Gunsmoke (1955) s04e03 Episode Script

starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
I've seen men do a lot of things for money.
I've even seen a few of them work for it.
However, in my job, the ones I run into most often are those who seek a dollar by killing, running a crooked game of one kind or another, or by stealing from their friends and partners.
But the worst I ever met was a couple who were willing to earn their bread by making it possible for whole families to be killed, burned out, destroyed.
And believe me, it was a pleasure to hunt down men like them.
Matt Dillon, U.
S.
Marshal.
Well, now, what did I tell you? Didn't I tell you, when I sit down here, that it wouldn't be two minutes till somebody? Evening, Kitty.
Hello, Matt.
Say, you must be kind of hard up for customers tonight.
Well, now, what brought you in here? Did you smell a free drink from clear out there in the street or something? Well, no, but now that you're offering, Doc.
Who's offered? Say, what's got into him tonight, anyway? Oh, quit picking on him.
He's been delivering twins, and he's tired.
Oh, I see.
Well, where is everybody tonight? Well, it's army night, Matt, but there's no army.
It was payday out at the fort, and cowboys usually stay clear and let the soldiers take over, but tonight there are no soldiers; I don't know.
Well, maybe they just pulled out and went someplace.
And that wouldn't be a bad idea if they did.
There's been no trouble of any kind no Indians or nothin' for over Marshal Dillon, you better get out here quick.
There's been trouble.
You, too, Doc they're gonna need you.
It's Major Evans.
Major Evans.
Tobeel.
There's been an Indian raid, Marshal Pawnees.
They wiped out a ranch The wife's in the wagon there.
Is she alive? Barely.
What happened? Six out of a family of eight wiped out.
One of the younger boys was alive when we left him to come in here, but he couldn't be moved.
Our company surgeon stayed with him.
I guess I better get out there.
It's an army matter, of course, and it's our responsibility except for one thing.
What's that? We've had no trouble with the Pawnees for some time, and this was only a small band of renegades as far as we can tell.
But they've been supplied with rifles, Marshal.
Rifles? And I think those rifles came out of Dodge.
Well, now, what makes you think that? It's the nearest source of supply.
It's the most likely place a gun smuggler would operate from.
Oh, I see.
And you think that's my responsibility, huh? It is.
Well, we'll soon find out.
Hello, Mr.
Jonas.
Well, hello, Marshal.
Did you try the front door? I didn't hear you.
No, we saw your lamp lit back here.
Mr.
Jonas, this is Major Evans from Fort Dodge.
Oh.
Howdy, Major.
I told the major here that if anybody'd been buying rifles in quantity around town, you'd know about it.
Indian trouble, huh? You see, Marshal? See what? So you have been selling rifles to a gun smuggler.
Well, no, sir, I don't think I have.
How do you know whether you haven't or not? Anybody can walk in here, can't they, and buy guns, if they got the price? Well, yes, sir, they can, but they ain't.
Look, the only men's come in here recent have been buffalo hunters, and they don't buy rifles by the wagonload, just two or three at the most.
Are you quite sure you'd remember, Mr.
Jonas, if it was made worth your while not to? - Well - Major.
He'd remember, you can rest assured of that.
Those rifles are coming out of Dodge City, Marshal.
- I know they are.
- Look, I got a franchise with every big firearms company in the east, and there's not one of 'em that'd ship a gun out here unless it was bought through me.
Well, somebody's getting around it somehow, and I'm gonna put a stop to it if I have to search every wagon that goes out of this town.
Now, how do you figure to do that? Set up a blockade.
You'll have trouble that way, Major.
Some hardhead'll start shooting.
Soldiers are trained to shoot back, Marshal.
She's better off, Matt.
After what they did to her, I I couldn't do anything.
I might have made it a little easier, I don't know.
The whole family was treated the same way, Marshal.
All the usual tricks.
You can't blame me for wanting to get whoever sold them those rifles.
I'm not blaming you, Major.
I feel the same way.
Well, somebody's responsible.
And whoever it was caused this.
And unless he's found and caught, it'll happen again.
Most of the Pawnees are settled and peaceful, but there are renegades among them.
And if they get their hands on rifles, they'll kill.
It's as simple as that.
Yes, I agree with you.
But I'll tell you one thing, Wilbur Jonas didn't have anything to do with smuggling guns.
Well, maybe not, but it's still the most likely place.
Matt.
- Hmm? Look here.
I've recovered these two bullets, and that one sure looks like a pistol bullet.
And Indians don't carry pistols.
Might have been the husband, Doc.
Husband? Trying to help her out.
Guess he didn't quite make it, did he? All right, Marshal, I don't like putting Dodge City under martial law any more than you do, but I don't have much choice.
