 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 the U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke. Gun smoke, starring William Conrad, the story of the violence that moved West with Young America, and the story of a man who moved with it. I'm that man, Matt Dillon, the 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. And it has been a pleasure riding with you both, too, and that's a fact. Where, Mr. Dillon? Hello, Chester. Well, I'd say are you meeting somebody on the stage? As a matter of fact, I am. Well, I'd be glad to point him out to you. I got to know everybody real well. A awful nice bunch of folks. Well, thanks, Chester, but I see him, all right. Well, maybe I can introduce you. Which one is he? Follow the name of Chester Proudfoot. You got to know him fairly well. Well, Mr. Dillon, you mean you come down here just to meet me? Well, any law against it? Well, no, sir. Well, say, now, that's awful nice of you, Mr. Dillon. That's awful nice. Do you have a nice trip, Chester? Yes, sir. I sure did, Mr. Dillon. Just as nice as can be. Why, they couldn't have treated me no better if I'd have been a friend. Well, that's good. You find your family all right. Well, sure. They were right there for us, looking for them. Well, that was kind of a little joke, Mr. Dillon. It was just a way of speaking kindly. I didn't really mean it. That's the kind of a joke your family is partial to, Chester? Well, sir, we did do a lot of joshing. I'll say that. Uncle Wesley, he might have come for me. And Magnus was home and well. He was just cutting up all the time. Must be dangerous, rather. How's that? Never mind. Come on, let's get your stuff. Yes, you did. A guy would come down right over there. All right. No, no, no, no, now, Mr. Dillon. I can handle him all right. Oh, well. Before I forget, Chester, do you have any trouble picking up those papers in Dahlhardt? What papers is that? The papers in Dahlhardt, Chester. Me? You forgot them? Yes. Chester, you said you'd pick them up for me on your way back through the panhandle. I know I did. I swear I must have clean forgot. I was having such a good time there as my people and all, and it just must have knocked it right out of my head. I guess too much cutting up could do that, all right. Oh, now I just feel terrible about that. I just don't know how I could have been so stupid. Well, don't worry about it, Chester. We'll get him some other way. If you want me to, I'll turn right around and go back. No, no. No, me not. Never mind, Chester. I'd really kindly enjoy it, Mr. Dillon, taking another long ride. Come on, Chester. I better take you to the office before you forget where it is. You sure it won't be taking you out of your way, Joe. All right, Denny Marshall, I'm riding out that way tomorrow. I can swing back by Dahlhardt just as easy as not. I'll pick up your papers for you. I sure appreciate it, Joe. I don't know how Chester could have forgotten them, but you know how he is. He must be. There's just no telling about Chester. Oh, excuse me, Joe. I didn't see you coming out. Don't hurt to keep your eyes open, Chester. Do you ever think of that? Well, they was open. It was just around here. I'll see you later, Marshall. So long, Joe. Thanks. Mr. Dillon. Would you close the door? Chester, the wind's blowing these papers. I'm trying to get signed. Oh, yes, sir. Mr. Dillon. Yeah. Was you and Joe free talking about me just now? What? Well, I could have swore. I heard you saying my name when I come in. Joe's going to pick up those papers. You forgot, Chester. Joe's getting it. He's going clear to Dahlhardt. Yeah, he's going clear to Dahlhardt. Well, for just your sake, Mr. Dillon, you haven't already got somebody else to do that. I could go just easy now. No, Chester. It's all been arranged. But now, I can do anything Joe Freese can do. I can get them papers for you myself. Don't worry about it, Chester. Now, Mr. Dillon, why don't I just be online? I've been trying to get through this paperwork all afternoon. Why don't you just go on out so I can finish it up, huh? Well, I will, but I don't see why. Go on, Chester. Yes, sir. Go on. I got things to tend to. Yes. Beer? Whiskey? Well, thank you, Sam, but to tell the truth, I don't think I want a thing. Sure? Yes, sir. I just think I'll just kindly stand here for a little bit. It's all same to you. All right. Wouldn't you think now that anybody taking up room at the bar ought to at least buy a drink? Never mind, Lund. It's all right. Everybody else comes into a saloon to buy a drink. Not that Chester, though. He just comes in to lean on the bar and look like a two-fisted drink. Ain't that right, Chester? Well, yeah, I guess that's what it looks like. All right. Wouldn't you think now that the marshal would get himself a real man for help of somebody that could do a decent job for him? Well, Lund, I'd do a lot of things for Mr. Dillon. Well, I'd like to hear about that. Come on, boys. Chester's about to tell us how he runs the marshal's office. No, I ain't saying I run the office. I ain't saying that at all. Well, go on then. Tell us what you do-do. Well, there's a lot of things that are due. I go for the mail and I see that the horses get took good care of and I go along with Mr. Dillon on a good many of his trips. Go on, Chester. Tell us what else you do for the marshal. Well, I help every way I know how. I make a pretty good cup of coffee and I keep the lamps clean and filled up with coal oil. Yeah, that's what a U.S. marshal needs. All right, somebody to keep his lamps filled for him. Now, I