 Keeping your wife in an ivory tower won't ensure you her devotion. Once she gets tired of it, neither your money nor your guns will hold her. Have gun. Will travel. Starring Mr. John Dana as Paladin. San Francisco. 1875. The Carlton Hotel. Headquarters of the man called Paladin. Go on back to my room. Sure you want another drink? No, no thanks. Meet you downstairs in the morning. I'll be ready. Good night. Good night, Jeremiah. Hello, Miss Wong. Oh, turn down the bed now? Yes, come in, Miss Wong. Oh, and if you don't mind, you can help me pack before you leave. You go away again so soon? Looks that way, Miss Wong. First thing in the morning. Hard to tell. It's such an unusual job. How so? Did you see that man who left my room? He's a very famous man. One time. Jeremiah Smoot. Or Jeremiah the Avenger they used to call him. Oh, why was he famous? He was the man with the lightning draw. The fastest gun this side of the Mississippi. Feared by every gunfighter in the west. And you know what he wants me for? No. Why he wants you, Mr. Paladin? He wants me to be his bodyguard. Oh. This is the cold season. What do medical authorities say about the common cold? Doctors tell us there's no known drug which will cure a cold. There are effective medications for treating complications, accompanying or following a cold. If you've been taking sensible precautions and still have one cold after another, it's best to see your doctor. And here's another important health tip. When you have a cold and need a laxative, that's the time to rely on gentle x-lacks. Pleasant-tasting chocolatey x-lacks helps you toward your normal regularity gently overnight. X-lacks gets along with any cold remedies you may be taking, and x-lacks works where nature wants, in the lower track, not the stomach. X-lacks is so gentle, so close to natural acting, there's no upset, no urgency or discomfort. Next morning, you're well on your way toward your normal regularity. So when you have a cold and need a laxative, take x-lacks, the laxative you can use with complete confidence. X-lacks helps you toward your normal regularity gently overnight. X-lacks. I must admit I was intrigued with the irony of the situation. Jeremiah the adventure, the man who could take care of himself, and the other man in the west, hiring me to protect him, from himself as it worked out. The reasons for his strange action were revealed as we rode south through the Salinas valley on our way to his spread. We were the only two passengers left on the stage after King sit in, and last he could speak freely. See, Paladin, I hung up my guns when I got married. That's what Polly wanted, and Polly's what I wanted, so we up and did it. Came out here from west Texas, started this spread down the Chibusco, and everything worked out fine. Nobody knew who I was, or who Polly was, for that matter. Was she? Well, if you must know, she was an entertainer. That's the bird cage in Abilene. Oh, I see. Well, them kind often make the best wives. I heard. Well, Polly did. All right. You got no cause making any remarks about her. Look, Gerard, I wasn't making any remarks. I was agreeing with you. No need for you to be so touchy. Yeah, I guess maybe I am am I. It's all the fault of this here neighbor of mine, this Ezra Mason. What has he got to do with you being touchy? Oh, seemed like he finds some excuse to drop in over to my place almost every day, say howdy to my wife. I don't trust him, really, but I don't trust him. Now, that's what I'm paying you for, Polly, and to straighten this thing out. If I tried to, I only know one way, with a 45. I can't do that, because I promised Polly I was through with gunplay from the minute I slipped that ring on her finger, and I mean to keep that promise. You sound like a mighty devoted husband, Jerry. Devoted? I just told you I hung up my guns for Polly. But for me, that was doing a lot. Yes, it was, Jeremiah. An awful lot. Howdy, Stephen. This here's senior Paladin going to stay with us this spell. How are you? Uh, Stephen. And it didn't happen whilst I was away. No, senior, all has been quiet. No visitors. No, senior, none. Good. All right, you take care of the horses, Stephen. Come on, Paladin. I want you to meet the little woman. The cigarette should Winston tastes good like a cigarette should Winston gives you real