Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers and that's where the US Marshal and the smell 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. Matt, you mind stopping in Jonas's store down here? Won't take long. What are you going to buy, Doc? Another diploma to hang on your wall? Oh, another diploma to hang on. Oh, man. Well, anybody can shoot bullets into people the way you do. What takes real brains is digging them back out. Between the two of us though, we managed to make a good living, don't we? Oh, yes, sure, barely, just barely. Hello, Marshal. Mr. Jonas. Hi, Jonas. What can I do for you? I'm looking for a saw. You were looking for a saw? And some nails, Mr. Jonas. Sure, Doc, sure. I'll have to fetch them from the store room out back. Oh, same man, look at that. What? He's got a batch of new derbies in. Oh, those are pretty fancy. Yeah, oh, they are fancy. Yes, stop there. What's that? There, stay here, Doc. He's over there behind them barrels, Marshal. Who is? I don't know, but I'll shoot him dead if he moves. Don't kill me, hide, armed. All right, come out of there. Well, your hand's up. Neil Amber. It's me. I can't believe it, Amber. I was going to pay you later. Pay me later? You're on my books now for over $300 and stealing from me on top of that. Marshal, I want this man arrested. Were you stealing, Amber? No, no, I never stole nothing in my life. I was going to pay him later. Then what was you doing running off with that sack of seeds? I had to have them as seeds, Mr. Jonas. I got to raise something. My wife and I are about to starve out there. Out where, Amber? On a little patch of land near Pawnee Wells North here, Marshal. Think much? We've had nothing but bad luck. I've been keeping you going for nearly a year, Amber. This is a fine show of gratitude. How can I pay unless I raise something? My man's desperate, Mr. Jonas. But he owes me money too, man, but I don't hold with stealing to pay off your debt. I'll pay you, Doc, someday I will. But right now we've got nothing. That's good land up there, Amber. What's been your trouble? Oh, everything, Marshal. First I raised a little corn, and then Pete Fletcher's cattle busted in and ruined it. And then Mrs. Amber's goats got swelled up and died. Shed two of them. She always wanted goats. All her life she wanted them. And then some mean devil shot one of my horses, and that... Oh, I don't know what all, Marshal. We just ain't making out very good. That's still no excuse for thieving, Amber. You throw him into jail, Marshal. Amber, you take your seeds and go on home. What? Put them on my bill, Mr. Jonas. You mean you're going to turn him loose? Go on, Amber. Thank you, Marshal. I won't forget this. It's a fine thing when the law starts encouraging crime. I hold you as guilty as he is, Marshal Dillon. Come on, Doc. Let's get out of here. You know something, Mr. Dillon? What, Chester? If the government would come through with a little expense money, I've got an idea. Well, the government won't even supply me with ammunition, Chester. But go ahead. Well, sir, if we bought two or three buffalo hides and sewed them together, we could make a nice rug for this office. And it wouldn't make so much noise. People tromping around like to do. Yeah, Chester. Well, I'll have to take that up with Washington. But in the meantime, you work on some other ideas, huh? Yes, sir, I will, Mr. Dillon. And I got a... I got a one... Hello, Marshal. Chester. Well, it's ain't Pete Fletcher. Hello, Pete. Marshal, I heard about you refusing to arrest Neil Amber yesterday. Oh? That seems like a lot of people have. I'm a cattleman, Marshal. I got no use for sodbusters, especially when they don't know when to quit like them Ambers. There's room enough out here for everybody, Pete. Not for thieves, there ain't. Well, I don't think Amber will try to steal anything again. I come to tell you you're wrong, Marshal. Why? One of my riders, Jim Baird, found a calf in Amber's shed. It had been stole, slaughtered, and half-scorned. One of your calves? Where in my brand? Baird's standing guard over right now. Look, Pete, the Ambers are nearly starving. What's one calf to you? Is there a law against cattle-thieving, Marshal, or ain't there? Yeah, there is. Well, then do something about it. All right, all right, I'll have a look. I want that woman arrested, Marshal. Woman? Well, it happened yesterday while he was in town. It had to be her. If Mrs. Amber wanted a woman, I'd have shot her. That calf's in the shed right over there, Marshal. I don't see the Ambers around anywhere. They told Baird to make them stay in the house. You had no right to do that, Pete. I've got a right to protect my property, huh? Chester. Go tell the Ambers to come out to the shed here, huh? All right, sir. Come on, Pete. I was thinking you'd never get back, Pete. This here is Marshal Dillon, Baird. Where I come from, we hang cow thieves ourselves. It's been done around here, too, Baird. Good. And the man that headed the last lynching got 25 years in prison. You trying to scare me, Marshal? I