Around Dodge City and in the territory on west there is just one way to handle the killers
of the spoilers and that's with a US 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 chance a job and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
Matt, no Matt, where are you?
I've met you Doc, sit down, I'll be right in.
Thank you.
A little cup of coffee.
How are you Doc?
How's the coffee?
Fine, fine, pour yourself a cup.
Well, gee, thank you.
What were you doing out there Matt?
Watering the prisoners?
I haven't got any prisoners now Doc.
Oh, then you're falling down on the job.
Offhand I can think of a dozen men around Dodge that ought to be in jail.
Well, you give me a list, I'm going to need somebody to bring to trial next week.
You are?
Well, what do you mean?
There's a new circuit court judge coming, he's going to be disappointed if there's nothing
for him to do.
A new judge?
What happened to Judge Brookie?
He just needed help I guess.
After all, he has to cover about the whole of western Kansas.
Well, who is this new man?
What's his name?
I thought of the name of Stokes, Judge Stokes.
That's all I know about him.
Stokes, I hope he's a good one.
I've seen some remarkably unlearned judges in my time.
That is not an easy job Doc, and out here it doesn't pay enough to make it worthwhile
to most men.
You know, Judge Brookie could probably do twice as well back east.
And so could I Matt.
I know Doc, but then he wouldn't have anything to complain about, and if you didn't have
anything to complain about, you would just shrivel up and die.
Well, at least I wouldn't go to the pauper's grave I'm headed for now.
Say Doc, how about loan me a hundred dollars?
A hundred dollars?
Oh!
Go on in Homer.
Hello Mr. Dillon.
Hello Doc.
Who's this you got?
Well, this is Homer Tisdale Mr. Dillon.
There's a complaint against him.
Oh, a complaint?
Yes sir.
You know Van Walcott who took over that little store next to the stage office?
Yeah, I know him.
Well, he's coming over here in a few minutes.
He claimed Homer was a good man.
He's a good man.
He's a good man.
He's a good man.
He's a good man.
He's a good man.
He's a good man.
He's a good man.
He's a good man.
He's a good man.
He's a good man.
He claimed Homer was trying to rob him.
Oh.
I figured it'd be best to settle a thing right here with you.
Now, were you trying to rob him, Homer?
Yes, sir.
I see.
Were they guns or what?
No, sir.
I ain't got no gun.
You were trying to steal something out of his store then, is that it?
Yes, sir.
Where you from, Homer?
I haven't seen you in Dodge before.
No, sir.
I've been homesteading, sailing river.
But I got starved out.
I had to quit.
Didn't have no luck at all.
Yeah.
You sure don't look as though you'd been eating very regular.
No, sir, I ain't.
Well, you got him here.
Whoa.
Of course I got him here, Wolcott.
You dirty little thief.
Marshall, I want to sign a complaint against this man.
Mr. Wolcott, you've been in Dodge about a month now, haven't you?
What's that got to do with it?
Back east, I guess they're a little more formal in the way they handle things.
Now, why don't you just tell me what happened, man?
Well, I was next door at the stage office talking to Jay Buford.
We heard a crash over in my store or something falling.
So we run out, and there he was.
We caught him red-handed, Marshall.
Caught him doing what?
Stealing, that's what.
You haven't told me what he stole.
He had a whole handful of potatoes, Marshall.
A man is a thief.
He belongs in jail.
A whole handful of potatoes.
Is that true, Homer?
Is that what happened?
Yes, sir, Marshall.
Yes, sir, it's true.
I was hungry, and I seen the potatoes.
I thought he wouldn't miss a couple.
I could pay him back later.
Man who steals belongs in jail.
Look, Walt, he shouldn't have done it.
I admit that, but...
Then throw him in jail.
But I can't do that.
Why?
Well, for one thing, Chester and I have to ride up to Fort Lawnett for a few days, and
there wouldn't be anybody here to watch him and feed him.
Leave him some water, that's all he needs.
Chester.
Yes, sir?
You take Homer over to the Long Branch.
Maybe Sam Noonan can put him to work sweeping out or washing glasses or something, huh?
Now, look here, Marshall, you ain't gonna make a fool of me.
Get going, Chester.
Marshall, I'm telling you...
Mr. Wolcott, why don't you get back to your store?
Maybe somebody's found a few pennies and wants to buy that handful of potatoes.
Doc was right.
There probably were a dozen men around Dodge that should have been in jail.
