Gunsmoke (1955) s04e06 Episode Script

starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
You know, anybody can make a mistake.
Every one of the men buried up here did.
One tried to open the bank after closing hours.
Another took on a shotgun messenger with a six-gun.
Another tried to palm a card dealt by a professional gambler.
Maybe they deserved to die, maybe not.
But when an honest man gets killed just for showing a little courage, it makes you wish nobody was allowed to carry a gun.
Someday, maybe nobody will be.
But meanwhile, I've got my job.
Matt Dillon, U.
S.
Marshal.
Well, I've been on longer rides, Mr.
Dillon, but I sure can't remember none drier.
Why don't you try putting a pebble under your tongue? No, no, that never works for me.
Why not? Well, I don't know.
I I guess I'm just built different than other people is.
Well, it's all in your mind anyway, Chester.
Oh, now that don't make no sense.
A body could be starving to death for a drink of water and you say it's just the way it thinks.
Well, if that was true, I mean, well, I could get myself organized and quit eating, too.
Well, might be worth a try.
Don't make no sense at all.
Say, I bet there's water down there.
Oh, there sure better be.
Of course, I haven't been by this way for a year or more.
Well, now don't start talking like that.
Come on.
Say, now those aren't range horses, are they? No, they sure ain't.
Them's just about the most beautiful animals I ever seen.
He don't act none too friendly, does he? No, he sure doesn't.
Howdy.
Hi.
We're looking for water.
It's over there.
Good.
You alone here? I am.
Pretty nice camp.
Yeah.
I wasn't sure whether there was water here this year or not.
There's plenty of water.
Well, good.
We ran out first thing this morning.
Make yourselves at home.
Say, that's a mighty good-looking pair of horses you got there.
They're all right.
All right? Them horses got blood in 'em, if I ever seen it.
I'll fight anybody for these horses.
Anybody at all.
Well, now hold on a second.
We, uh, we didn't aim to take 'em from you.
We were just admiring them.
Tell me something, mister Yeah? Did you ever shoot a man in the back? What? I said, "Did you ever shoot a man in the back?" Well, I don't know who you think I am, mister, but I never shot anybody in the back, no.
Okay, I'll believe you.
Wait a minute.
I said I believed you, didn't I? Say, now that's mighty strange behavior, isn't it? Well, yeah.
You-you know, Mr.
Dillon, it might just be that them horses is stole.
Well, I don't know.
Could be.
Well, you gonna let him get away? Well, we'd never catch him now on these horses of ours, as tired as they are.
Well, we could track him, at least.
He's a horse thief, I'll bet you.
Well, I don't know, Chester.
We-We got no proof, anyway.
Come on, let's go get that water, huh? Excuse me, miss.
Yeah? I was told a lady runs this place.
That must be you.
Well, I'm half owner.
Kitty Russell, is it? That's right.
If you'll permit me, I'm Jack Portis.
How do you do? Well, this is the first time I was ever in Dodge.
You a gambler? Oh, no, Miss Kitty.
I just came here to enjoy myself, have a little fun.
Make a few friends.
Well, that's what we're in business for, to help you spend your money.
Sit down.
Thank you.
Well, do you know anybody in Dodge? Not a soul so far, except you, of course.
I aim to fix that.
Bartender? Drinks for the house everybody.
- This bunch? - Here.
Take it out of there.
Well, sure, mister.
Drinks for the house everybody! The man here is buying! That's what I like to see people enjoying themselves.
Well, they will as long as your money holds out.
We won't worry about that.
Would you like one, too? Why not? One here, bartender! And another round for everybody! I'm sure glad that that ride's over, Mr.
Dillon.
That's what keeps you from getting fat, Chester.
Yeah.
And it'll keep you from growing old, too.
Well, you can't have it all your way.
No.
Well, hello, Moss.
Marshal.
Chester.
Howdy, Moss.
How are you? Say, Moss, give these horses some grain, will you? They've had a pretty long ride.
- I sure will.
- All right.
I'll put them in these last two stalls.
