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 gun smoke.
Gun Smoke starring William Conrad, the story of the violence that moved west with young
America, the story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal.
The trip from Hayes City to Dodge was long enough horseback but by stage coach it seemed
endless.
There were only two passengers besides me and after the first hour on the road we stopped
talking.
Just sat there in silence waiting for the ride to be over.
I'd been up late the last few nights so I braced myself into one corner of the coach
and fell asleep.
I vaguely remember the stage pulling to a stop and somebody shouting but I came fully awake
when the door was jerked open and a man behind a bandana stuck a shotgun in my face.
Get out of there coach!
Hands in front of you.
It'll be a pleasure to blast you open.
Alright, take his gun Charlie.
Now, stand over there with the driver.
You two next.
Now get on out and don't cry nothing.
How come you didn't start shooting when they stopped me Marshal?
Well I was sound asleep Hank.
Well I'm sure glad of that.
If we put up a fight that fellow with a shotgun would have blowed me clean off the seat.
Yeah.
How many of them are there?
Chassis two?
That's all I see.
Could be somebody with a rifle hiding in that clump of elder over there.
Could be...
That'll learn him Charlie.
Hey look, he killed him Marshal.
Yeah the man was a fool to try that.
Go get the box down Charlie.
Take this one to Helly.
Oh come on.
I'll keep an eye on these two here.
So, you're the Marshal, huh?
I am?
Well that green horn got itself killed.
He shouldn't have tried to shoot Charlie.
No he shouldn't.
Not with a little derringer.
Charlie got hit right in the arm.
Yeah I saw it.
I just don't want nobody chasing us for murder.
Under the circumstances it was murder.
It was huh?
Well then the only thing to do is shoot the whole bunch of you and have done with it.
No, you can't do that.
Mister I got a wife and two kids in Dodge.
What I hear, Dodge ain't a very good place to raise a family anyway.
Look you're in enough trouble already.
Besides you didn't kill that man, your partner did.
Yeah that's right.
It's Charlie they'll be after.
How much money is in that box driver?
I don't know.
They never tell me.
We'll find out.
He's got it open now.
Load it in them saddle bags Charlie.
I got an idea of your new at this game.
Look, if a man was holding a shotgun on me and I was unarmed, I wouldn't have no ideas
about nothing, Master.
You always carry a shotgun, Mister?
Why?
We might meet sometime when you don't have one.
You're gonna make me shoot you yet?
Hey look your partner's ready to go.
Okay.
Don't you make a move till we're out of sight.
We'll ride back and kill every one of you.
You understand?
I guess there's nothing we can do but stand here.
That's all Hank.
For right now anyway.
Ow.
What'd you do Kitty?
Burn your mouth again?
Oh darn it, yes.
What do you mean again?
Well it seems like you always do if the coffee's hot enough.
Thanks for the sympathy.
As much as you gave me about the stage hold up the other day.
All I said was I'm glad you were asleep.
You're a lot safer that way.
Being safe isn't exactly my main goal, Kitty.
Yeah, I know.
How much money was there, Matt?
$2,000.
You'd think they'd have paid a man to ride shotgun.
Any idea who did it?
No, they were both masked.
I hear Wells Fargo put up a reward for them.
Yeah, there's $1,000 for the one who killed the passenger, dead or alive.
They must want him real bad.
That's not good for business.
People getting murdered.
What about the other one?
$300 for his capture.
And if you recover the stolen money, Kitty, well they'll give you half of it.
If I found that money they'd give me all of it.
You'll end up in jail yet.
Well, the Texas Trail isn't far from being a jail for me anyway.
I gotta get back there pretty soon, Matt.
Sure.
Hey you, waiter, come here and take this money or I'll throw it at you.
Another gentleman in town.
Kitty, I don't want to turn around.
What does he look like?
I think it's the one with the black beard over there.
You heard me, waiter.
Get over here before I bust your neck.
That's the one, all right.
Is there anybody with him?
No, he's alone.
And he's leaving now.
Oh, good.
No, no, don't stare at him.
I don't want him to see me.
Well, he's not even looking this way.
He's going out the door, Matt.
All right, come on.
I want to follow him.
Okay.
Is that him ahead of us there?
The big man, yeah.
Who is he, Matt?
I'm not sure.
But he sounds an awful lot like a man.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I'm not sure, but he sounds an awful lot like somebody I won't.
You gonna arrest him?
No, not until I'm sure.
Maybe not even then.
Look, he's going up the docks.
Yeah, so he is.
Kitty, I'll leave you here.
Okay.
Thanks for the supper, Matt.
Sure, anytime.
Tomorrow?
I might be real busy tomorrow.
I figured that.
So long, Matt.
Goodbye, Kitty.
Why, man, that's a serious thing.
It sounds like his arm is infected to me.
How'd he do it?
Well, he just tore it on some wire.
Why didn't you bring him into town?
It might be gangrene.
Is that bad?
Bad.
He could lose the arm or even die.
Where is he anyway?
