Gunsmoke (1955) s02e05 Episode Script

ANNOUNCER: Starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Mr.
Dillon! Mr.
Dillon.
Wait a minute, will you? What's the matter? Well, I- Uh I was wondering if, before you locked up, if you could give me the loan of a couple of dollars.
All right.
Well, you're a little early, aren't you? It's only the 15th.
You usually hold out till around the 20th.
Yeah.
Well, there's just too much a month for- For my pay.
It won't stretch quite, heh, you know? Well, how much do you want this time? Oh, uh, just enough to get me by till the end of the month.
Three dollars ought to do it.
Uh, three and a half.
Four.
Here's 5.
Save you an extra trip.
Oh-ho.
Thanks.
Well, what was it this time? Too many champagne-and-lobster suppers? No, uh Lobster? I never heard of lobster being in Dodge.
It's just a joke, Chester.
Oh.
No, it- It wasn't that.
It- It, uh Well, what is was is I got cheated, Mr.
Dillon, is what it was.
What do you mean? Crooked game? Well, that's just it.
It wasn't crooked until I got in it.
Well, I don't mean that I was the one that made it crooked.
I- Mercy.
I mean that this fella, he didn't seem to want to cheat anybody but me.
How much did you lose? Well, it was all that I had.
You know, it's a funny thing, Mr.
Dillon, thinking back on it.
'Cause if this fella had wanted to cheated them other fellas well, he could have done a lot better.
You sure you got cheated? Oh, it was just as plain as could be.
I mean, uh, he wasn't even good at it.
And who was he? Well, he's a stranger in Dodge.
He- He called hisself, um- Oh.
Kertcher.
Sam Kertcher.
I never heard of him.
I have.
Oh, you have.
Sam Kertcher is a gunman, Chester.
Oh.
Heh.
Well, maybe that's the reason that I didn't put up too much fuss.
Heh.
From what I understand of his reputation, you were smart not to.
You know, I know that there's somethin' about that fella.
Let's go see if he's still there.
Well, look, Mr.
Dillon, I just come here to borrow you a little money.
Now, I didn't want to start no trouble.
Chester, when a man like Sam Kertcher hits town, trouble's already started.
That's him over at the end of the bar.
Took you long enough to get here.
So you're Marshal Dillon, huh? Your friend's telling you the truth, marshal.
I cheated him.
How'd you know I was his friend? I asked.
Why? He's here, ain't he? Saved me the trouble of going out looking for him.
Drink? I come a long way to meet you, Dillon.
Aren't you gonna try and run me in? What do you want, mister? You.
I'm gonna kill you.
You got a big reputation, marshal.
I heard about you clear out in Colorado.
Isn't there anybody out in Colorado that's big enough to be worth your killing? Nah.
Why do you think I'm here? Man can get rusty facin' down all them bums and greenhorns.
How about it? Any time you say, marshal.
I'm a lawman, Kertcher not a gunman.
Now, why don't you go play your stupid game somewhere else, huh? Oh, I come too far, marshal.
I gotta get some satisfaction.
You know, Kertcher men like you are as worthless as coyotes.
I hate every one of your kind.
Good.
Make it easier for you to fight me.
I'll meet you tomorrow morning out in the street.
Eight o'clock.
Oh, well, I don't know.
Just because a- A- A body tells you to is no reason why you have to fight him, Mr.
Dillon.
No, I could avoid it.
Well, that's what I've been t- You could? How? Run away.
You talk to him, Doc.
He won't listen to me.
You- You tell him something.
Well, a man born stubborn, he stays stubborn.
No, Doc.
It's just, there's nothing else I can do, that's all.
Well, there's no sign of him.
Maybe he left town.
He'll be here.
Well, there's nobody on the street at all.
It's plumb deserted.
Well, you could make a fortune selling tickets to those upstairs windows.
Oh, there he is.
He's comin' right up the street.
Leave it, Chester.
Well- Uhwait a minute, Matt.
You can kill him right through the window there, and nobody'll think any less of you.
I would.
It's time, marshal.
Keep comin', marshal.
Get out where everybody can see you.
Think the whole town's hid out watching, marshal.
We don't want to keep 'em waiting, now.
Been a long time since anybody took a marshal in Dodge.
You sure got him, Mr.
Dillon.
Get him out of here, will you, Chester.
Yes, sir.
