 city and in the territory on West there's just one way to handle the killers of the spoilers and that's with a US Marshal and the smell of gun smoke. A man who moved with it. I'm that man, Matt Dullin, 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. At a little low. It's a long branch for a minute, Mr. Dillon. It might as well, Chester. There won't be much doing around town tonight. So do hope they got a rip, snort and fire going. The wind's got a nip to it, all right. And it's going to blow up worse for them ones. Looks like it. I thought that might be here, but it don't seem no place. Oh, Matt. Yeah, very good, Miss Kitty. You want to go over to the stove, like warm? Yeah, if it was warm right here, Kitty, I'd have that wind off the side. It goes right through you, doesn't it? So I think I'll be going over to the stove, Mr. Dillon. It might be some kind-hearted stranger who'll buy me a beer. Justin never gives up hope, doesn't he? Sit down, Kitty. See if you're not so busy. Don't you believe in kind-hearted strangers? No, not since I was nine years old. What took you so long? I was kind of slow growing up. You like a beer? Oh, if you let a kind-hearted Jane divide. That wouldn't exactly call you a stranger, Kitty. Oh, you'll have to admit I'm kind-hearted, Matt. Uh, Sam, a couple beers. All right, Miss Kitty. You think a real bad storm's coming up, Matt? No, it's about time of year. I remember the blizzard last year around Christmas time. Oh, yeah. It was a rough one, all right, women. Matt, things would be rough this time of year, even if the weather weren't bad. What's that mean? Oh, it's our holiday season. Family is getting together, and all the ordinary decent good times. Who'll live that way, Kitty? There's not many out here. I sure don't. I'm not kidding. Oh, I'm sorry, Matt. Well, some of you, I... I wasn't thinking too much, and remembering too much. No, that's not good, Kitty. This is a hard town and a hard country. You go throbbing, little kitty. I remember nice of you coming here. I had to kill a man. Nice to save his son up, not talking alone, mostly, and buying a dozen deaths inside. You know something, you're his son, a model, and a justice. Come on. Give me a chance, too. I've been robbed, Marshall. Held up like my own store. How to happen this? Well, fellas, come right in after closing time. Bandana over his face. Stuck a gun in my stomach and took everything to taste. $68. I sure took you long enough to get around telling me about it. He tied me up, left me there in the back room, and just now got loose. You got to go after him, Marshall. That's kind of a tall order, isn't it, trailing on five-hour heads? Well, that don't matter now, because I know who he is. I thought you said you couldn't see his face. I couldn't, but I could tell by his voice, and he walked me everything about him. It was Clint Doty. Clint Doty? Yeah, he's the homesteader up the river. Yeah, I know him, I know him. I can't believe Clint's the kind who'd do a thing like that. Yeah, and it was him all right. I'm 100% certain. Well, all right, we'll write up in the morning and bring him in. In the morning? Well, if it was him, he'd be there. Oh, but, Marshall... But, Jonas, I'm not going to write 12 miles up that river bottom at midnight with a blizzard coming up for $68, no. We'll leave in the morning. That's sunup. Well, he must have heard us right now, Mr. Jonas. Yeah, you'd think so. Suppose he's got a hole up in the house and just try to shoot it out? I don't think Doty's the type, Chuck. Well, nobody didn't think he was the type to hold up Mr. Jonas. Morning, Marshall. How are you, Doty? Come on in and sit. I got some coffee on the stove. Oh, it might warm our hands a little bit. Come on, Chuck. I reckon Madora can rustle up some eggs inside me to gain that. Thanks, Doty, but we had breakfast before we left Dodge. And you can get warm at least. Hey, what you trying to do, Marshall? Blow up a storm? I looked that way. Since the day break out here in the river bottoms, that wing bone is going to start drifting. That probably will. Well, heat this coffee up a little. What brings you out this way, Marshall? Oh, Doty. What do you mean? We're here to arrest you. Take you back in. You mean that hold up at the general store? It seems to travel fast, doesn't it? How'd you know about it? What's all this about arms, robbery? Oh, you know them a lot again. Yeah, sure. How are you going to do that? Are you accusing a client of robbery, Marshall? That's more a matter of Wilbur Jonas' accusing, ma'am. When