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.
Come on now. In you go. Chester, open up the cell. We've got a customer.
Yes, sir.
Great.
Gracious me, Mr. Dillon. Don't look like you've been so brubbing amongst the sending.
Yeah, well he's been working at it good and steady.
Yeah.
All right, in you go.
Know who he is, Mr. Dillon?
No, I don't think I've ever seen him before. He wasn't in any shape to tell me his name.
I ain't sure he'll ever remember it, the way he looks.
Well, we'll give him time to recollect.
Yeah, come on, Chester. Let's go get some breakfast.
Ah, you sure did a good job there, Doc. That's a beautiful little girl of Molly.
Oh, I can't take much credit for that, can I?
No, but you didn't hurt her any bringing her into the world.
Man, I tell you, Kitty, if every woman was as sensible about having children as Molly is,
a lot of doctors would be out of work.
Well, she's had a lot of practice. I'll say that for her.
Well, that brooder kid's running around. She doesn't have much time to fuss about having another one, I guess.
Well, anyway, it was good to see her again. She never has time to come into town anymore.
I should think not.
I don't have much time to get out of town.
Oh, even the dry prairie looks good to me.
No, I don't know.
Doc.
Yeah?
Look there, lying in the road.
Oh, yeah. I see it, Kitty.
What? It's a woman.
How is she, Doc? Is she alive?
Oh, great scar.
Doc, what is it?
Well, she's got a baby, Kitty. She was almost lying on top of a baby.
A baby?
That's what I said, a baby.
Here, Kitty, hold it.
Sure, Doc.
I want to get that woman into town as fast as I can.
Can I help you move her?
I'll make it.
Poor thing, she's just skin and bones.
And Kitty, you, see if you can support her head a little bit, will you?
Hold her baby in your other arm.
Yeah, all right, Doc.
There, is this all right?
No, that's fine, yeah. All right, now, we'll go.
Come on, come on.
Doc.
Yes, Kitty?
Did you call this her baby?
Well, sure I did. She was holding it so close, she was nearly smothering it.
I don't think the baby is hers.
What kind of foolishness is that?
She's a white woman, isn't she?
Well, you can see for yourself she's a white woman.
Well, I just got a good look at the baby's face.
It's an Indian baby, Doc.
Really? Here, let me have a look at you.
My, George, Kitty, I believe you're right.
Sure I'm right.
Well, no matter.
We'll best get the both of them back to town.
So come on, come on.
Oh, there you are, Matt.
Where did you expect me to be?
I never expect to find you in your office, I'll tell you that.
That nice buggy ride out in the country with Kitty didn't improve your disposition much, did it?
Nice buggy ride.
I made three calls, chopped a load of wood for old Lady Thomas, and bought her out of a patient in the town.
All right, Doc, all right. I didn't mean to insult you with the idea of having a good time.
As a matter of fact, Matt, it might be a good idea for you to talk to the patient I brought in.
Why, has he been shot?
It's a woman.
All right, then, has she been shot?
She's in bad shape from exhaustion and exposure.
And she has a baby with her.
What?
Well, that sounds more on your line than mine.
I'm not so sure, Matt, you see, she's a white woman.
But the baby is Indian.
Well, those things happen sometimes, don't they?
Of course they happen.
If you'll just listen to me, I'll tell you why I think this is different.
All right, Doc.
I don't think the baby's hers.
I think she kidnapped it.
Kidnapped?
Maybe I'd better have a talk with her.
But please go easy with the matter.
Whatever she's been through has been very hard on her.
Well, do you want me to see her or not?
I want you to see her.
All right, come on.
All right, Matt, you can talk to her.
Looks like she's asleep, Doc.
I don't think so.
Go ahead and try.
All right.
Ma'am?
I'd like to talk to you, ma'am.
And the marshal.
It's about the baby.
My baby.
That's what I'd like to know about, ma'am, the baby.
Where is he?
Give him to me.
It's all right.
He's right here.
No.
They took him.
They killed my baby.
Who killed him, ma'am?
The savage.
The savage Indian.
Joe.
Doc, you know who Joe is?
I think he must be her husband.
The way she keeps calling his name.
Yeah.
Ma'am, where is your husband?
Joe.
Where is he?
Joe.
Run off.
Joe, run off.
Baby.
My baby.
Give him to me.
This isn't your baby, is it, ma'am?
They killed my baby.
I know, but this baby.
Where did you get this baby?
A woman needs a baby.
Give him to me.
I'm going to give him to her, ma'am.
It is me quietly.
Bring her out of this.
All right, Doc.
There you are.
