Around Dodge City and in the territory on west, there's just one way to handle the killers
and the spoilers.
And that's with a US Marshal and the smell of Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke starring William Conrad, the transcribed story of the violence that moved west with
young America, the story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal.
A stranger named Joe Bodry killed a man in Dodge and then got on his horse and rode 90
miles northwest.
He made it across the Smokey Hill River before his horse played out and fell behind a small
knoll.
Bodry put a knife in him and settled on to wait.
Half hour later, he shot my horse off from under me and crippled chesters with a slug
in the shoulder.
And then he gave up.
He just threw down his guns and walked toward us across the prairie, his hands in the air.
You think it's a trick, Mr. Dillon?
I don't know, Chester, but if he makes a move, I'll kill him.
Yes, sir.
That's far enough, Bodry.
Now turn around.
I ain't no army Marshal.
No.
You know, I'm curious, Bodry, why didn't you shoot it up?
I don't want to kill anybody, Marshal.
You killed a man in Dodge.
He went for his gun.
I had to.
Some of the witnesses say he didn't.
Oh, sure.
Friends of his.
I heard him.
That's why I lit out.
A man looks guilty when he runs.
You should have stayed and faced it there.
Now what kind of shake could I get in a strange town, Marshal?
Everybody be against me.
The law protects you if you're innocent.
You'll have to stand trial now anyway.
Well, maybe I made a mistake, but I'm still alive.
Yeah, and a long way from Dodge.
Say bye, Gracious.
That's right.
How are we going to get back, Mr. Dillon?
Well, we crossed the Overland Express Road about five miles back.
Just walked to the road and wait for his stage, I guess.
Yeah, but the stage don't go up to Dodge from here, sir.
Well, we'll take it into Fort Donner.
Maybe the Army will lend us some horses there and we can turn them back at Fort Dodge.
Marshal.
Yeah.
Well, I know you don't owe me no favors, Marshal, but I never been arrested before.
I'd be kind of ashamed in front of everybody in stage.
Well, that's tough, Bodry.
What do you expect me to do?
Well, only a little thing, Marshal, will make any difference to you.
Just don't let them know that you're taking me in is all.
All right, Bodry, I guess it doesn't matter.
Thanks.
I'm not wearing a badge anyway.
But you make one move and I'll hogtie you and you'll ride on the roof or you'll be dead.
It's a deal, Marshal.
You'll get a fair trial, Bodry.
If you're innocent, you'll go free.
Well, if it is a fair trial, I'm going back to California.
I don't know why I ever left it.
You come from California?
Yeah.
Hey, Marshal, look, is it all right if I lug my saddle back with me?
Yeah, sure, we're not leaving ours.
Chester, I'll go with Bodry and get his guns.
Yes, Mr. Dillon.
I sure do wish you'd stop closer to the stage road, though, Bodry.
Five miles is a long way packing a saddle.
Go take care of your horse, Chester.
Let's get out of here.
Yes, sir.
It's a doggone shame, though.
That was a mighty good horse.
Come on, Bodry.
I sure hope the stage hasn't gone by already, Mr. Dillon.
Why don't you get off your back and lug down the road, Chester?
Well, I declare.
Looky, Andre, it's a common.
And it's painted bright red, too, Mr. Dillon.
And what if they don't stop for us, Marshal?
Road agents don't usually carry their saddles.
The driver will notice that if he's awake.
Having a six-horse hitch ought to keep him awake.
Yeah, but not sober.
That's a shotgun, the messenger, Golden.
He doesn't need it.
We want a ride, that's all.
Where's your horses?
Marshal, please, you remember what you said.
We lost them.
You don't look like greenhorns to me.
It can happen to anyone.
That's for sure.
The one in the middle ain't even ours.
Pick them up, Hank.
All right, Barryman, it's your treasure box.
How far you going?
Fort Downer.
It's about 60 miles to Fort Downer.
You're crowding us.
That'll be 15 cents a mile.
How much is that, Mr. Dillon?
About $9, Chester.
$9 a piece, that is, and payable right here.
All right.
That's high, but I can't argue with you now.
Here you are.
Twenty, five, six, seven.
All right, mister, get in.
I don't know how the passengers are going to like this, though.
You got room for a couple more in here?
Anybody can keep his horse on a walk home.
There's room for two, maybe, but not three.
