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 chancy job, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
Well, hello Matt. Hello Kitty. Something the matter? You look like you've lost your last friend. I could use a drink. Come on in.
Sam, bring Matt a whiskey, will you? Sure, Kitty. Sit down, Matt. Yeah, thanks.
Now, what's the trouble? Yeah, I just got word that a couple of old friends... Something happened to them? Yeah, they're dead. Oh, I'm sorry, Matt.
Hey, you wish me much. Oh, thanks, Sam. Yeah, it's a tough one, Kitty. They both took the fever. And they left a kid. A young boy.
Oh, that's a terrible thing. Yeah, it is. Boys' parents both dying suddenly like that?
That's kind of funny in a way. Joe and Lyda could have been killed a lot of times. He was in the war. They were on a riverboat that was sunk one time.
They'd been living on a ranch in Apache country. And it was fever that finally killed them. Yeah. Were you close friends, Matt?
Joe and I rode together on the border with his brother, Will. Yeah, we were close friends.
I'm sorry. I hope there'll be somebody to watch out after the boy.
Well, I don't know about the rest of the time, but I know somebody will be riding herd on him this summer. Somebody you know?
Mm-hmm. Me. You? Yeah, Will figures the boy ought to get clear away for a while. So you're going to take him?
Well, he asked me to in this letter. It doesn't seem like a lot to do. How old's boy?
Oh, fifteen, sixteen, somewhere along there. He won't be any trouble. You're certainly changing your tune.
Oh, how's that? Seems to me you've always dodged being a family man up to now.
Oh, not a kiddie. The boy needs help. I sure am, Matt. Of course he does.
And I think you have it in you to be a real good father. I always have. Ah, kiddie.
I'm sorry, Matt. I couldn't resist it. I think it's fine.
Thanks. When does the boy come? On tomorrow's stage.
Well, Matt, let me know if there's anything I can do, huh? Who knows? I might be quite a mother if I had a chance.
Yeah? I think you might, kiddie.
Now did you have a good trip, Dave?
Weren't nothing to it at all. I'd rather a road. You what?
Well, the stagecoach wasn't bad, but I'd rather a road my own horse in.
That was kind of a long way for that, wasn't it? That's what my Uncle Will said. But I could have done it.
Maybe you could at that. We heading for your office, Marshal?
Mm-hmm. That's where your headquarters will be most of the time. That's where we'll go there first.
Oh, that's fine with me, Marshal. I like to be around guns. Oh? We keep the guns locked up in the office.
All the time? Well, unless we're using them or cleaning them.
Oh, well, then. I can help clean them. Yeah, maybe you can.
I know how, Marshal. My Pa learned me.
He knew how to teach you, all right? Your Pa was a good man with a gun.
Uh, I'm sorry about that, Dave, about what happened. You must miss him a lot, your Ma and Pa.
I guess I do. I ain't gonna let it bother me none, though.
Kind of heart-nodding, too, isn't it?
You know, a fella's gotta do his growing up, Marshal. Can't be thinking on his Ma and Pa.
I suppose not. I wouldn't have stayed at home much longer anyhow.
You know, Marshal, Pa used to wear two guns. Yeah, I remember.
Why don't you, Marshal, wear two?
Well, I guess I figured one was heavy enough to pack around.
All the real good men with a gun wear two. Why, oh, I just meant you might get where you'd need to be.
You might get where you'd need to wear two sometime. I didn't mean no...
That's all right, Dave. So far I've just been lucky enough to get by with one.
Ah, here we are. Go on, walk in.
Oh, hello, Mr. Dillon. And I guess this must be the boy.
Ah, Chester, this is Dave Barrett.
I'm pleased to meet you, Dave.
Dave, this is Chester Proffitt. He really runs things around the Marshal's office.
I don't know.
Chester will keep an eye on you for the next few days. I'm going to have to ride up to Hayes City.
I don't need nobody to watch out for me, Marshal.
No, there won't be no trouble, no trouble at all.
