 The national broadcasting company presents Joel McCrae in Tales of the Texas Rangers From Hollywood another authentic re-enactment of a case transcribed from the files of the Texas Rangers for tonight play for keeps Five minutes past midnight on December 12th several years ago Sheriff Bob Smith is of Bradshaw County, Texas stage the raid on a gambling establishment located on the country road But there were no patrons in the house And the sheriff's face grew dark red as he and the local constable failed to find any evidence There's nothing in upstairs room either sheriff. You're sure of that, huh Jim? Not even a deck of cards See sheriff like I told you I quit the racket yet. This is the fourth time this year you rousted me out of bed I know you're operating Walton and I'm gonna get you for it You're not gonna milk the citizens of this county not while I'm sheriff Look sheriff this happens to be my house. Why don't know why did you finish your business here? How about getting out I guess we might as well go share no Jim We're gonna stay a minute. I want to talk to Walton and you about what I was sure of this rate tonight Jim Dead sure just like I've been sure the last three times because only you and me ever knew about him I didn't tell nobody but you Jim you the constable Sounds like he's accusing you of tipping me off done. I know he tipped your water Better watch what you're saying Bob all that talk about law and order and wanting to pull them. Let me see your wallet Jim Take it out. Let me see it now. Wait a minute sheriff you shut up Come on Jim. I want to see if you're carrying the kind of money an honest man gets for being a peace officer What I carry on me is my own business. Why are you cheap two-bit snake nothing cheap about a few hundred once in a while Be smart sheriff get a few for yourself once you listen to him sheriff He's talking sense. Come on both of you. I'm taking you you can't make anything stick Maybe not but I'm gonna make this counted too hot for both of you I'm gonna run you out of it. Give your hands off me sheriff. You killed him Oh, no, no, you killed him you grabbed his gun and killed him. He was after you Walton I got a gun of my own and I'm the constable. Are you set me up for a frame not necessarily Walton? It's up to you. His body could be moved out of here. What's your play? What do you want? No more chicken mash 50% of your take you can go right on operating with him dead You're crazy fool. You're forgetting something Walton. I'm top dog now and investigating this murder will be my job until a new sheriff is appointed But I don't think I'm gonna be able to solve it The body of sheriff smithers was found the next morning dumped in a ditch by the side of an old wagon road During the next few days constable Jim Dunn conducted a seemingly honest but fruitless investigation Even following the efficient peace officers routine of making use of the state lab facilities at Austin But citizens of Bradshaw were not satisfied nor was the editor of the Bradshaw Times Clippings of his editorials were on file with captain Stinson of the Texas Rangers And the captain sent for a ranger Jase Pearson Want to see me come? Yeah, Jase sit down. There's no acting sheriff appointed by the court of Bradshaw County here Jase I think you better take over about the killing of sheriff Smithers. I'd like to I knew Smithers See that's right. Do you work with him about five years ago when he first took office? Cleaned that County up in three months and cleaned it good. It doesn't look like it stayed clean Jase Not according to this editorial clipping from the Bradshaw Times I've read it. It's gonna be a tough one Jase. No clue to the killer and the trail has had a couple of days to cool off And I better get going before it gets any cooler. You'll hear from me. Uh, Jase Yeah, come I just want to remind you Whoever did it doesn't hesitate to kill a man wearing a badge I reached Bradshaw in the early morning the town was waking up and the Bradshaw Times was turning out its bi-weekly edition I went in to see the editor Frank Carlin So you read my editorials, huh? I'm glad know somebody's reading you've got readers All right people been clipping them out mailing them into our headquarters. Yeah, I guess there's always a handful of people to hold on Wonder what the world would do without them Everybody was so burned the day of the killer then in 48 hours. They want to forget it. It's always that way How about the Constable Jim Dunn? Oh, he's all right. I guess But he's only been Constable for a year. He just doesn't have the experience It'll take the court a couple more days to decide on a new sheriff I better knock out a story on your Rangers coming in might wake the people up again. I'd rather you didn't Mr. Carlin. I'll I'll be around and they'll know soon enough See what you mean Want me to lay off the editorials for a while if you don't mind you know sheriff and I are on different sides of the fence politically but He was an honest man, and I like him. I Got a headline back there all set and gathering dust. It says sheriffs killer caught Ranger give me a chance to use it I found a place to park my horse trailer and put charcoal in a pasture then I headed for the Constable's office and met Constable Jim Dunn They're all a recourse in my investigations Ranger you think I haven't done a good job Maybe those will change your mind. I even checked ballistics with the