Gunsmoke (1955) s03e01 Episode Script

starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Go on, get yourself a glass, you want a drink.
No, thanks.
Something wrong? Now, Nate, don't you go getting sore at me.
I always been your friend, ain't I? So? You never drank before, Nate.
Before? Well, you know, before two years ago.
You sure look in bad shape, Nate.
I ain't going to touch another drop after tonight.
Anyway, I'm going to be okay when I get back.
Now, you can't go to Dodge alone.
You need me there.
I'll back you up.
Dodge is something I got to do by myself, and I'm going to do it.
And I'm going to be okay after.
And I'll be ready for anybody anything.
Sure.
You always was the best gunman in the whole darn country.
Was? You still are.
You know that.
Nate, you're going to be all right.
Sure.
Sure, I am.
I'll see you in the morning.
No, you won't.
I'm leaving for Dodge tonight.
Okay.
Sooner you get it over with, the better.
I'll wait right here in Tuscosa for you.
About a week, huh? I'll be here.
Good luck, Nate.
Oh.
Hello, Marshal.
You busy, Mr.
Teeters? Oh, come in, come in.
I hope you've got time to give me a haircut.
Oh, sure.
I was just sitting there resting for a minute.
Yeah.
How's business? Oh, business Well, tell you the truth, you're the first customer I've had all morning.
Hmm.
Say, that's a new chair you got, isn't it? Yessiree, Bob.
That's the finest barber chair west of St.
Louis.
Yeah.
It's pretty fancy all right.
Just go ahead and try it.
Okay.
Here.
Comfortable now? I'll tell you after I find out if you've raised your prices to pay for it.
Nope.
Price for haircut's still the same, Marshal.
And how 'bout the price of your bat? That too tight for you around the neck? No.
No, that's just fine, thanks.
Good.
I don't like to strangle a man just to cut his hair.
'Tain't at all necessary, I always say.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You still didn't tell me whether you raised the price of your bath or not.
Price for a bath is going up, Marshal.
Dime.
Yeah, I thought so.
You mean you're charging a dime more just to splash around in that same old tin tub you've got out there? Now, just hold your horses.
Don't forget there's a tonic and a soap and wood to heat the water with.
And besides, Marshal, you wouldn't stand in the way of progress for a little, measley old dime, would you? Depends on whose progress you're talking about, Mr.
Teeters.
Well, I don't reckon you want a bath today anyhow, do you? It's a good thing I don't.
Oh, howdy, stranger? I'll be with you in a minute.
Just have a seat there.
Last Wednesday night, Mabel, she In a minute.
Yeah, sure.
You're next.
Nobody ahead of you.
Well, anyhow, last Wednesday night, Mabel, she was out there I ain't next.
Hmm? Yes, you are.
Sure.
There's nobody ahead of you.
You go on and sit down there.
I said I ain't next.
Oh.
You mean you won't stay? That's right.
I won't wait.
Well.
I'll be here through here in five minutes.
Why, just sit down and I'll be with you.
I want my hair cut and I want it cut right now.
You can cut his hair later.
What? You heard me.
Well, now, look, stranger, you don't It's all right, Mr.
Teeters.
Get outta that chair, mister.
Sure.
I want to sit down.
You're in my way.
I don't think you understand.
I didn't get out of that chair so you could sit down.
Ohh.
You're gonna be real troublesome, hmm? Yeah, and you're not gonna do anything about it.
No? No.
I don't think you see too good, mister.
Why? I'm not wearing a gun.
And you're not about to shoot an unarmed man, now, are you? Especially not with a witness here.
You try anything else, mister, I'll squash you like a bug.
Get your gun and put it on.
Sorry.
Do it.
You're licked, mister.
You can't get me to put on a gun.
What kinda coward are you anyway? Let's just say I don't like killings.
I can't figure you, mister.
Good.
It'll give you something to think about.
All right.
I'll think about it.
But the next time we meet, you'll be wearing a gun.
It'll be some different then.
My goodness, Marshal, you took an awful chance there.
You know that man, Mr.
Teeters? No, but he coulda killed you.
Well, that woulda been murder, the way the law reads.
Gunmen like that know that or he'd have been hung a long time ago.
Yeah, but why didn't you tell him who you are? He'll find out soon enough.
He didn't come to Dodge just to get a haircut.
Well, come on.
Quit shaking and let's get this over with, huh? Yeah.
Sure, Marshal.
Hey.
You, where's my key? Why, it's hanging right there.
Uh, number ten, ain't it? Are you gonna fetch me my key, or am I gonna kick your mouth off? I'll get it, mister.
No need for a fuss- I didn't mean no harm.
Then do it - quit talking.
Yes, sir.
Here you are, right here.
Next time mind your manners.
Yes, sir.
Who is that, Howard? I don't know.
He just rode in today.
Well, you know his name, don't you? Yeah, it's it's, uh, Springer, Nate Springer.
Springer, huh? Kind of mean, ain't he? Oh, he's more than that - he's a gunman, if I ever seen one.
Hey, where are you going? You just figure out your next move.
I'll be gone a couple hours - you won't miss me.
