The Man Who Would Be Marshal | Gunsmoke (03-18-56)

Summary

Old Time Radio Westerns Podcast Summary

Episode Title: The Man Who Would Be Marshal
Original Air Date: March 18, 1956
Release Date: July 24, 2025
Podcast Host: Andrew Rhynes

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Introduction

In this episode of the Old Time Radio Westerns podcast, host Andrew Rhynes immerses listeners in a digitally restored rendition of the classic Gunsmoke episode titled "The Man Who Would Be Marshal." This episode transports audiences back to the tumultuous days of Dodge City, showcasing the rugged life and moral dilemmas faced by U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon.

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Arrival of Emmett Egan

The story begins with Emmett Egan (Emmett Egan) visiting Matt Dillon's office under unusual circumstances.

• [03:19] Emmett Egan: "This the marshal's office?"
• [03:20] Matt Dillon: "Yeah. Come in, stranger."

Emmett reveals that he has deposited $50,000 in the bank and expresses his desire to take over Matt Dillon's position as Marshal of Dodge City.

• [04:08] Emmett Egan: "I want to be Marshall here."

Emmett cites his military background and endorsements from the War Departments, despite there being no current openings.

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Matt Dillon's Proposition

Initially skeptical, Matt Dillon assesses Emmett's intentions and character.

• [04:29] Matt Dillon: "I think you are serious."
• [05:01] Matt Dillon: "I see. Is this your first trip to the frontier, Mr. Egan?"

Recognizing Emmett's eagerness and military prowess, Matt offers a proposition:

• [05:31] Matt Dillon: "But on one condition."
• [05:35] Emmett Egan: "Yes?"
• [05:36] Matt Dillon: "That you hang around for a week, see what it's like. Then if you still want it."
• [05:41] Emmett Egan: "Oh, I'll want it all right."

Thus, Emmett embarks on a trial week to prove his capability as a Marshal.

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Initial Patrol and Building Tensions

Matt and Emmett begin their patrols, interacting with local townsfolk and observing the undercurrents of tension in Dodge City.

• [07:53] Chester Proudfoot: "Why don't you sit down and rest a spell, Mr. Egan?"
• [08:20] Emmett Egan: "Not very."

During their watch, they spot a farmer nearing the town who is known for his destructive behavior when intoxicated.

• [08:54] Chester Proudfoot: "If you call a man whose wife hoes a 10 yard patch of mealy potatoes a farmer, then he's one all right."
• [09:22] Emmett Egan: "Marshall, we've been hanging around this porch for three hours. I'm beginning to feel like a bum myself."

Matt emphasizes the importance of vigilance in their roles:

• [09:31] Emmett Egan: "You and Chester both are fighting to stay awake."

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Confrontation at the Long Branch

The duo heads to the Long Branch saloon, a central hub of activity and potential conflict.

• [10:05] Emmett Egan: "What's the name of this place, Marshall?"
• [10:06] Matt Dillon: "It's called the Long Branch."

Here, Kitty (Georgia Ellis) approaches Emmett, acknowledging rumors of his desire to become Marshal.

• [10:27] Kitty: "Rochester was in a while ago. It's true, isn't it?"
• [10:30] Emmett Egan: "Well, it isn't exactly settled yet, Miss Kitty."

Kitty probes into Emmett's motivations, leading to a deeper conversation about his military past and reasons for seeking the Marshal position.

---

Escalation of Tensions

As the day progresses, rumors of trouble at Moss Grimmick Stadium surface, heightening the sense of impending conflict.

• [11:28] Matt Dillon: "What is it?"
• [11:28] Chester Proudfoot: "Just I don't know for sure, but I hear there's some kind of trouble."

At the stadium, Leonard Bibbs (Justin) is found in distress, leading Matt and Emmett to investigate further.

• [12:25] Matt Dillon: "Something's got him scared half to death. I'm gonna go take a look."

Emmett insists on accompanying Matt, showcasing his willingness to engage directly in law enforcement activities.