flavorful rich tobacco flavor Winston's easy drawing to the flavor comes right through to you Winston tastes good like a cigarette should A modern filter, sure Winston has it, but that's only the beginning of a Winston. Up front, up where it really counts, Winston packs exclusive filter blend, light, flavorful tobaccos, specially selected and specially processed for filter smoking. Filter blend. That's why it's fun to smoke Winston. America's best selling filter cigarette. Winston tastes good like a cigarette should Although Jeremiah had prepared me for a great deal, he had not done his wife Polly justice. She was beautiful, frail, blonde, her skin almost translucent to a white orchid. She receded me in the dark and living room of the Hacienda where her paleness seemed to shine where the windows were heavily curtain from the midday sun and only a glimmer of daylight retreated before the steady glow of the candles which surrounded her chair like a shrine. You must forgive me for not meeting you outside, Mr. Paladin. That's alright, ma'am. I never go out of doors in the daylight. She freckles too easy. Yes, Jeremiah, I feel your Polly will always be a night bird. Mr. Paladin's from San Francisco, Polly asked me to stop and visit with a dispel. Oh, nice. How is San Francisco, Mr. Paladin? Is it as gay as they say? Well, yes, I suppose it is. How long has it been since you've been there? I've never been there, but I've always dreamed of going. Jeremiah keeps promising to take me, but he never does. Perhaps you would show me San Francisco someday, Mr. Paladin? Yes, of course, Mrs. Smith. Before you do, Paladin, I'd like to direct your attention to that wall over there by the fireplace. Ah, yes, the guns. That's right. They're beauties. That's where I hung them when Polly made me promise not to use them. Don't you be doing nothing to make me want to break that promise. Jeremiah, I was only joking when I asked Mr. Paladin to show me San Francisco. Oh, I know you were. I just want to make sure he knows it. Well, we better get along and let you take your beauty nap, Polly. About sundown. Yes, about sundown. I come alive at night for, Mr. Paladin. Yes, ma'am. See what I mean, Paladin? A regular lady. Yes, indeed. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her, except break my promise to take down my gun. That's why I keep them over in her place. Her place? Don't you live there, too? No, no, no. I sleep in the main house. She asked for her own separate wing, and I got it. And it works out real nice, you know. Sort of exciting. You have to call on your own wife. Yes, I suppose it would be. As long as I'm the only one that's calling. And that's where I come in. That's right. You got to break up her friendship with Mason before I'm forced to kill him and lose Polly into the bargain. I'll get to work on it this afternoon. After lunch, I saddled up and rode over alone to pay a visit on Ezra Mason. I found him out by his corral. A younger man than Jeremiah. I must admit, a better-looking man. And I soon discovered a man who was none too friendly. Mind stating your business? No, not at all. I fear to be lost. I thought you might be able to give me some directions. Where are you going? Well, I'm looking for Jeremiah the Avenger. Jeremiah the Avenger? Who's he? You mean to say you've never heard of him? Not likely. I'd have remembered a name like that. He was a famous gunfighter. He had a draw like lightning. Is that a fact? Nothing ever seemed like old Jeremiah. But I hear he got himself married and promised his wife he'd quit gunfighting and heard he got himself a spread out in these parts. I never heard of an old Jeremiah the Avenger around here. Oh, well, of course he did have a regular name. Smooth it was. Smooth. There's a... there's a Jerry smooth on down the valley of peace. Well, that must be him. Yeah, but... he doesn't look like no gunfighter to me. You got himself a young wife? Yeah. Name of Polly? Yeah. Pretty? Why, I'd say so. Oh, friend. You better not say so where Jeremiah can hear you. Why not? When he put up his guns, like Polly asked him, he vowed there was only one reason he'd ever take him down again. Why is that? To kill the man who tried to take his wife away from him. They don't call him Jeremiah the Avenger for nothing. He's mean. Nasty mean. Jealous. Well, on down the valley you say, huh? Thanks for the directions, friend. Well, that's not all. 