 town, dark city, and in the territory on west, there's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers. That's with the U.S. Marshal and the spell of gun smoke. Gun smoke. Starring William Conrad. 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. It's hot today, Mr. Dillon. Yeah. Used to get hotter in sweetwater though. Texas. Yes, sir. But I wasn't there very long. No. What'd you do there, Chester? Oh, I was a salesman, Mr. Dillon. Salesman. Well, what'd you sell? Lightning rods. Lightning. Oh, well, now there are good things to have, Mr. Dillon. Why, I had a line of lightning rods. I don't explain it to me, Chester. Too hot. Well, I'll go get us some beer. Maybe that'll help. I don't think I want any beer, Chester. Well, then why don't you just go take a siesta, Mr. Dillon? I'll stay here in the office. Why don't you just leave me alone? All right, Mr. Dillon. Marshal. Yeah, what do you want, Doc? A couple of cowboys been feeding their liquor over at the Texas Trail. That's what saloons are for, isn't it? And they were giving Kitty a bad time. Oh. She got rid of them now. But they're down at the end of Front Street now, making remarks and pestering the town ladies. It just might lead to trouble. Well, I'm not going to walk down there in this heat just to lecture a couple of hard-nosed cowboys. I'll go, Mr. Dillon. Oh, good, Chester. You go, huh? Just tell them to take it easy and leave the ladies alone. Yes, sir, I will, Mr. Dillon. All right, boys. Now, that's enough. Who's this? A preacher, maybe. That's him. Boys, Marshal Dillon sent me down here. And we're going to send you right back, tell us. Mr. Dillon said you can have all the fun you like, but to leave the ladies alone. That's a hell of a dang trouble, these dodge ladies. They've been left alone too long. Yeah, well, they need us a couple of big-handed Texas men. Look, now, why don't you go over there to the alfaganza? I'll buy you both a beer. You will, huh? Well, that's mighty thought of you, Mr. We just don't want any trouble, that's all. Sure we don't. And I got an idea how we won't have any. Why don't I get on my horse here? Stay with our friend a minute, Travis. Hey, mister, I'll make a bet. What kind of bet? What do you mean? Any kind. You name it. Come on. Well, but I don't... I got him. He spilled his gun, Travis. Pick it up and grab your horse. Yeah, he's getting his rope off of me. Maybe you wear off, mister. You're going for a ride. Dragon, sobo dragon! Let's go! Mr. Marshall. What? Who got Chester? A couple cowboys. They wrote him and dragged him out of town. Come on. Well, which way? West, I'm going with you. Hurry. There they are, but they're not dragging anything. They must have cut him loose. There he is by that sagebrush. Get that rope off his feet, channel. Look at him. He's bleeding all over the torrent of ribbons. I'll stay with him, Marshall, if you'd like to... No, Charlo. Go get our horses up. I'll get him back to the dock right away. All right, Marshall. So, Mr. Chester, I got you now. We'll be at the dock soon. Easy, Chester. Easy fellow. Carry him when you get tired, Marshall. I won't get tired, Charlo. Not for a long time. He's in bad shape, Marshall. The worst is something that's bothering his breathing. I don't know what it is. We'll just have to wait and see if it goes away. If he lives the next few days, he'll pull through. I know, I know, I know. I'll stay right here with him. Why did I have to send him? Why didn't I go? Oh, and I don't blame myself, Marshall. I told him to go, didn't I? Yes, but... Doc, can I talk to him? No, no, Marshall. No, not for a while. All right, then. Would you tell him this for me? Going after those men, I'm going to bring him back. Alive. Or at least half alive. On the street outside, waves of heat move back and forth, making things seem unreal. Like Chester lying up there at Docks. That seemed unreal somehow. I walked down to the jail and I went inside and I sat there for a while. Then only once I got up and unbuckled my guns and I hung them on a peg behind the desk. And I went over to the Texas Trail. I'm over here, Matt. Sit down. Matt, I