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 look for and the last they want to meet. It's a chancey job, and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
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Try to understand, Ed, I have no choice. Matt, we've been friends a long time. I come here to your office expecting help, now you tell me you're going to throw me off my land.
You saw the court order, it's perfectly legal, I've got to serve it. All I need is a little more time, I'll make the payment just like I made all the others.
You do have ten days. That ain't enough time and you know it. I poured too much sweat and too many years into that farm to lose it. What I owe on the whole note don't amount to much if I just have the time.
Did you talk to Burt? Burt Donald, my old friend, I can't even get to see him.
Burt's moved up in the world sometimes, that changes a man.
Oh, he's flying high as a hawk, big cattle broker. Now he's proving it to me, it's just plain spite, Matt.
Mr. Dillon, I've got it. Oh, howdy, Ed.
Chester. Well, I'll get along, Matt, if you can't help me, I guess nobody can.
I'll try to think of something, Matt.
Sure. Thanks anyway.
All right, Chester, what's your problem?
It's just terrible, Mr. Dillon, I'm in trouble, real bad trouble.
You broke again?
Yes, sir. I mean, that ain't the main trouble.
What, that letter?
From Waco.
So?
It's from lawyers in Waco, Penian Swift says so right on the envelope.
All right, it's from lawyers in Waco.
Well, don't you see, they're after me. They're going to have me arrested.
Why?
Well, I didn't ever tell you this, but one time I borrowed four dollars from a fellow down there.
I was going to pay him back, but I never quite got around to it and now they're after me.
That's what it says on the letter?
Yes, sir. Well, I mean, I reckon so. I don't know what else it could be.
Chester, have you read the letter?
I've been too scared.
Well, why don't you read the letter then, Chester?
I just can't. Don't you read it here?
Mr. Chester Wesley Proudfoot, dear sir.
Chester, would you take your hands away from your ears?
Well, dear sir, we regretfully inform you of the demise of your cousin Clarence Webley Proudfoot.
Demise?
That means he died, Chester.
Oh, poor Clarence. I never did like him much.
What? What was he doing?
Please be advised that probate of the will of said Mr. Proudfoot has disclosed a bequest on your behalf in the sum of $368.63.
What?
A cashier's check on this amount will be forwarded to you shortly.
Ah!
Well, what's the matter, Chester?
Well, now that's a mighty puny joke to play on a man sending that kind of letter.
Well, it's no joke. You've inherited $368.63.
Ah, it's got to be a joke.
No, it doesn't, Chester.
You think they really ain't, Joxon?
Well, of course not.
Well, I don't know.
Clarence always was pretty tricky.
He might have changed there at the end, but the United States mail is going to have to prove it to me.
Matt, has Chester taken up permanent residence down at the stage depot?
Well, from the looks of the office, you'd think so, Doc. If that check from Waco doesn't get here soon, you're going to have two more patients on your hands.
Two?
Well, I don't think Chester can last the week out, and I'm not sure I'm going to stand him for another day.
Matt, Matt, you'd better get over the bar.
Why, Kitty, what's the trouble?
Ed Grimes. He's there with Burt Donald.
Oh, all right.
I don't want to talk about it, Ed. Not now, not never.
Burt, at least you can be decent enough to answer me.
Ed, this isn't the best place in the world to talk business.
Well, I think it is. I want to ask him in front of these people to give me time to make payment on that note.
Marshal, I got nothing to say to him. Seems to me a man's got a right to have a drink without nobody annoying him.
Look, Burt, Ed's kind of worried. Maybe you might reconcile.
No. All right. I tried everything I know to make you listen to reason. I even begged in public. But I ain't going to get down on my knees and crawl.
You ain't a man no more, Burt. You're something slimy. You ought to be stepped on.
That's enough, Ed.
A man like him don't deserve to live. Somebody's going to kill him. If nobody else does, it just might be me.
All right, get out of here, Ed. Go on home right now. Go on.