• [12:41] Emmett Egan: "I'm going with you, Marshall."

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The Showdown

The investigation leads Matt and Emmett to a tense confrontation with troublemakers Gear and Bozeman.

• [18:05] Matt Dillon: "Come on, Chester."
• [19:07] Doc: "Matt."

A standoff ensues where Emmett attempts to assert authority by disarming the antagonists.

• [18:40] Emmett Egan: "I will not tolerate your insolence."
• [19:00] Doc: "That may be reason enough."

Despite Emmett's bold actions, Matt intervenes to prevent unnecessary violence, highlighting his commitment to measured justice.

• [19:26] Doc: "Wait, Marshall."
• [20:19] Matt Dillon: "Yeah, but I'm not generally sitting up waiting for a man to die."

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Resolution and Character Reflection

After the confrontation, Emmett reflects on the realities of the Marshal's duties compared to his expectations.

• [14:51] Emmett Egan: "I must admit, Marshall, it's not quite what I'd expected."
• [21:58] Matt Dillon: "He knows I can handle a gun pretty well in that part of the profession they don't teach in the Army."

Matt acknowledges Emmett's efforts and dedication, ultimately offering him the position of Marshal.

• [22:24] Matt Dillon: "Your week's up today, Egan. You want the job."
• [22:31] Emmett Egan: "Marshall? You ever been in California?"

Emmett expresses his continued desire to serve, hinting at future endeavors beyond Dodge City.

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with Matt Dillon reaffirming the harsh realities of frontier justice and the weight of his responsibilities.

• [23:41] Matt Dillon: "You know, there were a lot of ways for death to come to a man on the frontier. All of them hard. But next week, a man meets death the hardest way of all. At the end of a rope. But that was the West. Good night."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• [02:34] 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."

• [05:25] Matt Dillon: "I think you are serious."

• [09:31] Emmett Egan: "You and Chester both are fighting to stay awake."

• [19:35] Matt Dillon: "Quit talking, Bo."

• [21:08] Doc: "If that bullet had gone one inch to the left, you'd have died on the floor."

• [22:17] Emmett Egan: "Well, I can't complain anymore about there not being enough action, can I, Marshall?"

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Final Thoughts

"The Man Who Would Be Marshal" delves into the complexities of stepping into a role that demands both courage and moral integrity. Emmett Egan's transition from a soldier to a lawman underscores the persistent challenges of maintaining law and order in an untamed frontier. Matt Dillon's mentorship and the subsequent events highlight the enduring themes of duty, sacrifice, and the thin line between justice and vengeance that define the Western genre.

For fans of classic Western dramas, this episode offers a rich narrative enhanced by meticulous digital restoration, bringing clarity and depth to every gunshot and heartfelt dialogue. Whether you're a long-time enthusiast or a newcomer to Gunsmoke, this story promises to captivate and resonate with its timeless portrayal of the Wild West.

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Produced and Directed by Norman MacDonald

Featuring:

• William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal
• John Dana as Emmett Egan
• Harry Bartell as Chester Proudfoot
• Howard McNear as Doc
• Georgia Ellis as Kitty

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This summary has been crafted based on the provided transcript and is intended to give a comprehensive overview of the episode "The Man Who Would Be Marshal." For a full experience, listeners are encouraged to tune into the episode through the Old Time Radio Westerns podcast.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Emmett Egan]

Foreign.

[Andrew Rines]

Welcome to the Old Time Radio Westerns. I'm your host, Andrew Rines. And before we get into this episode, I wanted to remind you to check out our other western podcasts released daily by going to otrwesterns.com or or searching OTR Westerns in your podcast app of choice. I also wanted to invite you to check out our other podcast channel releasing non western shows by going to otnetcast.com or by searching otnetcast in your podcast app of choice. Now let's get into this episode. This episode is going to be Gunsmoke. Original air date is March 18, 1956 and the title is the man who Would Be Marshal. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[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. Gun Smoke. Starring William Conrad. The transcribed 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.

