 Just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that's with the U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke, the story of the violence that moved west with young America, the story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal. I've got to talk to you. He's puttin' around the office all day. Matt, he's here in Dodd City. I just saw him. He came in on the morning train. You mean that boatry? Yes. It's been four years, man. I'd begun to hope he'd forget. Hope he wouldn't find us. From what you've told me, boatry doesn't sound like a man who ever forgets. He's come here looking for Bert to kill him. He swore he would. Matt, what are we going to do? I don't know. What's Bert think about it? He doesn't know yet. He's busy at the blacksmith's shop. Matt, you've got to help us. You're the only real friend we have out here. It might make it easier if I weren't, Jeannie. I'm supposed to maintain law and order, and just my job doesn't leave much leeway to mix in on personal quarrels. Well, there's no quarrel. It's just that Ed Bodry's a hot-tempered fool. Bert never did anything to him. He married you, didn't he? A woman has a right to change her mind, Matt. Maybe Bodry doesn't think so. Matt, you promised me once in Louisville. Yeah. All right, Jeannie, go on home and don't say anything to Bert. I'll talk to Bodry. Thank you. I'll never forget it. All right. Goodbye, Matt. Chester. Yes, sir. I'll be right there, Mr. Dillon. Did Ms. Wells leave? Yeah. Find a couple of Wells'. Did you know them before they came out West? Not Bert. I do, Mrs. Wells. I guess we better drop over to the Texas Trail, Chester. There's a fellow in town planning to do some killing. Hello, Chester. Miss Kitty? Come sit down, Matt. Tell me about things. I can't right now, Kitty. We're looking for a fellow. I thought he might have come in here. Sooner or later, they all do. Stranger, Matt? Yeah, he came in on the morning train. His name's Ed Bodry. Oh, him? There. It's a bar, Matt. Third from the end, next to Tulsa Jim Nixon. He's buying Irish whiskey for everybody. Thank you, Kitty. Come on, Chester. Yes, sir. Watch yourself, Matt. Yeah, sure, Kitty. See you later. All right, Bartender. Set up another round of Jamesons for the house. Your name, Bodry? Well, that's right, mister. Matt Dillon. I'm a U.S. Marshal here. I'd like to talk to you. Fine. Go ahead and talk. Tulsa, I suppose you'll move on down the bar for a couple of minutes, huh? Well, the idea, Marshal, this man's a friend of mine. You're not very particular about your friends. Go on, Tulsa, drift. Mr. Bodry, you, uh, you came here to kill Bert Wells, didn't you? Dead eye? Well, here's some advice. Don't do it. Take the next train and get out of town. Is that official? Just watch the charge, Marshal. None. Yet. Murder if you go through it. Well, not the way I understand it. Murder's one thing. Calling a man in a fair fight. That's another thing. Bodry, I'm the law here in Dodge, and I don't see it as a fair fight. Bert's a blacksmith, and he's not used to handling a gun. You are. And so I'm told. Who told you, Marshal? I don't know anybody here. Wait a minute. Dillon? Yeah. I heard Jeannie mention you. You knew her back in Louisville before she ran off. We'll leave her out of this, Bodry. So that's it. This isn't official. You're just doing a personal favor for an old friend. Probably a very close friend. Jeannie always did have a weakness. I warned you once. Now get up, Bodry. It was a mistake, Dillon. Now I'd have to kill you, too. I'm not a blacksmith, Bodry. I'll look you up just as soon as I've finished with Bert Wells. If you kill Bert, you won't have to look me up. He's in town. Bodry. I thought it was bound to happen sometime. Has he been bothering Jeannie? No, she just happened to see him get off the train this morning. She came and told me. She shouldn't have done it, Matt. It's not your problem. Maybe it is, Bert. I'm the law in Dodge, and the law doesn't like the idea of personal grudges ended up in the killer. What do you aim to do? Prevent it, if I can. Well, I wish you luck. You haven't worn that gun for two years, Bert, when I start now. I've got no choice, Matt. You know that. You mean you've got no chance. If you let Bodry call a showdown, he'll kill