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Andrew Rines (Podcast Host)
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 have Gun, Will Travel. Original air date is December 14, 1958 and in this episode, Manfred Holt, a killer with nine notches on his gun, makes a deal with Paladin to see a son. Title of this episode is the Outlaw. Let's get into it and I hope you enjoy.
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Ned Alcorn
Not badly for McDelivery.
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Paladin
Mister, you killed nine men. I never heard anyone say you made allowances for your opponent's ability with a gun.
Narrator
Have gun will travel starring Mr. John Dana as Paladin. San Francisco, 1875. The Carlton Hotel. Headquarters of the man called Paladin.
Ned Alcorn
Good morning, Mr. Paladin. Good morning. Good morning, Mr. Paladin.
Paladin
Good Morning, Mr. Davis. I'm going to be at the Pacific Union Club. I was wondering if there's any mail form orders.
Ned Alcorn
Clerk, A room, please. Do you have a reservation? No reservation. This trip came up suddenly. You have references? I'm Ned Alcorn, president of the Citibank in Placerville. Here are my credentials. Oh, well, yes. Well, yes, of course, Mr. Alcorn. If you sign here. Excuse me, Mr. Palliser. Oh, wait a minute, clerk. Yes, sir? I want you to take a good look at this picture. Manfred Holt wanted dead or alive. $2,000 reward. This man might show up here. Desperado here in San Francisco.
Paladin
Uh, may I see that, please? Oh, I beg your pardon. I'm sorry. My name is Paladin. Mr. Alcorn. I couldn't help overhearing. Oh, this Manfred Holt. Wasn't he to be hanged last week in Placerville?
Ned Alcorn
Why, yes. He broke out of jail three days ago, killed two deputies.
Paladin
You think he's coming here?
Ned Alcorn
I think so, yes. He's killed nine men, and he'll come after me sooner or later.
Narrator
Why?
Ned Alcorn
Well, I was the chief witness against him at the trial.
Paladin
Oh, I see.
Ned Alcorn
His wife's living in a cabin up in Grass Valley. She had a son born. While the trial was on, Holt swore in court that he'd see the infant and then come after me.
Paladin
It'd probably be better for you if Holt was stopped in Grass Valley, wouldn't it?
Ned Alcorn
Of course. As it is, there's a sheriff and a couple of deputies chasing him up there. For all the good it'll do. This makes the fourth time Holt's got away from Sheriff Ludlow. Oh, that sheriff's not too smart.
Paladin
I'm no bounty hunter, Mr. Alcorn. However, I am available for a fee.
Ned Alcorn
To do what?
Paladin
Here, my card.
Ned Alcorn
Have gun, will travel.
Narrator
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Paladin
It was a long ride from San Francisco to Grass Valley. And I had a lot of time to think about this outlaw, this Manfred Holt, who had killed nine men. Nine men lying dead somewhere because of him. And his wife had just borne him a child. The strange sort of cycle. Near noon of the second day, I rode out into a wide meadow and suddenly pulled up short. Three men were spread out along the side of a knoll, their rifles ready. They were working towards a thicket in the middle of the clearing. I dismounted and walked forward.
Ned Alcorn
Give it up.
Paladin
Hope you don't have a chance. That blamed ornery fool.
Ned Alcorn
Hey, Sheriff, look behind you.
Paladin
What? What are you doing here, mister? I want to talk to you, Sheriff. I'm coming in. Where'd you come from? San Francisco. You Jake Ludlow? Maybe I am. That's Manfred Holt you've got boxed up over there. What do you know about all this? Man named Alcorn wants me to see that Holt has returned to Placerville. I was on my way to his wife's cabin. So was Holt when we caught up to him. Is Holt alone? Yeah, just him. Got a saddle horse and a pack horse. And you need any help? Not unless you want to save us some time and start digging his grave. He might surrender. You think I'd chance two days on the trail back to Placerville with Holt? He's already killed two of my deputies. He was tried and found guilty. They're going to hang him, aren't they? Hang, later, shot now. What's the difference? The difference between justice and murder.
Ned Alcorn
He's coming out. I can see his horse.
