 Wrigley's Spearman chewing gum, the refreshing, delicious treat that gives you chewing enjoyment, presents for your listening enjoyment, Edmund O'Brien as... Johnny Dollar. Your call to the Blood River is ready. Oh, Deputy Gray. Yeah, is this Mr. Dollar? Yeah, right. I've been assigned to the Colburn shooting. Oh, I got... Well, I have to ask you a favor. I got a plane space to Parkinson, and I understand there's a bus to a place called Avide, but I can't find any transportation into Blood River. Oh, there is. Oh, good. I'm due to arrive at four tomorrow afternoon. Say, what about Colburn? Did he make a statement? Oh, yeah. The makers of Wrigley's Spearman chewing gum bring you Edmund O'Brien in another adventure of the man with the action-pact expense account. America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator... Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. To make every day more enjoyable, treat yourself often to refreshing, delicious Wrigley's Spearman chewing gum. Here's a taste treat you can enjoy indoors, outdoors, at work, or at play. The cool, long-lasting mint flavor refreshes you. The smooth, steady chewing helps keep you fresh and alert, adds enjoyment to whatever you're doing. Wrigley's Spearman chewing gum, healthful, refreshing, delicious. Expense accounts submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar to Tri-State Life and Casualty Company, Hartford, Connecticut. The following is an accounting of my expenditures during investigation of the Blood River matter. The expense account item won $240, transportation, and incidentals between Hartford and Parkinson. I was paid at the airport and given a note that directed me to St. Paul's Hospital, where I was met by Deputy Sheriff Tom Gray. I brought Colburn in here this morning trying to pump some blood into him, I guess. Nothing like a hospital out in Blood River. Any improvement? Yeah, I don't think so. Slugs him a 45, four of them. It was me that left him where he was, moving him 40 miles, didn't do him no good. And what did this insurance company send you out for? Just a routine check and a policy hold to get shot up. They liked to know why and by whom. How much insurance do you have? $50,000 worth. Oh, I didn't know that. Who does it go to? Frank Colburn, a son, and Mary Colburn, a daughter. Do you have any leads, Sheriff? Leads? Oh, I got what the hard girl said. What was that? I didn't hear about it. Oh, she was a witness. She was in the kitchen that night. Man knocked on the door, asked for some grub. Old Colburn walked in, started to show him away, and a man shot him down. Have you got him? Oh, not yet, but if Posse's out hunting him, we'll find him. Come on, operating room's down this way. Not yet, Mary. Hello, Frank. I didn't know you two were here. Yeah, we came in as fast as we could. Now, this is $1. He's from your pa's insurance company back east. Miss Colburn, Frank, it was sent for you, $1. The insurance company was notified of the shooting. They asked me to come out. Why? I don't think this is the time to talk about it. It's just the way they work, Frank. I like to look into things like this. Come on, darling, here. Oh, Tom, wait. Can't we go in, too? The doctor told us to wait here, but we've got a right to go in if anybody here. Well, I guess you have, Mary, but the doctor probably thought it'd be easier for you this way. You know, if something went wrong, you know. Well, it isn't. I want to be with him. I have a right to be. All right, Mary, if that's the way you want it. You too, Frank? I don't see how it'll do anybody any good, but I'll come. The son, Frank, was a huge man, well over six feet in his high heel boots. But the figure on the operating table must have towered over him during better days. I learned later that Max Colburn was more than a man. He was already a legend in the Blood River section. But here, under the intense glare of the battery of all the headlights, and under the probing instruments of the surgeon, Colburn was a great deal less than a man. Through the concealing sheets, you could realize the disintegration of his body and his massive head, skin now bloodless and drawn, had already taken on the aspects of a skull. I knew he'd never make a deathbed statement, but we stood there and waited two hours for him to die. That's all, nurse. Jot down the time, please, and notify the coroner. Yes, sir. Six, fifteen. Now, Mary, don't do that. He won't do no good. Good job. What'll I do? What'll I do? You'll be all right, Mary. Frank, take her out of here, will you? Come on, Mary. Nothing anybody can do now. If it had been me, Doc, I'd never brought him in. Old Bull might have made it in Blood River. I'm sorry, Gray. He had to be moved. No facilities at all out there. It's your business, I guess. It was point-blank rain. Multiple punctures of the stomach, single puncture of the right lung. He had to be moved. How do you do? Johnny Dollar, Doctor. Oh, I'm rather sorry. Dr. Fulton. Mr. Dollar