Trail For Willie the Mouse | Dr. Sixgun (03-27-55)

Summary

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Old Time Radio Westerns: "Trail For Willie the Mouse" | Dr. Sixgun (03-27-55)

Podcast: Old Time Radio Westerns
Host: Andrew Rhynes
Episode Air Date: December 26, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of Dr. Sixgun, "Trail For Willie the Mouse," immerses listeners in a comedic yet poignant tale set in the chaotic world of an Old West saloon. The drama unfolds when an unlikely incident—the death of a white pet mouse, Willie—spirals into a full-blown town controversy, challenging notions of justice, loyalty, and grief. Through the eyes of Pablo, the gypsy peddler, and his clever raven Midnight, the story explores the weight even the smallest life can hold in a community longing for companionship and fairness amid the wild unpredictability of frontier life.

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Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Setting the Scene—Frontier Justice and the Cast

• [03:12] Pablo’s Introduction: Pablo, the wandering gypsy, reflects on the extremes of justice in the Territory—a place where judgments are either swift or absent.
• [03:54] We meet O’Shea, the sardonic saloon owner, Piney the formidable cook, and Dr. Sixgun himself. A mouse infestation in the kitchen sets the comedic tone.

2. A Bet and Midnight’s Prowess

• [07:04] Pablo proposes using his raven, Midnight, to clear out the mice, challenging O’Shea to a $5 wager.
• [08:50] Midnight, to everyone’s amazement, catches a mouse, earning Pablo the wager and impressing the skeptical regulars.
  Memorable moment:
  - "If Pablo claims that the moon's in your rain barrel and he's willing to put money on it, that's where the moon is going to be." – O'Shea [09:05]

3. Enter Willie the Mouse and Brazos Charlie

• [09:55] The saloon is crowded with rowdy Texas cowhands. Brazos Charlie introduces his unusual companion—a white mouse named Willie, whom he treats as a traveling friend.
• [12:21] The jovial tone shifts when Willie is found dead, apparently from a wound similar to those inflicted by Midnight.

4. Grief, Accusation, and Suspicion

• [13:26] The next morning, a mourning Brazos has Willie buried “natural as life” by the undertaker, highlighting the mouse’s significance as more than just a companion.
• [14:22] Another mouse is found dead with a similar wound, escalating suspicions against Midnight the raven. Key Quote:
  - "Now just a minute, Brazier. Just like my Willie. I seen it with my own eyes this time. Right in the head with that beak. That's the way my pal Willie got it." – Brazos Charlie [14:37]

5. The Town Divided—Talk of Justice

• [19:34] The town is split: Texas cowhands call for retribution against Midnight, while locals argue for reason and lack of evidence.
• [20:47] Tensions reach absurd heights, including a bar brawl and warning shots aimed at Pablo and Midnight. Notable Exchange:
  - "Would they seriously try to revenge themselves... Over a white mouse?" – Pablo [21:34] - "When you've been running a saloon as long as I have, you get to know there's darn near nothing that a hell raising Texas cowpoke won't do if he sets his mind to it." – O'Shea [21:38]

6. Kidnapping and Midnight on Trial

• [24:16] Midnight is kidnapped in the night. Pablo and O’Shea suspect Brazos and the Texas boys have taken justice into their own hands.
• [25:14] At dawn, in the Texas cowhands' camp, a "trial" is convened. Midnight is accused of murder, sentenced to be hanged, and Doc Sixgun is called to defend him.

7. Doc Sixgun’s Plea for Mercy and Justice

• [27:15] Doc delivers an eloquent defense, elevating the dispute from absurdity to a universal meditation on justice, innocence, and the ties between man and animal. Quotable Moment:
  - "Justice, which must reach to the very lowest of the law. The bar before which all men and all creatures are equal." – Doc Sixgun (paraphrased by Pablo) [27:15]
• [28:53] Touched by the plea, the cowhands relent and release Midnight—a testament to both reason and the emotional connections formed in the Wild West.