you. Maybe? Look, Bert, why don't you take to the prairie and hold up for a week or so while I figure some way you're running Bodry out of town, huh? Would you do it, Matt? Hide out and let somebody else do your fighting for you? Well, what I'd do is... That's beside the point, Bert. Jeannie. There's a law against killings, and it's Matt's job to enforce it. If you went away, there wouldn't be any fight. Wouldn't be much honor either, Jeannie. A man can't run and still call himself a man. He can run from a mad dog, and that's what Ed Bodry is. He never had any claim on me. It appears he thought he did. Matt, you know where Bodry's staying? I talked to him in the Texas trail. He probably took one of the rooms upstairs. You'd like to walk over there with me? Well, if that's the way you want it. No, Bert, you... I'll get my hat. Be right with you. Yeah? How? I don't know. But there must be something you can do. Yeah, there is. Boy, it's shaping up. I can probably arrest the survivor. No time to turn back, Bert. I'm afraid not, Matt. I should have had it out with Bodry back there in Kentucky five years ago. Jeannie wanted to run away and avoid trouble, and she was so beautiful, it was hard to argue with her. Yeah. Be hard on her if anything happened to you. Life's always hard on a woman, I guess. Worst out here on the prairie. Look out for her, Matt, in case I... Well, I mean if anything... Mr. Dillon? Huh? Oh, what is it, Chester? Bodry left the saloon a little while ago. Went over to the livery stable to hire a horse. I think he's riding out to your place, Mr. Wells. He's been doing a lot of talking. Jeannie'll be there alone, Matt. I better get back home. Don't be necessary. Here comes Bodry now. I won't draw unless he does, Matt. Heads up, Chester. Yes, sir. Riding out to call on you, Wells. I decided you'd had plenty of time to look me up. No reason to, Bodry. Most men had figured they had reason. Somebody had been in a local saloon. Telling their wives history. What? Bodry, you're right. Hold it. Don't draw, Bert. Chester, cover, Bodry. Just keep your hands still, Mr. Bodry. You're fast with that gun, Dillon. Fast enough, Mr. Bodry. You make a good body, God. Too bad you can't ride her 24 hours a day. I told you what to expect if you keep pushing this thing, Mr. Bodry. Now use some sense and get out of town while you're still alive. I've been in lots of towns, Dillon. I left them all alive. Wells, I've been planning to kill you for five years. Plans don't always work out. Listen, Will, you've got till sundown. After that, I'm going to shoot you on sight. All right, Mr. Bodry, if you finish speaking, your peace move along. Goodbye, surely, Mr. Dillon. See you later. A couple of hours before sundown. I think I'd like to spend them with Jeannie. I'll see you, Matt. Yeah, sure. Goodbye, Bert. I declare I just can't see any way of stopping it, Mr. Dillon. I can't either. I'd sure hate to be in Bert Wells' shoes. I'd hate worse to be in Bodry's. He'll never submit to arrest. Chester, I'm going to have to kill him. Why don't you relax, Matt? You're nervous as a cat. Yeah, and I'll stay nervous, Kitty, until I find out what's happened to those two. Bodry slipped off the back way just to dusk. Can'll play a sewing. Yeah. Bert pulled the same trick. I had a couple of boys watching the blacksmith shop, but he managed to give them a slip. There's nothing you can do now, Matt. Another killing. And you in the middle again. Why, Matt? Why do you do it? It's a job, Kitty. Somebody's got to do it. But why you? There are other things in life if you look around for them. Will you look my way, Matt? I brought my kit. I'm all prepared. Ah, we're the victims. No victims yet, Doc. You're jumping the gun. And I understand it's going to be a real showdown. The boys at the bar are offering two to one on Bodry. That's about the odds I figure if the shooting really starts. Oh, it'll start. Oh, and there's not a thing the world can stop at, Dillon. Chester, what are you doing in here? I told you to watch that street. Yes, sir, I know you did. The fight's as likely to start out there as anyplace else. No, sir, Mr. Dillon. I guess there's not going to be any fight. What? They just found Bodry lying in an alley down the block. Matt! Somebody sneaked up