In a moment you'll hear James Stewart as the six shooter, just one of the many fine programs brought to you each week on NBC. Tomorrow night there's top comedy entertainment with the Bob Hope Show, the Phil Harris Alice Faye Show, and Can You Top This with Senator Ford. Bob Hope delivers rapid fire comedy routines while Phil Harris and Alice Faye bring you both mirth and music. It's a great Friday night lineup of comedy programs, 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 on marks. 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. Halfway crick sure wasn't much of a town. Oh, that general store and cafe, room and house and a blacksmith shop, that's about all there was to it. And I'd never figured out where the place got its name either. It didn't seem to be halfway to anything. As a matter of fact, it was right at the end of the trail from Santa Fe. Only thing further west was a couple of small farms and Gid Baskin's Double Seven Ranch. That's where I was heading, the Double Seven, to see if I could sign on with Gid for the spring roundup. Ah, wow, didn't look like I was going to have to ride out all the way. Oh boy, oh. Well, there was Gid himself pounding down the main street, five or six fellows behind him. Well, if he had that many men working for him already, he probably wouldn't have much use for me. Hey Britt, Britt Ponset. Hiya, Gid. What in the name of Moses you come from, Britt? Oh, no place special. I was landing some railroad track out of Denver, first fell, but then I thought it was about time for me to hit the saddle again. Well, if you're looking for a job, we can always use an extra hand, can't we boys? Ah, it's mighty nice of you, Gid, that to tell you the truth, I was sort of hoping that you had room for another. Well, go on, Britt. Oh, I guess you've got enough help here without me. Well, my outfit's been growing since you were through here last. We'll stretch clear over to Patchy Hill. You don't say. It takes a lot of riders to cover that much ground. Yeah, yeah, I guess it does. Oh, come on then, let's go. We're on our way back to the double seven right now. Mm-hmm. Well, maybe, maybe next round up, Gid. What's the matter with you, Britt? You said you were looking for work. I reckon I'm what changed Ponset's mind, Gid. I reckon he's a little too fancy to ride alongside me. Huh? How about it, sick shooter? You boys know each other? We met up. Yeah. Well, take it easy, Gid. I'll be saying... Now, hold up a minute, Britt. You go ahead, boys. I'll catch up with you. I want to talk to Ponset. You're wasting your breath. I'm still boss of the double seven, Clint. I don't need no advice from you. Sure, Gid, sure. Better cup of coffee, Britt. Oh, thanks. I guess I could use one. Christie, I ain't the best cook in the world. You can usually get his coffee down without a gag in you. All right, Christie, still run the cafe, huh? Sure, sure. Count ain't changed much, Britt. On the surface, that is. Oh. Oh, well, come on in, Mr. Bascoms. Come on in. Hello, Christie. You remember Britt Ponset? Britt, well, for goodness sakes, when did you get back to town? Oh, just a little while ago, Christie. Ah, you're sure looking well. Fit as a fiddle, Mr. Ponset. Fit as a fiddle. Now, you both sit down at that table over there, and I'll bring you some of my special for today, beef stew. I made it fresh this morning. No, thanks, Christie. We just come in for some coffee. Why, it's after four o'clock. It's practically time for supper. Yeah, coffee will do the trick for now. Oh. Well, what about you, Mr. Ponset? A little taste of my stew? No, no, no. I think I'll just stick to coffee, too. Oh, okay. Well, the pot's on the stove, right and back. I'll get it. No hurry. Well, Britt, is Clint right? Is it on account of him you don't want to work for me? I never said that, kid. You sure acted it. Well, to tell you the truth, I was sort of surprised that you'd hire a man like Clint Sutton. Britt, I just didn't have no choice. Oh? Like I told you, the double seven's been growing. When a ranch gets big, well, I guess a man's bound to make enemies. You need somebody who's handy with a gun around. Mm-hmm. You never had any enemies before, again. Yeah, well, times are different now, Britt. What do you mean by that? Well, you remember those sod busters down by the creek, Perry Waddell and Fred Gover? Sure. Well, there's been some new ones move in in the last year or so. Well, that isn't your land along the creek, is it? No. Never claimed it was. I always figured there was plenty of space around here, rooming up for me and them nesters, too. Well? Well, I ain't been like some of the other ranchers. You know that, Britt. I ain't never tried to run the sod busters off or burn them out. Live and let live, that's what I always said. I try to practice my preaching, too. Here's your coffee, Jack. Right off the stove. Here we are. You sure you won't have nothing else? Oh, thanks, Christie. Here you go. No, no, hold on. Keep your