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Around Zod City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers
and the spoilers, and that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
Gun Smoke, starring William Conrad, the transcribed story of the violence that moved West with
the 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 chance a job and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
It was a 90-mile ride from Dodge to where Chester and I were taking cover behind a small
knoll just beyond the Smoky Hill River. In front of us, hidden behind a horse he'd ridden
to death covering those miles, was a stranger called James Nation. Nation had killed his
man back in Dodge and then jumped on his horse and run north. It was a rough ride and we'd
caught up with him the hard way. My horse was dead from a rifle bullet and Chester's was
standing on three legs, crippled with a slug in the shoulder.
One thing we should do, he's in as bad a spot as we are.
Watch him Chester, he's moving.
Wait a minute, don't shoot.
He's got his hands up.
Yeah, here he comes.
Who's giving up, mighty easy.
Or maybe. Let's go meet him.
Better not try nothing.
He'll die if he does.
Keep coming Nation.
Put my hands down.
Put them down.
How come you didn't shoot him out?
I don't like killing.
You killed a man in Dodge.
Self defense, Marshal.
Not according to the witnesses.
It was all friends here.
Did they tell you that? I heard them say it.
A man looks guilty when he runs, Nation.
You don't believe me.
It's not up to me.
You'll get a trial.
I'm still alive. But a long way from Dodge.
My golly, that's right Mr. Dunne.
How are we going to get back anyway?
We haven't crossed the Overland Express route yet.
We'll walk on till we find it, then wait for a stage.
We can get to Fort Donner, we can borrow some horses from the Army.
Maybe the stage won't pick us up.
Now that sure won't pick us up here.
Marshal. What?
You don't owe me no favors, Marshal.
But I'd like to ask something of you.
I've never been arrested before, never in my life.
I'm kind of ashamed of it.
That's not my worry.
I know.
It's only a little thing I'm asking.
It won't make no difference to you.
Would you, when we get on that stage and all,
would you not say nothing about your taking me in?
Don't let them know I'm a prisoner.
You've got a lot of guts to ask for any kind of a favor.
I'd be powerful grateful to you, Marshal.
All right.
It doesn't matter any...
But you make one bad move and you'll go to dodge on a sack.
I won't give you no trouble.
I swear I won't.
You'll get a fair trial.
Well, if it is a fair trial, I'm going back to California.
I don't know why I ever left.
Chester.
Yes, sir?
Go finish off your horse.
He's stood there long enough.
I'll go with Nation to get his guns.
All right.
I'd have gone you anyway, Nation.
That was a mighty good horse you shot.
I'm sorry.
All right, come on.
Let's get going.
We got a long way ahead.
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Well, there's the road, Mr. Dillon.
Right there, see it?
Yeah.
That stage is headed right for us.
We have to keep walking.
I never heard of a stage driver who'd leave the road 10 feet for anybody.
I guess you're right, Marshal.
You sure must be mighty proud of that, Coach.
Look how he's gone and painted it bright red.
What if he won't stop for us?
Road agents don't carry their saddles.
The driver will notice that.
If he's awake.
Driving six horses ought to keep him awake.
Yeah, but not sober.
Where did they come?
The shotgun the messenger's holding on you, man.
We're passengers, not bandits.
Where's your horse?
Remember, Marshal, what you said.
Oh, they lost him.
Lost him?
You don't look like green horns to me.
That can happen to anybody.
You're all right, Hank.
The one in the middle ain't even armed.
Pick him up.
Okay, Wells.
It's your treasure box.
How far you going?
Fort Donner.
We'll call it 60 miles to Donner.
You're crowding us some.
So that'll be 10 cents a mile.
Six dollars, huh?
Six dollars a piece.
Payable in advance.
Taking advantage of a man doesn't seem to bother you very much, does it?
Pay up for what, mister?
All right.
Here it is.
$18.
And 15, 16, 17, 18.
Okay, get in.
I don't know how them people in there are going to like this, though.
Room for a couple more in here?
A man that can't hold onto his horse ought to be made to walk.
There's room for two if we jam up, but we sure can't handle three.
No.
You can see that for yourself, mister.
Yeah, you're right.
Trust it.
Oh, no.
Now, don't go on at all.
I have to climb up.
I don't want nation on top, so you got up there.
Yes, sir.
Don't go on.
They aren't charged less if I got a ride on top like a doggone carpet bag.
Company guarantees a ride, mister.
Sure, it's your problem.
Now, get on and get off.
The bell is up long enough.
All right, get in, nation.
Son of a gun, we ain't off.
Probably fall over here and bust open all your sack holes.
What'd you say your name is?
I didn't say.
But it's Dullum.
Well, I'm Simmer.
This old goat here calls himself Fly.
My name is Fly.
I don't give a hoot what any of you call yourself.
He's crusty, old devil, ain't he?
But at least he's sober.
Look at them other two.
They only wake up long enough for a pull on that jug of poison they got.
Get drunk enough to go back to sleep.
What business are you in, Dillon?
Questions, questions, questions.
Simmer, you got the manners of a bullwad.
Nobody's talking to you, old man.