You're showing me around, Chester. I want to see Ed Brody before I go.
Yes, sir, I sure will do that, Mr. Dillon.
Oh, can't I go along with you, Marshal? I'm still staying here with him.
Now, don't you worry, boy. There won't be nothing at all for me to make you feel at home.
You'd better stay here this time, Dave. Maybe you can ride with me another time before you go.
Sure, a nice young fellow like you. You and me will get along just fine.
Thanks, Chester. You all right, Dave?
Me? I'm always all right.
Good, I'm glad to hear it. I'll see you later.
The End
Excuse me, boy, I've got to sweep under that chair you're sitting in. Just boot your feet out of there.
There you are. There you are.
You sure do do a lot of sweeping around here.
Well, that there is a fact, boy.
Seems like folks brings mud on their boots all the way from Texas and the territory just so I can sweep up after them.
That ain't no job for a lawman.
Well, a lawman's got a right to live clean, just like anybody else.
Well, if I was helping the Marshal, I'd do better things than that.
Well, now, Dave, I guess you do just fine.
Well, I reckon the body has to do what he's fit for.
Now, just hold on a minute there.
I mean, it ain't like you could be no help in the gunfighting or nothing like that.
Now, listen here to me, Dave.
You're a nice young fellow, but you need a little straightening out on the way things is around here.
The Marshal needs somebody around him that can shoot.
I can shoot?
Well, I'm not a good shooter.
You don't even wear a gun. A man don't need to wear a gun all the time to know how to shoot.
Besides, them guns on the wall ain't the wearing kind.
These ladies look mighty comical on a man's hip.
I know how to wear a gun.
Ain't no cause for you to show off to me.
Somebody around this office ought to be wearing one.
Now, see here.
I don't want to catch you praying around wearing guns.
I'm not a gunman.
Now, see here. I don't want to catch you praying around wearing no gun.
I bet the Marshal will let me wear one.
Ain't likely.
See how good I can shoot, he'll let me.
Well, just don't let me catch you wearing one.
Well, you ain't the Marshal.
No, I ain't, but he left me in charge of things for the next couple days,
and one of the things he left me in charge of is you.
I can draw real fast.
I don't want to hear no more about it.
I don't want to see you wearing no gun, and that's all there are to it.
Now, move away from them windows so I can read up the rest of this office.
Music
Well, I tell you, Dave, there's no particular trick to taking out a bullet.
Not so, Doc?
Nope. The trick is keeping the man alive afterwards.
Well, how do you do that?
Well, if I knew the answer to that, Dave, I'd be the most famous doctor in the West,
and the richest to boot.
That sure would be nice.
There are so many things to consider, the size of the wound, how much blood has been lost, infection, separation.
Uh, Doc, I ain't so sure it's a good idea to go on about things like that.
Why not?
Well, we're eating our dinner, Doc.
Oh, what's the matter, Chester? You're getting squeamish with me?
Well, I'm as unsqueamish as they come, Doc. I can listen to your talk even though I am eating rhubarb pie.
Oh, what's the trouble then?
Well, Doc, it's the boy. He ain't used to hearing that kind of loose talk.
Oh, well, yes, you may be right.
You don't cost to worry about me. I ain't squeamish.
Oh, no, no, no, of course you're not, but Chester's right. It's a matter of good manners.
Yeah, that ain't no bother to me.
It ought to be, boy. It ought to be.
Chester, where in tarnation have you been?
Well, I've been right here eating my dinner, Mordy. I ain't exactly hiding out, you know.
Well, seems there ought to be somebody taking care of things in the marshal's office.
Oh, just ease off, Mordy. I'm not taking care of things. What's all the catawalling about anyway?
Well, they want you down at the telegraph office.
Why didn't you say so?
I had to find you first. They got a message that's got to be answered right away.
All right, Mordy, all right. Keep your braces up. I'm coming. I'll take care of it all right.
I'll see you back where at the office, Dave. Shouldn't take me very long to handle this.