hands away from your pockets, Britt. I guess I can afford a couple of cups of coffee. Oh, well, thank you, Mr. Baskin. I say, I've got some bread in the oven, so if you want anything more, you just call. Oh! Boy! Better seltzer it for a spell. Let it cool off some, huh? Wow! It's not the heat, it's the taste. Gee, what is this stuff? Boy, it's as bad as the coffee I make myself. Worse. Well, I guess it's a good thing we didn't order none of Christie's, too. Yeah, it is. Anyway, Britt, about Clint's son, there was a good reason for hiring him. They've been stealing my cattle. What? Yeah, them nesters. Now, kid. There ain't any doubt about it. My tallies are short. After they round up, I'll know for certain how many they got away with. Well, now, kid, it doesn't stand to reason that men like Waddell and Garver had rustled your animals. They're in a rough spot as it is, and they're living right next to the edge of your ranch. Well, they must know that you could shove them off of there if you took a mine to it. I guess they know that all right. Anyway, one of them tried to shoot me. They... were you sure of that? Well, I didn't see who it was. Not for certain. But there ain't been any strangers around halfway Creek lately. So? Sutton's a stranger. I hired him after the shooting. I had to have somebody, Britt. My own boys ain't very fast with a gun. They ain't had much experience lately. Now, kid, you're just asking for trouble bringing Clint Sutton in here. Britt, the trouble's already started, and I didn't start it. They did. Of course, if I had known you were coming into town, I wouldn't have taken Clint on. Well, if what you wanted was a gun, I'm not the man for you. I reckon Clint is. Well, that's the way you feel, Britt. That's the way I feel. Maybe you'll change your mind after things quiet down. Or maybe there won't be a serious mix-up now that them sodbusters know that I mean business. I wouldn't count on that yet. Well, thanks for the coffee. Well, I was getting on toward evening now, and I was beginning to feel some hunger pains down the pit of my stomach. I sure didn't like the idea of sampling Christiott's stew, though. I figured I'd be better off to buy some cold grub at the general store, so I headed across the street. Just as I started to go in the front door, I saw somebody staring at me from behind a wagon over to the blacksmith's shop. The sun was directly behind him, so I couldn't tell who it was exactly, not until I came around into the shade. Britt? Is that you, Britt? Huh? Yeah, yeah. Don't you recognize me, Perry Waddell? Oh, sure, Perry. The sun was in his eyes. I couldn't see it. You busy, Britt? No, no, not especially. Well, I'd like to talk to you if you've got a minute spare. Busted one of my wagon wheels this morning. I'm waiting for Sam and Todd to see if he can put it together. Well, how have things been going with you, Perry? Not so good, Britt. Not so good. Yeah, I was just talking to Gidd Bascom. What's the time that's trouble, anyway? Same old story, I reckon. Big ranch, small farms. It just ain't room for them both. There was always plenty of room before. Perry, Gidd tells me that some of his cattle are missing. Oh, that's just his excuse to get rid of us. Uh-huh. Now, I ain't no thief, Britt. Of course not, of course not, Perry. But I understand that there's been some new families moving in, is that right? Any farmer who steals from Gidd's herd, he'd be plum loco. He'd just be asking for Gidd to burn him out. Yeah, that's true and all. I suppose Gidd told you somebody took a shot at him, too, and said it was one of us. He mentioned something about it, yeah. He just needed a reason for bringing that Clint Sutton in here. Clint's a killer, pure and simple. Think bad enough that Gidd wants our land. He's got to hire a gunfighter to take it away from us. Well, Gidd never objected to your farms before, Perry. There was always plenty of other land waiting for him. Now he's pushed his ranch clear to Patchy Hill. He can't go no farther in that direction, so he's got to spread east. And we're in his way. That just somehow doesn't sound like Gidd. He sure seems sincere when I talk to him. Now, I'm almost certain he believes somebody's been rustling his cattle. Britt, I swear to you that I never smudged or laid a hand on any of his dogs. Well, that's not my concern, Perry. I'm leaving town anyway. Oh, you can't leave, Richie. You've got to stay here. Why, what? You're the only man who can stand up to Bascom and Sutton. Oh, now hold on, Perry. We couldn't pay you much, but we'd all chip in and give you what we can. I told Gidd I'm not a hired gun. I'm going to tell you the same thing. Britt, Britt, my farm's all I've got in this world. I spent 21 years trying to build it up into something that'd mean a decent living for my wife and kids. Nobody's going to take it away from me now. Well, I understand that. I understand. Hmm. Now look at that. Looks like somebody's in a rush, huh? Hmm. It's Ruth