Did you find anything? Nothing yet, Chester.
He was the man who come into the tonsorial parlor, though, you think? Yeah, the way you described him, it was.
But he's sure not wanted anywhere.
Well, how come you recognized his name? Well, I've heard of him, Chester.
He's got quite a reputation down around Tascosa.
As a gunman, you mean? He got no nerves, they say, he's all ice.
Well, I don't know, he just seemed jumpy and edgy.
More mean than anything else.
Yeah, he's not really living up to his reputation, is he? What do you think he's doing in Dodge? Well, he's a killer, Chester, a paid killer, and he's probably been hired to do murder.
Well, don't you think you ought to throw him in jail? If I do that, why, whoever hired him will just hire somebody else.
I got to find out who his boss is.
Mr.
Dillon, you can't wait till he kills somebody.
No.
No, not if I can help it.
You know, the worse murderer is the man behind him.
Well, I'm going out to dinner with Doc.
I'll see you later.
No, I ain't never been down to Tascosa, Matt.
What's it like down there? Well, it's still a camp for the Huron, Doc.
Any worse than Dodge? Well, I wouldn't say that.
Well, it doesn't make any difference - I'm not going there anyway.
Uh, business too good here, huh? I don't know anything about business, you know that.
I suppose you inherited all your money, huh? Well, I didn't make it shooting people, you can bet on that.
Oh, now, for heaven's sakes, I didn't mean you, Matt.
I'm talking about the killers and everybody like that- a fella like that Nate Springer you were tell Doc, uh, take it easy.
He's right behind us there.
Where? You mean him, right there? Mm-hmm.
Well, by golly, he does look like a killer.
He is.
Sitting there with his hat on, looks like he's just getting ready to shoot somebody and bolt out that door.
You know, fellas like that are all alike.
They're just lonely looking and no friends or anything.
Man like that doesn't deserve any friends, Doc.
All right.
What was you staring at me for? No reason at all, mister.
No man stares at me without reason.
I want to know why you was doing it.
Well, I'm sorry about it, but you're gonna get indigestion if You tell me why you was staring at me, or I'll put a hole in you.
Now, just hold on, mister.
This man's a doctor- he doesn't wear a gun.
Wait a minute.
Who are you? My name's Dillon.
Dillon.
That's right.
Why didn't you say so the last time? Would it have made a difference? No.
None, I guess.
I was bound to run into you again anyway.
Yeah? Why? Well let's just say, in my line of work, there's always some lawman wanting to interfere.
Who hired you, mister? A fair fight's a fair fight, ain't it? Not when you're paid to start it, no.
Like I said, I knew I was gonna run into you.
You know, when I find out who you're after, I'm gonna find out who hired you.
Then I'm gonna make it real rough on everybody.
You're gonna lose sleep trying to find out, Marshal.
I can stand it.
I got a feeling you're the one that needs his sleep.
By golly, that's a man with a bad case of nerves, you ask me.
Yeah.
Yeah, there's something bothering him, Doc.
I'd sure like to know what it is.
Hey.
Hello, Kitty.
You been out of town? No, I just been out giving the horse a little exercise.
Had him a little run.
I'll bet you could use a little fresh air yourself, couldn't you? I could use a lot of it.
Well, why don't you come on out riding with me? I got a bay mare that's kind of gentle.
Imagine having more than one horse.
Yeah, that's about all the government does give me, you know, is a couple of cheap horses.
Well, this isn't a government horse, this is yours.
How come you're riding him, anyway? Well, I'm just keeping him in shape, in case I want to quit.
Ha! The day you quit, that horse will be older than a man.
Hey, look at that cute little pup.
Oh, Matt, that poor little dog! He didn't do anything.
Well, it was just a dog.
Did you think he was gonna bite you or something? Might have.
How do I know? Anyway, I didn't know what it was.
Could've been anything.
Yeah, or anybody.
Well, I knew it wasn't a man.
Thought you just got through saying that it could've been Never mind what I got through saying! That dog shouldn't have been sniffing around! Not around you, that's for sure.
Don't push me too far, Marshal.
Why don't you go get yourself a drink, Springer.
I think you need one.
I never drink.
Yeah? Bet you don't have any weaknesses, then, do you? Marshal.
Well? Nothing.
Is he crazy or something, Matt? Kitty, I don't know what's the matter with him.
Well, he's the meanest man I ever saw.
Oh, he didn't shoot that dog out of meanness.
No? Then why? Well, he's jumpy.
That makes him more dangerous than ever.
Come on in- maybe Chester's got some coffee going, huh? All right.
He shouldn't even be carrying a gun if he's all that jumpy.
Well, I know.
Well, why don't you take it off him, or run him out of town? Well, because it wouldn't do any good.
The only way I can stop him is to find out who hired him.
Any coffee ready, Chester? Eh yeah, it's on.
It ought to be ready there in a minute.
Are we disturbing you, Chester? Oh.
Miss Kitty, no.
Uh, uh, no, I was just laying there studying.
Studying? Studying what? Well, it's, uh, n-nothing that you'd be interested in.
It's just a little reading.
It's, uh I don't even know why I was it's just passing the time.