[Emmett Egan]

This the marshal's office?

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah. Come in, stranger.

[Emmett Egan]

You're Marshall Dillon.

[Matt Dillon]

I am.

[Emmett Egan]

My name's Egan. Marshall Emmett Egan.

[Matt Dillon]

I'm glad I know you. Chester Proudfoot.

[Emmett Egan]

How do you do? Oh, the purpose of my visit may surprise you, Marshall.

[Matt Dillon]

Well, if it doesn't mean trouble. It sure will.

[Emmett Egan]

I've just deposited $50,000 in the bank here.

[Matt Dillon]

That's a lot of money, Egan.

[Emmett Egan]

It's taken me ever since the war to earn it. I've been up in Chicago, Marshall, running cattle auctions for a man named Swift. But I'm through with that now. I'm gonna try something new. Marshall, I don't intend any insult, but if you need money, name Your price.

[Matt Dillon]

I'm afraid I don't follow you, Egan.

[Emmett Egan]

I want your job.

[Matt Dillon]

What?

[Emmett Egan]

I want to be Marshall here.

[Matt Dillon]

All right, say it out again.

[Emmett Egan]

I'm serious, Marshall. No tricks to this. I've been to Washington and the War Departments endorsed my application. But they tell me there are no openings. So I came to Dodge. I thought if I can somehow persuade you to quit, maybe they'll put me on here.

[Matt Dillon]

I think you are serious.

[Emmett Egan]

I am. It's simple enough. I'm tired of the kind of work I was doing and I want to try this. Something exciting.

[Matt Dillon]

Oh, I see.

[Emmett Egan]

What would you advise me to do, Marshall?

[Matt Dillon]

Go back to Chicago. You're a lot safer there.

[Emmett Egan]

Do you think I'm not qualified to be a lawman?

[Matt Dillon]

Well, you were on a gun.

[Emmett Egan]

I'm accustomed to authority, Marshal. I was a major under General McClellan. Took my first bullet in the Chickahominy in 62.

[Matt Dillon]

I see. Is this your first trip to the frontier, Mr. Egan?

[Emmett Egan]

It's my first since 67.

[Matt Dillon]

I still advise you to go back to Chicago.

[Emmett Egan]

No, Marshall.

[Matt Dillon]

All right, Mr. Regan. You want this job so bad, you can have it. As far as I'm concerned now, Mr. Dillon, there's very little money in it and absolutely no thanks. I've been a live target for every drunken bomb and glory hunter in Kansas about long enough.

[Emmett Egan]

You mean it, Marshall?

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah. But on one condition.

[Emmett Egan]

Yes?

[Matt Dillon]

That you hang around for a week, see what it's like. Then if you still want it.

[Emmett Egan]

Oh, I'll want it all right.

[Matt Dillon]

All right, then. We'll start right now.

[Emmett Egan]

I'm ready. What do we do first?

[Matt Dillon]

You all set, Chester?

[Chester Proudfoot]

Mine? Yes, sir. I guess so.

[Matt Dillon]

All right, then. Follow me.

[Commercial Announcer]

That whistling man, Bobby Haggart, really started something tonight. The Calypso boys join in. Ready, amigos.

[Emmett Egan]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Emmett Egan]

Chesterfield packs more pleasure because Chesterfield's more.

[Commercial Announcer]

Perfectly packed to the touch, to the taste. Chesterfield packs more more pleasure because it's more perfectly packed. Why, Chesterfield mild, yet they satisfy the most.

[Chester Proudfoot]

My gracious. Why don't you sit down and rest a spell, Mr. Egan?

[Emmett Egan]

No, thanks.

[Chester Proudfoot]

He's gonna wear himself out walking up and down that way.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah. You got a match, Esther?

[Chester Proudfoot]

See a red here.

[Emmett Egan]

No, thanks.

[Chester Proudfoot]

You dog. Sure ain't very lively today, is it?

[Emmett Egan]

Not very.

