Gunsmoke (1955) s04e21 Episode Script

Starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Mr.
Dillon, you you mind if I just sit here, kind of help you watch the street? Nope.
I must have spring fever or something.
Heh.
Guess everybody does this time of year.
Well, it'll change soon enough.
Just as soon as that first trail herd of the season hits Dodge.
Yeah.
All them Texans, I tell you, they're just born troublemakers.
They're bad enough at home.
They get away from it, they're worse.
That's right.
You spent quite a few years in Texas, didn't you? Yeah.
In fact, you used to make your home down there.
Well, it just goes to show you that I know what I'm talking about.
Well, speaking of the devil.
Lookie there, Mr.
Dillon.
There's a Texan right there.
You can tell by the rig he's got on.
I wonder what he's doing up here all by hisself.
You know him, do you? No.
No, I don't know him.
Ever Texan that I ever knowed is hung by now.
Huh.
I'm looking for Matt Dillon.
You found him.
I'm Phil Jacks.
I'm with a herd of 3,000 head of San Saba cattle about five days' drive from here.
The name of the trail boss is Dolph Quince.
Yeah, I remember Dolph Quince.
He was down here last year.
How is he? Fair to middling.
He wants you to ride back with me, Marshal.
He does? Why? Well, it's about Kansas.
What about it? We don't like it.
Well, I swan to goodness.
If you don't like it, why don't you stay back there in Texas where you belong, instead of coming up here and fighting and shooting and getting people's backs up? I don't believe I've even said hello to you, mister.
Well, good.
Let's just leave it like that.
- Chester.
- What? What's gotten into you? Well, Mr.
Dillon, the first herd ain't even over the rise, and here there's trouble already.
Why don't you just take those old mossy-backed steers of yours and drive them to California? Why'd you leave Texas, mister? What? Heh.
You're just all riled up because you don't like Kansas no better than anybody else does.
Well, I'll tell you, I don't like Texas, neither.
Texas is sure rough on women and dogs, ain't it? Yeah, well, it's just That's right.
I ain't heard that Since you left Texas.
Yeah.
Well, I guess you got me pegged.
I might as well shut up.
Good, now we're getting somewhere.
You ready to go, Marshal? Now, wait a minute.
Five days' ride, that's asking an awful lot, even of a friend.
Quince sure wants you out there bad, Marshal.
Well, Dolph Quince was always a pretty good man.
I don't guess he'd ask me to ride out there without a reason.
Tell you what you do, Chester.
Why don't you take him over to Delmonico's and get him a meal? He looks like he could use one.
Well, all right, sir.
I got some business to finish up.
I'll meet you here in an hour.
All right.
Chester Goode is my name.
Restaurant's right across the street.
And, Chester, don't shoot him, because we'll never find that herd without him.
Well, I'm fixing to buy him a drink first, Marshal, and temper him down a little bit.
Ah, well.
Well, that's better than right kindly of you, Jacks.
I'll tell you, you can just take your choice of saloons.
We've got several real good ones here.
Well, I don't care whether they're good or not My guess is, we'll be able to see them from the top of that rise.
I sure hope so.
Another day of this would kill me.
Don't you plan to come back with us, Chester? Me? Sure.
Well, 100 miles up here.
It's 100 miles back, you know.
Good gravy.
I'd plum forgot about that.
Well, 3,000 head of cattle kick up so much dust you'll never even see them miles, Chester.
I may not see them, but I'll sure feel them.
That's a powerful big herd you got down there, Jacks.
Yeah.
By golly, that's a lot of money walking around down there.
It will be worth a lot of money if we ever get it to Dodge.
Where do we find Quince? Cook will have camp set up.
We find him, Quince will ride in sooner or later.
Boy, it sure is a lot of steaks.
Yeah.
There's Quince over there.
Yeah, I see him.
We'll turn your horse in with the remuda, Marshal.
Okay.
- Hello, Quince.
- Hello, Marshal.
How are you? Things could be better.
What's the trouble? Fresh meat in camp.
Let's get you a plate.
All right.
Like buffalo veal? One of the boys roped and shot a calf this morning.
Sure do.
Guess it was a buffalo that scared our horses last night.
Buffalo? Well, anyway, the whole remuda broke loose.
Give this man a plate of meat.
Plate of meat.
And coffee.
A Nestor woman rode into our bed ground before daybreak this morning.
She had a boy with her driving a wagon.
They wanted to know if we had any little calves dropped during the night.
There's a lot of them like that.
They ask all the trail drivers.
I'd had to get rid of them anyway, so I let her have them.
Even if she was a Kansan.
Where was her husband? Dead, according to the boy.
I see.
You know, if it had been a Kansas man asked for those calves, I don't think I could've talked the boys here into allowing it.
Thanks.
Here, sit down with me.
Well, Quince you been having trouble with Jayhawkers? How'd you know? I figured you must have called me out here for some reason.
A couple of nights ago, a bunch of Jayhawkers managed to sneak up on Snyder when he was out on guard.
That's him behind you.
Stripped him and flogged him.
Then they stampeded the cattle.