8. Aftermath and Reflection

• [29:12] As the sun rises, Pablo thanks Doc for his speech, remarking on its beauty and truth. Memorable Exchange:
  - "No, whether I could get to the end without busting out laughing right then and there. You know, I want you to promise me never to tell a soul about what happened..." – O'Shea [29:23] - "But it wasn't. You know, all the doc said about justice and mercy? It was true, every word of it..." – Pablo [29:46]

• [30:04] The episode closes with a wry acknowledgment that even the most outlandish disputes can reveal real human truths.

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Notable Quotes

• On Justice in the Frontier:
  "In the Territory, it is either slow or completely missing, or as swift as the snap of a rope thrown over the limb of a cottonwood tree. Rarely is there anything in between."
  — Pablo [03:12]

• On Loyalty and Loss:
  "Willie may have been a mouse, but he was my friend."
  — Brazos Charlie [12:21]

• On Friendship and Grief:
  "This bird is a friend of this man. If you take Midnight's life this morning, another man will suffer the dregs of grief and sorrow that you yourself drained to the bitter end."
  — Doc Sixgun (defense speech, paraphrased by Pablo) [28:08]

• On the Absurdity of the Drama:
  "Because it is undoubtedly the most ridiculous thing I ever did in my life."
  — O'Shea [29:23]

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Important Timestamps

• 03:12: Pablo introduces the theme of frontier justice and the main cast
• 08:50: Midnight catches the mouse, winning the wager
• 12:21: Willie the Mouse is discovered dead
• 14:37: The accusation against Midnight intensifies
• 21:34: The town brawl and warnings as tensions rise
• 24:16: Midnight is kidnapped from Pablo's room
• 25:14-28:53: Midnight's trial at the cowboys' camp; Doc Sixgun’s defense speech; the verdict
• 29:12-30:04: Closing reflections between Pablo and O'Shea

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Episode Tone and Style

The episode is marked by a playful yet poignant interplay: dry humor, Western camaraderie, and moments of genuine pathos. The routine absurdities of frontier life are treated both with affectionate satire and with an undercurrent of real emotion for lost companions and the need for justice—even when the stakes are humorously trivial.

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Final Reflections

"Trail For Willie the Mouse" stands out as both an earnest comedy and a meditation on the ways humans ascribe importance and dignity to even the smallest lives. Through sharp dialogue, memorable character moments, and a tongue-in-cheek "trial," the episode captures the essence of Old Time Radio Westerns—celebrating not just the surface drama of the West, but the bonds and values woven through its dustiest tales.

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Transcript

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[O'Shea]

Yeah.

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[Andrew Rines]

Welcome to the Old Time Radio Westerns. I'm your host Andrew Rines and I'm excited to bring you another episode absolutely free. This is one of over 80 episodes released monthly for your enjoyment. Now let's get into this episode.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Across the rugged Indian territory rides a tall young man on a mission of mercy. His medical bag stacked on one hip, his six shooter on the other. This is Dr. Six Gun. The National Broadcasting Company brings you another transcribed episode in the exciting adventure series Dr. Six Gun. Gray Matson, Maryland was the gun toting frontier doctor who roamed the length and breadth of the old Indian territory. Friend and physician to white and Indian alike, the symbol of justice and mercy. In the lawless west of the 1870s, this legendary figure was known to all as Dr. Six Gun.

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[Pablo]

The Territory is a place of many extremes. Either you dive first under a broiling sun, or you drown in a flash flood in a blind canyon. You fall off your horse from sunstroke, or you freeze to death hunting strays through the mountain passes in a blue norther, it is that way with justice. In the Territory, it is either slow or completely missing, or as swift as the snap of a rope thrown over the limb of a cottonwood tree. Rarely is there anything in between. I have learned this in my many years of riding the trails. For I am Padlo, the gypsy peddler, and this is my friend, Midnight.

[O'Shea]

Midnight.

[Pablo]

Kiana is a raven. He too has an opinion.

[O'Shea]

String him up.

[Pablo]

He is a bloodthirsty bird. But such a thirst is often satisfied by the spilling of the blood which is nearest at hand one's own. This is a lesson that even a bird must learn. I was sitting in the Bull Run saloon with my friend Dak6gun, when all of a sudden the kitchen erupted with the fury of a Sicilian volcano.