You've done a good job of law enforcement in this town, Marshal, and I hate to tamper with your authority.
Say, weigh that for me, will you, Doc? Look, it's not a question of my authority, Major, it's a question of people getting killed.
Well, I guess you've got your duty to do the same as I have.
Mmm Major, I couldn't borrow that Indian scout of yours for a couple of days, could I? What for? Well, I think I may be able to get a line on the gun smugglers for you.
What do you propose, Marshal? I want to go out there to the site of the raid, pick up the Indians' trail and follow it.
Hunting down those Indians - is an army job, Marshal.
- That's right.
But I think they'll lead me to the gun smugglers.
Nonsense.
They've already got their rifles, haven't they? I still think they'll go back to 'em.
Do you always work on such whims as this, Marshal? You got a better idea, Major? Well, I can't let you do it.
You're asking the army to repudiate its responsibility.
Now, wait a minute.
You've already told me that if those guns were sold in Dodge, they're my responsibility, right? Then that kind of makes that gun smuggler mine, too, doesn't it? I'm sure you're fair-minded enough to see that.
Well, I My responsibility and my privilege to go after him.
I still think it's a fool's game you're playing, Marshal.
Well, you're not gonna do any better chasing around the prairie at the head of a cavalry column.
- So long, Doc.
- There's no guarantee you'll do any better, but go ahead and try.
Well, I wonder what's keeping Tobeel.
I don't know.
He should have found that sign by this time.
We have to get started.
You know, Mr.
Dillon, if I'd known I could get coffee like this for breakfast every morning, I think I'd join the army again.
Say, you better find out how they make this stuff, Chester.
That coffee of yours'll singe the hair off a buffalo hide.
Yeah, I figure it's that Dodge City water.
Mr.
Dillon? No, Matt, I I couldn't save that little boy.
He died, too.
He didn't have a chance, there was Well, that makes eight out of eight.
The whole family.
It's awful.
Just terrible.
And you know, nothing like this has happened in such a long time.
Well, somebody sold 'em rifles; that's all it took.
Well, whoever done it ought to be hung.
- At least.
- Here, Matt, I found three more of those, and they look just exactly like the others to me.
Yeah, they do, Doc.
What'd you find, Tobeel? Many track, easy follow.
They not think anybody come after.
How many in the war party? But not war party.
"Not war party"? What do you mean? They all braves, bad ones no chief.
Ride crazy.
Think crazy.
But worse than war party.
Kill anybody they find.
Track go north, then turn west.
Get the horses, Chester.
Yes, sir.
I still think I ought to send an escort with you, Marshal.
Three of us will stand a better chance alone, Major.
If the Indians found out the cavalry was chasing them, they'd split up and disappear.
But this way, you stand an awful good chance of getting killed.
Maybe.
I still don't understand why you think those Indians are gonna lead you to whoever they got those rifles from.
Well, Major, I'll explain that to you later if I'm right.
- Bye, Marshal.
- So long.
So long, Doc.
Bye, Matt.
Chester.
Chester, don't don't you get lost.
Tobeel? Let's take a breather here.
Those Pawnees are setting a pretty easy pace, aren't they, Tobeel? Mm.
Pawnee go slow.
Not think we follow.
I hope you're right.
Too bad if they find out.
Kill us easy.
I'll tell you one thing, it's a good thing we came alone.
As slow a pace as they're settin', they'd have seen a cavalry column hours ago.
Can ask question? What? Only three of us.
No can fight 30 Pawnee.
Why we follow? Well, I don't figure to fight 'em, Tobeel.
I just want 'em to lead me to that gun smuggler.
But Pawnee have gun now.
What for go back to this gun man again? Ammunition.
Ammunition? But Pawnee brave no need buy bullet, Marshal.
Pawnee use rifle to take bullet.
In this particular case, I don't think so, Tobeel.
See this? Doc Adams took several of these from the bodies of those ranchers.
It's a.
44 caliber.
That's the kind the Pawnees are using.
How you be sure? Maybe.
45.
No, a.
45 spreads out more when it hits.
Got a bigger powder charge.
Besides, Doc Adams weighed one of 'em.
They're.
44, all right.
But only Henry rifle have.
44.
That's right, Tobeel.
Mr.
Dillon, I-I ain't seen a.
44 Henry in I don't know when.
Well, no.
Buffalo hunters usually use a.
45, or maybe a Sharps.
50.
Army use Springfield.
All.
45.
Mr.
Dillon, you mean to tell me that-that you think somebody got a hold of a bunch of them old .
44 Henrys and sold them to them Pawnees? That's what it looks like, Chester.
And whoever it was wasn't using his head, either.
What do you mean? Well, the Indians can't steal .
