boys.
Let's come back and finish that story.
Is this far enough?
Yeah.
Yeah, it's far enough.
I understand you hired yourself a gunman.
And you sent him out to get me.
You've offered him $1,000 in gold.
I don't know what you're talking about, Bill.
You wouldn't care to tell me his name, would you?
No, I don't think so because, you see, I don't know nothing about it.
What's he waiting for? He's had two days now and he hasn't made a move.
Well, like I say...
You wouldn't do the job, Hale.
You're wearing a gun.
Maybe you can save yourself some money.
I've got no quarrel with you.
You mean you're yellow, scared to call your own place?
I said I've got a whistling no-good coward, Hale.
I looked that right for the time being.
I thought you wouldn't.
Come on, Chester, let's get some fresh air.
All right, sir.
See you later, Kitty. Doc.
All right, man.
Yeah, I guess he just ain't the kind to take chances, Mr. Jones.
He doesn't need to, Chester.
He's got a hair-killer problem somewhere around.
If I only knew who he'd hired, I could force the play myself.
This business of having to leave it up to the other man.
Over there by the stable.
Yeah, I saw the flash.
You reckon you got him, Mr. Jones?
I don't know. Let's move in.
Now watch yourself. He may be playing possum.
Yes, sir.
The flash was right here by the corner.
Yeah.
Well, that's that.
Yeah, looks like he got away.
He's gone, all right.
Took one shot and ran for cover.
He'll be back.
I think that fire feels real good.
The whole jail seems kind of cozy.
Anyway, it's a lot better than crawling in streets waiting for somebody to put a bullet in your back.
Chester!
Will you stop squeaking that chair?
Sorry, Mr. Jones.
Two more days gone by and he hasn't made another move.
Yes, sir.
That cottonwood sure burns up fast.
I guess I better shake down the stove and throw another.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Might be a way at that, Chester. Lawson Hale. That's the only fact we're sure of. Lawson Hale.
It'll be kind of hard to prove anything, Mr. Jones.
Who said anything about proving it?
I got an idea. Come on.
I've been thinking, Mr. Jones, you ain't got no evidence.
To arrest Hale, I mean.
I know, but I can scare him.
If I figure him right, I think he'll scare easy.
Maybe so, but all the same.
There he is now, Chester. Just came out of the long branch.
Wonder who them two willy-nilly is.
They're hanging around for the free drinks.
There's not an ounce of nerve in a dozen like that. Come on.
Hale.
Hold it, Hale. Right where you are.
What, what seems to be the trouble now?
No trouble unless you want to make some. You're under arrest.
I... what for?
I'll think of something.
You're taking me in without even making a charge. I'll remind you there's witnesses here.
Yeah, so I noticed. When they're not hanging around you, they're after somebody else.
What have you done, Hale? Hired them too?
I asked you what the charge was, Marshal.
Vagrancy.
Vagrancy?
As far as I know, you've never had any visible means of support as long as you've been in the city.
I'll match any dollar of yours with a hundred better ones.
Fine. That'll help pass the time.
Now look at here, Marshal, you think you...
Shut up.
All right, boys, break it up. The party's over. You had your last free drink out of this pump.
Now let's go to jail.
Keep walking. It's the last cell on the line.
Oh, Dillon, Dillon, I'll break you for this. So help me.
You've been trying it for a year and I'm still around.
You won't be after this.
Chester, unlock the door.
As you...
All right, get inside.
Make yourself at home.
Nothing to hold me on. Nothing at all. I'll be out of here by tomorrow noon.
I doubt that. In fact, there's a pretty good chance you'll never get out of that cell. Not alive, at least.
What are you talking about? According to the law, I've got a right.
The law, huh? You've broken out every chance you've got.
Tried to break the men who serve it, but when your own neck gets caught, you start hiding behind the law.
Never the less.
All right, fine. Right now the law out here is kind of sketchy.
Now this little affair between you and me is one of the things the law doesn't quite cover.
So I'm gonna run it my way.
Yeah, kind of talk isn't gonna help you.
You've hired a man to kill me, offered him a thousand dollars to get me out of the way.
You can't prove that.
He's made one try and missed. He's still around dark somewhere, waiting.
And he'll try again.
That's your problem. That's not mine. I don't know anything about it.
You know what'll happen though, if he does get me?
