Gunsmoke (1955) s04e26 Episode Script

Starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Chester? Chester! Hey.
Well, Jack Massey, how are you? - Fine, how are you, Chester? - When did you get in town? Just rode in.
We ain't seen you in about a month now.
Well, that place of mine out there ain't too big, but it keeps me busy.
You're gonna be a rich man someday, Jack.
If drinking branch water and eating sheep stew for three years will make a man rich, well, I'm rich now.
Well, things can't be as bad as all that.
Well, they ain't no better.
But I didn't stop by to put down my troubles.
Let's have a cup of coffee.
Well, yeah, no reason why not.
I just made a fresh pot yesterday.
There you go.
How is it? You ain't run short of chicory.
That's for sure.
You like it, do you? It's stout enough for shoe leather, but it's hot.
Yeah.
Listen, Jack, you mind watching my prisoner while I take his supper dishes back to Delmonico's? Come back, we'll have us a little talk.
Fine, I like our little talks.
Say, where's the Marshal? He went over to Fort Larned.
Been gone about a week now.
I've been expecting him back all day.
You just make yourself at home there.
Coffee's on the stove.
I'll be gone but just a minute.
Fine, I'll be here, Chester.
A man don't get to see his friends too often.
Yeah.
Doc, what can I do? Anything? No.
What do you think, Mr.
Dillon? He doesn't look good.
Is he dead? Yeah.
Just don't seem fair.
He didn't do nothing to deserve it at all.
Yeah, that must have been it.
What? Well, he was dressed enough like me so that somebody made a mistake, that's all.
Well, do you have any idea who it could have been, Mr.
Dillon? I wish I did.
A man like me's got a lot of enemies.
Yeah, well, one of 'em's out to get you, for sure, even if it means shooting you in the back.
Yeah, pretty high price to pay for being a friend of mine, isn't it? All right, looking at you.
Three kings.
You shouldn't have quit so soon.
Your luck might have changed, like this fellow's.
It ain't changed in 40 years, and I don't figure it's gonna start now.
I don't know.
Luck's a funny thing.
Just the same always bad.
It ain't as bad as poor old Massey's.
I heard about that.
Got shot down right in the marshal's office.
He was a good boy, Massey was.
The way I heard it, someone was after the Marshal and got him instead.
Yep, that's the way it was.
Feel sorry for Massey.
Taking a shot in the back that belonged to the Marshal.
Well, a marshal's job is a chancy one.
Someone's always after you.
Of course, he knows that when he takes the job.
Dillon can take care of himself.
Sure, if he lets other people get shot in his place.
That's pretty hard talk, mister.
I meant no offense.
That is what happened, though, isn't it? Well, maybe it is.
Well, I'll tell you this.
The man who finally does kill Dillon is gonna be mighty big around these parts.
Yes, sir, a mighty big man.
No, no more for me.
You aren't quitting, are you? I've had enough.
Well, you can't quit now.
Nobody tells me when I quit, mister.
I wasn't telling you.
Just when a man's winning.
Against a gambler? I like your money.
- You coming? - Yeah, sure, let's get something to eat.
Maybe we'll give you another chance later on, if we don't spend it all.
Can I buy you a drink, Kitty? No, thanks, Eby.
Get me a whiskey, Pence.
- Yeah, sure.
- Wait a minute.
Okay.
Well, how are things going? lt'll get better.
Well, you've only been here a couple of days.
I've no complaints.
Gamblers seldom do.
At least they try not to show it.
I guess that's true enough.
- There you are.
- Thanks, Pence.
By the way, what's this story I hear you been telling? What story? About Marshal Dillon.
The men you heard talking.
Oh, that.
What's this? What about the Marshal? Oh, just something I overheard, Kitty, outside there.
Well, what? It was the night before last.
I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air.
Standing there in the dark around the corner in the alley.
Heard two men come out.
One told the other he was gonna shoot the Marshal.
Shoot him any way he could.
Who was he? What did he look like? I don't know.
Couldn't see them.
They couldn't see me.
Did you tell the Marshal about this? No business of mine.
See you later.
When did you hear this story, Bill? Yesterday, I assumed the Marshal knew about it.
Well, I'm gonna make sure.
I'll be right back.
Okay, Kitty.
I just don't understand why Eby didn't tell you about this right off the minute you got back to town.
I'll tell you, Kitty, I ran across Eby once some time back over in Tascosa.
He was slapping a woman around, and I gave him quite a beating for it.
He probably has never forgotten.
He wasn't too big after that, and he left town a few days later.
I guess he figures he doesn't owe you any favors now, huh? Not exactly.
How long did you say he's been working at the Long Branch? Just a few days.
Hadn't caused any trouble.
Maybe he's changed.
