Custer | Gunsmoke (09-22-57)

Summary

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Old Time Radio Westerns: Gunsmoke – "Custer" (Original Air Date: 09-22-57)

Podcast Host: Andrew Rhynes
Episode Release: June 13, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of the Old Time Radio Westerns podcast features the classic Gunsmoke radio drama "Custer," first aired on September 22, 1957. Host Andrew Rhynes introduces the story, which centers on U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon’s investigation into the murder of a reclusive old man, the suspicious drifter accused of the killing, and the moral complexities of justice on the frontier. The episode builds toward a poignant ending, connecting the story’s events to the infamous 7th Cavalry regiment and its ill-fated expedition under Colonel George Custer.

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Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

Setting the Scene (03:26–04:52)

• Matt Dillon (William Conrad) and Chester are camped out, joking about rough prairie life and longing for the comforts of Dodge City.
• Their conversation introduces old man Granby, a reputedly miserly, isolated rancher the two plan to visit.

Notable Quote:
"Civilization's made you soft."
— Matt Dillon to Chester (03:53)

Suspicious Encounter on the Prairie (04:52–08:35)

• Dillon and Chester see someone driving Granby’s horses, but the stranger denies knowing Granby.
• The man, Joe Trimble, behaves suspiciously and is notably unarmed, which is unusual for the region.
• Matt Dillon is wary but lets the situation play out, eventually insisting on accompanying the man to Granby’s ranch.

Memorable Exchange:
"Does a man have to carry a gun?"
— Joe Trimble (07:53)

Discovery of Granby's Murder (13:05–16:21)

• At Granby’s house, Chester finds the old man hung inside his own home; the house is ransacked.
• Dillon accuses Trimble of murder and possible robbery, but Trimble insists he’s innocent. Evidence is circumstantial at best.

Notable Exchange:
"You kicked the old man around and then you hung him. Then you tried to find the money."
— Matt Dillon (15:46)

"That's a lie. This is the first time I was ever near the place."
— Joe Trimble (15:56)

Investigation and Moral Dilemmas (20:06–22:34)

• Trimble is locked up in Dodge. Dillon and his friends discuss the weakness of the evidence.
• The Major from the U.S. Army enters, searching for a deserter matching Trimble’s description—blonde hair, scar on his left hand.
• The Major reveals Trimble’s real name is likely Joe Gould and that he's wanted for desertion from the 7th Cavalry at Fort Lincoln.

Key Dialogue:
"He's a United States marshal, that's who he is. A marshal? A marshal. Looks like you run into the wrong people, fella."
— Chester and Joe Trimble (15:05)

Jurisdictional Conflict (22:34–24:34)

• The Major demands custody of Trimble for a military trial; Dillon refuses, insisting on a civil trial for murder first.
• The case against Trimble is strong in suspicion but weak due to lack of definitive evidence. The civil court cannot convict him, so Dillon hands him over to the military.

Notable Moments:
"He tortured and hung an innocent old man and I'm going to do my best to see him punished for it."
— Matt Dillon (23:15)

"If a judge lets him off, you can have him. But not otherwise, major."
— Matt Dillon (23:09)

The Fate of Joe Trimble & The Custer Connection (24:12–27:00)

• Matt Dillon laments the failure of the law: "He should have died for what you'd done." (25:20)
• The Major reveals new orders: Trimble will return to the 7th Cavalry, which is preparing to march against Sitting Bull’s Sioux in Montana and the Northern Cheyenne.
• Discussion centers on who commands the 7th Cavalry: Colonel George Custer.
• The implication is clear: Trimble’s “second chance” is to march with Custer toward the Battle of the Little Bighorn (“Custer’s Last Stand”), sealing his fate in history.