heard about Chester. How is he? Doc doesn't know for sure. They were in here bothering you. Who were they kidding? I never saw them before. One was a kind of weasel-faced man named Trevitt. And the other? Big man, real brute. Named Stobo, I think. I see. What outfit, they say. Would it be the crow track? Yeah, and the crow tracks holding my herd up the river. Can I get kitty? Wait a minute, Matt. Yeah? No business of mine to ask, but where are your guns? It would have been easier for Chester if they'd have shot him and killed him. But I don't see it. So I'm not going to shoot them. Chester dies, I'll see him hanged. Otherwise... Otherwise what, Matt? I don't know. But I'm going to bring him back and we'll wait and see. You're taking an awful chance. Maybe. Oh, Matt. Please be careful. Kitty? Yeah, Matt. Looking on Chester once in a while, we can maybe... Oh, of course I will. Don't worry about him. Thank you, Kitty. So long. What is it, Shiloh? Marshall, I want to ride after those cowboys with you. No, Shiloh, I'm going alone. But we could use you here at the jail. Here? I'm going to take two prisoners. I don't know when or how, but I need a jailer when they come in. So I'll bring them in with you and then I'll be... No. That's something I have to do alone. Marshall, you're a stubborn man, but okay, I'll do it. Tease her in my desk. Here's my horse. I'm going now. Hey, uh, wait a minute, Marshall. You're not armed. I know it, Shiloh. Goodbye. Who's the trail boss here? Where is he? Here I am, and I don't need any riders. Maybe not, but you got two riders I need. That's the Cotrack outfit, isn't it? That's right. I'm looking for a couple of your men called Stoboe and Truvin. I ain't here, mister. And where are they? They come back this afternoon, picked up the gatherings and left. Didn't even wait to get paid off. I'm telling you this just because they're no good and I'm glad they're gone. Which way'd they go? I wouldn't tell you if I knew, mister. I didn't think you would. Who are you, anyway? I'm a U.S. Marshal of the Dutch. That's all? Well, I don't know what you want them for, and I don't care, but how you going to take them, Marshall? Put salt on her tail? You ought to at least take a club if you're going after that Stoboe. He's mean. He's big. Besides, being a Texan. We've hung Texans up here before, mister. Yeah. I heard Stoboe and Truvin say they were heading west, following the Arkansis. Where are you from, son? Texas, near Waco. And what are you sniveling around and forming on these men for? That Stoboe kicked me. Knock me down and kicked me. All right, son, I'll ride along the Arkansis. But you ride back to Texas and learn how to fight your own battles. We will return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment. But first, the conventions start next Monday when the Republican Party takes over Chicago. CBS Radio's greatest reporting names and the core of technical experts manning mobile units and studios covering the convention floor and corridors are all set to bring you history as never before. Whatever happens, wherever it happens, you'll miss nothing when you tune in the conventions on CBS Radio starting next Monday. Now, the second act of gun smoke. I cut straight down to the Arkansis and followed it west. I rode close to the water where I could use the sound of it for only my cover. After an hour or two, I spotted a hobbled horse alone. Stoboe and Trebek must have separated. I got down and followed the animals tracks as best I could in the moonlight until I cut the dying coals of a campfire on the bank ahead. To one side, I can make out the huddle figure of a man asleep in his blanket. It took a long time to crawl to his head where I saw the weasel face of the man Trebek. His gun belt lay on a saddle blank at an easy reach. I stood up and evened it out into the river. And as Trebek sat up with a snap, I kicked him back down. Don't shoot. Don't shoot. You sit up again and I'll smash your skull, Trebek. Don't kill me. Don't kill me. Shut up. Now where's your rope? I told you to lie down. Now where's your rope? Under my saddle there. You gonna lynch