[O'Shea]

I'm telling you, Piney, don't get riled. I'm doing the best I can. Little varmint's just too fast for me, that's all. Sounds like o' Shea is having a little domestic trouble with Piney.

[Pablo]

Doug, there's nothing domestic about Piney. She's an untamed creature of the wild.

[O'Shea]

She still makes the best coffee this side of Chisholm City.

[Pablo]

Never touch it.

[O'Shea]

Wonder what's got her riled up this time. Well, I'll do the best I can. That's all I can say. Hey, o'.

[Andrew Rines]

Shea.

[O'Shea]

Doc, so help me, she come within six inches of my head with an iron skillet. The big one she uses to fry a steak. What's the matter? Nothing. Nothing at all. I just walked in, quiet as you please, and all of a sudden she roars back and tries to part my hair with a meat cleaver.

[Pablo]

Do you mean our Piney is gone? Berserk, like a buffalo cow in the spring?

[O'Shea]

Well, it ain't for the same reason, I can tell you. Well, then what is the reason, Doc? I ask you fair and square as a medical man and a student of the human race, is it within the bounds of reason for a big, strapping female like Piney, who stands near to 6ft in her socks and can lift 15 gallons of boiling water without so much as a potholder? Is it natural for her to get so all fired, head up about a.

[Pablo]

Little bitty thing like a mouse?

[O'Shea]

Mouse? Is that what this is all about. She acts like it was my fault. I told her I didn't invite no mice in. You mean to tell me that Piney is upset because of the mice in the kitchen? I tried to tell her that they didn't hurt nobody none. I get them behind a bar all the time. They just sit there looking at me out of them little beady eyes, wriggling their noses, kind of friendly life. Every once in a while, one of them licks up a spilled drink and goes zigzagging across the floor to his hole to sleep it off. I'd get right lonesome without the mice. Well, o', Shea, I understand that women have some kind of a general aversion. Piney ain't got no general aversion, Doc. She's got a plain, pointy hatred. She told me lesson. I get them mice out of her kitchen, she's gonna quit cold. Say, that is a problem. Just don't seem fair when a man's put in a position where he's got to choose between the mice and his cook. Well, I don't suppose the mice make very good coffee. Yeah, you got a point, Doc. I don't know. I tried having a cat for about a week. He wrecked pure havoc with them there mice. And then suddenly he took to sitting at the bar, kind of grinning at me. It seemed as if he'd made a deal with the mice. Afterwards, I found out he was living off the cheese from the free lunch. I guess he figured it moved a mite slower than the mice. Well, what are you gonna do? I reckon I'd better try another cat, my friend.

[Pablo]

You should try a raven.

[O'Shea]

What do you mean?

[Pablo]

Raven is a hunting bug.

[O'Shea]

I never heard of that. I've heard of falcons and hawks. They used to use them for hunting in the old days.

[Pablo]

But Raven, my friend Midnight is quite a hunter. Hey, old friend. A real hunter.

[O'Shea]

You mean that? Oh, yes.

[Pablo]

Here, look at these talons here. Come now, come now.

[O'Shea]

You see?

[Pablo]

Razor sharp. Why, I've seen him bounce on a field mouse. So why not the saloon mouse, eh?

[O'Shea]

I don't know, Pablo. These here mice I got here in the bull Run are pretty sneaky. I reckon they get that way watching the gamblers from back east.

[Pablo]

Still, Midnight has learned his lesson from the master of all wisdom and deception.

[O'Shea]

Who's that?

[Pablo]

Me.

[O'Shea]

Do you mean to tell me that that draggle tailed barfly could catch one of my mice? I don't know. Come here. You see?

[Pablo]

He accepts your challenge. Produce your mouth.

[O'Shea]

Well, let's see now. There's one usually comes out from the wall right at the end of the bar there. See that little hole? Oh, yes. Now you just have to wait. Oh, I still don't think that bird could catch no mouse.

[Pablo]

O', Shea, would you care to make a little wager?

[O'Shea]

Say, $5? All right, Pablo, you're on. $5, Doc. Here, you can hold the stake. All right. Now, what do we have to do to coax this critter out in the open? Just wait a couple of minutes, Doc. He'll be along.

