 Slaughter's my name, Luke Slaughter. Cattle's my business. It's a tough business. It's big business. I got a big stake in it, and there's no man west of the Rio Grande big enough to take it from me. Luke Slaughter of Tombstone. Luke Slaughter of Tombstone. Civil War cavalryman turned Arizona cattleman across the territory from Yuma to Fort Defiance from flagstaff to the Wachukas and below the border through Chihuahua and Sonora, his name was respected or feared, depending on which side of the law you were on. Man of vision, man of legend, Luke Slaughter of Tombstone. Like a violent storm or an earthquake, you can feel a lynching coming on long before it arrives. And there was lynch in the air that afternoon in Tombstone. Since he's so uncommon-concerned over a few rustlers, why don't you catch him, same as I do? Hello, Sutton. Afternoon, Slaughter. I got me one in jail right now. My boys picked him up red-handed last night. You wanted to see me? Yeah, we may be in for trouble. Listen. There's only one thing good enough for rustlers, I say, and that's hanging. They caught me one and that's what's going to happen to him. McCuddle! Two stalwarts of the Cattleman's Association. You, gents, going to come around to the courthouse and see the fun? What fun, McCuddle? What fun? Why, ain't you heard? My wranglers caught a rustler on my spread last night, caught him red-handed, butchering the yearling. We're going to hang him this afternoon. Isn't that up to the judge? The judge? Why, this is a plain case out, not law-breaking, and I aim to see justice done. When is the trial? The trial. Oh, yeah. The trial is going to be at 2 o'clock and all you gents is invited. Come on, everybody, let's go to the court. See what I mean, Slaughter? Yeah, I do, Sutton. We'd better go to the courthouse and see to it that McCuddle doesn't do something we'll all have to answer for. The court will now come to order. The deputy will bring in the prisoner. Say, Sutton. What is it, Slaughter? I think I know that man. What's your name? Yancy Bell. I do know him. You know the charge? Cattle Russell. Now, how do you plead? Guilty or not guilty? Neither one. Well, you got to plead one or the other. Well, I don't. Who's the plaintiff in this case? Why, you know dang well I am, Judge. And he pleads guilty. My man caught him butchering a yearlin with my brand on it and my property. Now, come on, let's get this over with. Hold your horses, McCuddle. I ain't holdin' no horses. You make your decisions so us law-abiding people can string this ombre up. Well, man, man's entitled to a fair trial. Well, he's gettin' it. Now, come on, say it. Your Honor. Slaughter, you stay out of this. This man. Hello, Yancy. Luke. Luke Slaughter. It's been a long time since Vicksburg. I recognized you even without the cavalry uniform. What is this? I'll tell you what it is, McCuddle. This man and I soldier together in the Illinois Cavalry during a war. Unless he's changed a lot since those days, he's not a thief. Your button into my business, Slaughter. This is a public trial, McCuddle. And I'm takin' on the job of this man's attorney. Any objections, Your Honor? Well, I don't... No. Now, tell the court, Yancy. Did you butcher that yearling? Yes. Yes, I did. Why? Because... because I was hungry. I don't know this part of the country, and I didn't know I was so close to town. You intend to pay for it? I would have if there'd been anybody to pay. Do you have any money? I had $500 Mexican until last night. What happened to it? The men who jumped me took it. That's a lie! A lie! You gonna take the word of a stranger against my man? The inner stranger doesn't make him a liar. He's not a stranger to me, McCuddle. Now, what do you figure that yearling was worth? What's that got to do with it? I'm gonna pay for it and request the court to release the accused. What? $15. I'd ought to cover it. You can't do that! I am doing it. If the court so pleases. Well, uh... Well... Well, yes. Under the circumstances, restitution having been made and motive-explained. What? Are you gonna let this Stephen Russell go? Uh... Yes. Yes, I am. I put you on that bench, George, and I'm gonna take you off of it. You can't get away with this. And this is a court of law, Mr. McCuddle. You cannot intimidate the bench with threats. Case dismissed. Why you! Thank you, Luke. Thank you. I'm staying down at the San Jose house, Yenzie. Let's get your stuff and go down there so we can talk in private. You'll pay for this, slaughter. I already have $15. Come on, Yenzie. Oh, this feels good. I haven't been on a bed in over two weeks. You weren't on a bed for two years during the war. Yeah, that's right. You realize it's been nearly 15 years. Yeah. You were kids, Yenzie. Greenhorn kids. What have you been doing since? Went east for a while, New York. Big Don was too much for me, though. Finally went home to Quincy a couple of years back and I got married. Is that too much for you, too? She died six months ago in childbirth. Kid died, too. I'm sorry, Yenzie. So that's why I come out here. Starting all over again, you might call it. How about you, Luke? Well, cattle's been my business since the war. Kansas, Texas, a tombstone. You must be mighty big in these parts. That was quite a show you put on in the courtroom. No, you were getting a raw deal. You mind if I take my boots off? Peter kind of swelled in. Go ahead, stretch out. You're welcome to anything I've got till you get organized. That's mighty nice of you, Luke. Especially since