Okay.
Hey, look at this.
What is it? Well, I'll be.
Well, he-he sure ain't trying to hide 'em none, though, is he? No, he sure isn't.
What is it, Marshal? Hey, Moss, uh, who was it brought these horses in here? Say, them's real horses, ain't they? Yeah, they sure are.
Came in yesterday.
A fella called, uh, Portis.
Portis? Yeah, Jack Portis.
Real nice feller.
Did he say where he was from? No, he didn't say, but he ain't from around here, I'll guarantee you that.
Yeah.
Calls that brand a wine glass, Marshal.
Well, it-it looks like a wine glass, all right.
So, where'd he get the horses, do you know? No, is there something wrong? No.
No, he didn't say nothing.
Well, naturally, he ain't gonna say where he got them horses, Mr.
Dillon.
He ain't gonna tell nobody that.
Well, thanks, Moss.
Bye, Marshall.
Bye.
Hi, Kitty.
Well, how long you been back? About an hour.
Good trip? The best part's having it over with.
How about a drink? Yeah.
Hello, Sam.
How are you, Marshal? Fine.
Well, here's looking at you.
Say, have you met that fella there? Jack Portis? Him? Sure.
He's quite a character.
How do you mean? He's about the freest spender I ever saw.
Nobody can pay for a thing when he's around.
Oh, so he's got money, too, huh? Oh, you mean besides those horses? Real fancy animals, I hear.
Everybody in Dodge is talking about 'em.
Nothing's too good for Jack Portis.
You fellas want another drink? No, thanks.
It's too early yet.
Miss Kitty.
Hey, there.
Hello, Portis.
Hello.
Well, I see nobody's shot you in the back yet.
Nope.
Somebody have reason to? You know my name, mister, but I don't know yours.
Name's Dillon.
I'm the marshal here.
Well, I'll be darned.
Why didn't you say so out there? Well, you didn't give me a chance to say much of anything.
Marshal, the way you looked out there, you could have been anybody.
How'd I know you weren't gonna shoot me for those horses, huh? Well, I don't know.
Did you shoot somebody for 'em? Oh, so, that's what you're thinking, huh? Where did you get them? I raised 'em.
Raised 'em? I own a spread over in the Washita River, Marshal.
Oklahoma? That's right.
Well, you're a long way from home.
Yeah.
I like to ride off somewhere once in a while, spend a little money, have a little fun.
No harm in that, is there? Well, you're saying the wine glass brand is yours, then? Of course it is.
Here, take a look at this.
I got it branded right into my hatband, see? Well? Do you believe me now? Maybe.
My golly, Marshal, you're the most suspicious man I ever met.
Well, that's my job, Portis.
That's what they pay me for.
Sure, I understand.
Can I buy you a drink? No, thanks.
Not right now.
Some other time? lt'll be my pleasure, Marshal.
See you later.
Miss Kitty.
Sure.
Don't you believe him, Matt? Oh, I don't know.
I guess so.
Well, you don't act very sure.
Well, Kitty, could be Jack Portis is just, uh, smart enough to have us all fooled.
- So long.
- So long.
Yes, ma'am.
My spread is in Oklahoma Territory.
Oklahoma Well, Doc, I feel some better.
- How about you? - Yeah, say, I sure do.
I do that.
Hey, what in the world could be keeping Chester? Good heavens, you ordered a steak for him, didn't you? Yeah.
I don't know where he is.
I just sent him to the depot is all.
Well, I'll tell you, a steak that's been on the fire this long not gonna be fit to eat.
Oh, there he is.
- Hi, Chester.
- Hello, Doc.
How are you? - Sit down, Chester.
- Mr.
Dillon.
You know, we ordered a steak for you.
- A steak? - Sure.
Oh, well, thank you.
What took you so long, anyway? Uh well, going to the depot is what done it.
It's-lt's so far down there.
Mr.
Dillon, what on earth did they have to go and build a depot so far out of town for? Do you know? What was that, Ches? What'd you say? Uh well, what'd they have to go and build a depot so far out of town for, Doc? Well, now, I-I think I can answer that for you, Chester.
