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In Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers
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Gunsmoke, starring William Conrad, the transcribed 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 chancey job, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
Mr. Dillon?
Huh?
Mr. Dillon?
You headed for the depot?
Oh, no, I'm not, Chester.
I'm looking for a cup of coffee.
I thought I'd go into Delmonico's here.
You want to join me?
Well, sir, I'd like to, but maybe I'd better go on down to the depot.
Huh?
What for?
The mail.
I never got there at noon.
That's why I thought you were going now.
Well, I don't care about the mail, Chester.
I never come to think of it.
You did start out at noon, didn't you?
What happened?
I got robbed.
Got robbed?
Yes, sir.
Over at Thalaford, Kansas.
Oh, you've been gambling all afternoon, huh?
No, all afternoon, Mr. Dillon.
I watched the game for about an hour before I set in.
Oh, you should have gone on watching it.
Well, yes, you're right.
Absolutely right.
I'm going to go to the depot.
I'll see you there.
I'll see you there.
I'll see you there.
I'll see you there.
I'll see you there, too, Mr. Dillon.
Oh, yes, sir.
You're right.
Absolutely right.
It cost me my last ten dollars.
I thought sure I'd win this time.
Oh, why?
Because it was my last ten dollars for the month.
I had to.
Well, that's about as good a reason for winning the zenny, I guess.
Yes, sir.
You know, there's just too much money for my pay, Mr. Dillon.
Anyway, I might have won if I hadn't got cheated.
Oh, is it a crooked game?
The fellow dealing was crooked, and I know he was.
But I sure didn't want to start no argument with him.
No, sir, not him.
Oh, why?
Who was he?
I don't know.
Some stranger calls himself Sam Kertcher.
What?
Sam Kertcher.
You know him?
No, but I've heard of him.
Who is he?
He's a gunman, Chester.
Oh, I recognize that.
That's why I didn't make no fuss about his crooked dealing.
Oh, you're smart.
Kertcher's the kind of man who enjoys killing.
He's got a big reputation for it out in Arizona.
Well, what you doing here, I wonder?
I don't know, Chester.
Let's go find out.
There that came, Mr. Dillon.
Just getting out from the table over there.
I guess the game's finished.
Funny you tell you his name, Chester.
A man like that usually doesn't talk so much.
No, sir, but I didn't think nothing about it at the time.
He's coming over here to the bar, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah.
Glass of whiskey for a tender.
Hello, Kertcher.
Where you been, Dillon?
What?
Took you long enough to get here.
It's been a half hour since I cheated your friend here out of his money.
Cheated me, you see?
I told you he did.
But how do you know I was a friend of Mr. Dillon?
I asked.
Smart of me, wasn't it?
What'd you ask for?
What difference does it make?
Never mind, Chester.
What are you doing in Dodge, Kertcher?
I got tired of Arizona.
Why?
Nobody left worth bothering about there.
You mean there's nobody left worth your killings, isn't it?
Man can get rusty facing down bums in green orange, Dillon.
What's the matter with Tombstone?
Wyatt Earp wrote me it's a lively town these days.
Oh, too many of them Earps.
And they got Dark Alleyway with them, too.
And be a fool to ride into that camp.
Well, you draw a line somewhere, don't you?
One man at a time's good enough for me, Dillon.
I ain't greedy.
Now, you're kind of greedy about money.
What do you mean?
You admitted cheating Chester out of his $10.
I had a reason for that, Dillon.
Now, did you?
Yeah.
He was hanging around watching the game to find out who he was.
So when he sat down, I took him.
I can deal faster than that.
I wanted him to know and run tell you about it.
Why?
I wanted to meet you, Dillon.
Always like to get to know the leading citizens of a place.
You got your own way of going about it.
You objecting?
Ordinarily, I object to cheating on a card, yeah.
But with you, I don't think it matters much.
Now, what are you doing in Dodge, Kircher?
I was nearby, up in Colorado.
I heard about you there, Dillon.
You've got quite a reputation.
I'm a lawman, Kircher, not a gunman.
I don't care about my reputation.
I do.
Now, you came here to kill me, huh?
That's what I came for, Dillon.
Kircher, I'm going to tell you something.
What?
Men like you are as useless as wolves.
I ain't ever one of your kind.
And that'll make it easier for you to fight me, Dillon.
I'll meet you out in the plaza, sundown tomorrow.
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Mr. Dillon.
Huh?
I've been thinking about sundown all day long.
I feel terrible about this.
Oh, why?
It isn't your trouble.
