 Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of guns smoke. Gun smoke, starring William Conrad, the story of the violence that moved West, Lady Young America, and the story of a man who moved with it. I'm that man, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal, the first man they look for and the last they want to meet. It's a chancey job, and it makes a man watchful, and a little lonely. I'll break it next. I'm not a man to work just ain't never done. Uh, mister? You think somebody else in this town might take a hand in keeping up their own boardwalk, but no, sir, I gotta do it. Mister! Don't bother me now, boy. Gotta get these nails in solid. I gotta look for the Marshal. Well, that's his office right there. He ain't in there. Well, you'll just have to wait then. I got a message for the Marshal. Look, I already told you. It's on this paper. Let's see it. I'm supposed to give it to the Marshal person. Well, you ain't gonna give it to him if he ain't there. Wouldn't he be back, mister? My lamb boy, I got enough to tend to without fretting about where Mr. Dillon is every minute. You want me to give the paper to him? I ain't to let loose of it to nobody else. Well, it'd be all right to let me see it. I'm the Marshal's assistant, his right-hand man, you might say. I ain't to let it loose. Yeah, for evermore. Just quit bothering me about it then. I got enough to do. And aren't you, Jester? Well, Mr. Dillon, this board just had to be fixed for somebody broke his... Oh, this boy's been looking for you. I got this paper. It's for the Marshal. He wouldn't let me so much and look at it. I can't make nothing out of it. Never mind. So you can give it to me, son. I'm the Marshal. Here. Thank you. Hey, boy. Hey, wait a minute. I... Look at him go, Mr. Dillon. You want me to go after him? No, never mind, Jester. Let him go. All right. What's it say? Jester, I... I'm going to write out a ton of ways. Well, kind of sudden, ain't it? Does that note say something I should know about Mr. Dillon? No. I'll be back as soon as I can. All right, then. It don't matter to me. None of the folks won't tell me nothing about it. Nothing. It seems like there's only one thing around here. I'm tip-burnt at using a hammer. Brought me the message. Bad enough. In the back. I don't even lie in here, Rabbit. I figured to make it a dodgy, but... I couldn't sit my horse no longer. Lucky for me, that boy come by hunting rabbits. Now, that's happening. On the trailer from Texas. Two, three days. Ambush, man. Stinking ambush. You know who did it? Been a hard scene who shoots you in the back. Yeah. Matt. Yeah, Ab? I ain't gonna make it without help. You got help. You'll make it. I'm gonna get you to dock. Pour some water into that basin for me, will you, man? I wanna wash my hands. Yeah, sure, doc. Thank you. How about I abdock? Is he gonna make it? Well, I don't know, man. He's badly hurt. There's no question about that. Or getting a bullet out will help, won't it? Oh, yes, it'll help, at least. Wouldn't have had a chance with it still in there, would he? He's weak. He's weak. He's lost a lot of blood. Yeah. He must have been shot two or three days ago, at least. Yeah, that's why he was... But he's built like a horse, so it wouldn't have lasted this long. No, we just have to wait and see. Matt. Matt. Matt. Yeah, Ab. You're doing fine, Ab. Matt, don't fool with me. You know of me too long. Am I gonna make it? Well, um... Doc says you got a chance. Well, I got to stay here, Matt. Who's after you, Ab? I can't talk. But he'll come looking, though, huh? Just as long as I'm breathing, I got to stay here, Matt. All right, Ab. Doc. Yes, man. Can you keep him here for a spell? Oh, yes, Matt. I was planning to. I want to keep an eye on him. Better put him in the back room. Well, I don't like to move him any more, necessarily. Well, he thinks it is necessary. Oh. Well, huh. All right, will you pick him up carefully, Matt? I just got that bleeding stopped. All right. Be careful. That's it. You'll be out of sight in here, Ab. Yeah. That's it. Now, just lower him gently, Matt. Gently. Thank you, Matt. Yeah. You... You won't say nothing. I won't say anything. I'll look in on you later, Ab. Well, here'll be all right in there if he makes it at all. All right, Doc. You do everything for him you can. Oh, of course I will. He means something special to you, Matt. He's an old friend, Doc. That's about the oldest friend I've got. Oh, I've seen him. Well, he has a chance. That's about all I can say. He seems to be in bad trouble. He's in trouble, all right. I wonder if the trouble is with the law. I don't know, Doc. I'm not sure I want to find out. All righty, clear, Mr. Dillon. It seems like we're eating our supper in the middle of the day, don't it? Yeah, it stays a lot, a lot longer this time of year. I just don't set right with me. Oh, what's that? Why, eating supper in broad daylight that way. Well, nobody is forcing me, you know. What do you mean? You can wait to do your eating till it's dark. Oh, no, no. I couldn't do that. Oh, why not? Why, my stomach won't let me. That's why not. It's nagging at me to feed it by mid-afternoon, no matter what time of year it is. Mr. Dillon. Yeah? You knew that fella, that one in the dark vest and over there in front of the Dodge House? I don't