Paladin
It's a pack horse.
Narrator
Stop him, ed.
Paladin
Bring him down. That's fine shooting. Just fine. You missed him.
Ned Alcorn
It was too late. He was flying.
Paladin
You crazy eyed fool.
Ned Alcorn
What are we going to do, sheriff?
Paladin
Start closing in. I'll come in from this side. You think he's still in there? Better put that fancy gun in your hand. You might need it. Perhaps he was under the canvas on that pack horse. Who are you, mister? Name's paladin. All right, paladin, keep your eyes open.
Ned Alcorn
Sheriff, he's gone.
Narrator
Ain't nobody in these trees. Looks like he got away from us again.
Paladin
And what did you do to stop him?
Ned Alcorn
There?
Paladin
His shells. He was firing from here, and he crossed over to here where his horses were. And he. He climbed on one the pack horse. He was under the canvas. That slippery, murdering devil. Gage, you follow his trail. Me and abel head straight for his cabin. One way or other, we'll find him. His saddle horse is over there. You want him? No, he just slows up. Leave him be, sheriff.
Ned Alcorn
I'll.
Paladin
I'll meet you at the cabin. Look, paladin, you cross holes trail. Just get out of the way. There's 11 men I know. I've tried to beat him on the draw. They're all wearing marble slab hats now. The sheriff and his partner, abe, headed out for host cabin, while the other deputy, gage, followed the trail of the pack horse. When they were well on their way, I moved over towards the biggest cottonwood in the thicket. You can come down out of that tree now. Hold. There's no point in trying to shoot. You make too good a target against the sky.
Ned Alcorn
All right, I'm coming down.
Paladin
Why'd you throw your gun down first?
Ned Alcorn
Here it is.
Paladin
All right, come on down.
Ned Alcorn
How'd you know I was still here?
Paladin
You rode the pack horse under the tree and swung up a branch without touching the ground. How'd you get the horse to keep running? Slip a burr under the pack saddle.
Ned Alcorn
Sharp rock. Hate to do it to old jenny, but she'll keep going till she shakes that rock loose. You knew all the time, huh? What's your name?
Paladin
Paladin.
Ned Alcorn
Why don't you tell ludlow?
Paladin
He would have killed you.
Ned Alcorn
And you, what you gonna do?
Paladin
I'm taking you back to placerville.
Ned Alcorn
To be hung at a county fair While they hawk buttons off of my shirt as souvenirs.
Paladin
Let's go.
Ned Alcorn
Man ought to be let die like a man at the hands of a Man, what are you messing in this for anyway? The reward.
Paladin
Alcorn hired me to see that you don't reach.
Ned Alcorn
Alcorn hired your gun out of that quivering tub of gully mud. Can't even fight his own fights against you. Well, any man can't handle a gun got no business west of the Mississippi.
Paladin
All right, mount up.
Ned Alcorn
Yeah. Look, Paladin, Half day's ride from here is my cabin. My wife and my boy are there. I got a present to give the boy.
Paladin
I see.
Ned Alcorn
You let me get the cabin first. I'll go quiet with you to placerville. No trouble. You got my word. I'm not begging, mister. I'm offering my word.
Paladin
The sheriff will be waiting at the cabin.
Ned Alcorn
I'm going to give my son his present.
Paladin
You've never seen your son?
Ned Alcorn
No. He'd only been around three weeks.
Paladin
Then you ought to see him before you go to Placerville. Let's go.
Ned Alcorn
Of all leading filters cigarettes. Kent filters best. Kent filters best. It makes good sense when you smoke Kent. Kent filters best. Of all other brands of cigarettes, Kent tastes the best. Kent tastes the best. A richer taste and all the rest can't filter best. It makes good sense when you smoke him a volleyball sense? Correct. Oh, ain't this the country, though? I tell you, Sierra's not every place beat good country. There's a narrow trail up ahead going up over that cliff. That saves us in time.
Paladin
Okay, we'll take it.
Ned Alcorn
Wish my stomach quit barking.
Paladin
Hungry?
Ned Alcorn
You're chewing on this horse. He'd hold still long enough.
Paladin
Now, wait a minute. Here, have some of this jerky.