Yes sir, I know, but if I hadn't set in that game yesterday, things might be different.
Ah, Sam Kertcher'd have found me soon enough.
That's what he said he came here for.
I heard him.
But I still feel guilty.
What's the matter, Chester?
You afraid he'll kill me?
Is he really good?
Well, he's beat a lot of men.
You're gonna fight him, ain't you?
Ah, that's the worst part of this job, Chester, having men like Sam Kertcher come around looking
for another notch on his gun.
There's nothing I can do about it.
Well, you don't have to fight him, Mr. Dillon.
No, no I don't.
I could avoid it.
How?
Run away.
Oh.
Well, I got the wind to hear, Mr. Dillon, the plaza's plumbed and deserted.
Sure.
I guess the words got around.
Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, what?
He's coming.
Sam Kertcher.
Walking across the plaza.
Well, it must be sundown.
Yes, it is.
Ah, don't come out the door, Chester, or you'll be behind me.
I'm only going as far as the boardwalk.
I won't.
I'll stay right here, but if anything happens, then I'm coming out by golly.
Don't be a fool.
Come on out in the street, Dillon.
What you standing there for?
What's the matter with you?
You scared?
Why don't you come down here, Dillon?
There's a lot of people out here watching us.
It's been a long time since a marshal's killed and died.
I don't want to hear your talk, Kertcher.
Let's get this over with.
You did it, Mr. Dillon.
Why, he didn't hardly have his gun out before you hit him the first time.
I was watching him.
I didn't wait for him.
I drew first.
You did?
Giving a man a chance to be arrested is one thing, shooting down a killer is another.
Yes, sir.
This is nothing but slaughter, brainless slaughter.
Like I said, it's the worst part of this miserable job.
I guess it helped ridden the country of a man like Sam Kertcher, shooting him down,
killing him.
That, the trouble was that it made you feel like a part of his own senselessness when
you did it.
Everybody congratulating you afterwards and looking up to you.
That didn't help any.
That's one thing that got men like Kertcher started off wrong in the first place.
All the talk, all the admiration for gunfighters.
Like with the kid I met at the Texas Trail one night a couple of months later.
He was sitting with Kitty when I came in.
Leave him that.
Come.
Oh, thanks, Kitty.
This is Marshall Dillon, Pete.
I know.
I've seen him.
Pete, huh?
I never saw you around before, Pete.
He rode in yesterday, Matt.
His first time.
Good thing, too.
He's only 16.
Yeah, that's young, especially for a town like Dodge.
Where you from, Pete?
On the west of here.
A cowboy?
I was.
That's what I've been arguing with him about, Matt.
He says he's thrilled being a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
He's a cowboy.
Oh, is that so?
Why?
I got other things to do.
Like what?
I'm gonna buy me a gun, Marshall.
A gun?
Sure.
And I'm gonna learn to use it, too.
A man's no good without a gun.
Oh?
Pete, you start carrying a gun and you get handy with it and you'll grow up to be a U.S.
Marshal or something.
I'm not kidding.
I mean it.
I never saw a man start using a gun yet that he didn't have to go on using it the rest
of his life, however long that is.
Tell me something, Pete.
What gave you this idea?
What's wrong with it?
Everybody carries a gun.
Of course, everybody can't use them real good, but I'll learn.
I'll get good.
Good as you are, Marshall.
Oh?
Sure.
Maybe even better.
Who knows?
That's what I mean.
It all leads to nothing but getting killed.
Who cares how good you are with a gun?
There's always somebody better.
She's right, Pete.
Why don't you forget about this and go find yourself a job out in the country somewhere
and go to work, huh?
I'm gonna have to, Marshall.
I'm flum-broke right now.
Oh, good.
That's fine.
You know anybody around here?
Nope.
Well, look, I'll tell you.
Emmett Bowers is due in town tomorrow.
He runs a big outfit and he can always use an extra hand.
You meet me in the lobby of the Dodge house tomorrow morning and, well, we'll have a talk
with him.
Okay.
I better be going now.
I gotta find me a place to sleep.
Oh, uh, Pete.
Here.
Here's a dollar.
You can pay me back later.
No.
No, I couldn't take it.
No, thanks.
Good night.
Good night, Kitty.
So long, Pete.
Good night.
You've got a lot of pride, that kid.
Yeah.
That, it's mostly the wrong kind.
Hmm, maybe.
Well, you'll probably forget about this gunfighting business once he's back out in the country
where I belong.
Well, I hope so.
There are enough gunmen around already.
Oh, Pete's all right.
