 Down Dodd City and in the territory on west, there's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that's with the U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke. William Conrad tells us that moved west with Young America, and the story of a man who moved with it. I'm that man, Matt Dillon, the United States Marshal. The first man they look for and the last they want to meet. It's a chancey job, but it makes a man watchful, and a little lonely. I can't say I blame you much at that, though. There's not much to be done about it. The law is the law. I can show, but still no. Come on. When do I come to your senses, huh? I didn't decide anything one way or the other, Groney. It's a court order. Enough to clear me. Now, you're not cleared exactly. He just ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to bring you to trial. There wasn't no evidence. Except for them lies, Flag Mellor's girl told. Now, come on, Groney. I'll give you your gun back. Get me jailed for stealing cattle just on the say-so of that old maid daughter of his. Marshal, do I understand right? Are you turning this young cattle thief loose? It's a court order, Flag. Judge Ben says there's no case. No case? My girl's seen him come riding in at daybreak. The night them cattle was took. And he stood up and lied and said he hadn't been out of the bunkhouse. It wasn't me doing a lie on your hard nose, old badger. You're calling my daughter a lie? All right, shut up. Hope your case some if your girl had come in and told her a story. I told you why she wouldn't. She's too dang bashful to stand up in front of the public. Well, maybe so, but the judge couldn't go on hearsay. You call that justice, do you? Under the circumstances, I do, yeah. Chester, do you get Groney's gun? Okay. Well, I got another name for what you're doing, Marshal. Well, is that so? No, thanks, Chester. There you are, Groney. Much obliged, Marshal. I called what you're doing, Hayden, and abetting them out. What are your plans, Groney? I don't know. Hire on at some other ranch, I reckon. Hayden, a rancher in Kansas is going to take on a branded thief, and I'll see to it that they know all about you. Flag, you better reign in that mouth of yours. All right, take it easy, both of you. He shuts up, he won't be bothered. Yeah, but he's right, Groney. You're not going to find a job around here. I wasn't convicted. You weren't cleared either. You telling me to ride out, Marshal? You think of a better idea? Maybe you're right. And maybe I don't care to live around this big-mouthed bull-snaking owl. Maybe I will ride out in good riddance. You've been lucky, Flag. Real lucky. Don't push it too far. I'll catch you within 10 miles of my place. I'll put a bullet through you on- All right, that's enough, Flag. The kids leave it. There's no call to get them out. I'm just warning him. Now, you want to get going, Groney? Might as well. I guess you treated me as good as you could, Marshal. Thanks. Good luck, Groney. So that's the kind of law we got here. Pat a cattle thief on the head and wish him good luck. If he is a cattle thief. Are you doubting my word, Marshal? Judge Benton. A judge Benton. You and him's hand in glove. Coddle him, give him a nice warm cell to rest up in, and hand him back your gun and send him out to do it again. It's about time some of us made some law of our own round-dodge city. Don't try it, Flag. Wouldn't be the first time a rope and cottonwood limb cured a man of steel and cattle. Did you hear me? I heard you. And I hope you heard me good. For your sake, Flag, I hope you heard me real good. Oh, that's off a rough country south of Flag's place. Paws and gullies where you can hide. Fifty heads are stuck. Doc came on about now. I don't know. I'll see what he wants. You go ahead and start doing what I told you. See you later. Hey, Matt, what's this I hear about you running young Groty Beck out of town? I hear behind the times, Doc. It was three days ago. Oh, well, I've been busy. Sorry to hear it, Matt. You're sore because I ran Groty out of town. Flag, Mueller's sore because I coddled him. Well, the truth is I didn't do either one, Doc. Anyway, when did you start taking up for Groty? I like him. He's a good kid. You know, he helped set a broken leg out of Flag's range a couple of months ago? Well, you can tell a lot about a man when you work with him like that. Yeah? Can you tell whether he'll rustle cattle or not? There wasn't a thing against him except that fool girl. Claiming she'd seen him right out that night. And then she wouldn't even show her face in town to tell the judge about it. Oh, she's bashful, Doc. Ah, bashful confounded man. If it's got to do with an outlaw or a killer, such like, there's nobody better than you. But when it comes to women, you haven't got the sense of a good lord give a rabbit. Oh, what are you talking about? Why, anybody with a half a brain would know why that girl lied. How do you know she lied at all? How in the park should I have been looking for you? Ah, hello, Flag. What's the trouble? I had lost another hundred head of cattle last night. Oh? Ah, then Groty Beck wasn't guilty after all, was he? You're saying that, I'm not. It'd be kind of hard for him to steal cattle last night when he rode out of Dodge three days ago. He may have rode out, but he didn't ride far. What? He was seen on my range this afternoon. Now look, Flag, it's possible your daughter's mistaken about it. It wasn't my daughter that's seen him, it was two of my riders. Or maybe you're claiming we're all a bunch of lies. I know that boy, Flag, and he's not a thief. Why don't you stick to doctrine and leave the law to them it can handle it? Suppose you take that advice yourself, Flag. Marshall, I already seen what they expect out of you. Leaving it up to you and Judge Benz cost me another hundred head of stock. So now I'm aiming to use some of my kind of law. There's only one kind of law here, Flag. It's got nothing to do with some riled up brainless mob. It's got nothing to do with much anything as far as I can see. There may be slow sometimes. There may have loopholes, temporary ones anyhow. But you know it's got one thing that your so-called law never has. It's got a margin to take up the slack. That chance to back up and change a mistake before it's too late. Groty Beck said all the margin he's going to get. That's no proof that Groty took