Ned Alcorn
Used to like jerky until I married uncle Sarah. Got used to woman cooking. It's pretty good. This here's a trail I mentioned.
Paladin
All right, you lead the way. Yeah. Easy.
Ned Alcorn
Yes, sir, A woman sure changes a man.
Paladin
It's too bad she didn't change your ways with a gun. You might have had more time together.
Ned Alcorn
Man has to be the way he is. I don't like somebody I reach for a gun. Just natural way you reach to scratch an edge, maybe. Watch your step. I see tricky ground.
Paladin
You can't go around killing everybody you don't like.
Ned Alcorn
Does kind of sound like I got me some bad habits. Still, it don't seem right to hold a carnival and string me up. I got a son now. Can't you just see him? Going around saying, my daddy got hung.
Paladin
How a man lives is more important than how he dies.
Ned Alcorn
When it's my finish, they'll be remembering most. Up ahead around that Bend where it gets steep. Narrow and steep. You hug the wall.
Paladin
Okay.
Ned Alcorn
If my boy could say my daddy stood up like a man in a gunfight. Got shot down like a man working a gun. Now that's something else again then. I wish. Take hold of that hole.
Paladin
I've sent you. Loose a sidle. Flip it.
Ned Alcorn
In. You hurt?
Paladin
I'm all right. I'll need help getting up. Drop me a rope.
Ned Alcorn
Falcon, you're down there on that ledge.
Paladin
And I'm up here. Come on.
Ned Alcorn
Come on, man.
Paladin
Get a rope down here. You see how it is?
Ned Alcorn
You know what I got to do. You're taking me back to hang.
Paladin
Hurry up, Holt. This ledge won't hold me.
Ned Alcorn
Very well. I'm real sorry, Paladin.
Paladin
I thought you never killed a man except with a gun.
Ned Alcorn
Holt. Holt, grab this rope. Palace.
Paladin
I got it.
Ned Alcorn
All right, mister. Come on up.
Paladin
Thanks.
Ned Alcorn
No thanks. Called for. You didn't turn me over to Jake ludlow when you could have. So you saved my life. You wouldn't have been down there if it wasn't you. Went off of your trail. Says I could see my son. Way I see it now we're quits.
Paladin
All right. Neither of us owes the other anything.
Ned Alcorn
Fair enough. You keep your eyes open now. On. That's my cabin there, Sheriff.
Paladin
And abe probably inside.
Ned Alcorn
Aladdin. I got to get in there.
Paladin
You will.
Ned Alcorn
What you got in mind?
Paladin
I'm gonna wedge this. Oh, now. Oh. Wedge this pebble between the shoe and the hoof of my horse for.
Ned Alcorn
Never mind.
Paladin
There. Now, you stay out of sight until let alone this man. Ride on.
Ned Alcorn
All right.
Paladin
Come on, boy. Come on. Oh, you finally got here, huh, pal? Oh, Sheriff, you're your man. Gage caught up to manford. Hold back near where you had him cornered this morning. He got him. No, no, he didn't. Oh, Gage did. He was still able to talk when I left him back at the clearing. Wouldn't hurt to get him to a doctor.
Ned Alcorn
Bad, huh?
Paladin
Well, there's nothing I could do for him.
Ned Alcorn
No.
Paladin
No, I'm not going nowhere, not alone.
Narrator
Not with holt out there someplace.
Paladin
All right, get our horses. We'll go together.
Ned Alcorn
Okay.
Paladin
What's the matter with your horse, Paladin? Ah, he's gone lame. I can't ride this way. You sure can't. Looks like I'm stuck here. Well, you better hide in the woods till we get back.
Ned Alcorn
Here we are, sheriff. All right.
Paladin
If holt gets here before we get back, use that gun.
Ned Alcorn
All right. Foreign.
