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 chance a job that makes a man watchful and a little lonely.
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Well now, Marshal, you come ask what I want for supper? Huh? Or did you just come to see am I comfortable in your jailhouse?
Come on out. What are you thinking? I'm letting you go. Come on out. You're letting me go? After all them things you said I'd done? Well, Marshal, that's one on you.
Come on, get out of there. Oh sure, Marshal, I'll go, all right. I told you all along you wouldn't hold me. You remember I said that? You remember, Marshal?
I remember. Well, maybe next time you ain't going to be so quick to haul a man. You listen to me, Bernie. I'll haul you whenever chance I get and the quicker it is the better I'm going to like it.
Well, you just have to let me go. Don't count on it. If I catch you hanging around, Dodge, I'll arrest you for disturbing the peace and that's a charge I can make stick by myself. Well, you can't do that. You just try me.
Now go on, get out of Dodge while you still can.
What'll it be, Marshal? I'll have a beer, Sam. Okay, Marshal. There you go. Thanks.
Hello, Matt. I didn't see you come in. You look mighty interested in that poker game over there. Oh yeah, I always get nervous when mistakes get that big. Everybody paid off though. No trouble this time anyway.
Yeah, I'm glad to hear it. Well, sit down. You haven't been in here for so long. No, thanks, Kitty. I haven't got time right now. Well, I guess I'll have to be grateful for small favors.
Huh? How's that? Bet I'd catch a glimpse of you at all. Oh, Kitty. Here comes Doc. Oh, yeah. I'll be here, Doc.
I see you. I see you. You don't suppose I could miss the sight of your big frame cozy enough for that bar? Hello, Kitty. Hello, Doc. Have a drink?
Ah, yes. I don't mind if I do. A beer for the Doc, Sam. Sure, Miss Kitty. Oh, it's nothing like beer to wash the prairie dust down a man's throat.
You just stopped the road, Doc? Nine miles out, nine miles back. There's a new baby at the lorry place. Here you are, Doc. Oh, thank you.
How's Molly, Doc? Oh, she came through fine. She doesn't really need me at all. She knows more about it than I do, but no.
How many did this make it? Seven. And I suppose I'll be going out there again this time next year. You ought to give them a bargain rate. No, no, not for that trip.
Oh, I see. On the way I passed Art Burney, riding hard for his old man's place. Yeah. I thought you had him locked up.
I did, Doc. I still ought to have him locked up. What happened? We got a wire from Abilene saying to release him. They've arrested another man for the murder. They're bringing him here.
Well, then, Art has the right to go free, doesn't he? That's what they tell me. You still think he's guilty, man?
I'll say this. I sure don't think he's innocent. Oh, you had to let him go? Yeah. For now, I had to let him go.
Pa? Pa? Me, Pa?
Get your belleron come in the house. Sure, Pa.
I told that big marshal he wasn't ever going to hold me. He let you free, didn't he? He sure did, Pa. He sure did. I know what he would.
Ain't no jailhouse going to hold Art Burney, Pa. You know that. You feel proud. Well, sure, Pa. They could make you prideful, too.
Me riding the way laughing at that marshal. You know why they let you go? They just couldn't hold me at all, Pa. I'm too smart for them.
They let you go because they arrested your brother, Junius. Their what? They took in Junius over to Abilene.
For that same shootin'? For that same shootin'. Well, there ain't no sense in that. Old Jun wasn't no near in ten miles to the holdup that night.
I figured you'd know that for sure. Well, I'm... Yeah, I know it, Pa. But they can't hold old Junius. Who told you to let him lock him up? Maybe there's some mistake.
There's no mistake. Old Brackett come by. He was in the telegraph office in Dodge when the wire come in. They got Junius. They let you go free.
Well, that ain't right, Pa. That just ain't right. Old Jun didn't have nothing to do with it. He can't even shoot straight.
Then you'd better fix things up. Oh, sure, Pa. I'll fix things. Better fix things so nothing happens to your brother Junius.
There ain't nothing gonna happen to old Jun, Pa. I'll see to that for certain. It ain't fit that a man pays for what he never done.
That's the truth, Pa. And it ain't fit neither that a man let another man do the payin'.
Well, I'll get him, Pa. I'll get him. You know I always took care of old Jun. You bring him home.
Well, sure, Pa. I'll bring him home.