Lovett. Who? Oh, he's homesteading the place right next to mine. Hey, Ruth! Ruth, what's your hurry? I've got to see you, Perry. Are you sure? Yeah, yeah, but it's real important. Well, I was just going into the store anyways, so I'll see you later. No need for you to rush off, Britt. Ruth, this here's Britt Ponson. You can speak your mind in front of him. Sick suitor? That's right. Real pleased to meet you, Mr. Ponson. Howdy. Now, what's all the fuss about, Ruth? They're going to burn us out tonight, Perry. You sure? Yeah, one of Gidd's own men told me. Well, I was just talking to Gidd just a little while ago, Ruth. He never had any intention then. Maybe he's changed his mind since then, Mr. Ponson. Maybe he didn't feel like advertising what he's up to. Now, Perry, we've got to get together, all us farmers. Oh, sure, Ruth. Sure. We'll hold them off. Hold them off? Why, we wouldn't have a chance against a man like Clint Sutton. Well, we've got to do something. We've got to fight back. Yeah, we'll fight back all right, but on their own ground. What do you mean? Well, they'll be riding toward our farms tonight, getting all his boys. There won't be a soul over at the double seven. Yeah? We'll show Gidd Bascom he ain't going to have everything his way. We'll burn him out while he's burning us. Oh, Ruth. Now, I sure don't see what you'll accomplish by that, Ruth. Gidd will think twice before he tries to shove somebody else around. That's what we'll accomplish. Maybe so, but it won't save your farm. Well, what else can we do? Well, you might try talking to Gidd, see if you can find out what's eating. Talk, talk's a waste of time. Oh, I don't know, Ruth. Maybe he'll listen to reason. Has he ever listened to us before? Well... Besides, what about Clint Sutton? Who's going to reason with that gunner of his? I kind of forgot about Clint. Britt? Not now, Perry. Britt, talking to Gidd is your idea. Yeah, I know it is. I know, but I... Oh, God, Perry. All right, I'll see if I can head him off. Now, you and Ruth go back to your farm. Stay put, huh? Okay, Mr. Ponson. You don't know how much this means to us, Britt. Yeah, yeah, you see. God, maybe someday I'll learn to keep my dog gone. Ideas to myself. We'll return to James Stewart as the six shooter in just a moment. If you're a teenage or up, a loyal American, male or female, your country needs you in the Civilian Ground Observer Corps. You've heard the radio broadcasts, seen the television pictures. You know the facts. You know what a single H-bomb dropped in any metropolitan area could do. And today's long-range bombers have made intercontinental war possible. Enemy planes based on the other side of the world could reach the United States in a matter of hours. Radar can help detect them, but there are dangerous gaps through which low-flying planes can penetrate without detection. To fill out our detection system, civilian personnel is needed, particularly along the East and West Coasts and in the northern states. Sky-watching is not a game. It's a necessary precaution. The Ground Observer Corps is now operating on a 24-hour-a-day basis and needs at least 200,000 volunteers to contribute a few hours of their spare time to this vital work. Will you volunteer? Get in touch with your local Civilian Defense Center at once. Now, Act II of The Six Shooter, starring James Stewart as Britt Ponson. Get Bascom's ranch house was about a three-hour ride from town, so around about 8 o'clock, I figure, I was halfway there. The moon was just beginning to silver up the top of Apache Hill. I hadn't been too sure of the trail, but now that things were lightening up some, I gave Scarlet a nudge. Come on, let's go. It was real sandy country. Clump of purple sage every now and then, once in a while pine tree or two. We must have covered about four miles, and then we came to a little creek. From there on, the trail started to wind into a kind of a jagged ravine with a couple of tall yellow rocks at the mouth, sort of sticking up straight in the air like a couple of fingers. We were just getting past those rocks when I heard what sounded like about a half a dozen horses coming toward me. Whoa, whoa, whoa, who's going to pull up and wait? Howdy, kid. What are you doing out here, Brit? Oh, I just thought I might come out and take a look at the double seven. Some other time. You in a hurry to go somewhere? That's right, we're in a hurry. Oh, oh, hello, Clint. Come on, kid, we ain't got all night. Right. Will you mind telling me where you're heading, kid? Look, I offered you a job this afternoon. You turned me down. I don't see why anything I do from here on in is your concern. No, no, no, it sure isn't, but I was just noticing and it looks to me like you've got the whole crew with you. What if I have? Well, it must be something kind of important to take you all the way out here away from the ranch this time of night. We're going to burn out a bunch of Steven Ruzzlers. Is that important enough for