Gunsmoke (1955) s02e10 Episode Script

ANNOUNCER: Starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Sometimes, the best that can be said of a man's honesty is that before he died, he never took back a word of his hatred for the day he was born, or of his hatred for his fellow men.
And so he dies, and we bury him up here on Boot Hill.
And he's no more lonely dead than he was living.
But there are other, more fortunate men.
I know a few of 'em.
And I know what it's worth to have a friend.
And what it costs sometimes.
Matt Dillon, U.
S.
marshal.
Mr.
Dillon? Here's your coffee.
Oh, thanks, Chester.
If that's too hot, I can put some water in it.
Oh, no, it's fine.
Is it strong enough? Any stronger, I'd deputize it.
Well, I'd better get the water.
No, no, no.
It's fine, Chester.
It's good, thanks.
Yeah, well, I always like it a little on the strong side myself.
You know that this is a pretty nice town.
I mean, when everybody minds their own business.
It's too bad it ain't always like this.
Well, if it was, they wouldn't need you and me around here.
No, no.
They'd always need a marshal.
What for, if there wasn't any lawbreaking? Well, to keep it that way.
I mean, you know there's a lot of fellas around town that'd be willing to break the law.
Make a dishonest dollar.
Except they know if they did, you'd be after 'em.
Say, tell that to the government next time my appointment comes up, will you? This what you call keeping the peace? Sittin' around like a farmer on Sunday? You like a cup of coffee, Doc? No, thank you.
United States marshal you are, huh? Wish I was.
You get paid, whether you work or not.
Now, what's the matter with you? Did you lose a couple patients last night or something? This town's just gettin' on my nerves.
Well, you could use a cup of coffee, Doc.
We got a whole pot sittin' in on the stove.
It's steamin' hot.
Uh, I've tasted your coffee.
Chester was just saying he thinks we got a real nice town here.
Well, Chester can have it.
Say, you did lose a patient last night.
For your information, Matt, there is nobody in this town that's got anything worse than a bad cold this morning.
Well, all right, then.
Sit down.
Take it easy.
You ever-? I'm thinking very seriously of moving to San Francisco.
San Francisco? Yes, sir.
Now, what do you wanna do that for? Hell, you've got a monopoly in this town here.
San Francisco's full of doctors.
And probably every last one of 'em is rich.
Forget it, Doc.
You're 20 years too late for the gold rush.
Besides, we need you right here.
Oh, you do? Well, you can get yourself a new doctor.
There's lots of 'em.
I'm just gettin' awful sick and tired of working day and night, and gettin' paid off with nothing but promises.
I thought you just said nobody was sick.
That's today.
Tomorrow, everybody needs surgery.
Yesterday, they- What'd he say? Now, listen here, Doc.
If you need money, I'll call a town meeting, and we'll shake it out of 'em.
But you try to go to San Francisco, I'm gonna throw you in jail.
You can do your practicing from there.
You will, huh? Yeah.
Good.
Then you'll have to feed me.
Good.
I'll do the cookin' for you.
The deal's off.
Now, Doc, I'm serious.
You- What makes you think I'm not serious, Matt? I want to go to San Francisco.
Is there a law that says I have to stay here in Dodge and grow old and feeble in this flea-bit town? Oh, now, Doc.
I always thought that you kinda liked Dodge.
Well, you give me one good reason why anybody should like this town.
Well, it's a- I've seen worse places.
Oh, you've seen worse.
Well, then, you must have trav- You must have been everyplace.
All over the world.
Well, I'll tell you one thing: I've been to Cuevitas.
Cue- Cuevitas? I never heard of that one.
Oh, Cuevitas.
It's down in Jim Hogg County in Texas.
I'll tell you one thing, Doc.
For bein' miserable, it's got Dodge beat a whole hoot and a holler.
It has, huh? Yeah.
Well, I'll take your word for it.
I- This is about as low as I wanna sink right here.
Well, you never been to Cuevitas.
No, I never was in Cuevitas.
