Gunsmoke: Overland Express

Around Dodge City and in the territory on West, there's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers. And that's with the U.S. Marshal and the smell of gun smoke. Gun smoke, starring William Conrad, the transcribed story of the violence that moved West with young Americans.

The story of a man who moved with it, Matt Dillon, United States Marshal. Marshall. A stranger named Joe Bodrie killed a man in Dodge and then got on his horse and rode 90 miles northwest.

He made it across the Smoky Hill River before his horse played out and fell behind a small knoll. Bodrie put a knife in him and settled on the wake. Half hour later he shot my horse off from under me and crippled Chester's and a slug in the shoulder.

When he gave up, he just threw down his guns and walked toward us across the ferry. His hands in the air. You think it's a trick, Mr. Dillon? I don't know, Chester, but if he makes a move, he'll kill it.

Yes, sir? That's far enough, Audrey. Now, turn around. I ain't know him, Marsh. No. You know, I'm curious, Audrey. Why didn't you shoot it up? I don't want to kill anybody, Marsh. You killed a man and died.

He went for his gun I had to. Some of the witnesses say he didn't. Oh sure, friends are his. I heard him. That's why I lit out. Man looks guilty when he runs you. Should have stayed and faced him.

Oh, what kind of shaker did I get in a strange town, Marshall? Everybody be against me. The law protects you if you're innocent. You'll have to stand trial now anyway. Well, maybe I made a mistake, but I'm still alive.

Yeah. And a long way from Dutch. Say, by Gris, you said, try to. How are we going to get back, Mr. Dylan? Well, we crossed the Overland Express Road about five miles back. walk to the road and wait for a stage I guess. Yeah but the stage don't go up the dodge from here. Well we'll take it into Fort Donner. Maybe the army will end to some horses

there and we can turn it back at Fort Dodge. Mush them. Yeah. Well I know you don't know me no favors, Marshall, but I never been arrested before. I'd be kind of ashamed in front of everybody at the stage. Well that's tough, Boudry. What do you expect me to do?

Only a little thing marshal me. The difference to you? Just don't let them know that you're taken me in as all. All right, Bodary, I guess it doesn't matter. Thanks. I'm not wearing a badge anyway, but you make one move and I'll hog tie you and you'll ride on the roof. You'll be dead. Well, it's a deal, Marshall. You'll get a fair

trial, Bodary. If you're innocent, you'll go free. Well, if it is a fair trial, I'm going back to California. I don't know why I ever left it. You come from California? Yeah. Hey, Marshall, look, is it all right if I let my saddle back with me? Yeah, sure. We're not leaving ours. Chester, I'll go with Bodring and get his guns.

Yes, Mr. Dillon. I sure do wish you'd stop closer to the stage road though, Bodring. Five miles is a long way packing a saddle. Go take care of your horse, Chester. Let's get out of here.

Yes, sir. The dog on shame though. That was a mighty good horse. Come on, Bodring. I sure hope the stage hasn't gone by already, Mr. Dillon. Why don't you get off your back and look down the road, Chester?

Well, I declare, Lucky Andre, it's a common. And it's painted bright red too, Mr. Dillon. What if they don't stop for us, Marshall? Road agents don't usually carry their saddles. The driver will notice that if he's awake.

Driving a six horse hitch ought to keep him awake. Yeah, but not sober. That's a shotgun, the messenger's holding. He doesn't need it. We want a ride, that's all. Where's your horses? Marshall, please, you remember what you said.

We lost them. You don't look like green horns to me. It can happen to anyone. That's for the one in the middle ain't even a hogs. Pick them up, Hank. All right, Barry, it's your treasure, Dox.

How far are you going? Four dollar. It's about 60 miles to four dollar. You're crowding us. That'll be 15 cents a mile. 15 cents? How much is that, Mr. Dillon? Uh, about nine dollars. Just a nine dollars apiece, that is.

And payable right here. All right. It's high, but I can't argue with you now. Here you are. Twenty, five, six, seven. All right, mister, get in. I don't know how the passengers are gonna like this, Phil.

