Gunsmoke (1955) s03e22 Episode Script

starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
You find a table.
I'll get a bottle from the bar.
All right.
Something's bound to happen in here.
Well, let's hope so.
I say the buffaloes were as thick as flies on a dead carcass.
A bottle of spirits in two glasses, please.
Spirits?! Thank you.
Cut.
Say, are you using this chair? No, but somebody else is.
And he better be back.
He owes $500.
There's an extra chair over there, Sprig.
Well, here's to some action.
I'll drink to that.
A day and a half in this miserable town.
It's a waste of time, Sprig.
Well, maybe we better move on.
Where? Oh, I don't know.
What about that saying that there is no law west of Dodge? Oh, it's probably a lie, like most sayings.
If you ask me, Sprig, the West has already been tamed.
Well, let's give it a couple more days.
It's been too long a trip not to.
What's the matter with you? Take it easy, mister.
Why, I ought to open you up and cut your liver out.
Not very likely, mister.
Well, I'll be darned.
I'll fix that.
You wait here.
I'd like to talk to you, young man.
Buy you a drink? The talk will be enough.
Well, I was just wondering why you didn't fight that man.
Why, you making it your business? No, no, you don't seem to understand.
I'd just like to see you fight him.
That's all.
I'll fight anybody when I decide to.
Would maybe, uh, $50 help you decide? Get out.
Get out before I kill you.
Now, get going.
No luck, huh? This is impossible.
They're all crazy around here.
Come on, let's go to bed.
Yeah, that suits me fine.
Hello, Doc.
Well Hey, golly- fixin' to take the day off, I guess, go hunting or something, huh? Wish I was.
I got to go up to Hayes City.
Oh, gonna be gone long? Oh, about a week, I guess.
Mm.
If Chester ever gets back here with those horses.
What's going on up there in Hayes? Well, I got to testify at a trial, Doc.
I tried to get out of it, but Yeah, but you did at that.
Don't hurt for you to earn your money once in a while, I will tell you that.
Well, say, looky there.
Well, now.
By golly, that's the first surrey I've seen west of St.
Louis.
Hey, is that Kitty up there? Yeah.
Well, wonder who those two fellas with her are.
I don't know.
I guess they come with the surrey, Doc.
Yeah, that's a pretty fancy rig for Dodge, I'll tell you that.
Well, they're pretty fancy dudes, too, huh? Gosh green as squash.
I don't believe you've met these gentlemen.
This is Marshal Dillon and Doc Adams.
This is Clifton Bunker and Samuel Sprig.
Hi.
Howdy do.
How do? That's, uh, quite a wagon you got there.
We brought it on the Santa Fe with us, Doctor.
We'll sell it before we leave.
Yes, it's good transportation.
We've been over a lot of this country around here in this surrey.
Must be, uh, prospectors, huh? Now, Doc We are writers, Doctor, from New York.
Writers? Certainly.
Well, what kind of writers? Well, have you ever read anything by Ned Buntline? Oh, then, uh, you're not newspaper writers.
You write, uh, made made-up stories, huh? We write any kind of stories, Doctor.
But there doesn't seem to be much material around here.
Everything is too peaceful.
It's, um just that they're a little disappointed, Matt.
There, uh, hasn't been a gunfight since they arrived, and it seems like all the Indians in Kansas are growing old on a reservation.
Yes, we're certainly not going to get any material this way.
Well Now, that's too bad.
Uh, would you help me down, Mr.
Bunker? Oh, delighted.
Come by the Long Branch when you're through at the stable.
We'll be there, Miss Kitty.
Fine.
Wait a minute.
You know that Ned Buntline you talked about? That, uh, writer? Well, I met him once, through Jim Bridger.
Oh, yes.
Yes, he wrote a lot of stories about Jim Bridger's adventures.
Yeah.
And most of 'em were lies.
They made Bridger look like a fool.
They also made Bridger famous, Marshal.