Don't you look at me like that, Marshal. I haven't broken any law.
Till I do, whatever I say or don't say is none of your business.
Burt, when you find time, remember he was your friend.
I just can't figure out what's happened to Burt. Matt, aren't there any illegal steps that you can take?
I'm not a lawyer, Doc.
Miss Dillon, it's here. Miss Dillon, the letter, the one from Waco, it's here. Look here, I got it. The letter from Waco, it's right here.
Once I see it, Chester, sit down and open it.
You better do it. I got a pure D case of flutters.
All right, all right. Let me have it.
There it is, a cashier's check for $368.63. May not the Chester Wesley Brock, but...
Well, congratulations, Chester.
Yeah, Sam, a round of beers on the house.
Aha, $368.63.
Looks like your money worries are over, Chester.
Chester.
$368.63.
Yeah.
Chester, I don't hear any broom noises. Chester?
Chester.
White.
What?
White. The house I'm going to build, it'll be white with a red barn.
Oh, oh, I see.
It ain't easy deciding what color to paint your house.
But now you're sure.
Oh, yes, sir. And I decided to get me an all-black suit and an all-black horse.
I think I'd look good in all black, don't you, Mr. Dumpkinley? Dignified like?
Well, I think that's the right word, yeah, dignified.
And a man with a black suit ought to have a black hat, too.
I can all have to buy me a new hat.
Chester, I'm happy about your money, and I want you to enjoy every penny of it, but...
You ought to slow down a little. This house you're talking about, the house alone is going to cost you more than you have.
More than $368.63?
I'm afraid so, Chester.
Well, in by doing I know what I'll do. I'll just go with the long branch.
Well, I know I shouldn't ask this, but why are you going over to the long branch?
Why? Now I've got enough money to play in a big poker game.
Only reason I never won before was I didn't have enough state.
Now I can run that Waco money into the thousands, maybe more.
That's what I thought. Get your hat.
You coming with me at the long branch?
No, you're coming with me, Chester, to the bank.
You're going to leave your money with Mr. Botkin, and it's going to stay there.
Now, Mr. Billion...
Let's go.
Shhh. Over here.
Oh, Dudley. How come you'd a pssst mean?
Well, I won't talk to you, Chester. I heard about your money.
Oh, you did, huh?
Sure, it's all over town.
Well, I reckon my man gets all that money.
Oh, now, now, now. I want to talk to you about a plan I got.
You know, I've been driving freight for Wells Fargo.
Oh, well, everybody knows that.
Sure, now, I made a lot of money, too, Chester.
Through rain, sleet, snow, I drove them wagons and never lost an area one.
You're all good for you.
Sure. Now, Chester, don't you see?
Now, you and me can open our own freight line.
We can?
Yeah. We wouldn't need more than one wagon to start.
With all the money we made, we could buy more wagons and carry more freight.
Pretty soon we'd be millionaires.
You don't have to do anything to put up the money.
Millionaires?
Sure, now, what do you say?
Well, I'll think about it, by the way. I'll think real hard.
Sure, now, now, you do that, Chester, and you think hard.
Chester, you're a really proud freight line.
Well, old moneybags decided to join us.
Yeah. Sit down, Chester.
Thank you.
You're city, blow it off.
Hello, Chester.
Mr. Dillon, you know, Dudley Cheever is the fourth fella in two days
with a good idea for investing my money.
Well, I hope you haven't done it.
Well, not yet. I've got to have time to think it over.
Good, because I have something here for you to think over.
What's this?
That, Chester, is a statement, an accountant, a bill.
Balance due, twenty-three dollars.
What for?
What for? Well, I can't remember all of it, Chester,
but just offhand I can recall the times you came to me with back miseries,
heaves, stomach aches, shooting pains, and wheezes.
Well...
And then there was a time you broke your toe, kicking the can that had a rock in it.
And the splitter that I had to remove when you sat on the rear chair.