think I do. Why? Well, I just wondered if he was maybe some kind of a law man or something. You've been asking so many questions around town. Well, what kind of questions? Well, mostly it seemed like he's trying to track down a fella named Hobber, Abe, or Ab Butler or something like that. He's asking all over about him. Ab Butler. You know him? Yeah. How about I have a talk with that fella? Well, is it something hard to know about what you're doing? No, Chester. I'll handle it. Oh, I've got it. Nobody in here wants it. I'll see you at the office. Afternoon. I'm Matt Dillon. That badge mean you're the Marshal? Yeah, I'm the Marshal. Who are you? Well, now, Marshal, my name's Joe Leeds. I hear you've been asking a lot of questions. Word sure gets around, don't it? You're looking for Ab Butler? You sound mighty interested. You know him? My job to be interested. I ain't in the habit of asking help from the law, Marshal. What do you want him for? Well, like I said, there ain't no concern of the law. It might be. What do you want him for? Why, it's a personal matter. Just a personal matter. No need for you to interest yourself. Sometimes these personal matters interest me very much. I'll tell you something, Marshal. This ain't going to be none of your business one way or the other. When I find Ab Butler, and I will find him, it'll be strictly between him and me. That's all. It won't last long, either. I'm going to tell you something. You can make it my business in an awful hurry, Leeds, and I'll be around just in case you do. Well, now I sure do admire a man who cottons to his job the way you do, but I'm going to tend to this. I'm going to find Ab Butler, and I'm going to tend to it. And there won't be nothing for you to do at all. I wouldn't count on that. Well, Sam, just a short beer. I got to get back to the office. Sure thing, doc. Oh, I tell you, Sam, I sometimes think beer will be as important as civilizing the West as anything. Thank you, thank you. Goes down good, don't it, doc? It goes down good, and it doesn't heat up a man like Whiskey does. It gives him a little time to think while he's drinking it. And it's about as good a remedy for dusting the throat as I know him. Well, you sound like you're making a feast, doc. What is going on about how good the beer is? Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute, Sam. I didn't say this beer. I was talking about beer in general. Oh, come now, doc. This beer's not so bad. Oh, no, but it could be a lot cooler. What couldn't? Well, I guess you're right, Kitty. Well, it's better than nothing. Thanks very much. Why did you come over the table, doc, and sit down? No, I can't, Kitty. Thank you, just the same. I got a very sick man up in the office, and I don't want to leave him alone too long. Anybody I know? I don't think so, Kitty. Well, I've never seen him before. What's the matter with him? He was shot in the back. And he's been in bad shape, real bad shape. So, ah, yeah, well, I got to get back. I'll see you later, Kitty. Yes, sure, doc. I'll tell you one thing, Kitty. If I ever got me a bullet in the back or anywhere else, I'd sure want Doc around to dig it out for me. Yeah, Sam. He's an awful good doctor. Oh, he's more than that. Yeah, he sure is. Yeah. He's taken such close care of a fella he never even saw before. Staying up there in his office with him and all this heat. You know, I bet he doesn't get paid a cent. Doc's a fine man, all right. Another drink, mister? No more. Yeah. Thanks. Where's Doc's office? Well, it's right down to the end of the street, mister, and up some side stairs. There's a sign hanging there. Hey, mister, you got some change coming? Huh. Well, I don't know what put him into such an all fired hurry, all of a sudden. He's been standing here drinking beer most of the morning. Funny he didn't ask Doc when he was standing right next to him. Yeah, it is funny. Oh, Kitty. Oh, Sam. Oh, hello, Mark. Hello, Matt. Do you want a beer? Kitty, you know that fella who just went out of here? Will you ever talk to him? No, Matt, I haven't. Something wrong? Well, I'm not sure. I know one thing, Marshall. Oh, what's that sound? He can't be feeling too good. He just asked me where the Doc's office was. He seemed to be in an awful hurry to get there. What? Well, that's where he's headed right now. That's what it seemed like. He didn't even wait to pick up his change. I'll see you later. Matt? Are these letters just something? Not now, Chester. Well, my landmine might as well not be here. Come down those stairs. You tried to tend to it once. The bullet in the back. He had it coming. He run off with the money. You all right, Mr. Dillon? Yeah, Chester, I'm all right. What money leaves? From that bank down in Texas. We robbed it together. He shot the teller, and Butler ran off. He had it coming, Marshall. You better be telling me the truth, Lee. Ain't no odds for me to lie. Shea bomb in. You'll find the money. You'll see. Yeah, I'll see. He... He's dead, Mr. Dillon. Yeah. You know what he was talking about? Yeah, Chester. I'm afraid I do. Here's news about a revolutionary new product by the makers of famous K-Site. It's new K-Site 3C, a heavy-duty crankcase concentrate for use in all engines. Added to your motor oil, K-Site 3C with baremen quickly stops hydraulic valve lifter