Gun smoke.
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 U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke.
Gun smoke, starring William Conrad.
The 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.
Dog gone, Mr. Dillon.
One of these here days I'm just going to shake the dust of Dodge City off of my boots for
good.
Sure, I know it, Justin.
How much you lose this time?
Eleven dollars and twenty.
Who said anything about losing?
Well, every time you sit in on one of those draw games, the boys whipsaw you and you're
threatened to pull stakes and leave town.
And one of these times I'm going to do it, too.
Sure, and the first thing you look for in the next town will be a draw poker table.
Well, maybe I ought to change the stud, dear blackjack.
Maybe you ought to just keep your money in your pocket, you ever think of it?
No, I got a hunch my luck is right on the point of turning, Mr. Dillon.
If I only had, say, five dollars or so to get back into the game.
No.
I could be, well, even if I only had a dollar.
Oh, oh, Miss Kitty, just one single dollar.
Are you a broc chaser?
Well, yes.
There you go.
Oh, no, no, no.
Now, I just couldn't think of taking money from a lady, Mr. Dillon.
Well, I'll take it, Mr. Dillon.
Well, I'll take it alone, if you'll be accurate.
Excuse me, Mr. Dillon.
I'll pay it back in just a few minutes, Mr. Dillon.
You know, Kitty, you're a born soft touch.
Oh, well, if he needs it, man.
It's those sharps over there at the poker table.
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Oh, well, if he needs it, man.
Oh, well, he can't get hurt bad on one dollar.
Chester's hurt bad when he loses ten cents.
Yeah.
Maybe he's lucky, Matt.
Ah, how so?
Oh, forget it, Matt.
Just one of those nights, I guess.
No.
Dad, would a drink help, maybe?
Probably not.
But I'll have one anyway.
These won't do me any harm.
Oh, well, I see the Marshal of Dodge is out browsing again.
Hello, Doc.
How are you, Doc?
Oh, my Kitty, you look prettier in a basket full of sunflowers.
Thank you.
Yes, you do.
Oh, say, Matt, you'll never guess who came to my office for help this afternoon.
No, but they got my sympathy, Doc.
It was old Carpus Deg.
Carpus?
It was Carpus Deg.
Well, he lives in a shack on the river bottom, Kitty.
He hunts a little, traps some, keeps pretty much to himself.
What's wrong with him, Doc?
Nothing.
He brought me a patient.
Too late to do any good, of course.
He died right on my operating table.
Oh.
Died of what?
A bullet wound.
You mean somebody was shot this afternoon and you didn't tell me about it?
I didn't think it was important.
Was to Carpus, though, I guess.
He looked mighty broken up when he left.
Doc, will you please...
I reckon a man living alone that way without any human friends can get pretty fond of an
old hound dog.
A dog?
Yeah, yeah.
I guess I did forget to mention it was that old spotted hound dog of his that was shot.
Oh, how are you, Doc?
Miss Kitty?
Yeah, Chester?
Do you think maybe you can get by till payday for that dollar?
Forget it, Chester.
Yeah, yes, forget it, Chester.
No, no.
No use looking at me, Chester.
Well, I was just thinking...
Doc, did Carpus have any idea who shot his dog?
If he did, he wasn't saying.
But from the look on his face when he walked out.
I'm glad it wasn't me.
Now, why would anybody do a thing like that?
Well, I don't know.
It's too bad, but there's nothing much to be done about it.
I think maybe I better ride out there in the morning and have a talk with Carpus.
What for?
This wouldn't be the first time that a dog getting killed would finally lead to a man
getting killed.
Warning, warning.
What's the matter?
Well, I have a warning for all eligible dependents seeking medical care at government expense
from civilian sources.
Well, so all right already.
Be sure the physician and hospital are participating in the Medicare program before beginning treatment.
Well, so my dependents have checked.
Now what?
They should make sure they use their ID card to obtain only that medical care to which
they are entitled.
Misuse of the ID card is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment of up to
five years.