You got room for a couple more in here? Anybody can't keep his horse or a walk on me. That's room for two, maybe, but not three. Oh, take a look for yourself, mister. Yeah, I guess you're right, Chester.

Oh, now, sure, I can't go. I don't want rotary on top. You'll have to get it there, Chester. No, I guess you're right, sir. But I think you thought it was not a charges list if I can't ride inside.

The Oberlin stage guarantees a ride, Mr. Comfort's the passengers' problem. Get in, Bodary. Yeah. I get fixed somehow. You've held us up long enough. You'll be a taste. They don't look like a judge, mister.

I'm not a judge. Well, it must be important, somehow. We order these men around. That fell on top there, cause you said. Doing? Well, let's just say that I'm sort of the boss of this outfit, mister.

What say you name was? I didn't say. It happens to be Dylan. Oh, I'm Zimmeh. Oh, man here called himself again. Well, I'm a rich guy, man. You're a shame, man. You don't give a long hoot what any hoot for yourself.

Dad's kind of crusting. But he's sober. That's more than I could say for the other two of you. They only wake up long enough to pull on that jug. They got and get drunk enough to go back to sleep.

That's not a bad way to travel if your stomach can stand it, I guess. Oh, hey, good much help, I was younger. What business you in, Dylan? You don't ask too many questions, you ain't got no manners.

Nobody's asking you, oh man. Good, good, good. I don't have to listen to you, it's awful. Now listen here again, anymore out of your mouth. I'll tell you a punkhead spoke me on tour. That's...

85, mister. Wouldn't you believe me? No, sir. I wouldn't. That's mighty old. You sure don't look it? I know, man. I wanna know it's mister. Let him send Roy, when he in car, come back to the Pacific.

Now who's doing all the talking? all the talk. Leave him be some or there's no harm in passing the time. Look mister. You may be the boss of these other colors but you don't run me.

Nobody's trying to run you. Let's take it easy. Hey, I don't pay him no mind or he just nervous about you. What are you driving that old man? Eh, we'll be in my administration by now, Arthur, and spend night there.

This hope would challenge him, Poom. I was telling him to tell all he had was fat pork. One practice is I never eat fat pork. So he cooked on... Well, then, yes, he helped his job to the mustard.

Ha! Hah! Onion at station was a long, low, hot made of sun-dried mud-colored bricks with a flat roof thatched and then sodded. The one building served as an eaten room in a daytime in a bunkhouse at night.

There wasn't much air inside, and after dinner, fat pork and mustard, Chester, Bodrie, and I went out to the corral for a smoothie. My gracious alive, I hate to think of sleeping in there. All those men, why, a fella could suffocate, and I'll bet that stock tender hasn't washed himself since he left home.

He said he washed his blankets anyways, just this morning. Yeah, sure. You know how he spreads it on an an hill for a couple of hours. Oh well that settled that I'm sleeping outside All right, just we just don't get through cozy After night your standing guard over buddrey here. I watch him the other hand. Well, I'm not gonna run away Marshall

You run once buddrey All right, I'll tell you something and maybe you'll trust me a little in Tell me what. Would you like to know who Zimmer is? Zimmer? He's that real Castifella. I don't like him at all.

He's always on the prod, Bob. Something rather like this. Wait a minute, Chester. Wait a minute. What about Zimmer, Budrey? His real name is chess Rine. So, well at least that's the name was under his picture.

Well, where was his picture, Budrey? In California, tacked onto a pole. Go on. Well, I think the reward was $500. Of course, ain't certain. You sure it was his picture? Yeah, Marshall, I'm sure. Heard a lot of talk about him in Sacramento just before I left.

What kind of talk? Well, like one time he rode in a stagecoach as a passenger and he was peaceful enough until some fellows on horses they stopped that stage in a canyon summers and then this year, chess Ryan, he pulled a gun on the other passengers and he disarmed him, whilst the boys

outside unloaded the treasure box they had extra saddle horse along the ride he wrote off with that's the way i heard it seems to me he went to a lot of trouble as sometimes the passengers give road agents as much fight as a driver and messenger chest to the field safe cuz they're inside and that's what chess ryan figured

what are you gonna rest in motion i can't arrest a man without cause-bodering you may be telling the truth but i don't know that for sure i can check on the summer when we get to fort downer but I can do the lens, keep an eye on.

