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.
Where are we going Mr. Dillon?
Well I don't know where you're going Chester, but I'm going to get myself a haircut.
Hey I need a haircut too.
That costs two bits these days you know.
Well I didn't say I was going to get one Mr. Dillon, not until the weather gets hot anyway.
Well I hope you're saving up for it Chester.
You know a man ought to have to spend money on things like haircuts.
Why don't you get married and let your wife cut it for you?
Mr. Dillon, that'd be like buying a whole cow just to get one piece of steak.
You know Chester I got an idea your hair is going to get longer and longer.
Look it's no more than down to my nose now.
Excuse me Mr.
What's the matter with you?
Can't you see good?
I was looking at my hair.
Maybe you could look at it easier if I scalped you.
Alright now just take your hand off that knife Mr. I said I was sorry.
Anybody bumps into Luke Willa better be sorry.
Take it easy Mr. he didn't hurt you.
What are you cutting in on this for?
There's enough fighting in Dodge without anything as silly as this.
What do you care about how much fighting there is?
That's my job I'm a U.S. Marshal.
Did you say your name's Quiller?
You never heard it Marshal.
I ain't wanted nowhere.
Maybe not but the way you're going you soon will be.
Eh, how many get me a drink?
Me Nanny.
Eh, just another hard case just that Dodge is full of them.
Well here's the barber shop I'll be back at the office in about a half hour.
Yes sir.
Right over here Marshal.
Ah hello Teters.
You know you are real lucky Marshal this place was full up an hour ago.
You can hang your coat and stuff on the wall there.
That's right.
Now the rate you're going Teters Dodge will have a lot of pretty respectable looking citizens
by nightfall.
A man ought to get his hair cut every month or so Marshal.
I keep telling them all that.
Here let me get this sheet across to you.
There we are.
But most of them don't care.
They'd sooner go around looking like wild animals.
That's what they are just plain wild animals.
They don't think of nothing Marshal but drinking and fighting and tearing things apart.
Oh have a chair young fellow I'll be ready for you in a few minutes.
I don't want a haircut I don't want a shave.
Well I'll take care of you just hang your coat up right there next to Marshal Dillon's.
Marshal Dillon's?
You really a Marshal mister?
Yeah that's right.
Marshals and sheriffs are one of a kind.
Killed my Pa that's what happened.
Now is that some?
Now who's your Pa?
My Pa's dead.
Back in Alamosa.
I got a grudge against lawmen.
I got a grudge against all of them.
Look fellow why don't you sit on over there.
You're awful drunk for so early in the day.
You shut up barber.
So that's your coat over there huh Marshal?
Yes it is.
It's gonna be real easy.
I think I'll shoot me a Marshal.
Watch.
I got a gun under this sheet fellow.
No he ain't.
It's pointing right at your belly.
Your gun belt's hanging over there under your coat.
You can't see it can you?
No but it's there.
You're gambling with your life fellow.
You start for your gun and you're gonna die.
I don't believe it.
Now get out of here.
Go on.
Walk out that door.
Go now.
I thought you was gonna have to kill him sure Marshal.
Durn fool kid.
It wouldn't have been easy Teters.
Why?
I bluffed him.
My gun's hanging under my coat over there.
Is that so?
Well see that's great Marshal you sure made a fool of him.
Wait till I tell everybody about this.
Forget about it Teters.
You what?
Nobody likes to be made a fool of.
It might drive that boy into doing something to try to prove he isn't one.
Oh well okay Marshal I won't say nothing.
Yeah good.
Oh Sam give me a beer huh.
Right up Marshal.
Evening Matt.
Hello Kenny.
Say that's a nice dress.
Thanks.
Is it Jonas out there?
He came in on the Saturday from Kansas City today.
You know Mr. Jonas was gonna order me a couple of vests.
That was last fall I think.
Here's your beer Marshal.
Oh thank you Sam.
Oh say I heard about you at the barbershop today.
Oh you did?
Teters has been telling everybody about it.
I told him to keep it quiet.
Well he should have.
That boy's name's Dave Robbins.
He was in here a while ago and everybody was laughing at him about it.
He said he was gonna dig Teters tongue out of his head.
I think that's how he put it.
When did he leave Kenny?
Just a little while ago.
With that ornery looking Lou Quiller.
Quiller?
Yeah.
How did they happen to get together?
Well you think there might be trouble Matt?
I better go find young Robbins Kenny.
I'll see you later.
Sure.
Well I finally located him Mr. Dillon.
He's right next there in the oasis.
Yeah he would be in the last bar we looked at.
Is Quiller with him?
Yes sir.
There's Dave Mr. Dillon.
He's sitting alone now.
Now will you stay here Chester?
Yes sir.
Hello Dave.
How'd you know my name?
I heard it.
You mind if I sit down?
Wouldn't do much good if I did would it?
Dave tell me about your pa huh?
What happened to him that got you so mad?
It's none of your business.
Well you were about to shoot me for it this afternoon.
Nah even drunk I wouldn't have shot you.
Not like that.
I was bluffing too Marshall and I was awful drunk.
I told the barber to shut up about all that Dave.
You did?