hate lynching, Baird. I hate even the talk of it. Now, where's the cat, Pete? Right over here, Marshal. He's trying to butcher it on the ground. The man that hung it up. There's Pete's brand. Right there. I thought I told you Ambers to stay in the house. You're not telling anybody anything, Baird. Hello, Amber. Ma'am. She didn't do this, Marshal. Would you mind telling us about it, Miss Ambers? Baird can tell you all you need to know, Marshal. I want to hear what Miss Amber has to say. I feel guilty, Marshal. They made me feel guilty accusing me this way. It's hurt her bad, Marshal. My wife's an honest woman. If you're innocent, you've got nothing to worry about, Miss Amber. Now, you tell me what happened. Well, Neil was in town. I came out the shed to get a potato from a dinner. And I seen that little calf lying there. And I was standing here looking at it. And then he come in and grabbed me and said I'd stole it. Marshal, they're saying that makes me want to die. I tracked that calf here and I caught her skinning it, Marshal. She's just trying to work on it. Nobody's going to believe a couple of thieves. I know what you're doing, Pete Fletcher. But I ain't leaving this land, not now or ever. You're going to arrest her, Marshal? Go on back to the house, ma'am. What? My whole life I never done anything wrong. Now I feel I ought to be hung. She'd be better off dead than like this. If she was a man, she would be dead. That's enough, Baird. I'm not arresting anybody, Pete. You're calling me and Baird liars, then? I'm saying there isn't enough evidence. Now, you take your calf and get out of here and leave these people alone. All right, Marshal. Next time we ain't coming to the law, we'll handle this ourselves. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] Evening, Matt. Well, hello, Kitty. Matt, I want you to meet Lucinda. There's no here. Oh, welcome to Dodge, Lucinda. Kitty's told me a lot about you, Marshal. I was hoping you'd come in tonight. Where are you from? Well, I've been in Adelaide the past two years. Well, then you must know Bill Hickok over there, huh? Sure I do. He told me he looked you up when I got to Dodge. Said you'd keep me out of trouble. Well, I can't do that, but if you do get into trouble, come see me. Thanks, Marshal. Mr. Hickok said Dodge is a lot wilder than Adelaide. Is that true? You'll soon be able to judge that for yourself, Lucinda. Well, I won't be here very long, Marshal. I'm working my way out to California. You got a man in California, Matt. Well, fine. I hope you make it, Lucinda. Thanks, Marshal. I'll see you later. Sure. Goodbye. She's a nice girl, Matt. Well, all girls are, Kitty. Especially me. Look, I just made $50. Hey, that's a good night's work, Kitty. If this keeps up, I'll buy me a house somewhere and retire. Oh? And do what? You're probably right, Matt. I've worked ever since I was a little girl. I'd get spooky if I didn't have anything to do. Well, anyway, I hope you're not going to put your $50 back into the game, Kitty. No, I'm through with Farrell. I might buy into that poker game a little later, though. Well, I'll tell you what. You can have Chester's seat in a few minutes. I'm going to put him to work. Uh, Chester was telling me about the Ambers, Matt. I feel awful sorry for that poor woman. Yeah, so do I, Kitty, but, uh, there's nothing I can do about it. You don't think she's guilty, do you? Oh, it can't be proven either way, Kitty. That one way or another, Peek Fletcher's managed to get rid of every nuster anywhere near it. Except for the Ambers. Like he says, they're pretty stubborn. Look, Matt, isn't this that fellow Baird? Oh, yeah. I was kind of hoping he'd busted his neck somewhere. Good evening, Marshal. Ma'am. It's Miss, not that it matters. Okay, Miss. Come by the Amber place today, Marshal. You made a big mistake the other day. Did I? You sure did. Remember how Amber kept saying his wife would be better off dead? Well, you're sitting out there now, and he won't even look at you. He'll talk. And the woman ain't nowhere around, Marshal. Amber's gone killed her. That's what. We will return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment. But first, starting next Monday evening, most of these same stations will bring you CBS Radio's newest anti-crime program, entitled Night Watch. On Night Watch, you will actually ride the prowl cars with the police of Culver City, California, as they seek the trouble spots, question witnesses, and arrest suspects. No actors, no sound effects, and no music will be heard in these actual presentation of police work. Be sure to ride with us when Night Watch has its premiere on CBS Radio next Monday evening. Now the second act of gun smoke. The place looks deserted, Mr. Dillon. Yeah, it does. Mr. Baird was right. Maybe something has happened to Miss Amber. Yeah, maybe. I will soon find out. Let's try the house first, Chester. Yes, sir. Hey, look. The door is wide open. Yeah. Amber! Hello, is there anybody home? Now let's take a look inside, Chester. Oh, there he is. Yeah. Hello, Amber. Are