Gunsmoke (1955) s03e06 Episode Script
Jesse
starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
If you walk around up here long enough, you start thinking there must be more dead men than there are living.
It's the same thing a man asked me about once.
"Why aren't there more marshals than there are bad men? That way, there wouldn't be so much law-breaking.
" It's a cool idea, of course, but it got me to wondering why there are any marshals at all, it being the kind of job it is.
I never could find an answer to that one.
Matt Dillon, US Marshal.
Fella's got a nice camp there.
Hello, friends.
You're just in time for dinner.
Get down.
You get down, Jesse.
But ain't you getting down? Do what I told you.
Well, okay, Bill.
We'll have to eat on the trail, mister.
We're riding for Dodge.
Oh, why sure, friend.
These here is buffalo ribs.
You can take them along with you.
You got a sack you can put them in? Well, no, I ain't got many sacks.
But you can have one.
Right there in the back of the wagon.
Well, thanks, mister.
You're alone out here, huh? Well, I had a partner, but he quit.
Well, ain't that a doggone shame.
Well, now a man's got to get used to being alone, I guess.
You ask me, you'd be better off dead.
Is this sack okay, mister? Why sure, son.
Take all you can eat.
I'll roast some more for myself later.
I'll just take these here.
Take them all, Jesse.
Aw, now I-I don't like to do that.
Go ahead, son.
You're welcome to them.
Well, a couple more.
Sure do thank you, mister.
It ain't nothing.
Come on, Jesse, we got a long ride to make.
Well, so long, friends.
Good luck.
You're a buffalo hunter, huh? Yeah, it ain't easy without a partner.
You don't carry a six-gun? No use.
Chaffs 50's the only thing that'll kill a buffalo.
Mister, you ought to get yourself a good pistol like mine.
You killed him.
Sure, he wasn't no good to nobody.
But you killed him for nothing.
You just sat there and shot him right in the head.
I told you when we teamed up together yesterday, I was gonna learn you some things.
What's that got to do with it? You got to get used to killing.
I was just showing you how easy it is.
I-I said I's got to get me a gun so I can kill one man.
One man in particular, that's all! We can't ride just to go shooting people down.
Still got to get used to it.
Come on, let's ride.
You the boss here? This is my stable.
We want to board these horses for a few days.
I can take them.
Good.
Unsaddle for me.
I'll go over to the Dodge House and get a room; you come over.
All right.
Say, mister, this horse of mine stepped in a prairie dog hole this afternoon.
Twisted his leg pretty bad.
I can give you some liniment, but I'm afraid it won't do much good.
But I might be needing a horse.
This one won't be no good for quite a while.
Sorry, fella, I ain't got no horses for sale right now.
But wait a minute.
The last stall, ask him.
He's got an extra horse he ain't using much.
Go talk to him.
I'll put these in here, but you'll have to unsaddle them.
Okay, thanks a lot.
Hello, there.
Hello.
How are you? Someone told me you have a horse for sale.
Mr.
Dillon? Who told you that? Moss Grimmick? Well, I don't know his name.
Oh, it's Moss all right, Mr.
Dillon.
See, I-I seen you talking to him there.
Well, I got a horse here.
Hadn't really thought of selling him.
You need a horse, do you? Yeah, mine's crippled up for quite a spell.
Say, this looks like a good horse.
Oh, this is a real good here.
I rid him a lot.
Oh? You're, uh, kind of strange around Dodge, aren't you? Yeah, my name's Jesse.
Jesse Pruett.
Jesse, I'm the marshal here.
Guess you don't mind trading with the law, do you? No.
What would you be asking for him, Marshal? Well, I guess I could let you have him for $20.
This horse is worth more than that.
You got more than that? I'm broke.
Well, you can pay me when you get it.
No thanks.
I don't take no favors.
Not from nobody.
You know, Mr.
Dillon, he seems to me like he's got just a little bit too much pride for his own good.
Well, yes, not only that, Chester.
That fella's got something on his mind.
Oh, morning, Marshal.
I'll be with you in a minute.
Mr.
Jonas.