The first thing Chester's gonna do is to come straight back here to the jail and pop a couple of bullets through these bars.
Huh?
Now your boy may kill me, Hale, but you're not gonna live to profit by it.
He wouldn't. He wouldn't do that.
A shoot down to helpless prisoner?
No, neither one of you would do it.
Chester and I've been friends for a long time. Why don't you ask him whether he'd do it or not?
You bet I'd do it.
No, no, you wouldn't do it.
You hired somebody to shoot Mr. Dillon in the back. I don't see where you got any kick coming.
Well, there's your answer, Hale.
No, he wouldn't.
Come on, Chester. Let's go look the town over.
No, no, well, it's tonight that he's going to...
Oh, tonight who's gonna do what?
I don't know. I don't know anything about it.
I don't know. Well, that's too bad.
If I knew his name, I'd have a lot better chance.
And so would you.
Well, see you later. Or anyway Chester will.
No, no, Dillon, you can't go with you.
Dillon, you can't go out in the street. He'll get you short.
Dillon, no. Wait a minute. I'll tell you his name.
All right.
He's a trail driver. He came up from the Pecos last week.
His name is... His name is Ed Granger.
Ed Granger?
You've seen him around the bars.
He's dark-haired, surly-looking fellow.
He's got a scar across the cheek.
Come on, Chester. Let's go get him.
He's here, all right, Mr. Hale.
Over there in the bar?
Yeah. Looks like he's by himself.
What are you going to do, arrest him?
There's no evidence, Chester.
Only one way I see is to make it personal.
You stay out of it. Just cover me, that's all.
Yes, sir.
Your name Ed Granger?
Might be.
You know who I am?
Judging by the star, I reckon you're U.S. Marshal.
You ought to do better than that. After all, I'm worth a thousand dollars to you.
Who says so?
Lawson Hale.
Hale?
Your memory's getting better, huh?
I don't know what you're talking about, Marshal.
Sure you do. That deal you made with Hale.
He told me all about it after I threw him in jail and persuaded him a little.
I told you. I don't know anything.
You're wearing a gun there, Granger. Why don't you draw it and go for the thousand dollars?
Why don't you take a chance?
This fellow you're talking about's in jail.
I reckon he wouldn't have anybody working for him now, would he?
You tell me.
I got no reason to draw on you, Marshal.
Not unless my back's turned.
I ain't drawing.
Granger, you tried to kill me the night before last.
Can you prove that?
If I could, you'd either be in jail or dead right now.
Well, since you can't prove it, what's the argument?
Just that I don't like the idea of somebody trying to shoot me in the back.
If you're any man at all, we'll settle this right here and now.
You leave me alone, Marshal.
You still figure you got no reason to draw on me?
I ain't drawing.
All right, Granger, you got ten minutes to get out of town, and when you're out, stay out.
Don't come back now or ever, you understand?
Yes, sir.
You can start right now.
Must be nearly midnight, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah, about that, I guess.
I'm sure this will sure one day I'm glad it's over.
Yeah, so am I.
At least I can breathe a little easier now.
I'll just get the fire built up a little.
No, leave it, Chester.
Take care of the prisoner first.
You still ain't got no evidence.
What are we going to do about him?
Same as with Granger.
Turn him loose, run him out of town.
It should have done it months ago.
Go on, get him, huh?
All right, sir.
Oh, my.
Mr. Dillon?
What?
Oh.
Granger must have stopped by here on his way out of town.
Looks like he got Hale over to Winterford talking, and grabbed him and cut his throat right there.
Yeah, but he's got a lot of work to do.
He's got a lot of work to do.
And he grabbed him and cut his throat right there.
Figured Hale had sold him out.
Got a bulletin on the wire, Chester.
Wanted for murder, right, Granger?
I'm just doing.
I guess Hale got pretty much what he bargained for.
He hired himself a killer in order to kill him.
He got it.
Gun Smoke.
Produced and directed in Hollywood by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
The story was specially written for Gun Smoke by Les Crutchfield, with editorial supervision by John Mesden.
Featured in the cast were Lawrence Dodkin, Vic Caron, Ralph Moody, and Joseph Kern.
Harley Bear is Chester, Howard McNear is Doc, and Georgia Hawkins is Kitty.
This is George Walsh inviting you to join us again next week when CBS Radio presents another story on Gun Smoke.
ANX AM&FM CBS Radio in Los Angeles.