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 the 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 looked for and the last they want to meet. It's a chancey job, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
You sure are slow with that beard, Doc. Here, I'm ready for another. Oh, yes, well, you had enough last night, didn't you? Matt told me you were still asleep at nine o'clock this morning. Yeah, I was, and that was mighty kind of him not to wake me up.
Hey, Doc, are you sure he said he'd be back this afternoon? Yeah, that's what he told me. Uh-uh. Now, what's in the world is that fella? Who? He just came in the door, you see, with Tyler and short there. Oh, him. Well, that weed panel. He rode in on a mule a couple days ago.
Well, which has the bigger ears, him or his mule? He is funny-looking all right, and he acts pretty peculiar, too. He's got a scrawny mule, Pendle. I seen you on him this morning.
Hey, Pendle here. He's got a scrawny himself, short. Maybe some beer fattened him up a little. I'd like some beer, all right, but I got no money. Well, why don't you just sell that guitar of yours? Sell my guitar? No, I'd never do that. Pendle, you must have a neck a little, at least.
Last money I had got stole. Now, who dares steal money off a tiger like you, Pendle? I was asleep. I started to wake up, but they kicked me in the head. Oh, now, Pendle, you call that thing a head? Looks to me more like your neck just growed out and haired over.
I ain't very handsome. You sure ain't. Hey, Bontan of Three Beers. You buying, darling? Oh, I'm proud to buy a fine old soldier like we, Pendle. How'd you know I was a soldier?
Well, now, I didn't. Where was you a soldier, Pendle? There at Illinois' Calvary. Illinois?
You're the Yankees. Where's your business? I never done much. We had hard luck and never got to see no real Confederates at all. Just a bunch of ragged-tailed bushwhackers in South Missouri. They was led by an old chicken thief named McCline.
Yeah, so they was. Tell me something else, Pendle. Did you ever get to kill any of Cline's men? A few. Before I got shot myself, they caught some of them after and hung them, but I never did see a hanging. You never did see one? Nowheres. I never did.
That's so. Well, Pendle, you know you're in luck. Since we was all kind of in the wall together, so to speak, I'm going to show you a hanging. You about ready, ain't you, Shaw? Yeah, my rope's on my saddle. I'll get it and meet you out back. You going to be a hanging? A real hanging?
Why, sure there is, and you're lucky, Pendle. You run into us just in time. Yeah, now what you talking about, Tyler, and who you going to hang? It's kindly a surprise, Chester. You can watch, though. Now, you know it's again the law to hang people around here.
I seen Marshal Dillon right out of town this morning. The time he gets back, it'll be all over. Don't you try to buck me in short, Chester. You die if you do. Come on, Pendle, come on. We don't want to miss it. You're? Now, what do you suppose they're up to, Doc? I don't know, Chester, but I'd sure like to find out. Yeah, I reckon we better. I sure do wish Mr. Dillon was here.
There they are. Boy, they're putting rope around Pendle's neck. Of course you ain't going to get to see all of the hanging, Pendle. Only get the start of it. Why are you hanging me for? I ain't done nothing. You was in the third Illinois's cavalry. Well, sure I was.
We was fighting under that old chicken thief, Klein, in South Missouri. It's a real pleasure to hang a Yankee like you. But I only done what they told me to. I didn't kill nobody on purpose. Now, you just wait a minute, you two. You've gone far enough. Shoot him, Tyler. You go shooting anybody and you'll be the ones to end up on a rope. Doc ain't armed. It never is. Go on, Tyler. All right, you try it, but you're sure going to have to kill me before you hang anybody. I'll kill you. You'll have to kill me, too, Tyler. Mr. Dillon. Where'd he come from?
Take your rope off that man's neck short and you do it quick. Sure, Marshal. Sure. I told you you shouldn't hang me. You were just following me, Marshal. I wasn't going to hang you. What's this all about, Short? He's a Yankee, Marshal. Killed a lot of us in Missouri during the war. We was going to scare him and then run him off. You forget about that. You forget about the war, too. It's over. Next time I catch up to anything like this, you'll go to jail.