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Jeremiah and I were too tired to be very entertaining, so we turned in early and I fell immediately into a deep sleep. Some time later, I was awakened by the sound of shots. I jumped out of bed, pulled out my trousers, and rushed into the patio. There in the moonlight lay the still body of Ezra Mason, and crouching over it, the huge frame of Jeremiah. He made no effort to deny that he had shot and killed Ezra Mason, and he wanted to give himself up. So he sidled up and rode into town to see the sheriff. So you finally up and did it, Jeremiah. Reckon so, Sheriff. Tried to hold on to my promise. Even hired Paladin here to keep me from my guns, but it weren't no good. And you see a dirty sneak heading in your wife's direction, you shoot first and talk after. Well, you had it coming to him, I reckon. Of course I'm gonna have to hold you without bail, Jeremiah. Yeah, I understand. Bet you'll be out of here mighty quick. You don't have to be no learned judge if a man's got a right to protect his property. You know something, Sheriff. It don't really seem to matter now. What don't matter? Whether judge lets me go, or the boy strangle me up, I just don't care. Just don't seem to care. Sure, sure. You get some sleep now, Jerry, and don't you worry none. Come on, Paladin. Good night, Jeremiah. Poor fella's upset. Can't blame him, though, killing a man in cold blood. That never upset Jeremiah the Avenger before, Sheriff. Jeremiah the Avenger? Yeah, that's right. I keep forgetting the reputation he used to have. I don't think he killed Mason. Oh, he admits to it. He had plenty of motive. Well, he even warned me. He told me weeks ago that if Mason didn't stop hanging around his place, there'd be trouble. I know. But he also was so afraid he'd break his word and put on his guns again that he hired me to keep him out of trouble. Still, there he was when you found him standing over the body, holding his own gun in his hand. That's true. That's all the evidence any judge or jury would need. And it's all circumstantial, isn't it? Yeah. All right. Then listen to some more evidence. Inferential evidence. Jeremiah was known to be the deadliest shot in the West, wasn't he? That's right. He never took more than one round to finish off his opponent. He was a great artist. Ezra Mason was murdered by an amateur. A butcher of bullets. What do you mean? Three shots were fired into him. Two completely missing the vital areas. One in the leg, one in the shoulder. Now, if the third bullet, a lucky blow, hadn't gone through the brain, Mason would be alive this minute. No, Sheriff. You can never convince me that such inept marksmanship was the work of Jeremiah. Well, if he didn't do it, who did? Maybe I can find out for you, Sheriff. Munch munch Fritos corn chips. Fritos are the perfect after-school or between-meal snack. Golden chips of corn just made to munch. A nutritious treat for children and grown-ups alike. Fritos corn chips are full of such good, crisp flavor. Such good for you nourishment. There's contentment in every munch. Munch munch munch munch Fritos corn chips. Whenever you want good munching, get Fritos corn chips. Whenever you want to add zip to a lunchbox, to salads, soup or sandwiches, serve Fritos corn chips. They're America's favorite. Golden chips of corn just made to munch. F-R-I-T-O-S. Fritos corn chips. Munch munch munch munch Fritos corn chips. Polly was still awake when I got back to the ranch. I found her lying back on her chaise longue surrounded by flickering candles. On the wall by the fireplace hung Jeremiah's gun belt and, as I expected, one of the guns was missing from its holster. The sheriff arrested him? Oh, yes. Took his confession, locked him up. What will they do to him? Ooh, not a great deal. He'll get out. He'll get out? You know, the unwritten law. The right of a man to protect his home and family. Aren't you relieved? No. You hate your husband, don't you? Of course I hate him. He treated me like the livestock, like a special and rare specimen. Polly, his nightbird, he called me. He gave me everything I asked for, only... only I didn't love him. But you did love Ezra Mason. Yes, and he loved me, or I thought he