Well, this stage will be a problem before it gets to Fort Downer Marshall. Yeah, maybe, but not without a fight. Thanks for telling me, Bodrian, for your sake, I hope it's the truth. If it isn't, you're going to be in more trouble than you are now.

All right, keep an eye on him, Chester. I'll be back in a few minutes. Yes, sir. Very good. Yeah? Out here a minute, will you? What's up, Mr.? I want to talk to you then, so...

Alone. Come on outside, huh? You go right in. Be right back, Hank. Say something that wasky for me. Right, Barry. What's on your mind, Mr.... How long you been an express messenger, Barryman? Two years?

Not finished any business of yours. You run into any trouble in that time? Some? Why? I just want to know if you can handle yourself and so... You want to find out? Look, Barryman, you know my name, it's Dylan.

I'm Matt Dillon. I'm the U.S. Marshal out of Dodge. Dillon. Dillon. Yeah, I think I remember seeing you there. Good. Now tell me this. You carryin' much in a treasure box of yours. The messenger who brought it as far as Pond Creek said it was $50,000.

Unsigned currency, mostly. Mm-hmm. Something up, Michael? Well, maybe. Tell me, what's the best place for a hold-up between here and Fort Donner? Mm-hmm. Well, then they expect... Man on a horse could keep hidden. Eddle, we were right on top of him.

All right. Tell the driver to whip those horses through. We'll have been as fast as they'll go. Chester will be on the roof to help you, and I'll sort of organize the passengers inside. Well, now there's going to be a hold-up, Marshall.

Well, I don't know. I don't know, but we'll play it safe. And, uh... By the way, Beringman, don't let on inside there about this, huh? Or, uh, who I am? All right? Okay, Marshall. Thank you.

Good night, Beringman. Night, Martin. Oh, Martin. Yeah. We got a jug of station whiskey inside if you want a drink. I don't think it'd do much good. I've heard of that stuff freezing solid on a cold night.

Hey, Martin. Return for the second act of gun smoke in just a moment. But first, backing up the great CBS radio news team election night will be UNIVAC, the new electric brain operating for the first time to bring you faster, more accurate, more complete election night totals.

November 4th, starting at 8 p.m. New York time, CBS Radio reports the election returns from coast to coast. Make CBS Radio your election headquarters to hear the trends, the color, and the mounting tide of results reported by Edward R. Murrow, Lowell Thomas, and the rest of the same great CBS Radio team that made convention reporting history earlier this year.

Now the second act of gun smoke. This morning, just after son up, the stage left Monument Station. It was ten miles to Willa Bend and twelve miles to the next change of horses at a small swing station run by a lone stock tender.

Zimmer or chess Rhine, if that's who he was, seemed nervous. Too nervous for an experienced road agent, but maybe he had figured me for what I was and I gave him the jumps. Anyway, I set next to him so I could handle him faster, if and when the time came.

We drove at an easy pace until we neared the bend, and then the driver popped his whip over the teams and they began to run hard. But suddenly he was pulling them in and I'm breaking them.

One moved by Zimmer at that point and I'd have killed a cripple. What are we stopping here sir? Hey, Travis! What's up? We had windragging couldn't you pee that poor? Alright everybody out. What's that in? Travel what's wrong?

The wheel's stuck. Can't pull it off with you in there. Come on, hurry it up. Get over there by Chester. Don't you worry about me, you keep an eye on me. Go on now. Come on.

What do you think Dylan? I'll let us jump to us by now, Barryman, while everybody was still inside. But keep your head up anyway. You watch the other side of the coach. I'll stay here.

Okay. It wasn't Greece. Why not? Sizzling hot. I have to cool before we can take it off. That drunken fool at monument didn't grease us on that, so... I'll take a bulwark to him when I get back here.