Powerful Last Lines:
"My new orders are to send him right up to the Dakotas... The 7th Cavalry needs every man available. They're leaving Fort Lincoln soon on an expedition against the Sioux and the Northern Cheyenne."
— The Major (26:09)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “There's no place to spend it out here.”
  — Chester on hidden wealth in the wilderness (04:59)

• “You just stand right there real quiet, like.”
  — Chester when guarding Trimble after Granby's murder is discovered (14:50)

• “It'll catch up with you someday, Trimble. It always does somehow.”
  — Matt Dillon to Trimble (25:30)

• “Who's in command of the 7th Cavalry now?”
  — Matt Dillon, setting up the episode’s key historical twist (26:35)

• “Colonel George Custer.”
  — The Major (26:38)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:26–06:03: Matt and Chester camp, discuss Granby, and set off to find him.
• 07:00–08:35: First encounter with Joe Trimble and the suspicious horse situation.
• 13:05–16:21: Discovery of Granby’s body, initial investigation, and arrest of Trimble.
• 20:06–22:34: Matt Dillon, Doc, and Kitty discuss the murder and the nature of justice.
• 22:34–24:34: The Army arrives; Major claims jurisdiction over Trimble.
• 24:12–27:00: Civil trial fails; Trimble handed to the Army; Custer's march foreshadowed.

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains the classic, laconic, and hard-nosed “Gunsmoke” tone—a blend of wry prairie humor, moral seriousness, and deep concern over the limitations and ambiguities of justice on the frontier. Dialogue is terse, direct, and charged with subtext, true to the original radio performance style.

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Summary for New Listeners

This gripping episode of Gunsmoke, “Custer,” intertwines a suspenseful murder mystery with questions of frontier justice, responsibility, and fate. Marshal Matt Dillon’s relentless but ultimately frustrated pursuit of justice for a murdered rancher intersects with larger historical forces—the expansionist politics of the West and the tragic saga of Custer’s 7th Cavalry. The story ends with a powerful reflection on justice not always being served in the way one hopes, and fate catching up in unexpected ways, referencing one of the most iconic events in Western history.

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Transcript

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[Andrew Rines]

Welcome to the old Time Radio Westerns. I'm your host, Andrew Rines. And let's get into this episode. This episode is going to be Gunsmoke Original Air Date September 22, 1957 and the title is Custer. Hope you enjoy.

[Narrator]

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 a U.S. marshal and the smell of gun smoke.

[Matt Dillon]

Gun smoke.

[Narrator]

Starring William Conrad. The story of the violence that moved west with young America and the story of a man who moved with it.

[Matt Dillon]

I'm that man. Matt Dillon, United States Marshal. The first man they look for and the last they want to meet. It's a chancy job and it makes a man watchful and a little lonely.

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[Chester]

I got our horses saddled, Mr. Jones. I swear I'm so hungry I could eat a whole hog.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, all the hog. You get this morning's cooking on that stick right there, Chester.

[Chester]

Is it done?

[Matt Dillon]

Well, it depends on how hungry you are.

[Chester]

It's done. Thank you. That's hot, ain't it? Sure will be good to get back to Dodd tonight. Sleep in the bed again, won't it?

[Matt Dillon]

You know something, Chester? Civilization's Made you soft.

[Chester]

Maybe so, but I get mighty tired of using my back for a mattress and my belly for a covering.

[Matt Dillon]

Obviously, you were born for greater things than rooting around on the prairie and living in the rain.

[Chester]

It ain't been raining, Mr. Jones.

[Matt Dillon]

No, no, it hasn't, Chester, but it will. Sooner or later it's bound to rain. Yes, sir.

[Chester]

Wish we'd brought some more bacon. Say, Mr. Dillon, don't old man Granby live around here somewhere?

[Matt Dillon]

Uh huh.

[Chester]

Oh, maybe we could buy a little from him.

[Matt Dillon]

According to what I've always heard, old Granby wouldn't lend anybody anything.

[Chester]

Yeah. You really think he is a rich miser, like they say?

[Matt Dillon]

Oh, I don't know, Chester. You know, sometimes a man's entirely different from his reputation. I only met Granby once or twice. He seemed like a nice enough old fellow.

[Chester]

It's the same. I wouldn't want to live out here all alone with nothing but a few horses for company.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, well, he's used to it.