behind him with a hammer. He's sure dead. We'll return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment. But first, what is the connection between the statue and the square and a pair of thugs who are definitely not on the square with the law? Tonight on Gangbusters, hear the complete details of this exciting case taken from actual police files. Remember, it's Gangbusters later tonight and most of the same CBS radio stations. Don't miss it. Now, the second act of gun smoke. It's not like Bert to pull a sneak and Chester's with me. You better put away the gun. I thought it was somebody else. Who, Bert? You know who, Bodry, of course. I guess I better take your gun. Official, Matt? Official. Well, I got no quarrel with the law. Here. Thank you. Now, why did you do it? What do you mean? If it had been a gunfight, the law couldn't have touched you. The circumstances are all in your favor. But this way, they'll call it murder, and they'll be right, because that's what it was. Matt, what are you talking about? It's no use. You left the hammer lying right beside his body. It's got your shop brand carved in the handle. Whose body are you talking about? You mean Bodry? Yes, sure, Bodry. Matt, you're making a mistake. I went looking for Bodry, yes, but I didn't find him. Then I came back here. I was afraid to leave Jeannie there in the house alone. I didn't do it, Matt, you're all... It's not up to me, Bert. It's a court's job. All I can do is take in. The evidence is too strong, and I got no choice. No choice? I didn't have a choice either. We must have had a choice somewhere back down the line. When? Where was it? We could have stopped and turned back. I'm a martial, not a philosopher. Now, let's go. What about Jeannie? I've got to tell her. Chester will take care of it. It'd be better if you do it, Matt. You're a friend. That'd make it easy. I'd rather not if you don't mind. Now, come on, let's go. Step inside. For years we've been friends, Matt. I never thought it would come to this. Neither did I. You said you didn't find any money on him. It could have been robbery. I made it look like robbery. Either way, there's nothing I can do. Now, you'd better step inside. And I love... I'll bring you some blankets and tobacco. If you want anything else, let me know. Wish I knew how Jeannie was taking it. She'll be all right. Matt. Matt, look out for her, will you? Bertamans job is one thing, friendship's another. This prairie country is rough and tough and wild at the best. And without the law, nobody could survive in it. And that means putting friendship aside sometimes. A man still doesn't forget. I'll look out for her. Thanks, Matt. I'll see you later. Cut in safely, Matt. What about Baudry? He's dead. Absolutely dead. Like I never saw anybody in a dead end. Blacksmith Hammond makes a mighty fine weapon. Yeah, at least we're sneaking up behind. I can't figure Bert Doe and that's not like him. Sometimes a man changes under pressure, Doc. What would you say his chances are? Bad. Straws all point one way. Maybe somebody's been messing with the straw stack. Who? That's a good question, man. Well, the court will ask it. If he ever gets there. What do you mean? I just come from Texas Trail a while ago and some of the boys are kind of riled up. They're talking real loose. No law against talking. I doubt that they aim to leave it at talking, Matt. They figure the evidence is a little on the weak side. A court might turn Bert loose. So there's him, it's up to them. That's mad because they've lost their source of free drinks. Well, maybe so, but you better keep your eyes open, Matt. Yeah, I know that, Doc. They hunt in the dark and pull down stragglers and mostly they just talk. So don't worry. Bert's in jail and that's where he's going to stay. Just thinking, wondering. You shouldn't have come here, Janie. Matt, I want to see Bert. No visitors after dark. It's a jail rule. Rules don't have to be enforced. Mine do. Bert's a prisoner, same as any other prisoner. He's charged with murder. He didn't do it, Matt. It's not for me to say. But you know he didn't. You know Bert. You know he wouldn't do a thing like that. Sneak up behind a man's back in the dark. I'm not the court, Janie. I know. And they'll believe he did it. And the night train's