Frontier Town, the saga of the roaring west. Frontier Town. El Paso, Cheyenne, Calgary, Tombstone. Frontier Town. Here is the adventurous story of the early west, the tamed and the untamed. From the Pecos to Powder River, Dodge City to Poker Flat. These are the towns they fought to live in and lived to fight for. Teeming crucibles of pioneer freedom. Frontier Town. Frontier Town. If you've ever heard of me, and believe me there's no reason why you should have, maybe you know that I'm Chad Remington. Often referred to as a saddle stop lawyer. Well, I guess Dos Rios, my hometown, is a saddle stop, because there's certainly no railroad within 50 miles of it. Just a few stagecoaches that pass through and, most of the time, a constant stream of cow ponies. As for being a lawyer, I guess I must plead guilty, your honor, because I make part of the living I do make from the practice of law. However, a small cattle ranch is one of my assets, and a few weeks ago, sighted by Cherokee O'Bannon, the reformed medicine man who now owns our livery stable, I rode over to another town to buy some breeding stock. And what I'm going to tell you about now hit us like a cannon shot on the way back. We were about, oh, 40 or 50 miles from Dos Rios, jogging along at a lively sustained clip, and the O'Bannon was matching the rattle of the ponies' hooves with the prattle pouring from his lips. Chad, despite the fact that I own a livery stable, I must admit that I still have no true and lasting affection for horse flags. Oh? Therefore, counselor, I would esteem it a great favor if you would be good enough to stop for a bit of rest and relaxation overnight at some town between here and Dos Rios. Or, to put it another way, Cherokee, your saddle saw. Sir, it's not my saddle it saw. It's that portion of me, however, that comes in contact. Well, that's quite enough. You don't have to draw me a physiological blueprint. And as a matter of fact, the same idea had struck me. I'd been thinking of stopping off in Maverick Town, at least for a good meal, and then deciding whether to go on to Dos Rios or not. Well, a good meal would be more than welcome. Is there any place in a bird they would call Maverick Town where one could obtain a good meal? One of the best places in the entire state, a little restaurant run by some Mexicans I know, Luis and Teresa Evada. Well, that doesn't sound too appetizing, my boy. No, indeed. But it is, Cherokee. They make the finest pollo con arroz and chili relianos you've ever eaten. Of course, the food is hot. Well, in that case, I'm all for it. Well, you like hot food? And did I do, did I do? Hot food seems to give me a thirst. Give you a thirst? Oh, Bannon, when the good Lord assembled you, he might have shortchanged you on scruples. But he certainly gave you a triple dose of thirst. All right, come on. Your tongue is starting to bulge now. Let's prowl up these ponies and get into Maverick Town. I will introduce you to Luis and Teresa Evada, mighty sir. Senor Dallas, why do you all the time make trouble around my little restaurant? I'll trouble you, you half-breed hashlinger, if you and that woman of yours don't go back where you come from. We will not go back. We have just as much right to stay here as anybody else. We Americanos now. The heck you are. We ain't got no room for foreigners like you within 20 miles of Maverick Town, you understand? Both Senor, me esposa, and me with citizen, just like anybody else. Why waste time talking to them, Dallas? They ain't going to leave, how about making them entertainers? Come on, let's make them dance. Don't go there, that's a good idea, Blanky. You two, let's see you dance. Come on. Dallas, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. You have no business picking on the Abars. Well, you think you can stop us, Bobby? Or maybe you think because your uncle owns the bank you're running Maverick Town. Bobby, Bobby, Bobby, do not mix up with his own breast. Come on, I want to see you two dance. Who done that? Who's the sidewinder that shot my gun out of my hand? Well, tear him apart. Well, start tearing, mister. I'm right here, right in front of you. I'm right behind you, Chad. What business you've got, button-in. Well, let's put it down as the business of any decent citizen. Because from the little I see in you, I hardly think you qualify. Well, you ain't going to see much more of me because I'm going to close your eyes. Look out, Dallas, look out. Turn them around