Do I have to go right back to the office? Ain't it all right if I mosey around a little?
Well, now you know...
Oh, give the boy his head for heaven's sakes. He's no child, Chester.
I sure ain't.
Well, I guess it'll be all right.
Come on, Chester.
I'm a-coming.
But mind you be back there for supper, boy, here.
Sure, sure. I'll be there.
Oh, well, you wander around all you like, Dave. Chester gets more like a mother hen every day.
I don't need no mother.
Of course you don't. Sometimes, though, it seems that Chester has more talent for that than for marshaling.
Yeah, it sure does.
A horse kicked that down for you?
Huh? Oh, hello, boy. Ah, some fool drove a rig right into the side of the door.
Some folks rent a rig. I just don't care what happens to it. Else it just can't drive.
I can drive.
Yeah, so? You're a new boy in town, ain't you?
I'm visiting the marshal.
Matt Dillon? You better be good, boy. He'll run you in.
I ain't afraid of him.
You better mind your manners just the same. I wouldn't want to start no nonsense with Matt.
I'm going to help him.
Well, now, I'll bet he's glad about that.
I wish I had somebody to help me around this stable.
Hello, Feely.
Hello, Moss.
Take care of the horse, will you?
You want us to feed him?
Yeah, go ahead and feed him. I ain't fixing to be back for him till tomorrow.
Gonna make a night of it, are you, Feely?
I sure am. I gotta find the marshal first, though. He ain't in his office.
Ask the boy where he is. He's staying with him.
Why, so? You know where he is, boy?
Sure do. Up to Hayes City for two days.
I'm out of node. Trouble, Feely?
That's Hobb Frank. He's out there at the old Prentice place, shooting everything inside.
You better get Chester, then.
He ain't there either.
I seen him. He wasn't. You know where he went off to?
No. I don't reckon he'll be back for a while, though.
Well, maybe I'll run into him. Somebody ought to get on out there.
That's for sure uncertain.
See you later.
Go along. Come on, boy.
You know where the Prentice place is?
Sure, it's just south of the river, about a mile.
Got a big old fallen-down house on it. Nothing to see.
What do you want to know for?
Well, I want to be able to tell Chester where it is, that's all.
Sure, boy. Chester knows the Prentice place. Everybody around Dodge knows it.
Yeah, sure, I should have known.
Here, boy. Hold this bridle.
Yeah.
Say, mister, would you leave me have a horse?
I got only one rule about that, boy. I'll leave you have it if you can pay for it.
Oh, I can pay for it. I got money. See? Here.
Then you've got a horse.
You can have that one in the back stall. You can ride him all right.
I can ride him all right. And I can do a lot of other things just as good.
All right, now you need to get standing here, boy.
As soon as I see the old man, Frank, I'll take you down to the river for a drink.
Oh, Hobgud, you kind of chose a cooler day to start off the rookies.
Hobg? Hobg Frank?
All right, now don't you go playing no hiding games, old man.
Not after I've rode all this shit.
And don't you start shooting off again, either. You'd already be ashamed of yourself, all the stirring up things the way you do.
What the?
Well, I might have known.
Lickered yourself up until you lost your senses.
Come on. Gotta wake up some hobg.
Wake up so that I can ride you back to Dodge.
Come on now, old man. It's time again for you to spend a night or two in the lockup and then we'll get...
Oh, my gracious mercy. You've been shot.
He's dead.
Dave, what in the world are you doing out here?
I told folks I could help the marshal and I done it.
You done what?
Well, while you was lollygagging around town, I come out here and I rode right up through the gunshots and I took care of him.
You shot Hobg Frank?
I know what you couldn't have done it, not wearing a gun and all.
He was shooting something fierce when I rode up, but I just kept on coming.
Are you a blame young fool?
It was him or me. That's the way it has to be with a gunfighter.
Hobg Frank ain't no gunfighter.
He was...what do you mean?
