 Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers of the spoilers, and that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of guns 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, 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. Try not to be hard on Chester, huh? I'm not gonna be hard on him, Kitty, but if a man isn't doing his job, well, he should. I'm a great match, right, Kitty? By the other day, I was riding through Cottonwood Grove, and there was Chester, big as life, lying under a tree with a straw stuck in his mouth. What day was that, Doc? What day was it? Let me see. I was on my way to Red Morgan's place. To that youngest kid who read and got himself wrapped up in a roll of barbed wire. I thought I would never get him out. What day, Doc? Oh, what day? Let me think. On the Thursday! It was Thursday. Man, that's the day he was supposed to clean the rifles, get a new stirrup leather from my saddle, and do a half a dozen other things he hasn't been doing for the last ten days. Well, what did he say, Doc? He didn't even see me. He just lay there, staring up at the sky. Matt, I think I know what it is. What? Chester's got spring fever. Spring fever? You might be right, Matt, but you've been having the weather for it. Yeah, I've got to touch up it myself. Well, Chester's going to have to straighten out. This has been going on for weeks. I'll see you two later. Now you'd be easy on him, Matt. All right, kitty. Well, Chester, I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you'd be lying out under a tree somewhere about now. Under a tree? No, sir. I've been waiting around for you, Miss Dylan. Oh, good, because I want to talk to you. Miss Dylan, did you ever sat and watch a beaver build a dam? Did I ever what? Watch a beaver build a dam. Chester, this is exactly what I want to talk to you about. There's a lot of work to be done around here, and you're not getting it done. Yes, sir, I know, but I was just starting to explain about that. You were? Yes, sir. See, for most of the year, a stream runs in one direction, don't it? Then along comes the beaver, and he builds his dam, and the water kindly starts to go in the other direction, at least for a while, it does. What's this got to do with you're not doing your work, Chester? Well, that's the way my blood is. Every year, about this time, my blood kindly dams up and starts to go the other way, and I feel different. Chester, come here. Now sit down. Go on. All right, out with it. Mr. Don, there's a lady at that Dodge house waiting to see me. Well, what's so terrible about that? Well, nothing, I guess, except she'd come here from St. Louis expecting me to marry her. She what? Chester, what have you been doing? Well, I've been writing letters to some ladies out of town. What ladies? Oh, some ladies, Mr. Don. See, I run across a bunch of St. Louis newspapers, and there was all these ads, and we were feeling like a do-and-all. I just kindly wrote to several of them. And you've never even seen this woman, then, huh? What did I need? Well, what did you say in the letters? Well, I just told her about myself. The truth? Well, here and there, I might have stretched things in my... Well, what you're trying to tell me, Chester, is that you wrote a bunch of lies, and now one of these women is here to call your hand. Can you go talk to her, Mr. Don, please? If you mean you want me to get you out of it? Yes, sir. Well, Chester, I... All right, what's her name? Mrs. Corrine Gatesley. Mrs? She's a widow, lady. Oh, fine. You want me to tell her that you've left town? We don't know where you are, or something like that. Is that it? No, sir. Not exactly. Then what? If you don't mind too awful much, Mr. Don, would you tell her your Chester proud food? That I? Oh, see, then you could go on about how you ain't going to marry her and all that. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You don't understand, Mr. Don. Wait a minute, Chester. Wait a minute. I said her your picture. You did what? It was awful good likeness. Remember that one of you standing at Mr. Titus' studio holding that bullet hat in your hand? Where are you going, Mr. Don? Chester, I'm going to tell her the truth right now, and you'll see the char here when I get back. Yes, sir. Oh, dear, I wish I had never learned to write. This is Matt Dillon. Yeah, what are you... Mr. Darling, you tried the fool, Karen, didn't you? You're a naughty boy. I'm Ms. Gageley, ma'am. I came here to... Well, Chester, you didn't call me that. Just call me Karen. Well, no, look, ma'am, there's been a little mix-up. Mr. Prottfoot has been kind of playing a game with you. Game? I don't understand. Well, I'm Matt Dillon, and Chester Prottfoot, well, he's another man. He set you my picture by mistake. Dillon? Seems I've heard that name before. Well, yeah, you possibly have, ma'am. I'm the Marshal here in Dodge. The Marshal? That's very interesting, Marshal. The way things have worked out, I may have need of you. Marshal Dillon, I want to show you something. These letters. You see, these were written by this Prottfoot person. Would you please read a few passages? Well, I have. What would you conclude from that, Marshal? Well, he's expecting some money to come his way soon. What else? And he's not above Marion, the right woman? Marshal, would