this way and I'll give it to them. You'll do nothing of the kind. Now just hold it right where you are. All right, Chad, now's your chance. Thanks, Cherokee, and here goes. Now, you'd better get up and dust yourself off before I decide to do the dusting for you. Come on, Blinky. We got other ways of handling jaspers like them, too. Gosh, mister, you sure gave Dallas what he had coming to him. Señor, when I saw you in the crowd, it made me very happy in my heart. Well, it didn't make me very happy when I saw you, Luis, and what that he-devil was pulling on you. Who are those two anyhow? Senors, you come inside, and while we fix you something to eat, we will tell you all about them. Well, there wasn't much that either Luis or Teresa could tell us about the pair who had been picking on them, except that suddenly, for no apparent reason, someone was trying to make Maverick Town so uncomfortable for the Abaras that they'd pick up and move. However, there was a reason, a reason we were to find out soon enough. And while Cherokee was washing down the hot food with glasses of red wine, had we been over at the cafe and dance hall across the street, we might have found out exactly what the reasons were. Come on, Blinky. Lay off that bottle. Come on back into my office. I want to talk to you. Sure, Dallas. Although it don't look like you're going to understand what I'm saying. I'm not going to tell you anything. Come on, Blinky. Lay off that bottle. Come on back into my office. I want to talk to you. Sure, Dallas. Although it don't look like you're going to enjoy talking much with your lips split open. Yeah? Well, before we get through, there's going to be a lot more than split lips around this town. Come on. Come on, come on. Get that office door open. All right. I'll take it easy, Dallas. Well, I found out who that big Jasper was who butted in. Yeah? It's Chad Remington, that lawyer from over in Dos Rios. If we let him hang around Maverick Town, we may miss the boat. Boat? We may miss the train. Never mind the jokes. But that railroad agent will be back in town Friday. And if we can't deliver that corner, the Mexicans have got their restaurant on along with the acreage behind it for the new freight yard. He'll probably try to do business with them direct himself. Well, I don't see why Bascom don't pay the Mexicans something and just buy the place from them. Bascom shell out his own dough? Why, that one's so tight every time anyone walks inside his bank, he locks the vault. Yeah, that's a banker for you, all right. I guess he's got the first penny ever made. Well, we're getting a few of them pennies once we run them Ibarra's out of town and Bascom takes over their property. But I get a hunch we're not going to get away with it unless we get Remington out of town, too. Yeah? Well, how do you figure to do that? You know, from the little I've seen of Remington, he's a plenty salty Maverick. He handles himself all right against one man. Do you think he can against six? Six? What do you mean? I want you to get some of your boys and lay for Remington. As far as anybody else is concerned, I want it to look like Remington picked a fight with you. Ah, I get you. Well, don't worry, Dallas. If that's what you want, we'll give Remington the full treatment. You better make sure you do, because with Bascom ready to pay us $2,000 to get that Mexican's property for him, you may want to live long enough to collect your share. Well, with the little Lewis and Teresa told Cherokee and me, we decided we'd stay in Maverick town, at least overnight, and maybe for a few days longer. It was pretty obvious that there was something wrong. Some new and unexplained reason for the sudden resentment against the so-called foreigners. And we decided to find out what it was. Well, after the biggest and best meal we'd had in weeks, Cherokee and I left the little Mexican restaurant and started down the street towards the hotel. We hadn't walked very far when suddenly five men came out of no place, and before I realized it, the meanest looking of the bunch had managed it, so I bumped into it. Hey, what's the matter? Ain't there room enough on the street for you? You have to walk all over my feet? I wouldn't if you'd keep your feet where they belong. Oh, one of them smart jaspers, huh? Well, we'll soon- All five of you? Now, unless you're tired of living, keep your hands away from those guns. Who are you? Come on, get him, boys. Keep those two tied