[Pablo]

And so we waited at the table in the saloon. And in about 10 minutes, a little gray head poked itself out of the mouse hole. And soon the small rodent was skittering across the floor toward the free lunch counter.

[O'Shea]

There he goes.

[Pablo]

Midnight.

[O'Shea]

Quaintly. Now, go get it. See what I tell you? Well, I'll be doggone. Nailed him like a rat. Well, I guess you win the bet, Pablo.

[Pablo]

Thank you.

[O'Shea]

Oh, Shea. Yeah, I should think you'd have learned by now. If Pablo claims that the moon's in your rain barrel and he's willing to put money on it, that's where the moon is going to be.

[Pablo]

Of course, that is not the point of my tale. That an intelligent and educated bird like Midnight can hunt mice is interesting, but not remarkable. But what happened next, that's another thing. It was the time of the big cattle drive to the railhead. The town of Frenchman's Ford was filled with Texas cow folks with six months wages in their pockets and a half a year of hard and lonely riding burning holes in their heads. I was not in the bull run when Brazos Charlie came in with his boys, but I'm told it was an interesting evening.

[O'Shea]

All right, come on now, boys. Take it easy. The idea of whiskey glasses is to wash them and use them again, not to smash them after each drink. You wouldn't want no lesser critter drinking out of your glasses after a Texas cowpoke had it the first time, wouldn't you? Well, now, come on. I don't mind when you heave one of the chairs through the mirror. I expect that. I gotta run an order on the Glazers in St. Louis for it, but them drinking glasses is hard to come by. Never mind. You just set up another round for me and the boys and my friend here. Well, what friend? Willie, right here next to me. Frazis, did you get tanked up before you come to my place? There ain't nobody next to you. You're at the end of the bar. I didn't say you Was sittin here. He's right here in my pocket. Oh, well, yeah, sure, sure. And I suppose he left his horse hitched to your hat band. Oh, say, you gotta talk real polite to my friend Willie. His feelings might get hurt. Oh, sure, sure. Never you mind. I'll just let him drink out of my glass. All right. Come on, Willie. Come on. Hey, what's that you got there? That's Willie. That's a mouse. A white mouse. Yeah, never you mind. Willie here rode the long trail up from Texas, which is more than you can say. Here now, Willie. Just drink up, boy. Long time between paydays. Of course.

[Pablo]

You know what happened. It was on a Saturday night, very late. Brazos Charlie was playing 7 up with Mr. Wembley, the Undertaker and the horse wrangler from the bare lane. Willie was asleep in the cracker box on the bar and I was sitting in the corner considering problems of the ages as seen through four fingers of o' Shea's barrel whiskey. The game broke up at one o' clock and Brazos went to the bar.

[O'Shea]

All right, o', Shea, we'll have one for the road.

[Pablo]

Me and Willie here.

[O'Shea]

It's a waste of good drinking whiskey on that mouth. Whenever you mind, Willie can hold his liquor like a gentleman. Come on, Willie. Come on now. Willie.

[Pablo]

Willie.

[O'Shea]

There's something wrong with Willie. Willie boy. Now what's the matter? He's dead drunk. Oh, no, no, there's something wrong. Look at that on my finger. That's blood. Blood? He's dead. You sure? Look at that. Little toes turn up and his tail is hanging limp over the edge of the box. He's dead. Well, you better let me have him. I'll heave him out the back into the gully. You take your dirty hands off of him. Willie and me have been partners ever since we left Texas and I ain't going to let him be flung out no gully like. Like he was a no count sheep herder. Frazis, you're blind, blither and drunk. That's a mouse. Willie may have been a mouse, but he was my friend. Come on, boy. You come with me. Now wait a minute, Brazus. No, no, no, Shea, don't you come with me. There's sometimes when a fellow just wants to be alone with his son.

[Pablo]

It was true. Brazos Charlie was blithering drunk. But the next morning, cold sober with his head still wet from the pump, he went to Mr. Wembley, the undertaker and had Willie laid out natural as life in a little pine box with small silver handles. And then With a cold, sober sun beating down on him, he dug a small grave and buried. Was only one day later at the Bull Run when the tragedy, the real tragedy unfolded. O' Shea called to me as I sat drinking my lunch.