Say, that new saddle blanket of mine come in yet? Oh, come in yesterday.
It's out back in the storeroom.
Oh, well, I'll go out and get it.
Oh, it's laying on one of them barrels by the door.
All right.
Morning, young fella.
What can I do for you? I want to buy me a gun.
Oh, what kind of gun? A six-gun.
I want a good one.
And I want a belt and a holster with it.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, guns are over here.
There you are.
Take your pick.
Uh, that one, with the brass trigger.
That's a Colt Navy.
It's the only one I got.
You can have it cheap.
Why? What's the matter with it? Nothing, been used like all of them.
Well, hello, Jesse.
Hello.
Buying a gun, huh? Maybe.
Well, I hear you been working for Moss Grimmick the last couple days.
Nothing wrong with that, is there? No, no, that's fine.
You need a gun for the job? Why shouldn't I buy a gun? I don't know.
How much you want for this? Twelve dollars.
I'll take it.
I'll get you a belt and a holster.
The old Navy Colt, huh? Man, you've got to be pretty good to hit something with one of these.
I'll get good.
Jesse tell me, what'd you come to Dodge for? I come here to kill a man.
Mm-hmm.
Mind telling me who it is? I don't know yet.
Well, why'd you come to Dodge to kill a man you don't even know? That's my business, Marshal.
And you can't stop me.
Not till it's too late.
You know how to shoot one of those? I can learn.
Jesse, come on along with me a minute.
Come where? Come on out back.
I want to show you something.
Come on.
Now, come on out here, Jesse.
Stand over there.
There's only two things you have to learn about shooting, Jesse.
One is to shoot straight, and the other is to shoot fast.
Well, see what I mean? Would you teach me, Marshal? Well, that's what I brought you out here for, Jesse.
See, it's not as easy as all that.
I've been at this a long time.
Yeah, but I ain't got a long time.
That's what I mean, Jesse.
I think you ought to forget about it.
"Forget about it"? Not hardly.
There's lots of ways to skin a cat, Marshal.
What was all that shooting for? That was the marshal, teaching me a lesson.
Oh? You can keep this.
I'll take that shotgun.
Mr.
Jonas, put this on my bill, will you? Yeah, sure, Marshal.
Sure.
Well.
Well.
I got five, Mr.
Dillon.
Just enough for a real good fish fry.
You must of worked hard for them.
It's dark already.
Yeah, look at this, Mr.
Dillon.
Oh, that'll make real good eatin'.
Chester, nobody can say you're not a good provider.
Yeah, thank you.
Oh, I got this, uh, letter.
I picked that up at the post office for you.
Is it something important? No, it's from the rangers down in Amarillo.
Said one of Quantrill's old men is headed back for Kansas.
Oh! Not much I can do about that.
Say what his name is? Yeah, Bill Strapp.
I never heard of him before.
Oh, I never did either.
Bill Strapp.
Maybe he's come back to organize a new gang.
You think? Yeah.
Howdy.
Oh, Doc.
Either one of you fellas care to have a short beer with me? Well, I'd like it, Doc, but I can't now.
I got some fish up here I got to fix for supper.
You catch some fish? Yeah.
Yeah, look at this one here, Doc.
Oh, this is a real beauty.
Well, look at- how many of those did you catch? Well, I got enough for you, too, Doc.
They'll be ready in about an hour.
Well, thank you, Chester.
By golly, I'll come back.
All right.
Say, hold on a minute, Doc.
I'll go with you.
Otherwise, I'm liable to get stuck here cleaning these fish.
Oh, no, no, Mr.
Dillon.
They're already clean.
I did that at the riverbank.
All I got to do is boil them a little now.
Boil them? Well, yeah.
Ches, you're going- Matt, he's going to ruin those beautiful fish.
Doc, you mean you never eat boiled fish? Boiled fish? Doc, come on, let's get out of here.
He's joshing you.
Come on.
Huh? Oh, someday I'll boil you.
You think I never eat fish before.
Hello, Red there.
Give me a couple of beers.
Oh, coming right up, Doc.
Hello, Marshal.