On the prairie, in the camp.
Ain't there some medicine or something I could take back with me, Doc?
Oh, hello, Matt.
Good evening, Doc.
Oh, go right ahead.
I just came up for a smoke.
Oh, sure, sit down.
Sit down, Matt.
Thanks.
Now, look, mister, there isn't a medicine in the world.
Never mind, Doc.
But I'm telling you...
Forget it.
I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Everything's okay.
Yes.
I won't take too long.
I'm warning you.
I won't.
We'll take care of everything tomorrow.
So long.
Ah, that man's crazy, that's what.
No, he's not crazy, Doc.
No, you should have heard him.
I did.
What do you mean you did?
I was outside the door, Doc.
Ah, he's going under the olyphorganza.
I guess he isn't too worried.
What's this all about, Matt?
Ah, Doc, I'll explain it to you later.
Right now I've got to find Chester.
Oh, Chester, yes, he's down in the office.
I just left him.
Oh, good.
I sure hope he's had a lot of sleep lately.
What's he saying?
He's going to be pretty busy tonight.
I'll see you later, Doc.
I hope you follow him all night, Chester.
Oh, Mr. Dillon, I'm about ready to drop.
Everything's getting hazy.
Where is he?
In the restaurant there?
Yes, sir, that's where he went.
He gambled the entire night.
I swear, I don't know how he stays awake.
I can't hardly keep my eyes open.
Rubber razzer at the back of your son, Chester.
That'll help.
Oh, my goodness.
He just come out the door.
Yeah, he's seen us.
Stand steady.
Yes, sir.
Marshal, I got a complaint.
Now, is that so?
It sure is.
I had an idea this man's tracking me all night.
Had something to do with you.
Oh, how'd you know I was following you?
Mister, you might as well have been wearing snow shoes with cowbells tied on them.
Now, that's not true.
That's a dog on my eye.
Never mind, Chester, never mind.
What is your complaint, mister?
Well, you can't a decent citizen ride into the dodge and do a little gambling
without being haunted by your man here.
Now, that depends on how decent this citizen really is.
What name do you go by, anyway?
My own.
Jermo.
Jermo?
Is that all there is to it?
That's all.
Yeah.
Well, Jermo, I just didn't want you to leave town without my knowing about it.
Why not?
I ain't done nothing.
Well, Doc told me about your partner.
The one who tore his arm on some wire.
What about him?
I'm curious to see if you're going to take care of him, that's all.
Well, of course I am.
He'll die if you don't hurry.
Well, I'm going after him.
When?
Well, it's no business of yours when.
Anybody following me is likely to run into trouble.
From a shotgun, Jermo?
I don't use a shotgun, Marshal.
Your partner's dying, Jermo.
You're wasting time.
And he's dying.
He's my partner, not yours.
I'll take care of him.
Sure, sure, Jermo.
But you better hurry.
We will return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment.
First, since 1910, the work output of each of us has more than doubled,
and the average annual income has gone from $2,400 a year to about $4,000.
Yet about 18 hours has been cut off the average work week.
These facts add up to, the better we produce, the better we live.
Now the second act of gun smoke.
Chester had been up all night, so I sent him to bed, and I hired a Kiowa Indian,
I knew, to keep an eye on Jermo.
But even though his partner was dying of gangrene from the bullet wound he'd received at the stage holdup,
Jermo didn't leave Dodge that day, or the next.
He knew I'd track him to their hideout and to the stolen money if he did,
and he wasn't the kind of a man who'd risk his own neck just to save his partner's life.
And since I had no real evidence yet, there was no use arresting him.
So, all I could do was wait.
That Indian is a wonder to behold, Mr. Dillon.
He hasn't slept a wink in two whole days, and he don't even look tired.
No, but Jermo looked tired the last time I saw him.
Oh, he's been sleeping regularly.
Yeah, I know, but all this is wearing him out just the same.
He's getting pretty spooky.
Well, I should think he would, with what he's got on his conscience.
I'd better ask Sattank if he knows another Kiowa who could spell him for a while.
I think he's got a cousin around here somewhere.
Oh, it makes my bones ache just to think about him not sleeping tall.
Marshal, I got something to tell you.
Huh? Who are you?
My name is Verde, but I'm nobody, Marshal. Just a cowboy.
Well, there's nothing wrong with being a cowboy, Verde.
Sometimes there is, like yesterday.
What's the trouble?
I found a dead man, Marshal, out on the prairie.
How'd he die?
Well, it looks to me like he got shot. That's why I come to you.
Did you bury him?
No. I wrapped a blanket around him, though.
Where is he, Verde?
Not far from here, maybe 15 miles.
Now, Chester, get our horses. We'll ride out and have a look.
Yeah, he's still there, Marshal. Nothing's been eaten on him.
He sure got himself hid out here.
My, it's a wonder anybody ever found him.
Verde, you want to take the blanket off of him?
Sure.
How did you know he'd been shot?
Well, his arm, it's all swollen up, Marshal.