Go to jail? Over a dumb Yankee who don't own nothing but a skinny mule and a guitar? Get out of here, Short. You too, Tyler. Well, this Yankee better get out of here, too. Clean out a dog. Shut up. Get moving. See you later, Finel.
I sure do thank you for letting me sleep in your jail last night, Marshal. Oh, you've been sleeping before, Pendle. With my mule? I always do. Yeah. I hear you're broke. What do you do for a living? I never did nothing much, Marshal. Just ride around on my mule.
What about your guitar? Don't you ever play and take up a collection or something? No, Marshal. I wouldn't do that. Why not? Can't you play good enough? I don't know, Marshal. I never played it for nobody to hear except me.
Now, Chester, take him over to the Long Branch, will you? Maybe Sam can give him a job of some kind. It wouldn't be steady, would it? Well, I don't know, but why shouldn't it be? Because I'll be leaving in a day or two. Oh? Where are you headed? Nowhere. Nowhere? Just ride around on my mule. I always do. Where are you from, anyway, Pendle?
I was born in San Benito. Oh, the real grand, huh? Yes, but I left. Took my guitar with me. Never did go back. Well, if you're from Texas, how come you fought in the Union Army? I don't know. One army just like another, I guess.
Yeah, maybe you're right at that. I've only done what they told me, Marshal. Sure. Now, Chester, take him over to Sam's, will you? All right, sir. I left my guitar out back. I'll go get it.
He sure is a peculiar little fellow, Mr. Jones. Yeah, pretty helpless, too. You think Short and Tyler would bother him anymore? Oh, no, and them, I believe they'd out-hung him yesterday if they could. You tell Sam to let me know if they even start talking to him again.
Yes, sir, I will. They're about the meanest pair of men I ever knew. Yeah, they are. They'll think of something. Well, Pendle said he's leaving in a day or two. I just hope it's soon enough, Chester.
Sam gave Weed Pendle a job sweeping up the salon and letting him live in a tiny shack out back. He tried to get him to play his guitar, but Pendle wouldn't do it. We all began to think that he probably didn't even know how. It's kind of hard to believe that anybody as simple as he was could learn to do anything.
I looked up Short and Tyler and I warned them again to leave him alone, and they did. Until one morning, a couple of days later, Chester and I just come out of Delmonico's. We were walking up Front Street.
Put you on there, Mr. Delmon Cross Plaza there. Yeah, I see him. Now let's go over. Pendle and his mule. Yeah, Tyler and Short, too. I told them to keep away from him. Hey, what they laughing at? They're laughing at he is. What are you supposed to have done to him? Look at his mule, Chester. That's what they done.
Oh, my goodness. He's lost the ear. Oh, my.
I guess there's just no pleasing some men. You shouldn't have done that to my mule. Did you men do this? Nope. Now, Marshal, we had done nothing to Pendle. Did they do this, Pendle? I tried to stop them, but Tyler held me. And they gave me the ear, Marshal. Right here. Yeah.
All right, turn around, both of you. What? Turn around, I said.
I think they got him, Chester. Chester. Yeah, dude knows Marshal. We didn't hurt Pendle, no. I don't like what you did to his mule. Yeah.
I don't.
All right, you can turn around now.
I ought to cut him here off each one of you, but I can't do that, so I'll do the next best thing. Hey, look, you can't.
Leave him in the air, Chester.
I'm sorry about your mule. He ain't much of a mule anymore. Well, you go take care of him, huh? Maybe these two will leave you alone, huh? Poor mule.
You know what Wade Pendle told me yesterday, Matt? Yeah, that could have been most anything, though, and him kidding.
No, this kind of made sense. I asked him if he was ever lonely. He said, no. He never stayed anywhere long enough to get to know anybody in that world.
Maybe he's not so strange after all. Oh, now what are they up to? Who? Tyler and Short. They just came in with Pendle. Look, Matt, he's got his guitar with him.
Hey, listen, everybody. Wait a minute, the little yank is going to play his guitar for us. At least he's going to try and hit you, yank.