Red.
There he is, Bill.
Hello, Jesse.
Oh, he's about the fastest I ever saw.
So he's the marshal here, huh? Yeah, I told you about him.
Jesse, marshals can get killed just like anybody else.
Ain't that right, marshal? Yeah, that's right.
Here.
Here you are, Matt.
Hey, that's a mighty pretty gal just come in.
Yeah, she sure is.
Wait here, Jesse.
Evening.
Ah, she can take care of herself all right, Doc.
Well, Jesse, I guess you haven't found your man yet, huh? I'll find him.
Don't you know there's a law against killing? A law? The law didn't stop him from killing my pa, Marshal.
Your pa? He was killed right here in Dodge.
Oh, what was his name? He went by the name of Jim Packard.
Oh, I see.
How do you know he was killed here in Dodge? Friend- rode back to Texas and told me he saw his marker out there in that Boot Hill of yours.
But he didn't find out who killed him? He was in a hurry, Marshal, couldn't take the time.
I see.
I'm the oldest in the family, and it's up to me to get the man who killed my pa.
And I'm gonna do it, just as soon as I find out who it was.
Matt? Yeah, what's the trouble, Kitty? That friend of yours you sent over.
Friend? Him.
I don't even know him.
He said that you told him my name and for him to buy me a drink.
Oh, he did, huh? No offense, Marshal.
I was just trying to get acquainted.
You must have crawled out from under a rock.
That's telling him.
You keep out of this.
Mister, maybe you'd better do your drinking somewhere else, huh? I know where there's a good trough.
She's too good for me, huh? Go on, get going.
Well, I sure have seen friendlier towns.
All right, why don't you go back to one? Come on, Strapp.
You shut up.
There's no use having trouble with him.
You shut up, that's all.
I ought to knock your ears off, you fool, green kid.
But I didn't mean nothing by it.
Well, now, there's a charming fella.
Real gentleman.
I can't understand why you'd want to run a friendly fella like that out of Dodge.
I'm glad I didn't, Doc.
Jesse spoke up just in time.
What do you mean? Well, that, uh, that's Bill Strapp.
I'll keep an eye on him for a while.
Well, I can imagine why, but what about this Jesse, the young fella? Did his pa really get killed here in Dodge? Yeah, it happened last winter with you down in Saint Louis.
Oh, oh.
Yeah, he was killed here all right.
It's too bad, 'cause I guess that means there's gonna be trouble.
You know who killed him? Yep.
Who? I did.
Have another drink, Jesse.
Do you good.
When are you gonna tell me, Bill? What are you waiting for? We finish this jug, then we go back to the Long Branch.
I'll tell you who killed your pa there.
Why not now? Why not before? We ain't been ready.
That's why.
We ain't been ready? The man that killed Jim Packard ain't gonna be easy to take.
That's why I'm gonna back you up when the time comes.
Back me up how? Well, you call him out.
Then when he goes for his gun, we'll both shoot him.
He won't be watching me, so I'll get a bullet into him before he's got a chance.
I can tear him apart with this.
Your shotgun is good, but you can't handle it as fast as he can the six-gun.
Sure wish I had more practice at this business.
Well, I don't like the idea of maybe getting shot.
Have another drink.
Then we'll get going.
Why don't you get this Strapp fella alone and arrest him first, Marshal? Well, I'd only have to turn him loose in a day or two, Moss.
Besides, it wouldn't stop Jesse anyway.
But this Jesse's so young, Mr.
Dillon.
It's a doggone shame to have to shoot him.
I don't like the idea any better than you do, Chester.
I kind of like that boy.
That's why I gave him a job in the first place.
Well, he'll be all right if gets rid of some of those fool notions.
And Bill Strapp.
Yeah, Bill Strapp.
Mr.
Dillon All right, you'd better get back out of the way somewhere.
Hello, Jesse.
Well, if it ain't the marshal again.
Come on in, Marshal, and have a drink.
No, thanks, not right now.
The marshal's pretty choosy about who he drinks with, ain't he? Yeah I'll drink with you tomorrow, Jesse.