Men like him don't change, Kitty.
I guess you're right about that.
I'm right about him.
Maybe his whole story's a lie, Matt.
Maybe he's the one who did the shooting last night.
I doubt it.
I don't think he's got enough guts even to shoot a man in the back.
Who was it then? Lot of men would like to see me dead, Kitty.
Yeah, I know that.
I gotta get on back.
All right, I'll walk back with you.
I'd kinda like to have a talk with him anyway.
No, he left.
He's probably over in his room.
- Dodge House? - Yeah.
Well, good.
I'll stop by there.
Maybe he knows more about these men than he's saying.
Thank you.
- Marshal Dillon.
- Eby.
What are you doing here? I'd like to talk to you.
Come in.
I didn't know you were in Dodge till today.
Is there something wrong with my being in Dodge? Not a thing as long as you stay out of trouble.
I'm just trying to make a little money.
What can I do for you? Friend of mine was killed in my office last night.
I heard about that.
Whoever it was thought they were shooting at me.
- Heard something about that, too.
- Out back of the Long Branch? Mm-hmm.
Overheard a couple of men talking.
Yeah, that's what Kitty tells me.
They planned on ambushing me, huh? That's right.
Got any idea who they might be? No, I didn't recognize their voices, and I couldn't see them.
Otherwise, I would have come and told you.
You would? Marshal, I hated you for what you did to me in Tascosa.
That was a long time ago.
I'd be a fool to bear a grudge the rest of my life, wouldn't I? It's forgotten, over and done with.
I've got other things to think about.
As you know, I hate killing.
That's why I don't even carry a gun.
Of course I'd tell you who those men were if I knew.
I don't wanna see you killed or anyone else.
Just asking.
You don't think I'd be afraid to tell you, do you? - Afraid of those men? - I didn't say that.
Wouldn't be any reason for it.
They'd never know it was me who overheard them.
No, no, they wouldn't.
That's a funny thing.
You're the only gambler I ever knew who never wore a gun.
Mr.
Dillon.
You could have shot me.
I didn't know it was you.
Well, I hope not.
Getting kind of jumpy, I guess.
Mr.
Dillon, I could set up with a shotgun and let you get some sleep tonight.
No, I tried, Chester.
No need for that.
Well, I ain't so sure.
Get back! Why don't you get him, Mr.
Dillon? I want him alive.
Come on out, Marshal.
I'm gonna kill you.
He's drunk.
He sure sounds that way.
Hold it! Hold it right there.
Now get your hands up and drop the gun.
Don't shoot, Marshal.
Who is it, Mr.
Dillon? Have you seen him? Do you know who he is? I never saw him before, but he's sure drunk.
Let's get him off to Doc's and find out what this is all about.
Come on.
Go on, sit up there.
No more, Doc.
Yeah, you drink that and you drink every drop of it.
He looks sober enough to me now, Doc.
Let him drink that and we'll see how sober he is.
Coffee must taste fierce with everything else you've shoved down him.
Here, you drink that now, every drop of it.
I'm drowning in coffee, Doc.
Better than drowning in whiskey.
No more, Doc.
I can't take no more.
No more, huh? He sounds sober enough now.
Go on and talk to him.
All right, what's your name? Swan.
Nat Swan.
I didn't know what I was doing, Marshal.
I didn't mean nothing.
Honest, I didn't.
Well, I'll tell you, you were trying to kill me.
Oh, no, no, I wasn't.
Real coward, aren't you? Even to shoot a man in the back, you gotta take on a load of whiskey.
You don't understand, Marshal.
I got nothing against you.
What were you trying to shoot me for then? Well, I came into town, and I heard all that talk about somebody was gonna kill you, and yeah, I figured that I could make a name for myself if I did it.
I swear there wasn't any more to it than that.
No more to it than that, huh? It was nothing personal.
I should have put strychnine in your coffee.
I'm sorry, Marshal.
I didn't mean nothing.
- Why, you miserable - Never mind, Doc.
I believe him.
- You believe him? - Yeah.
Chester, put him on a horse and point him south, will you? Mr.
Dillon, you ain't gonna turn him loose, are you? What are you gonna turn him loose for? Locking him up is not gonna keep some other drunken brainless bum from trying it for the same reason.
There'll be others.
A lot of them.
Hello, Doc.
- How are you? - All right.
Matt, seems to me a man who's worried about being ambushed would kind of try to make a smaller target out of himself.
What do you want me to do? Hide? No, I wouldn't suggest anything like that to you.
You're too stubborn for that.
You wouldn't do it.
No point in putting it off, Doc.
Well, maybe you're right, but just the same.
Howdy, Doc.
What are you doing here? Is there any special reason why I shouldn't be here? Well, no.