did this happen, Marshall? Yesterday, even, around 7 o'clock. Clint hasn't been away from this place for two days. Yeah, I know him, Madora. My wife's word might not stand for much out of those circumstances, Madora. Are you calling me a liar? No, Madora, stop that. There's people singing in town yesterday. Wilbur Jonas claims he's one of them. The way I hate it, the fella that held him up was wearing a man. He's cause he recognized your voice. Wilbur Jonas couldn't recognize. I suppose if he had a mouth full of them. Well, I guess that'd be something for the judge to decide, ma'am. Then you're going to take me into jail? But you can prove you were somewhere else. Is that my clock last night? Oh, that might be kind of hard to do, Marshall. Then we better get started. We've got a hard ride ahead of them. Oh, no, wait a minute. I can't go off and leave Madora like this. Will the storm come along? Maybe one of the neighbors will come over and stay with her. There's none closer than five miles, Marshall, and they all got plenty of troubles of their own this time of year. I ain't even got enough firewood to put it up to last year more than a day and a half. I was aiming to get some laid in today. I'm sure she's made out before. Oh, well, maybe so, but not in her condition. Clam! Condition? What are you talking about? Well, she's going to have a baby, Marshall. Oh, for the lovers. It's mighty hard on a woman having her man took off to jail and not even wooden the house to keep warm. Now, look, Doty. You know, it wouldn't take no time at all if the three of us were to pitch in together. All right, Doty, let's get at it. Couser, that needs sharpening again, Mr. Dillon. It ain't too good a steel. The Marshall's got the best for it. You couldn't prove it by me. Well, listen, sure don't hold it there. None far here. Chester, let me touch it up for the soul. Oh, my gracious, that is just my cheeky. If you ask me, we've already topped enough wood to last through this winter and a half. Well, let's stop that! Oh, we heated up pretty fast. That's just right, Doty. We've chopped enough. Well, she's got you some of it to cook with, too, Dillon. It's enough here to last so she can make other arrangements. Now, let's pack it into the shed and head back to town before that snow gets any worse. Well, whatever you say, Marshall. Yes, sir. I'll take him on some riddles. I've got the nice hot food ready. Did you say riddles? Now, we've got to get started. Oh, it won't do no harm to you first. It'll make the trail shorter, Marshall. Well... Look at all the thick of it, too, with this wind driving the snow into the north wall of the cabin. Oh, dang it, I couldn't forgot. Forgot what? The chinkens. The chinkens? No, the chinkens. The chinkens all fell out of the north wall of the house. Oh, I was aiming to fix it today. I've got a lot of bark slabs cut laying up back to the barn. Oh, look, Doty. It's pretty hard on a woman in Madora's condition with the snow and the sleet blowing in on it. Doty, would it be all right if we eat first? Couldn't have done one bit better. Oh, that looks fine, Marshall. Just fine. I'm mighty obliged, you men. Oh, that's all right. Well, I know you've got your duty to do. You've got to take me in. And I want you to know there's no hard feelings about it. Oh, sure, Doty. And I appreciate the way you both think so decent. Help me get things in shape so Madora'll be all right here alone. Well, it ain't many long minutes to take this trouble. Well, she's got enough problems about making the worst for it. Let's put the foods away and get some tires. It's gonna be dry before we get to Dodge. There, are you sure all right about her having plenty of problems, Marshall? In her condition and all. And now the cattle gone. The cattle gone? Well, of course, we only had about 20 head, but with me going to prison, maybe there's been enough to see her through, her and the little one. What do you mean, the cattle gone? I had them there in the meadow, back in the corral, letting them pick clean what pasture was left. I guess they drifted off. Well, of course they drifted off. When that storm hit, they turned tail and moved along with the wind. The cattle always do that. Man, I guess it don't matter much, though. Midora couldn't take care of know-how, not in her condition. Well, she could if you'd hold them in the corral, there next to the barn, all she'd have to do is push the hay out of the loft door. I reckon they drifted down south there about three miles and come up against the bluff. Oh, they'll