Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers
and the spoilers and that's where the 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.
He's not up there Mr. Dillon, he's just plain vanish.
And there's no note anywhere Chester?
No sir, nothing. I looked again all over.
Well it's two days now, that isn't like Doc.
And I still think he's just gone off on an emergency out in the country somewheres.
Maybe but he's always left word before.
Well what do we do Mr. Dillon?
I don't know, might start asking people Chester,
try the saloons and the store and maybe the depot.
All right sir, I'll go right now. Well I do declare,
riding right up front street is as big as life.
What? Why that old devil?
Well you sure are a sight for sore eyes Doc, where in the world have you been anyway?
Hello Chester, Matt.
Well you have us worried Doc.
Oh that so?
Well you've been gone two days.
I know, next time leave word Doc.
I will, I surely will. If I can.
Well sure would save us a lot of time.
Wait a minute, what do you mean Doc, if you can?
Just that, if they let me I'll leave word.
Come on inside huh.
Okay Doc, I'm curious, you want to tell me about it?
Well I can tell you part of it, the least important part.
I made a promise about the rest, you know how it is Matt.
No, but you tell me.
Well the other night, Wednesday it was, I was peacefully asleep in my couch when a
couple of riders tromped right into my office.
They said a man was hurt bad on a place out past Fort Dodge,
so naturally I got up and went along with them.
Well then why didn't you leave a note and say so?
They told me not to.
They told you what?
Let him talk Chester.
Of course I figured then it must be a shooting, but my job is to take care
everybody, send her in and save the life.
And so when we finally got to this place the next day, what place?
That's part of what I promised not to tell you.
Oh my.
But like I was saying there was a young man there who'd got himself shot in the back.
The bullet lodged right in his spine.
I dug it out and did all I could for him,
and then I just sat there for quite a spell.
And then I put my things away and I walked out into the other room.
Well Doc, how is he?
I did what occurred.
What do you mean?
He's dead.
The shock of extracting that bullet was too much for him.
It's a bad place, the spine.
You killed him, huh, Doc?
No, no, I didn't kill him.
He's dead, ain't he?
That boy wouldn't have lived more in a couple of days anyway with that bullet where it was.
Whoever put it there murdered him.
Want me to shut him up?
Not yet.
Doc, tell me something.
You know that boy in there?
I do.
The three of us here, you know any of us?
Him? I've seen him around somewheres.
Dad, you guess?
Well, that settles it. He ain't walking out of here.
Shut up.
You know his name, Doc?
No, I don't. Might come to me, though.
Let me think.
You don't understand, Doc.
He wants to kill you already and now you're trying to remember his name.
That's just gonna make it worse.
You can't kill a doctor for following his oath.
No.
I shot that boy when he tried to get away and shoot you just as easy.
Don't be a fool. I'm a doctor.
And since there's nothing more I can do here, I gotta be available to other patients.
Don't you know I'm the only doctor within a hundred miles of Dodge?
Right now, that's one too many.
Now, wait a minute.
I'm kinda thinking the Doc's right.
You know, he ain't like an ordinary man. A doctor's...
Well, it's almost like he ain't quite human somehow.
He's human enough to tell what he knows that hard-head Marshall had gotten Dodge.
The way I figured, it's us or the Doc.
I'm not interested in what you figure, mister.
Right this minute, there may be some woman having a baby and needing me real bad.
There may be several folks needing help.
No.
There may be several folks needing help.
He's right. We can't kill him.
Well, I can't...
You do what I say and nothing else, you hear?
And Doc, listen to me.
If I let you go, you promise not to tell about anybody you recognize here?
And if I don't?
Then, doctor or no doctor, I'll kill you myself.
Yes, I suppose you would.
All right, I'm here as a doctor and nothing else.
I promise.
Word of honor, Doc.
My word of honor.
Okay, get out.
Well, that's quite a story, Doc.
Oh, you played it right smart if you asked me who were they, Doc.
But I only recognize one of them, Chester, besides the man they'd shot.