Narrator
The sedan chair was considered the height of luxury. When you think of all the places you go and all the things you now do by radio. A sedan chair doesn't seem like much of a luxury at all. Tuned to a radio network like the CBS radio network, you can, in a matter of moments, travel to foreign capitals to learn what's happening to individuals or whole nations at a time. Because a network like CBS radio is made up of many stations, stations like the one you're listening to now, the smartest supper clubs from new york to san francisco invite you to dance to the music of their big name bands night after night. Because CBS radio's vast network facilities extend in every direction. You can laugh with the funniest comedians in hollywood or on Broadway, then move on to a serious discussion of space age problems, and all in the course of an evening. By all means, use that sedan chair if you have one. But if you want to go places fast, take CBS radio along.
Paladin
A little cabin sat quiet and alone in the lush green valley. There was only a dust cloud over in the west to show where ludlow and abe were tracking the other deputy. I turned and motioned holt to come in.
Ned Alcorn
There was some whopper you told.
Paladin
Look, we won't have much time before they find gage. You better give your son his present, huh, Paladin?
Ned Alcorn
Guess you and me now reached a point where we stopped counting what we owe each other. Nancered, Sarah.
Narrator
What's this I hear about you?
Ned Alcorn
Greeting boy? James lanfred.
Paladin
Oh, no.
Ned Alcorn
Say, don't be carrying on so. You know I'd be alone. I knew I brought friends here. Here's Mr. Paladin, Mrs. Holt. Won't you come in?
Paladin
No, thank you. I'll stay out here. You two have a lot of talking.
Ned Alcorn
To catch up on. That's true. That's surely true. Come on now, Sarah. You show me what you've been up. To. Sorry it was so long in there, Paladin. Takes a lot of talking for a woman to tell about bearing a child.
Paladin
Yeah, I guess it does.
Ned Alcorn
Good drinking water, ain't it?
Paladin
That's a good pump you got here, too.
Ned Alcorn
I got me a son, Paladin. Fine, strapping son.
Paladin
Did you give him his present?
Ned Alcorn
I sure did. I give him my name. Manfred holt junior.
Paladin
I see you picked up a present for yourself.
Ned Alcorn
Yeah, the gun. You know, it's funny, fellas, A fellow like me has just got to have one.
Paladin
Yeah. Let's get moving. Sheriff will be back any minute.
Ned Alcorn
I'm not going to placerville with you. Yes, you are, Holden. Not for that crowd waiting there in placerville. Not Until I find Ned alcorn anyway.
Paladin
He hired me to see that you don't kill him.
Ned Alcorn
I never would feel right knowing he's walking the same earth I am. I'd see he had a gun.
Paladin
Now, we've talked about that, Holt. He's not very good with a gun.
Ned Alcorn
Too bad.
Paladin
If you went on, there'd be other men, Some of them pretty helpless that you wouldn't like. You'd have to kill them.
Ned Alcorn
A man just has to be what he is. I guess that holds for you, too.
Paladin
That's right. And I was hoping it wouldn't turn out this way.
Ned Alcorn
Ain't nothing you can do now to change.
Paladin
You won't ride back with me?
Ned Alcorn
No.
Paladin
Let's move away from the cabin.
Ned Alcorn
You've been told not to come out till everyone's gone, no matter what. She won't.
Paladin
All right.
Narrator
Here.
Ned Alcorn
Don't try nothing fancy, Paladin swinging a shoulder of the lack. Man like me, you either kill or he kills you.
Paladin
I know.
Ned Alcorn
Of course I'm figuring to beat you. I'm awful good. That pump. When the next drop of water falls, we both fire. Can you see it?
Paladin
Next drop there. I can see it.
Narrator
Building up.
Paladin
Hold.
Ned Alcorn
Yeah.
Paladin
It'S coming. I'm sorry, Manford.
Ned Alcorn
Sorry was saving me from that.
Paladin
That placerville circus.
Ned Alcorn
Manfred junior, he. He don't like for his part, to get me. Man.
Paladin
Oh, man, he wouldn't let me avoid it.
Ned Alcorn
He told me it would be like this. That you might do this for him.
Paladin
For him?
Ned Alcorn
He's bound to come. We've always known that. He shared his life only with many respected. So it was with his dad.