Hobg Frank never harmed nobody in his whole life, except maybe himself.
The shooting he was...
Oh, he used to get himself liquored up regularly every two or three months or so and take his old gun and shoot it off just to hear the noise of it.
But he never done it to where folks was around. He never pointed at it to nobody.
But I thought...
Yes, sir, you thought. You thought so all tarnation much as you just rode out here and killed a man.
I didn't mean...
It's too late to think about meaning.
Come on now, help me get him out of here.
No. No.
Come on now, he can't be even just laying here.
You ain't gonna take me in for no chillin'?
Go on then. Run away from the old man you killed.
You can keep right on running the rest of your life for all of me.
All right, Hobg.
I'll fix you up soldiers. Nice and decent for you.
Nice and decent.
I tell you the truth, Mr. Dillon, I think it's too good for him.
Oh, what do you mean by that?
For that dave. To tell him that old
Hob didn't die after all that Doc pulled him through somehow.
Yeah, maybe you're right.
It was no thanks for him and that's a certain fact.
It'd just serve him right to go on thinking he'd killed him.
Now if we don't find him, he will go on thinking it.
I ain't so sure we'd oughta find him.
But I think we should.
I think we should.
Spending all this time writing out here in this weather.
You'll live, Chester.
Maybe I will.
But I ain't at all sure we ain't just sending good money after bad, you might say.
That's enough.
All right, but what I...
I said that's enough, Chester.
Now you know we gotta find this boy.
Yes sir, I guess we do.
Then let's do it.
Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, what is it?
Ain't you veering some off the road?
I'm heading for that cave up there.
You think he's hid out there?
I know that if I was a boy running away, a cave would look pretty good to me as a place to hide.
Yes sir.
Besides, this is the way his horse went.
Yes sir.
All right, Chester, we'll stop here.
Want me to come up with you?
No, you stay with the horses.
I'd admire to help.
I'll call you if I need you, Chester.
Yes sir.
Dave!
Marshal Dillon!
Come on out of there!
You might as well come out, Dave.
You left the plain trail.
I ain't coming!
Come on, Dave.
I ain't coming out, never!
If I have to come in and get you, I'll do it.
I ain't gonna hang, Marshal. I ain't gonna hang!
No, you're not gonna hang. You're lucky.
What? What do you mean?
The old man didn't die.
Now come on out.
You ain't just trying to trick me.
I don't have to waste my time tricking a smart alley kid like you.
Now come out of there before I drag you out.
All right, come on, all the way out.
Now down here.
Now where's the gun?
I buried it back there a ways.
You'll dig it up. It's one of mine, isn't it?
Yes sir. I seen it hanging there in the back room.
And you stole it. I should have known better.
I was figuring to help.
You better explain that.
Marshal, when I heard about that fella shooting out at the Prentiss place, I figured I'd need a gun.
So I went back and got one.
Why didn't you tell Chester about it?
I didn't think he'd be no good taking care of it.
Oh, why not?
Chester, he don't even wear no gun.
I see. I left him in charge of things, didn't I?
Yes, but Marshal, I didn't ever see him do nothing much but just sweep out. I can shoot.
Yeah.
I figured I could take care of that fella better than Chester could.
And you nearly killed him.
Well, he was shooting. I had to do something.
You know what Chester would have done?
No sir, I don't.
He'd have walked right up to that man, shooting or not.
And he'd have talked the gun away from him.
And he'd have brought him back into Dodge, or he'd be safe.
Well, I didn't know.
Oh, you sure didn't know. You don't know much.
If you think the only way to measure a man is according to whether he wears a gun or not, you don't know much.
I... I guess maybe you're right.
Yeah, I'm right.
Well, what you gonna do with me?
Well, until the circuit judge comes to town,
I'm gonna turn you over to Chester.
And I'd get ready to do a lot of sweeping.
A lot of sweeping.
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 Sam Edwards, Harry Bartel, Joseph Kearns, and Ralph Moody.
Marlee Bayer 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.