don't see what's all far and funny about that. Oh, and something I forgot to mention. Sometimes when Mr. Dillon's too busy, well, he sends me out to do things for him to save him the trip or the trouble you might say. Like bringing them papers from Dalhottes? Because you couldn't even know about that. All right, it's all over town, ain't it, boys? Our Chester come all the way back without them papers. Yeah, don't seem like Mr. Dillon to go around talking like that. Well, now, he didn't, Chester. Joe Freese was in here for a drink a few minutes ago. He told me about it. And I guess it was some big ears listening. Now, come on now, Chester. Have a drink. It'll make you feel better. No, no thanks, Sammy. I guess I better be getting along. Don't worry too much, Chester. Everybody needs something to laugh at. You sure do a job for the marshal that way. Is this a professional call? You look kind of seedy. Oh, my no, Doc. I ain't sick. I just thought maybe I'd pay a little visit and see how you're getting along. Well, that's nice of you, Chester. Now, I'd be glad to tell you. I'm getting along real bad. Well, I'm sure I'm sorry to hear that. It's a cold miserable day. The supplies I sent for didn't get here. I've got calls to make at different ends of the county. You want to hear any more? I don't know, Doc. That sure does sound troublesome. It is. You've settled down from your trip yet? Oh, of course, Doc. Once I get my boots off, I'm home. And I suppose matters managing to get used to having you around again? What do you mean? Oh, I don't know, Chester. It's just that you take some getting used to. Oh, good lord, it's three o'clock. I've got to get going. Hand me that bottle, will you? Oh, well, sure, Doc. No, no, no, not that one. That's the other one. Thank you. Uh, Doc? No, no, I haven't had the time to talk to you much, Chester. Now, you can come back some other day. Would you just let me ask you one question? All right, then. What is it? Well, Doc, I just wondered if you've got any idea at all just what Mr. Dillon really thinks about me, I mean, having me around for help or not? What do you think? Oh, for heaven's sake, some of all the food is time-wasting. Could you please tell me, Doc? Yes, sir, Chester, I can tell you. He thinks you're the most adorapated, no account, Siv had an excuse for a helper than anybody ever had. Now go on, go on, get on the way, Emily. Oh, sure. I don't want to be in your way. You want to waste no time getting back on the job, Mr. Jonas? What do you mean? Well, if I don't do nothing else around here, I can at least see Mr. Dillon don't run out of stores. I come in for some coal, some coffee, and a couple new wicks for the lands. That's what I was telling you. What? You're too late. Marshall was in here, oh, I expect about half hour ago. He was? Was he looking for me? I just been up to Doc's office there. It wasn't you he was looking for, Chester. It was some supplies. Well, a new lamp chimney? Coffee? Well, forevermore, I could have got him for him. Then Marshall was looking at it that way too. He was saying he sure didn't know why you'd let everything run out at once. I sort of got the impression that he didn't think you were doing your job, Chester. He couldn't have been funding about it, could he? He didn't sound like it to me, Chester. Sounded as though he was real provoked. I guess he ain't even laughing at me no more. How's that? Well, never mind, Mr. Jonas. I guess he ain't no call for me to buy nothing after all. Have another whiskey, Van. All right, London. Well, look who's just come in. Marshall Dillon's right-hand man. Well, he's got two left-hands. Why don't you leave him be, London? He's not smart enough to know the difference. Hello there, Chester. You've been out on some big job for the Marshall? I ain't got no time to talk to you, Ludholt. This hand's Miss K. Reynolds. Yes, she is, Chester, sitting at the back table over there. Thank you. I want to see her for a minute. I can't believe it. That sounds like too much even for Chester. No, it's true, Kenny. You're right. Nobody in the world but Chester would do a thing like that. Oh, hello, Chester. Come on over and sit down. No thank you, Miss Kitty. I got things to tend to. What's the matter, Chester? You're trying to make me think you're working? No, sir, Mr. Dillon. I think I've ever been moving along. Oh, I guess you think this is too important for us. You know, I'm tired of this. What's the matter, Chester? Didn't you find her? I found her, Sam. I found her all right. Hello, Jim. Is Matt in the long branch there? Yeah, he's in there all right. I got a telegraph message for him. That's so... Oh, he's in there, Jim, at the back table with Miss Kitty. Oh, I thought you'd want to take it to him. I got things to tend to. You take it in. Oh, all right, then. It's from Joe Freese. Joe Freese? Yeah, he's heading for Arizona. He ain't coming back from down hard after all. I don't know why the Marshal didn't care about that. He ain't coming back. Well, that's what he said. Uh, give it to me, Jim. I'll take it. Well, choose a section. I hate a body that got a right to change his mind. You belong back in that office, Jim, watching that telegraph key every minute. Give that message to me. Say, it's from some pie mat. It's elderberry. That's a good thing Chester isn't here. He's eating up the whole thing by now. Yeah, it's a wonder to me how Chester's stomach keeps on working at all the way he loads it down. He must be doing something mighty important. This is a meal. Where'd you send him, Matt? I didn't send