Well I kind of figured that you wouldn't be very proud of it.
Why do you care how I'd feel?
Dave there are enough hard cases around now.
Like Quiller over there.
And you're about to become another one.
Now you leave teeters to me I'll talk to him.
Stopping his talk now won't do any good.
People are already laughing at me.
Look Dave I've been bluff myself it's nothing to be ashamed of.
Look I'd still like to hear about your pa.
Did you say a sheriff killed him out in Alamosa?
Shot him in the back.
Pa wasn't even armed.
Well why did he do it?
Pa was on to him.
There was a bank hold up and nobody got caught Marshall.
And then pa found out the sheriff had some of the money.
Oh.
After the sheriff killed pa I started to tell people the truth about it.
But they didn't believe me.
They put a rope on my feet Marshall and dragged me out of town.
Well that's bad Dave.
But lawmen are like any other people.
They're all different kinds.
Maybe.
No that's true.
You think about it.
And Dave don't let Quiller talk you into anything.
And I'll have me some more of those chili peppers Matt.
Okay there you are Doc.
Thank you.
You know those peppers will make your hair straight Doc.
Oh ten years ago they might have.
You know you must have been quite a lady killer then.
I still keep my end up Matt.
Yeah but you're slowing down Doc.
I've been noticing it.
Oh is that so.
How would you know anything about that?
Well word gets around.
Oh Matt you're the biggest liar in Dodge.
Outside of General Parsley Smith.
Well you think the General's a liar?
He claims he was on Robert E. Lee's staff.
Says he rode into the Shenandoah Valley with Lee back in 63.
Well maybe he did.
Oh maybe.
You know what he really was Matt?
He was the regimental butcher.
Well you can't expect him to go around bragging about that.
The rest of his life.
Mr. Dillon, Doc.
Oh Chester.
I just come by the barbershop Mr. Dillon.
There's quite a crowd outside.
Well what for?
Well sir I go and look through the window and Teters is laying there with blood all over
him.
He looks dead to me.
Well I suppose.
Young Dave Robbins is laying there too.
I think they went and killed each other.
We will return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment.
But first, because millions in Europe and Asia still have need for clothing and food
relief, and because non-profit care still sends more food and clothing per dollar spent,
who do you give the care way for the relief of misery in foreign lands?
Send your name and the name of the person you're helping with complete address to Care
New York.
Enclose ten dollars or six ninety five for the new budget parcel.
Care New York.
Now the second act of gun smoke.
All right, let the doctor through here please, will you?
Yeah, let me through.
Pardon me please.
Will you let us through?
I think the door is locked Mr. Dillon.
Stand back a little, I'll kick it open.
Okay Doc, go on in.
All right.
Chester, you stay by the door and keep everybody off.
Yes sir.
All right, you see here.
It looks like they had quite a fight here, Mac.
Let's find out if they're dead, Doc.
Take a look at Cedars first.
All right, we'll see.
I thought so.
What?
He's got a broken jaw, man.
Well that wouldn't kill him.
His neck's broken too.
He's dead.
Oh poor fellow.
All right, let's look at Dave Robinson.
He isn't dead.
I can see him breathing.
He's got a lump on the back of his head.
That's all.
Dave, Dave, Dave, wake up.
He must have fallen and hit his head, Mac.
Open your eyes, Dave.
Doc.
Doc.
You're all right.
Sit up a little bit here.
He hit me, Doc.
He hit me with his gun.
There's no gun here, Dave, except yours.
And I think I better take that right now.
Marshal, Cedars is dead, ain't he?
Yeah, he's dead.
You must have hit him awful hard, Dave.
You broke his neck.
I didn't hit him.
I tried to stop it.
What happened, Dave?
I didn't want to come here at all, but Quiller talked me into it.
Quiller?
Yeah, he said we'd scare him a little and make him stop talking about me.
But then Cedars didn't scare him, and Quiller started beating him up.
I tried to stop him, Marshal.
Well, you're the one that's been threatening Cedars, Dave.
What's Quiller care about him?
I don't know.
I don't know why he did it.
You're going to have a hard time convincing anybody of that story, Dave.
You believe me, Marshal?
We find Quiller, I'll know whether to believe you or not.
He won't be in Dodge.
Not now.
Well, you got any idea where he might be?
Well, he said something once about a deserted cabin he'd found up on Walnut Creek.
But I don't even know where that is.
I do.
We'll look around Dodge first, and then we'll ride north.
You mean you're taking me with you, Marshal?
One of you is going to hang for murder, Dave.
As soon as we find Quiller, I'll know which one.
Maybe Quiller ain't running at all, Mr. Dillon.
Maybe he was coming up here anyway.
No reason why he should run.
He isn't guilty, Chester.
I might have known nobody to believe me.
Nobody ever has.
Oh, you ain't hung yet, Dave.
Hey, look.
There's a cabin.
The one Quiller told me about is hid under a bluff of some kind.
There's people in this one.
Woman out back there.
You see her?
It's not much of a cabin.
Pull out, boys.
Let's leave the horses here.
Look at that horse out there, Mr. Dillon.
If that ain't the sorriest animal I ever laid eyes on.
