Gunsmoke (1955) s04e07 Episode Script

starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
I've seen a lot of men buried up here on Boot Hill, and most of 'em really earned what they got.
They cheated at cards, robbed banks, stole horses, murdered innocent men, picked fights with friend and enemy alike.
They lived and died as though they'd never heard of the law.
And they treated me like a trespasser,.
like someone who had no right to interfere with their bloody little games.
But I shot it out with them, anyway.
I guess I'll go right on doing it long as I last.
Matt Dillon, U.
S.
Marshal.
Ya! That was three years ago.
Worst winter that ever hit Wyoming Territory.
You folks in Kansas don't even know what cold weather is.
Oh, I don't know.
We had a pretty cold winter in Dodge back in '68.
Didn't get cold enough to freeze buffalo, did it? Freeze buffalo? That's right.
They were all over the plain after the big blizzard standing there, froze stiff.
Didn't you ever hear about it? Well, a man can hear most anything, I guess.
It happened, all right.
That blizzard was a real gully buster.
Same one old Cottonwood Pete got caught in camping alone up on Kiowa Creek.
Lost his bedroll and his horse, and pretty near lost his life.
When the storm was over, he seen one of his feet was froze, so he knew there was only one thing to do.
He took his bowie knife, and he cut it off and rode a hundred miles into Cheyenne.
How could he ride into Cheyenne? I thought you said he lost his horse.
Oh, he throwed his saddle on one of them froze buffalos, then, uh, built a fire under it to thaw it out.
I never heard of such a thing.
It's a fact, so help me.
Only thing was, though, Pete built too hot a fire.
When he pulled up in front of the Cheyenne Hotel, that buffalo was roasted to a turn.
Took the whole town to eat it all.
How much longer till we get to Dodge City? Oh, we ought to be there in an hour or two.
I wonder what Jim's stopping here for.
Take it easy, driver.
Hand down that rifle by the barrel.
That sidearm, too.
Get down from there.
Mr.
Dillon? Mr.
Dillon, it's a holdup.
Mr.
Dillon! Hold it! Now get out.
Easy.
Get 'em up real high.
Now, get up there, Charley, and open that box.
Sure am glad you didn't draw your gun, Matt.
They'd have shot me right off the box.
Is it just two of them? I think there's a third one out in the brush with the horses.
How much money you got in that box? Ain't money.
It's gold bars.
Gold bars? Now, you look like the kind of dude might be packing some cash.
How about that, mister? This is your responsibility, Marshal.
There's not much I can do about it right now.
If you got money on you, you better give it to him.
Hand it over.
You all right, Charley? Don't amount to nothing.
Now, get them sacks on the horses.
Sure don't want nobody chasing us for murder.
Now, wait a minute, mister.
I I got a wife and kids in Dodge.
What I hear, it ain't a good place to raise a family anyway.
Now hold on a minute, mister.
Just don't forget it was your partner that committed that murder, not you.
Come on, let's get out of here! That's right.
Charley's the one they're gonna be looking for.
Don't any of you move till we're out of sight.
I sure could hear them trumpets.
Yeah, that was a close one, all right.
You were right, Jim.
There is another one.
Well, did you enjoy your dinner, Chester? Oh, yeah, yeah, that-that that was a fine dinner.
You know, Doc, somehow, it-it tastes a little bit better when you don't have to pay for it yourself.
Yes, it does.
I've noticed that.
l-I I don't think it tasted too good to Matt, huh? Uh, what? Well, he lost, you know.
He's paying for it.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
Course, now, Doc, you know, he drawed the shortest straw there fair and square.
Yes, sir, he did, didn't he? Uh, yeah, of course I wouldn't worry too much about it.
He usually takes care Well, Matt, I just wanted to thank you for that dinner.
It was just-just fine.
Oh, that's all right, Doc.
After all, you bought the last one, you know.
- Oh, I did.
- Well, sure.
You don't think I'd let you get away with that crooked straw game otherwise, do you? Well, tell me, uh, how'd you enjoy it, Doc? Yeah, how'd you enjoy your dinner now, Doc? You know, I got an idea, Doc, that if you got a little exercise, you'd enjoy your food even more.