Have you thought of his name yet?
Chester, don't you understand?
I gave my word, I wouldn't tell.
Oh, but that was just so you could get away.
Yes, but still I gave my word.
It doesn't matter how or why.
But Doc, they're just a bunch of killers.
I know.
Leave him alone, Chester.
But I don't.
Yes, sir.
Matt?
Yeah.
Wouldn't you do the same if you were in my boat?
That'd be a hard choice, Doc, but...
Yeah, I suppose I wouldn't.
I think any man would.
At least, why is any man an honor?
I guess I wasn't really thinking about it that way.
Well, I'm going to get myself some sleep.
Matt?
That was a good boy they murdered.
I hope they hang for a damn blasphemy.
How are we ever going to find them, Mr. John?
I don't know, Chester.
We don't even know who they killed.
Then just think, Doc could lead us straight to them right now.
It isn't making the Doc happy, Chester.
No, sir, it sure isn't.
No, sir, it sure isn't.
Sincerely, Matt Dillon...
You have...
Marshal?
I'm Jake Worth.
You haven't come to Dodge in six months, and I know of.
I'm here now, Marshal.
Oh?
Trouble, Jake?
I'd call it that.
Well?
You know that cottonwood, the big one down at Brandy Bend?
Yeah.
There's a hole down by the roots at the north side of it, Marshal.
I put a sack in that hole this morning.
It's got $20,000 in it.
$20,000?
That's a lot of money, Jake, even for you.
It isn't, if Hank gets back all right.
Hank?
Well, that's your youngest boy, isn't it?
18 last month.
He didn't show up the other night, Marshal.
The next morning, he found a note tacked on the crowd
that said to leave the money or they'd kill him.
Come on, Jake, we'll try to get there before they pick up the money.
No, Marshal, I won't take any chances.
They'd shoot him sure if we did that.
You should have told me before you left the money.
You should have come here first.
You didn't hear what I said, Marshal.
I won't take the chance.
All I want now is for you to watch for anybody who turns up rich around here.
Jake, listen to me.
You listen to me, Marshal.
Nobody's gonna do a thing till Hank's back safe on the ranch.
Not one dang thing.
Jake, if they killed Hank, you'd want him hung, wouldn't you?
I'll hang him myself if it comes to that.
All right, then let's go.
Let's get on the brandy bin and wait for him.
No, I already told you no.
Jake!
I... I think Hank's dead.
What?
I think they've already shot him, and he's dead.
What are you talking about?
Where is he?
I don't know.
How come you think he's dead?
Well, I... I can't tell you.
Marshal, I've had about enough of this.
Look, we're wasting time here.
Come on, Jake, I'll tell you what I count on the way to the river.
You better, by heaven or one of us ain't never gonna get to the river.
Jake Worth was known as a hard, hot-tempered man,
but he was straight as they come.
He'd made one fortune in Texas cattle and another in buffalo hives,
and now all he wanted was his ranch and his three sons to work it with him.
The worse were good men.
They didn't cause any trouble.
They worked hard.
It wasn't easy to tell Jake, but without mentioning Doc, I said what I could.
And when we reached the Arkansans, we hid our horses in a clump of bushes
and worked our way on foot up to the big cottonwood.
And then we saw it.
That's him.
That's Hank.
Yeah, I'm afraid so, Jake.
Yeah.
They killed him.
They killed him all right.
He was a good boy.
Had his whole life to live, yet why'd they do it?
I gave them the money. Why'd they do it?
I'm sorry, Jake.
Marshal, I want the truth now, every bit of it.
Well, that's all I know, Jake.
Hank tried to break, and one of them shot him.
But we'll get him.
I'll take care of myself soon as you tell me who they are.
I don't know who they are.
Don't lie to me, Marshal. You know a lot. You're not telling me.
I've told you all I can.
That's my boy lying there, Marshal.
He's been murdered, and if I didn't know you so well,
I'd begin to think maybe you had something to do with it yourself.
Easy now, Jake.