We kind of had our hands full the next few hours, or we might've caught up with them.
Have you seen anything of them since then? No.
Well, Quince, you know what the Jayhawkers are.
They're nothing but a bunch of renegades.
The ordinary Kansan hates them as much as you do.
They got their first taste of blood in the Border Wars, and now that that's over with, they got no place to go.
We'll show them a place.
They're bandits, Quince.
Now, you've got bandits in Texas, too.
But that doesn't mean that all Texans are bandits, does it? Well, it's kind of hard to make the men see that.
I'll join you, if you don't mind.
All right.
Where's Chester? He run into a fella he knew from last season.
They're over there swapping lies.
I've been complaining to the Marshal about our welcome here.
Oh, it ain't such a big problem, maybe.
I've heard of trail drivers buying off Jayhawkers at $2 and $3 a head.
Let's see.
With 3,000 head, that would only cost us between 6 and $9,000.
That's all.
I'm paying nobody nothing.
They ain't asked us yet.
But then I'm fixing to kill the first one I see anyhow.
Marshal, every dollar I got is tied up in them cattle.
Every cent my relatives and friends could raise, too.
And now we've come a long ways from San Saba, and we're almost to Dodge.
I'd hate to lose now.
Well, Quince, I don't know what I can do for you.
What about the army? Nah, the army's up north, chasing Indians.
Sure.
Well, the main reason I asked you to come down here was because I wanted you to ride with us a few days and kind of get to know the men a little.
They're bad-tempered.
When we get to Dodge, they're going to be looking for Kansas scalps, and it could get real bloody.
All right.
I'll ride with you.
I figured you would.
The way we look at it, the good citizens of Dodge are just out to fleece us anyway.
On top of that, they hire gunfighters to shoot us when we kick up our heels a little.
All in all, it makes for pretty bad feelings.
I think there's a little blame on both sides there, don't you? You and I know that, but they don't.
Oh, say, Quince, I near forgot.
A fella rode up to the remuda a while ago, asking for a job.
I told him to eat first.
A job? He must be crazy.
Where is he? He's right over there.
I'll go get him.
Well, I tell you, Quince, I'll I'll take my turn standing guard tonight.
There ain't any need for that.
If I'm going to ride with you, I might as well do my share of the work.
All right.
You ride the last watch.
I'll have the wrangler get you a night horse.
Okay.
This here is Dolph Quince, the trail boss.
Howdy, Mr.
Quince.
Your name? Studer.
Carl Studer.
You lost, Studer? I don't know what you mean.
Do you know we're only four days ride out of Dodge? Sure, but I was wondering if you could use a hand.
- For four days? - Glad to help.
You must be awful hungry, Studer.
I guess I am.
All right, we'll feed you for four days if you work, but I won't pay you nothing because I ain't got the money, and I don't need a hand anyway.
I'm sure grateful to you, Mr.
Quince.
Wait a minute.
Where are you from, Studer? Colorado.
Then you ain't a Kansan? No, sir.
Good.
Maybe the boys won't tear you apart.
You'll ride the fourth watch tonight, Studer.
Yes, sir.
Now, there's the sort of man that spends his whole miserable life just looking for salt, pork, and sundown.
Yeah, if that's all he is looking for.
What do you mean? I don't know.
Maybe I'm just suspicious.
You don't trust this fella? Oh, he's probably all right.
But if I were you, I'd keep him in camp unless it's daylight.
I guess you're right.
Better turn in early, Marshal.
You'll be out singing to them cow brutes in a few hours.
Breakfast at 4:00.
You'll find it don't take long to stay all night in this camp, Marshal.
Yeah.
I guess I'd better turn in early, huh? That's the real honest truth.
All right, you brush poppers, let's get out of bed! It's time to get up! Let's go! The coffee's on.
And I don't want no hoo-ha about the coffee this morning.
I've had enough of that around this here place.
You smell that coffee, Marshal? Sure do.
That's the best part about riding the last watch.
You always get fresh coffee.
Yeah.
Well, let's go get some, huh? I'm ready.
I'll fetch you a cup.
Oh, that's all right.
I'll be over there in a minute.
No trouble.
- Here's your coffee, Dillon.
- Thank you.
- Morning, Mr.
Dillon.
- Hello, Chester.
Made one friend, anyway.
That's just because he thinks I know all the girls in Dodge City.
Don't you, Marshal? No, I'm afraid not.
That's Chester's department there.
Yeah.
Yes, I spend all my time with the ladies.
That's because I'm so rich, you see? I've got so much money to spend on them.
Heh.
That's just the impression you gave me the first time I saw you.
Yeah, I'll bet.
$8 a month.
Come on, Chester.
Let's get some breakfast.
Well, if it's free, I guess I can stand it.
Well, didn't have any trouble last night.
- I kind of wish there had been.
- Hmm? It's like fighting the Indians.
You worry more about them when you don't see them than when they're coming at you.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
Well, no trouble with him.
Did you keep him in the camp? Oh, yeah.
Doesn't look like much of a hand to me anyway.
We'll be trailing out pretty soon.
I'll see you with the herd.
All right.
