Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there is 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 Americans, 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 cance job, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
Morning, Mr. Dillon. Morning, Chester.
Morning, Chester. This needs to be done directly. Oh, is the coffee made? That's what I need. Yes, boy. I didn't make much, though. I thought I'd better save the water for the things I made by camp.
Oh, I hope you woke up so early this morning. Oh, I always do that. Soon as it gets daylight, my feet start to sweat, it seems like, and I just naturally got to get up.
That's as good a reason as any, I guess. Looks like we got company. What? We're right over there, heading straight for us. Some cowboy, probably.
I don't know. He doesn't ride like a cowboy. Well, that's just a kid, Mr. Dillon. Yes, it is, isn't it? Sure does need a haircut. I declare he's a girl. What could she be doing on here? Carrying a rifle, too.
Ah, morning, Miss. Want to get out and have some coffee with us? Who are you, mister? I'm a U.S. Marshal out of Dodge, ma'am. A U.S. Marshal? Oh, that's good. It is? Why?
I need help, Marshal. My daddy's awful sick. Oh, what's he sick with? His leg, Marshal. A horse threw him and his saddleboats in the corral, and then it stepped on his foot. And now his whole leg's all bruised, and he's got a fever, too.
My, Mr. Dillon, that sounds like... Yeah, I know, Chester. Tell me, Miss, when the horse stepped on him, did it cut his foot? Did it break the skin anywhere?
Boy, there's just a scratch. It tore his boot off, though. Oh, please, please come and see him. I'm scared the way his leg is and everything.
Oh, sure, sure. We'll come. Is your mother with him now? I don't have a mother, Marshal.
Oh, well, then what are you doing out here if your daddy's sick?
We ran out of meat about three days ago, and I don't have anything to feed him. Oh. Chester, I'll ride back with... What is your name, anyway? Tara. Tara Hawtrey. Oh.
I'll be 16 next January. Well, that's fine, Chester. We'll go back to the Hawtree place, and you'll scout her on for some meat, huh?
All right, Chester. And if you don't find any antelope, shoot the first calf, you see. Anybody's calf. I'll do it, Mr. Dillon.
Dillon. Yeah, I've heard of you. You're from Dodge, ain't you? Yeah, that's right, sir.
Oh, Marshal, ain't feeling so good. My foot don't hurt me no more, but my leg's all sort of... Well, it ain't pretty... I don't know much about these things, Mr. Hawtrey, but maybe I better take a look at it anyway.
Sure, sure, Marshal. There she is. Yeah, all right, you can cover it up. I was in the war, Marshal. I know what gangrene is. Guess you do, too.
Yeah. Well, the first thing, Mr. Hawtrey, a friend of mine's out getting you some meat, and we'll load you into your wagon.
Oh, Ben took the wagon. What? Ben Walling. He took the wagon when Daddy got hurt. He said he'd find a doctor and bring him back. Who's Ben Walling?
He's been sort of working here, Marshal. I should have run him off long ago. That's what... Where is he? Where'd he take the wagon? Was he going to find a doctor around here anyway?
The closest doctors in Dodge I know of. But I couldn't get to him anyway. Tell me, Mr. Hawtrey, when did this happen? About six days ago, Marshal. Ben left the day after.
Oh, do you think he's coming back? He's coming back here? Me not able to get around? I don't know what I'll do. I ought to take a bullwhip to him.
Bullwhip? Now, take it easy, Mr. Hawtrey. Take it easy. He won't cause any trouble so don't you get all worked up about it.
Tara, let's let him get some rest, huh? All right, sir. Now, we'll have some food for you real soon, Mr. Hawtrey. I ain't free. I'm hungry.
Tara, why are you so riled up about this Ben Walling for? What's between them?
Oh, it's nothing, Marshal. Daddy's sick and... that's all.
Oh. Look, Tara, you trust me, don't you?
Daddy hates Ben because Ben... well, Ben likes me.
Oh, I see.
He even wanted to marry me. He said he would.
How do you feel about Ben? Do you like him?
Well, it's time I had a man and all that, but I'm afraid of Ben, Marshal. It's like there's something wrong with him. He's always sneaking around when you don't expect him. It makes me uneasy, like.
Marshal?
Yeah?
I'm also glad you're here.
I rolled the smoke and looked out across the flat distances of the prairie and wondered how anybody could survive in all that emptiness. Hawtrey lying on his bed back there in the house. He wouldn't survive. The prairie got to him all right.