Then I don't have to listen to your gobbling.
I'll shove my boot in your face in a minute.
Oh, shut up.
You can't scare anybody who's lived as long as I have.
Eighty-five, Dillon.
Would you believe it?
No, sir, I sure wouldn't.
I knowed Mary Weather Lewis, Dillon.
Met him in St. Louis when he and that Clark fella came back from the West Ocean.
West Ocean.
Listen to him.
Why don't you leave him be, Simmer?
Oh, don't pay him no mind, Dillon.
He's been nervous about something the whole trip.
What are you talking about?
You got ants all over you, Simmer.
I can see them from here.
If you weren't so doggone old, I'd squeeze you out of your skin, fly.
Ah!
I ain't gonna talk to you no more.
Hey, Dillon.
Yeah?
We'll be at Cherokee Station in about an hour.
Spend the night there.
Grub's terrible, old.
Last time I was there, all they had was fat pork.
One pilgrim claimed a sore belly.
Said he couldn't eat fat pork.
And you know what the old woman who does the cooking told him?
Real polite, like she said.
Well, then you just help yourself to the mustard, my friend.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
Cherokee Station was a long, low mud hut with a flat roof, thatched and linsotted.
The one room served as an eating place in the daytime and a bunkhouse at night.
It was hot and stuffy inside.
And after a dinner of fat pork and mustard, the old fly hadn't been lying.
Chester and Nation and I went up to the corral for a breath of air.
I hate to think of spending the night in that place.
A fellow could drown in that air.
I'll bet that stock vendor ain't washing today.
He was baptized.
Ain't it awful?
Don't worry about it.
We'll sleep outside.
Good.
About half the night you're going to stand guard over Nation, Chester.
I ain't going to run away, Marshal.
Ah, you'll run once.
All right.
I'll tell you something.
Then maybe you'll trust me a little.
What?
You want to know who Zimmer is?
I mean, who he really is?
Go on.
Name's Art Karp.
How do you know?
I seen it under his picture.
It was tacked on a pole out in California.
I think the reward was $500, but I ain't certain about that.
But you're sure it was his picture?
Of course I'm sure.
Everybody was talking about him for a time out there.
He's real clever, that cop.
How's he clever?
Well, I heard that one time he rode in a stage as a passenger,
and then some fellas on horses, they stopped the stage in a canyon somewhere.
And this carp pulled a gun on the people inside the stage and held them there.
And when the boys outside got the treasure box unloaded,
he got out, climbed on a horse they had for him, and they all rode off.
Now, that's pretty clever, ain't it?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's real clever.
Seems to me you went to a lot of trouble.
They could have held it up without it.
Passengers sometimes give us a little help,
but messengers sometimes give bandits more fight than the driver and messenger, Chester.
They feel safe because they're inside the stage.
You gonna arrest him, Marshal?
I think you're telling the truth, Nation,
but I'm not gonna arrest him, not yet.
Oh, there's that poor miserable old woman.
Oh, yeah, but she can do something for me.
You keep an eye on Nation, Chester. I'll be back.
Yes, sir.
Evenin', ma'am.
Evenin'.
I, uh, wanted to ask you to do a favor for me, ma'am.
Yep.
The messenger, Wells, he's inside there drinking some of your husband's whiskey.
I'd like to talk to him alone and without the others knowing it.
You want me to fetch him out?
Well, I'd be grateful to you, yes, ma'am.
I'll do it for you.
Thank you.
Wells!
Wells!
Him.
Okay.
What's the trouble, mister?
Come outside, will you?
Okay.
Save some of that whiskey for me, Hank.
Well, this'll do.
Uh, tell me something, Wells.
How long you been ridin' shotgun?
Two years.
Not that it's any business of yours.
What'd you do before that?
Army.
And that's the last question I answer.
And I'm just trying to find out if you can handle it.
Well, I'm not sure I can.
And I'm just trying to find out if you can handle yourself.
Huh.
You keep nosin' around. You'll find out.
Look, Wells, I think you're a good man, and I sure hope I'm right.
Who in thunder are you, anyway?
You know, my name is Dillon. Matt Dillon.
I'm a U.S. Marshal, Wells.
A U.S. Marshal?
Prove it.
Well, I'm travelin' light. I got nothin' on me to prove it.
You talk right out, don't you?
All right, what do you want?
How much you carryin' in your treasure box?
Say, you really do move in, don't you?
You either trust me or you don't.
Fifty thousand dollars, Marshal.
Good.
Now, what's the best place for a holdup between here and Fort Downer?
What?
It'd be Willow Creek, I guess.
What is this? You think we're gonna be held up?
I don't know. But tomorrow you make the driver go through Willow Creek like he was on fire.
Chester will be on the roof to help you, and I'll sort of organize the passengers inside.
How do you know all this, Marshal?
I'll tell you when we get to Fort Downer. And, by the way, don't say anything about this or me to anybody.
Right?
I guess you're the bore's sister, Marshal.
Thanks, Wells. Good night.
Good night, Marshal.
I sure hope I ain't made a mistake about you.
Oh, Wells.
Yeah?
