In just a moment you'll hear James Stewart as the six shooter, just one of the many great stars brought to you Sundays on NBC. Every Sunday here Hume Cronin and Jessica Tandy in the marriage, Sir Lawrence Olivier on Theatre Royal, Lawrence Tibbett with the golden voices, Helen Hayes, Fredric March, Rex Harrison and Lily Palmer on the NBC Star Playhouse. All of them heard only on NBC. James Stewart as the six shooter. The man in the saddle is angular and long-legged. His skin is sundyed brown. The gun in his holster is gray steel and rainbow mother of pearl, its handle unmarked. People call them both the six shooter. The NBC Radio Network presents James Stewart as the six shooter, a transcribed series of radio dramas based on the life of Britt Ponset, the Texas Plainsman who wandered through the Western Territories leaving behind a trail of still remembered legends. Now in just a moment immediately following this important announcement you'll hear act one of the six shooter. Meet the safe driver. If you know what makes him stay alive on the highways you may be able to follow his good example. He always keeps his car in A1 mechanical condition. He shows courtesy for other drivers. He knows that speed is his greatest enemy and most important he knows and obeys the laws. Remember few accidents happen with safe drivers. Are you one of them? Now act one of the six shooter starring James Stewart. I hadn't seen Mary and Dan for pretty near three years not since they left the panhandle. So I figured as long as I was riding up through the Platte River country I might as well swing out of my way of peace and look in on them. We've been real good friends for a long time. It was kind of like going home and the closer I got the more I kept thinking back. Remembering. Kind of daydreaming. You're riding across Prairie Flats sort of does that to you. Your horse he kind of finds his own trail mostly and you just slouch easy like in the saddle and listen to the hoofbeats. Steady, regular. Things you haven't thought about for years sneak into your head. Anyhow I still had a day to go and I was watching out for a good spot to bed down when I saw this campfire up ahead. Well the way I figured human beings are always better company than coyotes so I gave Scar a flick with the reins and headed up toward it. Easy now boy. Easy. Wow, a party. Hi. You'd rather camp private? Climb down. Pour yourself some jam. Wow thanks. Easy boy. That smells good. You any notes about how far this Walnut Creek? 20 miles so right. That's where you're going? Yeah yeah I stopped over there. Couple of friends there I haven't seen quite a while. Uh huh. Yeah I fell there I ain't seen for a while neither. That's all. Hey by George there's good coffee. I've been hunting him for over three years. Finally located him. I'm gonna kill him. Uh huh. How come? Murdered my kid brother four years ago in Laredo. Shut him down in the street. Yeah well another killin won't bring him back. Nothing will bring him back. After I killed Dan Mailer nothing will bring him back neither. Dan Mailer? That's right. Huh? Yeah I know who you was. As soon as you rode up to that fire and I got a look at that gun of yours. Britt Ponson. A fellow they call a six shooter. Well you must have known I was a friend of Dan's. How come you told me all this? Well I figure you'll warn him. That's fine with me. I want him to know. Have time to get scared you know maybe try to run away. I like it if he runs a while first. I catch up with him you tell him that Ponson. You tell him Red Lawson's coming to kill him. Made nothing he can do about it. Thanks for the coffee. Easy boy. Now Lawson I reckon Dan won't run. I'll be seeing you. Come on boy. Come on. That's the trouble with the past. Wasn't only good things in it. Got some bad ones too. And one of the bad ones was reaching out for Dan and Mary. I didn't know this fellow Lawson. I didn't know what he was talking about but I did know Dan. And I knew if he killed somebody back there in Texas it hadn't been murder. It was long about middle of four noon when I rode up the dirt road between the rows of cottonwoods turned into the yard. Old hound dog came charging around the side of the house sounding a lot meaner than he looked. Oh boy. Wolf scarp. Here now. Here now. Now quit it. You don't want to bite anybody. Nice fellow. Go on tell him you got company. Go on boy. Go on. Go on. The place had a good feel to it. Quiet, peaceful. And then I remembered Lawson. Britt. Britt. Britt. Britt. Britt. Oh I just can't believe. Hiya Mary. It's been a long time hasn't it. Dan. Come on up and see who's here. Hurry. He's been working in the vine fixing up one of the plows. How are you? You haven't changed a bed Mary. Unless you're a little prettier than me. Hi Dan. Britt. Oh you stayed away too long. Well things came up Dan you know how they are. You're sure looking good. Both of you. Oh feeling good too. Settling down is what does it Britt. Yeah she took a good saddle man and turned him into a poor plow man. What do you think of that? That's not true Dan. We've got the best stand of corn west of the Omaha. What's really great though Britt is peace. Peace. No more gunfight and the range wars. Never knowing whether Dan would come home sitting up in his saddle or tied onto