No, not tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be too late.
Oh? Strapp knows who killed my pa.
He's gonna tell me.
Let me tell you something, Jesse.
There's only one thing that Strapp wants.
That's to see me killed.
Why, 'cause you kicked him out of there? No, because he used to be a bushwhacker with Quantrill.
Now he's back in town, he wants to see the law out of the way.
That's a lie.
How do you think he knew your pa, Jesse? How do you think he knows who killed him? Don't listen to him.
You shut up, Strapp.
You never told me you knew my pa.
You just said you knew who killed him.
You ain't gonna listen to any tinhorn marshal, are you? Did you ever know a lawman yet who wasn't a liar? Why don't you leave me alone, Marshal? I ain't done nothing.
Yeah, but you're just about to, Jesse.
It don't concern you.
Yes, it does, Jesse.
I'm the one that killed your pa.
You? Yeah.
Is that true? Yeah, he done it.
Shot him dead.
He's the man you're after.
Come on, let's get him now.
Don't do it, Jesse.
He won't back you up- he doesn't even aim to try.
You can't get us both.
Don't be a fool.
Come on, this is what you've been waiting for.
He's your man.
You killed my pa! All right, don't move.
I ain't moved, Marshal.
No, you haven't, have you? Now, wait, Marshal, I I ain't done nothing, I was just talking.
It didn't work, did it, Strapp? Can't jail a man for talking.
Get out.
Get out? Yeah, and if you ever come back here with anybody else to do your dirty work, I'll kill both of you.
Now, wait, Marshal.
Get your horse and ride.
Sold my horse.
All right, there's a stage leaving at 8:00 in the morning.
Be on it.
Well, when he comes to, we'd better take him over and lock him up.
All right, sir.
That you, Mr.
Dillon? Yeah.
How's the prisoner this morning? Well, I just took him some coffee.
He's talking a little bit this morning.
That's more than he could do last night.
Oh, good.
He claims that you hit him awful hard.
I did.
Hello, Jesse, how are you? What do you care? Well, you're lucky I didn't have to shoot you last night.
Why didn't you? You killed my pa.
How long since you've seen your pa, Jesse? Ten years ago, maybe.
Why? Strapp never told you that he used to ride with him? Pa and Strapp? Your pa was one of Quantrill's riders, Jesse.
He was nothing but a killer when I knew him.
That's a lie.
He killed a woman right here in Dodge last winter.
Shot her through the head.
I don't believe it.
Why, wasn't he that kind of man when you knew him? He wasn't that mean.
Well, ten years of killing can make a lot of difference to a man, Jesse.
How come he left home in the first place? Ma.
She made him go.
Why? She said she had to.
She said she was afraid he might get drunk sometime and kill her.
Well? I don't know, Marshal.
I don't know.
Your pa was a killer, Jesse.
He was a killer just like Bill Strapp.
Yeah.
That old man.
Old man? Out there in the prairie.
Nice old fella give us some meat.
And then, Strapp shot him.
For nothing.
He shot him right in the head.
Jesse, I'm gonna turn you loose.
You can go whenever you want to.
What about Strapp murdering that old man? Well, I told him to leave on the 8:00 stage.
It's almost that now.
Hurry up, mister.
I'm coming.
You can't sit here.
I'm picking up the messenger, edge of town.
Come on, get driving fast.
Hurry up.
Ha! Giddyap! How you gonna stop him, Mr.
Dillon? Well, I can't chance hitting the driver, Chester.
Get out of the way.
Hold it.
Dead, huh? Yeah.
Well, I never seen nobody so full of hate.
Even dying, he's still trying to kill you.
It was you he was shooting at, Marshal, but me that killed him.
Pushed him off like that.
Well, I wouldn't look at it that way, Hank.
Well, it's true, ain't it? No, you was just saving him from hanging is all.
Yeah, you sure did.
Looks like a lot of people have been saved from hanging around here lately.
You're right, Marshal, and I reckon I'm grateful for it.
Well, Jesse, if you really mean that, you've accomplished a whole lot more in Dodge than you started out to.
