Gunsmoke (1955) s03e39 Episode Script

starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Whoa, whoa! Boni, hey, Boni.
How are you? Hello, Tiller.
How's everything, Boni? Could you come out here? I want to talk to you.
Oh, Boni.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
Ow! Stop! Ow! Please! Let me talk to you.
No! No! What do you want? You got no business messin' in my affair.
I ain't hurting Boni any.
Am I, Boni? Am I, Boni?! No.
See, you got no right to messin' in my business.
Is that your wagon, Tiller? Of course it's my wagon.
Get out of here.
I have to go now, anyway.
But I'm gonna be back.
And when I do, then we'll see who tells me what to do.
You remember what I said now.
Hah! Hah! I can't tell him from one of his mules.
Are you all right? I hate him! Better get her inside, Kitty.
Come on, honey.
I can't understand why she'd fool around with a man like that, can you? Chester, there's no figuring a woman.
Yeah.
Well, do you think that he's gonna come after you when he gets back like he said he would? I hope he does.
You Marshal Dillon, sir? Yes, sir.
Permit me to introduce myself.
I'm Marcus France.
How do you do.
This is Chester Goode.
Mr.
Goode, how do you do.
How do you do.
I saw that fight in the street there, Marshal.
That man should be whipped.
If you ask me, I think he ought to be hung- beating up on a woman like that.
Marshal, I don't want to take your time up, but I thought it best we have a talk before I go to work here.
You new in Dodge? Yes.
I'm from Philadelphia, and I'm a gambler.
Oh, they gamble in Philadelphia? Men gamble everywhere.
Weakness seems to be universal.
You can gamble all you like around town, as long as you don't deal a crooked game.
Well, that's precisely what I want to talk to you about.
You see, it's not that I am dishonest, Marshal, but I've often been accused of being so, and sometimes makes for unpleasantness.
Well, around here it sometimes makes for gunplay.
I'm sure, but I can handle myself on that score.
Well, I've never seen a gambler yet that would admit to being crooked.
But he always gets found out, and then somebody gets killed.
That's why I don't allow anything but an honest game in Dodge.
Marshal, I'm a gentleman, and I don't play anything but an honest game.
Uh-huh.
I guess there are reasons why I've been accused of being dishonest.
See, a bad loser in a game will do anything to save face.
Even call the deal crooked.
True.
And there are likely to be many losers in a game that I run.
There is? Well, I do possess considerable skill at cards.
I'm also extremely lucky.
Mm-hmm.
If you care to send a man around to watch the deal, you may if you wish.
No, you go ahead and run your game.
If it's crooked, I'll find out soon enough.
Well, whatever you say, Marshal.
There's just one thing: If you take to using a gun, even in self-defense, I'll have to run you out of town.
That's fair enough.
Hello, Matt.
Oh, hello, Doc.
Chester.
Doc, this is Mr.
France; Doc Adams.
How do you do.
How do.
Dr.
Adams, nice to know you.
Well, just Doc will be all right, I guess.
Doc.
Mr.
France is from Philadelphia, Doc.
Oh, is that so? Well that's quite a long ways away.
Did you just get in, did you? Yes, I just arrived.
I've had a long journey, gentlemen, so if you'll excuse me, I'll retire to my hotel.
Oh, yeah, sure.
Dr.
Adams I'd like to call on you, sometime soon, if I may.
Well, just anytime at all.
Fine.
Well, I think I'll go and boil up some coffee, if you want some.
How about a cup of coffee, Doc? Matt.
Hmm? What in the world is he doing here in Dodge? Well, he's a gambler, Doc.
By golly, he don't look much like any gambler I've seen around here.
He's a gentleman.
Well, how do you know he is? He told me so.
Oh That means that Well, there he comes now.
Finally.
You're late, Chester.
Well, now, Howard, it couldn't be helped.
We, uh, playing for money again? Uh, well, I'd like to, Howard, I sure would.
Well, I just ain't got it.
All right, we'll make it only a dime game then.
Well, I no, I I can't.
You can't? Well, you got a couple of dimes, ain't ya? No.
Howard Hmm? Howard, listen to me, will ya? How can I think? You keep talking to me all time, Chester.