[Chester Proudfoot]

If I only had me a knife, I could do a little whittling.

[Matt Dillon]

Now. What happened to your knife, Joseph?

[Chester Proudfoot]

Well, it was about wore out, so I traded it to a small kid I know or a flipper.

[Matt Dillon]

Why don't you get yourself another one, Mr. Dillon?

[Chester Proudfoot]

I am so mean poor, I just couldn't stand the outlay at all.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, yeah, I forgot.

[Chester Proudfoot]

Hey, look there. Somebody hadn't already been town.

[Commercial Announcer]

Oh, where?

[Matt Dillon]

Who?

[Chester Proudfoot]

That fella coming up the street riding that sleigh back to old brood mare. See him?

[Emmett Egan]

He looks like a farmer.

[Chester Proudfoot]

If you call a man whose wife hoes a 10 yard patch of mealy potatoes a farmer, then he's one all right.

[Emmett Egan]

You said he shouldn't be in town. He can't be very dangerous.

[Chester Proudfoot]

He's dangerous to himself.

[Emmett Egan]

Oh, what do you mean?

[Chester Proudfoot]

Why, he gets a doggone drunk every time he comes in here. He can't hardly climb back up on that old mare. When he does, he usually falls off somewhere before he gets home and lays out there on the prairie all night like a dead man. A pure wonder he ain't been et by something.

[Emmett Egan]

Marshall, we've been hanging around this porch for three hours. I'm beginning to feel like a bum myself.

[Matt Dillon]

Now that's part of the job, Egan. Keeping an eye on things.

[Emmett Egan]

We call it keeping an eye on things. You and Chester both are fighting to stay awake.

[Matt Dillon]

Are you calling it quits, Egan?

[Emmett Egan]

Oh, no, of course not.

[Matt Dillon]

Well, then, let's go get a cup of coffee, huh? It'll be dark soon and we can start making the rounds.

[Emmett Egan]

What's the name of this place, Marshall?

[Matt Dillon]

It's called the Long Branch. Oh, here comes somebody you ought to know.

[Kitty]

Evening, Ma.

[Matt Dillon]

Oh, Kitty.

[Kitty]

How long you been sitting here?

[Matt Dillon]

Not long. Ah, Kitty, this is Emmett Egan.

[Emmett Egan]

How do you do, Miss Kitty?

[Kitty]

Mr. Egan, I.

[Matt Dillon]

Sit down.

[Kitty]

Uhhuh. I. I hear you may be our new marshal.

[Matt Dillon]

What?

[Emmett Egan]

Now how in the world.

[Kitty]

Rochester was in a while ago. It's true, isn't it?

[Emmett Egan]

Well, it isn't exactly settled yet, Miss Kitty.

[Kitty]

But you want the job?

[Emmett Egan]

Yes.

[Kitty]

Why?

[Emmett Egan]

Well, let's say I was bored with what I was doing.

[Kitty]

Sure, that's happened to a lot of ex soldiers. I can't stand peace times.

[Emmett Egan]

Me in particular, I guess.

[Kitty]

Why don't you reenlist? The cavalry keeps busy out here.

[Emmett Egan]

I tried that, Miss Kitty.

[Kitty]

You did?

[Emmett Egan]

Back in 67.

[Kitty]

67? Oh, yeah, Cheyenne and the Sioux were real active that year, weren't they?

[Emmett Egan]

Yes, they were, but not where the cavalry was.

[Matt Dillon]

Wait a minute. Are you a General Hancock?

[Emmett Egan]

That's right, Marshall. We took to the field for four months. We marched and counter, marched all over the field country, and then we returned to Fort Harker.

[Kitty]

Well, what was wrong with that?

[Emmett Egan]

All we did was burn one empty village, kill two young Cheyenne braves, both of whom we later found out were friendly. It took 1100 men to do that.

[Chester Proudfoot]

Oh, yeah?

[Matt Dillon]

What is it?

[Chester Proudfoot]

Just I don't know for sure, but I hear there's some kind of trouble.