And I don't intend to go to Cuevitas.
I'm going to San Francisco.
Come on, Doc.
I'll buy you a beer.
We'll talk this over.
No, sir.
You're not gonna buy me off with any beer.
All right.
Two beers.
He's dead.
We got into a fight.
There's nothing you can do for him, Doc.
They got him right through the heart.
There was three of 'em on us.
We didn't kill any, but I'm pretty sure we put slugs in two of 'em.
I could tell from the way they rode off they was hurt.
Did you recognize any of 'em? Well, I don't wanna get an innocent man into trouble, but I swear I seen one of 'em before.
Who was he? Well, I might be wrong.
I- I didn't get too good a look at him.
But I think he was a man I played poker with a couple of weeks ago down at the Long Branch.
Name of Brant.
Howard Brant? Well, he and his wife just come out here a couple of weeks ago.
They got a place over by Turkey Creek.
You know him? Well, I talked to him once or twice.
He seemed like a real nice fella to me.
Was he one of the ones you hit? Yeah, the way he was hunkered over in the saddle, I think we got him good.
You better come with us, Doc.
Yeah, all right.
Well, you, uh, call the undertaker about him.
Watch yourself, marshal.
There was three of 'em.
I only see one horse.
The others could be in the barn.
Yeah.
Come on.
Mrs.
Brant.
I don't know you.
I'm the marshal in Dodge City.
I'd like to talk to your husband.
He ain't here.
Do you mind if we wait for him? I'm real busy.
We won't bother you.
We'll just wait right here.
He went to town.
I don't look for him to be back till tomorr- That's chicken blood.
I just killed one.
Can't you leave him die in peace? Come on, Doc.
Keep an eye out here, Chester.
What do you think, Doc? Can he talk? Oh, no.
No, I don't think so, Matt.
I- I've done the best I could.
Mrs.
Brant.
We know there were two men with him.
Who were they? It wasJed Butler's idea.
Howard always would do anything Jed Butler wanted him to.
Jed Butler? Well, Howard knew him back in Oklahoma Territory.
Him and Rod Blake.
They come by here one night last week, and they talked to Howard.
I knew the way he acted after they left, they was up to something.
But I-I-I didn't ask.
And then this afternoon I was doing my wash, I heard a shout.
I went out.
And there he was, laying in the dirt.
They just dumped him there and rode off.
I s-still don't know what they'd done.
They robbed a stagecoach, Mrs.
Brant.
And a guard was killed.
Oh, no.
Howard was all right till Jed Butler come along.
Where'd they go, Mrs.
Brant? I- I don't know.
I didn't bother to even look.
I'm telling you the truth.
What reason would I have to protect them? You might be afraid of 'em.
He was.
I'm not.
Matt, I, uh- I can't move this man.
He's- He's too weak.
I gotta stay here with him.
You want us to stay with you? Oh, no.
No, Mrs.
Brant here can give me all the help I need.
All right, but look here.
You watch out for yourself in case those friends of his come back.
Well, if they come back, it's better you're not here, 'cause he couldn't stand that kind of excitement.
I'm thinking of you, Doc.
I'll be all right.
All right.
I'll see if I can pick up their trail.
If I knew where they went, I'd tell you.
I'd take you there myself.
We'll get 'em.
Howard's weak.
But he's not a bad man.
He's not really bad.
I'm sorry this had to happen, Mrs.
Brant.
Doc, is there anything else you need from town? No, no.
No, nothing, Matt.
All right.
He's gonna die, isn't he? Well, I'm gonna do everything I can for him, Mrs.
Brant.
We got no money, Doc.
Well, hello, Kitty.
That poster outside.
You're developing quite a literary style.
Well, it's not drawin' many customers.
Why complain? You've got enough work to do.
I haven't seen you around in days.
Where have you been? You read that poster, didn't you? I've been out scouring the countryside for those men.
So far, I haven't found a trace of 'em.
Tell me just what do marshals do when they're not out riding down bandits.
What'd you say? I didn't say anything.