Austin lab my being here isn't a criticism of you Mr. Dunn I'm here because I was sent until a new sheriff was appointed and to give you help I've done everything possible. I've questioned almost a hundred people I've checked alibis on more than a dozen possible suspects. It's all layer. Yeah Everything's here Everything except the murderer and that's the only thing I'm interested in seeing Mr. Dunn a Little cooperation between us might clean it up I'm I'm sorry. I blew ranger. It's been getting under my skin This murder could have been committed by anybody some bum from a hobo jungle some drunk anybody we can't arrest anybody We've got to arrest somebody somebody definite Exactly where was the body found old wagon road bypasses town about two miles north. Is it fit for a car? Yeah, but you got to go round about to get to it almost 11 miles You won't find nothing there though. I'd like to take a look anyhow Can't we cut cross country on horses? Yeah shorter if you want it. I want to my horse is in a pasture I'll meet you at the edge of town in five minutes Body was found just a little further on you can see the road now not much of a road left I know you sport anymore Sheriff must have had some reason for using it if he came way out here And sheriff's car was found right over here by the side of the road Where was he lying right beside it been dead about seven eight hours when he was found who found him Cowpoke looking for some strays. It's lucky Otherwise the body might have been here for a few days or even weeks before somebody came across it. Yeah You get pictures of the position of the car and the body of course I did anything else Yeah, any exhibits cast the footprints anything like that. No When I got the call I brought a bunch of men out with me I was excited and I didn't think to stop them from trampling around and see why you'd be upset Well, if there was anything to find it's a cinch it isn't here now whether would have wiped it out if your men hadn't You want to go back to town? Yeah, I want to look at the car Yeah How about the exhibits from the sheriff's body? I sent the bullets in the gun in your lab check Verified it was the sheriff's own gun. I'm talking about the clothes. He was wearing You got those haven't you? Sure, I got I got all the evidence there was and you should have sent it all in I Want to look at that stuff too? Let's step it up There's everything old tag everything the sheriff was wearing when he was killed See and this the shirt he was wearing see the blood and bullet holes, don't you yeah How come your lab didn't find any prints on the gun when I signed it in you didn't even have the sheriff's own prints It was wiped clean Hmm Well, this is kind of odd what? Well, the sheriff was shot twice and they dug one slug out of him the other one passed clean through Yeah, according to the coroner's report one slug hit his collar bone that stopped it That's what I mean the course of the bullets both shots fired into the left side just above the kidney But the one that came through came out the right side of his shirt collar here right through his neck What about it? It's a funny course for a bullet to take unless the man who fired the gun was lying down and fired up at the sheriff Yeah, yeah, that's what I figured too. They must have had a fight for the gun He got it, but the sheriff knocked him down and no that isn't the way it happened How do you know? Because the sheriff wouldn't have turned his back on a man who'd just taken his gun Side these powder burn show the gun was being held right against the shirt when it was fired What do you think happened then and the sheriff must have been in some position where he was bent over Forward which he wouldn't be unless somebody was holding him in that position Here stand in front of me for a minute. Now you're back toward me. What are you gonna do? Slip one hand under your arms and then up behind your head in a half Nelson and twist your other arm behind you in an arm lock and Bend you over forward like this Sheriff was held like I'm holding you now the bullets were pumped into him See what I mean that that's just a guess it's a guess I'm gonna back up And if the sheriff was held in a half Nelson in an arm lock, it tells us something else That there were two men in on the murder unless a killer had three hands and used the third one to fire the gun It's pretty smart figure in Ranger only because it's the kind of figure and I've been doing for a long time These the photos were taken at the scene yeah The sheriff's body in the car the car the body moved any before these were taken nope Car was right there with the sheriff flat on his face beside it and less than two feet away from it His right side toward the car Yeah The bullet that passed through the sheriff came out on his right side. That means it should have hit the car, but there's no mark I Don't see that that helps us any it helps plenty done It tells us the sheriff wasn't killed out there. He was killed someplace else and brought out there In just a moment. We will continue with tales of the Texas Rangers Starring Joel McCrae as Ranger Jayce Pearson It's the silver Jubilee on NBC Tonight enjoy 90 minutes of great entertainment on the big show featuring Jimmy Duranty, Ethel Merman, Fred Allen, and your unpredictable hostess Tallulah Bankhead Then theater guild on the air brings you Joan Fontaine and Ray Maland in the delightful comedy The Major