Take a look for yourself, mister.
Yeah, I guess you're right.
Chester.
Oh, now, sir, I can't...
I don't want Gaudrey on top.
You'll have to get up there, Chester.
Well, I guess you're right, sir.
But I think you fellas ought to charge us less if I can't ride inside.
The Overland stage guarantees a ride, mister.
Comfort's the passenger's problem.
Get in, Gaudrey.
Yeah.
Now, get fixed somehow.
You've held us up long enough.
Give me a hand.
I'll help you.
Yeah!
You don't look like a judge, mister.
I'm not a judge.
Well, you must be important somehow.
We order these men around, and that fellow on top there calls you sir.
How you doing?
Well, let's just say that I'm sort of the boss of this outfit, mister.
You know what I'm saying they must?
I didn't say.
It happens to be Dillon.
Well, I'm Zimmer.
Old man here called himself Gant.
Well, the name of this Gant ain't a shame, though.
They don't give a long hoot about any you call yourselves.
Gant's kind of crusty, but he's sober.
That's more than I could say for the other two here.
They only wake up long enough to pull on that jug they got and get drunk enough to go back
to sleep.
Now, that's not a bad way to travel if your stomach can stand it, I guess.
No, I ain't losing myself if I was younger.
What business you in, Dillon?
You don't ask too many questions, Zimmer.
You ain't got no manners.
Nobody's asking you, old man.
Good, good.
Then I don't have to listen to your guffers.
Now, listen here, Gant.
Any more out of you and I'll tear you apart.
Oh, shut up.
You can't spoke me.
I'm too old.
Eighty-five, mister.
Wouldn't you believe it?
No, sir, I wouldn't.
That's mighty old.
You're a good man, Gant.
You're a good man, Gant.
You're a good man, Gant.
You might as well go back.
Eh, no, sir, I wouldn't.
That's mighty old.
You sure don't look it.
I knew Michael Lewis, mister, met him in St. Louis.
When he and Clark come back from the Pacific...
Now, who's doing all the talking?
Leave him be, Zimmer.
There's no harm in passing the time and...
Look, mister.
You may be the boss of these other pubs...
But you don't run me.
I thought he's trying to run you.
Eh, we'll be in Monument Station about an hour during the spendin' night there.
Eh, hope the child's improved.
Last time I was there all I had was fat pork.
One practice is I never eat fat pork.
So I cooked home, well, then just help yourself to the mustard.
Ah!
Monument Station was a long, low hut made of sun-dried, mud-colored bricks,
with a flat roof thatched and then sodded.
The one building served as an eatin' room in the daytime and a bunkhouse at night.
There wasn't much air inside, and after dinner, fat pork and mustard,
Chester, Bodrie, and I went out to the corral for a smoke.
Phew! My gracious life, I hate to think of sleepin' in there.
All those men, why, a fellow could suffocate.
And I'll bet that stock tender hasn't washed himself since he left home.
He said he washed his blankets, anyways, just this mornin'.
Yeah, sure. You know how? He spreads it on an ant hill for a couple of hours.
Oh, well, that's settled, and I'm sleepin' outside.
All right, Chester, but just don't get too cozy.
After night you're standin' guard over Bodrie here. I'll watch him the other half.
Well, I'm not gonna run away, Marshal.
You ran once, Bodrie.
All right, I'll tell you something, and maybe you'll trust me a little in.
Tell me what? Would you like to know who Zimmer is?
Zimmer? He that real testy fella? I don't like him at all.
He's always on the prod about somethin' rather than just a little bit of go-heels.
Wait a minute, Chester. Wait a minute. What about Zimmer, Bodrie?
His real name is Chess Rine.
So?
Well, at least that's the name was under his picture.
Well, where was his picture, Bodrie?
In California, tacked onto a pole.
Go on.
Well, I think the reward was $500. Of course, I ain't certain.
You're sure it was his picture?
Yeah, Marshal, I'm sure.
Heard a lot of talk about him in Sacramento just before I left.
What kind of talk?
Well, like one time he rode in a stagecoach as a passenger,
and he was peaceful enough until some fellows on horses,
they stopped that stage in the canyon summers, and then this here Chess Rine,
he pulled a gun on the other passengers and he disarmed them,
whilst the boys outside unloaded the treasure box.
They had an extra saddle horse along the ride, and he rode off with them.