Then why don't you tell me?
Because the man who told me about it had to promise not to name anybody.
That's why.
What man? Who is he?
I'll get it out of him if I have to cut it out.
I know. That's why I can't tell you who he is.
What kind of a lawman are you, anyway?
I've told you all I can, Jake.
No. No, you haven't.
Marshal, I don't believe your story about nobody promising nothing.
You know who done it. You're going to tell me.
I'm giving you 24 hours to name those men,
and me and my boys are coming to dodge.
There'll be blood spilt, Marshal.
Jake, I give you my word. I don't know who did it.
I don't believe you.
I'll help you take your boy home now.
Go on back to dodge. I'll manage here.
You're making a bad mistake, Jake.
24 hours, Marshal.
I'll be there.
We'll find you wherever you'll be.
Jake, I...
So long, Jake.
Ladies and gentlemen, at the conclusion of tonight's show,
our star, William Conrad, steps out of the character of Matt Dillon
to bring you an announcement which we are certain
will be of great interest to all our listeners.
So be sure to listen at the close of tonight's program
for a special message from William Conrad.
And now the second act of Gunsmoke.
There was no use arguing with him.
The man's grief had destroyed his reason.
And the worst of it was, I knew his sons would do
whatever Jake told them to do.
Unless I could stop it somehow, I'd have to shoot it out
with three good and perfectly innocent men.
And for no reason at all.
I thought about it all the way back to Dodge.
By the time I got there, I had an idea.
I went up to Doc's and I talked it over with him.
All right, Matt, I'll do whatever I can.
Well, it might not work, Doc.
And you'll be exposing yourself to a lot of danger.
Have you thought about that?
I have.
And I've also been thinking about the men who killed Hankworth.
Well, we could wait till they start spending their money
or one of them gets drunk and maybe talks too much somewhere.
Yes, we could, but meantime you and the worst
will have a gunfight.
Oh, and that'd be a terrible thing to let happen.
All right then, Doc, let's go.
I want to get to the ranch before dark.
You know, Matt, I haven't been out here since Mrs.
Worth died, must be four or five years now.
The place sure has changed.
Yeah.
I don't see anybody around, do you?
Maybe they saw us first.
Maybe they're hid out.
Yeah, maybe.
That's far enough, Marshal.
Watch the boys if he makes a move, shoot.
Yes, Jake.
Jake, I came here to stop a shooting, not to start one.
You can stop it, Marshal.
Just tell me who killed my son.
If I knew, I'd be on his trail, Jake.
What's Doc doing here anyway?
Tell him, Doc.
I took the bullet out of Hank just before he died.
What?
That's right, Jake.
Now come down here where we can talk like friends,
and I'll explain it.
Stay where you are, boys.
All right, Doc, let's hear it.
Well, they got me out of bed, Jake,
and they led me out into the country.
Hank had been shot in the back, and I extracted the bullet.
But it was no use. He'd have died anyway.
There were three men there, and I recognized one of them.
Who was he?
I had to promise I wouldn't tell, Jake, or I'd have to kill me.
I don't matter now.
Think about it, Jake.
Doc gave him his word, and you're asking him to break it.
Now think about it for a minute.
I'm thinking, and I'm thinking about my boy, too.
Hank's dead, Jake. We can't help it.
Shot in the back in the coward who did it's running free.
You want to help get him, Jake?
Don't ask fool questions, Marshal. Of course I want to get him.
All right, then listen to me.
Those men told Doc if he talked, they'd kill him.
Yes, and they meant it to.
All right, so I got an idea, Jake.
We'll spread it around that Doc has identified the killer.
The news will reach him soon enough.
In the meantime, I'll lay low and have Chester tell everybody
I've written out after them.
Go on.
Then we'll just wait.
One or two or maybe all three of them will come at a dodge
to kill Doc some night soon.
They still might get away.
I'll deputize you and your boys right now
and you can wait for them with us.
But you're going to have to stay hidden like me.
We won't mind that.
Not if we get a chance with them, we won't.