probably mill around and freeze to death there. Storm keeps up. About three miles, huh? Mm-hmm. I was aiming to go after them, but, of course, one man alone wouldn't have had much chance. All right, Tony, come on, let's go find your cattle. He know my born days. Storm's really got him poofed. You know, that had turned out to be more of a chore than I thought, Marshal. Yeah, sure it did, though. I just don't know how I'd have managed to get out you fellas helping. We're mighty grateful to you, me and Midora both. Well, we couldn't let the cattle freeze. Well, if you're waiting out till I put these landings in the barn, we can leave any time you say. Oh, unless, of course, you'd like some hot coffee first. Tony, it's dark now. You know as well as I do when I'm going to ride back to Dodge tonight. Well, say, in that case, maybe you wouldn't mind helping me kill and dress a couple of dozen hands. A couple dozen hands? Hang them up under the ease to freeze. Oh, my gracious! Kicking you off mighty good for a woman in Midora. Look, Tony, we've already chopped your wood, fixed your house, and rounded up your cattle. You've been mighty decent. All right. All right, we'll help you dress your chickens. We'll make soap for you, salt down the pork, preserve eggs, anything you say up until midnight. Then I'm going to get some sleep. When it's time up, we're going to ride into Dodge and you're going to jail. What's matter, Mr. Jones? Well, you tell me, you're the one who's supposed to be on guard now. Huh? Well, it has to be later. I'm going to do those off for a second. You made a couple of hours, don't you? Please don't, he didn't get away. No, he's down there. I just woke him up. Oh, well. I kind of figured he wasn't going to know where he's in that storm. What storm? Well, it's over. Now, dive out there in the night. You better get yourself collected, Chester. We're heading for Dodge. Well, I just look at that sun on the snow with him. And I see them boots that have a swathe. Oh! What's the matter? Oh, Mr. Jones, I'm so lame. I don't even know if I can stand up straight. Well, keep trying. That's right. I'm going to have to be spoon-fed for my body. Never worked so hard in all my life. Hello! What are you doing out this way? Well, it's being a patient, I guess. He must have left town awful early. Hey, did somebody ride up? Yeah. I thought maybe it was acting up. Touch the couch, or I spent the night there. Or I'd just drop over and say, load the door. As long as I was just close. Except I've done that in town. I'm taking him in. You're taking him in? Before what? Robin Jonas, general's store, night before last. Robin the j... Now, where'd you get that idea? Well, Jonas claims he recognized it. Wilbur Jonas hasn't got the sense the good Lord gave a gopher. They coughed the fella had done that. What? That's right. There was some drifter riding through town. He threw a lot of money into a poker game, and the boys got kind of suspicious. And he finally admitted the whole thing. So they barred the jail keys and judged Benton, locked him up until he'd get back. But Clint, didn't you tell him? Well, I... Tell me what? Clint here couldn't have done it, Matt. He was playing poker at the time with me and Marce Grimmick in the back room delivery stable. No, Marce, I didn't lie to you. You asked me if I could prove where I was. I didn't know Doc's word was actual proof. Clint, don't even guess. He done that deliberately, Mr. Dillon. Let me think he was guilty just to get us to do all that work for him. And I suppose the story about your wife having a baby... Oh, that's the gospel truth, Marce. Well, it sure is, Matt. I'll vouch for that. Let me see now. It's about another six months. Let me... around the 1st of July. 1st of July? Yes. I didn't say when, Marce. And you didn't ask me. Aren't you gonna wish it well, Marce? The 1st of July? Oh, help me, Doty, for two cents. Oh, we might even name him after you, Marce, if we can't think of nothing else. Oh, help. Here's William Cronrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal. The story was specially written for Gun Smoke by Les Westfield with editorial supervision by John Meston. Featured in the task were Joseph Cerns, Virginia Gregg and Ralph Moody. Farley Bear is Custer, Howard McNeer is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty. This is George Walsh inviting you to join us again next week for another story on Gun Smoke. You have to complete news first on the CBS Radio Network. 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