[Chester]

Yeah, but even if he does have a lot of money hid away somewhere, there's no place to spend it out here.

[Matt Dillon]

Granby's pretty old for the pleasures Dodge has to offer, Chester.

[Chester]

Oh, my, Gene, I hope I ain't never that old.

[Matt Dillon]

You know, at the rate you're burning yourself out, you never will be. So don't Worry about it, Mr. Dillon.

[Chester]

I'd be mighty quiet for a young fella who's free and still full of blood and stuff.

[Major]

Sure I do.

[Chester]

Look over yonder.

[Matt Dillon]

Huh?

[Chester]

Over there. That string of dust laying right on the ground there. Ain't that funny?

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, I've been watching that. It's not on the ground, though. There's a dry wash that runs along there. Think somebody's driving stock down it?

[Chester]

Maybe it's old man Granby.

[Matt Dillon]

Maybe. Why don't we go over and say hello, huh?

[Chester]

All right. Mr. Dillon.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah.

[Chester]

If it is old man Granby, maybe we might could just ask him by a little dab of bacon, reckon?

[Matt Dillon]

Well, there's no harm in that. Oh, That looks like horses on earth.

[Chester]

Yes, sir, I can see their heads now, but I don't see nobody driving them.

[Matt Dillon]

They belong a minute now. Let's wait here.

[Chester]

Yonder he comes.

[Matt Dillon]

That's not old Granby. Let's ride down and say hello anyway, huh? That's Granby's brand on those horses.

[Chester]

You must have hired him a hand.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, maybe.

[Joe Trimble]

Hello.

[Chester]

Hello.

[Matt Dillon]

You working for Granby?

[Joe Trimble]

I ain't working for nobody, mister.

[Matt Dillon]

Oh. And where is he?

[Joe Trimble]

Where is who?

[Matt Dillon]

Granby.

[Joe Trimble]

I don't know no Granby.

[Matt Dillon]

Those are his horses you're driving. They are? Yeah.

[Joe Trimble]

I ain't driving them.

[Matt Dillon]

What do you mean?

[Joe Trimble]

They got ahead of me in the wash there.

[Matt Dillon]

That's all. I see you cowboy.

[Joe Trimble]

Yeah, sure, I'm a cowboy.

[Matt Dillon]

Somehow you don't look like one. You don't ride like one either.

[Joe Trimble]

You're asking the questions, mister.

[Matt Dillon]

And no decent cowboy run another man's horses down a dry wash just because he didn't want to get up on the bank and ride around them.

[Joe Trimble]

I told you they got in front

[Matt Dillon]

of me is all. How come you're not carrying a gun?

[Joe Trimble]

Does a man have to carry a gun?

[Matt Dillon]

No, but I'll bet you're the only man within a thousand miles of here who isn't carrying one.

[Joe Trimble]

Well, maybe I got a better conscience than the rest of you.

[Matt Dillon]

Maybe. Look, mister, you've run those horses about five miles off of old Granby's place. You want to give us a hand, we'll run them back.

[Joe Trimble]

I'm in a hurry.

[Matt Dillon]

It won't take long. The old man might be a couple of days fighting him if we.

[Joe Trimble]

Don't you worry about him. I gotta get into Dodge.

[Matt Dillon]

We'll ride in with you afterwards.

[Joe Trimble]

I ain't gonna do it.

[Matt Dillon]

It'd look a lot better if you did.

[Joe Trimble]

I. I'd like to, mister, but I can't. I'm leaving now.

[Narrator]

So long.

[Chester]

Well, forevermore. Mr. Dillon. You're just gonna let him go?

[Matt Dillon]

Wait a minute, Chester. I'm gonna let him hear what lead sounds like.

[Daphne Forsyth]

Don't shoot me.

[Matt Dillon]

All right, then ride back here.

[Joe Trimble]

Don't kill me, mister.

[Matt Dillon]

I'm not gonna kill you unless you try to run away.

[Joe Trimble]

Why would I try to run away?