Wish you had sense enough to draw first.
I thought maybe you were gonna get noble.
With a man like that? Hello, Matt.
Hello, Kitty.
Well, aren't you gonna ask me to sit down? Sure.
Sit down.
That was quite a show you put on last week.
I was watching from the window upstairs.
Wanna have something to eat? Mm-mm.
Not hungry.
Well, you'd better eat something.
You're liable to lose your figure.
Oh? Well, give me a bite.
Mm.
Girl's gotta keep her strength up too.
Yeah.
What'll you have, young fella? How much is a steak? Fifty cents.
Oh.
You got anything cheaper? You can have eggs for 20 cents.
Hello, son.
Hello.
I'll have the eggs.
You new in town? Yeah.
When did you eat last? Yesterday.
Hey, Sam, uh slip a steak under those eggs, huh? Come on over and, uh, join us.
No point in eatin' alone.
I didn't ask for a handout.
Sit down.
What's your name? Peyt.
Well, I'm Kitty, Peyt.
And this is Marshal Dillon.
Where you from? Uhwest of here.
Lookin' for a job? Well, I guess so.
Till I save up enough money.
Enough money for what? Buy a gun.
Now, what do you want a gun for? Well, a man's no good without one.
How old are you, Peyt? Uh, what's that got to do with it? Lady asked you a question, son.
Going on 16.
Oh, fun.
Nothing like getting started early.
Well, what's wrong with it? Everybody carries a gun.
Yeah, and most people would be a whole lot better off if they didn't.
Well, I'll learn to use it.
I'll practice till I'm good.
Maybe as good as you are, marshal.
That's not what I meant.
What did you mean? Well, I guess you'll just have to find that out for yourself.
Well, maybe I can get you a job over at Emmett Bower'' place.
He can always use an extra hand around there.
That ought to take care of it.
I'll see you later, Kitty.
I won't take charity.
I don't want nothin' unless I can- You were sayin'? Well I can pay him back.
You might just thank him, the way a grown man would.
Hey, good morning, Chester.
Hm? Oh.
Good morning, Doc.
What's the matter? Is somebody sick today or somethin'? Somebody's always sick, Chester.
That's why I'm rich.
Yeah, well, you know, I ain't been feelin' too good myself lately.
I got them- Them shooting pains back here again.
Again? They're just, you know, like it- When you breathe deep, it- It- It gets you right in here.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, what would you prescribe for something like that? Office call.
Two dollars.
Oh.
Well, hello, Doc.
Hello, Matt.
What kind of free medical advice would you like to have this morning? Well, I can't think of anything right now, but, uh, I'll let you know.
Say, I thought you were goin' down to get the mail.
Oh.
Oh, yeah.
Well, I was just warming myself before it started, is what I was doin'.
Heh.
Heh.
Ain't that thatPeyt? That young kid? Hello, Peyt.
How are you? Fine, marshal.
You know Doc Adams and Chester, here.
Yeah, hi.
How are you? Here, uh For that steak you bought me that day.
Thanks.
How you makin' out? I quit.
You quit? I always heard that Emmett Bowers was a pretty good boss.
He's all right.
I just don't like punching cows.
Short grub, long hours.
Oh, well, if you find a job that's any different than that around Dodge City, I wish you'd let me know.
What are you gonna do now, Peyt? What I aimed to do when I first come to town.
Buy me a gun.
Gun? You're a little young to be carrying a gun, aren't you? Well, I figure if I'm old enough to do a man's work, I'm old enough to live like a man.
And die like one? I ain't afraid to die.
Peyt let me tell you somethin', son.
I've dug bullets out of a lot of men, old and young.
No matter how they talk, deep down inside, every last one of 'em's afraid to die.
If I get good enough, I'll do the killin'.
If I get a decent chance.
Peyt how'd you get started on all this? Oh, I don't mind telling you, marshal, now.
Now I got the money to buy me a gun and start practicin'.
Is there some, uh, particular man you're after? Yeah.
There is.
Who? You.
I'm gonna fight you, marshal.
And I'm gonna kill you if I can.
But Peyt, I never met you before last month.
Peyt's my first name, marshal.
My last name's Kertcher.
Sam was my brother.
I come here to take his place.
How well did you know him, Peyt? I told you, he was my brother.
Now, look I don't know exactly how to tell you this- I'll tell him.
I'll tell him.