up, Cherokee. This one's going for his gun. Oh, I've got you breaking my arm. Let go. All right. I'm gonna give you a better chance than you gave us. I'm giving you three to clear off the street. Come on, come on. Billy Blue Blazers, Chad, have you ever been punched in the stomach after three portions of enchiladas? You know, it must have been the enchiladas that won the fight for us. The garlic on our breath did more damage than our fists. Besides, what they shook up inside of you was three bottles of vino. Garlic, mister? Every time I walked down the block, he seemed to be having a fight with Dallas or some of his boys. Then you know who those high binders are, son? I don't know them personally, but I know they all hang out at the Lady Luck Saloon. They're all friends of Dallas Vixen. He owns this saloon. Any idea why this Dallas person should suddenly take a dislike to Louise and Tracy A'Bara and start making trouble for them? Gosh, no. As long as I remember, everybody in Maverick Town is like Mr. and Mrs. A'Bara. This is something entirely new. Well, son, there's only one way to try to get the answer, and that's by going directly to headquarters. What do you say, Cherokee? Let's go into the Lady Luck and see if we can find this Mr. Dallas Vixen. MUSIC Let me tell you something, Remington. You're barking up the wrong tree. I wonder. There are some trees that folks around here might be tempted to use, unless you learn to behave yourself. Yeah. Well, we got some pine trees around here, Remington. They cut down easy, and a couple of men can build a six-foot box out of them awful fast. Well, if they do chop down a pine tree, why not have them build six more pine boxes? Because you and your gunslicks might need them, too. Well, if that's all you got to say, Remington, I'd be very much obliged if you'd be on your way. Having you around may give my place a bad name. Any bad name this dive might have probably will be cleaned up before this week is over, Dallas. Right along with some of the characters in this town. MUSIC We'll return to the second act of Maverick Town, our exciting frontier town adventure, in just a few moments. MUSIC And now, Frontier Town. MUSIC Well, as you know by now, Cherokee wasn't welcome in Maverick Town, and certainly neither was I. Of course, we had no idea what the reasons were for the sudden animosity exhibited toward us. No more than we knew the real reason behind the attempts to railroad the Ibaras out of town. Notwithstanding the set-toos we'd had with Dallas and his men, this stiffened our backbones and increased our resolve to stay in Maverick Town until we had the matter settled, one way or the other. We found out later that not too long after the affair on the street in which Blinky and his friends ganged up on us, Mr. Bascom, the town banker, paid a call on Dallas Vixen, entering his office through a rear private door. I imagine you men know what I'm doing over here. Sure, Mr. Bascom. We were just talking about it. Talk, talk, talk. I'm sick and tired of all this talk. I want action. And by thunder, I'm going to have it. Well, dear God, Mr. Bascom, did this shiner I got and that cut on Dallas' lip look like you wasn't getting that shit? The only thing I'm interested in is results. And that's just what we're going to get you, because I've just figured out that we've been playing this game the wrong way. Oh, you have, have you? Yeah, I have. Doing what you told us not only hasn't worked out, but now everybody in town knows we've got some reason for wanting to run them Mexicans out of here. Yeah, and they may be running us out of here before we know it. Now, the way I got it figured, Bascom, we can get Luis and Teresa out of this town, take over their property, and none of us will have to lift a finger. You're not even making sense, Dallas. I sure am. Because what have the folks in Maverick Town got to thinking that this was no place for a couple of Mexicans? They'd run them out of here in fast order. Yes, and who's going to give them such an idea? All we've got to do is call a meeting. You know, mobs are just like sheep. Let somebody get up on a platform and tell them they're barers or foreigners or non-American. Don't worry, the mob will do the rest. Bye, Daniel. I think you're right. And the bigger the lies we tell, the easier it'll be to make them swallow them. As a matter of fact, there's the banker in this town. I can probably get up on the platform and whip them up into such a frenzy