you, Ponzi? Clint, now they might as well know it. You can't do nothing to stop us. What happened, Ged? You weren't planning anything like this when I talked to you a little while ago. Clint found five of my steers over in a canyon behind one of them farms. Well, maybe your steers got lost. Maybe they just strayed over that way. And hobbled themselves? Well, even so, it seems to me like this is a matter for the law. There ain't no sheriff in Halfway Creek, you know that, Brits? Well, there's a sheriff at Bixby Falls. Somebody go over and get him. You get him if you want him, Ponzi. We got other things to do. Now, now, I wouldn't let Clint hurry me if I was you, Ged. What difference does it make? It might make a lot of difference. Seeing as how those farmers were talking about paying you back if you go after them. I'd sure like to know what they could do. Well, they sort of had an idea that they could burn down the Double Seven. What? Well, they sure must want to get themselves killed. Uh-huh. It doesn't look to me like there'd be anybody there to kill them, Sutton. Look, he's lying. He's just trying to stall us. Do you think I'm lying, Ged? Turn around, boys. We're going back to the ranch. Are you crazy, Ged? Them nesters would be pulling us... Hey, Ned, turn around. Now, let's go. Get out of here! Well, I watched them for a minute or two, moving along through the ravine, heading back to the Double Seven. I could hear Clint arguing with Ged, and Ged didn't seem to be paying much attention to him. Then a swung scar around toward Halfway Creek. Must have been about 30 minutes later when we came down to a narrow stretch of trail that twisted down the side of the cliff. Easy, easy boy. Easy. The moon was sliding under a thick milk-white cloud, and the rocks and the trees started fading into night shadows. For a minute or so, everything got real still. Even the crickets. Huh. Huh. Somebody else was taking the same trail. Sounded like he was following me. I got a kind of a crickly feeling across the back of my neck. I started wondering, maybe Clint Sutton. I twisted around to see if I could get a look. I had to squint my eyes, but finally I made out the shape of a horse about 40 feet back. He was just standing there nibbling on a couple of tufts of grass. Wasn't anybody in the saddle. And right then the cloud over the moon started skidding away, and the trees began coming back to size. I was just about to give Scar a touch of the spur when I saw him crouching low behind a clump of pines. I saw something else too, a little glint of metal. Whoever it was had a gun. I jerked out of the saddle and hit the ground. Looked around for cover. His aim was close. It was too darn close. Well, it couldn't be Sutton. I knew Clint's style of gunplay. He might miss one shot, and he wouldn't miss twice. Then I spotted a little gully a few feet to my left, and I crawled toward it, keeping as low as I could. I was almost there before he had a chance to fire again. When he did, I started rolling, and I tumbled down into the draw. I took out my gun. I was hoping he'd think he'd hit me, that his bullet had sent me over the side. I couldn't hear him move. I pressed flat, and I pulled up behind a couple of big tumbleweeds. I sort of cut down my chance of him spotting me, and he was coming now. He was going to be at the edge of the gully in a couple more steps. I shoved my gun up and sort of gauged where I thought he'd show. Then a leg came into sight, about six feet away. Then his body swung up into view, and just before he fired, he went down on his knees fast. I swung out of the way, and his bullet cut through one of the tumbleweeds. I gave it a shove, and the wind sort of caught it. He fired again, but he wasn't firing at me now. He's firing at the weed. He had to rise up in the sight to get aim. My bullet slapped him on the shoulder, and for a minute he sort of hung in midair and teetering on the edge of the draw. And then he pitched forward and toppled down beside me, and I turned him over. You've got to look at his face. What? Well, what the thunder are you trying to do, Roof? You should have been able to recognize me. It wasn't as dark as all that. I recognized you, Ponson. What? You shouldn't have meddled in this. Gidd would have burned us out if it hadn't been for you stopping him. Well, you wanted him to burn you out? It's going to happen anyway, isn't it? Sooner or later. Well, not if Gidd isn't forced into it. Big ranchers don't need no forcing. What are you talking about? I don't understand you, Roof. It was your farm he was going to burn. You're talking like you hoped it would happen. I think I care about that farm. I had me a farm once down in Texas. Real good soil, brown, soft, rich, plenty of water, too. A man could grow anything on that land. Well, what happened to it? There was a ranch bigger than Gidd's outfit even, but it wasn't big enough. Not big enough to suit the fellow on that he kept stretching out, crawling down from the