noises, cushions, and smooths the engine. It cleans your engine and keeps it clean. K-Site 3C gives protection against acid, rust, and corrosion, too. Add to the oil every 2,000 miles, and you'll have a tough oil that won't thin out. Oil that cushions the load on every working part, cuts down friction, wear, and noise. With K-Site 3C in the crankcase, gas and oil mileage increases, and your engine has more prep and power. Remember, you get results with K-Site 3C, or double your money back. Get it at your service station, garage, or car dealer now. Only $1.50. Of course, you made me right, Mr. Dillon, but it just don't make sense to me for a fellow to run off and leave his gold. If he's went to all the trouble, get shot up for it. Well, it's better to leave it behind than to lose it all together, Chester. Maybe so. I swear, I ain't turning up nothing but dirt, though. Let's try over there, Chester, under that tree, huh? All right. I thought you said that, but there was a lane under this one when you rode out here and found him. Well, he was, but he could have dragged himself over. Guess he could, all right. Sure is a sighted diggin' attack to the Marshall's office, ain't they, Mr. Dillon? Yeah. That's why I must have dug as many graves as an undertaker. Probably do a better job of it, too. Maybe that's what you're cut off for, Chester. How's that? Maybe you ought to be an undertaker. Oh, no, sir, Mr. Dillon. I admit, I dig a nice deep grave, but I ain't got no desire to make a career out of it. Well, now... What is it? Well, there's something under here that don't belong to me here, Mr. Dillon. I can't quite make out what this is. Now, let me see. Yes, sir. There it is. It's that'll bag. Yeah, get me here. Here you go. And lots of it. Mind all that, they sure is. What you done? That lead's follow was right. And you was right, too. Yeah. At this time, I'd just as soon have been wrong. Good. Come in. How about, Doc? And I finally got some good news for you. Oh, is that so? Yes, I can tell you now, man. Ab's gonna make it all right. Oh, that's fine. Yeah, I was pretty sure yesterday, but I wanted to be positive. And the way he feels today, I'm having a hard time keeping him in bed. Oh, he has a remarkable constitution. Remarkable. Can I see him, Doc? Sure, you can. I don't get any wrestling match with him, but he might lift it. Oh, Matt, that's Dillon, you old sheepherd. Hello, I'm glad to see you. Doc says you're gonna be all right. Yeah, he fixed me up fine. He's a good doc. Yeah, he is. And I'm beholding to you, Matt, for bringing me to him. That's all right. I'd be holding to you for a lot more, Matt. Doc told me how you handle leads. That's my job. Yeah. Cuts more ice than that. He was aiming to kill me. Yeah, he told me. Well, ain't surprised you took care of him for me. You always could outdraw any man I ever know. Listen, Had, I ain't surprised, but I thank you. You don't have anything to thank me for. I don't. Carry me in half dead. See, I get patched up. Keep that coyote off of me. Now I'm gonna lock you up. You're gonna what? As soon as you're able. I'm gonna take you to jail. I remember now, your face always was poker straight when you told a joke. I'm not joking, Had. You're not joking? I found the gold. Leads. He told me. All right, all right, Matt. So I robbed a bank. You shot the teller. Well, yeah, he got in the way. But you ain't gonna turn me in for it, are you? You ain't a man to forget a friend. I'm not forgetting. I got a job to do. You got a job to do makes you forget then days of riding and fighting across the whole of Texas. We didn't rob any banks at all, but we the way it's gotta be, I'm a U.S. Marshal. Well, you're a, you were sure you were a U.S. Marshal. I'm your friend, ain't I? Yeah, you're my friend. Well... I've gotta lock you up. You really mean that, don't you? I mean it. Well, I got something to tell you, Matt. You may wear a Marshal's badge, but you ain't nothing. You ain't nothing but a Judas sheep. You can take your time getting well, Ed. There's no hurry. I'll be around. Well, I'm sure you will. To collect the reward. Shut up, Ed! Rub a bank, you shoot a man. I don't need a reward to tell me what to do. I'll be back in two or three days. Doctor, let me know when you're ready. I bet he will. You ain't the Matt Dillon I once knowed. You ain't any Matt Dillon I ever want to know. You're sure changed. Yeah. Was everything all right, man? I don't know, Doc. What's wrong? Sometimes you wonder just what friendship means and how binding loyalty should be. And you wonder just who that loyalty is to be given to. Well, I don't understand, Matt. Oh, never mind, Doc. I'm gonna go back to the office. Will you want me to walk along with you? No, thanks, Doc. I gotta just soon be alone. A happy driver. First and directed in Hollywood by Norman McDonnell, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshall. Story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Marion Clark with editorial supervision by John Messon. Featured to the cast were Richard Beals, Lauren Stockin, Barney Phillips, and Joseph Kern. Barley Bear is Chester, Howard McNeer is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty. This is George Walsh inviting you to join us again next week when CBS Radio presents another story on Gunsmoke.