Yeah.
Go get your horse.
If you walk around up here long enough, you start thinking there must be more dead men than there are living.
It's the same thing a man asked me about once.
"Why aren't there more marshals than there are bad men? That way, there wouldn't be so much law-breaking.
" It's a cool idea, of course, but it got me to wondering why there are any marshals at all, it being the kind of job it is.
I never could find an answer to that one.
Matt Dillon, US Marshal.
Fella's got a nice camp there.
Hello, friends.
You're just in time for dinner.
Get down.
You get down, Jesse.
But ain't you getting down? Do what I told you.
Well, okay, Bill.
We'll have to eat on the trail, mister.
We're riding for Dodge.
Oh, why sure, friend.
These here is buffalo ribs.
You can take them along with you.
You got a sack you can put them in? Well, no, I ain't got many sacks.
But you can have one.
Right there in the back of the wagon.
Well, thanks, mister.
You're alone out here, huh? Well, I had a partner, but he quit.
Well, ain't that a doggone shame.
Well, now a man's got to get used to being alone, I guess.
You ask me, you'd be better off dead.
Is this sack okay, mister? Why sure, son.
Take all you can eat.
I'll roast some more for myself later.
I'll just take these here.
Take them all, Jesse.
Aw, now I-I don't like to do that.
Go ahead, son.
You're welcome to them.
Well, a couple more.
Sure do thank you, mister.
It ain't nothing.
Come on, Jesse, we got a long ride to make.
Well, so long, friends.
Good luck.
You're a buffalo hunter, huh? Yeah, it ain't easy without a partner.
You don't carry a six-gun? No use.
Chaffs 50's the only thing that'll kill a buffalo.
Mister, you ought to get yourself a good pistol like mine.
You killed him.
Sure, he wasn't no good to nobody.
But you killed him for nothing.
You just sat there and shot him right in the head.
I told you when we teamed up together yesterday, I was gonna learn you some things.
What's that got to do with it? You got to get used to killing.
I was just showing you how easy it is.
I-I said I's got to get me a gun so I can kill one man.
One man in particular, that's all! We can't ride just to go shooting people down.
Still got to get used to it.
Come on, let's ride.
You the boss here? This is my stable.
We want to board these horses for a few days.
I can take them.
Good.
Unsaddle for me.
I'll go over to the Dodge House and get a room; you come over.
All right.
Say, mister, this horse of mine stepped in a prairie dog hole this afternoon.
Twisted his leg pretty bad.
I can give you some liniment, but I'm afraid it won't do much good.
But I might be needing a horse.
This one won't be no good for quite a while.
Sorry, fella, I ain't got no horses for sale right now.
But wait a minute.
The last stall, ask him.
He's got an extra horse he ain't using much.
Go talk to him.
I'll put these in here, but you'll have to unsaddle them.
Okay, thanks a lot.
Hello, there.
Hello.
How are you? Someone told me you have a horse for sale.
Mr.
Dillon? Who told you that? Moss Grimmick? Well, I don't know his name.
Oh, it's Moss all right, Mr.
Dillon.
See, I-I seen you talking to him there.
Well, I got a horse here.
Hadn't really thought of selling him.
You need a horse, do you? Yeah, mine's crippled up for quite a spell.
Say, this looks like a good horse.
Oh, this is a real good here.
I rid him a lot.
Oh? You're, uh, kind of strange around Dodge, aren't you? Yeah, my name's Jesse.
Jesse Pruett.
Jesse, I'm the marshal here.
Guess you don't mind trading with the law, do you? No.
What would you be asking for him, Marshal? Well, I guess I could let you have him for $20.
This horse is worth more than that.
You got more than that? I'm broke.
Well, you can pay me when you get it.
No thanks.
I don't take no favors.
Not from nobody.
You know, Mr.
Dillon, he seems to me like he's got just a little bit too much pride for his own good.
Well, yes, not only that, Chester.
That fella's got something on his mind.
Oh, morning, Marshal.
I'll be with you in a minute.
Mr.
Jonas.
Say, that new saddle blanket of mine come in yet? Oh, come in yesterday.