Well, you can grease now, can't you? I could, Mr., if I had any Greece. Well, you mean you haven't got any? Unless I render you down and make some, I get out of my way.

Well, have more of that, nope. Alright, I'll have to forget it. What are we gonna do? How about grass, driver? Hey, that's an idea. Wrap it around the spindle and go until it wears out.

It won't last long, but we can keep putting it on until we get to the next station. Eh, maybe all day, stop and ever have a laugh. Eh, why don't you green orange-ass-corile man out of fixers?

Alright, Pop, how are we gonna fix it? Cheese? Cheese? Yeah? Cheese! Cheese! We're fine too. Yeah, I'd might it's that. I suppose you brought some cheese along just in case, Papa. I brought it along to eat.

You're...I'll let you have it. Chinma carpet bag. Well... Oh, Gant's cheese worked fine and we left well of bend without more trouble. I began to figure a baudry for a liar, but... He just sat there, staring out at the prairie.

He said nothing. A few miles further on, as we approached the swing station, I heard a shot from the messenger and then the boatary pointed ahead. I leaned up and take a look. The station was a small one room at Dolby Huxley to usually corral a career, but there wasn't a horse in sight.

And out of the two windows facing this poured thin screams of white smoke, as the stage pulled the whistle. I saw two arrows and then it threw my asshole from the door. Look again there!

Let me take a look at that. That's all take a look, Zimmer. Where's the stock tender? They kill him. I just fired a place to just smold him. Who are those two men? I don't know.

But this one's still alive. That's the stock tender. But who are those two? I never mind them. They're dead. Scalp. You need to ensure most of the surprise. I'm sneaked right up. All right, Barryman. Let's get the stock tender out of this smoke.

Take his head there. Scalp, too. Me and even did never mind that just picking up easy. Alright fella, stage is here. Indians, come on trees. They scuffed me.

Never even heard of him. Ask them who those other men were. What were they doing here? They're leaving Bay the Mads dying. Order. Give me a drink. Chester, I got the water bag. Yes, you.

Don't you let the man alone, Dylan? Yeah, scallop three men stole horses. Thanks. Thanks, come at you for here. Here's the water, sir. Oh, thanks. Here, fella. Here, not. Take a drink. There we go.

Lord agents, those two held me up. They said they'd hide until horses were on his head and then hold up the stage. Had a partner on the stage to keep the passengers out of it.

What was his name? Their partner, I mean. Put my head down, mister. It's bubbling over. Dr. Tender's eyes clouded up and went blank as I lay his head back. Then there was a scuffle behind me and before anybody could move Zimmer, grab Gant, and lose him in as his shield he walked backward toward the stage.

The old man stopped struggling when he felt Zimmer's gun in his back and the rest of us just stood there watching. Helpless. First man's was a gun. He had to die. You gave yourself away, chess rind.

I take it, you're into this fool's nervous. Shut up. You, driver. Lay those teams down a lot of peace, and then come back here. Yeah, and I'll take the stage alone. He better do what he says, driver. He's scared enough to shoot.

Yes, I'm better. What is stopping for? Take him 50 yards, don't it? Can't do it. And wheels froze up again. He ain't going anywhere at that stage. Ha ha! Might as well give up right now!

You own fool! I never did like you get. Brian, listen to me. You've made your play and you've lost. If you give up now, the charges will be attempted robbery. If you don't, they'll probably turn into murder.

Who are you anyway, Mr. F. I'm a U.S. Marshal. Well, you're not a resident, nobody. Not unless you want Gant dead. You make a move in his blood of B on your hands, Marshal. You can't hold him there forever, Ryan.

The stage going west passes through sometime today. What'll you do then? He's right. That stage passes this station about noon. I drive it myself half the time. I'll take a something. First off, I want all your men to unload your weapons.

Line up and throw them in a pile there, one at a time. Would you even start to try anything and I'll blow a hole in the old man? You think you would, Mr. Dillon? He's so nervous now it's a wonder he doesn't do it by accident, Chester.

I get going on stand here, one at a time now, and use two fingers to do it. All right, man, you better do it, he says. Now, I had an AC next time. I'm Bodrey. Yeah? You're the only man on my start.