[O'Shea]

Hey, Pablo, there goes another mouse. Get that bird into action, will you?

[Pablo]

With pleasure, Roger.

[O'Shea]

Midnight. A mouse.

[Pablo]

Go get him.

[O'Shea]

You got him. Got him again. I'll be dog gone. Every time I see that, it still amazes me. Got him. Stone cold dead, like he was hit with a bullet every time he does it. Good boy.

[Pablo]

Good boy, Midnight.

[O'Shea]

I'll just get rid of the unfortunate carcass and I'll be right with you, Braz. I got to get rid of this here casual. Let me see that mouse. Well, it ain't nothing. Just ordinary mouse, that's all. It's a good mouse. I always say the only good mouse is a dead mouse. Sorry, no offense intended. Let me see that mouse, o'. Shea. Stand back. What are you getting at? Look at that. Same mark, right in the head. Same blood. Now just a minute, Brazier. Just like my Willie. I seen it with my own eyes this time. Right in the head with that beak. That's the way my pal Willie got it.

[Pablo]

Hold on just a minute, my friend.

[O'Shea]

Who you calling friend, peddler? I want that bird. What do you mean? That murdering dry gulcher of yours picked off Willie the other night, I can tell. Now what do you mean by that? I want that bird now. Come on, Braces. You know you've been drinking again. Let the pedder alone. I want that bird. He got my Willy and I aim to get him put up and shut up. Now will you listen to that. There he is with the blood of his victims drying on his grin and beak. And he's got the nerve to talk right up to me. I ought to now praises. Put that gun away, Peters. You gonna give me that raven?

[Pablo]

Midnight is my friend.

[O'Shea]

I ain't taking no for an answer. I aim to fill that overgrown crow.

[Pablo]

So full of lead that. That.

[O'Shea]

That he's going to be heavier than I don't know what. And if he's sitting on your shoulder and you happen to get a stray slug, it ain't my fool. Put down the gun, cop. Hook. What? I said put down the gun. Who are you? That's Doc Six Gun. You better stick that gun back into leather. Oh, sir, I aim to see justice done. I said put that gun down. That's better. Ah. What is this? He killed Willie. Murdered him in cold blood. Pablo, is that true? Willie's Dead. All right, what happened, Pablo? I've never known you to get into a shooting before, Willie.

[Pablo]

It wasn't exactly a shooting, Doc.

[O'Shea]

This Willie's dead, isn't he? He was killed.

[Pablo]

Willie was a white mouse.

[O'Shea]

White mouse? He threw a gun on you because.

[Pablo]

You killed a mouse? It wasn't me. It was me by. At least he says it was.

[O'Shea]

Well, of all the idiotic. Jose, what are you putting into the whiskey nowadays? I never heard of anything so ridiculous. A bunch of grown men getting ready to sling lead over a white mouth. You don't understand, mister. Willie never hurt anybody. He just stayed in my pocket when I was out on night herd and kind of just squeaked at me to let me know he was there. He'd sleep in my boot when we was on the trail and when we hit town, he'd lap his whiskey just as neat as you please. And that murdering horse thief of a draggle tailed varmint killed him. Mister, I swear that I. Excuse me.

[Pablo]

Hey, where's he going?

[O'Shea]

Oh, you don't understand, Doc. There are some times when a fellow just likes to be alone.

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[Pablo]

There is no doubt in my mind that Brazos Charlie was suffering too much loneliness with only longhorn cattle for company complicated by liberal doses of O's whiskey. From that humble beginning came the affair which for several weeks split the town of Frenchmen's Ford wide open. It started that night with an argument in the bar. Several of the Texas cowhands from Bee outfit maintained that Midnight should be brought to justice for a wanton act of murder. Doc o' Shea and several of the residents of the Ford maintained that in the first place, you could not hold the bird responsible to the criminal code. And in the second place, the case was based only on circumstantial evidence. The discussion remained on the level of academic jurisprudence until about a half hour after Doc left when it got confused with the relative merits of Texas and Frenchman's Ford and soon degenerated into a more forceful debate. And the next morning, o' Shea gave me some fatherly advice. There.

[O'Shea]

There it is again. Pablo, you wouldn't believe it, but it took me an hour and a half to sweep up the pieces of that mirror last night.