coming in. I hope it's not bringing in trouble. The morning train did. Matt, I want to see Bert. I told you that you're going to give me the gun, Janie. No, I warn you, Matt. Stay back. Give me the gun. No, Matt. So help me out. I said hand it over. Now, what did you hope to gain with that? I don't know. What is it, Chester? I just come from the Texas Trail. I think there's going to be some trouble. Trouble? The bunch that hangs out around there doing a lot of drinking and talking up the idea of coming over here to the jail. Oh, no. Maybe we ought to go over there and do some talking ourselves. Janie, I think the best thing for you to do is to go back home and stay there till morning. Now, don't worry about this. Nothing's going to happen. But, Matt, you can't handle that crowd alone. I've been handling things alone for a long time. Yeah, he struck up an acquaintance with Baudry when he first got off the train. Guess he figures he's an old partner by now. Now, come on. The boys at the bar. That's what I mean. Toss the Jims and buy them drinks the last two hours. They're in a real nasty mood. So be careful, Matt. That's all. Just be careful. Kitty, I'm the carefulest man you know. This is quite an audience you got. Panhandlers, bums, and barflies, and dodge. Well, calling names won't change the facts, Dylan. What facts? That's for the court to decide, Toss the Jim. The court. Who said work hand and glove with you? Oh, I tend to set them up again all around. You've turned into quite a free spender, Toss the Jim. I never knew you'd a double eagle gold piece. You mind if I take a look at it? It's good. Don't worry about that. Yeah, I'm sure it is. Where'd you get it? That's my business, Dylan. Oh, you're the one who killed Baudry. That's a lie. I thought robbing him was just a cover-up, but it wasn't. There aren't many double eagles around Dodge. Baudry had a lot of them. Now you. Why would you get a pocket full of gold pieces, Toss the Jim? Well, it's killed Baudry. That blacksmith hammer was lying right beside him. Yes, where you left it. What does Jim mean? Toss the Jim came into my husband's shop late this afternoon. His horse had thrown a shoe. He had plenty of chance to steal that hammer. She's lying. Why did you get the gold, Toss the Jim? Well, I... I wouldn't... Well, I wouldn't in the poker game. Last week when... Well, when the trailhead would... Toss, you're under arrest for murder. Better get up and inquest. Found it, Matt. You never give me any chance to practice on live people. Yeah. You wouldn't know what to do with them, Doc. Well, I... I do get fewer complaints this way. Matt, does this mean it birds free? He shouldn't have come here, Jeannie. Yeah, he's free. Chester will go with you over to the jail and let him out. Thank you, Matt. Thank you for everything. You told me one time in Louisville that... Louisville? That was a long time ago and a long way off. So, goodbye, Jeannie. Goodbye, Matt. What's it all about, Matt? Well, what's anything all about, kitty? Professor! What do you say we'll just have a little tune, huh? My short thing, Mr. Dillon, what'd you like to hear? Oh, uh, how about that one of Foster's of Jeannie? Jeannie with a light brown hair. You're bad. You knew her before, didn't you, Matt? Yeah, I met her in Louisville one summer. Saw her quite a lot for a couple of months. And then I dripped it up west. A man misses out on things by drifting. I wonder, then, if she ever needed help to call on me. Well, she called and you helped her. Yeah, I guess. Well, anyway, that's it. Matt? Yeah. When are you going to help yourself? The direction of Norman MacDonald stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal. Tonight's story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Les Crutchfield with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Featured in our cast were Tom Tully, Lynn Allen, Larry Dubkin, Georgia Ellis and Barney Phillips. Parley Bear as Chester and Howard McNeer as Doc. Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal fights to bring law and order over most of the same CBS radio stations. Stay tuned now for Broadway is my beat which follows immediately over most of these same radio stations. On a Sunday afternoon, the music's delightful on the CBS radio network.