But if the law was gonna start locking up men like Homer Tisdale, I figured they wouldn't
need me to handle the job.
At least that's what I thought on the way to Fort Lawnett.
It was four days later when we got back, and I found out different.
We were riding up Front Street past the stage office when Jay Buford, the stage company
manager in Van Walcott, spotted us and started yelling.
I had Chester take my horse while I got down and went over to see what they wanted.
You should come back just in time, Marshall.
If I'd done what I said, it wouldn't have happened.
I was just telling Wolcott, if you didn't get back today, we'd have to do something
ourselves.
What's the trouble, Buford?
Murder.
Murder and robbery, Marshall.
Right there in the stage office.
Charlie Reynolds is dead and $10,000 is gone.
It happened this morning.
Hold up.
It was about 8 o'clock, Marshall.
I'd just opened up my store and gone into the stage office to say good morning to Jay.
He was standing there talking to Charlie Reynolds and, well, I no sooner got inside than the
voice out back yelled at us to throw up our hands.
And we did, too.
And then this gunman come forward wearing a mask.
He knew right where the money was, too.
I had it in the treasure box waiting for the stage to go north, Marshall.
This gunman opened it up.
It was all bills.
And he scooped them out into his pocket.
And then he stood there, Marshall, and he told us not to try to follow him.
And before we could even move, he pulled the trigger on poor old Charlie Reynolds and killed
him.
Just like that.
No reason at all.
You didn't follow him.
He got away.
Now, who's going to follow a killer like that?
We ain't crazy.
Any idea who it was?
You bet we do.
Who?
That mask.
That didn't hide nothing.
Well, who wasn't?
Homer Tisdale.
What?
Just as plain as day, even if he hadn't spoke.
Homer ain't so meek as he looks, Marshall.
He's a killer.
That's what he is.
All that other is just pretending.
You should have put him in jail first off.
Any idea where he is?
He must be halfway to Texas by now.
But you better find him, Marshall.
Yeah.
Yeah, that Homer's a mighty cool one if he is feeling darned, Mr. Jones.
He hasn't heard about it yet, Chester.
You don't think he did it, do you?
We'll ask him if he's in here.
There he is, sleeping out back at them tables.
Yeah.
Oh, oh, Marshall, Chester.
Oh, Homer.
This fella's looking for a drink.
It ain't 10 o'clock yet.
Oh, man.
How long have you been here?
Oh, come into work about, oh, about 8.30, Marshall.
Why?
Where were you before that?
Out back.
Sam leave me sleeping in that shed he's got out there.
Homer, can you prove that you were out there at 8 o'clock this morning?
Prove?
Did anybody see you?
No.
Nobody ever come out there.
Why, Marshall?
Well, the stage office was robbed this morning.
And a man was shot and killed.
Jay Buford and Van Walcott witnessed it.
Yeah.
They say you did it.
Me?
They're willing to swear to it.
Well, I didn't rob there.
I didn't kill nobody.
I wouldn't do nothing like that, Marshall.
You don't believe them, do you?
Doesn't matter what I believe, Homer.
There are two witnesses.
You haven't even got an alibi.
Well, I was right out back there, Marshall.
I was eating a little bread and some bacon.
Well, you promised me something, Homer.
Well, sure, Marshall.
What?
You promised me that you won't leave Dodge.
I'm in bad trouble, ain't I?
Yeah.
I won't run.
I promise.
Three days later, Judge Stokes Circuit brought him to Dodge.
I went over and talked to him about Homer Tisdale.
And it was like talking into a rain barrel or rather a whiskey barrel.
The judge seemed to have more interest in corn liquor than on the law.
And all I could get out of him was that a jury would have to decide the case.
So the following Monday morning, court was opened in an old dance hall across the railroad
tracks.
A jury was sworn in and Judge Stokes took over.
First, he put Van Walcott on the stand and then Jay Buford.
Chester and I sat with Homer and watched.
Marshall, Marshall, something I don't understand.
What, Homer?
Well, that judge, he'd been talking to Walcott about me.
Now he's going to talk to Buford.
Is he going to ask me anything?
Well, sure, Homer.
He'll put you on the stand, but you'll have your lawyer to help you.
My what?
That man sitting right over there.
He's the lawyer that the judge appointed to defend you.
Oh, well, how can he help me?
He ain't talk to me.
He won't know what to say.
Oh, he will talk to you.
I guess there's no hurry.