That's the way I heard it.
Seems to me he went to a lot of trouble.
Sometimes the passengers give road agents as much fight as the driver and messenger, Chester.
They feel safe because they're inside.
And that's what Chess Rine figured.
What, you're going to arrest him, Marshal?
I can't arrest a man without cause, Bodrie.
You may be telling the truth, but I don't know that for sure.
I can check on Zimmer when we get to Fort Donner, but I can doodle in, keep an eye on him.
Well, this stage will be robbed long before it gets to Fort Donner, Marshal.
Yeah, maybe, but not without a fight.
Thanks for telling me, Bodrie, and for your sake I hope it's the truth.
If it isn't, you're going to be in more trouble than you are now.
All right, keep an eye on him, Chester. I'll be back in a few minutes.
Yes, sir.
Berryman?
Yeah?
Out here a minute, will you?
What's up, mister?
I want to talk to you, that's all. Alone.
Come on outside, huh?
Be right back, Hank. Say some of that whiskey for me.
Right, Berry.
What's on your mind, mister?
How long you been an express messenger, Berryman?
Two years? Not that it's any business of yours.
You run into any trouble in that time?
Some? Why?
I just want to know if you can handle yourself, that's all.
You want to find out?
Look, Berryman, you know my name. It's Dillon.
I'm Matt Dillon. I'm the U.S. Marshal out of Dodge.
Dillon. Dillon.
Yeah, I think I remember seeing you there.
Good. Now tell me this. You carryin' much in that treasure box of yours?
The messenger who brought it as far as Pond Creek said it was $50,000.
Unsigned currency, mostly.
Mm-hmm.
Something up, Marshal?
Well, maybe. Tell me, what's the best place for a holdup between here and Fort Donner?
Well, Willow Bend, I expect.
Man on a horse could keep hidin' there till we were right on top of him.
All right, tell the driver to whip those horses through Willow Bend as fast as they'll go.
Chester will be on the roof to help you, and I'll see you there.
I'll be on the roof to help you, and I'll sort of organize the passengers inside.
Well, now if there's gonna be a holdup, Marshal, you should...
Well, I don't know. I don't know, but we'll play it safe.
And, uh, by the way, Berryman, don't let on inside there about this, huh?
Or, uh, who I am. All right?
Okay, Marshal.
Thank you. Good night, Berryman.
Night, Marshal.
Oh, Marshal.
Yeah?
We got a jug of station whiskey inside if you want to drink.
I don't think it'll do much good.
I've heard of that stuff freezin' solid on a cold night.
We will return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment.
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Make CBS radio your election headquarters to hear the trends, the color,
and the mountain tide of results reported by Edward R. Murrow, Lowell Thomas,
and the rest of the same great CBS radio team that made convention reporting history earlier this year.
Now the second act of gun smoke.
Music
Next morning, just after sunup, the stage left monument station.
It was 10 miles to Willa Bend and 12 miles to the next change of horses at a small swing station run by a lone stock tender.
Zimmer, or Chess Ryan if that's who he was, seemed nervous.
Too nervous for an experienced road agent, but maybe he had figured me for what I was and I gave him the jumps.
Anyway, I sat next to him so I could handle him faster if and when the time came.
We drove at an easy pace until we neared the bend.
Then the driver popped his whip over the teams and they began to run hard.
But suddenly he was pulling them in and breaking them since hardly.
One move by Zimmer at that point and I had killed a cripple.
What are we stopping here for?
Hey driver, what's up?
We are being dragged in, couldn't you feed that poor?
All right, everybody out.
What's that here, driver, what's wrong?
The wheel's stuck. Can't pull it off with you in there. Come on, hurry it up.
Baudrill, get over there by Chester.
Well, don't you worry about me. You keep an eye on Reed.
Go on now.
Come on.
What do you think, Willa?
Well, they just jumped us by now, Berryman, while everybody was still inside.
But keep your head up anyway.
You watch the other side of the coach. I'll stay here.
Okay.
What do you mean it wasn't grease?
Why not?
Sizzling hot. We have to cool before we can take it off.
That drunken fool at Monument didn't grease this one, that's all.
I'll take a bullwhip to him when I get back there.
Well, you can grease it now, can't you?
I could, mister, if I had any grease.
You mean you haven't got any?
Not unless I render you down and make some. Now get out of my way.