Where, New York? Yeah, well, now, Matt, why don't you just stir up some Indians and have them massacre some families out here to make fine reading in New York, and it might make you famous, too, you can't tell.
We'll see you later, Miss Kitty.
Sure.
Well, you two were sure a great help.
Those two ought to have their heads soaked.
Well, I don't think a few stories back in New York would have hurt Dodge any.
What? Oh, well, Matt, you see, you got to remember, she she's half-owner of the Long Branch.
She needs the business.
Oh, so that's it, huh? Oh, keep quiet! The least you can do is be polite.
Well, now, look, let me tell you something.
Those two are nothing but trouble.
Trouble's all they want.
I've got no use for them.
Well, it's a good thing that progress doesn't depend on you two.
You're one as bad as the other.
I don't trust them.
Doc, I don't, either.
Well, look, I'm gonna find Chester or I'll never get started for Hayes.
Yeah, well, have a good trip.
All right, I'll see you later.
Think there's any water in there, Mr.
Dillon? Well, I doubt it, Chester.
Well, I'll check.
No, it's as dry as a bone.
Well, that's what I figured.
Looky there, Mr.
Dillon.
Well, land sakes.
What do you think happened to them? Company Looks like they been cut up pretty bad.
Well, that's Captain Bain.
Yeah.
Hi there, Captain.
Anything we can help you with? Might've this morning, Marshal.
Indians? Yeah.
Chief Little Hawk.
Little Hawk of the Pawnees? Haven't you heard? No, we've been up in Hayes City for a week.
Little Hawk and jumped reservation about four days ago.
Little Hawk's always been one of the most peaceful chiefs in Kansas.
He wiped out a family over in Walnut Creek yesterday.
He hit us this morning.
You the only cavalry in the field? Yeah.
Funny thing, Marshal.
We picked up Little Hawk's trail right over there, out of the grove.
Their burying ground's just the other side.
Yeah, I remember that.
They must have stopped there to make medicine.
Probably.
Well, see you at the dance, Marshal.
I'm sorry, Captain.
So am I.
Company fall in! Forward! Ought to go over and take a look at that burial ground.
Yes, sir.
Mr.
Dillon, the the Pawnees bury their people up there on them platforms.
Yeah.
Well Well, I don't understand it.
I mean, uh, they ain't got a single corpse up there that I can see.
Let's go take a look.
All I can figure is that Little Hawk came here to pick up his dead and take them with him.
Yeah, but what for, though? I don't know.
Never heard of him doing that before.
Yeah, well, neither did I.
Must've been in an awful hurry, though.
I mean, that one there is half tore down.
Yeah.
Mr.
Dillon, I I'm ready to ride on, if you are.
I Yeah, let's get out of here.
Gettin' cold Hello, Kitty.
Well, hey, I'm glad you're back.
Hey, Red.
First drink's on the house.
You two have had a long ride.
Two long rides, Miss Kitty.
We had one out there, and then, we had another 'un comin' back.
Uh, say, Matt, you, uh you remember Sprig and Bunker.
Are those two still hanging around? They want to talk to you.
Oh, Kitty, let me tell you something.
Those two aren't gonna put Dodge City on the map.
It's already there.
And Texas cattle did it, not New York writers.
Oh, come on, Matt, please, I'm asking you.
Well, if you're gonna go female on me.
Well, now, wait a minute.
You seem to forget that I'm part owner of this place and I can have you kicked out.
It'd beat talking to those two.
They're sitting right over there.
See? No.
Well, you go walk around for a while.
You'll bump into them.
Chester, you can pour me a drink.
Well, I Hello, Marshal.
Sit down, Marshal, sit down.
Yeah.
Sit down.
Well what can I do for you gentlemen? Marshal, we've got a proposition to make you.
We heard about these Pawnees, Marshal.
Some soldiers from Fort Dodge were in here.
So? We want you to find those Indians.
Now, I don't mean find them exactly, but the next time they attack some settler, we want to be among the first to get there.
You see that way we'd really get to see what it's like.