[Matt Dillon]

You just did. Chester, is she. Ride down the bank and head those horses off. Start em back up the wash. We'll be out of here by the time they're back.

[Chester]

All right, so, Mr. Dillon, you stay

[Matt Dillon]

right close to me. Fellow, don't you try anything smart. When we get to Granby's, if he says it's okay, then you can go wherever you like.

[Joe Trimble]

I don't know, Granby. I never been there.

[Matt Dillon]

And we'll show you the way. Come on, let's go.

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[Matt Dillon]

N Visit with Joe and Daphne Forsyth.

[Daphne Forsyth]

Joe. Joe. Joe, stop reading that paper and talk to me.

[Joe Forsyth]

I'm listening. Go ahead.

[Daphne Forsyth]

Well, I was talking to Mrs. Snider today. You know, she's the one whose boy had 31% less cavities.

[Matt Dillon]

Uh huh.

[Daphne Forsyth]

Well, she thinks that we should buy bigger savings bonds.

[Chester]

Uh huh.

[Daphne Forsyth]

She says that when people can afford it, it makes more sense. Oh, she says there are a lot of different denominations. They start at $25, but then there are 50, 100, 200 and even $500 bonds.

[Joe Forsyth]

Is that so?

[Daphne Forsyth]

And then with the ones we've already bought through the payroll savings plan, we'd have quite a nest egg.

[Matt Dillon]

Uh huh.

[Daphne Forsyth]

Are you listening to me?

[Matt Dillon]

Uh huh.

[Daphne Forsyth]

Did you know that the total accumulated compounded semiannual interest of the Series E Savings Bond will amount to 93 and a third percent of the original purchasing price?

[Chester]

Uh huh.

[Daphne Forsyth]

I thought so. Joe, what did I say?

[Joe Forsyth]

You said that United States Savings Bonds are a safe, easy way of investing.

[Daphne Forsyth]

I did?

[Joe Forsyth]

That they help guide our country's freedom and they're the best investment in America's future.

[Daphne Forsyth]

I said something else too.

[Joe Forsyth]

Oh yeah, you said that the total accumulated compounded semiannual interest of the Series E savings bond will amount to 93 1/3% of the original purchase price.

[Daphne Forsyth]

Well now, how did you do that?

[Joe Forsyth]

Husband's trade secret.

[Chester]

Oh man. Granby Shore can find his horses. All right now, Mr. Dylan.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, but I want this cowboy here to meet him. Now, we'll see if he's in a house.

[Joe Trimble]

I'll wait for you.

[Matt Dillon]

Get off a horse, fellow. Go on. That's better. All right, come on. We'll take a look. Well, what are you waiting for?

[Chester]

Nothing.

[Matt Dillon]

You go ahead, Chess. It looks like I'm gonna have to herd this man in. You've been kind of bulky ever since we ran into you, haven't you?

[Joe Trimble]

I just don't like being dragged around. I never did.

[Matt Dillon]

I just want you to meet old Granby. He'll be grateful for your helping run his horses back here.

[Joe Trimble]

I know what you think, mister. You think I was stealing them horses. Well, I never heard of the old man. I was never near this place.

[Matt Dillon]

So you told me. But you're here now.

[Joe Trimble]

I ain't afraid of you or nobody.

[Matt Dillon]

And let's go into the house. Come on.

[Chester]

Mr. Dillon.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah. What is it, Jesse?

[Narrator]

Oh.

[Chester]

Oh, Granby. He's in there.

[Matt Dillon]

What's wrong?

[Chester]

Right in the room there. Mr. Dylan, he just hang in there.

[Matt Dillon]

What?

[Chester]

Somebody went and hung him right in his own house. I don't want to see him no more. You. You go take a look at him.

[Matt Dillon]

Pull your gun and hold it on this Manchester. If he makes some move, shoot him. Yes, sir.

[Chester]

Now, you just stand right there real quiet, like I ain't gonna do nothing. You sure ain't.

[Joe Trimble]

Just because I happen to be in the country don't mean I killed nobody.

