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, the 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 said get out!
Why, you ain't throwing me out of no open salute.
You're out and you're staying out.
You took my money riding off and I stand aside today.
Your money you couldn't have to pay for the ruckus you was causing. Now go on, get.
No, not hardware.
All right, hold on there!
Put that gun away.
Well, who is?
Put it away.
That's better.
Well, this ain't no job for the law.
We'll see. What's the trouble, Sam?
He was getting too rough, Marshal. Miss Kitty ordered a mock.
No saloon girl can get me thrown out.
If she says you're out, Mr. You're out. You better do your drinking someplace else.
No saloon girl got any right to do any objection.
That'll do, Mr. And I go along.
Ain't one of them got any better than she ought to be.
I said move along.
Kitty putting on airs, having a man throw it out. Well, I aim to get even with her.
Now you listen to me. You get away from the Long Branch and you stay away. If I hear you coming back, I'll be the one to throw you out.
I'll be throwing you out of Dodge at the same time. Now you go on.
All right, Marshal, all right. But it's a funny kind of law.
It's not funny to me. Now you keep moving.
Can you think of anything else we need, Sam? Might as well spend all our money as long as we're ordering.
Seemed to me that ought to do it, Miss Kitty. I don't suppose the stuff will turn out to be any better just because we're getting a new batch.
I don't suppose our customers will turn out to be any better either.
Yeah, I guess you're right about that.
Whiskey. I will have whiskey.
Coming up.
There you are.
This is the best whiskey.
It's what we got.
It's not good whiskey.
Like I said, it's what we got.
It should be better, Senor, before you take the money.
Listen here, if you want...
But I'm not here to fight about the whiskey.
I'm glad to hear it.
Not this time. I've come to find a man. Maybe you know him.
Maybe.
It's been a long time, but they tell me he is in Dodge City and I will find him.
Who is he?
His name is Dylan.
Sam.
What?
I'll talk to him.
Sure, Miss Kitty.
You will talk to me, Senorita.
You looking for Matt Dillon?
Si. Is he here?
Yeah, he's here. He's the U.S. Marshal.
Then it is true.
What's true?
He's with the law.
This is the difference.
You know him?
Oh, I know him, Senorita, but I do not like this talk of the law.
I will have another not good whiskey and then I will find this U.S. Marshal.
Matt, Matt, wait a minute.
Huh? Oh, hello Kitty.
I'm glad I ran into you, Matt.
Oh, something special?
Well, yeah, there is.
Oh, what's the trouble?
No trouble yet, but I thought you should know.
Know what?
Well, Matt, there's a man in the long branch asking about you.
Yeah, you know who he is?
I've never seen him before.
He's Mexican and he's wearing two guns and a knife and he says he's going to find you.
Maybe I better find him first.
Thanks, Kitty.
Matt.
All right, Kitty.
I'll take care of myself.
My feelings for Mateo.
Huh? Who the?
Esteban.
Oh, it's been a long time, Don Mateo.
A long time is right.
It's good to see you, Esteban.
I tell them I will find you.
How have you been?
I heard you were looking for me with guns.
Who?
With guns?
Yeah.
For you, Don Mateo?
Oh, no, David.
But wait a minute.
There is a great change.
Oh, what's that, Esteban?
It's different now.
What do you mean?
They call you Marshal now.
You wear the badge.
Oh, that's different from the way it was, Don Mateo.
Yeah, but things aren't different between you and me, Esteban.
Come on, I'll buy you a drink.
Sure.
So this is the office of the U.S. Marshal of those cities.
Yeah, this is it, Esteban.
Now sit down.
There are many guns on the wall.
Yeah.
There are more guns than we had down near the border, Don Mateo.
Do you remember?
Yeah, I remember all right.
Our men just needed one gun and one fast horse.
That's right.
Yeah, things were different then.
It was a different time.
We would go out to get a man and we would get him.
Oh, there were some fine rides, Don Mateo.
That's right.
And the time we brought in El Coyote, remember?
Yes, I remember all right.
Six men he had with him.
Six men!
And hidden high in that rock castle.
Yeah, that was quite a ride, wasn't it?
Oh, you're right.
It was quite a ride.
You and me, Don Mateo, against them all.
It was a good time.
Yes, Esteban, it was a good time.
I wonder then how it is you come away.
You come here to dodge Syria and become a U.S. Marshal.
Oh, I don't know, Esteban.
I guess maybe a man finds a time when he wants to settle down.
It cannot be as good as much enjoyment.