me? No, but you may hang legally if you live that long. Now keep your arms not blank and lie still while I get you roped up here. Oh, you missed it. That'll do it. Let's just say I'm a good friend of a man you dragged out of dodge this morning. Stoboe was in on that too. It was his idea. He did it. Don't worry. I'll find Stoboe. Yeah, gonna leave me like this. I'll be back. Too bad for you, I'm not. Now, Trevon, I'm gonna throw you across my horse and tie you on. He'll take you under dodge right to the jail. When you get there, tell Shiloh who you are if you can still talk. He'll give you a nice clean self. You're the Marshal. I'll be back when I find Stoboe. You can't do it, Marshal. I'll die in that sun. Ride like that across a horse. No, no, listen. Stoboe's about a mile up there. We had a round. I left him. See, I told you, Marshal. Let me go now. Trevon, how would you like to go to dodge behind my horse with a roper on your heels? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Marshal. Don't kill me. I'll pack you on now. I tied Trevon across my horse and started him off in the direction of dodge, and then I forgot about him. Stoboe was next. I rode west on Trevon's horse. Don was just breaking when I saw him. Crouched behind a campfire, cooking breakfast. His horse was saddled and stood nearby. I rode straight up, got down, and walked over. Strange, eh? No. I'm not lost. Stoboe. No tricks, mister. I don't see a gun, but no tricks. No tricks. Relax, Stoboe. I'm unarmed. Who are you? Matt Dillon from U.S. Marshal, out of Dodge. You're a long way from Dodge, Marshal. Stoboe, you and your pal had some fun with a friend of mine. Yesterday you heard him bad. Maybe you killed him. You rode out here without a gun to tell me that? You're the craziest Marshal I ever saw. I'm going to shoot you, Marshal, and bury you in the river. What do you think of that? I expected you wouldn't. But unless you wanted on your conscience that you refused to feed a man on the trail, you better give me a piece of that pork first. You're about the coolest man I ever saw, Marshal. Do I eat? Sure you do. Sure. You just stand right there across the fire and don't move. I have to shoot you before you've been fed. I know. It's too bad I only got one dish for your last meal, Marshal. A man can keep sassy on meat alone, Stoboe. Yeah, he sure can. Well, looks about done. At least this here piece says you can't... All right, I got your gun, Stoboe, so don't try anything. You burn me! You burn me! Just a few calls. They won't hurt you, and I'll shut up and get on your horse. Oh, kill you for this, Marshal! You can't hurt me like that! On your horse! Come on, now! Get up there! Now, you just sit there, Stoboe. I'm going to throw a noose around your neck, so keep your hands down. There, now. Now, you ride toward Dodge. And you do anything I don't like, and I'll jerk you off your horse and drag you the rest of the way. All right. Yeah, Trevitt, get here. More dead than alive, but he's here. That was rough, Marshal. Real rough. Yeah. Doc ain't sure yet what he's live. Lock Stoboe up. I'm going over to Dodge. All right, you get down and walk straight. I'll shoot you through both knees. With the Doc, let me take a look at him. It seemed to me he had more trouble breathing than before. But the Doc said another day might see him out of it. And there was nothing I could do. So I went up for a steak and some sleep. And the next morning, I went back to the jail. Morning, Marshal. Is everything all right, Shiloh? Doc looked over your prisoners. Trevitt's pretty sick yet, but Stoboe's all right. Got a few burns, is all. Nothing could hurt that moose. A hangin', might. Sure, but what if Chester pulls through? You can't hold us then, Marshal. I don't like the sound of your voice, Trevitt. But you can't hold us. Be quiet. You too, Stoboe. Shut the door, Shiloh. I don't even want to look at him. You're kind of sorry for Trevitt. And go cry about it someplace else. I don't feel sorry. Don't you take it out on me, Marshal. I didn't send Chester off to do my job. Are you? I'm sorry. Go get some breakfast, huh, Shiloh? I'll