 In Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's 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 America. Matt Dillon, United States Marshal. A few minutes, Chester. Tell Doc I'll drop him out later, huh? Young Lee Prentice is up there. He got shot last night. What? Shot? Yes, sir. Happened out at his ranch. Doc thinks you ought to talk to him. All right, let's go. I wouldn't have thought Lee Prentice had an enemy in the world. No, sir. He's about the nicest young fella that's settled around here in a long time. Who brought him into town, Chester? Nobody did. He rode in alone. Doc, don't know how he managed it. Doc, you took a bullet, Lee. It's not bad, Marshal. Doc's got me all fixed up now. Yeah, sure. But you're going to stay right here with me and take it easy for a few days, will you? I'd be putting you out, Doc. Oh, yes, of course. There'll be a nuisance, but I managed somehow. How did it happen, Lee? Did you get in a fight? I didn't even see him, Marshal. It was still dark this morning, and I was going out after my horses. And then a bullet knocked me down. That's all I know. I did an awful lot of shooting the next few minutes, and whoever it was, run off. Yeah. Would it be any particular man, Lee? I'd tell you if I knew, Marshal, I don't want any trouble. All right, I believe you. Oh, man, it's a downright shame when a young fella like Lee comes to dodge and in one year makes as many friends as he has and then gets shot down by some murderer. Now, you've got to find out who did that. I don't have much to go on, Doc. In fact, I don't have anything. Well, I don't care. You've got to do something. Like what? Well, what do you mean, I'm not a lawman. How do I know? Well, there's one thing, Doc, and you, too, Chester. What, Mr. Dylan? I don't say anything about where Lee is. Whoever did this is probably still around. Well, you mean he might come up here and try to finish him off? He might. Chester, you go fetch me one of those shotguns you keep downstairs. You sure, Doc? Okay, Doc, but don't get trigger-happy, huh? I know what I'm doing. The Doc, Marshal. I'm sure sorry for all the trouble I'm causing. It's no trouble, Lee. Oh, all right, man. You go find him something to eat later this afternoon and bring it up here. A nice, oh, say, roast chicken. That'd be just about right. Sure, Doc. I'll be glad to. Yeah, I'd... See you later, Lee. Come on, Chester. We're good supper. It was all my pleasure, Kitty. Have you got time to sit here and watch the crowd for a while? I don't have to be back at work just yet. Sure. Sure, Kitty. Hey, you sit there. Looks like Dodge is in for another big night tonight. Yeah, I suppose. Just think. There's hardly one of these cowboys that won't be broke before morning. Well, they figure it's worth it. Three months' pay in one night? They're crazy, all of them. Well, what would you have them do with their money, Kitty? Well, I don't know. Most anything's better than throwing it away. Well, most of these men have waited a long time for a night or two in Dodge. They don't care what it costs. There's only one cowboy I ever knew who showed any sense. Oh. Must be quite a fella for you to say that, Kitty. Well, you know who I mean, Matt. Young Lee Prentice. Oh. Oh, sure. Remember last year how he drifted it into town and made a killing at Farrell and then swore off gambling? Yeah, he stayed with it, too. I never heard of his going nearer game since. Oh, he hasn't. Took his money and put it in that little ranch of his. You gotta admire the boy. Yeah, Lee's all right. He's sure a lot different from the rest of these saddle bumps. I wonder where he's been lately. He usually comes to town every day or so. Well, uh, Kitty, I'll tell you, Lee's up at Doc's. At Doc's? Then he is in town. Oh, he's been there for a couple of days. Well, what's the matter? Is he sick or something? No, he's not sick. Oh, wait a minute, Matt. Hey, mister. Yeah, you. Come here. What do you want? I'm Kitty. Remember? Yeah, I remember. Well, you don't act like it. You must have been drunker than I thought. I'm in a hurry, Kitty. Look, go on then. I won't tell you. Tell me what? You remember asking me last night if I know anything about Lee Prentice? Did I? You really were drunk. But if you're still interested, Marshall Dillon here just told me he's up at Doc Adams. Oh, well, I don't need him now. Bye. Just a minute, mister. Uh, stranger and dodger. I'll talk to you later, Marshall. Not now. What do you mean later? After I've done what I come here for. What's your name, mister? Jake Harbin. You look like a gunman to me. Why are you looking for Lee Prentice? All right, Marshall. If you're so nosy, I'll tell you. I'm going to kill him. No, you're not. You can't stop me. Jake, uh... What's this all about? I don't know, Kitty. But maybe I'll find out when he comes to...in jail. I'm here just there with him. I want to talk to him. Yes, sir. He's been saying he wants to talk to you, too. He wouldn't tell me nothing. You'd have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you'd have stayed around here last night, Marshall. What do you mean by Cole Cock and the man thrown him in jail? Where are you from, Robin? Baker City. Down on the Canadian River? Yeah. Anybody goes to jail in Baker City? They search him first. What do you mean? You'd have searched me last night. You'd have found