[Pablo]

What broke it?

[O'Shea]

One of them Texas cowpokes picked up Shorty Schmidt from the barrel jay and heaved him through the mirror.

[Pablo]

It's a pretty good. He surely must weigh 200 pounds.

[O'Shea]

Well, it was kind of underhand talk. Oh, listen, Pablo, if I was you, I'd get that bird out of town, meat lad. Them Texas cowhands is plenty mad. They claim Braze has got a raw deal.

[Pablo]

They can be shitty.

[O'Shea]

Ask Shorty Smith.

[Pablo]

Oh, yes, but, but, but look, no one saw Midnight kill that mouse.

[O'Shea]

Alibi. Alibi. Yeah, yeah, I know. But them Texas fellas are pretty riled. They got kind of beat last night and one of them got heaved out through the swinging doors and landed in the horse trough. I think they kind of resented. But a bird? Would.

[Pablo]

Would they seriously try to revenge themselves?

[O'Shea]

When you've been running a saloon as long as I have, you get to know there's darn near nothing that a hell raising Texas cowpoke won't do if he sits his mind to it. You take my advice and hustle that bird right on out of town. It's foolish, Pablo. Absolutely ridiculous. I know. Over a white mouth you imagine that. A white mouse. I've known cowhan forget Santa Mantle over a horse, but never a mouse.

[Pablo]

Nevertheless, someone took a shot at me As I came up the street. Thought they were aiming for midnight.

[O'Shea]

Did you talk to the sheriff?

[Pablo]

Now, could I seriously go to the sheriff and ask for protection for a talking raven?

[O'Shea]

No. Well, what are you going to do?

[Pablo]

Well, it is most quixotic of me document, but for some reason I have decided not to leave town. You agree with me, old friend? You see, we'll stand together midnight tonight.

[O'Shea]

Well, maybe you better stay here till the whole thing blows over. They'll be moving that whole outfit south in a couple of days.

[Pablo]

Would you have us play the coward, Duck?

[O'Shea]

Now look, I know you think the whole thing's a big joke. I suppose it tickles your weird sense of humor.

[Pablo]

Well, I suppose it does.

[O'Shea]

But those are real bullets those idiots are throwing at you.

[Pablo]

What else?

[O'Shea]

Well, just don't forget to duck. I don't want to be called upon to sign your death certificate and find you lying in the mud somewhere with a cynical grin on your face and a bullet hole between the eyes.

[Pablo]

I promise you, Doc, if I am found with a bullet in me, I will have a look on my face of great surprise and moral indignation. There was a quiet, uneasy truce on the streets of Frenchman's Ford for the rest of the day. Brazos, Charlie's outfitter, returned to their camp out past the edge of town. And Oshay had dispatched a letter to the glazier in St. Louis for the next year. That night I was sleeping in the room I rent over the livery stable when I was awakened by a sudden soul shattering cry. I jumped out of bed and stumbled over the crockery. I regained my balance in time to see a dark figure leap from the window to the roof of the livery stable and down to the ground. And when I lit a candle, I found that Midnight was gone.

[O'Shea]

Pablo. You mean they actually came and kidnapped the bird?

[Pablo]

Poor Midnight. But he trusted me, Doc. How much wiser we would have been to seek discretion instead of valor.

[O'Shea]

They can't get away with this.

[Pablo]

I think it was Brazes himself. I recognized the paint horse he rides. The muttons were clear in the moonlight.

[O'Shea]

Well, if they've got Midnight, chances are they'll take him out to that camp of theirs. Come on, Doc. Where are you going? Out to the camp. There's a chance we may be in time.

[Pablo]

Hold on just a minute, Doc. Who was accusing who of a warped sense of humor?

[O'Shea]

You think I'd let those crazy cowpokes.

[Pablo]

Get away with this, Doc List? At least it was bad enough for.

[O'Shea]

Me to be foolish. But you hate to give him the satisfaction. No way, Doc. I've got my horse round in the shed. Let's get going.

[Pablo]

We rode out of town in the still of the early morning hours. With the moon shining brightly. Making silvery mist of the dust kicked up by the horse's horse. We rode straight into the camp of a Texas outfit. Look who's here.