It's out back in the storeroom.
Oh, well, I'll go out and get it.
Oh, it's laying on one of them barrels by the door.
All right.
Morning, young fella.
What can I do for you? I want to buy me a gun.
Oh, what kind of gun? A six-gun.
I want a good one.
And I want a belt and a holster with it.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, guns are over here.
There you are.
Take your pick.
Uh, that one, with the brass trigger.
That's a Colt Navy.
It's the only one I got.
You can have it cheap.
Why? What's the matter with it? Nothing, been used like all of them.
Well, hello, Jesse.
Hello.
Buying a gun, huh? Maybe.
Well, I hear you been working for Moss Grimmick the last couple days.
Nothing wrong with that, is there? No, no, that's fine.
You need a gun for the job? Why shouldn't I buy a gun? I don't know.
How much you want for this? Twelve dollars.
I'll take it.
I'll get you a belt and a holster.
The old Navy Colt, huh? Man, you've got to be pretty good to hit something with one of these.
I'll get good.
Jesse tell me, what'd you come to Dodge for? I come here to kill a man.
Mm-hmm.
Mind telling me who it is? I don't know yet.
Well, why'd you come to Dodge to kill a man you don't even know? That's my business, Marshal.
And you can't stop me.
Not till it's too late.
You know how to shoot one of those? I can learn.
Jesse, come on along with me a minute.
Come where? Come on out back.
I want to show you something.
Come on.
Now, come on out here, Jesse.
Stand over there.
There's only two things you have to learn about shooting, Jesse.
One is to shoot straight, and the other is to shoot fast.
Well, see what I mean? Would you teach me, Marshal? Well, that's what I brought you out here for, Jesse.
See, it's not as easy as all that.
I've been at this a long time.
Yeah, but I ain't got a long time.
That's what I mean, Jesse.
I think you ought to forget about it.
"Forget about it"? Not hardly.
There's lots of ways to skin a cat, Marshal.
What was all that shooting for? That was the marshal, teaching me a lesson.
Oh? You can keep this.
I'll take that shotgun.
Mr.
Jonas, put this on my bill, will you? Yeah, sure, Marshal.
Sure.
Well.
Well.
I got five, Mr.
Dillon.
Just enough for a real good fish fry.
You must of worked hard for them.
It's dark already.
Yeah, look at this, Mr.
Dillon.
Oh, that'll make real good eatin'.
Chester, nobody can say you're not a good provider.
Yeah, thank you.
Oh, I got this, uh, letter.
I picked that up at the post office for you.
Is it something important? No, it's from the rangers down in Amarillo.
Said one of Quantrill's old men is headed back for Kansas.
Oh! Not much I can do about that.
Say what his name is? Yeah, Bill Strapp.
I never heard of him before.
Oh, I never did either.
Bill Strapp.
Maybe he's come back to organize a new gang.
You think? Yeah.
Howdy.
Oh, Doc.
Either one of you fellas care to have a short beer with me? Well, I'd like it, Doc, but I can't now.
I got some fish up here I got to fix for supper.
You catch some fish? Yeah.
Yeah, look at this one here, Doc.
Oh, this is a real beauty.
Well, look at- how many of those did you catch? Well, I got enough for you, too, Doc.
They'll be ready in about an hour.
Well, thank you, Chester.
By golly, I'll come back.
All right.
Say, hold on a minute, Doc.
I'll go with you.
Otherwise, I'm liable to get stuck here cleaning these fish.
Oh, no, no, Mr.
Dillon.
They're already clean.
I did that at the riverbank.
All I got to do is boil them a little now.
Boil them? Well, yeah.
Ches, you're going- Matt, he's going to ruin those beautiful fish.
Doc, you mean you never eat boiled fish? Boiled fish? Doc, come on, let's get out of here.
He's joshing you.
Come on.
Huh? Oh, someday I'll boil you.
You think I never eat fish before.
Hello, Red there.
Give me a couple of beers.
Oh, coming right up, Doc.
Hello, Marshal.
Red.
There he is, Bill.