44 ammunition.
They'll have to go back to him for it.
That just sounds like good business to me.
Well, it's good business if you got the ammunition to sell back to 'em.
But they're not making .
44 ammunition anymore.
Except some hand-loaded stuff.
How'd you like to tell that you sold them a wagonload of rifles they can't use? Well, I reckon that I wouldn't like that.
Not at all.
We better get started.
More brave join party.
All together, maybe 50.
Still no sign of a shod horse, is there? No sign.
Well, then, the gun smuggler hasn't joined them yet, I guess.
I don't know, Tobeel.
They've been heading west all day.
Maybe I'm wrong.
Maybe they're not even planning to join him.
They may even be onto us following 'em.
No.
Pawnee not know we here yet.
If Pawnee know, wait and fight, or ride fast and go separate.
Not join others.
No.
Pawnee not know we here yet.
Well, they still may be planning to separate, hide out for a while before they raid back into Kansas.
Is big country.
Could do very easy.
Blow apart like sand and wind.
Gone.
Very easy.
Mr.
Dillon.
Coming from the direction the Indians went.
White man.
Cowboy.
Yeah, well, that's something to be thankful for.
Sure pushing that horse, isn't he? Like man afraid.
Much afraid.
Yeah.
Hold it.
- What do you want? - Who are you, mister? Name's Joe Shaw.
Now, what are you in such a hurry for? Well, you'd be in a hurry, too, if you seen what I just seen.
That country back there is just crawling with Pawnees.
- Did you see any of 'em? - No.
But I seen plenty of sign.
The worst kind of sign, too.
What's that? They had a powwow of some kind about 20 mile back of me.
They left a white man there.
- Dead? - He oughta been.
That's the best thing he could have been dead.
Did you talk to him? Yeah, I talked to him.
Or I tried to, but he couldn't answer.
He didn't have no tongue.
I gave him my six-gun.
Still had one hand.
Funny thing about it.
That place where I found him there was wagon tracks leading right up to it.
And going away from it, too.
I can't figure that out.
Wagon tracks, did you say? What do you think about that, Tobeel? Pawnee have no wagon.
You three fellas ain't gonna chase them Injuns, are ya? It's not the Indians we're after, mister.
It's that wagon and whoever's driving it.
It's your business, Marshal, but me I think you're crazy.
That's possible.
I wouldn't give you a plug nickel for your chances of getting back, Marshal, but I'll tell 'em what happened to you! Same wagon.
Well, he must be traveling alone, then.
There's no Indian sign here.
He's alone.
Pawnee turn him loose.
Yeah, there must've been two of 'em working together the one that's driving this wagon and the one we buried.
I'll never forget what them Pawnees did to him, Mr.
Dillon, as long as I live.
Well, Chester, it wasn't any worse than what they did to those ranchers.
Let's get going.
That's the wagon we've been trailing, all right.
You got him, Mr.
Dillon.
Tobeel crawl through brush very quiet.
Cut throat.
No, Tobeel.
We got to make sure we got the right man.
Well, he's all by hisself, Mr.
Dillon.
We could spread out and rush him.
Uh-uh.
Look over there.
See those dust clouds? Those are the Pawnees.
Any gunshots would bring them down on us like a swarm of bees.
No, I've got to go up there and bluff him.
And how are you gonna do that? Well, I'll just go down to try to get him to start talking.
Ain't that taking an awful chance? Yeah, maybe so, but you two stay here and keep me covered.
When I get up close to him, why, start working your way down.
Hold it.
Who are you? What do you want, mister? I'm kind of curious about you and that band of renegade Indians, mister.
What are you talking about? I want to know about the rifles you've been selling 'em.
Those.
44 Henrys.
You're a lawman.
I wouldn't try to run for it.
I'll put a bullet in you.
You wouldn't pull that trigger.
You'd have the Pawnees right down on you.
They'd be right down on you, too, mister.
Pawnees wouldn't do nothing to me.
I don't think your partner'd agree with you on that.
My partner? What are you talking about? We found him yesterday what was left of him after the Pawnees got through.
You're lying.
Pawnees was just holding him hostage.
They promised not to kill him.
Want me to show you where we buried him? Well, I want to know about those rifles.
You're so smart, you go find out, lawman.
I saw those eight bodies, mister.
Mr.
Dillon? Mr.
Dillon? So that's him, is it? Yeah.
Why you no kill him? He'll go to prison, Tobeel.
Get the horses, will you? Chester, find the rope.
When he comes to, we'll put a noose around his neck and take him back to town in style.
Yes, sir.
Mister, if it was up to me, I'd let the Pawnees have you.
But you're going back to Dodge, and you're gonna stand trial, and I hope they hang you.