[O'Shea]

It's Doc Six Gun and the peddler. All right, you listen to me, Brazes. That bird belongs to my friend here. You give him back. Well, you're just in time, Doc. We're about to have a little trial. Sit down. Now, listen here, Doc. This time I got my gun on you. You just set down. Petey, bring out the bird. Midnight.

[Pablo]

Midnight, my old friend.

[O'Shea]

Midnight Murder. Help. Don't you let go of it. I got him. All right. I declare this here trial to be in order. This here vicious, bushwhacking critter stands accused of murdering a helpless, friendly little fellow whom you all know late. Willie. You all seen how Willie died. The mark of this beast on him. You've seen how this bird killed other mice. The same way I thereby pronounce this here bird. Gilly. No, just a minute, Set. What kind of a trial is this when the accused doesn't even have a chance to defend himself? Why, has he got anything to say? Woman, I flood it. Anybody on trial's got a right to have a lawyer. You want to speak for him, Doc? All right, all right, I will. Well, you hurry up, Doc. Cause Petey here set up the cutest little gall as you ever saw. We expect to have a hanging before morning. Well, your honor, gentlemen of the jury.

[Pablo]

I have heard Doc speak before. I've heard him speak in anger. I've heard him speak sincerely of many things. But never have I heard a more impassioned plea for justice. He spoke of the beauty of nature. Of the instincts of the hunter and the hunted. And the vast scheme of living things. From the lowliest worm to man himself. He spoke of the quality that separates men from the beasts of the field. And particularly of justice. Justice, which must reach to the very lowest of the law. The bar before which all men and all creatures are equal. He spoke of the traditions that all men are innocent until they are proven guilty. He spoke of the friendship of man and animal.

[O'Shea]

I know how you feel, Braces. Any boy who's ever had a dog, any cow puncher who's ever loved a horse knows how you felt when you parted from withers. But I want you to think of one thing. This bird that stands accused of acting from an instinct which has its place in this grave scheme of things. This bird is a friend of this man. If you take Midnight's life this morning, another man will suffer the dregs of grief and sorrow that you yourself drain to the bitter end. Den I rest my case.

[Pablo]

Now, whether it was the oratory or the whiskey, I will never know. But as we rode away from the camp of the Texas Cowboys, with midnight on my shoulder and the morning sun just gilding the blue north of the town, I turned to Duck.

[O'Shea]

Duck.

[Pablo]

Thank you. It was beautiful.

[O'Shea]

Beautiful, Pablo. I didn't know whether I could get through it.

[Pablo]

You mean whether you could convince praises to let Midnight go?

[O'Shea]

No, whether I could get to the end without busting out laughing right then and there. You know, I want you to promise me never to tell a soul about what happened there this morning. Because it is undoubtedly the most ridiculous thing I ever did in my life.

[Pablo]

But it wasn't. You know, all the doc said about justice and mercy? It was true, every word of it. And it does not matter that he spoke it about the poor bedraggled raven with his tail feathers drooping in the dust. It was still true.

[O'Shea]

Every word.

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[Narrator / Announcer]

You have been listening to Dr. Six Guy. Doctor 6 gun is played by Carl Weber and Pablo by William Griffiths. Today's script was written by Ernest Kanoy. Heard in the cast were Tom Holland as Brazos and William Keene as O'.

[O'Shea]

Shea.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Dr. Six Gun is directed by Fred Wayne. This is Roger Tuttle speaking.

[O'Shea]

Doctor 6 gun, starring Carl Weber as the frontier doctor with William Griffiths as Pablo. The Wandering Gypsy has come to you through the worldwide facilities of 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 this episode within your favorite podcast application. Follow us on Facebook by going to otrwesterns.com Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel by going to otrwesterns.Com YouTube become one of our ranch hands and unlock some exclusive content. We want to thank our most recent ranch hands, Steve and Ron W. Who joined us recently. You too can join by going to otrwesterns.com donate send us an email podcasttrwesterns.com and you can call and leave us a voicemail 707-986-8739. This episode is copyrighted under the Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Copyright. For more information go to otrwesterns.com copyright have a great day and thanks for listening.

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