is representing the insurance company. How do you do? I'm sorry I couldn't save him, Dollar. I know you did everything you could. Who was it that shot him, do you know? Not yet. I hope you'll find him. Max Colburn was a fine man. Yeah, the best. Now, what are you going to do now, Dollar? Go to Blood River? I'm still not satisfied about this thing. I'll put you up in my place. There's no hotel. Oh, thanks. I'd appreciate it. Well, nice to have met you, Dollar. Too bad it couldn't have been under better circumstances. You should never have brought him in. He probably knew what he was doing. You think he shouldn't have been brought in? Why'd you let him? You're supposed to be the sheriff out here. There's nothing I could do to stop him, Frank. No, and there didn't seem to be anything you could do before to stop it either. Now, calm down, Frank. County, don't pay you to run around with my sister. You've been spending half the time on your job that you do with her. This wouldn't have happened. That's enough, Frank. Now, shut up. If Mary don't know it's mostly your fault, I'm going to tell her. He's a hot-headed buzzer. Yeah, I know this. Can we make it to Blood River tonight? Yeah, we can make it, all right. Yeah, look, Dollar, I want to tell you something. It's a funny little place, only about 300 people on it today. I'm not going to like you butting in. They don't like strangers. I'm used to that. OK, as long as I told you. My jeep is out in the back in the parking lot. It was only 40 miles to the village of Blood River. It took us until 9.30 to get there. But long before then, I had begun to feel the place. It was at the foot of a range of mountains that rose sheerly from a narrow, choked valley. And it was the mountains that gave the feeling of oppression. In the moonlight, they seemed to be leaning over the village, ready to destroy it at any moment. Gray had comfortable quarters in his cabin office. I slept fairly well. And the next morning, he drove me out to the village, to the Colburn Range. Only 400 acres an hour. Colburn used to own the whole valley. There's open range up in the hills there. This is the best fattening range in the whole... Will you get away, Duke? Is that dog dangerous? Yeah, it could be, I guess. He's the old man's dog. He knows something's wrong, but he don't know what. That's right, ain't it, Duke boy? Yeah, now go away, go away. Come on, boy, go. Well, come on, we'll go up to the house. The hard girl will be in the kitchen as well. Oh, cut it out, Duke. He's all right, now shut up, will you? He don't see many people dressed like you. He's got nothing on me. I don't see many dogs like him. It's Tom Gray. I don't want to talk about it no more, Tom. I told you what I saw happen. Here's a man from back east he wants to talk to you. Why? You tell him what I see. I did, Mellie, but he wants to hear from you. I see it all happen again. That's why I don't want to talk about it. But I will if I got to. Well, thanks, Mellie, I'll make it as short as I can. Go on, Duke, now you stay outside, boy. Go on, go on, go on. Well, this is where it happened, darling. He's lying right there. This way with his head on the table. Two of the slugs hit the wall there. Hey, you see the marks? Yeah. Was he lying face up? That's right, one over backwards. Shot from about here, I'd say. Is that right, Mellie? I don't know. I went in a sitting room when I saw they was going to be troubled. How much did you see? I told Tom. It was after supper and I was cleaning up. A stranger come to the door and said he was hungry. I yelled to Mr. Colburn, I have to ask him about things. And he started right away to run him out. I fed a lot of strangers. I never heard him act that way before. Did it sound like he knew this stranger? I couldn't tell. He started cussing at him and I run in the sitting room and held my hands over my ears till the shooting. Then I screamed. According to the description you gave Sheriff Gray, the man was short, stocky with dark hair and heavy eyebrows. How can you remember anything else about him? I can remember one thing more. He was wearing some kind of a coat and had a newspaper in one pocket. Would you recognize him again if you saw him? Oh yes, I'll never forget him. Why haven't you caught him, Tom? We'll get him. Do you see him after you heard the shots? No. I run back in here and saw Mr. Colburn. Then I run outside screaming. Randy come out of the bunkhouse. I didn't see the man. That's Randy Drew. He didn't see this stranger coming or going. Colburn's son and daughter. Where were they? They wasn't here. I don't know where Miss Colburn was, but Mr. Colburn wasn't home yet from riding sense. Millie. What? You telling the truth? Yes. You aren't protecting anybody? Of course I ain't protecting anybody. Why should I do anything like that? Who would it be? I only asked, Millie. That's all I want to hear, Sharon. Good enough. Thanks for the help, Millie. It looks like it's gonna storm. How old