you please tell Mr. Prottfoot that I'm waiting for him to call on me? Yes, ma'am. I'll tell him. Good day, Marshal. Good day, Miss Gaisley. He serves him right. And anyway, Chester should get married. That may be, Doc, but I don't think this is the woman for him. Well, why not, Matt? Well, for one thing, she's sure nothing to look at. She's taller than Chester, and she weighs as much as I do. Oh, yes. Well, oh, Matt, this is wonderful. I can hardly wait for the wedding. Don't count on it, Doc. Well, where is Chester, man? He's hiding out down at the office. Well, let's get him up here, huh? And drink a toast to this Justin kid. Oh, Doc, stop. Now, could I have known Chester a long time? And I want him to know how happy I am for him. Doc, you're just making fun of him. No, I'm not. I may even deliver the first child for you. Matt, what are you going to do about this? Well, I'll let Chester worry for a few days just to teach him a lesson. And I'll try to get her to leave town. Well, how does he explain all this? He'll never believe me. But the trouble is, he told her he had money coming in. I've known a few women like that. You know, Matt, there is such a thing as breach of promise. Yeah, he only had to mention the money. Matt, wait a minute. This woman, you say she's big. Does she have bread here? Uh, yeah, I think she does. She say where she was from? Well, Chester said she's from St. Louis. Why? Well, there's a woman I saw a few times in St. Louis working a saloon. Then a year or so later, the sheriff was looking for her. They found the bodies of several men she had married that all been shot and robbed. Well, did they ever find her? Yeah, but they couldn't prove anything on her and had to let it go. Her name then was Bertha Huskowitz. Would she know you? No, I don't remember her. Good. Now, she's staying at the Dodge House. You see if you can get a look at her, huh? Sure. You gonna take her in, Matt? There's no way I can yet. But I'll wire St. Louis and see what they say about her. And in the meantime, there's one thing pretty sure. What? Yes, she is Bertha Huskowitz. She's planning Chester for her next victim. There's one thing. If he don't want me to read him, he just don't need to send me after him. But to let on the Mr. High Tire that I read here is telegraph. Well, it come in all right, Mr. Dillon. It's here. And it ain't been opened now. Thanks, Chester. There's something way over here, Mr. Dillon. But I can't read it. Just like he said. No need to fair on me reading your telegraphs anymore, Mr. Dillon. Mr. High Tire made that real claim. Oh, Chester, will you quit your grumbling? If there's something I want you to know, I'll tell you it. You probably think I mind something, Mr. Dillon, but I don't it don't bother me at all. Not one bit. I know, I know. Wait on now, Mr. Dillon. I suppose to know about that, neither. Have you seen your lady friend yet? No, and I don't intend to. I hope she's on the first train out of here today. You know, you're going to find her a lot harder to get rid of than you think, Chester. I'll see you later. Mr. Bodkin? Oh, well, good morning, Marshal. What brings you into the bank so early? Look, Mr. Bodkin, there's something I'd like to ask you to do for me. Anything. Anything you say, Marshal? Well, this is going to involve the use of some of your money. Well, now, Marshal, that doesn't really belong to me. I know that, Mr. Bodkin. Well, just how much money, Marshal Dillon? $5,000. $5,000? Well, Marshal Dillon, people leave their money here on trust, and it's up to me. Mr. Bodkin, let's go into your office, and I'll tell you what this is all about, huh? Oh, all right, but $5,000 is a lot of money, Marshal. I know that, Mr. Bodkin. Yeah, Doc. Matt, I've been looking all over for you. Yeah, Kitty and I saw that Haskovitz woman going into your office. Oh? Yeah, you better keep her away from Chester. She's liable to convince him he has to marry her. Well, that's what I wanted to do. I want Chester to think that he really does have to marry this woman. Look, Doc, I tell you what, you go find Kitty and tell her about this, and see that she helps out, huh? Oh, but Chester might get killed. Well, I'll see that he doesn't. Now, you go tell Kitty, and then both of you come right back to the office as soon as you can. But you come out of that hell. No, ma'am, I ain't going to stop that. Ms. Desa? Yes, ma'am. Chester. Oh, good morning, Marshal Devin. I've come to get my loved one. Chester, what are you doing in that cell? Well, after what I done, I figured I ought to be locked up. Where are the keys? I got them right here in my pocket. Hand them over. Yes, sir. Look, I would like to get married to you, ma'am, but you see how things are. There ain't nothing I can do about... I just can't... Would you like to come out, Marshal? Yes, sir. Oh, thank you, Marshal. It's all right. Let's go on out to the front office, okay? Here's Kitty. Here's our happy bride. Come on, Chester. Is this the big day? Well, no. Hey, don't I know you, dearie. Oh, not that I know, huh? Oh, I guess not. Oh, look at this poor boy. He's scared to death. Chester, darling, see how your little Korean's trembling all over. Oh, my God. Let me just look at them. Don't do I have to go through with this. I never really meant nothing by writing all them letters. I was just having a little fun. Chester, you can't toy with a woman's heart that way. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Chester. I am, Miss Kitty. Honest, I am Miss Gaysley, ma'am. Yes, love. You don't want me now, do you? I don't look like much. I ain't had hardly no school in the tall. All I know is health and Mr. Dillon, and that's all I really want to do. Every year at this time, I get these crazy ideas about women and maybe having a home of my own and spending your money on someone you love. Money. They say that's... Oh, I told you awful lie about that. Well, I ain't got no money at all. That was all part of the... Well, that was just... just talk like the rest of it. What are you saying? No money. No, ma'am, no money. Matt, is Chester in here? Yeah, he's here, Mr. Barking. Oh, there you are, Chester. Well, my boy, have I got good news for you. Oh, Mr. Barking, I sure could use some good news. Well, look in this bag. There's $5,000 in it, and it's all yours. No, no, don't fool me, Mr. Barking. I got enough dollars to use. I am not fooling, it's yours. $5,000, Chester? Yes, ma'am, he inherited it. No, I didn't. No idea about it. Oh, yes, ma'am. No, no, no. I'm an old man down in Texas. Who, who, who, who? What old name? Grandpa Drum. Grandpa Drum. Grandpa Drum. Now, why does he have to go and do that? Isn't that wonderful, Chester? Now, you can get married just the way you always wanted to. Mr. Don, I don't want to leave here or make him coffee for you, holding your horse, and then, and I'll get that saddle-pitched right away. Chester, you don't have any choice. You've asked for this woman's hand. He sure has. No, Chester dear, do you want me to read these letters out loud? No, no, no. No, how? How, Maria? Now you're talking, Chester. Well, let's all go over to my place and we'll celebrate. That's a good idea, Kitty. And Chester, it's on me. Every last drink. Thank you, Miss Kitty. You always was nice to me. Why don't you call it off? I can't do that, Doc. I was hoping I was wrong. But here, look at this. Huh? What do you mean? What is it? On the telephone? Yeah, this time from Wichita. The woman you describe is Marion Bertha. She is responsible for two disappearances in this area. Found both bodies, but can prove nothing. Suspects she works with Nail Accomplice. Signs she'll go. Nail Accomplice? Oh, my dear. You're going to get just to kill. I hope not, Doc. She's got tickets for both of them on this afternoon's stage to launch. I know. And say she won't be married anywhere else. She wants to get Chester and his money away from Dodge, Doc. What are you doing about it? I'm going to give her enough rope to hang herself. I just hope Chester doesn't get caught in the same noose. Way back to Dodge. Goodbye, Miss Kitty. Somehow this just don't seem real. It's real enough, Chester. Let's take a look at that lovely creature next to you. Hello, my dear. Goodbye, Doc. Bye-bye. Bye, Kitty. Bye. Where's the party? Ain't nobody seen Mr. Don't. No, I haven't. Where is Matt, Doc? Well, I don't know. But he better have... Well, here he comes. Just look at him. He's wearing this high jacket. And he's suddenly so hot. Mr. Don't? Mr. Don't, did you come to just insist that I get off this stagecoach? No, Chester. I'm going to ride the larnage. You didn't think I'd miss that wedding of yours, did you? Jack, let's get this stage going at two o'clock. All right, Marshall. Everybody on the way. Well, I hope everything works out all right, Doc. Oh, I see. So do I, Kitty. So do I. I understand why you're coming along. Well, Chester and I have been friends for a long time, Miss Kaley. There's a lease I can tell you. Flames. I thought we were friends. I've seen you all dressed up for my wedding, poor darling. Chester, dear, you'll be happy. After all, love conquers all. Well, I never knew a man could get into such a mess. Mr. Don't, I was just punning at least four or five other ladies that I wrote to. That I've got you. Yes, ma'am, I reckon you have. Marshall, Mr. What's this all about? Grab Bertha, Chester, and keep her quiet. What? What is this? I'll hold up, Mr. Don't. Just keep yourself and the woman out of it, Chester. Yes, sir. All right, driver, jump down. Oh, I said, be quiet. Bertha, it's good. Throw up your hands. It's bad. It's the Marshall. You shot my husband. Did you bring the Marshall? Who's he, Mr. Don? She called him her husband and she was fixing to marry me. No, she wasn't, Chester. She was going to have him kill you. She was? Then you wasn't letting her take me off to get married at all. You was only trying to capture her. Yeah, I had to have both of them, Chester. He's a killer. She may be, too. Well, why didn't you tell me, Mr. Don? I could have helped. You did, Chester. You helped a lot. I did? I did? Well, say now. I reckon I did it that, Mr. Don. This is George Walsh. Inviting you to join us again next week when CBS Radio presents another story on Gunsmoke. The story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Tom Hanley, the editorial supervision by John Meston. Featured in the cast were Virginia Gregg, Joseph Kearns, and Mick Caron. Harley Bear is Chester, Howie McNeer is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty. This is George Walsh. Inviting you to join us again next week on Gunsmoke.