Maybe we'd even get to talk to some survivors, if there are any.
Now, we'll pay you well, Marshal.
You see, this is very important to us.
If we go back to New York without a story, we'll get fired, both of us.
Now, you're going to pay me for what? Well, for-for guiding us; for taking us there.
What do you say, Marshal? Well what about it? Why don't you two men go back to New York? There's plenty of corpses you can look at back there, and they'd be a whole prettier than any women and children the Indians might leave for you.
Now, look, Marsh Forget it, Bunker, there's just no getting along with him.
This is my drink? Oh, no, that one's mine.
Well, you, you can have it.
Well, have another one.
I'm buying.
I take it you weren't too successful.
Not too.
Mr.
Dillon, look at this here.
You ever see this? It's just an Indian totem of some kind.
Where'd this come from? Sprig and Bunker brought it in.
Sprig and Bunker? Yeah, they loaned it to us to hang over the bar.
Where'd you men get this totem? Look, Marshal, we've had just about enough of your I said, where did you get this totem? You're choking me.
Where'd you get it? From a soldier, a private from Fort Dodge.
What's his name? Harlowe, Roger Harlowe.
What's the matter with you, Marshal? It's only a piece of wood.
It's not worth two dollars! What's the trouble, Mr.
Dillon? Plenty.
We're riding out to Fort Dodge first thing in the morning.
All right, Marshal.
B Company moved out yesterday under Captain Bain.
My judgment of the situation is that they'll make almost immediate contact with those Pawnees.
I see.
But I don't like your insinuation that the cavalry was responsible for Little Hawk's jumping reservation.
Well, now, wait a minute, Major.
I said that Little Hawk went on the warpath because somebody robbed his burial ground.
Now, I said somebody, not the whole cavalry.
I know, Private what's-his-name, but I tell you there's not a trooper in Fort Dodge who doesn't know what robbing a burial ground could lead to.
That's just my point, Major.
It can only lead to one thing- trouble, a fight.
Now, garrison life can get pretty dull around here, and if a trooper wanted to stir up a little excitement, that's the quickest way to do it.
Well, I hate to admit it, but it's possible.
Are you sure this is a Pawnee totem? It's more than that, Major.
It's a Fox Clan totem.
Little Hawk's clan, hm? Now, can we get that private in here and settle this? Marshal, I'll run him onto the prairie naked if this is true.
Now, Sergeant.
Sergeant Grimes! What'd you say his name is? Harlowe.
Roger Harlowe.
Yes, Major? What company is Private Roger Harlowe assigned to? Harlowe, sir? That's right.
There's no Harlowe here, sir, never has been.
Are you sure? I know every name on the duty roster, sir.
There's no Harlowe here.
Well, Marshal? Looks like I've been taken, Major; taken bad.
Thanks for your trouble.
Hey, Moss! Oh, hello, Marshal Dillon.
What is it? Moss, we're looking for Sprig and Bunker, those two men that keep that surrey over at your stable.
Oh, them? Well, they hitched up and drove out of here about dawn.
Any idea where they went? Chalk Springs.
Chalk Springs! Well, that's more than One of 'em said he heard that Company B was headed that way out of Fort Dodge.
After them Pawnees.
You know about them, don't you? Yeah yeah, I've heard about 'em.
Come on, Chester.
Thanks, Moss.
Got here too late, huh? By at least an hour.
They tried to lay a trap for us, but it didn't work.
We got Chief Little Hawk.
How bad is he hurt? He's not going to live much longer.
I got most of the company out trying to round up the rest of his crew.
They'll never make it; they're scattered every which way.
You know my scout Tom Rikers? Marshal.
Hi, Tom.
You speak Pawnee, don't you? Sure.
Come here a minute, both of you, I want to show you something.
You ever see one of those? Where'd you get this? That's a Fox Clan totem.
He told me somebody's raided his burial ground.
That's why he moved it, and he knowed from the tracks it was white men done it.