that they'll run the barers out of town tarred and feathered. I bet you care. And by noon tomorrow, you'll be back laying 2,000 bucks right here on my desk. Folks, folks, now please, please, folks, folks, now please, if you'll just let me finish. Now, all I'm saying is, what sort of town are we building when foreigners can come in here, open businesses, be in daily contact with our wives and children, and then take our hard-earned money and send it back to the country where they came from? Now, I say, I say, if we don't get rid of the undesirable foreign element, your ranches won't be worth a nickel. All the ridiculous hogwash. You remind me of a herd of spooky cows being stampeded. Now, what sort of a man is this banker yours that he's trying to turn you against Luis and Teresa Ibarra? Because this is one country where every man has the chance to live and to live decently, regardless of race, creed, or color. All right, all right. You don't have to throw me out. I can get out of here soon enough if that's the way you feel. Come on, Cherokee. Let's get outside and into the fresh air. I can't wait to get the odor of this place out of my clothes. Senor Remington, Luis and I, we have talked the whole thing over. We heard about the meeting. Si, si. We decide we're going to get out of Maverick Town before we cause shootings and untroubled. Ah, that's ridiculous. Now you're actually talking like a foreigner. Cherokee's right. Good Americans don't run away from trouble. No, Senor. We like very much for staying in Maverick Town. This place our home, but, well. They haven't run you out of town yet, and they're not going to if we can ever find out why Bascom, the banker, suddenly pops up spreading dissension and hatred. I cannot say, Senor, but anything this banker does always has some connection with money. Why, just looking at that thin, hard mouth of his made me feel like I wasn't looking at a man, but I was looking at a shark. Si, si. Except that the shark, you can catch him on a hook. That's only half right, Luis. You can only catch a shark on a hook if you've got the right bait. And I'm willing to wager that by the time we get through, Bascom, Vixen, and their entire crew will be out of water and gasping like fish on dry land. Teresa seemed to have the only possible clue to the whole situation. Bascom wanted the Ybaras out of Maverick Town because of some reason that had something to do with money. There seemed to be no way of finding out what his reason was until I got about the wildest idea that ever entered my head. Remembering that we had met his nephew, Bobby, on the street, Cherokee and I took the advantage of the chance acquaintance to ride out to Bascom's house and see Bobby late that afternoon. Gosh, I just don't see what you mean, I guess. Bobby, we're trying to tell you that your uncle's in danger. He's locked up inside that vault. Locked in the vault? We've got every reason to think that he is and that's why we came to see you. We thought if you had a set of keys that would let us into the bank and knew the combination of the vault, well, we might be able to get your uncle out of there before he suffocates. Whoa, Uncle Doth keeps some papers and things in a little desk in his bedroom. Then that's where the keys are and the vault combination ought to be. Come on, Bobby, we just haven't got a second to waste. Left 14. Left 14. Right 0. Right 0. That's a doer, Chad. Try the handle and see if she opens up. Hurry, Mr. Remington, hurry. If my uncle's in there, he may have suffocated already. All right, Bobby, just stand aside till I swing this door back. Mr. Remington, there's nobody in the vault. No, Bobby, but I've got a hunch there is something in the vault that I'm looking for. You mean you'd talk me into getting you the combination just so you could rob the bank? The only thing I'm going to remove from the vault won't be something that's valuable to the bank. If it's here, the only value it will have will be to all of Maverick Town. Wait, you're nothing but a big crook. Cherokee, grab the youngster and hold him. Now hold still, sonny, because I certainly don't want to hurt you. I wonder what could be in this drawer. It's marked private correspondence. Hurry it up, Chad, this youngster is worse than a wild catamom. I'm doing my best, Cherokee, but there are so many papers in here that... Well, it looks like all the risk we've taken aren't wasted. Here's a letter from the railroad saying that they're