I asked a question.
What was it? Nothing.
Oh, now, Kitty, look- Now, Matt, don't start telling me what women are like.
You know, it's not what women are like that bothers me.
It's why.
You're learning.
I am? Real slow, of course.
How about a cup of coffee, huh? No, thanks.
I've tasted it.
You mind if I have one? It's your coffee.
Empty? Yeah.
Think what you've saved yourself.
Well, look, Chester didn't make that pot.
I did.
You mean that really had fresh coffee in it and not four-day-old grounds? Yeah, I guess that's why Chester drank it all.
Oh, look, you didn't come up here just to turn down a cup of coffee.
No, I just dropped in to say hello and- And also I was kinda curious about Doc, Matt.
What about him? Well, he's- I haven't seen him around in at least a couple of nights.
Oh? Well, he's not in his office, and I was worried he might be sick or something.
No, no.
Doc's all right, Kitty.
Well, where is he? Well, he's out in the country trying to keep an outlaw alive.
So we can hang him.
Oh, that's nice.
Don't worry about it.
He deserves hanging.
Come on.
I'll buy you dinner.
Nothing bothers your appetite, does it? Eatin' alone does.
All right.
Let's go.
Two steaks, rare, Sam.
Don't you ever eat anything else? What else is there? Oh, never mind.
When did you see Doc last? Oh, two days ago at the Brants'.
Now, how'd he seem? What do you mean? Well, the last time I talked to him, I don't know, he, um- He seemed kinda down.
Oh, you mean he told you about going to San Francisco, huh? Do you think he meant it? I told him I'd lock him up if he did.
Oh, that must have made him feel better.
What'd you want me to do? Help him pack his bags? Well, you could have been a little more sympathetic.
He gets lonely, Matt.
Ah, don't worry about Doc.
He'll be all right.
That's what I love about men.
So understanding.
Mr.
Dillon.
Excuse me, uh, Miss Kitty, I didn't mean to interrupt.
You didn't, Chester.
Sit down.
Yeah, well Mr.
Dillon, I just saw Mrs.
Brant driving a wagon.
Looked like she had her husband's body in it.
Was Doc with her? No.
Well, who's Mrs.
Brant? She's the wife of that outlaw Doc was taking care of.
Tell him to hold my steak, will you? Well, it was close.
You don't have to do that, Mrs.
Brant.
I got no money.
The town will take care of it.
That's what Doc said.
I rode in ahead to make the arrangements.
He said he'd fix it up with an undertaker.
He never did no such thing.
What do you mean? The undertaker had never even heard of it.
I got along this far in life without charity, guess I can go the rest of the way.
Well, that don't sound like Doc.
How long ago did he leave your place? Same time I did.
About five hours ago.
He just put Howard's body on the wagon and left.
Well, maybe his horse throwed him.
Ah, his horse couldn't throw a boy, Chester.
I think I'd better take a ride.
Oh, here, Mrs.
Brant.
You- You let me do this.
You go sit on the wagon.
Go on now.
Hello, Tobeel.
Hello.
Well, you been taking any scalps lately, Tobeel? No, white man teach Tobeel to be civilized.
I'll only shoot in back.
No scalp.
You eat with Tobeel? All right, fine.
Thank you.
Antelope? Mmm.
Some.
Some possum, some squirrel.
Mm.
Also rabbit.
A regular mulligan stew you got here.
What you call it? Heh.
That's the Irish name for this Pawnee soup of yours.
You not like? Mmm.
You bet.
It's wonderful.
Oh, good.
Evening Star fine cook.
She sure is.
Tell me, you know some settlers by the name of Brant, Tobeel? Mm.
You know where they live? Tobeel know where everybody live.
And you know Doc Adams, don't you? Everybody know white medicine man.
Well, Doc Adams left the Brants' place this morning headed for Dodge.
But he didn't show up.
I was hoping you might know something about it.
Very little happens out here you don't know about.
Mm.
We need him, Tobeel.
We all need him.
Besides, Doc's a friend.