Exercise? Like putting my feet up on my desk the rest of the day, like you're probably gonna do right now? You got a better idea? Yes, as a matter of fact, I have.
Why don't you go catch those stagecoach robbers? - Been over a week.
- Oh, we'll get 'em, Doc.
- Yes.
- They-they they might be clean out of the country by now, Doc.
Well, I thought you said their trail doubled back into Dodge? Well, it did, but they might have gone on through, you know? They could be in Wichita, Abilene, anyplace by now.
What I can't understand, why with $2,000 of gold in that box, why the stagecoach people couldn't afford to hire a man to ride shotgun.
Well, they should have, but they're willing to pay for it now $1,000 reward, dead or alive, for the murder.
Sure, sure they are now.
Bad business for 'em people getting murdered on their line.
Say, Doc, you know, uh, they're also offering half of the worth of that gold to anybody that finds it.
- Oh, they are? - Yeah.
Maybe you ought to start looking for it.
Well, now, I just may do that.
I haven't got a soft government job.
Hey, Doc, you ought to get you a new set of straws.
He sure can't take a joke, can he, Mr.
Dillon? Oh, boy.
Oh, watch where you're going! - Sorry, mister.
- Oh, get out on the street with those things where you ain't bothering people.
Go on, get! Now, wait a minute.
What is it, Mr.
Dillon? There's something awful familiar about that man.
What? Why, that voice.
I've heard that before, haven't you? By golly, there is something familiar about that.
He's going up to Doc's office.
Come on.
Yeah, it's my partner, Doc.
He hurt his arm.
Cut it on some wire, and now it's all swole up there, and he's talking crazy, out of his head, you know? Well, that sounds like quite an infection to me.
Might even be gangrene.
Is that bad? Well, yes, that's pretty bad.
He could lose the arm.
Might even lose his life.
Where is he? Uh, he's out on the prairie.
We got a camp out there.
Well, why didn't you bring him in? Well, I thought maybe he hadn't ought to be moved.
Ain't there just some kind of medicine you can give me? I'll take it back out to him.
Well, no, sir.
You better get that man in here where I can have a look at it.
It wouldn't be his left arm by any chance, would it, mister? Why, no.
No.
It was his right arm.
I'll see you later, Doc.
Well, what is it, Matt? Well, Chester, I hope you got a lot of sleep last night.
Why? 'Cause you're gonna be pretty busy.
I want you to follow him and don't let him out of your sight, whatever you do.
Yes, sir.
Well, what's going on here, Matt? Doc, I think that's one of the men that robbed the stage.
Oh.
Same build, same voice.
Well, you won't have to worry about that partner of his, unless he gets him in here pretty quick.
Yeah.
- Mr.
Dillon.
- Chester.
I wasn't asleep.
Oh, well, I didn't say you were.
Oh, well, I thought maybe that-that you thought that m that, uh, maybe I that I uh Well, I wasn't.
Yeah, uh-huh.
And where is he? Oh, he's in the cafe there.
I'll tell you, Mr.
Dillon, if you hadn't come along when you did, though, I just might have been asleep.
I'll tell you, I never seen nobody that could go like he does.
He was up all night long playing cards, and then he he gets on his horse and he rides down along the river and back.
Well, he's probably trying to shake you.
No.
No, it wasn't that.
Heck, he didn't even know that I was following him.
I was real cautious.
Mm-hmm.
Did you get a hold of that Kiowa scout? Yeah, he'll be along in a minute to spell you.
Well, I sure hope so.
He What's the idea, Marshal? Idea? This man's been tracking me all night, and I got a feeling you're behind it.
How'd you know? Mister, you might as well have been wearing snowshoes with cowbells on 'em.
Well, Mr.
Dillon, I swear to you, I didn't I didn't make no noise or It's all right, Chester.
It's all right.
I don't know what you're getting at, Marshal.
Why, a man can't come into Dodge City here and do a little gambling without you putting somebody on his trail? Even followed me down to the river.
Always like to know who I'm talking to, mister.
What name do you go by? My own.