Shh, shh! You don't have to yell like that.
What in the world is the matter with you? Oh.
Who is she, Howard? Tell me.
Forget it.
We're playing a game here.
Excuse me.
That's room 12, up the stairs.
Well, he ain't there.
Sure is dusty out there, ain't it? Horses and wagons and all, it sure does make it dusty.
You're Chester, aren't you? You know my name? Mm-hmm.
I've heard my daddy talk about you.
Wh-Who is your daddy? Why, he runs the bank.
Mr.
Botkin's your daddy? Mm.
I never knowed that Mr.
Botkin had a daughter.
Well, you see, I've been back at school, in St.
Louis, since my mother died.
Oh, sure, of course.
Uh, n-now, now that, that you're back, though, why, y-you probably keep house for him and all now.
I'm leaving today, Chester, on the train.
You leavin' today? Mm-hmm.
Daddy's going to pick me up here in a few minutes.
Aw He's already taken my trunk down.
Well But I'll be back sometime.
Well, when, though? Oh, I don't know; but sometime.
You know, I I don't even know your name.
Oh, it's Tildy May.
Tildy May.
Well, that's a purty name.
That's about the purtiest name I ever heard, Tildy May.
Miss Tildy May, your pa is here.
He's waiting in the buggy.
She's coming! Uh Good-bye, Chester.
But we just met, Tildy.
Come on, Chester.
Well, that's just my luck.
Are you gonna play or ain't ya? Aw Howard, w-w-wasn't she purty? Just as soft as a pocketful of mice.
Why didn't you tell me that she was here all week? I done you a favor.
What do you mean? Why, it'd be like introducing somebody to that Boni over at the Long Branch.
You'd get killed.
Howard, do you, do you mean that that Tiller Evans has got something to do with this girl? No, Chester, her pa.
He's as jealous of her as Tiller is of that Boni.
Oh.
Well, she's gone now anyway, but when she comes back, I'll face up to her pa.
You'll see.
You're just determined to end up on Boot Hill, ain't ya? Tiny, take over for a minute, will you? All right, France.
Excuse me, Miss Damon.
How'd you know my name? I made a point of finding out.
Do you object? No.
Good.
I'm Marcus France.
I started dealing faro here tonight.
Oh.
I'd consider it a real privilege to buy you a drink, Miss Damon.
Nobody's called me Miss Damon in a long time.
Do you prefer Miss Boni? Boni's all right.
Good.
How about that drink? Okay.
Red let me have a bottle and two glasses, please.
There's a table over here.
Do you prefer sitting down? Thanks.
I'll bring the glasses.
Fine.
To the loveliest woman I've ever seen.
Oh, please.
I mean it.
Do I embarrass you? Yes, a little.
Good.
What? Then you'll remember me.
I'll remember you.
Boni, you don't have to have any fear of me.
It's just that I'm not very used to being with a gentleman.
Boni, I'm finished dealing here at midnight.
I understand Delmonico's is open quite late.
Will you have supper with me? I'd love to.
Oh, no.
No, I can't.
Tiller Evans? How'd you know? I saw him I saw him outside there today.
I can understand you being afraid of him, but I'm not afraid of him.
I'll find you at midnight.
Hello, Marshal.
Hello, Boni.
Now, don't tell me you've got a date with Doc.
Of course not.
Good, I don't trust that man.
Well, Boni, you look different somehow.
Do I? How? I don't know.
Happier, maybe.
I am, Marshal.
Good.
I want to thank you again for what you did the other day.
Boni, it would be a pleasure to take care of Tiller Evans anytime.
I'll be all right now.
Well, hello, Marshal.
Hello, France.
Boni, what are you doing here? Waiting for you.
I knew you were gonna see Doc.
What did he say? Oh, nothing, I'm just a little run-down.
Guess I ought to go to bed early nights.
He gave me some pills.
I bet he charged you five dollars for them.
Exactly, Marshal.
Don't laugh, Marcus.
You should do what the doctor says.
I shall, I shall.
Matter of fact, I'll take a pill right now.
Along with a glass of beer.
Will you join us, Marshal? No, no, thanks.
I have to get back to the office.
I'll see you later.
Good-bye, Marshal.
Oh, goodness gracious, Matt.