is she? Huh? No, about 20, I guess. With a little work, she could be in a track of girls. She's peculiar. She grew up outside, but never quite dead inside. How does she and Frankie get along? Pretty good, I guess. What are you driving at? Sometimes that strangest story sounds just a little too pat. Hold on. Are you taking it that's the bunkhouse? Yeah, I said. How could somebody kill Colburn and then get across all this open yard before anyone ran out to check on the shooting? I don't know. I guess shooting out here don't mean what it does where you come from. Folks here do a lot of shooting. Well, Millie said she screamed. It's pretty dark here, too. Mountain's cut off a sun about four o'clock. Yeah, maybe so. I told you we found a gun in a ditch near here. She said she had a newspaper in his pocket. The gun was wrapped in one when we found it. Who's this? That looks like Charlie Baxter. Yeah, it is. He was in the posse. Wonder what he's steaming that horse about. What's the matter, Baxter? We got him. We got the killer. We found him a silver scar. Oh, well, good. Where is he now? Bring him to your place. It's Elmer Bryce. He came back? You better get in there. Right. You stay here and bring Millie in. She'll have to identify him. He was a truck. Okay. Let's get on back to town, darling. Who's Elmer Bryce? There used to be a hand here, just flunky. Kept the rain string watered. Choked a cold to death with a rope, and the old man Coburn darn near killed him. When was this? Oh, two years ago. You know, in 35 years of ranching, Elmer Bryce was the first hand the old man ever had to fire. Folks around here run him right out of the country. Storm swept in over the mountains and began to drench the valley during the trip back to the village. A group of maybe a dozen curious were huddled and slickers outside Gray's office waiting for a look at the prisoner. He arrived by car, went through the formalities of arrest, and a few minutes later, Coburn's hired girl walked into the office and faced him. That's him. He's the one. You swear on a Bible, Millie? Yes. I could never forget him. Okay. You can go on back to the ranch. Thanks for coming in. I'm glad they caught you. Oh, meh. When they kill you, maybe I can sleep without seeing it happen all over again. That's enough, Millie. All right. Well, Bryce, you're under arrest. Anything you say will be used against you. I didn't kill him. You deny being at the ranch? I was at the ranch, but I didn't kill him. What did you do? I was hungry. I thought I could get something to eat. He owes it to me. I can't get one no place because he talked about me so much. Nobody will hire me on account of the way he talks. It was my fault that, quote, talked. He kept pulling and the rope jammed. Colburn, he told people I was crazy. I did it for fun. I ain't right. What happened at the ranch? I asked a girl for something to eat. She called Mr. Colburn. He come and cussed me out and told me to get off his land. And I left. Millie says when he cussed you out, she killed him. I don't care what she says. What kind of a gun do you care? I ain't got no gun and you can't prove I killed him. Of course I never did. Why did you go to his ranch instead of some other? I told you because he owes me something. What he done to me? Watch it, tell the truth, so we can get on with this. I didn't kill him. You hated him? I hated a lot of people. Listen to them. Who is it? Mark. Let me come in. Yes, madam. I've been near to a hundred out there now. They sent me in to say they wanted Bryce. Well, I can't have him. You know how they feel about old man Colburn? They want his killer for themselves. I didn't kill him. Nobody can prove I did. I think you've waited long enough, Sheriff. You better get this man into a car and get out of here. All right. Come on, Bryce, on your feet. I ought to give you to him. I don't care what you did. Give me a hand, darling. Sure. Faster, we move the better. Open the door, Baxter. Start up. We'll be right behind you. I caught a last glimpse of Bryce's face as I went down into the mud of the street. Then there was nothing but hundreds of crashing legs carrying the mob and their victim to a waiting truck. Blood River was in the process of living up to its name. To make every day more enjoyable, treat yourself often to refreshing, delicious, wriggly spearmint chewing gum. The lively, full-bodied, real mint flavor cools your mouth, moistened your throat, freshened your taste. And the chewing itself gives you a little lift. Helps you keep going at your best. So for real chewing enjoyment, that's refreshing and long-lasting, always keep wriggly spearmint chewing gum handy. Healthful, delicious, wriggly spearmint gum will make every day more enjoyable. And now with our star, Edmund O'Brien, we return you to the second act of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Deputy Sheriff Gray had fared worse than I, a boot heel at Stundin. So it was 15 minutes before we got underway in