[Chester]

Mr. Dillon will decide about that.

[Joe Trimble]

Who is this Mr. Dillon, anyway?

[Chester]

He's a United States marshal, that's who he is. A marshal? A marshal. Looks like you run into the wrong people, fella.

[Major]

Here.

[Matt Dillon]

I'll hold your gun, Chester, and you'll search him.

[Chester]

I see. Turn around.

[Matt Dillon]

Take it easy now. The house is all torn up. He must have been looking for old Granby's money.

[Joe Trimble]

I was never in that house.

[Chester]

Ain't nothing on him. Not a thing.

[Matt Dillon]

All right, Chester. Here's your gun.

[Chester]

There.

[Matt Dillon]

Catch it.

[Chester]

Thank you.

[Matt Dillon]

What's your name, fellow?

[Chester]

Trimble. Joe Trimble.

[Matt Dillon]

Where are you from?

[Chester]

Up north.

[Matt Dillon]

Up north? Where?

[Joe Forsyth]

All over.

[Matt Dillon]

What are you doing down here?

[Joe Trimble]

Making a change.

[Matt Dillon]

Sure. Some cowboy you ran into told you about Granby being rich. Say you came here and you kicked the old man around and then you hung him. Then you tried to find the money.

[Joe Trimble]

That's a lie. This is the first time I was ever near the place.

[Matt Dillon]

I'm sure you did it tremble, but I wish I had more evidence. The court of law just might not convict you the way things stand.

[Joe Trimble]

You gonna let me go?

[Matt Dillon]

No, I'm not gonna let you go. I'm arresting you. And you're gonna stand trial. And I'm gonna do my best to see you hung.

[Joe Trimble]

I didn't do it, I tell you. And I'll go free too, you'll see

[Matt Dillon]

now there's something mighty wrong about you Tremble and I can't figure it at all But I'm sure gonna find out.

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[Chester]

Foreign

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[Joe Trimble]

Another visit with Joe and Daphne Forsyth.

[Joe Forsyth]

Hey, honey, I'm home. Daphne.

[Daphne Forsyth]

Drop dead.

[Matt Dillon]

Uh oh.

[Joe Forsyth]

What's the matter, honey?

[Daphne Forsyth]

Don't you speak to me, you. You Don Juan.

[Joe Forsyth]

Don Juan? Daffy, I'm no Don Juan. No habil Espanol.

[Daphne Forsyth]

Very funny.

[Matt Dillon]

Ha ha ha.

[Joe Forsyth]

Well, it was no prize winner, but

[Daphne Forsyth]

neither are you, you, you Lothario.

[Joe Forsyth]

I've often wondered, what's a Lothario?

[Daphne Forsyth]

I don't know, but that's what the wives on TV always call their husbands. I guess it applies.

[Joe Forsyth]

Do you want me to go out and come in again?

[Daphne Forsyth]

As far as I'm concerned, you can go For a long walk, preferably on a short pier.

[Joe Forsyth]

Well. Oh, come on, Daphne. What's wrong?

[Daphne Forsyth]

Your good friend Harry called and he spilled the beans.

[Joe Forsyth]

Which beans?

[Daphne Forsyth]

He said, quote, tell Joe he was right about those blondes. They're great blondes. That's what he said.

[Joe Forsyth]

Well, he didn't say blondes. He said bonds. Savings bonds.

[Daphne Forsyth]

What?

[Joe Forsyth]

Sure, I buy them on the payroll savings plan. And I told Harry he ought to do it too. Savings bonds have a guaranteed interest that pays back $4 for every three, which is a pretty good investment.

[Daphne Forsyth]

That's a pretty good story, too.

[Joe Forsyth]

It's true, so help me. That's why Harry's so happy. Savings bonds are great.

[Daphne Forsyth]

Well, maybe you're right. You wouldn't really fool around with blinds, would you? You're too faithful and sweet, kind and fast talking.