[Emmett Egan]

Down at Moss Grimmick Stadium. It's about time something happened around here.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah. Now, don't forget, get Egan. When it does, somebody usually dies. Lots of trouble here, men. Where's Moss Grimmick, Justin?

[Chester Proudfoot]

Well, he ain't here, Mr. John. They say Leonard Bibbs there is the one who knows by fibs.

[Matt Dillon]

A little sod buster.

[Emmett Egan]

Yes, you.

[Chester Proudfoot]

Hey, Fibs, come here.

[Matt Dillon]

What's going on here? Fibs.

[Chester Proudfoot]

Inside, Marshall. Back there in the stall.

[Matt Dillon]

Oh, what's back there?

[Doc]

Bad, Marshall, real bad.

[Chester Proudfoot]

Don't nobody go in there.

[Matt Dillon]

It's real bad. What is? Who's in there? Fibs.

[Chester Proudfoot]

Not even you, Marshall. Not nobody. Leave him alone. I'm warning you. Oh, he ain't got good sense, Mr. Dillon. Oh, you something. It's real bad in there.

[Matt Dillon]

Something's got him scared half to death. I'm gonna go take a look. You stay here, Chester.

[Emmett Egan]

I'm going with you, Marshall.

[Matt Dillon]

Look, Egan, I don't know what's in there. It could be a crazy man with a gun looking for blood. It could be anything.

[Emmett Egan]

Action is what I came here for, Marshall, and you said I could hang around.

[Matt Dillon]

All right, but you get out of the way if there's any shooting.

[Emmett Egan]

I'm not entirely a novice with a gun, marshal.

[Matt Dillon]

No, but you're not a professional. E, stay at least 10 paces behind me.

[Commercial Announcer]

Right.

[Matt Dillon]

You see anything? No. It's Marshall Dillon. Who's in here? Come on, speak up.

[Emmett Egan]

Maybe he's hiding, waiting for you.

[Matt Dillon]

Well, he can't see me any better than I can see him.

[Emmett Egan]

You're taking an awful chance, Marshall.

[Matt Dillon]

You stay where you are, Regan. What? What's this? Chester, bring a lantern. All right, Egan.

[Emmett Egan]

What is it, Marshall?

[Matt Dillon]

Now that I have to kill?

[Narrator]

What do you mean?

[Matt Dillon]

We'll see when Chester brings the light.

[Emmett Egan]

Oh, he's coming.

[Chester Proudfoot]

Where have you found Mr. Dillon?

[Matt Dillon]

Hold the lantern over here, Chester.

[Chester Proudfoot]

That's your word. Oh, my goodness. Somebody's gone and Hung a man.

[Emmett Egan]

So that's it. Poor devil. Was this a lynching, Marshal?

[Matt Dillon]

Now, Egan, that's old Tom Sanders. He's been drunk for 20 years. I guess he finally decided to break a habit. You won't get any action out of this. I'll get it. It's been nearly a week. Enough excitement for you?

[Emmett Egan]

I must admit, Marshall, it's not quite what I'd expected. Somehow, the idea. Marshall was always busy doing things.

[Chester Proudfoot]

You mean gun fighting?

[Emmett Egan]

I've told you, I don't think gun fighting is necessary.

[Chester Proudfoot]

Yeah, I remember.

[Emmett Egan]

Any man accustomed to command should be able to control these Dodge City ruffians without much trouble.

[Matt Dillon]

I only draw my gun as a last resort. Again. And besides, you haven't seen any of these men in action yet.

[Emmett Egan]

I still want the job, marshal.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, I know.

[Doc]

Matt.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, come on in, Doc.

[Doc]

Say, Matt, you'd better get over the Texas trail. You know those fellas Gear and Bozeman.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, I know him.

[Doc]

Well, they've got that poor little Leonard Fibs at the bar there and they're trying to make him pay for their drinks. He's broke, of course, so they're beating him up. They're doing it real slowly, bit by bit. I tell you, it just makes you sick to watch it.