the Jeep. We found Elma Bryce on the road to the Coburn Ranch, hanging from a bridge. We took his body back to the Sheriff's office in the now silent village. You've got to understand how they felt about Coburn before you can begin to understand their actions. I'll never understand. I've never been part of a mob. And neither have I. Neither have they. But this is something special. The old man is going to break up the rest of his land and parcel it out. He's done it before. He was loyal to the Blood River folk, and it meant they could have the land of their own. They could never afford it except the way he sold it. You're in a bad spot, aren't you? What are you going to do about this, Lynchie? I'd like to call back the last hour and a half. That's what I'd like to do about it. I should have kept Bryce out of Blood River, but I didn't know. He's people of my friends. I don't have to go into Parkinson and name as many of them as I saw. That's what you pay for wearing a badge. As long as he breaks. Is there anything I can do? I think I better strap on a gun. First time since I got this job. See there on the desk, the receipt I made out when I took Bryce's personal things, I better have that. Is it there? Yeah, it's here. Sheriff. What? What's this? Who signed this? Charlie Maxwell. He signed because Bryce couldn't write. That's his ex just above it. He couldn't write? No, he wasn't much of a brain. You saw that. He couldn't write his own name, but he carried a newspaper around with him. Why? Just to have it handy for wrapping guns? Or did he learn to read without learning to write? It's going to be a strange kind of justice, Sheriff. If he was telling the truth and your village killed an innocent man, those that go free will live with that for the rest of their lives. I'll leave the jeep with you. I'll drive Maxwell's pick up into Parkinson. Yeah, thanks. There's some of my clothes and boots you can wear. Better get out of them wet ones. And just take this advice, will you? Don't go throwing your weight around. It's going to send them crazy. Be careful. I'll be back after supper. The single street was still silent and empty when I left the Colburn Ranch. The mountains were closing in again. There should have been lights in the windows of the houses, but instead they were dark. And I could feel the eyes of the people who stood inside them watching me pass. Finally, almost at the edge of town, a knot of men stepped from a doorway and waved me to a stop. Where's Tom Dray? He went into Parkinson. What for? To report the lynching. Lynching? Hear that, boys? He says somebody strung up the killer. I don't believe it. What I hear, he hung himself. And good ones. Why are you trying this out on me? I'm not here to arrest you. I couldn't if I wanted to. What are you doing here? I'm still looking for Max Colburn's murderer. Bryce hung himself. He shouldn't have, because he wasn't guilty. Who says that? Sheriff Gray and I. There was nothing against him but your personal feelings and some circumstantial evidence. He's the one who done it, he even said so. Said what? That he went to the ranch first door. Why else would he do that? He was hungry. Now come on, get out of my way. Few people think the rest of the story will help you peace of mind and I'll try to get it for you. But Bryce was innocent. Think about that for the time being. Come on, move it, Ben. I'm coming through. Let him go, Ben. Come on, boys. He can't hurt us. Yep, these clothes belong to a friend of yours. Johnny Dollar, Miss Colburn. Oh, Mr. Dollar, Frank. Come on in, Dollar. Thanks. We heard about Bryce. I'm sorry it went that way. Any man, I don't care what he is, has a right to a trial. Yeah, lynching is one of man's least pleasant habits. This one especially, it looks like Bryce was innocent. No, he wasn't. Millie said he was the one. There could have been a lot of things wrong with her statement. She didn't see it happen. She only heard it. Somebody else could have taken advantage of Bryce's visit and done the shooting himself. I don't follow you. He did come out here. He admitted it, but I don't think he killed your father. He hated him. Mary, stop that. Sure he hated him. Everybody knew it. With that and Millie's statement, who would bother to look any further than poor, dim-witted Elmer Bryce. Oh, Frank. Oh, Frank, Frank. Shut up, Mary. Go on in the other room. Wait a minute. What's the matter with her? She's upset. Frank, you killed him. Shut up. You'd like that to be true, wouldn't you? You said you would. You said you wouldn't. You killed him. I'm going to the sheriff. Frank, and don't try to stop me. Off her head. Like everybody else in this blasted hole. Yeah? Why should she have said that? Because I lost my temper one night. Told old man he better blow his own brains out for I did it for him. Because he forgot how to think with him. When was that? A couple of weeks back. Maybe I was hot enough to mean it at the time, but I, well, I cooled off. I