You see, when the people built the railroad through here, well, they decided it might be kind of handy if they put the depot down there close to the railroad track.
Oh.
Yeah well, it-it-it sure is a long ways down there, huh? Let's get a little more there.
- Come on, now, hold your glass there.
- I'll have a little more.
- Bring them a little closer there.
- Oh.
Whoa! Say, Matt, you know, that Portis is the darnedest fella.
He never quits night or day, does he? Oh, yeah, yeah, Doc.
He's been here over a week now.
He hasn't been without company for more than a minute.
Well, he he's a nice enough fella, I guess.
From what I've seen of him, he's all right.
Oh, yeah, yeah, he's a nice fella.
Anybody that buys drinks for people the way he does is bound to pick up friends like a dog picks up fleas.
Yeah, I guess so.
Well, I-I just got to go.
I'll I'll see you later.
All right, Doc, so long.
Oh, lookit there, Mr.
Dillon.
There's them thoroughbreds again.
Yeah.
Say, who's that with them? Oh, that's a feller that Portis hired to give them horses a little run every day.
Well, nobody can say that Portis doesn't take good care of them.
No.
No.
He treats them horses like they was pure gold.
You know, they might be at that.
Well, they're better animals than I'll ever have anything to do with, I know that.
Let's go over and take a look at 'em.
Mr.
Dillon, that sure is a beautiful mare.
How much do you think them horses is really worth? I don't know, Chester.
I never had much to do with animals like that.
That Jack Portis he must be an awful rich man.
Yeah.
I wish I knew more about him, one way or another.
That's the brand, I tell you.
It's on both of 'em.
All right, don't yell about it.
I believe you.
Let's ride on out to the river and talk about it in camp.
You take up a lot of room, mister.
Excuse me.
Well, he sure was a sour one, wasn't he? Did you ever see those men around town before? No, no.
They're strangers to me.
From the way he acted, I'd just as soon keep it that way.
Why? Did you notice the brand those horses were wearing? No.
Wine glass, same as these.
Well Well, what do you make of that? Do you think they're working for Portis? I don't know.
They seemed pretty excited when they saw the brand on these thoroughbreds.
Well, you you want to let 'em get away? They're camped down by the river.
Let's go find out what else they got there.
Let's get the horses.
Howdy.
Are you lost or something, mister? What are you men's names? Burke.
My name's Keller.
Not that I take too much to a stranger asking.
Well, there's no reason for us to be strangers.
That's Chester Goode.
I'm Matt Dillon.
Dillon.
Then you're the marshal, huh? That's right.
What are you doing down here, Marshal? What do you want with us? Kind of interested in that horse you're riding there.
So? Yours is wearing the same brand, isn't he? Sure, it is.
What's wrong with that? Well, those two, uh, thoroughbreds you were looking at in town today they're wearing that wine glass brand, too.
We know that.
What's the connection? All right.
Jack Portis stole them horses, Marshal, and he stole some money, too.
How do you know? We know, all right.
Where'd this happen? Outfit on the Washita River.
Oklahoma Territory? Sure.
Well, what outfit was it? My uncle's.
Jack Portis killed my uncle, Marshal.
He killed him, ran off with what money he could find and them two thoroughbreds.
And we followed him here to Kansas.
What do you aim to do now? Take him.
What else? Now, why didn't you come to me about this? Ordinarily, we would have.
What do you mean? You think we'd ride all the way from Oklahoma after nothing but a horse thief that stole a little money? I told you, he killed my uncle, Marshal.
That makes some difference.
Not to me, it doesn't.
It wasn't your kin that was killed.
All right, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do.
I got some business up river this afternoon.
You men come into town tonight.
I'll have Jack Portis in jail.
Uh-huh.
But until then, you stay out here.
- Understand? - We can wait.
Marshal, look, maybe you don't believe us.
You ought to send a telegram to Oklahoma.
They'll tell you about Jack Portis.