Take it easy with that wagon yard whiskey you're drinkin' in there, huh?
I've heard of that stuff freezin' solid on a cold night.
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Next morning, Wells told me it was ten miles to Willow Creek and another twelve miles to the next change of horses at a small swing station run by a lone stock tender.
We went through Willow Creek flyin'. Had no trouble at all. But trouble was waitin' for us at the swing station beyond.
It was a small one room adobe hut with a usual corral at the rear. But as we pulled up, I noticed there wasn't a horse in sight.
And out of the two windows facin' us was pourin' thin streams of white smoke.
Everybody jumped down and ran up to the half-open door where two arrows were embedded in the frame.
Comanche. It's Comanche. Look at them arrows. Stand back there. Let me take a look inside.
Let's all take a look, Summer.
Why, look at that. Three men killed.
Now, this man's still alive. That's the stock tender, Dylan.
Wait a minute. I thought he was alone here, Wells. He's always alone here. I'm wonderin' who these other two men are.
Never mind them. They're dead, ain't they? Yeah. They're dead.
Maybe he can tell us what happened to them.
It's all right, fella. The stage is here.
Those Indians never even heard of them.
Who were the other men? The white men?
Oh, leave them be, Dylan. The man's dying. Ain't you got no decency?
Shut up, Summer. Who were they, fella? What were they doin' here?
Road agents. Tellin' me up. They're gonna hide here and hold up the stage. They had a pardon on the stage.
What else? Did they say anything else?
Put my head down, mister.
Dead?
Yeah.
Here now, Summer. What are you doin'? Get that gun out of my back.
Shut up, flyer. First man draws the gun, I'll kill the old man here.
Turn him loose, Carp. There are too many of us here.
Take it easy, Dylan. This fool's nervous.
You come closer, I'll kill him.
He means it, Dylan.
All right. What are you gonna do now, Carp?
How'd you know my name?
I know more than your name.
Well, it don't matter. I want you men to walk out that door, one by one.
As you pass by me, I'm gonna take your guns. Get started now.
What do you think, Dylan?
We better do it, Wells. All right, men. Let's do what he says.
That's better. You first, Dylan.
Sure.
Stand right out there where I can see you. You hold still, flyer.
I ain't movin'.
I ain't armed. Then get outside with Dylan, Nishan.
All right, you're next.
Where?
You believe me now, Marshal?
You're the only man who can stop this, Nishan.
Why?
Pretend to join him.
Move on out.
You trust me that much?
Stop your...
I have to.
All right.
Now, you men line up there. Flyer, stand in front of me.
Cop, hold it right there, Nishan.
I want to tell you something.
Say it fast.
You know why I wasn't armed?
No.
Because of him. Dylan, I'm under arrest.
What?
Dylan's a marshal. He's bringing me in for killing a man in Dodge.
He is.
He was. Look, you and I got a better chance together than you have alone.
I'm throwin' in with you. How about it?
I'm on it, you know. You do that and I'll run you down if it takes a year.
You won't even know where to look, Marshal.
You'll be standing around here till tomorrow while we're riding off on them stagehorses.
How about it, cop?
That's your name? I heard the marshal say it.
That's my name.
Okay, Nishan, grab a gun there and get over here.
Sure will.
Here, you hold the old man, Nishan. I'll unharness them horses.
Sure. Now don't you try nothin', Fly. I'll shoot you as quick as carp would.
Cop.
Stay where you are, marshal.
I want your gun, cop.
Are you crazy?
No. He ain't crazy. Don't turn around, cop. I'll shoot you if you do.
What is this?
Drop that gun. Go on, drop it.
He means it, cop.
I'll kill you, marshal.
You shoot him and I'll put a slug in your spine, cop.
Might be worth it.
Make up your mind.
You're awful willing to die, marshal.
What about you? How do you think of dying?
Well?
No. I ain't gonna die. There.
Thought he was never gonna drop that gun, marshal.
You dirty lyin' dog.
I'm not a murderer, cop. I hate your kind.
You did fine, Nishan. I'll remember it.
Now give me the gun.
You still gonna take me in?
Sure.
Well, that don't seem fair.
You know, I have to.
Why could a road off with cop?
I'll be at your trial, Nishan. I promise you.
I'll tell them what happened here.
I'm standing here with a gun. You ain't even armed.
No.
It's like you told carp, Nishan. You're not that kind.
Here's a gun, marshal.
Thanks.
I feel kind of like a fool.
Do you?
Well, then I've got an idea how you might get over that.
What?
Go over there and pick up another gun.
What for?
You're gonna be the first prisoner I ever trusted to wear a gun, Nishan.
And besides, you'll need it to guard carp till we get there.
And besides, you'll need it to guard carp till we get to Fort Donner.
And now our star, William Conrad.
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Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Our story was specially written for Gunsmoke by John Meston.
With music composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Sound patterns by Tom Hanley and Bill James.
Featured in the cast were Vic Marron, Joseph Kearns, John Danaert, Clayton Post, and James Nusser.
Harley Bear is Chester.
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Listen to Gunsmoke again next week, transcribed for L&M Filters.
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