Your brother, Sam Kertcher, was a killer.
He was no good.
You drew on him first.
Your brother wanted to kill me so he could be a big man.
Now, do you think I'm gonna get myself killed for anything as brainless as that? There's rules to gunfighting.
He wasn't ready to draw.
Where did you get those crazy ideas? Who taught you that killin' people is some kind of a game? My brother told me all about it a long time ago.
Sure.
For him it was a game.
And that's what was wrong with him.
He'd have beat you if he'd have been ready.
He was ready.
He was ready when he rode into this town.
Well, I'll be ready too, in a few weeks.
And I'll see you then.
Supposin' I don't draw on you.
You just said there's no rules.
You don't need a gun, son.
What you need is a good dose of castor oil.
I ain't got no quarrel with you.
Kid's crazy, that's all.
All right.
If you're gonna act like your brother, I'm gonna treat you like your brother.
Now, I can't prevent you from buying a gun but the day you face me with it on, I'm gonna shoot you down just like I did him.
You remember that.
I'll remember.
Well, now, what do you think of that? Oh, I don't know.
I don't think that he really means it.
I do.
Who's there? Whoever it is, what do you want? Come out of there.
Wha- Oh, Peyt.
Ha-ha.
What are you two doing hidin' there? Hidin'? We- We- Well, we was picking berries.
With what? Well, I was using my hands, myself.
Where's your bucket? A buck- Doc, you forgot the bucket.
Oh, shut up, Chester.
There's no use lyin' to this little whippersnapper.
I'll tell you what we were doing in there.
We heard about you practicing with that gun day after day, and we decided to come out and see how good you're gettin'.
And you're not gettin' very good.
I'll get better.
But you ain't gonna get good enough, son, I'll tell you that.
Don't give me that "son" business.
And don't come sneakin' around here again.
Unless, of course, Marshal Dillon's gettin' scared and sending you out to spy on me.
You miserable young whelp.
I'll take- Wait a minute- You wait a minute.
I'm gonna tell you somethin', son.
I don't know why I bother to do it but Matt Dillon can let you practice with that gun for the next ten years.
He can let you aim it right at him.
And he can still draw and kill you before you can squeeze the trigger.
Yeah.
Now, you quit your fooling around, throw that thing away and get out of Dodge before somebody carries you out, do you hear? I hear.
Yeah, but do you understand? I understand.
It's not me you're worrying about.
Maybe you're worried about what's gonna happen to Marshal Dillon if he fights somebody fair.
I thought you said that you- Oh, Chester.
Chester.
No.
There is no use tryin' to get through to an idiot unless you can talk idiot language.
And I just never learned it.
Well, I did.
Now, listen- Oh, come on.
Tell the marshal to come out himself and watch.
Well, he's still out there, firin' away.
How's he doing? Oh, a couple of years, he keeps at it, he might make a pretty good gunfighter.
Hm.
What are you gonna do? I mean, if he does come after you? Just what I said I would.
You mean that? Well, I'm not gonna let him kill me.
Ain't you a mite young to be in a saloon, kid? Little young to be toting a gun too, aren't you? I ain't too young to use it.
Looks almost too heavy for you.
Leave him alone, Jack.
He's just a kid.
When he puts that on, he's supposed to be a man.
Otherwise he can get hurt carrying one of those things.
Better take it off.
I got a right to wear it.
Suppose we find out.
I ain't a-scared of you.
I'm telling you, kid either take that gun off or start using it.
Make up your mind.
You didn't have no call to do that.
This wasn't no fight of yours.
Hey, you were just about to murder that boy, that's all.
Now, go on over to Doc's and get your arm fixed.
You just got yourself a free ticket to your next birthday, son.
Marshal? I froze in there.
I wasn't scared.
I- I just froze.
He'd have killed me if it hadn't been for you.
That's right.
Well, what did he want to kill me for? I wasn't doing nothin' to him.
For the same reason your brother wanted to kill me.
It's a game, remember? Marshal? Do you think Mr.
Bowers would give me my job back? Well, I don't know.
It's, uh short grub and long hours.
Wouldn't leave you much time to practice.
I think maybe it'd be better if you kept this for me.
I'll put it on the wall right above my desk.
You can have it back anytime you want.
I don't think I'll be needin' it.
Marshal.
I haven't thanked you for saving my life.
Yes, you have.