Music.
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Music.
A breakfast sure tastes better when you don't cook it, Mr. Dillon.
I like them better cooked myself.
Oh, well, now of course they ought to be cooked. But I claim it's better when somebody else cooks it but me.
Yeah.
See, Mr. Dillon, what I mean is I don't think that anybody—
All right, all right, Justin, never mind. You might as well go down and pick up the mail, huh?
Yes, sir, I'll do it.
I'll be in my office.
All right, sir, I'll bring it right there.
Marshal?
How's it?
Me, Marshal. Art Burney.
I told you to stay out of Dodge, didn't I?
Well, I come to see about my brother, Junior.
What about him?
You know what about him right now. He's been took in for that shoot and you got him in that jailhouse.
Not yet, I haven't been doing it in a couple of days.
Well, now you listen to hear, Marshal, they no sense to holding old June. They no sense at all.
How do you figure that?
Well, you're holding him for that killing, ain't you?
That's right.
Well, old June never killed nobody in his life. He wouldn't even know how.
The sheriff in Abilene thinks he did.
Well, I know different. Old June, he went within ten miles of that holdup that night.
You're pretty sure of that, aren't you?
I know that for a fact.
You tell it to the judge.
How's that?
Your brother will be standing trial in Hayes City next week. All you have to do is tell the court what you know.
Well, you know, I ain't fool enough to walk into no court.
It's up to you.
Listen, Marshal, it just ain't right. You just can't hold old June.
We'll hold him, all right, unless we got somebody else where they kill him.
You remember that.
And if you have anything more to say, I'll be in my office.
Well, I'll be back, Marshal. I'll be back.
Mr. Dillon? Mr. Dillon?
Yeah, Chester.
Mr. Dillon, there's this telegraph just coming in.
Oh, thanks.
Will I go get the horses?
What?
Mr. Dillon, if we're going to take the prisoner off the stage at that relay station, we've got to hurry.
You should take more time reading my telegrams, Chester.
Well, I just happen to see it, Mr. Dillon.
Well, you didn't see it right. It's tomorrow we meet the stage.
We'll leave in the morning.
I'm sure we must be in a hurry to get this fellow, Mr. Dillon.
Haven't we taken him off the stage way out here?
That's because of the judge. He has to get to learn it. They're pushing the trial up.
It's all right with me.
For most prisoners, any incentive to get out of prison is to get out of prison.
But I'm sure we'll get to that.
I'm sure we'll get to that.
I'm sure we'll get to that.
I'm sure we'll get to that.
Well, the trial up, Chester. It's all right with me. For most prisoners, any incentive to hurry is you.
Well, if you ain't done nothing, you ain't got nothing to worry about.
Ain't that so, Marshal?
Yeah, if you can prove it to the judge.
He'll believe me, Marshal.
A man like a judge with all his learning is bound to believe me.
I ain't never been one to lie much.
The judge has to believe the evidence. They tracked your horse, Junius.
Well, that don't say I was ridin' it.
You better find out who was ridin' it, then.
Well, I won't have to find him. He'll come if I need him. He'll come.
You'll need him.
Mr. Dillon will kill him.
And the dust is raisin' somebody sure is ridin' the dust in a hurry.
Yeah. Let's wait and see who it is.
You ain't supposed to be takin' him yet.
Hello, Arc. You said he'd be in dark for a spell.
They moved the trial up.
Well, he ain't gonna stand no trial.
I told you, Marshal.
I told him Junius how he could fix it.
Ain't nobody gonna go to no court.
You let my brother Junius go, Marshal. Let him go right now.
Marshal, I'm warnin' you...
And I'm warnin' you, Arc, don't you draw on me ever unless you mean it.
Well, I mean it about freein' June.
All right, Arc, draw.
Now go ahead. Draw.
That's all right, Arc. No need for shootin'.
You come along to the trial. You can tell the judge.
I'll wait, Arc. I can wait.
Don't worry, Junius. Don't you worry about a thing.
I guess Arc wants to tell Pa about it first.
Yeah. Yeah, I guess he does.
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Music
Footsteps
Well, that sure didn't take long, did it, Mr. Dillon?
No, Chester didn't.
Need much time at all for a man to have his life ruled away from him.
Yeah.
