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About this Episode
Ride into the Wild West with "Gunsmoke," the legendary radio drama that set the gold standard for Western storytelling. Follow U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon as he enforces law and order in Dodge City, facing outlaws, gunfights, and frontier justice. With gripping stories and rich characters, this is the ultimate Western experience for fans of classic radio.
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Transcript
Gunsmoke, brought to you by L&M, the modern cigarette that lets you get full exciting
flavor through the modern miracle of the pure white miracle tip.
That modern smoke, L&M.
Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers
and the spoilers, and that's where the U.S. Marshall and the smell of Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke starring William Conrad, the transcribed story of the violence that moved West with
the young America, and the story of a man who moved with it.
I'm that man, Matt Dillon, United States Marshall.
The first man they look for and the last they want to meet, it's a chancey job and it makes
a man watchful at a little lonely.
Well, I'll talk a bit waiting for you, I'm all set up.
Oh, man, as well put away that Krippich board, it won't be playing tonight.
Oh, why not?
You found an easier mark.
No, but you're going to heightel it up the street, won't you hear the news?
Yeah.
Matt, Bell's back.
Bell?
Bell who?
Bell who?
Bell Ainsley, that's who?
You got a mighty short memory for a man who used to eat dinner out of her place two
and three times a week.
Well, she was a good cook, I saw.
Besides, it was three years ago.
Oh, Matt, you know Doug Gunwell, you were...
Why don't you forget it, Doug?
Um, is just Criter with her?
She's come back alone.
Well, that's too bad.
Too bad, why?
Just Criter's no good.
That's just why.
He was one at three years ago when he left here with Ernie's wanted even more now here.
Take a look at this bulletin from which it's all.
Hold up with the Stockman State Bank, wounding two bank guards.
Santa Fe, three counts of highway robbery.
Lord's Burg, hold up at the Butterfield Stage, driver, kill.
All right, so just Criter's a thieving killer.
Everybody knows that?
Well, that's why I'd like to see him come back.
Mr. Dylan?
Yeah, what is it, Chester?
Guess who is back, Mr. Dylan?
I already know, Chester.
Yeah, but that ain't all she's...
Chester, if one more person comes in here and tells me about Bellings, Lisa, help me out.
Well...
You're what, Matt?
Bell.
She was right outside, I was gonna say.
Well, come on.
Come on, Chester, I'll buy you beer.
Well, I...
Gosh, well, I'll see you later, Mr. Dylan.
How are you, Matt?
I'm fine, Bell.
Are you?
Well, a little older.
Are you a visitor or are you?
I don't know, Stan.
Well, I'm Stan.
It's a town to let me.
Uh, what about just Criter?
Where is he, Bell?
I don't know.
And I don't care.
I left him in Durango.
I'm through with him, Matt.
I see.
I wanna stay here with my father.
He's getting old and my kid's sister, Phyllis.
Well, she's grown into a young woman since I went away.
And pretty better on Stan when it comes to you.
Uh, she'll get over it.
Everybody will.
If you'll help me, Matt.
Help you?
Three months after I left, I came back, if you remember.
And I found the good people of Dodge had already tried and condemned me.
What could I do but go back to guess?
Well, you chose to run off with him in the first place.
Sure.
Who knew whether I had?
Who bothered to ask?
You, anybody?
What are you saying?
Matt, I rode out of Dodge thrown across the back of Jess Criter's saddle,
with a gag in my mouth and my hands tied.
Well, what didn't you tell somebody that?
Who'd have believed it?
But he didn't keep your hands tied for three years, Bill.
Matt, a woman has to have somebody.
Somebody or one, sir.
And nobody here did.
The bad as he was, Jess was my man.
Yeah.
Well, what do you want me to do, Bill?
Just tell people, that's all.
If you believe me, just tell them how it happened.
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Hello, man.
Hi, evening, kidding.
Oh, where'd you get all the crowd?
A trail herds in.
The bar doubled D from the panhandle.
Huh?
I, uh, I understand an old friend of yours came back last week.
You know, a man tips his hat twice to a woman around here, and he's married.
Is that really all you did, Matt?
Tip your hat twice?
Yeah, just about.
Have you talked about?
I'm passing.
I heard a story.
You believe it, Matt?
That's possible.
It's kind of a thing just right here and do.
I don't know for sure.
Well, if it did happen that way, and she's left him for good,
and I guess maybe she's got some sympathy coming to her?
Yeah.
She sure didn't get much at home?
What do you mean?
Well, she moved back in at the ranch.
Yeah, so I heard.
She was all right with her father, probably on a kind of a cooking.
Oh, you remember her cooking, Matt?
I remember all of my naensely well enough.
He worked both those girls after death.
Well, anyway, I guess her sister really raised Kane.
Well, I figured out it happened.
She made it, Bella, since the night she ran away with Criter,
was taken away.
But I didn't think she'd carry it so far.
What do you mean?
Fill us left the ranch yesterday and moved into town, Matt.
She's got a room over at the Dodge House.
What?
Uh-huh.
A 15-year-old kid living here alone?