For a couple of aspirins?
Don't take chances.
Read the pamphlet, Dependents, Medical Care Program.
Oh, now that's what I call scare advertising.
The shack looks deserted, Mr. Dumb.
Maybe old Carpus has gone off some horse.
And then somebody cutting wood over there in the drawer.
Let's leave our horses here in the lean-to chest.
All right, sir.
Man, it'd have to be a little ouchy to want to live out here all alone this way.
Maybe it's not a matter of choice.
No company except for a dog.
No neighbors for 10 mile or more.
That's not quite that far.
Pete Raymer's got a homestead about two miles north of here.
Maybe he shot that hound, Mr. Dumb.
Why do you say that?
Well, I don't know.
But folks mostly leave old Carpus to his cell.
Yeah, I know.
Hold it there.
Right where you are.
Mr. Dumb.
Take it easy, Chester.
Who is it?
Speak up there.
It's Matt Dillon, Carpus and Chester.
Now, you better put that rifle down.
Oh.
Well, I didn't recognize you, Marshal.
My eyes ain't what they used to be.
I thought maybe it was...
Well.
You thought what?
Well, I just didn't know.
You mean you thought it might be whoever shot your dog, huh?
Oh, Doc told you about that, huh?
I'm sorry to hear it comes.
I'd had Danny Boy 11 years, Marshal.
He was going blind, pretty near as bad as me.
And he sure weren't no use to hunt with no more.
But I'll say one thing, Marshal.
I'd give him my right arm rather than lose that hound.
I reckon folks should call it crazy, but that's how I felt.
Well, living alone, I guess a man learns to appreciate it, Doug.
So he understood every word that was said to him, just as good as you or me.
By evenings, we'd sit there in my shack and I'd talk to him.
And, well, we won't be doing that no more now.
Who do you think shot him?
Let's walk back up to the shack, Marshal.
They said Mike Cole was standing here.
All right.
Hey, look beyond there.
Here goes a rabbit.
Look, a dead, thin fool run.
He sure is scratching gravel.
Danny Boy had been after him like a shot.
He'd have lost him right off, but he'd sure give it a try.
Rabbits, coyotes, prairie chickens.
He chased anything that moved.
Blundering along, blind to bat, baying his lungs out.
Clark, don't you have any idea why anybody would want to shoot him?
Because they were playing low down me, that's why.
Ain't no other reason for doing a thing like that.
Come on inside.
All right.
Ain't nothing fancy, but it keeps the weather off.
There's some coffee going here in a couple of minutes.
Marshal, if you're mind to set a spell.
Well, don't go to any bother on our account.
No, no, it's no bother.
Just get a few more logs in here.
I ain't sure I can scare up three mugs, though.
It's kind of unusual having callers here.
Folks always acted like I had the plague or something.
Well, people get caught up in their own troubles, I guess, Carbus.
Just get too busy sometimes to be neighborly.
Yeah, man can get lonesome, Marshal.
Yeah, I know.
Pete Raymer and his missus ever drop by here?
No, never.
Where'd you find the dog after he'd been shot?
I didn't find him.
He found me.
He'd come dragging himself back here to the cabin.
I rushed him right in the dock, but it was too late.
And you don't know where it happened, then?
Yes, I know.
I followed his trail back this morning.
It was in a brushy draw about a mile from here.
Not toward the Raymer place?
No, more or less.
I'll take care of it, Marshal.
You just stay out of it.
The law is for people and not for dumb animals.
Your dog wasn't shot by a dumb animal, Carbus.
I'll settle it my own way.
And you know who did it?
I know all right.
And I'll see they pay for it, too.
That kind of paying for it gets out of hand sometimes.
I'm the one that suffered the loss.
It's my concern, not the law's.
Carbus, come out here.
Somebody's out there in the yard.
You hear me?
Get off.
Get off.
Get out on the floor.
Well, it seems like one of your neighbors has finally come calling on you, Carbus.