Yermo.
Well, all right, Mr.
Yermo.
The reason I'm having you followed is because I don't want you to leave town without my knowing about it.
Yeah? Why not? I'm kind of interested in that friend of yours.
That one that hurt his arm on some wire? Well, he's a long ways from here.
Well, you better go after him, hadn't you? He's liable to die.
Well, then stop having me followed.
Now, what difference does that make? We're not keeping you from him, are we? Don't you worry.
I'm going after him.
When? It's my business when.
Anybody tries to follow me is going to get into trouble.
From a shotgun? I ain't got a shotgun.
You had one the last time, didn't you? I don't know what you're talking about.
You're wasting time, Yermo.
While you're standing around here, that friend of yours is probably dying.
Now, you just leave me alone, Marshal.
All right.
You're free to come and go as you want to.
But you're not going to be alone.
Eh, I tell you, Mr.
Dillon, that Indian's a wonder to behold.
Two days, not a wink of sleep.
He don't even look like he's tired.
Yeah, but Yermo sure does.
I saw him down the street this morning.
Yeah, well, he ought to be with what he's got on his conscience.
Letting his partner just lay out there on the prairie and die 'cause he won't risk his neck to help him none.
Yeah, I sure figured him to break before this.
Well, that pump down at the plaza sure is sucking up mud.
Mr.
Dillon, you-you think that Yermo knows that that Kiowa is following him yet? Oh, I doubt that.
He's a pretty smart Indian.
- Yeah.
- But I'll tell you.
I think Yermo knows something's up, or he'd have headed out there before this.
You the marshal? Yeah.
What can I do for you? I'm Verd, Marshal.
Uh, Verd Regan.
Just a cowboy.
Nothing wrong with being a cowboy, is there? No, I reckon not.
Marshal, I found a dead man yesterday.
He was out in the prairie about 15 miles.
I didn't know what to do, so I just wrapped a blanket around him, left him there.
Looked like a kind of a camp he had there.
Well, you think you could take us to him? - If you want.
- Well, good.
Better saddle up a couple of horses, Chester.
Yes, sir.
Well, you got any idea how the man died? Well, not for sure, but his left arm was swell up something fierce.
Let's go.
How'd you ever find him way out here? Oh, I was hunting strays.
That's the only reason I came poking back in here.
His arm's all swole up, he's got a bullet hole in his sleeve.
Didn't just happen, though.
Must have been a week or more back.
Yeah.
Well, it was gangrene that killed him.
Mr.
Dillon.
Mr.
Dillon, look at that there, would you? Oh.
Well, that's the kind they were using, all right.
You think it's him, maybe? Well, I don't think there's any doubt of it now.
Verd, looks like you made yourself $1,000.
What do you mean? Well, that's the man that murdered that passenger on the stage holdup last week.
$1,000 reward for him, dead or alive.
What do you know.
I didn't know I was gonna get rich off this.
Well, that's the way things work out sometimes.
You know, there's another $1,000, too, for anybody can show 'em where the gold is hid at.
- There is? - Yeah.
Well, I bet it's buried right around here somewhere.
Say, wait a minute.
Seemed like when I was here yesterday, I remember somewhere around here looked liked somebody had been digging.
Yeah, yeah, it was around here somewhere.
Someplace close to here.
Yeah.
Yeah, there.
Here it is.
See? Ha.
You know, Marshal, I didn't think nothing about this yesterday, because I didn't know this fella had robbed a stage.
Hey.
Here it is.
See? Yeah.
Here's one.
Yeah.
Here's another one.
Two of 'em.
Whoa, heavy.
Another one.
Hey.
Hey.
Here's a third one.
Maybe there's another one.
No, no.
There was only three of 'em.
I found 'em, didn't I, Marshal? So, I I collect that reward, too, won't I, Marshal? 'Cause I told you right where to look.
Yeah, you sure did.
Told us right where to look.
Well, let's go get that man buried, shall we? Boy, it's mightily good to get off that prairie for a change.
Yeah, I can imagine.
You must not get to town too often.
I don't remember seeing you around before.
No, you ain't.
l-I've been too broke.