Yeah, a couple of days ain't gonna make us no difference.
I'll find out about Jack Portis soon enough when I get him in jail.
If he's guilty, he'll show it soon enough.
He's guilty, all right.
All right, but in the meantime, you leave this up to me, understand? See you at the jail this evening, Marshal.
Might be in that place.
He better be.
We're running out of time.
Come on.
There he is.
We're in luck.
You're gonna get him out of here, ain't you? I sure am.
When we go, you follow us.
Right.
Where's the marshal?! Portis drew first, Marshal.
It was self-defense.
I was too far away to see that.
Mr.
Dillon, there's Miss Kitty standing over there.
She probably seen the whole thing.
Yeah, you better go ask her, Chester.
Ask anybody.
How about it? Any of you men see Portis draw first? Of course not.
They're all friends of his.
They all lie! Looks like you're in trouble, Burke.
What about me, Marshal? I seen it.
Ain't my word worth nothing? There's only one of you, mister.
Look, those men are lying, and you're not gonna arrest me.
Mr.
Dillon? Miss Kitty was standing right there, and she seen the whole thing.
Well, Kitty, what happened anyway? Don't believe her.
She's a friend of his.
It wouldn't make any difference to Kitty whether she was a friend of his or not.
Well, what happened, Kitty? Well, I couldn't hear what was said inside, Matt, but it looked like he was drawing him out.
Then Portis went for his gun.
First? Yeah, Portis drew first.
Yeah.
See there? I told you.
Portis'd never drawn first if he hadn't been guilty.
And he wouldn't have been killed if you'd done what I told you to.
Portis was a murderer.
Burke, I want you and your friend to get on your horses and ride out of Dodge.
Go on back to Oklahoma Territory.
We're gonna take those horses that he stole with us.
All right, take 'em and get going.
Come on, Burke, let's go.
It's still kind of hard to believe.
Well, Portis wouldn't have drawn first if he hadn't been guilty, Kitty.
He just wasn't that kind of a man.
Well, I think the evidence is against you this time.
I've seen a lot of men come and go in my time, and I don't think you've heard the end of this one.
Come on, I'll buy you a drink.
Come on, Chester.
Well, I've got the mail, Mr.
Dillon.
Oh, good.
There's one letter here for that, uh, that Jack Portis.
Oh, yeah? See, they didn't have no address where they could send it back to, so they told me to bring it over to you.
Well, I don't know what to do with it.
Well, uh, maybe it tells you inside there where you can send it back to.
Well, yeah, but I sure hate to open a man's mail, especially after he's dead.
Well, I-I You want me to burn it? No.
No.
I guess whoever sent this letter doesn't know he's dead.
Maybe I ought to open it and find out who he is, let him know.
"Dear Boss, I hope you've run out of money by now "and on your way back to the Wine Glass.
"Things is fine here, "except the Washita has run near dry "and two saddle bums has run off "with a couple of our horses.
But at least they wasn't our thoroughbreds.
" Saddle bums? Well, Mr.
Dillon, that-that Burke and Keller was riding wine glass horses.
You suppose he means them? I don't know.
"I'm keeping two pints of coffee on the stove in case you show up unexpected.
" Well Well Jack Portis was telling the truth after all, huh? It sure does look like it.
You know, he made a terrible mistake there, though, Mr.
Dillon.
Drawing first like that it kind of made him look like he was guilty.
Yeah.
Guess he figured that was the only chance he had.
These two sure had it all over him, though.
They walked in here, saw those two thoroughbreds and figured out a way to steal them, too.
Bold as brass.
They did that, but, well, how are you gonna explain that, though, to this feller that wrote the letter? I don't know.
But maybe he'll feel better when he gets his horses back.
Well, how are you gonna do that? Well, it's gonna be a long ride, Chester, and a hard one, but we're gonna catch those two if it takes us all the way to California.
- You want me to get the horses? - No, I'll get 'em.
You fix up a couple of saddlebags and get the rifles, will you? I just hope they're laughing when we catch up with them.