[Matt Dillon]

We let Joe Trimble dig a grave up behind the house and then we laid old Granby in it and covered him with dirt. I was pretty sure now that the old man had never had an extra dollar in his life and that he'd been killed for no reason at all. Down. Anyway, Trimble had done a pretty thorough job of looking for the money and he'd found nothing. On the ride into Dodge, I tried to figure out just what he was. He didn't seem to fit anywhere. He wasn't a cowboy or a hunter or a gambler or even just a drifter. Well, after we got him locked up in jail that night, Doc and I went over to the Long Branch for a drink with Kitty. And I was telling them about it.

[Chester]

How old is this fella?

[Matt Dillon]

Man around 25, I guess, Doc.

[Joe Trimble]

Oh, well, then he couldn't be running away from home.

[Matt Dillon]

He's a little old for that.

[Chester]

Kidding.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah. Well, anyways, he'll hang him. Well, I hope the judge agrees with you, Doc. And why shouldn't he? All I got so far is circumstantial evidence.

[Chester]

Well, then you should have shot him out on the prairie.

[Matt Dillon]

It's a good thing you're not a law man.

[Joe Trimble]

Well, maybe if I were, there'd be

[Chester]

fewer killings around here.

[Matt Dillon]

I doubt it.

[Joe Trimble]

You going up to Hayes for the trial, Matt?

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, I have to.

[Joe Trimble]

That'll take a week, I suppose.

[Chester]

How about.

[Matt Dillon]

Why, nothing.

[Joe Trimble]

Only you just been away for 10 days.

[Matt Dillon]

I gotta earn a living, Kitty.

[Joe Trimble]

You can make more money gambling right here in Dodge.

[Matt Dillon]

Oh, now, Kitty, don't start that again.

[Joe Trimble]

William.

[Major]

Good evening, Marshall. Miss Kitty. Doc. Major. I'd like a word with you, Marshall.

[Matt Dillon]

Sure, Major.

[Major]

Sure. Excuse us.

[Matt Dillon]

We'll go over to the bar there. I'll be back, Kitty. No hurry, Matt.

[Joe Trimble]

Doc's got a lot of money.

[Chester]

I'll buy you a drink anytime, Kitty. Well, that's the best offer today, Doc.

[Major]

I had to come to Dodge on other business, Marshall. But I wanted to pass the word to you that we're looking for a man.

[Matt Dillon]

Oh, the army, you mean?

[Joe Forsyth]

Yes.

[Major]

A deserter. No, not from Fort Dodge.

[Matt Dillon]

Where was he stationed, major?

[Major]

He was with the 7th Cavalry at Fort Lincoln up in Dakota. For some reason, they think he headed south. Now, I don't have much of a description of him. Just that he was a private, about 25, curly blonde hair, a scar on his left hand that fits.

[Matt Dillon]

What was his name?

[Major]

He enlisted as Joe Gould, but he's known to have used the name Trimble.

[Matt Dillon]

Well, he's right here in Dodge, major.

[Chester]

You what?

[Matt Dillon]

They got him locked up in jail.

[Major]

Well, that's fine, Marshall, but how did you know?

[Matt Dillon]

I think he murdered an old man who lives about a day's ride north of here and I'm gonna have him tried for it.

[Major]

That won't be necessary now, Marshall. I'll take over custody of him.

[Matt Dillon]

Then he'd be tried at Fort Lincoln for desertion. I want him tried for murder, and I gotta be there to present the evidence.

[Major]

Well, you could go up to Fort Lincoln.

[Matt Dillon]

No. Dakota's out of my territory, Major. Besides, this is a civil crime.

[Major]

The army wants that man, Marshal.

[Matt Dillon]

I'm sorry, major. He's going to be tried in haze first.

[Major]

He's still a soldier, even if he did desert.

[Matt Dillon]

Well, if a judge lets him off, you can have him. But not otherwise, major. He tortured and hung an innocent old man and I'm going to do my best to see him punished for it.

[Major]

I'll have to take this up with my superiors.

[Matt Dillon]

You better hurry. I'm going to Hayes with him tomorrow.

[Major]

I hope you won't regret this motion.