Well, I have more of that and I'll...
All right, I'll forget it.
What are we going to do?
How about grass, driver?
Hey, that's an idea.
Wrap it around the spindle and go until it wears out.
It won't last long, but we can keep putting it on till we get to the next station.
It won't be all day stopping every half mile.
Why don't you green-orange-ass grill man out of fixes?
All right, Pop, how are we going to fix it?
Cheese.
Cheese?
Yes, cheese. Cheese, cheese.
One fine, two.
Yeah, it might at that.
I suppose you brought some cheese along just in case, Pop, huh?
I brought it along to eat.
Well, I'll let you have it.
It's in my carpet bag.
Oh, Gant's cheese worked fine and we left Willa Bend without more trouble.
I began to figure Baudre for a liar, but he just sat there staring out at the prairie.
He said nothing.
A few miles further on as we approached the swing station,
I heard a shot from the messenger and then Baudre pointed ahead.
I leaned up to take a look.
The station was a small one-room adobe hut with a usual corral at the rear,
but there wasn't a horse in sight.
And out of the two windows facing us poured thin screams of white smoke.
As the stage pulled to a stop, I saw two arrows embedded in my half-open door.
Come here, you.
Look at them.
Wait a minute.
Let me take a look in there.
Let's all take a look, Zimmer.
Where's the stock tender? Did they kill him?
They tried to fire the place, but it just smoldered.
Who are those two, man?
I don't know, but this one's still alive.
Well, that's the stock tender, but who are those two?
Never mind them. They're dead.
Scalping. You needn't sure. Must have surprised them, sneaked right up.
All right, Barrowman, let's get the stock tender out of this smoke.
Take his head, then.
Yeah.
They scalped him, too.
And he ain't even dead.
Never mind that. Just pick him up easy.
It's all right, fella. The stage is here.
Indians, Comanches, they scalped me. Never even heard of them.
Ask them who those other men were. What were they doing here?
Leave them be. The man's dying.
Give me some water. Give me a drink.
Chester, get the water bag.
Yes, sir.
Can't you let the man alone, Dylan?
Scalped three men and stole ours.
That's Comanches for you.
Here's the water, sir.
Oh, thanks.
Here, fella. Here now. Take a drink.
There we go.
Those two, they held me up. They said they'd hide till the horses were unhitched.
Then, they holed up the stage. Had a partner on the stage to keep the passengers out of it.
What was his name? Their partner, I mean.
Put my head down, mister. It's bubbling over.
The stock tender's eyes clouded up and went blank as I lay his head back.
Then there was a scuffle behind me and before anybody could move, Zimmer grabbed Gan and, using him as a shield, he walked backward toward the stage.
The old man stopped struggling when he felt Zimmer's gun in his back and the rest of us just stood there watching, helpless.
First man draws a gun, Gan'll die.
You gave yourself away, Chester Rhyme.
Take it easy, man. Take it easy. This fool's nervous.
Shut up. You, driver, lead those teams down the road a piece and then come back here.
Gan and I'll take the stage alone. Come on.
You better do what he says, driver. He's scared enough to shoot.
I guess I better.
Come on. Come on.
What are you stopping for? Take him 50 yards down there.
Can't do it. That wheel's froze up again. He ain't going anywhere at that stage.
Might as well give up right now, young fool.
I never did like you, Gan.
Rhyme, listen to me. You've made your play and you've lost. If you give up now, the charges will be attempted robbery.
If you don't, they'll probably turn into murder.
Who are you anyway, mister?
I'm a U.S. Marshal.
Well, you're not arresting nobody, but unless you want Gan dead.
He'll make a move and his blood will be on your hands, Marshal.
You can't hold him there forever, Rhyme. The stage going west passes through sometime today. What'll you do then?
He's right. That stage passes this station about noon. I drive it myself half the time.
I'll think of something. First, I want all your men to unload your weapons.
Line up and throw them in a pile there, one at a time.
Would you even start to try anything and I'll blow a hole in the old man?
You think you would, Mr. Geller?
He's so nervous now it's a wonder he doesn't do it by accident, Chester.
Why, get going on stand there, one at a time now. And use two fingers to do it.
All right, man. You better do as he says.
Now, I had him easy.
All right, next man.
Bouldery.
Yeah?
You're the only man who might stop this.
What?