Don't shoot my mule. We ain't going to shoot your mule. Not if you play good enough. Don't! Get started. If you know how.
All right. I'll play. I'm going to kill his mule, Matt. You got to stop him.
Wait a minute, kiddo. Just sit quietly.
Oh, Matt. That was beautiful. Yeah, he kind of surprised them about you.
Tyler and Short don't look too happy about it.
Try some pendles. I'm going to go ahead. I know some bullies are leaving.
Hello, Yankee.
Been playing that guitar a long time in that saloon, there ain't you, Pendle.
They wanted me too.
They liked it.
Me in short, we've been waiting to tell you how we liked it too.
Yeah, let me see that guitar, Pendle.
No, you hurt my mule.
Give it to me.
I got a gun in your belly, Pendle, don't you mind?
I want my guitar.
You can have it.
I just want to sort of tune it for you first.
Oh, yeah.
And you know, there's another thing that's wrong with this guitar.
It's a little bit too big for a man like you.
That can fix that too.
There you are, Yankee soldier.
All right, that ought to learn it.
Let's go now, Ken.
Are they both dead, Doug?
Oh, yes, real dead.
For several hours at least.
They must be asleep when it happened, Doug.
It looks like Short there struggled a little, eh?
Guess Tyler got his first and it woke Short up for a minute.
He wasn't awake very long, man.
It was long enough to see who was cutting his throat, probably.
Well, he can't talk now.
I'm all through here.
What do you want to do with him?
Well, let the hotel worry about him.
I guess it's weed Pendle I want now.
Well, he's in him such a mile, little fellow, too.
Any man can take just so much, Chester.
I sure hate to see poor Pendle hang for killing these two buzzards, man.
Chester, wait for me at the jail.
I'll bring him over there as soon as I find him.
Sam, what'll it be, Marshall?
Where's weed Pendle?
I just sent him out back for a bucket of sodas.
What do you want them for?
Listen, Tyler got their throats cut early this morning.
That's good.
I guess their smashing his guitar was too much for Pendle.
And so, where is he now?
Pendle, come over here.
Yes, sir.
Morning, Marshall.
Morning, Pendle.
Pendle, where was you last night?
I don't know.
You're a guest.
You don't know?
Wait a minute, Marshall.
Where was you after they wrecked your guitar, Pendle?
I sat in the alley a while and I come back in here.
That's right.
And he was so broke up about his guitar, I didn't want to leave him alone, so I put him
on the floor of my room.
Ain't that right, Pendle?
Go on, tell him now.
Sure.
That's right.
Are you trying to alibi for him, Sam?
Why, no, Marshall.
What do I care about him?
Some people care about me.
Who?
Oh, he's just talking, Marshall.
Who cares about you, Pendle?
Tell me.
Those men.
What men?
He means some of the boys who were here when he came back with his busted guitar, Marshall.
I just told him how sorry they was, ain't so?
They liked his music, didn't they?
They liked to hear me play.
Who was in here then, Sam?
Well now, Marshall, you know how it is.
I'm busy pouring drinks and I don't pay no mind to who's here and who ain't.
I couldn't rightly say it all.
Okay, Sam, I guess I can't beat the truth out of him.
Marshall, who cares about talent short?
Dad has been off without this.
There's a law against murder, Sam, and it's the same for everybody.
Well, I'll be back later.
What you gonna do now, Mr. Dillon?
I've done all I can, Chester.
The whole town's just plain quit talking.
Nobody knows anything.
I reckon they're all protecting Pendle.
They are.
But he didn't do it.
Who is?
If I could prove who did it, Chester, I'd have him in jail.
You know that?
Chester, come over here a minute.
Oh, I declare.
Looks to me like he's leaving town.
Yeah, I told him he could go.
He looks funnier than ever on that poor old one-eared mule.
Yeah.
Dodge treated Pendle pretty rough.
It sure did.
Poor old fella.
Looks kind of empty like that guitar, don't he?
Yeah, maybe he'll find another one somewhere.
Anyway, they sure like to hear him play in this town.
Sam, I figure.
A couple of the other boys in particular.
Yeah, they liked it.
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