him. And just what was he doing on my range? Well, it's just possible he was looking for some way to clear himself. But I'll know that when I find him and talk to him. You better find him in a hurry if you're aiming to talk to him. I better find him able to talk, Flag. If I don't, it's going to be the sorryest day of your life. Mueller's cattle. And Elon? Not yet. Yeah, he's in that poker game over there in the bar corner. Oh, oh yeah. He's been acting real funny, Matt. The last hour and a half he sat in on every game in the house. He stays ten minutes or so and then he moves on to another table. Well, I told him to. What do you mean you told him to? Well, just that. Oh, got anything to do with those cattle? Yeah, I hope so. By the way, Kitty, Doc claims that, uh, Mueller's daughter was lying about Groty Beck. Of course she was. Well, why did she do it? Matt, when it comes to women, you haven't got the sense the good Lord gave a rat. Oh, so help me, Kitty, if I could. Now look, Matt. Groty is a very handsome young fellow, right? Well, I, I suppose he is, I don't know. Well, he is. You take it from me. And every girl in town knows it. He could have his pick of them. All right, so he could have his pick. What about the Mueller girl? Who looks on you? Not exactly the prettiest girl. Say it right out. She's as homely as a mud fence. She never had a man look twice at her no life. Have you ever seen her in town on Saturday the way she follows Groty around? No, I never noticed that particularly. Well, I have. So there you are, Matt. There I am what, Kitty? Oh, hath no fury like a woman scorned. I know. Are you claiming that she lied to get Groty into trouble just because he wouldn't have anything to do with her? It's been done before. It may be, but... Look, look, there's another thing now. Groty lied about leaving town. I just found out he's still here. Well, I knew he was planning to stay. He stopped in here the day you let him out of jail. Just a talk. He has some crazy idea clearing his name. It looks like you know more about this than I do. He's a good boy, Matt. He didn't steal those cattle. Mr. Gung, can I see you a minute? Yeah, what is it, Chester? Well, I think maybe I spotted somebody. Pellet, that table over there, is just playing that name of Pete Crow. Well, he's got an awful lot of cash for a man that looks as ragged as he does. Pete Crow, you know him, Kitty? He's been in here the last two or three nights. Like Chester says, he's free with money. He pays for everything with $5 gold pieces. Gold pieces? Well, that's what those cattle buyers on the strip pay off with. Oh, really? Then he's sure enough you're a man, isn't he? Well, I'm sure gonna find out soon, Kitty. Watch him, Matt. He carries a knife in the back of his shirt. Thanks. Chester. Just stay in the pot and toss in your hand. The bets on the table, boys, have been there long enough. Crow, I want to talk to you. Go ahead and talk, Marshal. Nobody's stopping you. Let's move into that game room at the end of the bar there, huh? Sorry, I'm too busy right now. Chester, will you step behind him and take that knife out of his shirt? Yes, you can. Keep your hands on the table, Crow. I got it, Mr. Dillon. All right, Crow, get on your feet. Big mistake, Marshal. I don't mind. I get going. You've got no right to order me around. Boy, you got that money you've been tossing around there. I figure that's my business. Sure. And your business might be cattle wrestling. Got proof of that, have you? No, but I've got a good hunch that a law don't convict nobody on hunch. No, but Flag Miller probably wouldn't. What are you talking about? You got a choice, Crow. You can tell me the truth and take your chances in court, or you can walk out of here and explain to Flag Miller where you got that money. You know what he'd do. He wouldn't do anything if he got a good explanation. If he didn't steal his cattle. I wouldn't have a chance. He'd know right off. He'd lynch me, sure. I'll tell you all about it. Okay, start talking. That must be them, Mr. Jones. 15 or 20 of them just topping their heads up there, see? Yeah, that's about the size of Flag's outfit, all right? He didn't leave any of them at the ranch. They're starting this way. Heading for home, I guess. All right, Chester, let's wait for him here. Just want him out in the open and full moonlight in case he makes a move. You reckon he'll try him, Mr. Jones? We won't give him a chance to try if we can help him. There's a pigeon behind him, Chester, so you can take his gun as soon as I call him on it. Yes, sir, I'll do it. Here they come. Hey, Flag! I've been hunting cattle rustlers. All right, boys? I've been hunting the same kind of game, Flag. Now, what's more, I caught one. You what? We rode out here to pick up his partner. What are you talking about? What are you trying to pull? Are you claiming my own ranch foreman that tied him in the first? Hawkins' partner is a man named Pete Crow. Nobody named Pete Crow. That's not the way he tells it. There's the two of you that run the cattle off into the river bottom during the night. They need to hold him there for the buyer to pick up. I tell you, I don't even know the man. Well, he wasn't lying when he told me where you had your share of the payoff hidden. Chester and I just found it in the mattress of your bunk. Flag, do you believe it now? It wasn't just him two alone, Marshal. It was a young flag. Crowley had nothing to do with it. Pete Crow told me the buyer was to pick him up tomorrow. Crow and Hawkins had him pinned up in a dead-end gully in the river bottom. But we caught him tonight with the cattle. Crowley's been trying to clear himself. He probably found him and was driving him back to your place. That's what he claimed, Marshal. I guess you were right. You said this could be the sorryest day of my life. When we caught Crowley with the cattle, we hung him. By Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal. The music was composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Sound patterns were composed by Ray Kemper and Bill James. Featured in the cast were Parley Baer as Chester, Howard McNeer as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty. George Wall speaking. Join us again next week for another story of the Western Frontier of America in the 1870s on gun smoke. Is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service?