I know, Doc, but then wasn't official cause. Not most of them was.
Well, according to my calculations, that bill represents just about one-tenth of what you really owe me.
Well, I never.
I'm ready for another beer. How about you, Matt?
I think that's fine.
Me too.
Chester, now that you have money, I think you should consider your responsibilities.
My what?
Like buying around a drink for the house.
You don't mean to fall in sponges in there, buddy.
Well, it's usual when a man has money like you have.
That's right.
Well, now, that could come to five dollars or better.
Well, you can afford it.
Well, now, wait a minute, Kitty. I think you're leading Chester into bad habits.
When a man has wealth, he should use it wisely. He should contribute to his community.
Now, for example, you take the U.S. Marshal's office. Now, there's an old stove there.
That's the worst.
Well, if you know the right combination, but it smokes up the whole place.
Now, there's the Marshal's mattress, for example.
Well, yes, now, the governor would take care of them things.
Yeah, but they don't, Chester. So I thought that some wealthy, public-spirited citizen would.
How about those things, Chester?
Yeah, how about my bill?
The mattress.
I sure didn't never believe my best friend would dog a man just cause all of a sudden he's got rich.
Well, who's dogging you?
You are. All three of you. And I'm downright disappointed.
You know what you are?
What?
You ain't nothing but fortune hunters.
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Chester? Chester? Chester, what are you doing sitting back here in the cell?
Resting my eyes.
Well, the light in the office isn't all that bright now. Come on, let's fix some coffee, huh?
I ain't thirsty.
Well, you mind if I join you here?
It's a free jail.
Oh, thank you. Thank you.
You, uh, you still mad at us?
Oh, I ain't mad, exactly.
It's just that when a man's got business problems like I got, and they keep weighing on him,
a man don't expect his best friends to keep picking and nagging at him.
No, I suppose not.
Mr. Dillon, it ain't easy to be rich. I don't want to go around being show-offy and stuck up,
but like Miss Kitty says, I got responsibility.
Chester, Doc and Kitty and I are interested in just two things,
that you use your money wisely and that somebody doesn't cheat you out of it.
You talk like a little bitty old baby.
No, but you must admit that you haven't had this kind of a money problem before.
Usually it's the other way around, how to get it instead of what to do with it.
Okay. Now, how about some coffee?
Well, I reckon maybe I have thirsted up some.
Good, come on.
Marshall.
Oh, hello, Burton.
Marshall, I want you to arrest Ed Grimes.
Why? Why?
He tried to kill me. I was driving home from town. He bushwhacked me.
He put a bullet right through my hat. Another inch and I wouldn't be here, and I want him arrested.
What makes you so sure it was Ed Grimes? Did you see him?
No, I'd just seen a man ride off, but Ed's the only one that'd want to kill me. You heard him say he would.
Where'd all this happen?
Turner's Crossing.
All right, I'll look into it.
Looking ain't enough. I want him in jail now.
I said I'd look into it, Burton.
I don't like the way you handle your job. I got a right to protection.
Why don't you go find another marshal somewhere? Maybe you'll like him better than...
You can't get away with this, Marshal. I'll tell everybody in Dodge.
Fine, you go tell them.
I will, right now.
Oh, my. I reckon everybody's got problems.
Yeah. Yeah, I guess they have.
You, Chester, you've been standing there long enough. You gonna sit in...
Me?
Yeah.
Well, no, no, no, thank you. I don't think so.
Game too rich for your blood?
Well, it ain't that. There's a chair open if you think you can afford it.
Oh, I can afford it.
From what I hear, you're strictly a penny-anty man.
That ain't so.
There's nothing to be ashamed of. When it comes to poker, there's boys and girls.
Oh, yeah.
And you're a man of your word.
You're a penny-anty man. That ain't so.
There's nothing to be ashamed of. When it comes to poker, there's boys and there's men.
You can always play with the boys.
Play with the boys?
Just you don't let nobody take that chair. I'll be right back.