And Tara, what could she do out here in this endless land of grass? I was glad to get my mind off it when Chester rode in with an antelope across his saddle. We hung it on the corral and dressed it and took a hind quarter into Tara, and we went back outside and sat down on the porch.
It's bad, ain't it, Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, it's blood poisoning, Chester. So as it reaches his heart, he's done for.
Ain't there no way to stop it?
Yeah, sure there is.
Cut his leg off.
Too bad Doc ain't here.
Yeah.
But would that stop it, Mr. Dillon, cutting his leg off?
I don't know, Chester. I don't know. Maybe it's too late anyway.
Well, I sure do wish we could do something for him. I don't take sitting around just waiting for a man to die.
Nobody does.
It ain't right somehow. That poor fella and Tara. Mr. Dillon, that girl will go crazy out here all alone.
All right, Chester, what do you want me to do about it?
I'm not a doctor. I just shut up.
Well, I... Mr. Dillon, you could do it. Mr. Dillon, I know you could.
Do what?
Be a doctor. Long enough to save Mr. Hawke's life anyway.
Oh, well, you out of your head.
No, sir.
Then what are you talking like that for? The most I ever did was doctor a horse for the collic. That's fine training for this, isn't it?
I know. But I couldn't do it. I just plain don't have the spirit, but you do.
Mr. Dillon, you wouldn't ever just stand by and let a man die.
Let's go talk to him, Chester.
Yes, sir, Mr. Dillon.
Daddy's fever's worse, Marshal. I'm going to get some more water.
Well, Mr. Hawke, how do you feel?
I don't feel much, Marshal. I started burning up.
I've been trying to tell Tarad I can't last long with blood poisoning, and she just got the figure on this.
That's what I came in to talk to you about. I guess you know the only thing that'll give you a chance.
I know. But I couldn't ask any man to do that.
You didn't ask me. It's up to you, Mr. Hawtrey. I'll try it if you're willing.
If it was just me, I wouldn't do it, but I can't leave Tarah alone. Not if I can help it, I can't.
You're a brave man.
Oh, Marshal, I just don't have any choice. Come on, let's get it over with.
Have you got any liquor in the house?
There's a jug of corn out in the kitchen.
Chester, go get it.
Until Tarad starts boiling a lot of water, I'll talk to her in a few minutes.
I'll be right back.
Now, Mr. Hawtrey, tell me everything you know about this.
First, I'll tell you what you need. There's a straight iron out by the corral somewhere.
You can heat it in the main room fireplace.
All right, fine. Now, what else?
Tarah will find some cloth for bandages, and the rest of the stuff you can get in the kitchen.
The only thing worrying me is what we'll use to tie off the arteries with plain thread won't hold.
Well, maybe some thin strips of rawhide.
No, no, no, no. They soak through.
Wait a minute, I know what'll work. What about horse hair?
Yeah, that's it, Marshal. Pull it off the tail. It ought to work fine.
Here's the gut, Mr. Hawtrey, and I brought you a cup to pour me some.
I want to get good and drunk.
Here you go. Thanks.
Mr. Hawtrey, you better have your talk with Tarah before that stuff takes hold.
Ask her to come in, will you?
Yeah.
Oh, Marshal.
Yeah?
I'll try to make it easy for you.
Shortly after noon, I operated.
Whether it was the corn whiskey or his own hard courage, I don't know, but Hawtrey never whimpered.
Just as I stood outside the door and brought me whatever I needed, and Tarah waited in the kitchen, boiling more water, thinking her thoughts.
Toward the end, Hawtrey mercifully passed out.
I finished and left the house for a breath of air. I'd done everything I could, and I just hoped that I'd done it right.
That's where it beats me, Mr. John Huck. He just lays in there so quiet and peaceful.
It's only been four or five hours. Chester, the liquor hasn't worn off yet.
Well, he drunk up nearly the whole jug.
He needed it.
Hey, Mr. Gunn, hook you under.
What?
Somebody coming with a wagon.
Yeah. It's probably that Ben Walling that we're talking about.
Wonder what he's got to say for himself.
I don't think it's something Chester, his kind always does.
Do you recognize him?
No, I don't. Do you?
No, I never saw him before.
Hey, what are you doing here?
You, Ben Walling?
How'd you know?
You've been away a long time, Ben. Where you been?
Who are you, anyway, mister?
A U.S. Marshal.
Well, I went to fetch a doctor. Anything wrong in that?
No, not at all. Where is he?
Well, first night, them horses run away. I've been chasing them ever since.
Didn't catch them till this morning.
I see.
How's old Hartree? He's kind of worried about that foot.
Looked to me like it might have poison in it.
It dead.