You just hold him there, quiet and gentle.
Baby.
Ma'am, he's an Indian baby.
They took my baby.
So you took this one?
Baby.
Joe.
I guess there's no use talking to her in the moment.
Maybe later.
Yeah.
All right, Doc.
Maybe I'll know more about it later myself.
It's all right with me, Mr. Dillon, riding away out here and all that.
I'm glad to hear that, Chester.
But it don't seem to me that you can be sure of getting anywhere just picking out of any little old bunch of Indians and asking about one little old baby.
Like that needle in a haystack the fellow was telling me about.
I'm not sure.
No, sir.
It just don't figure to prove out.
It won't prove out if we don't start somewhere either.
Well, yes, I guess you're right, but I...
Do me a favor, will you, Chester?
Well, sure I will, Mr. Dillon.
I'd be proud to.
Just keep your doubts to yourself until I get through here, will you?
Sure, I sure will.
All right.
We'll leave the horses here.
All right, Chester.
It don't look like there's nobody here but just the squaws and kids.
Yeah.
And they're probably off hunting.
I reckon so.
Have a good one, Mr. Dillon.
There's the brave.
Yeah, it's old Hawkwing.
You stay here, Chester. I'll go talk to him.
All right, Chester.
I've come to talk, Hawkwing.
It is well.
Sounds like you want to talk to me, too.
It is well. The Marshal come before the young men return from hunting.
All right, Hawkwing. You tell me what's on your mind first.
The Marshal knows.
It's a baby.
Mm-hmm.
But there are two babies, Hawkwing.
A baby is missing from the lodgers.
When the young men come back, there will be trouble.
I want to talk about a white baby.
The white baby, he did.
It is said that your people took the white baby.
That your people killed it.
That's not true.
But you know the white baby is dead.
My people buried white baby.
Tell me what happened, Hawkwing.
Baby lay dead of fever in arms of mother.
My people bury baby.
The women brought the mother to the lodgers.
What happened to the mother?
The Marshal asked that question.
You tell me, Hawkwing.
Mother walked out into the night.
She took baby of my people.
You know this to be true?
I know this to be true.
All right, Hawkwing. I was afraid it might be.
It would be well if baby come back before young men return.
Yeah. I think you may be right about that.
Well, sure, she's better, man.
I had her moved here to Mars smallies.
So she could be quiet for a while.
I found out her name is Dory.
That's all.
Maybe she'll talk to me this time.
She's able to. That's all I can say.
Whether she will or not, it doesn't matter.
Yeah. Well, let's go in and see.
Ma put her in her room on the first floor.
Here it is.
It's me, Dory. Doc Adams.
I brought the Marshal.
He'd like to talk to you.
I don't want to see him.
It won't take long, Dory. It's important.
Please, go away.
I can't, Dory. I've got to talk to you about the baby.
My baby?
Well, that's just it.
I'm afraid he isn't yours.
I'll care for him, Marshal.
Well, I'm sure you would, Dory, but he still isn't yours, is he?
A mother has a right to a baby.
An Indian mother has a right to a baby, too.
But they took my baby, Marshal. They killed my baby.
Your baby was sick, Dory. Isn't that so? Your baby died.
They buried my baby. The savages buried my baby.
The Indian women were trying to help you.
They took my baby right out of my arm.
Because he was dead, Dory.
You really know that, don't you?
Don't you, Dory?
Doc?
Go ahead, Dory. It'll be better if you face up to it.
I guess I know it, Marshal, but the fever and all...
Yes, I know you've been sick, and that may save your life.
What do you mean?
The Indians may be willing to let it go at that, when they get their baby back.
A baby?
You'll have to give him back, Dory.
Maybe they won't know, Marshal. They've got lots of babies. Maybe they won't care.
They know. They care. We'll have to give him back.
But, Marshal...
Listen to me, Dory. I'm sorry for you. But I'm not so sorry for you that I'll risk an Indian uprising.
The baby has to go back, or your life won't be safe.
Lots of lives won't be safe.
Doc?
He's right, Dory. You can do what he says.
Can I have him just a night, Marshal? And you take him in the morning?
I guess that's all right, Dory. It's too late to get out there tonight, anyway.
But I'll have to take him the first thing in the morning.
Goodbye, Marshal. First thing in the morning.
Here's your coffee.
Don't seem none too hot.
You're about as ungrateful of a prisoner as I've ever fed.
Of course, you're the might early, but the Marshal and me have to ride out to the Indian camp.
You gonna let me out?
Maybe you will at that. He's got an awful lot on his mind over that woman and her baby.