Good.
Funny thing, though.
What?
A man like Doc here, rather than break his word,
he'll make himself a target for those killers.
Yeah.
Look, Jake, Doc and I are going to go back to Dodge now.
I'll see that the story gets started.
And in a day or two, you and your boys can ride in.
But separately, though.
Otherwise, it might cause talk.
I understand.
And come straight to Doc's.
We'll get there.
For the next few days, Doc never left his office.
I figured that it'd make him look scared
and draw the killers right into his place.
The rest of us sat around in his back room and waited.
Chester kept us supplied with food and coffee.
And on the sixth night, about midnight,
we got our game.
Mr. Dillon, I think it's Sam.
What?
He just rode up Front Street, three of them.
They're tying up outside right now.
They acted too deliberate, like for ordinary riders,
so I run up the back way to tell you.
Good.
Doc, come on in here, huh?
What do you want me to do, Mac?
Take cover in here and stay out of sight, huh?
Whatever you say, man.
Let's go downstairs and meet the Marshal.
No, we might just scatter him that way, Jake.
Now, listen.
One of them will probably stand guard on the street
while the other two come up here to get Doc.
Chester, you and the two boys go down the back way.
Jake and I will wait in Doc's office.
Now, don't jump that man until we go into action up here.
You understand?
Yes, sir, I understand.
All right, then, move and move fast.
All right, come on, Jake.
Now what?
Well, we'll just wait here in the dark.
Good.
I'm going to bunch up Doc's blanket on the couch here
so that they'll think he's in it.
What?
They're on the stairs now.
All right, get back in the corner, Jake,
or we'll be shooting each other.
Yeah.
Now, quiet.
And don't start shooting till I do.
Doc, wake up, you lying dog.
Just shoot him and get out of here.
Wait, he ain't here.
What?
Get your hands up here, or I'll...
Yeah, both of you.
You all right, Jake?
I got one of them.
I'm all right.
Doc, Doc, come on out.
They're dead.
Light the lamp, will you, Doc?
Yeah, all right.
You okay, Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, come on in, Chester.
We got him.
He tried to get away when he heard the shooting up here,
but he runs smack into one of the worth boys.
He's dead.
Bring the lamp over here, Doc.
I don't know either one of these men.
Doc, you can tell us now, is one of these the man you recognized?
This one here.
I remembered later I treated him for a broken nose some time back.
I never did know his name.
He came up the trail with a herd, I think.
Yeah.
Doc, will you take care of things?
Sure, man.
Well, Jake?
Marshal, me and the boys will be getting back to the ranch now.
Sure.
Marshal, I...
What, Jake?
I doubted you.
I'm sorry for that.
Oh, forget it.
No.
No, it's best I remembered.
A man shouldn't make mistakes like that.
Well, there was no harm done the way it worked out.
I'll buy you a drink before we leave, Marshal.
I think I'd like that, Jake.
Come on, let's go.
Now a special announcement.
Here is our star, William Conrad.
Thank you, George.
You know, I believe this is the first time I've ever set aside the character of Matt Dillon to speak to you.
But this is important to all of us here on the show, and I hope it will seem so to you.
Starting next week, Gunsmoke will come to you at a new time, on a new day, sponsored by Chesterfield Cigarettes.
Chester, Doc, Kitty and I, together with all of our strong-minded, brawling, hard-living citizens of Dodge,
who will come to you next Monday, July the 5th.
So from now on, that's when you'll hear Gunsmoke, on Mondays.
And we'd like to think that all of our listeners will find time this coming Monday night, July the 5th,
to tune in to their local CBS radio station for Gunsmoke.
Until then, good night.
Gunsmoke, transcribed 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 John Danaer, Lawrence Dobkin and Harry Bartel.
Parley Bear as Chester and Howard McNear as Doc.
Join us again Monday, July 5th, as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal,
fights to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West in Gunsmoke. George Waltz speaking.
For the top tunes of rural America, hear Saturday Night Country Style every week on the CBS Radio Network.
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