[Matt Dillon]

I won't, major. Not if Trimble is properly punished. I won't. I didn't wait till morning, but started out for Hayes with Joe Trimble that night. The trial lasted a week. Spirit, in spite of all the arguments I made, the judge finally decided that there wasn't enough real evidence to convict him. I even tried to make Trimble confess, but he was too smart for that. So there was nothing to do but bring him back and turn him over to the Army. I sent word to Fort Dodge, and the next morning the major himself appeared to take him into custody.

[Major]

Well, Marshal, looks as though you didn't have much of a civil Case.

[Matt Dillon]

After all, he killed old Granby. I know he did. But the. The law is a law, Major.

[Major]

Yes, men in the army, orders are orders. But I'm sorry your judge didn't convict him after all.

[Matt Dillon]

How's that so Now, Chester.

[Chester]

Yes, sir?

[Matt Dillon]

Bring Trimble out, will you? Well, I'll give the army credit for one thing, Major. What's that? Trimble and I rode back some 80 miles yesterday, and when we got here, he wanted to sit up and play cards with Chester.

[Major]

Well, there may be some bad men in the cavalry, Marshal, but they're all

[Chester]

tough on the march. Here he is, Mr. Doane.

[Matt Dillon]

Alley's yours, Major.

[Joe Trimble]

Private Trimble. Sir.

[Major]

You're under military arrest, private, and not privileged to salute. Besides, you enlisted as Private Gould, not Trimble.

[Matt Dillon]

Yes, sir.

[Major]

Report to the guard outside.

[Matt Dillon]

Yes, sir. Now just a minute, Trimble. Pop, You know that you're mighty lucky, don't you? You should have died for what you'd done.

[Joe Trimble]

I told you I'd go free, Marshall.

[Matt Dillon]

It'll catch up with you someday, Trimble. It always does somehow. That's all I wanted to say. Yes, sir.

[Major]

Well, thank you, Marshall. I'll be getting along.

[Matt Dillon]

Major, you said you were sorry that the judge didn't convict him. Why have you changed your mind, Marshall?

[Major]

Now he won't even be tried. Not for some months anyway.

[Chester]

Right?

[Matt Dillon]

You mean that the seventh doesn't want him anymore? Oh, they want him all right.

[Major]

My new orders are to send him right up to the Dakotas.

[Chester]

Huh?

[Major]

Seems that the 7th Cavalry needs every man available. They're leaving Fort Lincoln soon on an expedition against the Sioux in the Northern Cheyenne.

[Matt Dillon]

The Sioux, huh? I wonder if old Sitting Bull is still the chief medicine man with him.

[Major]

Sure he is. But at any rate, the seventh will be heading into Montana Territory now.

[Matt Dillon]

If they're after Sitting Bull's tribe, they will. He's always had a large camp over on the Little Bighorn.

[Chester]

Yes, I know.

[Matt Dillon]

By the way, who's in Command of the 7th Cavalry now?

[Major]

An officer I served under a couple of years. I never did care for him much. Colonel George Custer.

[Chester]

Foreign.

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Gun Smoke, produced and Directed by Norman McDonald Stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, US Marshal the music was composed and conducted by Rex Corey. Sound patterns were composed by Ray Kemper and Bill James. Featured in the cast were Parley Baer As Chester, Howard McNear as Doc and Georgia Ellis as Kitty. George Walsh speaking. Join us again next week for another story of the Western frontier of America in the 1870s on Gunsmoke. This is the united states armed forces radio and television service.

[Andrew Rines]

This has been a presentation of otrwesterns.com and we hope you enjoyed. Please take some time to like and rate our shows in your favorite podcast application. Follow us on Facebook by going to otrwesterns.com Facebook subscribe to our YouTube channel by going to otrwesterns.Com YouTube and send us an email podcasttrwesterns.com you can call and leave us a voicemail 707-986-8739. This episode is copyright under the Attribution Non Commercial Share Like Copyright for more information go to otrwesterns.com copyright have a great day and thanks for listening.

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