Mr. Hill, I never seen that lawyer before.
Did you?
He's a stranger to me, Chester, but Judge Stokes seems to know him.
I swear, I don't understand why there ain't no prosecutor.
Prosecutor, Chester.
But I asked the judge about that and he said that there's no need for one.
I guess he knows how he's doing.
Well, the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth will help you God.
I do.
Now, Mr. Buford, we've heard the testimony in detail from Mr. Wolcott.
So to speed things up a little, I'll just ask you a few questions.
You were at the stage office when the holdup took place, right?
That's right, Your Honor.
You saw everything Mr. Wolcott saw, that right?
Yes, sir.
The bandit came in, took $10,000 in bills out of the box, then shot and killed, what
is it?
Charlie Reynolds, Your Honor.
Charlie Reynolds.
All right.
Now, I want you to tell the gentleman in the jury who that bandit was.
It was Homer Kisdale, Your Honor.
Homer Kisdale?
How did you know it was him?
Well, he had a mask on, but it didn't really hide nothing.
It was him, all right.
Besides, it was his voice, plain as day.
Then you knew him before?
Sure.
Sure, the day we caught him robbing Wolcott's store.
He's been a thief ever since he'd come to die.
Oh, now look here.
Your Honor.
You're out of order, Marshal.
But Your Honor, he's giving the jury a wrong impression of this man, I believe me.
Sit down, Marshal, or I'll hold you in contempt.
Your Honor, don't you under...
All right.
There.
That's better.
The jury's coming.
That's better.
The jury's confident to judge the evidence, Marshal.
All right, Mr. Buford, you may step down.
Yes.
We'll now hear from the defense.
Take over, Mr. Shipp.
Marshal, he didn't talk to me, didn't ask me nothing.
You said he would.
Just wait a minute, Homer.
We'll see what your defense says about it.
All right.
May it please the court and the gentleman of the jury.
You've heard the evidence.
I rest my case.
Marshal, that ain't no defense.
What does that mean, Marshal?
He's sitting down already.
You can't do that.
All right, silence.
Silence in the court.
Silence.
The jury will retire to consider the evidence, and it will return with its verdict in, say,
half hour.
And it better be the right verdict, or I'll hold you all in contempt.
Now, get to work.
Marshal, I don't understand, Marshal.
I thought a man had a right to say something for himself.
Yeah, so did I, Homer.
I mean, that defense fellow, he didn't help none.
Where's the judge going now?
Outside for a drink, I expect.
For what?
You wait here with Chester.
Will you talk to him, Marshal?
Tell him I didn't do it.
I'll be back, Homer.
I didn't do nothing.
Oh, have a nip, Marshal?
No, thank you, Judge.
I always like to get the jury out, give the man time for a little refreshment.
That's good corn you make here.
Yeah.
You know, Marshal, I'm a drinking man, but I've never been drunk in my life, never once.
Well, that's fine, Judge.
Marshal, I'm sorry I had to sit you down so hard in there, but a court's got to be run
by one man, or it'll get out of hand.
I know.
I've seen it happen.
I've seen some things happen in court, too, Judge.
But I never saw an accused man not get a chance to defend himself before.
You heard the evidence, Marshal.
What defense could he make?
It'd be just a waste of time.
I see.
I want to get this trial over with.
I've got to take the train up to Abilene at midnight.
That doesn't give me much time to see Dodge, does it?
No, I guess it doesn't.
In fact, a half hour's too long for that jury.
I'm going to call them back now.
You'll excuse me, Marshal?
Sure, Judge, sure.
Maybe you'll change your mind and have that drink with me after, huh?
Yeah, Judge, maybe.
Well, he sure didn't give that jury much time, did he, Mr. Jones?
No, he doesn't, Judge.
Marshal, what do you think they'll say?
They haven't much choice, Homer.
Well, gentlemen, have you reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
Let's hear it.
We find the defendant, Homer Kisdale, guilty.
Oh, what?
Homer Kisdale?
I ain't guilty, Marshal.
Stand up.
I didn't do nothing.
Stand up when we're going.
It ain't fair.
Homer Kisdale, you've been found guilty.
Where's the money?
What did you do with that $10,000?
I ain't got it, Judge.
I didn't take it.
Honest, I didn't take it.
Silence!
If you won't tell us where you buried that money, I'm going to sentence you.
For robbery, you get 20 years in prison.
20 years?
But you'll never serve them, Homer Kisdale.