him anywhere, Kitty. I haven't even seen him all day. Yeah, it's funny. I haven't seen him either. Well, that's kind of strange, isn't it? He's probably sick. Well, it was him to see me yesterday when he was saying about being sick. He acted kind of funny, though. Oh, how's that got? Well, he was pestering me with darnful questions. He wanted to know what you really thought of him, Matt, as a helper. Well, what you're telling? Well, I told him you thought he was an adorapated, shiv-headed, no-cow, of course. How else would you answer a full question like that? Yeah. What about what got into him? I'm not sure with such a full question. What do you mean, Kitty? Well, I'm just remembering. Sam told me the boys at the bar were giving Chester a bad time yesterday. Oh, what a bar. Oh, Mud Hope was writing them hard about his job with you, but how nobody could figure out how you'd put up with a man like Chester. Oh, Chester can usually take a joke. Well, I don't think Lud was making a joke of it, Matt. He was making Chester look pretty silly. He said you only kept him on to laugh at him, and before he was finished, the whole saloon was laughing at Chester. Well, that explains it, huh? I wish I had been a little more patient with him. The way he was feeling what I said couldn't have sounded very funny. Well, I have better sense, Doc. Well, Chester's sensitive, Matt. You know that? Yeah, but he should know that if I got any complaints, I'll make him myself. Well, you were complaining to him quite a bit yesterday, weren't you? Well, sure. But he was still miles away on his trip. I had to bring him down to Earth a couple of times, and so on. Well, I guess everybody was bringing him down to Earth at the same time. Poor Chester. I even laughed at him when he came into the long run. Well, I'll say this, if he was going to choose a day to hold up and not make an appearance, this is a good one. That wings bitter cold. There isn't any sense to it, but I guess I better look him up and straighten him out. Maybe some of this cry will help his treatment. Yeah. I'll see you later, Kitty. Doc. Hi, Matt. Business must be bad at the telegraph office. No, I've trained my boy to spell me. I just wondered if you got that wire all right, Marshal. Which wire was that? The one I gave Chester yesterday. The one from Joe Freed. Joe Freed? You know, saying he wasn't coming back from Balehart? Oh, oh, oh. Yeah. Yeah, sure, John. Thanks. Thanks a lot. That's the way it was, Marshal. He'd come in for his horse early this morning and rode out. Did he say where he was heading, Marshal? That's the funny thing, he was just getting back and on. He said he was heading for Texas. Subtle up my horse, will you? I want to go pick up a few things. Sure, Marshal. And I'll tell you like I told Chester, this is a poor time to be on the plains without no other common dump. Yeah, I'll be back for the horse in a few minutes, Marshal. Afternoon, Marshal. I'd like to talk to you. Not now, Mr. Just take a minute. Huh? I've heard of you. I'll walk along to your office with you. Listen, Holt, do you have anything to say to me you say it fast? Well, sure. It takes a little talking over, though. I was thinking maybe you could use a good man. I mean, a good one. Real man who can handle a gun. I got him, Assistant. Oh, I know. Marshal, you got Chester to behave by nose. He ain't... I'll say one thing for you, Holt. You got plenty of nerve. Sure, I have, Marshal. I could do a lot of good. You filled Chester up with ideas that he's no good and then you come around to me asking for his job. Well, you know, Marshal, everybody knows Chester's only good for laughing at him. Well, there's going to be one less person laughing at him. And that's you. Let's give up. From now on, Holt, you stay out of my way. I'm back there. That's why I pulled up. People I know who are darned fools enough to be out on a day like this. Well, if he isn't my chewy, I'll say that. Yeah, I said, what are we didn't both freeze to death in the night? Uh, Mr. Dillon, ain't none of my business, but just why are you riding out this way? I'm trailing a man. Oh, would you like me to help you? No, I won't need any help, Chester. I won't have any trouble finding him. He doesn't have any more sense than you do getting out of a storm. I'm getting sick and tired of everybody saying how much sense I ain't got. That's so? Yes, sir, that's so. I'd just like to know how you're going to get them papers back from Dalhart if somebody don't go to him. Why didn't you bring me that wire from Joe Freeze? Because I know you give me some silly shali about not making the trip in Mr. Dillon. I just got to make it. I'd like to do something right. After all, I forgot them papers once, and they're important. Chester, a man's life is important, too. Yes, sir, I expect it is. An ad-opated, no-accounts-siv-headed so-and-so. Mr. Dillon? Who lets the lamps run dry and runs out of coffee. Mr. Dillon, you... Can't sing a note and even whistles off key. And everybody laughs at him? Let's get back to dusk. Directed by Norman McDonnell, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshall. The story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Marion Clark with editorial supervision by John Meston. Featured in the cast were Ken Lynch, Harry Bartel, Joseph Kearns, Frank Cady, and James Muthers. Barley Baer as Chester, Howard McNeer as Doc, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty. This is George Walsh inviting you to join us again next week for another story on Gunsmoke. Over the CBS Radio Network.