No, it's not as much enjoyment, Esteban.
You're right there.
But sometimes it's good.
Not very often, but sometimes.
I do not understand.
But I have come to bring you the enjoyment again.
Oh, well, what do you mean?
I've come to ask you to ride with me again.
Well, you're going to have to tell me more than that.
It is a simple thing.
I've come to get a man.
I followed him a long way, Don Mateo, and I will find him.
If you ride with me, it will be like the days we used to have.
Who is the man?
Oh, he's a nothing.
He doesn't sound like somebody you'd bother to go after.
You know how it is with the insect, Don Mateo.
It's a nothing, but it's a bother, and it causes discomfort.
And if it causes discomfort enough, if it hurts, you kill it.
Well, that's the way it is with this man.
What's he done?
Oh, many things.
A nuisance like an insect.
And finally, it causes discomfort.
It causes hurt to Maria, my Maria.
So I've come to get him.
What's his name?
They call him Rallo.
Rallo?
Oh, yeah.
Well, I can believe it.
You know him?
Yeah, I know him.
Well, he is here now?
He was here a couple of days ago, but I think he's moved on.
We will find him.
Look, Esteban, I don't blame you for wanting to get this man, but I can't ride with you.
Why not, Mateo?
Because he hasn't done anything to me to ride after him for.
But he's no good.
He's a nothing.
He deserves to be killed like an insect, as I've just told you.
I know, but that isn't enough, Esteban.
A man who is bad should not live.
Maybe so, but I still can't go out with you after this man.
I don't understand you.
I'm sorry, Esteban.
I'll tell you something else you won't understand.
Si?
I can't let you go after him either.
What are you saying to me, Don Mateo?
I'm saying this.
If you go after this man, and if you kill him, I'll have to come after you.
You?
Come after me?
If you kill anybody.
That's the way it'll have to be, because that's the law.
It is too bad.
Yeah, it's too bad, Esteban, but you'd better remember what I said.
I will remember Don Mateo with a sadness.
It is true.
You do not have the enjoyment anymore.
I'm sorry we cannot have the good ride.
Yeah.
But just be sure that I don't have to ride after you.
Are you going to have a steak, Kitty?
I guess so.
At least you have some idea what you're eating.
Though I'm not sure it helps much.
All right.
Two steaks, huh?
Okay, Marshall.
I tell you, Kitty, you always have such a fit about the food in here.
You ought to open a nice little restaurant of your own.
Me?
Run a restaurant?
Sure, you can cook all the steaks just the way you think they should be.
All right, Matt, all right.
I'll quit complaining.
Anything to keep from cooking.
Oh, here comes Chester.
I've been wondering what's kept him away from the food this long.
Sit down, Chester.
We'll order another steak.
Well, that's not what I come for.
At least it's not right off.
You didn't come to eat at dinnertime?
Oh, I could eat, all right.
But I got this message from Mr. Jones.
What is it, Chester?
Doc wants to see you.
Where is he?
Up in his office.
You mean he wants me to go up there before I eat my dinner?
Well, I don't know about that, Mr. Jones, but Doc's got some fellow up there that's been shot.
Oh.
You know who he is?
Oh, sure I don't.
Doc just told me something, Dirk Farmer from out of town summers.
Did he get shot here in Dodge?
Well, no, sir, I don't think he did.
Or do you know who shot him?
No, sir, they didn't say no names.
Some rider, though, wearing a Mexican outfit.
You go ahead, Chester, and eat my steak when it comes, and I'll see you later.
Oh, hello, Mac. Come in.
Hello, Doc.
Matt, I thought you ought to know about this.
Yeah, thanks.
This man, his name is Grimes.
He's pretty bewildered about the whole thing.
Come on, come on, into the other room here.
Okay.
Is he bad hurt?
He'll be all right.
Grimes, he's Marshall.
Oh.
Marshall?
Hello, Grimes.
You, uh, you want to tell me how you got shot?
I don't want to get in no trouble, Marshall.
Seems to me you've already had the trouble.
I don't know why he'd come along and shot me, Marshall.
Well, that's what I want to find out.
I ain't never bothered nobody.
I'm a man to mind my own business.
Yeah, well, this is my business now, Grimes.
You tell me what happened.
It just don't make no sense.
Come on, Grimes.
You sure I ought to talk, Doc?
You sure it ain't too hard on me?
No, it's not going to hurt you a bit.
It'll probably make you feel better, if anything.
You sure?
I'm sure, yes.
Come on, speak up, Matt.
All right, then.