[Matt Dillon]

All right.

[Emmett Egan]

Wait, Marshall.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, what?

[Emmett Egan]

Let me handle this.

[Matt Dillon]

Look, Egan, Kieran Bozeman may be a couple of bullies, but that doesn't mean they're not dangerous. They are.

[Emmett Egan]

Are you afraid I might be able to handle them, Marshall?

[Matt Dillon]

Well, okay. Go ahead. Here, take my badge. Tell them you're a deputy.

[Emmett Egan]

Thank you, Marshall.

[Matt Dillon]

You gotta learn one way or the other.

[Commercial Announcer]

Where are you listening to Gunsmoke in your favorite easy chair or out driving? Oh, there you are. In the kitchen. Say you want to make whatever you're doing more enjoyable. Have a Chesterfield. Enjoy. Chesterfield's better taste and mildness. You see, Chesterfield packs more pleasure because it's more perfectly packed. A more perfectly packed cigarette gives you an open, easy draw that unlocks all the better taste and mildness of fine tobaccos. And Chesterfield, made by exclusive accuray, is more perfectly packed with an even distribution of tobacco from one end of your Chesterfield to the other. Firm and pleasing to the lips. Mild, yet deeply satisfying. Remember to the touch, to the taste. Chesterfield packs more pleasure because Chesterfield's more perfectly packed by Chesterfield. Mild, yet they satisfy the most.

[Matt Dillon]

Come on, Chester.

[Chester Proudfoot]

I knew you wouldn't leave Mr. Regan all alone.

[Matt Dillon]

Nobody look for us coming in the back door. And let's move a little closer.

[Doc]

Egan's facing him, Mr. Duncan.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah.

[Chester Proudfoot]

Oh, look at poor little Bibbs. They got him all blended.

[Emmett Egan]

What makes you think you can do this to a man? Is there no law where you come from?

[Doc]

We come from Dodge, Mr. Deputy. Where do you come from?

[Emmett Egan]

Are you Bozeman or gere?

[Doc]

I'm Bozeman, Mr. Deputy. I'm the one who generally does the talking, but we both do the fighting.

[Emmett Egan]

You're out of order, Bozeman.

[Narrator]

What's that?

[Emmett Egan]

I said you're out of order. I will not tolerate your insolence.

[Doc]

I'm not sure, Mr. Deputy. Are you saying you don't like us?

[Matt Dillon]

That's enough.

[Emmett Egan]

You and Gear will turn and face the bar while I take your guns.

[Doc]

You're the most doggone foolish man I ever saw, Mr. Deputy.

[Emmett Egan]

Do as I say.

[Matt Dillon]

Why?

[Doc]

Because you're wearing a badge.

[Emmett Egan]

That's reason enough, Mr. Deputy.

[Doc]

That may be reason enough.

[Emmett Egan]

No shooting. I'm ordering you to face the bar.

[Doc]

I guess there's no use Talking to you, Mr. Deputy.

[Emmett Egan]

I'll take him along here.

[Matt Dillon]

Hold it, Bozeman. All right, that's enough now. Go ahead, Bozeman. Try it again.

[Doc]

Wait, Marshall.

[Matt Dillon]

You knew he couldn't handle a gun. You know I can. Is that it?

[Doc]

Your gun against two of us?

[Matt Dillon]

Quit talking, Bo.

[Doc]

Don't try, kid.

[Matt Dillon]

All right, then, do's. My deputy told you. Face the bar.

[Doc]

Sure.

[Emmett Egan]

Sure, Michael.

[Matt Dillon]

Chester. Chester.

[Chester Proudfoot]

You want me to lock him up, Mr. Jones?

[Matt Dillon]

Here are the guns, Chester. Albeit Doc's. Maybe he can save Bozeman here from hanging. It's getting light out, Doc.

[Doc]

It generally does this time of morning.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah, but I'm not generally sitting up waiting for a man to die.