Paladin
It was nearly dusk when I'd finished the grave and fixed a simple marker to go on it. An evening breeze was coming fresh from the high mountain, and in a half light, I could see Sarah, her son in her arms, standing by the cabin. Later, after I'd said goodbye and had ridden to the low hills that ringed the valley, I turned to look back again. Now there was no one in sight. But a trail of smoke came from the chimney, and I knew the woman was cooking the evening meal. And there was a wonderful peace in the meadowland.
Ned Alcorn
Welcome home, Mr. Paladin. Thank you.
Paladin
Good to be back.
Ned Alcorn
While you were away, the San francisco papers carried the full story of your killing Manfred Holt. And your reward.
Paladin
$2,000.
Ned Alcorn
Oh, and. Yes? Mr. Alcorn left this envelope for you. Here you are.
Paladin
My fee. Yes, that's what I came back for. I'll be leaving in the morning, Mr. Davis.
Ned Alcorn
Leaving so soon? Something important?
Paladin
Very important. I have two envelopes I want to deliver to a young widow and her son in Grass Valley.
Ned Alcorn
Foreign.
Narrator
Will Travel, created by Herb Meadow and Sam Rolf, is produced and directed by Norman McDonnell and stars John Dana as Paladin with Ben Wright as Hey Boy. Tonight's story was written by Sam Ralph and adapted for radio by Frank Michael. Featured in the cast were Lawrence Dobkin, Frank Katie, Ralph Moody, Joseph Kearns, Gene Landsworth and Sam Edwards. Hugh Douglas speaking. Join us again next week for have Gun Will Trouble.
Ned Alcorn
Sam.
Paladin
Sa.
Andrew Rines (Podcast Host)
And Doug.
Paladin
Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their.
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Paladin
Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu.
Narrator
Is that guy with the binoculars watching us Us?
Paladin
Cut the camera. They see us.
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Ned Alcorn
Savings very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance.
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Andrew Rines (Podcast Host)
Foreign. 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 join in the conversation by going to otrwesterns.Com Discord and don't forget to send us an email podcast trwesterns.com 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 again, thanks for listening.
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Podcast: Old Time Radio Westerns
Host: Andrew Rhynes
Air Date: December 22, 2025 (original episode aired December 14, 1958)
Episode Title: The Outlaw
In this classic Western radio drama, “The Outlaw,” the mysterious, sharp-witted gun-for-hire Paladin is drawn into a moral tale of justice and redemption involving Manfred Holt, a notorious outlaw with nine kills to his name. Tasked with returning Holt to justice upon the request of Ned Alcorn, a bank president and former witness against Holt, Paladin finds himself navigating the gray area between law and personal code. The episode explores themes of justice, forgiveness, legacy, and the code of the gunman, culminating in an emotionally charged confrontation.
“How a man lives is more important than how he dies.” — Paladin [14:33]
On reputation and justice:
"Mister, you killed nine men. I never heard anyone say you made allowances for your opponent's ability with a gun." — Paladin [03:07]
On justice vs. murder:
“The difference between justice and murder.” — Paladin [08:18]
On dying with dignity:
"Man ought to be let die like a man at the hands of a man, what are you messing in this for anyway? The reward?" — Holt [10:55]
On character and the Wild West:
"Any man can't handle a gun got no business west of the Mississippi." — Holt [11:09]
On parental legacy:
"If my boy could say my daddy stood up like a man in a gunfight... that's something else again." — Holt [14:47]
On compassion and inner conflict:
"How a man lives is more important than how he dies." — Paladin [14:33]
On concluding the conflict:
“Sorry was saving me from that Placerville circus.” — Holt’s final words [22:49]
Acts of mercy:
Paladin delivers part of the reward to Holt’s widow and son, reflecting his sense of justice beyond the bounty.
The dialogue reflects the terse, no-nonsense style of classic Westerns: thoughtful, at times poetic, but always direct. Themes of masculinity, fate, legacy, and the tragic nature of both lawmen and outlaws are explored with somber respect and clear codes of honor.
This meticulously restored episode of “Have Gun Will Travel” offers more than just action; it’s an exploration of justice, mercy, and human dignity beneath the surface thrill of the Western genre. The episode’s blend of hard choices, moral ambiguity, and respectful closure makes it a standout example of radio drama’s golden age.