and the Minor Later enjoy the sparkling premiere performance of the Eddie Cantor show Featuring recorded visits with such great show people as Al Jolson, Ted Lewis, Sophie Tucker, and Bill Robinson Tonight it's the big show theater guild on the air and the Eddie Cantor show Here all three on NBC We continue now with tales of the Texas Rangers and tonight's case play for keeps an authentic story from the files of the Texas Rangers I Knew the Sheriff Smithers had been killed by two men that his body had been moved after the killing but it wasn't nearly enough It was evening before I figured out my next move a move. I didn't like to make evening ma'am Remember me. Why it's Jayce Pearson, isn't it? Yes, ma'am. Been a long time. Mrs. Smithers. Oh come in Jayce. Come I Suppose you know about Bob. Yes, ma'am, and that's why I'm down here. I came by to pay my respects Funny thing first time Bob brought you through that door. I Never reckoned you might be back someday Looking for a man who killed him. I wish it could have been for another reason, ma'am But Bob kept things working so well here there seldom was any reason for a ranger to come visiting Bradshaw County I know how you fellas keep working along Can I offer you a bite to eat? Please Jayce. Well, that'd be real fine. Ms. Smithers Might help her and me if she could keep a little busy with her hands doing woman things in the kitchen and I tried to eat but Kept remembering the man who'd sat across the same table from me five years before big honest stubborn and unafraid It's mighty nice of you to stop by Jayce Bob would have been happy to see us sitting here again They always said a man with a good appetite was right with the world ma'am I Guess Jim Dunn has already asked you, but do you have any ideas about who might have killed Bob? Oh, no Everything went so well for a few years All I know is the last year. So Bob was upset about gambling He after anybody in particular a man named Walton Lou Walton Has a big house on the south road out of town Bob always says it was a gambling house, but he could never catch Walton. You mean he raided the place a couple of times Last time was The night he was killed Dunn didn't tell me about that Bob was killed after he left their Waltons. I mean Dunn said they didn't find anything so Bob started back the town, but he never got home Mrs. Smithers I Have to ask a favor a favor. I don't like to ask I want to help Jayce every way I can I Want your permission to have Bob's body exhumed for further examination? Is it necessary? I'm not satisfied with the examination that was made here All right, I'd like to have a more thorough examination made for headquarters I'm sending the clothes Bob was wearing for lab check, and I don't want anybody to know about it for now All right You're gonna get him aren't you Jayce? I'm gonna try awful hard, ma'am I've been waiting for you, but maybe you might have turned in for the night I'm going to in a few minutes. I just came back to pick up the clothing exhibits Well, I locked them way again and dig them out. I want to send them on to camp Mayberry for lab tests. Well, all right I'll give you a receipt for them. Okay Dunn yeah In those reports of yours. I didn't see any mention of a man named Lou Walton. Why should they be? I understand that Waltons a gambler and that you helped Smithers raid his place the night Smithers was killed I hear the exhibits You're thinking way out of line on Walton his alibis airtight According to who? According to me. I was with him all night after Smithers left the place You didn't come back to town with a sheriff. No, I stayed at Waltons. Why? Because the sheriff asked me to stay there We didn't find anything but the sheriff figured if I hung around Somebody might show up a call up looking for a game and I'd be able to get him some evidence in There anything else you want to know? No, I guess that lets Walton out. I'll take these things sure. Go ahead See you tomorrow done. Oh kill two four three Done and get those people out and shut down That range is too smart. I try to make things look good for myself and well, I guess I made them look too good How much does he know all he's gonna know you just closed down and stand pat until he wears himself out The sheriff's body was dug up in the examiner's report sent on to Austin Headquarters also had the exhibits. I'd gotten from down My late afternoon of the next day captain stinson telephoned me long distance got a complete report from the lab Please go ahead captain. You were right about the position of the body when the shots were fired Odupse report shows the organs were pierced in a manner that be possible only if the sheriff were bent over forward Good anything else? Yeah, that shirt you set up Lab thinks smithers was killed indoors Why? Some lint stuck to the blood and hell when it dried Analysis indicates it comes from a fabric used in expensive carpeting Violet color. Thanks captain and maybe enough to wind this up Then you're convinced that walton was running a gambling joint mr. Collins was and is I'd swear to her But nobody's been able to prove it You know how suckers are they lose their shirts and keep their mouths shut Thank their in on a smart thing and they help the racketeers to cover up And walton must have been tipped off but he was being raided part of the racket They pay off and get tipped over you ever been in walton's house. No, you know anybody who has