Your visit with Joe and Daphne Forsyte.
Joe.
Joe.
Joe.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm up.
I'm up.
I forget breakfast.
I'll shave at work.
Joe, it's not time to go to work.
Then why did you wake me up?
You were snoring.
How about that?
You were snoring loud.
Oh, really?
I just wanted to quiet you.
I thought I was quiet.
You sounded like a buzz saw going through a pine nut.
Pretty good, pretty good.
I wish I could be with you at 2.30 in the morning.
You can go back to sleep now.
Oh, gee, thanks.
You can get a good night's sleep, too.
Our savings bonds will protect us.
Huh?
They protect us.
The money we invest is used to protect our country and its freedoms.
Why, all around us, we can see the safeguards that our bonds have paid for.
How about that?
Well, you see, when you buy that savings bond with every paycheck, you're really investing
in a secure night's sleep.
Not in this house, I'm not.
What?
Good night, Daphne.
Good night, Joe.
That's Pete Raymer out there, Marshal.
You heard me, you mangy old weasel.
Come on out here.
He's aiming to kill me.
But why?
Well, I don't rightly know, but he fired a bullet through the window, didn't he?
All right, Carpaz, you stay away from the door.
You too, Chester.
Yes, sir.
Raymer, it's Matt Dillon.
You hold your fire.
I'm coming out.
I didn't know you was in there, Marshal.
No, I guess you didn't.
You understand, I wasn't aiming to shoot nobody.
Is that so?
No.
He's trying to throw a scare into him, into old Carpaz.
I mean, bring him to his senses, maybe.
Has he been out of his senses?
Well, he sure act like it.
Marshal, you know what he done this morning?
He tried to shoot my kid's dog.
Eh, snuck up through the brush, took a shot at her.
Sonny, you seen him do it?
Any idea what had caused him to do a thing like that?
Oh, dang it, if I know, he's just crazy, I reckon.
He always been to my touch, you know that.
That's why folks around here just stay shy of him.
That might work both ways, Remmer.
How's that?
Being lonesome, acting strange.
They kind of go together sometimes.
Eh, maybe.
Are you the one who shot his dog?
What?
If he says that, he's a liar.
I ain't even seen that old hound for a week.
Didn't know he was shot till you told me.
He says I done that, he's a liar.
Well, I say you done it, Remmer.
You calling me a liar?
I'm calling you anything you ever want.
You're the one I never listen to.
Marshal, is that what he told you, that I killed his dog?
No, he didn't tell me anything.
He said he'd take care of it himself.
Yes, and I will, too.
That's what you was doing sneaking around my place this morning.
And I for an eye, tooth for a tooth, it's law of the script.
All right, you just take warning for me right now.
If I catch you around my place one more time, I'm gonna put a bullet in you.
Well, I ain't too bad to shot myself.
You better be a good shotter.
You better do it.
All right, shut up, other of you.
Shut up!
It's like I told you, coppers, this way of paying for things comes high sometimes.
Denny boy was the only thing I had in the world, Marshal.
Well, then you ought to find out who killed him instead of coming around and scaring my
kid after death.
I know who killed him.
And he come running home like, like, like old scratch yourself was after him yelling.
It's Mr. Degg, he's yelling.
He just took a shot at my dog.
Oh, carpets, if I could have got my hands on you.
Wait a minute, remember, wait a minute.
Is that really what he said?
I ain't known to be a liar, Marshal.
The exact words have it.
Well, that's the gospel, so if lightning was to strike me, then lightning would have
been right.
All right, all right, all right.
I suppose we all ride over to your place, remember?
My place?
Yeah.
I want to talk to Sonny.
What for?
It might help to prevent a murder.
Well, there's the kid, Marshal.
Right there, front of the barn.
Sonny?
Sonny?
Yeah, Pop?
Come on over here a minute, Sonny, will you?
Marshal wants to talk to you.
To Marshal?
Yeah, come on.
Here, here, Sonny, come back.