I'll see if the coffee's ready.
How come you were lying in here studying with all that shooting going on? Shooting? What do you mean? Oh, I'm more than ever interested in that magazine.
Mr.
Dillon, what's she talking about? What shooting? Who was it? It was Nate Springer, Chester.
Nate Springer? Got spooked by a little dog- killed him.
He killed a dog? Yeah.
Aw, for pity sakes.
You know, I I think you better follow him, Chester.
Yeah? Trail him.
And whoever he talks to might be the person that hired him.
Yeah.
All right, I'll go find him right now, Mr.
Dillon.
Don't you worry, I'll watch him like a hawk throwing down on a field mouse.
Uh Oh.
Thank you.
Hello, Chester.
Oh, Miss Kitty.
Sit down, sit down.
Thank you.
How you doing? Oh, fine, fine.
He's, uh, still there.
You've been sitting here all this time? Yeah.
That's my job.
He doesn't drink, does he? No, no, he don't.
Mm, too serious about his work, I suppose.
Yeah.
You know, I agree with Matt.
I think the man that hired him is worse than he is.
Don't you worry, Miss Kitty, we're gonna find him.
Sooner or later, we're gonna find him.
Well, I hope so.
Miss Kitty, if she knew what kind of man he was, I don't think she'd be sidling up to him like that.
What's the matter with you? Why was you behind me? Please I ought to I-I didn't do nothing.
Go on, git! Here.
You deal.
Well, I'd better tell Mr.
Dillon the way he's acting.
I'll see you later.
She was just standing there watching? That's right, Mr.
Dillon- she wasn't doing nothing.
You'd think somebody's out to shoot him, rather than the other way around.
Well, he's gonna kill somebody, that's for sure.
Well, the only thing left to do is run him out of town.
Yeah, if he'll run.
Well, we'll find out soon enough.
I want to talk to you, Springer.
You're interrupting the game, Marshal.
The game's over for good.
What are you saying? You're leaving Dodge.
What? If you've been paid in advance, you better give it back- you're not gonna earn it.
You're saying I ain't? It's 10:30, Springer.
By midnight I want you to ride down that street and out of town.
And if you come back, you're going to jail.
It's been a long time since a man talked to me that way, Marshal.
How long has it been since you were scared into shooting a dog? Or since you drew on a woman? You've lost your nerve, Springer.
You're not about to kill anybody.
Shut up! You shut up! What's happened to you, anyway? What scared you? I'm telling you to leave me alone.
You got till midnight.
Then you're in trouble.
I've been in trouble lots of times, Marshal but I'm still around.
Think he'll leave Dodge? You think he'll go? Well, he'll go, one way or another.
You want me to stay with him and watch him? Yeah, I think you'd better- he might decide to try something yet.
I'll be around the office.
Hello, Doc.
Evening, Matt.
Golly, I'll tell you something, I'm tired tonight.
Had you a tough day? Oh, no, nothing unusual.
What are you doing standing up out here tonight? You-you ought to be in there with your feet up on your desk like you usually are.
I'm waiting for somebody, Doc.
Oh.
You sound serious.
Yeah, it's Nate Springer.
Oh, gonna be a shooting, I guess, huh? I hope not, but you never know.
Maybe you'd like to have me stick around.
Yeah, maybe you'd better.
Well Is that Chester there? Yeah.
He's been watching Springer for me.
Where is he? Well, he's still there, Mr.
Dillon, but I thought I better come and tell you before it got to be 12:00.
Tell me what? He's been bellied up to the bar the whole time.
He has? Yeah, just one glassful after another.
But he don't show it much.
I mean, he ain't what you'd call drunk.
Oh, yeah? He's getting ready to use his gun.
I'm gonna go stop him.
You stay here with Doc.
Well, Marshal.
I hear you've been drinking.
Not too much.
Thought you never drank.
Never did before.
Well, you started too late.
You haven't got time to find your man now.
You're leaving Dodge.
I've found my man, Marshal.
How do you mean? You.
I'm gonna kill you, Marshal.
Who hired you? Let's draw.
I feel like it now.
Come on, let's draw.
Don't be a fool- you're drunk.
I ain't drunk.
I'm stone-cold sober.
I'm gonna kill you and then I'll be all right again.
He's still breathing, Doc.
Yeah, but I don't know for how long.
Listen, I was the one he was after, Doc.
You've got to keep him alive till I find out who hired him.
Well, let's get him up to the office - I'll do what I can.
I'll go on ahead.
Chester.
Yeah, give me a hand, Chester.
M-Marshal Springer.
I shouldn't have tried it.
Who hired you, Springer? Who was it? I had to do it.
Why? Yuma Prison.
Yuma Prison? Two years.
I come out scared.
I lost my nerve in that prison.
What'd you take this job for? I had to.
Springer, who hired you? I did.
What? I hired me.
I had to face somebody like you to get my nerve back.
S Somebody who was the best.
Don't you understand? Yeah.
Yeah, I understand.
But it didn't work out.
It didn't work at all.
Hired himself, huh? Yeah.
And it cost him.
Cost him everything he had.