Show him. Boys, huh?
I'll just get me a clutch of money out of that bank and I'll show that tin horn.
Ten dollars? Yeah, ten dollars.
He'll be showing off, so he'll raise.
I call. I'm gonna treat him so I draw two queens.
Whole house. I've got him.
I bet 25 dollars. He raises.
I just look at him kindly, cold like...
Hello, Chester.
I raise 50 dollars.
What?
Oh.
Ed, I was thinking about something. Where are you going?
I don't know. I really don't know.
Did you hear about Burt Donald? That story he had about being bushwhacking off?
I heard. I heard he accused me, but I couldn't shoot a man from ambush, not even Burt Donald.
Well, Ed, have you had any luck about borrowing the money?
I tried the bank. Mr. Botkin won't loan money on a second mortgage. I'm just finished.
Yeah, well, now, now, now. Don't quit hoping. Maybe Mr. Don't can figure something out.
The notes due tomorrow.
Oh, yeah. I forgot.
Well, come on, Ed. I'll buy you a beer.
Thanks, Chester. I'd like one.
Three hundred and thirty, forty, fifty.
All right, Burt, you just mark that note paid in full and I'll give it to Ed.
Where'd he get the money? Robbed the bank?
Never mind. You got paid and I'll sign it and get out.
I'll sign it. But I ain't finished to him. It's still a matter of him trying to kill me.
How do you take me for a fool, Burt?
What do you mean?
That hat of yours with a bullet hole.
Oh, what about it?
There were powder burns on that hat.
I seen them.
It would have been pretty hard for a man to miss you if he were close enough to cause powder burns.
Well, he did.
You did the shooting, Burt. You took your hat off and you shot a hole in it and you were too stupid to back away.
It was grime.
You say so, I think different. Now, you've got your money. Go buy yourself a new hat.
Dylan, I'll see to it that...
Burt, I'm getting real tired of you. Get out of here and stay away from Ed Grimes or I'm going to break you in two.
Chester.
Yes, sir.
Didn't you tell me Mr. Botkin refused to give Ed a second mortgage?
Yes, sir.
Why did he change his mind?
Well, I don't know. That kindly posled me.
I've been wondering about something else, too.
Yes, sir.
Why is your bank balance down to $18.63?
Mr. Dylan, you ain't got no right to go poking around my bank balance.
All right, I apologize, Chester, but...
It's kind of a coincidence the amount of money Mr. Botkin gave me and the amount that's not in your account anymore.
Well, maybe a small coincidence.
All right, Chester, what happened?
Well, I had a talk with Mr. Botkin, a financial talk, and I underwritten the loan.
You what?
Underwritten. I told Mr. Botkin to take my $350 and keep it until Ed could pay off the balance he owed.
That way I don't have to worry about spending it.
Well, what happens when Ed pays the bank and the money goes back in your account?
Well, when I got that all worked out, Mr. Botkin's going to allow me to have $10 a month.
I figure I can handle that money.
Mr. Botkin's going to allow me to have $10 a month. I figure I can handle that much without all them tycoon worries.
I think you can, if you're careful.
Mr. Dylan, I reckon I just wasn't cut out to be real rich.
I get squirmy and I don't trust people.
You think Cousin Clarence was banking on that? He was pretty mean.
Forget Cousin Clarence. Come on, I'll buy you a beer.
And you ain't mad at me for what I've done?
No, Chester. I'm not mad at you.
Music
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Gunsmoke, produced and directed in Hollywood by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
The story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Vic Perrin and Harry Bartel, with editorial supervision by John Messner.
Featured in the cast were Harry Bartel, Vic Perrin, Ralph Moody, and Jack Moyles.
Harley Bear is Chester, Howard McNear is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty.
This is George Walsh inviting you to join us again next week when CBS Radio presents another story on Gunsmoke.
Gary Moore, Bing and Rosie too. That's showbiz weekdays on the CBS Radio Network.
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