Yeah.
I know.
I'll go see her and talk to her cooking.
But I don't think it'll do any good.
Oh, yeah.
Well, could you even, Marshall, Chester?
Are you dove-ing?
Some of my guests been kicking up their heels, have they?
Uh, dove-ing, I understand that the youngest Ainsley girl
full us took a room here yesterday, is that right?
Yeah, she certainly did.
I want to get away from that environment, or I can.
And I can't say I blame her, Marshall.
And now, if my sister had been capporting around for three years
with a cutthroat like Jess Criter, I...
Dove-ing.
Would you mind telling the girl that I'd like to talk to her?
And I can't very well do that, Marshall.
Oh, why not?
Of course, she up and left this evening.
Why?
Yep.
I've already let the room somebody else.
She said she's leaving the country and wasn't coming back.
Leaving the country?
Well, was she alone?
Well, now she walked out alone, but...
I kind of had the impression there was some man waiting for her outside.
And you let her go?
Well, there was nothing I could do about it.
Well, you could have told somebody, or family, or me.
She's only 15, dove.
Well, that's grown up the way I look at it.
Anyway, I figured it's just another case like our sister, Belle.
It's your ain't none of my responsibility.
Just her and I settled up and rode out to the Ainsley Ranch,
or a homestead it was actually a broken back spread
with a flinty range and short water.
When we got there, we sat and talked with Belle and her father,
or polite and formal like.
And nobody's saying much of what they meant.
Just to keep looking at me funny, because I didn't mention young Phyllis,
but I'd decided against that two minutes after we walked in.
And I still hadn't said anything when we left.
Belle came out of the yard with us.
It was nice of you to ride out, Matt, and Chester.
Well, I'm nobody else in town's even been near the place.
Now, there's slow people to change, Belle, and take some of what?
And I guess they've got to get over feeling kind of awkward around her, I guess.
Well, it's not only the outside as you feel awkward around me.
Oh.
Well, I guess you wondered where Phyllis was.
She's moved out, Matt.
She took a room in town.
Well, she'll get over there.
Girl can be pretty flighty at that age.
I suppose so.
Well, thanks for coming out.
Sure.
You ready to ride, Chester?
Yes, sir.
We'll see you again, Belle.
I hope so.
Good night, Matt.
Good night, Chester.
Good night.
What you're doing?
You didn't say one word about Phyllis.
Wait a minute, Chester.
We're going to ride away from here.
No, no.
But we're coming back later tonight.
What?
Didn't you know the saw they acted?
The old man, Ainsley, was scared to death.
And Belle was jumpy as a young coat.
Well, I didn't notice that.
Belle didn't come back home alone, Chester.
Just craters around somewhere.
Why don't you live modern?
Live modern.
Live, live modern.
Change to Elinem.
Yes, live modern.
Live modern.
Live, live modern.
Change to Elinem.
Yes, live modern.
Smoke modern.
Smoke Elinem.
Enjoy a modern cigarette.
Elinem gives you the full, exciting flavor of today's finest tobacco.
No other cigarette planar filter gives you the flavor you get
through the modern miracle of the Elinem miracle tip.
Through the pure white miracle tip,
Elinem tastes richer.
Smoke's cleaner.
Draws easier.
So light up.
Free up.
Let your taste come alive.
Modern.
Smoke Elinem.
Make today your big red letter day and start to live the modern way.
Live, live, live modern.
Get Elinem today.
Live, live, live modern.
Live, live, live modern.
Live, live, live modern.
You think your pride is right there in the house tonight,
when we wasn't going?
No, I couldn't have been, Chester.
There's no place for him to hide.
Probably hold up in the barn.
We'll look there first.
There's a ladder and a burning inside.
Yeah.
Now you wait here and keep me covered.
I'll etch up to the door and then go in fast.
You'll be careful.
Crider?
Jess?
Come on in, Chester.
He ain't here?
Nobody has been.
You see that blanket on that straw there?
It's made up for a bed.
Well, maybe he's up at the house now.
I don't think so.
The only horse in here is that old spevon marinesly uses on the bookboard.
Jess, Crider, to have the best moniker lay his hands on.
Maybe the two of them got spooked up and made a run for it.
I may be, but I don't think so.
Get your hands up, man.
You two, Chester.
Jess?
Jess?
Forget it, Bone.
He's too far away by now to hear you.
What are you talking about?
It's like a look around.
Didn't you have a couple of horses in here?
We sure we did.
Now don't move.
Either one of you.
Hey, Gon.
Jess.
Jess!
You might as well save your breath, Bone.
He took both saddles and the packs.
You know where he went?
I don't guess.
Where?
When's the last time he saw him this evening?
Just before dark.
I brought him out some coffee.
He said he was going to try to sleep.
Matt, where'd he go?
Tell me.
There's not much point in holding a gun on us.
Stay back, Matt.
Let's have it, Bone.
No.
Thanks.
Oh, no.
Man can breathe a might easier without that thing starting him in the face.
What's happened to Jess?
Tell me.
What do you care?
You left him, Andrew.