this. What is it? Read it. And afterwards, you can apologize to me. What is it, Mr. Dillon? It's a warrant, Chester. And that also says I'm a legal deputy. You can telegraph Ben Goddard for proof if you want. Who's Ben Goddard? He's the sheriff at Baker City. That's all legal, Marshall. Yeah, but who's the warrant for, Mr. Dillon? Lee Prentice, Chester. For murder. I want him dead or alive. I'll turn for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment. But first, any way you look at it, it's murder this Tuesday night when CBS Radio's Mr. and Mrs. North look into the matter of a body that hurtled 30 stories from penthouse to sidewalk. And it's murder, too, when a publicity stunt involving presumably blank cartridges backfires. The details of that neat little plot are very truly yours on yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Also Tuesday night on most of these same stations. The second act of gun smoke. Chester. Yes, sir? Go down and send a telegram to the sheriff of Baker City. Now what you say his name is, Harbin? Ben Goddard. All right. Ask Ben Goddard to verify this warrant for Lee Prentice and also ask him if Jake Harbin here is a legal deputy. You'll find out, Marshall. I expect we will, Harbin. Get going, Chester. Yes, sir. I'll hurry. This warrant says Lee Prentice has wanted for murder, Harbin. It's kind of hard to believe. No, and Lee, well, and you don't know him very well, Marshall. Because he is a murderer, all right. And he'd have been caught a long time ago if they'd have found out where he was hiding. He hasn't been hiding. The leads live here for nearly a year. Right out in the open. So he's all through now, maybe. If this is true. I want to tell you one thing, Harbin. Can you tell me what? Nobody, whether he's a deputy or not, is going to come to dodge and kill a man. Dead or alive, Marshall, you read the warrant. I don't care what it says. You wouldn't like it said that you're protecting the murderer, would you, Marshall? I don't know that he is a murderer yet, but you came pretty close to being one. I was going to explain it to you after I killed him. I didn't want no interference. Well, you got it now. What kind of law do they have in Baker City? Don't they ever give men a trial down there? Sure they do. Why didn't you come here on a rest, Lee, and take him back with you? Are they afraid to put him on trial? Not hardly, Marshall. But they hired a killer like you to come up here and shoot him, huh? Look, it's all legal. In Baker City, maybe it is, but not in dodge. Well, the law's the same everywhere. It should be, Harbin, but sometimes it depends on who's representing the law. I don't aim to argue with you. Now, look, let's get one thing straight. You're not going to shoot Lee Prentice no matter what happens. I'll kill you myself if you try it. OK. OK, Marshall. Why don't you talk to him? Being as you are such good friends, ask him how he'd like to stand trial. I will, Harbin, but you'll stay away from him. You hear? Why, sure, Marshall. I'm just trying to do my duty. Mark says I can leave anytime. As long as he doesn't try to do any hard work for another week or so. I'll take it easy, Doc. You better. Lee, uh, do you ever hear of a man called Jake Harbin? Harbin? Yeah. Yeah, I've heard him. Well, he's the man who tried to kill you. What? How do you know? He's here as a deputy with a warrant for you that are alive. A warrant signed by the sheriff of Baker City. What's the warrant for, Marshall? But I didn't say who. No. It didn't have to. Not if Ben Goddard signed it. It's for the murder of Jim Turner, Marshall. Uh, why did you do it, Lee? I killed him. He tried to shoot me in the back and missed. Well, that doesn't exactly make it a murder, does it? His old man owns Baker City, Doc, and he owns the sheriff and Jake Harbin along with it. That makes it murder. Is that why you left Baker City, Lee? That it killed me if I hadn't. Why don't you go back there and stand trial? Old man Turner'd run that trial, Marshall. I'd hang, sure. No, I won't go back. I'll die here first. Well, I don't blame him, Ed. Or it'd be legal murder, that's what. It isn't legal to fix a trial and hang an innocent man, Doc. That's what had happened, though. You're not thinking of turning him over to this so-called deputy, are you, Matt? Look, Lee, I believe you, and I trust you. Thanks, Marshall. Now, tell me something. Do you trust me? Well, sure do. Of course. Why? Well, you may not like what I'm gonna do. What, Marshall? I'm putting you under arrest, Lee, right now. Under arrest? What for? You know, I don't know. Yeah. Or Stephen. Or Stephen. Heed, old man. It'll do. Well, you're my prisoner now, Lee. My prisoner. Now, come on, let's go to jail. I don't know. I like being a horse thief, Marshall. Well, it beats being a murderer, Lee. And besides, I kinda doubt that we'll hang you for it. Marshall. What? Look, there's Jake Harman. Yeah, I see him. I'd feel safer if you gave me my gun back. Prisoners can't carry guns, Lee. It wouldn't look right. He'll talk you to coming back to Baker City and stand in trial. Still an old man Turner's payroll, ain't you, Jake? I don't take no backtalk from no murderer. Why'd you try to ambush me the other morning, Jake? Afraid to face me? I got a warrant for you, dead or alive. Why should I take any chances? Nobody cares how you die. I