building a freight yard in Maverick Town and that they need the property the Yabara's Restaurant stands on for the freight depot. I don't believe it. That'd mean my uncle's a crook. You just be grateful it's your uncle and not your father. Uh-oh, that looks like Bascom just pulling up outside on a buckboard. But he'll come in, he'll catch us here. Yeah, I suppose he will, but it's a little doubtful as to whether he's catching us or we're catching him. I can slip out through that window over there, Chad, and do the rest of what you had in mind. All right, Cherokee, I think you'd better. Now get going. Now you watch your step, counselor. Although this is law business, you've broken the law and you may be up to your neck in trouble. Now will you stop talking and get out of that window? Bascom's at the door now. Now you get behind the vault door, Bobby. When your uncle finds me in here, there's have to be trouble, gun trouble. Come on in, Mr. Bascom. Hey, what? I've got a little business here I want to discuss with you and I don't think you're going to enjoy it. You, why, you. How'd you get in here? Never mind how I got in, but let's discuss why I got in. And to save you worrying about it, I was anxious to get my hands on this letter. Letter? Why, you un- Bascom, you'd make another mistake clearing your holster. You don't scare me one bit. Besides, I've got you dead to rights. I'm warning you, Bascom, let your gun alone. You must be 20 years older than I am and I'm trying to give you an even break. The only break you're going to get is- Just go on, drop it. No, no, let go of me. I'll let you go right now. Wow, you really let him have it. He won't wake up for- Mr. Remington, look, here comes Dallas and his whole gang. Well, that's exactly what the doctor ordered. I sent Cherokee to tell them that your uncle was absconding with the bank's money. All right, come on, Bascom. You'd better wake up. There's a reception committee coming to call on you. Uh, huh. What'd you say? All right, come on, Bobby. You and I are going to hide behind the full door and watch the whole show. Well, I'll be blamed. So this big rum-ound was telling the truth. Cleaning out the bank, was you, Bascom? All ready to make your getaway. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I-I-I-I-I- Why don't you stop that lying? I guess we know what we can see. Well, I-I-I'm telling you, I wasn't clearing out. I didn't open the vault door. Oh, sure not. You're just trying to frame us into doing your dirty work, running them two poor Mexicans out of town and all you want is to hog all the money. Well, we'll soon see about that. Yes, Dallas, we'll see about that. What a fool I was. Now, drop those guns. Look out, Dallas, I got a bead on them. Cherokee, lend me a hand. I'm going to shove them all into this vault and slam the door. That's it, Chad, we've got them now. Well, I was glad to help you, Chad, but locking those crooks up inside that vault. Well, until we get the town marshal and some deputies with handcuffs, can you think of any place better for a crooked banker and his gang to be locked up? Senor, please, you let me give you a few more tacos and just maybe a little more chicken, no? Oh, Teresa, as much as I love your food. No, no fooling. I'm up to here. Well, senor, after all you do to help the race and me make sale of land to railroad, you must have just a little more something. Maybe you, Bobby? Oh, gosh, no thanks. I'm full. And, Luis, I've got to pass. But maybe Cherokee will oblige. Amigos, I just couldn't hold any more food. However, if you just happen to have a glass of something to wash the... Let's down work. Oh, yes, yes. Here, senor Cherokee, a whole full bottle of very finest tequila. Tequila? See, what is wrong, senor? You do not like tequila? Well, I'll tell you, my little pigeon, I once had a sip of that Mexican liquor, and the only thing I'd use it for now would be to give a slug of it to some woman I hated. Give it to some woman you hated, Cherokee? Now, what would you do that for? Why, counselor, for a very obvious reason. Tequila, of course. Starring Reed Hadley and featuring Wade Crosby is a Bruce Ells production, Story and Direction by Paul Franklin, music written and played by Ivan Ditmar. Be sure to be with us again same time next week for another fine action adventure story with your favorite young western star, Reed Hadley. And now this is Bill Foreman to tell you that Frontier Town comes to you from Hollywood. .