did until tonight. And when you found he didn't, you killed him. I didn't kill him. Jeremiah killed him. He confessed to it. The sheriff's arrested him for it. He confessed to protect you. Mason was killed with one of Jeremiah's guns, the one that's missing from that holster on the wall there. Now, he couldn't have used it. He was asleep in the main house. You shot Mason, dropped the gun by his body and ran back here. Jeremiah was wakened by the noise, so was I. I found him standing over the body holding the gun because that's the way he wanted to be found. He knew you had shot Mason, but he wanted it to look like he did. I may have shot him, but Jeremiah killed him. That doesn't make much sense. Do you know why Ezra Mason came here tonight? No, but I can guess. He came here to say goodbye, to call the whole thing off. He was walking out on me. Why? Because he loved himself more than he did me, just like Jeremiah. Just like every man when the chips are down. Men, they don't know what love is. They're the takers of the world. Well, this is one little lady that's been taken for the last time. I'll tell you why Ezra wanted to walk out on me, Paladin, because he was afraid. Afraid? He didn't know who Jeremiah really was until you had to go and tell him. I was doing my job. Oh, you sure were. So when Ezra learned who Jeremiah really was, he didn't waste any time making it clear that I wasn't worth risking his neck for. How don't you see, Paladin, he was afraid. He was a coward, and I thought he was a man. A woman would do anything for a man, but there's only one thing to do for a coward. Shoot him. So I did. I see. But it hasn't turned out badly, really. Jeremiah will be acquitted, and by the time he's free, I'll be gone out of his life. Gone? But he confessed to this murder to protect you. Exactly. To buy me, to put another bar on my cage. And how he'll use this to make me tow the mark. Now, no longer I won't be here. Where will you go? I was... I was thinking of San Francisco. You promised to show it to me, remember? I remember. And I believe you're a man, Paladin. You wouldn't be afraid of any man, would you? Not even Jeremiah the Avenger. Regardless of the question of my personal courage, there's a matter of my personal integrity. I happen to be in the employ of Jeremiah at the moment. Well, then quit as of this moment and take me to San Francisco with you right now. You amaze me. Don't you find me attractive? Oh, yes, very. I don't usually have to ask. I'm sure of that, but these are rather unusual circumstances. You won't regret it. You seem to have ignored a rather depressing fact. What's that? A murder has been committed here, and you are the confessed murderer. Who knows but you. Forget it, Paladin. Come on, let's get started for San Francisco. No. Let's get started for town. You really mean it, don't you? I'm afraid I do. No. No, I won't let you. Keep away from there. No. He hung up his guns because I asked him to. So who is a better right to use them? I'll use this one on you. One gun for Ezra and one gun for Paladin. Drop it. Drop it. You would shoot me, wouldn't you? If I had to. You are a man, really a man. Don't shoot me, Paladin. Love me as I deserve to be loved. Take me away from here, take me with you. I'll take you away from here, Polly. To San Francisco. That depends on where the judge wants to hold your trial. Hi, buddy, Charlie. I will. Enjoy Pepsi at the fountain. It's delicious at home, too. Have one at lunch or with a snack. Charlie. At the beach or at dinner. Wherever you go, wherever you're thirsty. Pepsi is there. It's here, too, in our B-Socibel song. B-Socibel looks smart today with Pepsi. Drink like refreshing Pepsi. Stay of a Pepsi. For the weekend, have plenty of Pepsi around. Pick up an extra carton today. CK, I'm sociable. With Pepsi, everyone is. Have Gun, Will Travel. Created by Herb Meadow and Sam Roth. He is Proteost and directed in Hollywood by Frank Parris. And stars John Daener as Paladin. With Ben Wright as Hayboy. And Virginia Gregg as Miss Wong. Tonight's story was specially written for Have Gun, Will Travel. Created by William M. Robson. Featured in the cast were Lauren Stopkin, Jack Moyles, Bill Eidelson and Lynn Allen. This is Hugh Douglas inviting you to join us again next week when CBS Radio presents Have Gun, Will Travel.