Gunsmoke (1955) s02e34 Episode Script

Who Lives by the Sword

ANNOUNCER: Starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Well, I guess that's about it, Mr.
Snyder.
Sure do thank you, Billy.
And you too, Lew.
Ah, weren't nothing, Mr.
Snyder.
If'n you were my age, it would be something.
Ah, you ain't that old.
Say, by the way, the missis found some blueberries down by our street If you're a mind for pancakes on Sunday morning Now, that's right kind of you, Mr.
Snyder.
Be mighty proud to have your wife along too.
Well, I'll tell her.
Say, when are you gonna get married like your brother? Well, I- I just ain't found a woman that'd have me.
Said the same thing when I was your age.
What happened? Got over being your age.
Ha-ha.
Goodbye, boys.
So long, Mr.
Snyder.
Mr.
Snyder, I'll see you.
Well, hello, boys.
Hey, marshal.
You're working for Old Man Snyder now? Well, his place ain't far from ours out by Turkey Creek, marshal.
Oh, yeah, that's right.
We don't work for nobody.
Well, I'd call loadin' that wagon with them big bags work, myself.
Oh, we got all our own work done.
We was just giving him a hand.
Besides, it's a good excuse for us to keep out of the Long Branch.
Aw, now, Lew, you said that you'd stay in town till 6:00.
Well, I'll stay, but I sure wish you'd get married.
Listen to him.
He's only been married half a year.
Well, I guess you boys deserve a drink.
You don't get to town very often.
Well, that's right.
I'd go with you myself- Yeah, yeah, only you live here.
Well, yeah, that's what I was trying to say.
Ah, well, you stay out of trouble, won't you? Right, marshal.
We ain't never been in no trouble here yet, marshal.
I know that.
See you later.
So long.
Oh, them two Baxter brothers are real good fellows, ain't they? Yeah, Chester, we need more of their kind around Dodge.
Oh, hello, Miss Kitty.
Well, hello, boys.
Morning, Miss Kitty.
How are you? Couple of beers.
Coming up.
Uh, be right proud to buy you a drink, Miss Kitty.
Well, it's a little early in the day for me.
Mm.
I guess it is for me too.
We don't get into town much.
Well, you ought to come in more often.
I bet you don't get a chance to meet very many girls out there on the prairie.
Aw, just because Lew done it everybody wants me to get married.
Two beers.
Ah, that's enough.
Uh, we'll drink up the rest.
Yeah, I guess we'll have to.
Yeah, old married man.
Heh-heh.
Excuse me, miss.
There's a fellow I wanna see.
Sure, Lew.
I'll be right back.
You, um? You got something against marriage? Mm, no, uh, I just ain't found the gal.
Well, a nice, steady young man like you shouldn't have any trouble.
Bet you wouldn't marry me.
Well, you haven't asked me.
I sure wish you had a sister my age.
Oh, Billy.
Well, I do.
Oh, you don't know what you want.
You know, sometimes, Miss Kitty, you don't treat me like a man.
No reason why she should, kid.
Kitty, huh? You won't have no trouble treating me like a man, Kitty.
Beat it, stranger.
What are you wandering in here for? Go on home to bed, kid.
Let's you and me sit down somewhere and talk this over a little.
You won't feel at home here.
Why? There's no hog wallow for you to sit in.
People don't talk to Joe Delk like that.
Well, then why doesn't Joe Delk go back to wherever it is where people are afraid of him? You won't find it here, mister.
Not in Dodge.
They'll be afraid of me in Dodge.
They just don't know I'm here yet.
Well, why don't you go let 'em know and leave us alone, huh? She's asking you, mister.
I'm telling him.
You heard her.
Take care of you in a minute, soon as I get this little blowfly off my neck.
This your money? You leave that alone.
Pick it up before you get into real trouble.
I'll kill you for that.
No, Billy, he's a gunman.
Can't you tell? I don't care what he is.
Go ahead and draw.
That's my brother.
Your brother was a fool.
You're nothing but a killer! I've been called that.
Why you- Why you dirty rotten murderer.
Murderer? They didn't have a chance.
No.
Nobody I ever met has.
But now, people will begin to know that Joe Delk's in town.
That so? I never heard of Joe Delk.
Maybe not, mister, but you've seen what he can do.
What happened here, Kitty? I'll tell you what happened, mister.
They was crowding me, same as you're doing right now.
It's Marshal Dillon you're talking to now.
Oh, Marshal Dillon, huh? Well, I don't mind eatin' a marshal, now and then.
Kitty, what happened? Well, the kids drew first.
Both of 'em.
It must have been real easy for a man like you.
Real easy, marshal.
It was kinda fun too, takin' my time that way.
Give me my gun.
What are you doing? You're not gonna need any gun where you're going, mister.
There's the door.
Get outside.
You've got no right.
Get going.
Take this.
Yes, sir.
Keep everybody inside.
Yes, sir.
I don't get this.
All right, you heard what he said.
Just stand back.
Uh, good morning, Mr.
Dillon.
Good morning, Chester.
Well, I had this fire going once.
You really need a fire today? Seems a little warm for it, somehow.
Well, I didn't figure it would hurt none.
I- I chopped a whole cord of wood yesterday.
Oh, I see.
Well, I guess I just didn't understand.