care, Harman. Well, you can't stand in the way of a legal warrant, Marshall. And you'll see as soon as you get that telegram from the sheriff. It's too late, Harman. What's too late? I just arrested Lee myself. He's my prisoner now. You what? And as long as he's my prisoner, nobody touches him. Warrant or no. No, you're being tricky, Marshall. What you're asking for, he ain't done nothing. Might be hard to prove, but anyway, I'm holding him for a horse, Stephen. Now get out of the way. I'm taking him to jail. You're forgetting I can kill him anytime I want for free. Like right now, maybe. Hit Lee? No. But it was mighty close, Marshall. I didn't think he'd try it. You got him just in time. The next shot, he'd have killed me. They sure don't care much how they do things where you come from, do they, Lee? There's going to be trouble now, Marshall. Real trouble. It seemed only fair to let the sheriff of Baker City know that his deputy had been killed. So I sent him another telegram. And I soon got a reply. Ben Goddard himself was coming to Dodge. The day was due to arrive, I sent Chester to the stage while Lee Prentice and I waited in the lobby of the Dodge House, along with a couple of friends who thought it might be interesting to see how Sheriff Goddard was going to handle the situation. The stage pulled in about noon. And a few minutes later, Chester and the sheriff walked into the hotel lobby where we were standing. Hello, Sheriff. You're Marshall Dillon. And this is Mr. Green, he owns the Dodge House. Hi, Sheriff. And Mr. Jonas, one of our leading businessmen. Good day, Sheriff. Gentlemen, nice to know you. And you know Lee Prentice. I sure do. You're going to a lot of trouble, Goddard. You an old man, Turner. It's worth it getting you back where you belong. You'll hang sure now. Lee didn't kill Jack Harbin, Sheriff. No? I did. What? He tried to shoot Lee in the back. What difference it made, he's wanted, dead or alive. What are you interfering in this for, Marshall? You got no respect for the law? Not for your kind of law. Anyway, Lee's wanted in Dodge and he's staying here. What about my warrant? You're claiming it ain't legal? You can't arrest a man that I've got under arrest. You're protecting him, ain't you? What you're arresting for? Stealing horses? I don't believe it. I'm bringing the charges, Sheriff. It was my horses he stole. Well, I thought you owned this hotel, Green. What are you doing with horses? Well, I also own a little ranch outside of town. I raise horses. Maybe, but I know you're lying about Lee. Am I? Of course you are. Marshall Dillon, you ain't very smart. No. You'll have to bring Lee to trial, won't you? Of course. You think Green here's gonna swear to that story, under oath? Well, you may be right, Sheriff. I might have to change my mind once I get on the stand. It might be. I couldn't swear to it. I didn't think so. That trial won't last long, and when it's over, I'll take Lee back to Baker City. Marshall Dillon. Yes, Mr. Jonas. What is it? There's something I haven't mentioned. Oh? I kind of figured I'd wait until Lee's trial was over before I did. Well, go ahead, Mr. Jonas. Yeah. Well, the other day, Lee came into my store, and I went out back to fetch him a sack of grain. Is that so? And he didn't know I was watching, but I watched. And I saw him take a handful of money out of my cash pocket. Oh, now, wait a minute. Mr. Jonas, are you charging Lee with robbery? No, not yet, Marshall. I'll wait and see if he gets off for a horse stealing first. Well, Lee, it looks like you're in for nothing but trials and re-arrests and more trials. That could go on for a long, long time. As long as his friends hold out, Marshall, and Lee's got quite a few of them in dodge. You're a pack of crooks cheating the law. That's what you are, including you, Marshall. My prisoner, Sheriff. I won't stand for it, I tell you. What are you going to do about it? We'd like a little man Turner about this. You won't dare tell him, Goddard. You're licked, and you know it. Turner, have you run out of town if you're fool enough to go back? Marshall, I got to take Lee. It's Lee's life or your job, huh? All right, Sheriff, take him. But you'll have to kill me first. Or there's a train east in about an hour. So make up your mind, Sheriff. Want me to follow him, Mr. Dillon? No, Chester, he'll leave. Marshall, gentlemen, I wish I knew how to tell you. Lee. Yes, Marshall? Go on home. But remember, you're still under arrest. And you're going to stay that way until old man Turner's in his grave. Gun smoke under the direction of Norman McDonnell stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshall. Tonight's story was specially written for gun smoke by John Meston with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Featured in the cast were Sam Edwards, Lawrence Dobkin, John Daener, Joe Duvall, and James Nussar. Harley Bear as Chester, Howard McNeer as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty. Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshall, fights to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West in gun smoke. The FBI in peace and war, a manhunt mystery packed with tension, is yours on CBS Radio this coming Wednesday night on most of these stations. George Wall speaking, crime photographer really clicks against criminals Wednesdays on the CBS Radio Network.