been there Well, it's no secret the newspaper man gamble moans good for him my line of type man plays horses I know Howdy ranger howdy Pete you ever been in lou walton's place? Come on. I don't stall teller range. It's important. Well, oh, yeah, I've been there once or twice I only want to know one thing you notice any carpeting in the house carpeting Oh, sure the house is like a palace wall-to-wall carpet all over the place. What color? Well, it's a kind of a purple. I'd say how about saying violet Yeah, yeah, I guess that's what it's called. You've got something ranger Yeah, I'm gonna wake up the nearest judge and get a search warrant for walton You better brush the dust off that headline you told me about I think you're gonna get a chance to use it I was wondering when you get around to me ranger Seems like everybody who wears a badge just loves to poke his nose into my life I wouldn't worry about your nose walton if you want to be smart watch out for your mouth Well, I didn't mean anything ranger just that a man ought to well ought to have a little privacy And you love the death cells at huntsville. They're real private. Well, I I always cooperated The constable jim don't he'll tell you that I'm bet he would Nice carpeting you got here. I like the color. Yeah Yeah, I Let me get you a drink or something ranger all good stuff. I don't have anything but the best You know the old saying the best is nothing too good Walton There's been a strong cleaning fluid used on a piece of this rug One spot faded just a little well, I I spilled some wine I had a party one night the night the sheriff smithers was here last no no before that. Oh Oh, that's right. I forgot Nobody was here the night smithers came No Oh, nobody the uh The constable he stayed stayed most of the night after the sheriff left. Yeah, so he told me Let me show you the rest of the house Upstairs. No, thanks. I just want to look at the walls in this room And sure pretty You know at huntsville. They don't have pretty walls like these just cold concrete and steel bars What do you keep talking about huntsville? I'll tell you as soon as I stand up on this chair and Rip off this new piece of wallpaper Just looking for this small bullet hole Papered over Of course, you know that one bullet went right through the sheriff. The hole was repaped because a heavy picture fell The nail made the hole 38 caliber nail Then I have this rug ripped up and sent to my lab walton No cleaning fluid may it'll wipe out all of a blood trace Even a drop is enough to hang you. I didn't do it. I tell you done shot him. It was done done shot him Hold your wrists out. You'll never get those on me You bet wrong this time gambler now get up. I'm taking you in I took him through town to the county jail and I walked over to the constable's office But done wasn't there. I had to find him quick before he knew I had wall I headed back to the jail and so I turned into the street. I saw something move in the shadows There was another car not far from mine the constable's car and done was getting into it Punctured my tire unit 10 to ktx a unit 10 to ktx a ktx a to unit 10 go ahead unit 10 Unit 10 convinced constable jim done his subject sought in killing of sheriff smithers bradshaw county Attempting getaway headed north on state highway 19 from bradshaw Alert highway patrol and all units for complete roadblock of area order no further radio communication Subject in constables marked car equipped with shortwave receiver We'll do unit 10 Unit 10's car commission will attempt to commandeer another car for pursuit unit 10 10 4 The last part of my call had been a plant a plant I wanted done to hear He'd know he couldn't get more than 15 or 20 miles before he was blocked unless he took some back road And I'd seen him take a north turn out of town toward the wagon road. He dumped the sheriff's body on It was 11 miles for him by car two miles cross country for me I raked charcoal all the way reached the road and rope dragged a couple of dead logs across it We finished just in time I heard the wine of a car coming over the rise in the rough road as the first glimmer of the headlight stabbed the darkness I tied charcoal back in the trees and dropped in the brush to win There's the end of the road don Don't try backing up Now you haven't gotten any tired I'm giving you a chance to surrender don You Forget you You want to shoot it out? Let's go To a smith is when you lifted his gun and killed him with it Good thing for texas all constables aren't like you Come on Walton's waiting for you at the jail Looks like you'll be partners again at huntsville The following week the headlines of the Bradshaw Times read sheriff killers caught Though jim dunn protested his innocence lou walton's confession and evidence submitted by the rangers convinced the court of dunn's guilt Both were sentenced to life imprisonment at huntsville Joe mccray in another authentic re-enactment of a case from the files house the texas rangers Joel mccray is currently seen starring in the universal international technicolor production Cattle drive the cast included tony barrett tom holland byron cain keeter leads and gene bay Technical advisor was captain mt. Lone wolf gonzalez of the texas rangers This story was transcribed and adapted by joel mercott and the program was produced and directed by stacey keats Hal give me speaking Next it's the big show All this and talula bank head two on mbc