wouldn't kill my own father. Well, that goes to your sister, Frank. Sheriff Gray mentioned that he was going to sell the rest of his land. Was that the cause of the trouble? Yeah. He didn't care what happened to his kids. I told him with all the war talk, this was the time to hang on to it. Restock the herds and get ready to make some money. Ranch is yours now. That's right. Mine and Mary's. Where were you when your father was killed? I was riding fences up by Red Knoll. Do you have any way to prove that? Any witnesses? You don't run into anybody up that way. That's our land. Folks, stay off it. What about it, Frank? What about it? There's a lot stacked up against you. I know it. You can depend on my sister. You and anybody else would like to string me up for it. What about Millie? Was she in it with you? In it. Now, wait. Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't kill my father. There's a lot stacked up against you. Well, there are places to go. I don't like jails and courtrooms. I think I'll just fade until it blows over. That's not the way. You won't make it. You're going to stop me? I'm being paid to see this thing cleaned up. I'll have to try. Get out of my way, dollar. You sit down until the sheriff gets you. Get away from the door. You're an outsider. It's none of your affair. I get out of the way. I said get out of the way. What's this to you? Stay where you are. You can't make me. No. I don't want to have to kill you. So don't get up. What do you want, Millie? What are you doing with that gun? You've got to kill him, Frankie. Get out of here. You've got to. For me. Why? Because I lied. I lied to everybody. What about? About your pa. Elmer Bryce didn't kill him. Millie. Because I did. I killed him for you. You told me that night you wished he was dead. You remember that night? I remember, Millie. And I told you I'd do anything for you. Remember that? Anything. Yeah, I remember. I lied. Elmer Bryce came, but I stayed in the kitchen and heard everything he said. I knew he hated your pa, and after he ran away, I thought about it. You're crazy, Millie. I waited for a while. But when I knew nobody saw that man leave, I yelled to your pa again. So when he'd come in, I shot him. And that night I threw away the gun. What's the matter with you, Millie? You know what's the matter? Now you can't run off and leave me. You've got to help me. I can't help you. You've got to kill this man. I won't do it, Millie. Then you've got to take me away with you. I'm not going away now. I don't have to. I didn't have anything to do with it. This is the end for you and me. Hey, get down. Don't, don't do it. I did it for him. Now I don't care what happens to me. As I was concerned, that was it. Frank Coburn lost a lot of blood, but not his life. And his sister still had to live at the ranch with her ill-tempered brother. The hired girl who brought all this about was taken by the sheriff. When I left Blood River, I had moved in to see what it could do about the lynching. But what that is, I don't know. The entire village was guilty of murder. And what could anybody do about that? All I know is that the original murder was not committed with the idea of insurance fraud. And in spite of the mess I got into, that's what I was hired to learn. Expense account item two, same as item one. Expense account total $740. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Remember, friends, to make every day more enjoyable, treat yourself often to refreshing, delicious, Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum. There's lots of cooling, real mint flavor in every stick. And chewing Wrigley's Spearmint helps keep you feeling fresh and alert. You feel better, work better, get more fun out of doing things. So indoors, outdoors, wherever you go, keep some helpful, refreshing Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum handy. To make every day more enjoyable, treat yourself often to delicious Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, is brought to you by Wrigley's Spearmint Gum and stars Edmund O'Brien in the title role, written by Gildoud with music composed and conducted by Lee Stevens. Edmund O'Brien could all be seen starring in the Columbia Pictures production, 7-Eleven Ocean Drive. Featured in tonight's cast were Virginia Greg, Bill Conrad, Junius Matthews, Sammy Hill, Clayton Post, Tyler McVeigh, Dave Lyfe and Howard Culver. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, is produced and directed by Jaime Del Valle. The makers of Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum hope you've enjoyed tonight's story of Johnny Dollar and that you're enjoying delicious Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum every day. We invite you to join us again next week at the same time when, from Hollywood, Edmund O'Brien returns in another adventure of... Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Bob Stephenson speaking. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.