Don't worry about him.
I won't, Kitty.
Unless he comes back someday.
Pete was at the Dodge house next morning and we found him at Bowers there and got him a
job right off.
They rode out of town together that evening and I watched them go, hoping that a lot of
hard work would give Pete something to think about besides becoming a gunfighter.
Anyway, I'd done what I could and I forgot about it.
Until a couple of months later when I happened to go into Jonah's general store.
Well, morning, Marshal Dillon.
Hello, Miss Jonas.
Well, how come you're running the store?
Why, hadn't you heard, Marshal?
I know.
Heard what?
My husband got the egg you real bad.
I've been taking care of him and running the store too.
Oh, well, I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am.
But how do you manage to do both?
Well, I moved his bed into the storeroom out back.
Matter of fact, Doc Adams is in there with him now.
Oh.
Oh, that poor man, Marshal.
He's had chills one day and fever the next for nigh on to a week.
Well, Doc, I'll fix him up.
Doc can cure almost anything.
I can cure anything but a liar, man.
What?
Oh, hello, Doc.
I didn't know you were listening.
I was listening.
I heard what you said.
And it was a long way from what you told me the other day.
Why, what do you mean, Doc?
Mrs. Jonas, he told me the only thing croakers were good for was performing autopsies and
signing death certificates.
That's exactly what he said.
Death certificates?
Now, don't let him scare you, ma'am.
Nobody ever died of a egu yet, doctor or no doctor.
Oh, Matt, why aren't you out patrolling front street?
Keep on the peace somewhere like you're paid to do.
I can't work all the time, Doc.
Oh, you can.
Yes, well, I just remembered that the next time you come hounding me out of bed in the
middle of the night to patch up some bad man that you just torn apart.
When you're through here, I'll buy you a glass of beer, Doc.
It's awful hot today.
Yeah, I don't mind the heat.
I'll take you up on the business.
Say, Mrs. Jonas, if your husband complains about his ears roaring, it's the quinine I
gave him.
So just you don't worry about it.
All right.
Well, hello, Pete.
How are you?
I'm OK.
Oh, Pete, you know Mrs. Jonas here?
Ma'am.
Hello, Pete.
And Doc Adams.
Howdy, Doc.
Doc.
Pete's been writing for Emmett Bowers the last couple of months.
Oh, that's fine.
Emmett's a good boss, I've always heard.
He's all right.
They treating you OK out there?
It's like any other job punching cows, Marshal.
Short grub and long hours.
Yeah, sure.
Well, what you doing in town?
Do you come in with Emmett?
No.
I'm alone.
Oh?
You, uh, didn't quit, did you?
I quit.
I drew my time last night.
Yeah, I was afraid so.
Ma'am.
Mm-hmm?
I want me a six gun and a holster and a belt.
And all the ammunition the rest of my money will buy.
Well, now, son, ain't you a little young to be carrying a gun?
I'm 16.
And if I'm old enough to do a man's work, I guess I'm old enough to live like a man.
Live like a man?
You mean die like one, don't you, young fella?
I ain't afraid to die.
I don't know.
I've dug bullets out of all kinds of men, young and old.
And no matter how they talk, every one of them's been afraid.
I get good enough, I'll do the killing.
If I'm given a decent chance.
Hey, tell me something, how'd you get started on all this in the first place?
I don't mind telling you, Marshal.
Now.
Now?
Now, I got money for a gun and I can start practicing.
Oh, wait a minute, is there some particular man you're after, is that it?
Yeah, that's it, Marshal.
Well, who is he?
You.
Me?
I'm gonna fight you, Marshal, and I'm gonna kill you if I can.
Why?
I never saw you before in my life till you came here.
Tate's my first name, Marshal.
So?
My last name's Kertcher.
I heard about how you shot my brother, so I come here to take his place.
Tate, Sam Kertcher was nothing but a killer.
He was no good.
You drew first on him.
What difference does it make?
Your brother came after me for only one reason, to kill me so he could be a big man.
You think I'm gonna take a chance being killed for anything as brainless as that?
There's rules to gunfighting, Marshal, he wasn't ready to draw.
Why'd you got all these crazy ideas, kid?
Who taught you that killing people is a game of some sort?
My brother told me all about it a long time ago.
Yeah, sure.
Now for him it was a game.
That's what was wrong with him.
He'd have beat you if he'd have been ready.
Tate, do you wait for a mad dog to bite you before you try to stop him?
And your brother was ready.
He rode in the Dodge ready.
Well, I'll be ready for you.
In a few weeks I will.