it. That's all in the past now. Why Dan doesn't even wear a gun anymore. And that's the way I want it Britt. It's the kind of life I want from. Oh have we got a surprise for you. Oh well you know I kind of hard to surprise you know. That's what you think. Come on inside. Now don't you tell me Dan. Oh you'll see Britt. Let's see. One of those newfangled player pianos. Oh no a piano. That's the most ridiculous guess I ever heard of. Well it sure couldn't be anything that. Look. Hmm. Well I'll be darned. Well I'll be well I'll be dog gone. It's a baby. It's a baby. Well which kind is it Mary? Not it. Hey that's young Britt. It'll be a year and a half old next month. That name was Mary's idea Britt. I sure wouldn't wish it on him. Well well well I'll be dog gone. Oh he's all upset. Hasn't had his nap out. Britt you'll have to look him over later. You and Dan go on outside now and let me quiet him down. Oh sure Mary. I can't have my namesake all upset. Are you hungry Britt? Oh you. I'm always hungry. You know that man. Good. Got some buttermilk cornbread in the oven. Be right in a minute. You know Britt Mary is right. This is a good life. I never thought I'd settle down and like it but I sure have done it. Yeah. Yeah Dan. I guess Mary can't hear us out here can she? No she can't hear us. Why what's the matter Britt? I met a fellow on the trail last night Dan. Name is Red Lawson. Lawson. Says you shot his brother in Laredo about four years ago. Lawson. Kurt Lawson. Yeah. Yeah I did Britt. He was one of the Bracken gang. That bunch of rustlers that pulled an ambush on me when I was working for the Circle J ranch. Well I guess I better dig out the shooting irons and go after him. No wait a minute Dan. Wait nothing. He's probably holed up in town. The odds will be better if I go after him instead of waiting for him to come to me. Yeah but what about Mary? That's just it. If I catch him in town it'll keep him from coming out here. What about her Britt? What do you mean? Well she's happy now Dan. She figures this kind of thing is all over and done with. Well she'll sure find out different if he comes out here gunning for me. Well maybe he won't though. Maybe Dan maybe I can do something. Britt I've always fought my own battles. But you've got Mary now. You've got the baby. And you're a lot faster with a gun than I am. Is that what you're trying to say? No no Dan. There are just other answers besides killing that's all. Maybe we can find one. Anyway we can try can't we? I saddle up Scarbett early the next morning and rode into town alone. Figured I'd have a talk with the sheriff. After all this was his job when you come right down to it. Well he wasn't in his office at the county jail. He was out of town for the next three days. So I walked down the main street trying to figure out what to do. This wasn't much of a town. Walnut Creek there's a couple of blocks of clabbered buildings and a boardwalk along the front of them and sheet iron awnings up over and nothing much stirring but the dogs. Sleepy, quiet, real nice and peaceful for everybody except me. Oh oh Mary. Oh come on out. Wow you were certainly an early bird this morning. Well Mary does Dan know you came into town by yourself? I don't know Britt. I come in alone every day or two. Why shouldn't I? Something wrong Britt? No no I just wonder that's all. Actually I think he was too busy to notice I'd left. You know what he was doing? Cleaning his gun. You're a bad influence Britt. Well I think you've started him thinking about things. Well Ponson how about it? You give him my message? What? Lonson. Mary I'll see you later huh? Oh alright Britt. Oh now there ain't no need of the lady. No. Goodbye Mary. I'll see you later huh? Well alright Britt if you say so. Get here come on. Mary huh? Dan's wife maybe. I hear he's got a kid too. Yeah maybe you hear too much Lonson and talk too much too. Maybe you don't ride enough. Oh I'll ride when I'm through here. When I get even. Yeah but Dan told me about that. Your brother tried to ambush him. He was in with that Bracken gang. That don't make no difference to me. He was my brother. Dan Mailer was in my place he might feel the same way. Maybe I'll give him a chance to feel the same way. Now that I know he's got a wife, a kid. Oh Lonson if you touch Mary. Yeah yeah I know. I know a lot. But once I've done what I come here to do, I don't care what happens afterwards. You, Dan Mailer, can make no move until I do. You see how it stacks up Ponson? I got all the cards. He turned his back and he walked off down the street and I stood there watching him go. Knowing he was right, he did have all the cards. There was only one thing in the world he wanted, revenge. And he didn't care what it cost to get it, even his life. Dan and I couldn't move first and afterwards it would be too late. We'll return to James Stewart as the six shooter in just a moment. When it's entertainment you're after, you'll find the very best on this station of the NBC radio network. Thursday night for example you'll hear Robert Young, Roy Rogers, Ralph Edwards and Eddie Cantor. Each with a great program for your listening pleasure. Robert Young on Father Knows Best, a program based on the assumption that the man of the family can put one over on the wife and the youngsties. And