wait here now. I'll be back later. Doc? Well, what is the Doc coming? Chester, he's going to be all right. But are you sure? Well, of course, Marshal. His breathing suddenly changes. The pressure's off. Somewhere else, oh, he's going to be fine. That's good. Of course, he'll be in some pain for a while yet. Yeah. Yeah. All right, Doc. I'll come see him in a little while. I'll tell him for you, Marshal. All right. Come on, Trevitt. Where to? Come on, I said. What's up, Marshal? I'll be back for you, Stoboe. I'll get going. Come on. Stoboe, didn't he? Not me. You can't do anything to me. Shut up. Trevitt, your horse is down at the national. Go get on it. You're turning me loose? Get your horse and ride and don't ever come back to dodge, not while I'm alive. Now go on before I change my mind. Yeah, yeah, sure. Sure, I'll go. What you do is, Trevitt, put a knife in him. I turned him loose. Now come on, get out of that cell. Am I free too? You will be in a little while. So the Doc, Marshal, Chester, hey, where you going with Stoboe? Going to shoot me in the back, probably. That right, Marshal? I'm going to do what I should have done three days ago when I sent Chester after you. Bring him outside, Shiloh. Let's go, Stoboe, slow and easy. Bring him over here, Shiloh. You're going to drag me, is that it? You try that. That's what you do, isn't it, Stoboe? Don't try. Never mind. Shiloh, hold my gun. Here. What? Oh, I get it. You're going to fight me. Oh, Marshal, you're crazy, isn't I? Why, I'll tear your throat out. If he wins, let him go, Shiloh. Maybe I will. I said you'll let him go. All right, Marshal. All right, maybe you're crazy, but I guess this is your party. Come on, Marshal. I'll make it short for you. Real short. Stand back, everybody. Get back to your hearth. You're big, Stoboe, but you're stupid. Why you? Give me my gun, Shiloh. Here, you don't look too good, Marshal. I'd better get that down. He's hurt, but he isn't dead. If he can't ride, throw him on the stage. We'll get him out of here. I'll see him again. I'll shoot him. Can I come in? Yes, Mr. Dillon. Been lecturing a couple of hard-nosed cowboys. One in particular. I'm sorry, Mr. Dillon. Those two sort of got the drop on me. Yeah, it sure did. Mr. Dillon? Yeah. I've been thinking, and... Yeah. What is it, Chester? Well, Mr. Dillon, I'm not much help to you here. Maybe I better just... That's enough, Chester. Well, but I've been thinking that... Well, just stop thinking. Yes, Mr. Chester. Now, look, Chester, I'm going to tell you something. I, uh... I need you here. You see, you're the only man in Dodge I can really trust. Yes, sir. Well, you can trust me, Mr. Dillon. Yeah, and I know. And I'm thanking you, Chester. But you're sure no help to me lying there, you know? No help at all. Well, I don't even stay here long. The doc says I'll be up and around again. Look, uh, Chester, I tell you what, I'll go get patched up and then we'll make Kitty come over and fix us some steaks and we'll have some beer, too. Huh? Well, what do you say? Well, that'd be fine, Mr. Dillon. Well, I'd sure like that. Gun smoke transcribed under the direction of Norman MacDonald stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshall. Tonight's story was especially written for Gun Smoke by John Meston with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Featured in tonight's cast were Paul Dubov, Lou Krugman and Georgia Ellis with Don Diamond, Gil Stratton and Jack Krushan. Parley Bear is Chester and Howard McNeer is Doc. Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshall, fights to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West in Gun Smoke. Meet Millie, this delightfully funny little secretary is heard from every Sunday evening here on CBS Radio. Audrey Todder stars as Millie, a gal with a one-track mind on the subjects of love and marriage, especially where the boss's son is concerned. Remember, you can now meet Millie every Sunday night on most of the same CBS radio stations. This is Roy Rowan speaking. And remember, tune in history starting next Monday. Hear the Republican Convention on the CBS Radio Network.