It just don't seem right, even with all that about the horse
and the money bag being found near him and all such as that,
I kept thinking somebody'd come up with the real story.
Yeah, Junius thought so too.
Mr. Dillon, if he knows who done it, why don't he speak up?
I don't know, Chester.
Maybe he doesn't know for sure.
Maybe he won't speak up against his brother, I don't know.
You think Art did it all right, don't you?
Yeah, but I can't prove anything any more than Junius did.
Marshal?
Come on out, Art.
Is it over?
Yeah, it's over.
He was found guilty.
They can't do nothing like that to old Jun, Marshal.
They've done it, Art, and they're gonna hang him.
Unless he talks, or you do.
Jun won't let me talk.
You sure?
Oh, sure I'm sure.
My brother ain't.
Yeah.
I want about something.
What?
For you, his brother.
Come on, Chester, let's get away from him.
Music
Hello, Matt.
Is it all over?
Yeah, it's all over.
An ugly business.
Well, hanging him's supposed to be pleasant.
I couldn't do a thing, Doc.
I'm sure he was innocent, and I couldn't do a thing.
He never talked?
No, not once.
It was as though he was proving how he could be brave.
And he was.
He's probably trying to prove he could be as brave as that bombastic brother of his.
He'd probably been waiting for this chance all his life.
Well, he got it.
And of course, if you're right about things, his brother's really a coward.
Yeah, Doc, if I'm right, he's a coward.
Mark?
Mark, don't ask me, Pa.
Don't ask no question.
You left your brother.
Your brother's dead.
Yes, I left him.
He's dead.
Couldn't rightly help it.
You could help it.
No, Pa, I tried.
Road to Dodge or road to Hay City, I talked myself blue with that marshal.
But you never talked straight.
Pa, I told him Junior's never done it.
Did you tell him how you know for sure he never done it?
Pa.
Did you speak up in court where it got it?
Listen, Pa, no way I could have done it unless...
Unless what?
You know, you know, Pa.
You tell me, Ark.
Unless they'd have hung me instead.
I figured.
I had to hear it from you, but I figured.
Now you hear me, Ark. You hear me good.
We Burnett's ain't never been much, but we stood far home.
No, listen, Pa...
I ain't your Pa, not no more.
Ain't no son of mine who won't stand up for his brother.
I tried.
I...
I just couldn't do it.
You keep the horse, you get right on him, you ride on out.
Don't you never come back.
Go on now.
Don't you never come to my door again.
But it's the home place, Pa.
I'm your son.
I ain't got no son.
Chester, if you insist on whistling, would you mind doing it outside?
Yes, Mr. Dung, I just thought it might kind of cheer you up, son.
Mm-hmm.
Mylan, you've been crossing a barrier lately, even Miss Kelly says so.
I figured this might help.
Well, it doesn't, Chester.
Yes, sir.
Marshal?
I'm tired of seeing you, Ark Burnett.
I told you I'd lock you up if you hung around Dodge.
You won't have to, Marshal.
No, you just watch me.
Now, wait a minute.
Wait, look.
Marshal, I've been wrong a lot, ain't I?
And that's...
I was wrong about my brother, wasn't I?
They hung him.
Yeah.
But you know he never done that, Marshal.
You were the only one who could prove it.
Yeah, I was.
I'm the one who should have paid for it, too.
Is this a confession?
You won't need no confession.
You remember when I wouldn't draw on you that time on the road, Marshal?
I remember.
When you faced me right down, I turned tail and I run.
That's right, I remember.
I ain't never running no more, Marshal.
I'm paying up.
I'm drawing on you now, Marshal.
Or his gun!
Marshal, tell my father I tried to square it.
Tell him I...
He's dead.
Yeah.
Hand me his gun, Chester.
Mr. Dunn, I could have swore he had you out-brewed.
Yeah, Chester, he did.
The gun's empty.
Well, it ain't like Arc to make a mistake like that.
He didn't make a mistake, Chester.
He was trying to make up for one.
He was paying up the only way he knew how.
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For longer, stronger coverage of world happenings, it's expanded CBS News on CBS Radio.
You can depend on it.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed in Hollywood by Norman MacDonald, stars William Conrad
as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal.
The story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Marion Clark, with editorial supervision
by John Metzman.
Stated in the cast were Lawrence Dobkin, Ken Lynch, and Vic Perrin.
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.