[Doc]

He isn't going to die, Matt.

[Matt Dillon]

I saw what that bullet did to him.

[Doc]

You feel guilty, don't you, Matt?

[Matt Dillon]

Wouldn't you, Doc?

[Doc]

Yes, I guess I would.

[Emmett Egan]

Doc.

[Matt Dillon]

What?

[Doc]

Well, he's conscious. Well, how do you feel, Egan?

[Emmett Egan]

Pretty fair, Doc. I've been lying here listening to you talk.

[Doc]

Well, you mean you've been conscious for some time?

[Emmett Egan]

Half hour, maybe. I wanted to get my head clear.

[Doc]

A few weeks in bed and it'll be clear now.

[Emmett Egan]

I guess I was lucky.

[Doc]

If that bullet had gone one inch to the left, you'd have died on the floor.

[Emmett Egan]

Again.

[Doc]

You were lucky, all right.

[Emmett Egan]

God protects fools and drunkards, isn't it, Marshall? Dylan.

[Matt Dillon]

Yeah?

[Emmett Egan]

I heard you saying you felt guilty about this. It wasn't your fault.

[Matt Dillon]

And I should have known what had happened.

[Emmett Egan]

But I heard you telling Doc how it happened. You faced them the same way I did. They didn't shoot you.

[Matt Dillon]

It's a little different with me, Egan.

[Emmett Egan]

How?

[Matt Dillon]

This is my profession.

[Emmett Egan]

I've handled enough men to be professional.

[Matt Dillon]

Egan, why do you think Bozeman did what I told him to do?

[Emmett Egan]

Because he knew you'd shoot if he didn't.

[Matt Dillon]

He not only knew I'd shoot, he knew I'd kill him. He knows I can handle a gun pretty well in that part of the profession they don't teach in the Army. Takes years and years to learn.

[Emmett Egan]

Well, I can't complain anymore about there not being enough action, can I, Marshall?

[Matt Dillon]

Your week's up today, Egan. You want the job.

[Emmett Egan]

Marshall? You ever been in California?

[Matt Dillon]

Not for some time.

[Emmett Egan]

I hear things are pretty active out there. I'll write you and tell you all about it.

[Narrator]

In a moment. Our star, William Conrad.

[Emmett Egan]

Chesterfield packs more pleasure because Chesterfield's more.

[Commercial Announcer]

Perfectly packed Chesterfield, made by exclusive Accuray Packs more pleasure because it's more perfectly packed Unlocks all the pleasure of fine tobacco Chesterfield packs more pleasure because Chesterfield's more perfectly packed Firm and pleasing to the lips Chesterfield mild yet they satisfy the most.

[Matt Dillon]

You know, there were a lot of ways for death to come to a man on the frontier. All of them hard. But next week, a man meets death the hardest way of all. At the end of a rope. But that was the West. Good night.

[Narrator]

Gun Smoke, produced and Directed by Norman McDonald. Stars William Conrad as Matt Dillon, U.S. marshal. Our story was specially written for Gun Smoke by John Meston with music composed and conducted by Rex Corey, sound patterns by Tom Hanley and Bill James. Featured in the cast were John Dana, James Nusser and Harry Bartel. Harley Bear is Chester, Howard McNear is Doc and Georgia Ellis is Kitty. Smokers.

[Commercial Announcer]

This is it.

[Narrator]

L and M filters so good to your taste so quick on the draw.

[Commercial Announcer]

Make today your big red letter day. Your L and M red letter day. Superior taste and filter.

[Narrator]

It's the miracle tip.

[Commercial Announcer]

Make today your big red letter day. Change to L and M today L.

[Emmett Egan]

And M so good to your taste.

[Narrator]

So quick on the draw Get L and M today Relax with L and.

[Commercial Announcer]

M so good to your taste so.

[Narrator]

Quick on the draw. Join us again next week for another specially transcribed story on gun smoke.

[Matt Dillon]

Foreign.

[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.

[Matt Dillon]

Sam.