And then, you see here, I noticed that bullet hole in his sleeve there.
Yeah. Well, looks like you've made yourself a thousand dollars, Verde.
What?
Wells Fargo offered it for this man, dead or alive.
He robbed a stage a few days back.
He did? Well, ain't I in luck.
And there's another thousand for whoever finds the money he stole.
It's probably buried around here somewhere, don't you think, Mr. Dillon?
Hey, that reminds me, I noticed something funny over there in the manhills.
Like the ground being dug up?
Show us, Verde.
Yeah. Sure, Marshal.
Right over here, wait.
There. See it? Right there? Right by that big one?
Yeah.
Well, that'd be clear.
By golly, I think he's right, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah, there's something been buried here, all right.
Yeah.
I think I can...
Yeah, there it is.
There, I got it.
Looky there, Marshal, it's a money bag.
And I found it, didn't I?
Yes, you did.
That's right, Verde.
Here, look at that.
That's real money, all right.
Marshal, I found it, so I get the reward when I...
I knew where it was.
Yeah, you sure did, Verde.
We dug up the rest of the money and then made the hole into a grave.
And we buried the dead man right there.
On the way back to Dodge, I told Verde he could talk all he wanted about finding the bandit's body and the reward he'd collect for it,
but that he wasn't to say a word about the money we'd recovered.
He couldn't understand why, and I didn't explain it to him, but I warned him he'd never get a penny of either reward if he didn't do as I said.
Back in town, I didn't let him out of my sight for the next two days.
I figured it would make Jermo pretty worried, and it sure did.
You know, it's mighty good to get off of that prairie just for change.
You'd think it would be.
You don't come to town much, do you?
I've never seen you around here before.
Well, I've been too broke, Chester.
Well, sir, it sure takes money to see the elephant in Dodge nowadays.
I'll be able to afford it soon enough. Ain't that right, Marshal?
It looks that way, Verde.
Yeah, you've been mighty lucky.
So far.
What do you mean, so far?
Nothing.
Evening, Marshal.
Ah, hello, Jermo.
This is the fellow who found your bandit for you?
Yeah, I was just telling him how lucky he is.
Yeah, all that reward money.
A thousand dollars, isn't it?
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
Is that all you're getting, mister?
What do you mean, is that all?
Well, there was more reward than that offered.
Oh, you mean the stolen money. Oh, it's too bad about that, wasn't it, Verde?
We didn't find no stolen money.
You didn't?
Oh, it looked everywhere. There'd been some digging nearby, but there was nothing in the hole.
Well, now what do you make of that?
Just plain disappeared, eh?
Yeah, yeah, looks that way.
Well, that's sure too bad, ain't it?
But you can't have all the money in the world, mister.
I ain't got all the money in the world.
I'll see you later.
Marshal, I did like you told me. I didn't say nothing.
You did fine, Verde, just fine.
When we left the saloon a little later, I noticed Jermo standing in the darkness of the alley, waiting.
I was pretty sure he'd follow us as we crossed the plaza and walk up Front Street.
When we reached Kelly's stable, Verde wanted to go in and see if his horse had been fed, so we said good night and left him there.
Chester and I walked on a little ways, and we turned off the street.
We went back, entered the stable from the rear.
Inside we could hear voices, and we sneaked up from stall to stall until we were close enough to make them out.
Tell me where the money is, Verde. What did you do with it?
I told you, Jermo, the marshal's got it. We dug it up.
You're lying. Now who turned in $2,000 to collect $1,000? You stole it and hid it somewhere else.
No, I didn't, I tell you.
The marshal himself said there'd been some digging nearby. What'd you do with it, Verde? Now tell me before I kill you.
No, no. Listen a minute, Jermo. Look, when you didn't come back, I figured you got caught. And then Charlie died, and I got scared.
He always was a coward. That's why we left you in the bushes with a rifle when we stopped the stage.
No matter, but look, Jermo, don't you see this way we're both safe, because I'll split both the rewards with you. You know I will.
You're lying, and I'm going to kill you for it.
No, now don't, Jermo.
Hold it. Jermo!
You're next, marshal.
You should have had your shotgun, Jermo. I should have killed you with the hold on it. That was my big mistake.
No. If you'd have trusted Verde, you both could have got by with us.
He was telling me the truth?
He was. And you'd have never been convicted on what evidence I had.
Well, I guess every man's entitled to make a few mistakes, marshal.
Jermo.
Well, you won't make any more.
Gunsmoke, under the direction of Norman MacDonald, 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 Vic Perrin, John Danaer, and Lawrence Dobkin.
Parley Bear is Chester, Howard McNear is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty.
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.
This Monday night, Frank Lovejoy stars on CBS Radio's Suspense.
Remember, Monday night, Frank Lovejoy in On a Country Road, presented by radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense, over most of these same stations.
George Walsh speaking.
A mystery mixed with merriment. Join Mr. and Mrs. North Tuesday evenings on the CBS Radio Network.