Hello, Jesse.
Oh, he's about the fastest I ever saw.
So he's the marshal here, huh? Yeah, I told you about him.
Jesse, marshals can get killed just like anybody else.
Ain't that right, marshal? Yeah, that's right.
Here.
Here you are, Matt.
Hey, that's a mighty pretty gal just come in.
Yeah, she sure is.
Wait here, Jesse.
Evening.
Ah, she can take care of herself all right, Doc.
Well, Jesse, I guess you haven't found your man yet, huh? I'll find him.
Don't you know there's a law against killing? A law? The law didn't stop him from killing my pa, Marshal.
Your pa? He was killed right here in Dodge.
Oh, what was his name? He went by the name of Jim Packard.
Oh, I see.
How do you know he was killed here in Dodge? Friend- rode back to Texas and told me he saw his marker out there in that Boot Hill of yours.
But he didn't find out who killed him? He was in a hurry, Marshal, couldn't take the time.
I see.
I'm the oldest in the family, and it's up to me to get the man who killed my pa.
And I'm gonna do it, just as soon as I find out who it was.
Matt? Yeah, what's the trouble, Kitty? That friend of yours you sent over.
Friend? Him.
I don't even know him.
He said that you told him my name and for him to buy me a drink.
Oh, he did, huh? No offense, Marshal.
I was just trying to get acquainted.
You must have crawled out from under a rock.
That's telling him.
You keep out of this.
Mister, maybe you'd better do your drinking somewhere else, huh? I know where there's a good trough.
She's too good for me, huh? Go on, get going.
Well, I sure have seen friendlier towns.
All right, why don't you go back to one? Come on, Strapp.
You shut up.
There's no use having trouble with him.
You shut up, that's all.
I ought to knock your ears off, you fool, green kid.
But I didn't mean nothing by it.
Well, now, there's a charming fella.
Real gentleman.
I can't understand why you'd want to run a friendly fella like that out of Dodge.
I'm glad I didn't, Doc.
Jesse spoke up just in time.
What do you mean? Well, that, uh, that's Bill Strapp.
I'll keep an eye on him for a while.
Well, I can imagine why, but what about this Jesse, the young fella? Did his pa really get killed here in Dodge? Yeah, it happened last winter with you down in Saint Louis.
Oh, oh.
Yeah, he was killed here all right.
It's too bad, 'cause I guess that means there's gonna be trouble.
You know who killed him? Yep.
Who? I did.
Have another drink, Jesse.
Do you good.
When are you gonna tell me, Bill? What are you waiting for? We finish this jug, then we go back to the Long Branch.
I'll tell you who killed your pa there.
Why not now? Why not before? We ain't been ready.
That's why.
We ain't been ready? The man that killed Jim Packard ain't gonna be easy to take.
That's why I'm gonna back you up when the time comes.
Back me up how? Well, you call him out.
Then when he goes for his gun, we'll both shoot him.
He won't be watching me, so I'll get a bullet into him before he's got a chance.
I can tear him apart with this.
Your shotgun is good, but you can't handle it as fast as he can the six-gun.
Sure wish I had more practice at this business.
Well, I don't like the idea of maybe getting shot.
Have another drink.
Then we'll get going.
Why don't you get this Strapp fella alone and arrest him first, Marshal? Well, I'd only have to turn him loose in a day or two, Moss.
Besides, it wouldn't stop Jesse anyway.
But this Jesse's so young, Mr.
Dillon.
It's a doggone shame to have to shoot him.
I don't like the idea any better than you do, Chester.
I kind of like that boy.
That's why I gave him a job in the first place.
Well, he'll be all right if gets rid of some of those fool notions.
And Bill Strapp.
Yeah, Bill Strapp.
Mr.
Dillon All right, you'd better get back out of the way somewhere.
Hello, Jesse.
Well, if it ain't the marshal again.
Come on in, Marshal, and have a drink.
No, thanks, not right now.
The marshal's pretty choosy about who he drinks with, ain't he? Yeah I'll drink with you tomorrow, Jesse.
No, not tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be too late.