He's a real good friend.
I don't want anything to happen to him.
Many men need him.
Some good reason, some bad.
What do you mean? When bad man get hurt and want to live, that bad reason.
Only want to get well so he can shoot and kill some more.
You're saying Doc's in trouble, aren't you? Marshal want white medicine man to live.
Tobeel want to live too.
You never saw the man you were afraid of, Tobeel.
Now, where is he? Two white men have cabin.
Mm.
Hard to find.
Uh, maybe he there.
Why would he be there? White men outlaw.
One hurt.
Not leave cabin three days.
Cabin very hard to find.
You can find it.
We go.
Well, how is he now, Doc? There's no change.
I told you before, he's dying.
He better not die.
Well, he is.
He's dying.
And there's nothing I can do to stop it.
I don't believe you, Doc.
I think maybe you're not doing anything on purpose.
I am a doctor! I'd do anything in the world to save anybody's life, even a murderer.
You go on talkin' like that and I'll blow you open with this shotgun, Doc.
Ooh.
That shotgun.
Why don't you carry a pistol like any ordinary man would? Well, this does the job better.
And I ain't no ordinary man.
That's why I'm here and he's there and you're taking care of him.
How many times do I have to tell you that I've done everything I can for him? Well, that's too bad.
'Cause you're gonna die when he does.
I ain't gonna leave you around to spread no tales.
I'm gonna kill you and then get outta here.
So you better fix him up.
He's holding a shotgun right on Doc.
You shoot through window.
I can't take a chance on it.
Even if I shoot him through the heart, that gun could still go off and kill Doc.
We wait till they come out.
Doc's not comin' out.
Here, take this gun and get around by that rear window.
And when you hear that shotgun go off, shoot fast.
When I hear shotgun go off? Before he has a chance to reload.
You- You- You give him first shot? It's a single-barreled shotgun, Tobeel.
He can't get both of us with one shot.
You sure there no better way? I wouldn't be doin' this if I knew one.
Don't move.
Who's that? It's Matt Dillon.
I'm unarmed.
Open the door.
I'll come in with my hands in front of me.
Get over to the door.
Go on and get.
Doc Adams is standin' in front of the door, and I got a shotgun on his back.
Now open it easy, Doc.
Any tricks and I shoot Doc.
He's unarmed.
Get in here and close the door.
You're a blamed fool.
Hello, Doc.
You got some men outside, huh? It won't do you no good, marshal.
I'll shoot you before they can get anywhere near me.
I got one man outside, Butler.
And the minute he hears a shot, he'll start shootin'.
Only then it'll be too late.
Depends on how you look at it.
What do you mean? That gun only shoots once.
The second you pull the trigger, you're done for.
You got it all figured out, ain't you? Just about.
Only one thing you forgot: I'd rather kill me a U.
S.
marshal than a doctor any day.
Go ahead.
Nobody's stoppin' you.
Matt- Stay where you are, Doc.
As long as we're separated, he can only kill one of us.
Why didn't you stay outside, Matt? Things didn't work out that way, Doc.
Shut up! Now, I don't figure this.
You mean you came in here knowing I'd probably kill you instead of the doc? That's what he did.
That's just exactly what he did.
Why? Tell me that.
Why? Well, because we're friends, I guess, or something like that.
Let him talk.
You mean to tell me that-? I'm not tryin' to tell you anything, Butler.
Just don't pay any attention to him, Butler.
You wouldn't understand it.
Don't you talk down to me, Doc, or you'll get it right now.
Go ahead.
Well, you want me to shoot, don't you? You'd rather get it than him.
Well, he's dead now.
Well, Butler there's a gun at your back right now.
You want to live or die? I don't get you, marshal.
I don't get you at all.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ain't nobody in the whole world would've walked through that door for me.
Nobody.
Make up your mind, Butler.
Nobody.
Never in my whole life.
All right, let's go.
I sure never knowed any people like you and Doc before.
Sure you ain't crazy or something? Maybe we are a little, who knows? Let's go.