Now, I didn't mean nothing by it.
You can be anywheres that you wanna be.
Thank you.
That's very generous of you.
I'll swear, Doc.
You're getting sassier every day.
Well, I can afford to be around my debtors.
Around your what? My debtors.
It's Saturday.
Oh, yeah, well, I'll have that for you the first of the week, Doc.
I can promise you that.
Doc, you didn't loan him money again, did you? Yep, fool that I am.
Well, now look here, Doc.
Have I ever failed to pay you back ever once? - Have I now? - No, you better not, either.
Besides, I didn't come here to argue with you.
I just came here to see if anybody wanted to have dinner with me.
- Dinner? - Sure.
Oh, well, yeah, I'm having dinner.
I just thought the way you're sucking on your teeth there, you'd already ate.
All right, let's go.
You know, a beer might not go bad, Mr.
Dillon.
I don't know where you'd put it after that dinner you ate.
You can't get Doc to pay too often.
Besides, I sure love them dried apples.
And after two antelope steak.
Well, they don't take up too much room.
Ain't all swolled up.
Besides, a little dollop on it, and it'll slide right down.
How about that beer? Chester, right now, I'm keeping my horse from going lame.
It's more important to me than getting a beer.
Now if you can wait just a minute till I get through talking to Moss Grimmick, we'll have one.
Moss.
Moss, where are you? Hey, Mr.
Dillon, lookie here.
Lookie here, would you? Good golly, them paps would sure keep your feet warm in the wintertime.
Wouldn't they, fleece-lined like they are and all? - Yeah, it's a little different - Look out, Mr.
Dillon! Don't shoot.
Don't shoot again.
Who are you, mister? - You shot me.
You killed me.
- Who hired you? This bullet's red hot.
I'm burning up.
Now, mister, I wanna know why you're after me.
Start talking.
Mr.
Dillon, I don't think there's too much talk left in him.
Dillon? You're the marshal? That's right.
Who'd you think it was? - Bandits.
- Bandits? I saw you standing over my gear.
I thought you were gonna steal it.
You drew your gun.
I had to shoot.
Good gracious, Mr.
Dillon, he didn't have nothing to do with this, huh? Marshal.
That you, Marshal? What is this? Moss, you know this man here? Yeah, just some cowboy who had his horse stabled in here a couple days.
What did he do? This is awful.
Just terrible.
Marshal.
Don't bury me in just a blanket.
Fix me a box.
Promise me you'll fix me a box.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's a promise.
Mr.
Dillon, you had to shoot him.
He'd have killed you for sure if you hadn't.
You didn't have no choice.
If I hadn't have been so jumpy and hadn't have drawn so fast.
Nobody can blame you for being jumpy.
I mean, what with some dirty little coward trying to shoot you in the back.
Killing an innocent man like that, that's Yeah, and if that Ed Eby had just tried to find out who it was that he heard talking of killing you instead of just letting it go the way that he did, none of this would have happened.
It's just as much his fault as it is anybody's.
You know, I'm beginning to wonder if he saw or heard anybody at all.
What do you mean? He could have made the whole thing up.
That's just the way a coward like him would act.
- Matt, what happened to you? - Kitty, I'm all right.
Have you been up to see Doc? No, I'm going up there in a few minutes.
I have a little business with Mr.
Eby first.
I'm all right.
Hello, Eby.
Sit down, Marshal.
Try your luck.
I just killed a man, Eby.
An innocent man.
What are you talking about? You were too cheap to hire somebody to do it for you and too much of a coward to try it yourself.
I don't particularly like that word, Marshal.
That story about overhearing a couple of men talking out back.
You just spread that around, hoping it'd give some poor fool the idea of trying it himself.
That's a lie.
But two men did try it.
And it made me so jumpy, I killed another man I thought was gonna try it.
Can't prove a word of this, Marshal.
Two innocent men have died because of your cowardice, Eby.
And if I had my way, I'd see you hang for it.
Don't call me a coward, Marshal.
You're the worst coward I've ever seen.
You always have been.
Stop saying that.
Do you hear me? I'll tell everybody who'll listen.
Doing just what you did in Tascosa, aren't you? Yeah, and I'd like to do a whole lot worse.
Believe me, Marshal, if I had a gun, I'd kill you myself.
- You would, huh? - Yes, I would.
Any of you men got a gun? All right, there it is.
Now you gonna use it or you gonna keep talking? Thanks.
Matt.
I'm sorry about all this.
He's lucky you didn't kill him.
Well, I'd rather have it this way, Kitty.
What do you mean? He'd rather be dead than have everybody know what a coward he is.
I want him to live.
Aren't you even gonna lock him up? No.
He's got his punishment coming for the rest of his life.
And he's earned it.