You're a double-died monster and your hands are steeped in human blood.
Creatures of your like aren't fit to live.
Away with you.
And for murder, I sentence you to be hanged by the neck until you are dead.
Honest, Miss.
Marshal?
Marshal, did you hear him?
Did you hear what he said?
I ain't never seen nothing like this.
It might just as well not have been no trial at all.
Take Homer to jail, Chester, and keep him there.
Well, it ain't right, Mr. Dillon.
It just ain't right at all.
Do it, Chester.
Yes, sir.
Where are you going?
I'm going to have a drink with Judge Stokes.
What?
Yeah.
The two of you are going to end up changing your personalities
by worthwhile means before you get a chance to show up at America again.
We're going to have two scapegoats, we're not until that emotional moment
comes around to give you the complete due to Holmes,
but before that, you will là a good friend.
And after that, you will là a verySabre friend.
Have another drink, Judge?
No, no more, Miss Kitty. I've got to be going.
Poor him, one Kitty. He's got an hour yet before his train leaves. Have me a judge.
Sure. You'll have another, Dad.
There you are. You can't sit around a whole hour without a drink.
I told you.
Aren't you enjoying yourself, Judge?
Oh, it isn't that bad, Miss Kitty, but, well, I haven't been alone all day all night.
Well, it's been my pleasure, Judge. I don't often get a chance to be with a man like you.
I know, I know, but there must be things you have to do.
I just don't feel right taking up all your time this way.
Oh, don't worry about him, Judge.
People don't get really serious about breaking the law around here until after midnight anyway.
That's right, Judge. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll put you on the train and then I'll get to work.
No, no. I don't want anyone to put me on the train.
Well, it's less than an hour from now.
Marshal, I insist I go alone. I'm going to leave now.
Well, it doesn't take that long to get to the people, Judge.
I want to walk around first by myself. I like being alone sometimes.
Well, everybody does.
Oh, okay, Judge. Sure, I understand. You go on alone if you want.
Well, I'm grateful to you, Marshal, for all you've done.
Ah.
Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Kitty.
Goodbye, Judge. Look me up when you come back.
Of course. Goodbye.
Goodbye, Marshal.
Goodbye, Judge. Goodbye.
Let me know when he gets out the door, Kitty.
I will. I don't know what this is all about, Matt, but I hope I did what you wanted.
You were a big help. You got pretty tiresome until we came in here.
There he goes. You better hurry if you're going to follow him.
Yeah, I'm going to pick up Chester first. I think I know where the judge is going. I'll see you later, Kitty.
Yes, sure.
I think they must have drove him crazy, Mr. Dillon. You dogged him around that way.
I worried him some, Chester. That's how I knew I must be right.
Here we are. We'd better watch through the side window there. They'll see us.
Yeah.
Can you see anything, Mr. Dillon?
Yeah. They're in there, all right.
Judge Stokes is with them.
All right, come on. We'll walk right on the front door.
You get to one side when we go in, Chester.
Wait, Dillon, what are you doing here?
I thought you wanted to be alone, Judge.
Shoot him. Shoot him, I tell you. He knows.
Well, Buford, Walkett, which one of you is going to shoot me?
Now, one of you must have a gun somewhere. You shot Charlie Reynolds.
No? Then get your hands up while we search you.
I got a gun, Marshal.
Here. I'll give it to you.
Get his gun, Chester. It's still in his pocket.
Tell me, Judge, how much money did they give you out of the 10,000?
I don't know what you're talking about, Marshal, but I'll have you in court for the...
I'll be in court with you and in front of Judge Brookings.
You know, you overplayed your hand today, Judge Stokes.
You and that bot defense lawyer, and I'll find him before the night's up.
You wouldn't dare arrest a judge, whoever... whoever heard of such a thing.
Well, now, I guess maybe a judge is a pretty important man, isn't he?
He certainly is.
Well...
Well, I tell you, since you are the most important man here, I'm going to give you a soul by yourself.
You can have Homer Tisdale. He won't be needing it anymore.
Gun Smoke.
Produced and directed by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
The story was specially written for Gun Smoke by John Mespin.
Featured in the cast were Lawrence Dobkin, Vic Tarrant, Joseph Kearns, and Harry Bartel.
Carly Baer is Chester, Howard McNeer is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty.
This is George Walsh inviting you to join us again next week for another story on Gun Smoke over the CBS Radio Network.