You'd think a restaurant like this could afford a decent cook once in a while, wouldn't you? Yeah, it's pretty bad, isn't it? It's just terrible.
Not gonna stop me from eating it, though.
No, me, neither.
I'll eat it.
How come you never got married? Then you could eat good.
Married?! By golly, I'd never take a chance on anything like that.
Why, say, you know the last woman that wanted to marry me- I found out just in the nick of time.
She was nothing but a hog and a hominy cook.
It's all she ever knew.
Didn't know there was any other kind of food around.
Well, didn't you ever take her out? Oh, no, she lived up in the mountains.
She never even had shoes.
Huh.
What a liar.
No, that's an absolute fact.
Darnedest family you ever saw in your life, Matt, I tell you.
Her pappy used to say that every woman in the world was entitled to a baby and a bonnet, but somehow or other, he didn't say anything about shoes.
Well, you must have been quite a lady-killer.
Well I was a little younger then, I'll tell you that.
Yeah, you sure was.
And it's a good thing, too, because do you know where she lived? Way up in the mountains in a place called Ripshin Thicket.
Called what? You don't believe it, do you? Well, not hardly.
Well, it's a fact.
Ripshin Thicket.
Just getting up there was a whole day's work.
It's a good thing I was a young man, by gosh.
Doc, I'm not even listening to you.
Well, she had a brother named Spider Jack, and folks said that he never slept in a bed in his whole life, and I believe it, too.
I know for one thing sure- he never had a bath.
Never took a bath in his whole life.
Doc, there must be something else we can talk about.
Well, you asked me Mr.
Dillon uh, Doc.
I-I was just over at the Long Branch, and Miss Kitty asked me to find you.
What did she want? Well, I don't know.
She just said to find you.
Well, okay.
Doc.
Hmm? What was her name? Whose name? Well, that barefoot girl.
Oh! Well, sir she never would tell me.
Well, let's go, Chester.
Kitty.
Oh.
Uh, something wrong? There will be.
What do you mean? Come on over here.
Cowboy was in here a while back.
Came up from Wagon Bed Springs.
Tiller Evans is due back in town tomorrow.
Oh.
Matt, there's gonna be a killing, sure, when he finds out about Boni and Marcus France.
Boni says that she's in love with Marcus and doesn't care who knows it, but boy, underneath, she's scared to death, and I don't blame her.
Doesn't seem to be bothering France much, does it? Nothing seems to bother him.
Boni told him about this, and he just shrugged it off.
It's kind of strange, but I still think he's in love with her.
You do? Mm-hmm.
Then, why doesn't he marry her? He hasn't mentioned it.
Huh.
Or maybe he's not the gentleman he claims to be, huh? I said you were cheating, and I meant it.
I don't think you realize what you just said.
I said it, didn't I? Mister, you're wearing a gun.
Use it.
Hold it! Get your hand off that gun.
I should've used it right off.
France, I warned you about this.
Marshal, this man is running a crooked game.
Can you prove that? I don't have to prove it.
He's got more than $100 of mine.
I never took a hand all night.
Now, you see, Marshal, it's just like I told you.
Some men just can't stand losing.
Did you see him cheating? Look, he's got $100 of mine.
I never took a bet.
Of course, he was cheating.
How about the rest of you men? Anybody else got any complaints about the game? No, Marshal, no complaints.
No, he wasn't cheating.
Mm-hmm.
All right, I think you better forget about it.
Do your gambling someplace else.
Forget about it? You heard me.
Some law.
I wish I'd never seen this town.
Boys, the game is closed for the rest of the night.
France you know, egging a man into drawing a gun on you is gonna make your stay in Dodge mighty brief.
I'll have to chance that, Marshal.
How many men have you killed because of that tender pride of yours? Marshal, what I've done is my own business, just as long as I don't cross the law.
What about Boni and Tiller Evans? What are you gonna do about that? I don't know.
But for the first time in my life, I love a woman.
Then why don't you get her out of here, while there's still time? You mean run away from Tiller? Tiller's a pretty rough man.
What if you kills you? Don't you care what happens to Boni? Sure I do.
I just can't run away with her.
I don't figure you, France.
You'll be able to, Marshal, soon enough.