Truth or Consequences with Ralph Edwards. When Ralph sends a contestant off on a consequence, it usually ends up as one of radio's funniest stunts. And if you like western songs and adventures, you'll find none better than the ones you hear on the Roy Rogers show. Then to top it all off, hear the little known stories of show business that Eddie Cantor tells on Show Business Show, each Thursday on the NBC radio network. Now Act Two of The Six Shooter, starring James Stewart as Britt Ponset. I found Mary finally at the general store and I stayed with her while she bought some things. And we headed back to the farm. Just like a woman, she was curious about the fellow I'd stopped to talk with. Wondered why I hadn't introduced her. I had a real hard time stalling her off, but I managed to. With Dan, it was different. Dan? Are you in there, Dan? Yeah, come on in Britt. I've been cleaning my guns. Oh, forget it Dan, there are better ways. Yeah? You got one figured? No. No, not yet. I saw Lawson in town a while ago, Dan. Oh. You talk to him any? Yes, yes, I talk to him. I reckon you better stay close to Mary on the boy. Why? What do you mean? What do you mean, Britt? Did he say anything? No, not exactly. He saw Mary in town. Why, did he tell you? No, I didn't let him talk to her, Dan. She wondered about it though. She'll probably ask you later. That settles it then. I hadn't even thought of that side of it. Britt, I'm going after him. You wouldn't have a chance, Dan. You're selling me kind of short, ain't you? No, I don't mean it that way. Lawson wouldn't draw even if you called him. That's not what he's after, don't you see? You'd have to kill him in cold blood, and I don't think you could do that, Dan. No, no I couldn't. Not even Lawson. What are we going to do, Britt? We waited and watched. The day passed, no sign of Lawson. Nothing happened. But instead of feeling easier, we just got more teed up. Mary didn't seem to catch on anything was wrong. Then supper was over and the night started to come on. We just sat around talking while Mary got the baby off to sleep, singing to him and rocking him. The Katie did start chirping close. Way off toward the hill, the coyotes took up and answered them. Inside was sort of quiet and gentle. I think he's finally gripped it all. Yeah, yeah. He looks sound asleep. Just look at him lying there, completely helpless. And so lovable you could just eat him up. Well, I suppose he'll get himself some hearing teeth someday, maybe look a little more human then. Dan, that's a fine way to talk about your own son. That's when I heard it. Sound outside. A horse stand up just one or two times, like somebody was holding too tight a rein on him. Scar and Dan's stock were all in the corral over next to the barn. This was right up close to the house. I didn't let on to Mary or Dan. What's the matter, Brit? You getting arrested? No, no. I, oh, too many years on the trail, I guess. I, you know, I think maybe I'll amble outside. I'll get a little fresh air. Well, watch out for the coyotes, Brit. They grow them big around here. Dangerous, too. Yeah, yeah. I'll keep an eye out. Coming out of the light that way, I was blind as a bat. I stopped on the porch and waited a minute so I could get used to the dark. I stood there listening to the sounds coming out of the night. The catydids, the coyotes. Then I heard it again. I moved around the corner of the house. It was all quiet. No sign of anybody. I drew fast and fired at the light. Then I could hear a horse getting away. Brit, Brit, you all right? Yeah, Dan. I lost him. He got away. Brit, what in the heaven were you trying to do? You all right, Mary? Small thanks to you if I am. That first shot didn't miss me of a baby by more than six inches. Well, I'm sorry, Mary. I, well, there was a coyote out there and I didn't realize. Didn't realize? You fool. You might have killed us both and you didn't realize. Stop it, Mary. Brit was... No, no, no. No, she's right, Dan. It was my fault. I just didn't think. That's all. Brit, I think you've worn a gun so long it's beginning to affect your mind. Yeah, maybe you're right. Maybe you're right. Look, I, I think maybe I'll ride into town for a while. If nobody minds, I'm awful sorry, Mary. I'll see you later. How to go with him, Mary? After a fool trick like that, he ought to be alone. Nobody should be around him. It isn't safe to be. Oh, you don't understand, Mary. You just don't... Ah, well, let's go back in the house. Yeah. What? Let's all go back in. Dan! Los. Why, you! Easy, Maylor. You see how it is. Gun ain't pointed at you. When the crazy move and your wife will get it. All right. Let's all go inside. Go on, move. Well, what a nice place. Yeah, sir. Real nice place. Had a store room over there? Maylor? Yeah. All right. Get inside, both of you. I said get inside. Come on, Mary. There. I'd have to hold you. Huh? Well... Now. I forced that too much of a start on me. Catch up to him. After a while I stopped. Oh, Scar. Oh, boy. Hold up here. Oh. I could hear him up on the roof. I could hear him up on... I could hear him. I've heard a lot of horses on the trail. Enough of them to know that this one had an empty saddle on him. I read Lawson hadn't left that farm at all. Come on, boys. Come on, Scar. Come on. Oh, boy. Oh. Lawson could be anywhere around here. Oh, my. Dan? Where is he? Oh, yeah. Where is he this way? Where is that? Dan? What? Oh, the store room. Oh. All right. Just a second. Wait till I get this... I'll probably get this door open. Where is he? There's nobody here. The baby! Where's the baby? I don't know. Dan, Lawson was here. He waited for you to leave and locked us up. He kept coming over to the store room door telling us what he was going to do. He said he'd burn the house, all kinds of things. He couldn't have got away. He was here just a minute ago. But he has the baby. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. He's got to come over here to the barn to get the horse. Grab your gun. Come on, Dan. Stay here, Mary. Don't come out of the house. He's got the baby. This won't be easy. I know. I can figure why he waited. He had all of us. I can't figure it. He's waited three years. He just wanted to enjoy it, that's all. All right, come on. We'd better separate. No use making it easy for him. Right, Brick. Hold it. Right where you are. The moon came out from behind the clouds. I could see him now standing right in the barn door, right in the open like he wasn't afraid of anything. And then I saw why he wasn't afraid. He was holding a gun in his hand, not pointing it at us, though. It was aimed at a little bundle squirming in the hay behind him. I reckon you can see how things stand. One movement's all over for the kid. All right, Maylor. Grab your gun. I'm the one you're after, Lawson? All right, you got me. How about leaving Mary and the baby out of it? I killed your brother. They didn't. Hey, you'd miss him, though, wouldn't you? I guess you'd miss him real bad. Why, you... Hey, hey. Careful, May. Dan just stood there. Help us. Hands up in the air. The moon was out full now. I knew I could get a clear sight on Lawson, but I didn't dare to draw on fire. Still have time to jerk that trigger. The gun muzzle was about three inches from the baby's head. All right, Ponson. Move on over next to Maylor. I want you both where I can see you. Go on, move. I walked over and stood beside Dan. Four years, Maylor. Four years I've been dreaming about this. Now it's even better than I thought. I didn't know you'd have a family. I didn't know I'd get the six-shooter along with you. It's all right, Lawson. Why don't you leave the rest of them out of it? I had a brother once. Four for one makes a pretty fair payoff. I kept watching his gun. It was the only chance. If it swerved for one second, I'd make a play, but it didn't swerve. And the time was running out. And then I caught something from the corner of my eye, just a fair flicker of it. It was over at the side of the house. It was Mary. I made my draw. Lawson, here. Why you! You dropped your bricks. Now make sure, Dan. We've got to make sure. Oh, is that sure enough for you? Yeah. Oh, Dan. The baby. Is he all right? Yeah, he's all right, Mary. Oh, thank you, Elvin. Mary, if anybody had told me that you could do what you just did, I... Dear, no. Come to mind. You mean after the way I've always felt about guns, and after you tried to keep all this from me? Well, I... Dan told me all about it when we were locked in the storeroom. Oh, dear, now, darling, it's all right now. Britt, I saw what was happening out here, and I remembered the rifle. Oh, after all, I mean, there was nothing else to do. All right now, darling. About three days later, I said goodbye. But I knew I'd be coming back that way some day. Dan and Mary aren't just the kind of friends a man forgets. Dan and that tough, howl-poke from the range country all settled down and liked it. And that Mary, she was gentle and sweet, firing at a killer to save a baby's life. And that baby, naming him Britt the way they'd done, you know, that gives you kind of a funny feeling having a baby named after you. Kind of a good feeling. I figured I'd probably be telling the boys all about that when I got to Wyoming. The truce in Korea doesn't mean we should stop writing letters to our men and women in service. Mail from home is just as important now as it ever was. In some respects, it's even more important. The action, the strain, the anxieties of war can keep a soldier's mind occupied. But when the letdown comes, the time to relax. That's when morale needs a shot in the arm. Your soldier knows the shooting is over. He's done his big job, and now he wants to get home. But unfortunately, there's still a lot to keep him for a while. So don't let him down. Help keep up his morale. Write that letter today. The Six Shooter is an NBC radio network production in association with Revue Productions. It is based on a character created by Frank Burt. And today's transcribed story was written by Les Crutchfield. Mr. Stewart may currently be seen in the Universal International Picture, Thunder Bay. Others in the cast were Shirley Mitchell, Leon Ledoux, Paul Richards, and Barney Phillips. Special music for this program was by Basil Adlam. And the entire production is under the direction of Jack Johnstone. All characters and incidents were fictitious. And any resemblance to actual characters or incidents is purely coincidental. Hal Gibney speaking. Enjoy thrilling historical adventure in Stroke of Fate tonight on the NBC Radio Network.