I started this. Pretend to join him. You trust me that much. Okay. All right, easy. Now two figures. Next, man. Ryan. Only right here, what do you think? Well, I'm not armed, Ryan. Look. But you know why?

That's too yellow, maybe. Oh, the Marshall's got my gun. I'm under arrest. He's taking you in, is that it? He was, till I woke up just now. I killed a man in Dodge, right? I don't want to hang me for it.

Now, more than we told you, you'd get a fair trial. That's much more. Got it. Yes, well, look, you haven't got much chance alone, Ryan. But you and me, we can disarm these men, throw away their guns and ride off on those horses without the coach.

You'd do that, Bodrian. I'll quit my job and run you down if I have to chase all the way to Oregon. I couldn't show up and dodge after this anyway. Well, I'll be watching for you, Marshall.

It beats hanging. Well, how about it, Ryan? Make a fool out of doing that. I like that. Pick up a gun, Baudry, get over here. I'm warning you, Baudry. Sorry. I figure I'll live longer this way, Marshall.

Yeah. Yeah, you holy old man, Baudry. I want a free hand. Yeah. I'll kill Grant quicker than Ryan was. Can he or you may try anything? You heard him. I heard him. Now let's get this over with.

Fast. Ryan, I want to tell you something. That's far enough, Marshall. All that. That gun in your hand, Ryan, you better keep it on me. You even glance at Baudry and I'll draw and kill you.

What are you talking about? You shoot me and Baudry will kill you from behind. What? That's right, Ryan. You walk back over towards the hustles. You can see I let you go. He tricked you too.

But I can still kill you, Marshall. Yeah, that's right, Ryan. You can still kill me. But I'm paid to die. I settled that in my mind when I took this job. It's only a matter of time. But what about you, Ryan?

You ready to die? I... I can't do this. I'm doing it, Ryan. I'm doing it now. I'm gonna walk right up to you and you're gonna give me that gun. I stopped myself. Don't you?

You should write. Let me have the gun. No. No. Did he hit you, Mr. Dolan? No, he waited a second to long. Work, Marshall. Fight. Oh, you worked. Yeah. Yeah, you did fine, Audrey. I'm going to remember it.

Yeah. Now, give me back that gun. You're still going to take me in? Of course. No, that, that don't seem fair, Dylan. I'm only a marshal, Bodring, not a judge. Oh. I'm not sure I wouldn't rather die right here.

Wait, Bodring. Now, I'll testify at your trial, and I promise it'll be a fair one, but that's all, now give me the gun. You don't make it easy, Marshall. My job's to bring you in.

Anyway, I can get you there. Better alive. That's right. Here's the gun. Thank you. The next day I turned chess Ryan over to the army at Fort Donner. The Colonel wanted credit for sending him back to California, and I wanted to be really.

Took us three days to write back the dodge. And the way we got to be real good friends with Joe Pudry. I wouldn't let him have his gun back. But even so, he managed to supply us with antelope stakes every morning.

I made him bar a Chester's gun. Gunsmoke transcribed under the direction of Norman McDonald's stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon U.S. Smarshall. Tonight's story was specially written for Gunsmoke by John Meston with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey.

Featured in the cast were Lawrence Dobkin and Lou Krugman with Vic Perron, Junius Matthews, Jim Nusser and Ralph Moody. Parley Bayer is Chester. Gunsmoke is heard by our troops overseas through the facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service.

Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, US Marshal, fights to bring law and order out of the wild violence of the West in gun smoke. Thousands of acres of timber are a fire in the Midwest, New England, far west, and southern areas.

This is a word of warning to all who may be in or near Woodlands. Take every precaution to avoid setting fires, with cigarettes, matches, campfires. Timber is vital to America's defense. Human lives and property are at stake too.

Hunters especially are urged to exercise caution. Any further damage may result in suspension of the hunting season, indefinitely. Clansick, assel, speaking, and remember, Ed Givergan and Charla McCarthy open fire on your Pawnee Vown Sunday nights on the CBS Radio Network.