He run into the barn, Mr. Dillon.
Yeah, can't figure what come over that boy, Marshal.
I'll soon find out.
Maybe it'd be better if you and Carpus stayed here with the horses, Kramer.
You say so?
Keep an eye on them, Chester.
Don't let them get into an argument.
All right, sir.
Can't figure why Sonny run into that barn.
Just like you see them go.
Don't figure why the Marshal wants to talk to you.
Sonny?
What do you want?
I want to talk to you.
I want you to open the door.
Go away.
You can't get away from a thing by hiding from it, Sonny.
You go on away, Marshal.
I got a gun in here.
Uh-huh.
Good, I'd like to see it.
No.
All right, Sonny, I'll give you just three seconds to open this door and I'll move.
All right, Marshal, go ahead and arrest me if you want to, but please don't let Mr. Deg
shoot Nellie.
He won't.
He tried to this morning.
That's why I got her tied up here in the barn.
Why do you suppose he did it, Sonny?
Well, he did it even because I...
Well, I guess you know about it, don't you?
Know about what?
It was an accident, Marshal.
Cross my heart it was.
I was after old Kyle and he ran into that brush patch and I went in after him and seen
something when I thought it was him, so I fired.
Only it wasn't.
It was that old hound dog of Mr. Deg's.
Oh.
A man should never pull a trigger unless he's sure what he's got in his sights, Sonny.
Yes, sir, I know.
Pop always told me that, but I just forgot.
Now I have to go to jail.
Now you stop that kind of talk.
You're not going to jail.
Hey, Carpus, come over here, will you?
You too, Rammer.
I was scared that Joe would happen because I knew Pop would be mad and I didn't think
anyone would believe me.
What is it, Marshal?
Carpus, it was the boy here who shot your dog.
It was.
I didn't mean to do it, Mr. Deg.
I thought it was a coyote, but it was old Danny boy.
I know how you like that old hound.
I sure feel awful about it.
Are you sure it was an accident?
Yes, sir, it was.
Honest, it was.
Well...
I thought Nellie's going to have pups in a couple of weeks, Mr. Deg, and I'll let you
have your choice of the litter.
Any one of them you want.
Well, that hound of mine was a trained hunter, Sonny.
It takes a lot of work to train a young pup.
I'll help you.
I'll come over every day as soon as my chores are done and help you train him.
Well, it sounds like a pretty fair offer.
This Nellie's a good dog, you see.
She's the best dog in the world.
You just take a look at her.
Come on, I'll show you.
Oh, uh...
I'm mighty sorry about this, Carpus.
Yeah, that's all right.
He couldn't be helped.
Come on, Mr. Deg.
Yeah, all right, Sonny.
All right, I'm coming.
Well, looks like old Carpus has finally got himself a friend, Mr. Deg.
Yeah.
Looks like two, though, Chester, counting the pup.
According to Thomas Jefferson, equal justice to all men, regardless of their political
or religious beliefs, is an essential principle of our political philosophy.
The amendments to our Constitution spell out what we mean by justice.
For example, no one can conduct an unreasonable search of our homes or businesses, or seize
any of our belongings.
We can't be held for a capital or infamous crime unless we are first indicted by a grand
jury.
And we are entitled to a speedy and a public trial by an impartial jury.
The accused has a right to confront the witnesses against him, and he can force witnesses who
could aid his case to testify.
Of course, he cannot be made to testify against himself.
He is entitled to the help of a lawyer, and he cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law.
These are definitions in our Dictionary of Freedom.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman MacDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon,
U.S. Marshal.
The script was specially written for Gunsmoke by Les Brutchfield, with editorial supervision
by John Meston.
The music was composed and conducted by Rex Corey.
Production patterns were by Ray Kemper and Bill James.
Featured in the cast were Parley Bear as Chester, Howard McNeer as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as
Kitty.
George Waltz speaking.
Join us again next week for another specially transcribed story on Gunsmoke.
This is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.