I was sawing some wood off the back of my place.
Oh, where's that?
About 12 miles west on Branch Creek.
Ain't never no water, though.
Least ways not when you need it.
Now, go on.
I was sawing this wood when a fellow rode by.
He asked, could he fill his canteen from the well?
I said, why, sure, you go ahead.
I ain't one to be selfish, Marshall.
Did you know this man?
Never seen him, Marshall.
He told me, though, that he was on his way to Colorado.
I figured he was one of them drifters and didn't pay too much attention.
He's not the one who shot you?
It's more like he was the one that was shot at.
All right, Grimes, just tell me the story, huh?
Well, we was talking there at the well a bit,
and all of a sudden this other fellow come riding up.
Didn't even slow his horse down, none, and he was yelling and hollering,
and he started shooting.
Did he get the drift or two?
Well, I'm not sure, Marshall, to tell you the truth.
I just started running for the barn.
I got on my horse and I come into town.
I didn't do no looking around.
All right, Grimes, thank you.
You wouldn't blame a man for looking after himself first, would you, Marshall?
No, not if you don't.
You take good care of him, Darkin.
Oh, yes, sure.
And warn him as a witness.
I'll see you later.
I think, Mr. Young, it sure would have helped if that Grimes fellow
just took the time to look around a little bit
and see who was shot and who wasn't.
He was too busy staying out of trouble, Chester.
He sure did leave a lot of trouble for us, I'll say that for him.
Don't worry about it. We're paid to take care of trouble.
I guess you're right.
Look at that. Ain't much of a house, is it?
Somebody built fire out front there.
Yeah, we'll ride up to it.
Ah, Don Mateo!
Who in the world is that?
You don't want to join me after all.
You know, I haven't come to join you, Stabon.
My head tells me you will not join me, but my heart still hopes it is so.
What is he talking about, Mr. Dillon?
Never mind, Chester.
You are a friend of Don Mateo the Marshal?
Well, sure I am.
To be friends is a good thing, is it not, Mateo?
Yeah, it's a good thing.
I welcome you to share my fire.
You would like some coffee?
No, thanks.
Stabon, there's a farmer in the doctor's office back in Dodge who's been shot.
This is his place.
Wow, I did not think he would make it all the way.
He was riding so fast he was nearly falling from the horse.
He says you shot him.
He was a very frightened man.
Did you shoot him?
Si.
I told him to stand still.
He started to run.
So you shot him?
He got in the way, Don Mateo.
Yeah, he got in the way.
It is not good to run.
How about Rolo?
You mean the man who is nothing?
Could you shoot him too?
It is possible.
What do you mean by that?
I mean that he was running too, Don Mateo.
You don't know if he's shot him?
Not yet, but I will shoot him. That much I know.
Where is he?
He's out there.
In the rocks?
Si, he's in the rocks, hiding in a cave in the rocks.
You figure to go get him, huh?
I do not have to go get him.
He will be coming to me.
How is that?
There is no food there, Don Mateo.
There is no water.
Even a man who is nothing, who is an insect, must eat and must drink.
Even a man who runs will come back for that.
He might get you, Esteban.
I forgot to tell you.
While he was running, he's gone.
He just happened to drop.
Just happened?
You didn't shoot at all of his hand.
It would have to be a very good shot, would it not?
Yeah, a very good shot.
Esteban, we're going to bring him out of there.
You're a good friend of Mateo, but it would not be wise for you to interfere.
That's my job.
I do not like this job of yours.
Right now I don't like it much either.
Chester.
Yes, sir?
You go on up and get Rallo out of the cave.
I'll stay here with Esteban.
All right, sir.
I'm surprised at you, Don Mateo.
Don't let it worry you.
It should worry you, Senor Marshal.
You're forcing me to shoot your friend Chester.
You know me better than that.
You make one move and I shoot you.
You would have to be the fast one, Don Mateo.
In the old days you were not always able to beat me at the draw of the gun.
I'll take a chance.
Now then.
What's going on?
It's all right, Chester.
You got him.
Don Mateo.
Yeah, Esteban.
Today you are the fastest shot.
Yeah, today I am.
I'm sorry.
It was my job.
It's a sad thing for a job to come between friends.
Yes, it is.
It's a sad thing to see a friend take a job without the enjoyment.
He's dead, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah.
And he was right.
This was a job without enjoyment.
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 Meston.
Featured in the cast were Don Diamond, Vic Perrin, Barney Phillips, and James Nusser.
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 Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke has come to you through the worldwide facilities of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
Music.