- Say, Marshal? - Yeah.
I was thinking another gal I remember.
Holly something.
Dark-haired, slim.
I think she worked at the Lady Gay place.
You must know her.
Real nice.
Didn't seem to mind talking to a raggedy cowhand.
This one seemed different.
For heaven's sakes, we'll never get to Dodge at this rate.
We've got to get to Dodge, Chester.
You owe me a drink.
Well, I'd gladly buy it for you, too.
I think I'll go on up ahead and ride point, Mr.
Dillon.
I can't see a thing through all this cattle.
- All right.
- Don't get yourself lost, Chester.
Don't worry none about that.
- He's a good man, Marshal.
- He's the best.
How does it feel to be a trail hand again, Marshal? Well, nothing to it, if I could sleep all winter like you fellas do.
Then when would you spend your money? I'll trade jobs with him, Quince.
You know where I found him in Dodge? Hanging a horse thief, I hope.
Not hardly.
He was sitting idle in a chair, taking the sun like an old man.
Don't let it fool you, Jacks.
I've seen him move.
Say, you two crossed the Cimarron yesterday.
What's it like? The water's down.
You shouldn't have any trouble getting them across.
I was thinking about the sand.
It's plum solid where we crossed, Quince.
We'll cross the same place.
You go up, ride point, and lead us to it.
Pick up that new fella Studer on the way.
Oh, I don't need him, Quince.
I know.
I want him up where I can see him.
All right.
Well, your cattle seem to be in pretty good shape, considering the walk they've had.
Hmm.
They kind of triggered up, though.
Look how they're trailing.
Yeah.
Well, maybe nothing will happen to set them off.
That Cimarron worries me some.
First crossing I tried there last year had a quicksand bottom that would bog a saddle blanket.
- Did you lose many? - 30 head.
Couldn't even dig their tails out.
I don't envy you fellas running these herds all the way up here from Texas.
We ain't got any choice, Marshal.
Texas is bankrupt.
War broke us.
These mossy-horned cattle is all we got left.
Yeah.
Well, maybe something will happen one of these days to change all that.
If you're talking about the railroad, we'll starve waiting for it.
Well, I'll tell you one thing yours is the first trail herd into Dodge this year.
Prices are high.
You ought to make $20 a head.
We ain't to Dodge yet.
They Jayhawkers can still scatter this herd.
Well, you've probably seen the last of them.
Maybe.
Mr.
Dillon! Mr.
Dillon! It was Studer, Mr.
Dillon! He shot him right in the back! He's stampeding the herd! I'll go after him! Get him alive, Marshal! Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! Stay here, Chester! I'm going after the others! Yes, sir! Drop your gun, mister, and stand up.
Not likely.
You go back! Get your hands in the air and stand up! Now, listen to me.
All I want is my horse, and I'll get out of here.
I promise you, we won't cause you no more trouble.
Mister, your friends are all dead, all but you.
You stampeded that herd twice.
What makes you think I'd let you go now? Let me tell you something.
I'm not a cattle man.
I'm a United States Marshal.
You turn yourself over to me, I'll see that you're not lynched.
You'll get a fair trial.
No.
No, I ain't giving up! Then you'll die where you are right now.
Let me go! I'm warning you! I sent Chester to help round up the cattle, but I brought Snyder here with me.
After the beating they gave him the other night, I kind of figured he deserved to be in on this.
Guess I'm too late.
Looks like you've taken care of all of them.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's too bad you couldn't have got one of them alive.
Well, they didn't give me much choice, Quince.
No.
How's Jacks? Dead.
That's too bad.
He was a good man.
Hmm.
Well, the boys will have the lead cattle turned by now.
We'll mill them around an hour or so, then graze them out.
Say, Snyder, my horse went over the top of that hill.
Could you round him up for me? - Sure, Marshal.
- Thank you.
Well, Quince, I tried to take him alive.
I guess I just wanted to hang him myself, anyway.
I'm glad he's dead.
Look, when you can spare a couple of men, we ought to dig some graves here.
Sure.
Say we're going to be burying Jacks, too.
You'll be there, won't you? Well, sure, you bet I will.
I don't know much about, um like, doing it proper.
Would you help me out? Well, I'll sure try.
Thanks.
We brought nothing into this world.
Neither may we carry anything out of this world.
The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away.
Even as it pleaseth the Lord, so cometh all things to pass.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Amen.
Amen.
Well, Snyder? Yeah? Say, I brought along a bottle of that wagon yard whiskey.
I thought maybe some of the boys might get a little dry.
It's over there in the chuck wagon.
It's not much, but maybe it'll cut the alkali in the water.
Go get it for them, will you? Thanks, Marshal.
All right.
There's times when drink is good for a man's soul.
I guess this is one of them.
Well, I don't guess Jacks would mind too much, would he? No.
Well, Marshal, the boys all know how you handled them Jayhawkers, and they feel somewhat better about things.
Good.
Of course, that don't mean they ain't going to hoorah Dodge some when they get there.
Heh.
I guess we can stand it all right.
Well, ain't there a drink in that bottle for us? Let's go find out, shall we?