Oh? Strapp knows who killed my pa.
He's gonna tell me.
Let me tell you something, Jesse.
There's only one thing that Strapp wants.
That's to see me killed.
Why, 'cause you kicked him out of there? No, because he used to be a bushwhacker with Quantrill.
Now he's back in town, he wants to see the law out of the way.
That's a lie.
How do you think he knew your pa, Jesse? How do you think he knows who killed him? Don't listen to him.
You shut up, Strapp.
You never told me you knew my pa.
You just said you knew who killed him.
You ain't gonna listen to any tinhorn marshal, are you? Did you ever know a lawman yet who wasn't a liar? Why don't you leave me alone, Marshal? I ain't done nothing.
Yeah, but you're just about to, Jesse.
It don't concern you.
Yes, it does, Jesse.
I'm the one that killed your pa.
You? Yeah.
Is that true? Yeah, he done it.
Shot him dead.
He's the man you're after.
Come on, let's get him now.
Don't do it, Jesse.
He won't back you up- he doesn't even aim to try.
You can't get us both.
Don't be a fool.
Come on, this is what you've been waiting for.
He's your man.
You killed my pa! All right, don't move.
I ain't moved, Marshal.
No, you haven't, have you? Now, wait, Marshal, I I ain't done nothing, I was just talking.
It didn't work, did it, Strapp? Can't jail a man for talking.
Get out.
Get out? Yeah, and if you ever come back here with anybody else to do your dirty work, I'll kill both of you.
Now, wait, Marshal.
Get your horse and ride.
Sold my horse.
All right, there's a stage leaving at 8:00 in the morning.
Be on it.
Well, when he comes to, we'd better take him over and lock him up.
All right, sir.
That you, Mr.
Dillon? Yeah.
How's the prisoner this morning? Well, I just took him some coffee.
He's talking a little bit this morning.
That's more than he could do last night.
Oh, good.
He claims that you hit him awful hard.
I did.
Hello, Jesse, how are you? What do you care? Well, you're lucky I didn't have to shoot you last night.
Why didn't you? You killed my pa.
How long since you've seen your pa, Jesse? Ten years ago, maybe.
Why? Strapp never told you that he used to ride with him? Pa and Strapp? Your pa was one of Quantrill's riders, Jesse.
He was nothing but a killer when I knew him.
That's a lie.
He killed a woman right here in Dodge last winter.
Shot her through the head.
I don't believe it.
Why, wasn't he that kind of man when you knew him? He wasn't that mean.
Well, ten years of killing can make a lot of difference to a man, Jesse.
How come he left home in the first place? Ma.
She made him go.
Why? She said she had to.
She said she was afraid he might get drunk sometime and kill her.
Well? I don't know, Marshal.
I don't know.
Your pa was a killer, Jesse.
He was a killer just like Bill Strapp.
Yeah.
That old man.
Old man? Out there in the prairie.
Nice old fella give us some meat.
And then, Strapp shot him.
For nothing.
He shot him right in the head.
Jesse, I'm gonna turn you loose.
You can go whenever you want to.
What about Strapp murdering that old man? Well, I told him to leave on the 8:00 stage.
It's almost that now.
Hurry up, mister.
I'm coming.
You can't sit here.
I'm picking up the messenger, edge of town.
Come on, get driving fast.
Hurry up.
Ha! Giddyap! How you gonna stop him, Mr.
Dillon? Well, I can't chance hitting the driver, Chester.
Get out of the way.
Hold it.
Dead, huh? Yeah.
Well, I never seen nobody so full of hate.
Even dying, he's still trying to kill you.
It was you he was shooting at, Marshal, but me that killed him.
Pushed him off like that.
Well, I wouldn't look at it that way, Hank.
Well, it's true, ain't it? No, you was just saving him from hanging is all.
Yeah, you sure did.
Looks like a lot of people have been saved from hanging around here lately.
You're right, Marshal, and I reckon I'm grateful for it.
Well, Jesse, if you really mean that, you've accomplished a whole lot more in Dodge than you started out to.
Yeah.
Go get your horse.