That horse is bad rock, Chester.
Somebody's rode him too hard.
Well, then they ought to shoot him.
Hello, ma'am.
Who are you?
My name's Dillon, ma'am.
Is your husband around?
No, he ain't around.
Not no more.
Not since this morning.
Now, is that a grave you're digging, ma'am?
I made it real deep.
I didn't want no sign of a grave here.
Well, what happened to him?
How'd he die?
Man killed him.
What?
Rode by here this morning and killed him.
Who rode by and killed him?
I don't know.
What difference does it make?
Look, ma'am, I'm a lawman.
I'm a U.S. Marshal.
Now, will you tell me what happened, please?
A Marshal, huh?
You catch him and hang him, Marshal, but it won't bring my husband back.
I gotta live here all alone now.
I ain't even got a baby.
I always wanted a baby.
Can you tell me what the man looked like, ma'am?
Come out on that horse out there.
He took ours.
My husband didn't want him to.
He tried to stop him.
I'll bet it was Quiller, Mr. Dillon.
He's that mean.
Was he a tall man, a black mustache, carrying a bowie knife in his gun belt?
A knife.
That's what he killed my husband with.
Said he wouldn't waste a bullet on a dirt farmer.
Sure sounds like him.
Maybe you'll believe me now, Marshal.
Quiller knows he can't hang twice.
What's he care how many men he kills?
Was he still heading north when he left here, ma'am?
Over that way, Marshal.
I stood here and watched him till he was plum out of sight.
Yeah, well, look, is there anything that we can do for you?
Bring the horse back unless he's ruined him like he done that one there.
You'll have a horse, ma'am, I promise you.
We'll stop on our way back.
Goodbye.
Don't bring that man here.
I don't want to see him.
All right, ma'am.
I won't.
Oh, that poor woman.
He killed Teeters, too.
You believe me now, don't you, Marshal?
Yes, because he killed this man.
Don't prove he killed Teeters, Dave.
Now, wait till we find him.
He'll own up to it.
He's got to.
He might, Dave, if we can take him alive.
No.
If you don't take him alive, then I'm in a bad spot, ain't I?
Let's find that cabin before it gets dark.
Ain't he ever coming back, Chester?
Mr. Dillon knows what he's doing, Dave.
I'll go on and take it easy.
Yeah, sure.
Now, I got nothing to worry about.
There he comes now.
We sit here too long, Quiller, or she'll get wind of us.
No, he ain't.
He's probably laying around that cabin thinking he's safe as if he was in Texas.
What did you find, Marshal?
Well, he's there all right, but he's getting ready to move on.
How you know?
He's saddling his horse.
Well, how are we going to stop him without shooting him, I mean?
That's a long chance, but maybe we can surprise him and get the drop on him.
Now, we're going to have to split up, Chester.
One of us will wait on this side, and the other will have to go across the top of that
bluff and wait on the other.
All right, sure, I'll go.
No.
Now, you stay with me, Chester.
What?
Dave, here's your gun.
A gun?
Take it.
I don't understand, Marshal.
You go across the bluff.
We'll wait for him if he rides out that way.
How do you know I won't warn him and take sides with him?
I don't know, Dave.
Now get moving.
You're going to be all right.
You're taking an awful chance.
He's got his choice, Chester.
If he makes the right one this time, he just might go on making them.
It's worth the chance.
Now, come on, let's get over there.
All right, Chester, this is far enough.
Quiller's getting on his horse.
If he rides this way, we'll throw down on him at the same time.
He might be surprised enough to give up.
He's mounted.
Yeah.
Hope, look.
He's going the other way.
I sure hope Dave's going to stop it.
There he is.
Hold it, Quiller.
Get the hands up.
No, you don't.
Come on, Chester.
He killed him.
He went for his gun, Marshal.
You shot him right in the head, Dave.
He'd have killed me if I hadn't.
He are.
But now, I can't prove nothing about teeters.
Maybe I should have let him shoot me.
It's your beats hanging.
I can't win no how, Marshal.
You could have warned him, Dave.
There'd have been a fight with Chester and me, but you might have won that.
I know.
I was thinking about it all the time I was crossing the top of that bluff.
Maybe I should have.
But it's too late now.
Here's my gun, Marshal.
Keep your gun, Dave.
Keep it?
I believe you about teeters.
Marshal, I...
I believed you right from the start, but I wanted you to prove something to yourself,
Dave.
And I think you have.
Marshal, I'd kind of like to go back to Dodge with you.
Maybe show everybody I ain't what they thought.
Good, Dave.
You'll be there by morning.
Gun Smoke, transcribed under the direction of Norman MacDonald, stars William Conrad
as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Tonight's story was specially written for Gun Smoke by John Meston, with music composed
and conducted by Rex Corey.
Featured in the cast were Sam Edwards, Harry Bartel, Edmund Penny, and Vivi Janis.
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 Gun Smoke.
A dream can sometimes serve as nicely as the real thing.
And old cross-vector convinces Gene Autry tomorrow evening on CBS Radio.
Don't miss the adventure and Gene's songs, too.
George Walsh speaking.
This is the CBS Radio Network.