You will, huh?
Look Tate, I've been handling the gun for years.
What makes you think that you can go against me in a few weeks?
Unless you're planning something else.
No, Marshal, I'll never shoot anybody in the back, not even you.
Yeah, not bad, Tate, but you sure got everything mixed up.
Why?
Because I'm only sixteen?
You'll see what I can do, Marshal, you'll see.
Well, what if I won't draw on you?
I'll kill you anyway.
Like you say, what difference does it make?
All right.
If you're going to act like your brother, I'll treat you like your brother.
And when you come gunning for me, I'll shoot you down as fast as I did him.
So go ahead and practice, practice all you like.
But when you face me, I'll have three bullets in you before you clear your holster.
I don't care how old you are.
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If I thought getting mad would scare some sense into fake Kertcher, I was wrong.
He went ahead and bought a six gun.
But every day he spent hours down by the Arkansans practicing with it.
In a few years, that kind of concentration might have made him into a fair gunfighter.
But as it turned out, he didn't get a few years.
He didn't get more than about ten days.
And those ten days got spent fast.
One evening I was sitting on the porch not far from the Texas Trail, watching the crowd
push up and down Front Street.
Hello, John.
Hello, Kitty.
Hello, Trill.
Asked me to come find you.
Why?
What's the trouble?
You know Jack Grimey?
I know him.
Well, I got the bar in there and he's making fun of young Pate.
Chester isn't sure how much Pate's going to take from him.
Well, Rhino is more than just a bully, Kitty.
He's dangerous.
Well, Chester tried to make him stop, but it didn't do any good, man.
I hope Pate isn't full enough to try to take him.
Rhino will kill him, sure, if he does.
I tried to tell him he shouldn't be wearing a gun, but you know Pate, he won't listen
to anybody.
You better wait out here.
I need to.
Leave the kid alone, Rhino.
He ain't bothering you, now.
Get out of the way, Chester.
Everybody else, get out of the way, too.
I'm giving you one more chance, Pate.
You throw that gun away or you start using it.
Go ahead and draw, Rhino.
I ain't afraid of you.
Okay.
I will.
No, don't do it, Rhino.
No.
Ah!
All right, shut up, everybody.
My hand.
Shut up!
You busted my hand, Marshal.
What did you do that for?
You think you're a fight?
It's like shooting a man in the back.
You ruined my hand.
You're about to murder this boy, Rhino.
And I shall have shot you in the head.
Now, go on over to the docks if your hand bothers you.
It bothers me.
It's managed.
Good.
I want to have any lives that's going to save.
Now, go on.
Get out of here.
I'm going.
I'm going.
You ruined me.
That's what you've done.
We'll see about this.
Will he be killed?
Sure, Mr. Dillon.
Pate never even got his gun out.
That's true.
I didn't.
I kind of froze.
I don't know why.
Pate, Jack Rhino is the same kind of man your brother was, always looking to kill somebody.
And if you still think it's a game of some kind, go on wearing that gun.
And when the time comes, I'll see you buried with it, but that's all I'll do for you.
All right, come on, Chessa.
Let's get out of here.
Yes, sir.
Marshal.
Marshal, wait a minute.
Marshal?
Yeah.
You saved my life just now.
He sure did.
One more second, you'd have had a bullet clean through you.
I know that, but I don't understand.
What don't you understand?
Well, you could have let him kill me, and then I wouldn't be after you no more, would I?
Not dead, you wouldn't.
But you saved the life of a man who swore to kill you, Marshal.
Yeah, that's right.
Well, why'd you do it?
Because you didn't have a chance with him, Pate.
Not a chance.
I'm kind of confused, Marshal.
You are?
I sure am.
Now, it's about time.
Maybe you'll figure it out now, Pate, if you give yourself half a chance.
Marshal, I always could think better when I'm riding a horse.
I'm going back to my job.
Good. I'm glad to hear that, Pate.
Would you do me a favor?
Sure.
Well, punching cows will keep me so busy I won't have time to practice much.
Would you hold onto my gun for me?
What?
Here.
Yeah, sure I will, Pate, sure I will.
I'll keep it for you.
For a long time, I hope.
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Gun Smoke, produced and directed by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Tonight's story was specially written for Gun Smoke by John Mezton, with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Featured in the cast were Sam Edwards, Lawrence Dobkin, Bebe Janis, and John Boehner.
Harley 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.
Music
Remember next week at this same time, Chesterfield will bring you another transcribed story of the Western frontier on Gun Smoke.
This is the CBS Radio Network.