Oh.
Pretend to join him.
You trust me that much?
I have to.
Okay.
Now, easy now. Two fingers.
All right, next man.
Ryan.
Hold it right there, won't you?
Well, I'm not armed, Ryan. Look. But you know why?
Too yellow, maybe.
Oh, the Marshal's got my gun. I'm under arrest.
He's taking you in, is that it?
He was, till I woke up just now.
I killed a man in Dodge, Ryan. They want to hang me for it.
Now, Boudery, we told you, you'd get a fair trial.
Chester.
And what's more...
Shut up.
Yes, sir.
Look, you haven't got much chance alone, Ryan.
But you and me, we can disarm these men, throw away their guns, and...
and ride off on those horses without the coach.
You do that, Boudery, and I'll quit my job and run you down if I have to chase you all the way to Oregon.
I couldn't show up in Dodge after this anyway.
Well, I'll be watching for you, Marshal. It beats hanging.
Well, how about it, Ryan?
Make a fool out of Dylan, huh?
I like that.
I'd pick up a gun, Boudery, and get over here.
I'm warning you, Boudery.
Sorry. I figure I'll live longer this way, Marshal.
Here. Here, you hold the old man, Boudery. I want a free hand.
Yeah. I'll kill Gant quicker than Ryan would.
You may try anything.
You heard him?
Now, let's get this over with.
Fast.
Ryan, I want to tell you something.
That's far enough, Marshal.
All right.
That gun in your hand, Ryan, you better keep it on me.
You even glance at Boudery, and I'll draw and kill you.
What are you talking about?
You shoot me, and Boudery will kill you from behind.
What? That's right, Ryan.
Gant, you walk back over towards the hut so as you can see, I let you go.
All right.
He... he tricked you, too.
But I can still kill you, Marshal.
Yeah, that's right, Ryan. You can still kill me.
But I'm paid to die. I settled that in my mind when I took this job.
It's only a matter of time. But what about you, Ryan?
You ready to die?
I... I...
I can't do this.
I'm doing it, Ryan.
I'm doing it now.
I'm gonna walk right up to you, and you're gonna give me that gun.
First stop, Marshal.
Don't put a sling in your spine if you shoot, Ryan.
Let me have the gun, Ryan.
Huh? Huh?
No!
Easy, Ryan. Now!
Did he hit you, Mr. Dillon?
No, he waited a second too long.
It worked, Marshal. It worked.
Yeah.
Yeah, you did fine, Bodry.
I'm gonna remember it.
Yeah.
Now, give me back that gun.
What?
You're still gonna take me in?
Of course.
No, that...
That don't seem fair, Dillon.
I'm only a Marshal, Bodry, not a judge.
Oh.
I'm not sure I wouldn't rather die right here.
Wait, Bodry.
Now, I'll testify at your trial, and I promise you it'll be a fair one.
But that's all. Now, give me the gun.
You don't make it easy, Marshal.
My job's to bring you in.
Any way I can get you there.
Dead or alive, huh?
That's right.
Here's the gun.
Thank you.
The next day, I turned Chess Ryan over to the Army at Fort Donner.
The Colonel wanted credit for sending him back to California, and I wanted to be with him.
It took us three days to write back to Dodge.
On the way, we got to be real good friends with Joe Bodry.
I wouldn't let him have his gun back.
But even so, he managed to supply us with antelope steaks every morning.
I made him borrow Chester's gun.
Gunsmoke, transcribed under the direction of Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Tonight's story was specially written for Gunsmoke by John Meston, with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Featured in the cast were Lawrence Dobkin and Lou Krugman, with Vic Perrin, Junius Matthews, Jim Nusser, and Ralph Moody.
Parley Bayer is Chester.
Gunsmoke is heard by our troops overseas through the facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service.
Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal, fights to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West in Gunsmoke.
Thousands of acres of timber are afire in the Midwest, New England, Far West, and Southern areas.
This is a word of warning to all who may be in or near woodlands.
Take every precaution to avoid setting fires with cigarettes, matches, campfires.
Timber is vital to America's defense.
Human lives and property are at stake, too.
Hunters especially are urged to exercise caution.
Any further damage may result in suspension of the hunting season indefinitely.
Clancy Cassell speaking.
And remember, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, open fire on your funny bones Sunday nights on the CBS Radio Network.
Thank you.