You mean it did.
I took his leg off about noon today.
You what? How'd you know what to do? He might kill you.
Somebody had to do it, Ben. It's a sure thing terror couldn't.
Blaming me, ain't you? I done everything I could.
It ain't my fault them blasted horses run off.
Hartree's pretty sick, Ben.
Well, Marshal, you can leave now. I'll handle everything.
We'll leave as soon as Hartree's able to take care of himself.
Stay as long as you like. I don't care.
Mr. Jones?
Yeah.
I think that cussie Ben's no good liar.
You see that saddle over there, Chester?
Oh, well, that belongs to Mr. Hartree.
Yeah, I know. I looked at it this noon. Somebody cut the cinch strap on it.
But no wonder that brunk Buck came in the saddle off both.
You think terror did it?
It was Ben, wasn't it?
He figured the old man would get hurt, maybe killed.
But why?
So he'd have a free hand with terror.
Why, Mr. Boone, you know...
Mr. Dunne, let me rest in peace.
No, not yet, Chester. There's plenty of time.
All right. I'll wait.
There wasn't as much time as I'd figured.
Hartree had a bad night, and by morning he was so weak he couldn't lift his head.
I tried to take his pulse, but I could hardly find it.
Maybe I'd operated too late. Maybe the poison had already moved up into his body.
I didn't know. I had no way in that.
Want some more coffee, Mr. Jones?
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Chester, fill it up, will you, please.
That poor terror just won't eat nothing at all.
Just sits there by his bed, ain't left a wink, I know.
Well, it's her father, Chester. He's old, she's good.
Marshall, please, please, come on.
Yeah, what is it, terror?
Daddy wants you, and I think he...
Come on, Chester.
Yes, sir.
It's Matt Dillon, Mr. Hartree.
Marshall, I'm gonna die.
Oh, Daddy, Daddy, please.
Tara, don't leave her here. Ben Walling, he's no good.
Now, don't you worry about Ben Walling, Mr. Hartree.
I promise you that he won't get anywhere near Tara, now or ever.
Tara can't stay here alone. It's a bad way to die.
Not no...
Mr. Hartree.
Not no...
Mr. Hartree, I want you to listen to me.
I'll take care of Tara. I'll see that she's all right.
I'll see that she's cared for, and I promise you that.
You hear me?
I thank you, Marshall. I sure thank you.
Where's Tara?
Oh, Daddy, I'm right here. Daddy, please.
Tara...
Come on, Chester.
Daddy?
Daddy?
Oh, my, I wish Tara had come out of that house.
I don't like it, her in there and just breaking her heart.
Give her a little time, Chester. She'll be all right.
Don't move a finger, either one of you.
Oh, you're mighty careless with that rifle.
Don't get smart with me, Marshall. I know what I'm doing.
Oh, and what would that be?
I heard you in there, promised to take Tara away. I was right by the window. I heard it all.
You got a curious way of courting the girl, Ben, trying to kill her father.
Yeah, and I saw you yesterday looking at that saddle.
But I didn't kill him, Marshall. You did.
That's a lie, Ben. Well, you knew it.
Oh, you shut up.
We just got here sooner, Mr. Dunn would have saved him, that's all.
Well, too bad you got here at all, because you're going to die for it, both of you.
Put the gun down, Ben. You're under arrest for attempted murder.
You're right where you are, Marshall.
You know, I got an idea you've smelled powder before, Ben, and that you're afraid of it.
I got an idea that's why you try to get an artery like you did instead of facing me.
Stop right there.
And right now you wish you didn't have that rifle at all, don't you, Ben?
No.
Because I might have to shoot you for it.
No, don't, Marshall.
Give me that.
You all right, Mr. Dunn?
I didn't even try, Tester.
The rifle went off when I knocked it aside, that's all.
He was scared to death.
Well, I didn't feel exactly comfortable.
Tie him up and keep an eye on him.
I'll go see Tara.
Late that evening we buried Hawtree out on the prairie, out in the back of the little homestead that would die now, too, and fall apart without him.
The next morning we loaded up everything we could get under the wagon.
With Tara beside me, we started off for Dodge.
Ben Walling never said a word.
Tester led his horse when they rode along ahead of us.
I had plenty of time to tell Tara all about Dodge and how there were some good people there and how we'd find her a home and a family.
She just sat there, tight-lipped, didn't say much.
She never once looked back.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman MacDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
Featured in the cast were Marley Bear as Chester, Howard McNear as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty.
George Waltz speaking.
Join us again next week for another specially-transcribed story on Gunsmoke.
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