I've been locked up long enough. What woman are you talking about?
Why, that woman that took a baby from the Indians, walked right out of their camp with it, and I said, you please.
Who is she?
I don't know. Some woman the Indians found way out west of town, some horse.
Seems her baby got killed or something, and she went and kidnapped herself a Indian baby.
What's her name?
I ain't never heard her name.
Look, you better turn me loose right now.
What? What? Then you listen here. I've got authority to hear you.
Marshal!
Here, let me out of here.
What's the trouble here?
Marshal, I don't know, Mr. Don, this fellow's coming to start going crazy.
Marshal, a woman and a baby, what's her name?
Well, they know her first name is Dory.
That's my wife.
Now let me out. Let me out!
Wait a minute, will you? Wait a minute. You weren't doing her much good when she needed you before.
I thought she was dead, Marshal. I thought they was both dead. I rode off to get help.
They was awful sick.
I know.
I got lost, Marshal. I didn't find nobody, and when I got back the wagon, I seen the grave.
I thought they was dead. I ain't cared about nothing since.
I can believe that. All right, let him out, Chester.
Yes, sir.
Tell me your name.
Joe Dance.
Well, Dance, your wife needs you pretty bad right now. I think you better go to her.
Well, I sure want to do that, Marshal. Where is she?
Matt! Matt!
I'm in the back here, Doc.
Yeah, what is it?
The woman, Dory. She's taken the baby and gone.
She did what?
Dory's gone.
Get the horses, Chester.
Sure.
Get one for Dance, too. His wife's going to be needing him more than ever now.
I'll say this for her. That woman can sure drive a buggy at a good clip.
Dory can drive all right.
Let's just hope she can drive fast enough this time.
You think she might be able to get away and get on?
If the Braves haven't come back from hunting, she might have a chance.
Marshal?
Yeah, Dance?
If they, if the engines get her with that baby, what'll they do to her?
I don't know. They have their own laws. I don't know what they'll do.
Mr. Dunne, look yonder. The buggy.
Yeah.
He sure did wreck it.
There are quite a bunch of them. Look at those tracks.
You think they got her?
Yeah. I think they got her. Come on.
Braves, they sure are back all right, Mr. Dunne. Look at them horses.
Must be a couple dead.
Yeah, they're back all right.
Do we go in shooting?
You were born with more sense than that. We go in shooting, we're dead as soon as we get there.
Well, how do you figure it's in, Marshal?
We walk in as quiet as we can and hope we can get out the same way.
Let's leave the horses here.
Just walk slow and easy and let me do the talking.
She's my wife.
You better hope it'll stay that way. Just don't start anything.
The quieter we are, the better our chances are.
Sure.
There. They're lined up. Waiting for us.
Yeah. Just walk easy.
All right, that's far enough.
I've come to talk with Hawkwing. Send for him.
He's going after him.
Yeah. Dory.
I see Dory. She's there.
Take it easy.
Well, they got her tied up.
Wait a minute, Dad.
Get your hands off me.
He unconscious, Mr. Dunne?
He's lucky he isn't dead.
You are brave men to come here now, Marshal.
I've come to ask that your people be merciful. I've come for the woman.
It is not decided about the woman.
She's seen much trouble, Hawkwing.
She took Baby from my people.
The woman was sick with fever, Hawkwing. There was an evil spirit with her.
My people had not harmed her. Yet she took Baby.
The Baby's back. The Baby's unharmed. Let her go, Hawkwing.
I have told you it is not decided about the woman.
Man, you've struck down. Who is he?
He is the white woman's husband.
When she was found, the white woman and Baby, there was no husband.
It is as I said, Hawkwing, she was sick with fever. The husband had gone for help.
She needs help now.
Her husband cannot help her now.
No, Hawkwing. Your people are the only ones who can help her now.
Mr. Dillon, that Indian woman with the Baby, she's coming up here.
Just keep quiet, just...
I am the mother, Hawkwing. Let me speak.
Little Bird has suffered.
I know. And I'm sorry.
But White Mother has suffered more. My Baby is back with me. He shows good care.
Her Baby will never come back.
What are you saying, Little Bird?
I wish White Mother go free.
You do not wish that she be punished?
She has been punished enough.
Ah, come then. We will tell the council.
You think they will set her free, Mr. Dillon?
I think they will, Chester. Indians think pretty straight.
And I have an idea that Dory and Joe will be able to start all over again.
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 Messon.
Featured in the cast were Gene Bates, Ralph Moody, and Vic Perrin.
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.
The latest news follows, then, Mitch Miller with tonight's guest stars on the CBS Radio Network.