you all right? Hello, Marshall. Chester? Have you been sitting here like this long? I don't know. Where is Miss Amber? Well, she went away. Went away? Where? Yes, she went away back east. Home. When did she go? The other day. Well, did you have an argument with her? Is that why she went away? I loved her, Marshall. She's all I had. Yeah. Chester will come outside a minute, huh? Yes, sir. That's Amber's horse down there in the corral, and that's the only one he's got. By golly, that's right. I'm going back and try to talk to him. You take a look around, huh? Take a good look, Chester. Yes, sir, I understand. But I sure hope I don't find nothing. Well, if you do, come in and tell me. Yes, sir, I will. Amber, you want to tell me what happened? She's gone. Did Baird or Pete Fletcher have anything to do with it? Baird come by yesterday, but he didn't do nothing. I'm ashamed about my wife. Ashamed? Why? I mean her not being here. It was too much for her. She just couldn't take it anymore. But she shouldn't have gone like that. How did she go? Well, he was married 30 years. I was real proud of her. Sure, of course you were. But tell me, when she left here, how did she go? She rode away. You mean she took your horse? Yeah, she took my horse. Mr. Dillon? How'd you find anything? Yes, sir. Laying under a blanket right out in the shed. He didn't even bury her. She's been shot, Mr. Dillon. Amber, who shot your wife? I couldn't bury her. I couldn't get that near her yet. Did you shoot her? Tell me. I... I shot her, Marshal. Well, he still won't eat, Mr. Dillon. He's going to die of starvation before they hang him. He hasn't been tried yet, Chester. Oh, no, sir. Just keep bringing his meals in. He'll eat sooner or later. Hello, Marshal. Hello, Peake. Have you heard? I guess you'll believe me next time I tell you something, Marshal, huh? What do you want here? When they going to hang Amber? When and if a judge in a court of law says so, he'll hang. Meantime, I'm going to burn down that house and shed a hilt for some other nester. It takes an ocean to move into place. Yeah, you'll do that, Peake. Yeah, you do that, and I'll throw you in jail. What? You've done enough to Amber, you and Baird. You accusing me of anything, direct, Marshal? If I could, I'd have you both tried. Careful what you're saying. Now, get out of here. Both of you. Come on, Baird. Leave one, anyway you look at it. Hey, then, Marshal. What'll it be? Uh, a glass of beer, I guess, Sam. Sure. Hey, Marshal. Yeah? That fellow Baird over there's been making a lot of talk about you. Peake Fletcher, too, probably. Not like Baird. It's okay, Sam. I thought you had no... Thanks. I'll get you a beer, Marshal. Hey, Mr. Dillon. Oh, what's the matter, Chester? Neil, Amber, he's gone. What? I unlocked his cell to bring him some supper. Then the guys went off and forgot to lock it up again. Anyway, he took a rifle. Well, let's go find it. Wait, Mr. Dillon. What? Look, there he is. Over there, Baird. Yeah, come on. Baird, I'm gonna kill you. Hold it, Amber. That's right. All right, put that gun away, Peake. He killed Baird, Marshal. He was gonna kill me. You shoot him again and I'll kill you. He's unarmed now. I ain't gonna shoot him. Yeah, hit him right in the chest. Marshal. Chester, go get Doc, quick. Yes, sir. Amber, Doc will be here in just a minute. He can't help me. This is gonna save me from hanging, Marshal. Had it been an even worse disgrace. Worse? What? Worse than what? Come close, Marshal. Yeah. I don't want nobody else to know. But my wife, I didn't shoot her. She killed herself, is that it? That made me terribly ashamed, Marshal. I'd have hung rather than everybody noted. You won't tell, will you? No. No, Amber, I won't tell. Thank you, Marshal. You've been good to me. Dead, huh? Well, you ought to thank me, Marshal. Saved the law that expensive a rope. He didn't kill his wife, Peake. What? You did. You were trying to devil him off that land. Making her look like a thief, did it? You killed him. Then I'd see you hung for it if I could. Gunsmoke, Under the Direction of Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal. Tonight's story was specially written for Gunsmoke by John Meston, with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Featured in the cast were Ralph Moody, Lawrence Dobkin, and John Danaer, with Harry Bartel, Helen Clebe, Francis Drew, and James Nusser. Parley Bear is Chester, Howard McMear is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty. Gunsmoke has been selected by the Armed Forces Radio Service to be heard by our troops overseas. Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal, fights to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West in Gunsmoke. Five years ago, twelve nations put their signatures to the North Atlantic Treaty, thus forming the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. CBS Radio joins in the salute to NATO at this time of its fifth anniversary. George Walsh speaking. Mixed with merriment, join Mr. and Mrs. North Tuesday evenings on the CBS Radio Network.