That there totem was buried with his son.
Where'd you get this, Marshal? Took it off a couple of writers from New York.
A couple of what? Writers.
They came out here to get a story.
They stole this and almost started a war.
Well, they didn't know what they were doing, Captain.
They picked it up as a souvenir.
A man, his wife, his child, my men, my troopers I led into this, and that family over in Walnut Creek, and more of my men over there.
Chief Little Hawk wouldn't have done this.
He was a good chief.
They shamed him, they insulted him.
That's why he went on the warpath.
Where are they, Marshal? By heaven, I'll turn 'em over to the Pawnees.
You know what'd happen if you did that? You bet I do; they'd have 'em screaming for days.
I want 'em, Marshal.
Where are they? I'll tell you something, Captain I want those men, Marshal.
I don't know where they are.
You're lying, Marshal.
Take that totem and give it back to Chief Little Hawk.
Get the word out to the rest of his braves.
That'll put an end to the whole thing.
Those men- they're in Dodge, aren't they? Sure.
Well, Marshal, as soon as I take care of things here, I'm coming to Dodge, and I'll kill those two with my bare hands, if I have to.
Here, give this to Little Hawk.
Tell him what happened and tell him nobody's going to save those two.
Come on, Sergeant, we got work to do.
Hey, look, look, someone is coming.
Hello, Marshal, are we glad to see you.
I figured we'd find you two out here somewhere.
What's happened to your wagon here? Oh, we lost a nut off the wheel.
Well, we can probably fix that with a piece of leather or something.
Well, that's mighty good of you, Marshal.
We've been since daybreak getting this far, and we haven't seen a sign of cavalry or Indians or anything.
We'll find 'em now, though, once we get this fixed.
There's nothing to find.
What?! We ran into B Company a few hours ago.
They said the Pawnees are all back on the reservation.
You mean they've quit? Yesterday.
They didn't have any reason to go out in the first place.
Well, then, we've sure been led on a wild goose chase, this whole fool trip West and everything.
Well, I'm not giving up yet.
Well, what are we going to do? The first thing we're going to do is fix this surrey, so we can get you two back to Dodge.
Give me a hand, Chester.
Yes, sir.
Dodge- it's all finished.
No one will ever hear the name of that town again, never.
Say, do you mind running late, Jim? Heading east right this minute, Marshal.
Well, hold on a minute, will you? I got another passenger for you- two of 'em.
Who, them? Yeah.
Take him somewhere and tie him up, will you, Chester? Yes, sir.
All right, you two, get down out of there.
What? You heard what I said.
Get down.
Now, what in the name of creation is this all about, Marshal? All right, follow me.
Where's he taking us, anyway? Climb in there.
Climb in?! Are you crazy? Sprig, you're first, get in.
Now, see here, Marshal, you Shut up.
Sprig, are you going to get in there? Now, wait a minute, Marshal, you can't shoot an unarmed ma No, but I can sure split your head open.
Now, get in there.
No, you're not bluffing me, Marshal.
Mr.
Dillon! You're not going to run me out of town no matter what reasons you think you've got.
You gonna get in there? I certainly am not! Chester Huh? Oh! All right, take it away, Jim- hurry up.
Wait a minute Stop this coach! You can't do this, Marshal! We'll let you know about this, Marshal! That was those men you put on there.
You let 'em get away.
I had to, Captain.
You had to? You'd have killed 'em otherwise, wouldn't you? I'd have torn their throats out and you know it.
You're responsible for this, and by heaven, you're gonna pay for it.
I could kill you for this.
Let me tell you something, Captain- I feel just as strong about those two men as you do, but you've gotta realize that they didn't even know what they were doing.
Now it's over.
If I were you, I'd forget about it.
Yeah.
I guess I wasn't thinking.
Cavalry doesn't allow for that out here.
There's too much at stake.
I'll have to try to remember.
It's not always easy to remember.
We'll open a bottle and talk about it some evening, Marshal.
Good.
I'd like that.