I've been cleaned. That's at least I could do. I remember a sniper one night about four weeks into the siege of Vicksburg and what you did about him. That's long ago, Luke. Forget it. Man doesn't forget things like that. You've lost a spur. Yeah, those jaspers weren't very polite when they jumped me last night. Took 500 Mexican silver, huh? Yep. I aim to get it back, though. I'll handle that for you. You just take it easy. I got some work to do over at the cattle association office. Nancy, you aren't leaving anything out on this yearling butchering, are you? When I get ready to lie to you, I'll let you know in advance, Luke. Yeah. Well, you get some rest. I'll be back about supper time. Hold it, Sutton. I was just closing the office. Well, I'll close up later. I'll be back on the bills of sale on that last herd I brought up from Texas. Yeah, all right. See, that was quite a stunt you pulled in court today. Well, the way I figured it, Nancy Bell was being railroaded. I would have stopped that even if I didn't know him. Some of the boys thought you was taking a little too much in the own hands. Wasn't that just what McCartle was trying to do? Yeah, I suppose so. How do you know he's innocent? He says so. Well, think out of town to feed back. See you later. So long, Sutton. Slaughter. Hey, Slaughter. Wake up. Wake up. Oh, Sutton. I must have dozed off. See, what time is it, anyway? Time, what? It's almost eight o'clock. Eight o'clock? I forgot all about supper. Slaughter, listen to me. Oh, what are you so all fired upset about? There's been a shooting at the Crab Tree Livery Stable right next to the San Jose house where you're staying. Who got shot? Drake McCordle. In a moment, Luke Slaughter of Tombstone returns. A trio of rough and ready prospectors make trouble for our frontier gentleman, J.B. Kendall, in his next dramatic exploit on CBS Radio. The trouble starts when a young hitchhiker, whom Kendall has picked up, discovers gold. For more Western thrills, stay with us on CBS Radio right after Luke Slaughter, as most of these same stations bring you another exciting adventure with our frontier gentleman. And now, act two of William M. Robeson's production of Luke Slaughter of Tombstone. Excuse me, let me through. Let me through there. Hello, Slaughter. Hello, sir. I've been wondering if you'd show up. Let me see your gun. What for? Seize to me you'd know the answer to that. It was bad blood between McCordle and you, wasn't it? Here, look at it. Well, it ain't been fired, or it's been cleaned awful fast. That gun hasn't been out of its holster all day. All right, all right. Now, you know anything about this? I only heard about it five minutes ago, Sheriff. When did it happen? About an hour ago. Where's the body? Inside the delivery stable there. Is it where it happened? You're asking an awful lot of questions, Slaughter. Now, let's get one thing straight, Sheriff. I'm as interested in who committed this murder as you are, maybe even more so. If I get him before you do, I'll turn him over to you. All right, all right. Why, you cattlemen can't leave things to the law. Where did it happen? Right here in the alley in front of the delivery stable. Anybody see it? Jack Crabtree, the owner of this table. Hey, Jack. Yeah? Yes, Sheriff? You come here. This gent wants to know what you're seeing. All right, I'll tell him. I sure will. Oh, hello there, Mr. Slaughter. Mr. Fon, didn't you? Well, during this thing I ever saw, I was telling the sheriff and the boys... Just tell me what happened, Jack. Well, I was sitting back there by the harness rack working on a snaffle bin. And I heard somebody singing out here in the alley. You know how a man will sing when he's had a couple of snorts. It appeared from the sound that he was coming in. About that time I looked up, but I couldn't see very well because it was dark and I was back inside there under the lantern, you see. Then the singing stopped and somebody said, Drake, I'm going to kill you. Then it was a shot and Ricardo fell right here. Of course, I didn't know it was Ricardo then. You know who made the threat? No. No, but don't. I doused the lantern in a hurry because I was a setting duck, you see. Then I got down behind a bale of hay and waited. Did you hear anything else? Just one thing. A man, a sobbing. Oh, it's an awful thing to hear a man sobbing. It's just... Well, I got up then, come out here and looked around real cautious like. There was nobody in the alley except in Drake, Ricardo's body. That's when I ran to get sheriff. Thank you, Jack. You reckon you know who did it? That's my job, Jack. You just give me the information. I'll take care of finding the killer. Oh, sure, sure. Well, that's all I know. Jack, would you recognize that voice if you heard it again? Well, now that's good question. Oh, good question. Because when a man says, I'm going to kill you, he don't use a voice like he was saying, give me a glass of beer. It's a real... strange. Strange. If you know what I mean, it makes you shiver, kind of. Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean. Slaughter was that friend of yours at rustler you bought out of jail this afternoon. He's not a rustler, sheriff. I don't know where he is right now, but I'll find him. And if I think he did this, I'll turn him over to you. Where are you going? Up to my room. Wash up and get some supper. Any objections? Don't try to leave town. Don't worry. You missed the excitement. You know about it. Couldn't very well help it. Quite a commotion out there in the alley. How come you didn't go out and join the crowd? Well, I look at it this way. I'm new here and none too popular with the law and some of the people. Somebody might jump to conclusions. Figured I'd just stay out of it. I see you're cleaning your gun, Yancy. Mmm. You mind if I take a look at it? Yes, Luke. I'm mined. Why? Because a man's gun is his own business. Unless he's done something wrong with it. Have you? Depends on how you look at it. Yancy. I want to see that gun. Then you'll have to take it away from me, Luke. Give it to me. No. I said give it to me. This gun's been fired recently, Yancy. I didn't say it hadn't. Did you kill Drake McCartle? No. It isn't the question you're asking, Luke. It's the way you're asking it. I'm not going to answer you. I'm trying to help you, Yancy. I'm trying to help you. Then you'll have to find some other way to do it. I told you when I get ready to lie, I'll let you know in advance. You crazy fool. She was going out for some supper. It changed my mind, Sheriff. You have anything new on the killing? I'm working on it, Slaughter. I'm working on it. Ain't very much to go on so far. What about McCartle's enemies? Oh, he had lots of them. He was a pretty bullheaded man. If he couldn't get his way by asking for it, he got it by force. I know that. You know of anything that happened today that'd make somebody want to shoot him? Well, you're about the best man to answer that question. Let's turn up any clues in the alley next to the body. Clues? Empty cartridges, footprints, anything like that. There were some cartridges, but there was old ones. As for footprints with all them people milling around afterwards, there was lots of them. Nothing at all, hm? One thing. Might not mean nothing at all. Again, it might. This. Broken spur. Well, I see you got both yours so that lets you out. But when I find the man who's missing one, I sure want to talk to him. Can I borrow that for a little while? What for? I saw a man with one spur missing today. This might make two missing. Just point them out to me. No, Sheriff. This is my play. I'll make it alone. We had one, Killin. We don't want another. There won't be. If I can help it. Yancy! Oh, oh, yeah, Mr. Slaughter. You've been on duty all evening? Oh, yeah, ever since supper. That man I brought in with me this afternoon, Yancy Bell, did you see him go out? Mm-hmm, about 10, 15 minutes ago. You say where he was going? Well, he asked me was there a place to get drunk. Good and drunk. I told him he could do that most anywhere, but the Crystal Palace was the biggest saloon in town. Did he go there? Well, I can't say. He just headed out the door. Say, he looked awful like he'd been in a fight or something. He had. He may be in another one. Where'd you get the money to buy that liquor, Yancy? Hello, Luke. You have a drink. Where'd you get the money? I got it. Where? From the people who owed it to me. There. Help yourself. Did you take it by force? You might say that, but it was mine in the first place. Let me see your spurs, Yancy. Spurs? What for? Just let me look. Sure? You were missing one this afternoon. Now you're missing two. Sure am. Does that one fit where the left one's broken off? Can't tell without trying, can we? Let's see. Yeah, it fits. Where'd you find it? In the alley, back of the San Jose house, near Drake McCartle's body. I guess it must have broken off there. Then you were in the alley. Luke, it's customary for a man to put his horse up at the stable nearest to his hotel. Sure I was in that alley. Yancy, let me have your gun. I'm going to turn you over to the sheriff. You're going too far, Luke. A man's entitled to his privacy and his pride, and you're going too far. I'm taking you in. No, you're not. Drop your gun, Beltiancy. I'm warning you, Luke. I'll shoot. Now make your place. Who killed McCartle? I'll tell you who killed him. It's the judge. I'll push a man around forever, I told him. A man's got some rights. A man can be pushed so far. And I did his dirty work for him. I was covering up for his rustling. And the first decent thing I do, letting that fellow off, he has his ride, and he's jumped me and beat me. And I told him, I said to him, Drake, I'm going to kill you. And he didn't think I could do it. But I did. I did it. Just like this. And he deserved it. I did it. Easy, Judge. It's all over now. I'll take him slow. All right, Sheriff. Come on, Judge. Yeah, Luke. Hey, made a mistake. A man can't always be right, Luke. I understand. Thanks. Now, about my gun and his money. No, you don't have to tell me. Like you said, a man's entitled to his privacy. I want to tell you. I was out east of town late this afternoon practicing on rattlesnakes. When one of the hands that jumped me last night came along. I guess I got a little mad. He had $20 on him, so I took that on deposit. Why were you practicing shooting? Because an old man living can call me a cattle rustler. If the judge hadn't gotten him first, I'd have killed McCurdle. Was it that important to you? Pride's a real funny thing, Luke. I guess I don't have to tell you that. No, I guess not. Can I buy you a drink, Yancy? Now, that would make me right happy, Luke. And then I'm going to buy you one. Next week at this time, we return with... Slaughter's the name. Luke Slaughter. When we meet up again, you can call me that. Luke Slaughter. Now, stay tuned for Frontier Gentlemen, which follows immediately over most of these same stations. This is the CBS Radio Network.