You said you hadn't.
Oh, I only came and told you that so you wouldn't get suspicious.
Jess caught a bullet and that hold up at Elko.
It was bothering him.
We had to find a place to stay for a while.
So you brought him home to the family, huh?
And unless in a week your kid's sister ran away from home.
She didn't run away.
I send her into town.
And why?
What's the difference?
Why?
Because Jess was bothering her, is that it?
What do you say?
He's always been known for it, Bone.
Was that the reason?
Oh, right.
That was the reason.
She's my sister, Matt.
And she's only 15.
And Jess is your man.
Isn't that what you told me when you came to my office?
Sure, that's what I told you, but never mind that.
Now, I want to know what's happened to Jess.
The same thing had happened to Phyllis, I guess.
She checked out of the dodge house this evening, Bone.
She said she was leaving the country for good.
What?
A man was waiting for her outside.
And Jess cried her left here with two horses.
Get him, Matt.
Go after him and get him.
You know where he might be.
Of course I know.
I know everything about him.
I've had three years to learn.
Have a night.
All right, then, where is he?
He'll only ride at night.
He'll stop at Sun Up.
There's an abandoned shack about a mile west
to where a little deer creek runs into the arcane.
Yeah, I know the place.
Well, that's where he'll be.
We've used it before.
We'll stop there on our way in.
All right, Bill.
That business about your hands being tied,
being thrown across the back of Criter's settle.
That part was true, Matt.
All right, Bill.
Come on, Jess, let's ride.
Go ahead.
You might not come out of that shack all names, do you?
Hey, well, Chester, they just got here.
Those horses are still sweating.
They won't leave them standing there, subtle for long.
Well, it wouldn't be too hard a chore to slip up through that pump thick at the back.
No.
If he fights, I don't want the girl in it, when it just wadily comes out.
And I've gone if I can understand women at all, unless you don't.
I've had the same trouble myself a time I choose, just to.
But why would that nice young girl want to go running off of them murdering out all
like Jess Crider?
Maybe it's more a matter of hitting back at her sister.
She's let her hate for Bella build up till it's driven her half crazy, I guess.
Somebody's coming out.
It's him.
Yeah, easy now.
We'll just let him get clear of the cabin.
You stay down, though.
All right, hold it, Crider.
You're under arrest.
He's going for his gun.
Now, let's go away.
OK, Chester.
You know, he looks like maybe he got out of hangin'.
Yeah.
You killed him!
Why should you kill him?
Why?
Do you know what you've done?
I know, fellas.
Oh, no, no, you don't.
Yes, I do.
I've kept you from making an even bigger fool of yourself than you already have.
Who are you saying?
I love him.
We were going to be married.
Well, we were.
fellas, you better go home and talk to Belle about that.
Oh, Belle.
I'll never say a word to her again as long as I live.
Now, you listen to me, fellas.
You've got to get rid of that hate of yours.
If you don't, it's going to ruin your life for good.
Now, you go home and you talk to Belle and you listen to what she's got to say before
you judge her.
No, I won't go back.
Yes, you will.
I can't.
Not now.
Nobody will ever know about this, fellas.
I promise you.
Just Criter was alone when I found him.
Now, there's your horse, and he's still settled.
I can't.
I don't want to.
I know what you need, young lady.
You see that plum bush over there?
Well, I'm going to cut me a switch off of that, and if you're not out of here in one minute...
You shouldn't.
No, I wouldn't.
But you just watch me.
A marshal?
Yeah.
I've been thinking, marshal.
Maybe I'll go home after all.
In a moment, our star, William Conrad.
Learn more now, earn more later.
That's a motto CBS Radio wishes every college student would paste inside his or her wallet.
A lot of those collegiate wallets are a good deal fighter than usual these days thanks to summertime jobs.
And as a result, quite a few young men and women are finding themselves tempted to forget about school this fall and keep on with that job.
This isn't such a smart idea as it may seem.
It's a plain and simple fact that dropouts from college are less likely to find and keep better paying jobs.
Quit school before you finished, and you're not only cutting down on your chances for a really good job.
You're also throwing away thousands of dollars of possible future income.
Finish college, get all the education possible, and your lifetime income is many thousands of dollars higher.
America needs well-educated young men and women, and the rewards are sure.
So if you're wavering now that school's about to open, don't decide against your future.
Go back, and remember, learn more now, earn more later.
And now, William Conrad.
You know, when men on the frontier were able to prove up some good land, they were usually content.
But next week, after building a prosperous ranch, two lifelong friends nearly lose everything, even their lives,
because of some side meat and homony grits. And that was the West.
Gunsmoke, produced and directed by Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshall.
The script was specially written for Gunsmoke by Les Crutchfield, with editorial supervision by John Meston.
The music was composed and conducted by Rex Corey, sound patterns by Ray Kemper and Bill James.
Featured in the cast were Virginia Christine, Ralph Moody, and Sammy Hill.
Farley Bear is Chester, Howard McNair is Doc, and Georgia Ellis is Kitty.
Join us again next week for another specially transcribed story on Gunsmoke.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