hills, moving his fences closer and closer until one day they was right up against my property. He offered to buy me out. He offered me good money, but it was my farm. I didn't want to sell no matter what. He was willing to pay me. Here, come on. I'll pull out your shirt, too. Try and see if I can get that bleeding to stop. Yeah. You think you'll be able to ride? I don't know. Give me a couple of minutes. Oh, sure, sure. Well, go on. You were telling me about your farm down in Texas. Ain't much more to tell. I wouldn't sell it. Nancy, she was my wife. She told me I was wrong. I'd have to give in, but I didn't listen to her. I should have listened and burned us out. I see. I wasn't there when it happened. I was in town. Nancy, she tried to stop him. They killed her. Oh, I'm sorry, love it. They killed her and left her there in the house while they burned it. Couldn't even give her a decent burial. There was... Now, now take it easy, Rove. Don't matter what becomes of me, Ponce, if not anymore. After Nancy... Well, afterwards I came up here to New Mexico. Figured maybe I could start over, maybe things would be different, but there was no different. There was always a ranch and a fellow like Gibb Baskin to shove you around. I watched him. I watched him spread out clear to Apache Hills, and then he couldn't go no further in that direction. I know he'd be coming my way. Well, I wasn't just going to sit around and wait for him like I'd done before. So you stole Gidd's cattle. Is that what you're saying? I didn't have nothing to lose. I was going to be burned out anyways. I even took a shot at him, but I ain't much good with it done. I just kind of showed that tonight. Well, it wasn't Gidd who burned you out down in Texas, Rove. It was a rancher just like Gidd. We were all the same, Ponce, with a grab and burn and a killin'. I figured if I stirred up enough trouble to force Gidd out in the open, maybe then some of the other farmers would come along with me and we'd burn him up. He'd get a taste of his own medicine. I'd be paying Gidd back for what he'd done to Nancy. But Rove, I'm trying to... I can still see how it was that night. Smoke and ashes everywhere. At first I couldn't believe it that they killed her. I started to holler and holler until my throat was so sore the sound just wouldn't come out no more. But she didn't answer me. I thought maybe she'd run off somewhere. I said, scared her, and she'd run away. And I saw her. Over behind a pile of smoke and timbers. Her clothes was all burned out. That's what he'd done, and that's what Gidd had done. That wasn't Gidd Bascom now. Get a hold of yourself. I've got to make it up for Nancy. I've got to burn the double seven. You're coming to town with me. Town? Come on now. Can you stand up? I guess so. Who are you? You... Come along. Here, let me give you a hand. Oh, what about Luke Harper? Luke Harper? You ain't been listening to me. I told you I've got to get even with Harper for killing my wife. That's what I was going to do tonight. Burn Downey's ranch. Now I told you. I know, I know, yes. Now you told me. But you'd just better forget about that for now. Why, I couldn't forget. Not ever. Come on, Roo. Come on, you and me are going to town. Huh? Here, I'll help you on your horse. Come on. Thanks, mister. Thanks a lot. You've been real kind to me. Funny. There's something wrong with my shoulder. Somebody... Somebody shot me. Did Luke Harper do that, mister? Maybe he did, Roof, in a way. Maybe he did. I took Roof as far as Perry Waddell's house, and Perry went in to get the doc. It looked like Roof was going to be all right. At least it looked like he'd get over that wound in the shoulder. But whether he'd really ever get well again, I guess even the doctor couldn't tell that. The next morning, Gidd Bascom rode into town, found out what had happened. He said he was willing to forget about the stolen cattle and the other trouble Roof had caused him. And he said he'd get rid of Clint Sutton, too. He didn't come right out and admit it, but I've got a hunch he was kind of sorry that he'd hired Sutton in the first place. It just goes to show you there's differences in ranchers like anything else. The Six Shooter is a transcribed NBC radio network production in association with Review Productions. It is written by Frank Burtz and is based on a character created by him. Mr. Stewart may currently be seen in the Universal International Picture, The Glenn Miller Story. Others in the cast were Lamont Johnson, Gerald Moore, Bob Griffin, Parley Bear, and Howard McNeer. Special music for this program was by Basil Adlin, 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. Oh, by the way, you'll be interested in knowing that The Six Shooter has been chosen for broadcast to our men overseas through the facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. This is Hal Giffey speaking. Hearing time brings you highlights from the Senate committee hearings tonight on the NBC Radio Network.