Well, it takes a lot of money to see the elephant in Dodge these days.
Well, that's just what I'm aiming to do, see me some elephants.
And I'll have plenty of money to do it, too.
That sit all right with you? Sure.
Come on over anytime, Verd.
A good customer's always welcome.
Hey, how long you figure it's gonna be before that stage line pays off, Marshal? Oh, it's pretty hard to say.
Two, three weeks maybe.
Waiting ain't gonna be easy, is it? I can stand it.
Fire, boy, that's what I like fire.
Can I fetch you a beer? No, thanks, uh-uh.
I'll just get myself one, then.
Not very choosy about your friends anymore.
Kitty, I didn't say he was a friend, did I? Well, you two have been hanging around together for the last two days closer than a calf with its mother.
Even been buying his drinks.
Look, Kitty, one of those robbers is dead.
I want the other two.
Is that what he's for? I'm using him for bait.
Well, that's about all he's good for, if you ask me.
Well, I just hope he's good for that.
Miss Kitty.
Howdy, Chester.
What's, uh What's Yermo doing, Chester? Well, he's-he's outside there, Mr.
Dillon.
He's keeps looking in the window there like he's trying to get up the nerve to come in or something.
Oh, good.
Maybe it's beginning to bother him.
What's beginning to bother him? Wondering where all that gold is.
Well, it hasn't been found yet, has it? Well, not officially, no.
That's the point.
Oh.
Hello, Chester.
Oh, howdy, Verd.
How about a beer? Well, I'm-I'm much obliged to you, Verd, but, uh, I I don't Mr.
Dillon, here he comes.
If he mentions that gold, you stick to the same story we've been telling all over town, you understand? Yes, sir, I think so.
Well, you better, or you won't collect that reward.
Marshal.
Oh, hello, Yermo.
This the man that found that bandit for you? Yeah.
I was real lucky.
I just stumbled onto him.
Just an accident, huh? Yeah, that was it.
That was a real lucky accident.
You must have made a couple thousand dollars by it.
No, only a thousand.
Oh.
Well, the way I heard it, the company was offering $1,000 for that bandit, and then there was another $1,000 for the gold that was stolen.
Yeah, but we didn't find no gold.
We didn't.
If there was some there, we didn't find it.
Uh, looked like there was some digging, but there wasn't no gold.
The marshal'll tell you.
How come you're so concerned about that gold? I'm not.
I just thought it was kind of funny, the gold disappearing that way, like maybe somebody got there ahead of you.
Well, I don't know what happened to it, but we didn't find it.
That's too bad, ain't it? That sure is too bad.
I'll see you.
I said it just like you told me, Marshal.
I done all right, didn't I? Yeah, you did fine.
I feel kind of tired.
If it's all the same to you, I think I'll just head back over to the rooming house.
Fine.
Whatever you like.
Well, I'll just go on, then.
Good night.
What came over him all of a sudden? Probably the bad beer you serve in this place.
Oh, I'm serious, Matt.
Don't you think I am? Hey, Verd? You in a hurry, Verd? No.
No, I'm not in a hurry.
Listen, uh, Yermo, we hadn't ought to be seen talking together like this.
Oh, it don't matter.
I'm leaving town tonight.
Just as soon as you give me that gold.
I ain't got it.
The marshal has.
That's the truth, Yermo.
He told me to say that about not finding it.
You're lying.
Come on, now, what'd you do with it? Listen to me, Yermo.
When you didn't come back, I figured you got caught.
And then Charley died, and I got scared.
You always was a coward, Verd.
That's why we left you in the bushes when we held up the stage.
Look, this way, we'll be safe.
We'd have a hard time getting rid of them gold bars.
Look, I'll collect the reward and split it with you.
Ah, Verd, you ain't gonna live to collect nothing.
Hold it.
He killed him, Mr.
Dillon.
Good.
At least he won't get away with it.
You'd have both got away with it if you'd trusted him a little more, Yermo.
I didn't have enough evidence to convict either one of you.
Why, you sure ain't one to let a man die happy, are you, Marshal? A man makes his dying by the way he lives, Yermo.