All right.
But just see that you don't push any more men into drawing on you.
It sure ain't gonna be long now, Mr.
Dillon.
What isn't gonna be long? Well, I just run into a couple of cowboys out there, and they seen Tiller Evans a couple of miles down the trail.
He's going to be riding into town directly.
Hmm.
Chester, what do you think of this Marcus France, anyway? Well, I I well, to tell you the truth, I just don't know what to think about him.
I mean, you know, he's a nice feller and all like-a that, but he just won't do what he ought to do.
He ought to marry that Boni Damon.
That'd stop Tiller Evans.
There ain't no man gonna dare move in on a married woman.
But France won't do it.
Well, then, at least he ought to run off with her.
It just makes me sick to think about what's going to happen to her when Tiller Evans gets ahold of her.
Yeah, I'm afraid there's gonna be a killing.
Well, Mr.
Dillon, ain't there nothing in the world that you can do to stop it? Yeah.
Yeah, there's one thing, Chester.
What? There's a stage leaving here in half an hour.
Yeah And I'll tell you what I want you to do: I want you to go over and get Boni and get her down on that stage.
It doesn't matter what you have to say to her.
Just be sure she's there.
Yeah.
All right? I'll meet you down there as quick as I can.
Well Who is it? Marshal Dillon.
Come in, Marshal.
How are you, France? Unexpected honor.
Care for a glass of whiskey? No, thanks.
France, I came here to tell you that, uh, Tiller Evans will be back in town directly.
He'd be looking for me, Marshal, not I for him.
Well, it doesn't matter.
Either way, it might lead to a killing.
Well, one less sinner in the world, then, huh? Well, I'm not a preacher, France.
I'm a lawman.
Of course.
Marshal, I don't have any quarrel with Tiller Evans.
Sure, you're the law, Marshal.
Why don't you talk to him, then? 'Cause he's not the kind of man you can talk to.
Well, then, throw him in jail for disturbing the peace or something.
By that time, it will be too late.
Well, nothing to be done, then, is there? There's one thing.
Hmm? There's a stage leaving here in a few minutes.
Is there? Boni is gonna be on it.
Boni? And if you're the gentleman that you claim to be, why, you'll be on it with her.
I'm afraid you're making a mistake, Marshal.
I don't think so.
There's just no use arguing with you, is there? If you tell me what's holding you back, there might be.
Well, let's just say I never run away from a fight.
Well, I'm not questioning that, but this time, I think it's different.
I don't think that's your reason for not taking her with you.
Say good-bye to her for me, Marshal.
You're going with her.
I'm sorry.
Get your coat.
I'm not going anywhere, Marshal.
Now, France, you can either walk down those stairs or you can be carried.
Whichever way you want it.
Now, don't you worry about a thing.
Everything's gonna be all right.
I hope so.
Yeah, well, we gotta hurry now.
Well, what happened, Mr.
Dillon? Did you have to shoot him? Give me a hand, will you, Chester? Yeah.
Marcus! Watch his head there.
Oh, my goodness' sakes.
What happened? Let me out of here.
Let me out of here.
Hold onto him, Boni, he'll be all right.
Take her out of here, Jim.
Boni, Boni! Boni! Hold it.
Boni's on that stage.
That's right.
That pig rode off with my gal.
I'm gonna find them and kill both of them.
No, you're not.
So I have to kill you first, then, huh? Why don't you go get drunk somewhere, Tiller? That's not likely.
Tiller, it's all over.
It's not o- Take care of him, will you, Chester? Yes, sir.
Uh, a couple of you men, get down here and give me a hand with him.
Get ahold of his legs.
Here we go.
Up.
Well, Tiller is gonna be a little lonely for awhile, Doc.
Yeah, well, I was thinking about Boni Damon.
She's liable to be a little lonely, too.
What do you mean? That Marcus France is gonna die, Matt.
He's got a bad heart.
Couldn't possibly last over two more months.
Why didn't you tell me that? Well, he didn't want anybody to know.
Guess Boni isn't so lucky, either, huh? No, but at least now, they'll be together for whatever time he's got left.
Well, we know one thing anyway, Doc.
What's that? France.
Guess he was a gentleman after all.