Well, there ain't no point in a man doing a lot of hard work, you know, unless he can enjoy the fruits of his labors.
Well, you sure can't argue with that.
What have you got there? Well, it's the money I've been collecting.
Boy, you sure did all right, didn't you? You betcha.
Oh, I forgot to tell you, uh, Doc was in, and he told me to tell you that he looked at Delk, and he said he could go anytime.
Oh, yeah? Good.
Well, go get him.
Let's get rid of him.
Gladly.
More than a week of that man is more than I can stomach.
All right, there, Delk.
Let's go.
Get out of that cage.
It needs cleanin'.
You got no cause to talk like that.
Go on.
Left me locked in here a week.
Jail's a good enough hospital for you.
Treated me like an animal.
Didn't come in here yourself once to see if I was alive or dead.
How are you feeling, outside of your pride being hurt? Do you know what I think of a man who fights with his hands, marshal? I don't care what you think.
He's a coward, that's what he is.
Kind of took you by surprise, didn't it? Course it did.
And I hurt you some too, huh? Guess I hurt you pretty bad.
You wouldn't want to go through something like that again, now, would you? Nobody would.
You kill another man in Dodge, and I'll beat you half to death.
You already done that.
Yeah.
What are you doing around Dodge anyway? Came in on the Santa Fe last week.
I said what are you doing here? Now, look, marshal, just because I shot them men in self-defense- Those men were hardly more than boys.
Was wearin' six-guns, wasn't they? Yeah, and against you, they might as well have been using sticks.
I still say it was self-defense.
You gonna turn me lose? Put it on.
Okay.
All right.
All right what? I can't reach you from here with my fists, Delk.
My goodness, Mr.
Dillon, you took an awful chance there.
I mean, you might have had to shoot him.
Ah, I didn't think he'd draw, Chester.
You didn't? That beating I gave him kind of takes the vinegar out of a man like him.
Scared him.
Well, it would scare anybody.
Gunman only thinks his gun.
Never even thinks of fighting any other way.
He's rattled.
He doesn't know what to make of it.
Well, you mean, that's why he walked out of here like that? Well, that's one reason.
One reason? What do you mean? Well, he could have something else in mind.
Like what? Well, like coming up on me when I'm not ready for him, or shooting me in the back, or getting me with a shotgun, something like that.
He's taken a beating and he's rattled, but he's not through yet, not by any means.
Well, what are you gonna do? Well, I guess I'll go out and collect some more money.
But Mr.
Dillon, didn't you just say that he might shoot you in the back? Well, I can't hide, can I? Uh, may I borrow your spoon to stir my coffee? Sure.
Thank you.
You'd think this place could afford to serve more than one spoon to every two customers.
Heh.
Well, if they did that, they couldn't afford the quality of beef they serve here.
Oh, well, in that case, I won't complain, because I'd sure hate to eat any lower off one of those animals.
You know, someday, somebody's gonna get the idea of raising cattle all in one small area, so they'd stay nice and fat and juicy.
That's a great idea.
Why don't you start it? Me? I've got a job.
Oh, yeah, that's right.
I forgot.
Job of the future like yours Now, Kitty Oh, I can see your gravestone now: "He didn't die rich, but he sure died stubborn.
" Hey, that's not bad.
I might use that.
You won't be there.
Well, maybe you'll take care of it for me, huh? Oh, having dinner with you is real pleasurable, Mr.
Dillon.
Ha-ha.
Thank you, ma'am.
Oh, don't mention it.
Excuse me, Miss Kitty.
I guess that that wasn't too polite, wavin' like that from out there.
Oh, it's all right.
Sit down and have some coffee.
Uh, well, no, Doc wants to see us over at the Dodge House right away.
Doc? Yeah, he wants you to be there, Mr.
Dillon.
What does he want? Well, he wants you to see Joe Delk.
Don't tell me somebody finally shot that ape.
Oh, no, no, it wasn't that at all.
But, you see, ever since we let him out of jail yesterday, he's been drinking' real hard.
And he sent word to Doc that he's sober now.
But all that whiskey just left him with terrible shakes and I guess he needs something to calm him down.
A little wolf poison might help.
Well, what does Doc want me along for? Well, I guess he just doesn't trust that Delk enough to be alone with him.
I never heard of a gunman fool enough to drink so much that he'd give himself the shakes, Matt.
No, neither did I.
Well, I'm thinking that maybe it ain't true at all, Mr.
Dillon.
You know, he might be trying something fancy, like you said, with a shotgun.
Yeah, he might be at that.
Let's go over and check on him.
Kitty, you be sure and thank the girls for the contribution, will you? I sure will.
They'll give more, if you need it.
No, no.
They've done more than their share already.
See you later.
Miss Kitty.
Goodbye, Chester.
Hm.
Well, do you think that we ought to go on up, Mr.
Dillon? No, I think that probably ought to wait for him, Chester.
Well, I see you beat me here.
Yeah, Doc, he's, uh- He's upstairs, Number 20.
He's probably fully recovered by now.
What do you mean? Oh, he sent for me a long time ago, and by golly, I thought it'd be just as well if he lived with his misery a while.
Yeah, if there's anything wrong with him at all.
Oh, he's been drinkin' the whole night.
I saw him last night at the Lady Gay Saloon and he was just pourin'- Yeah, but a man can make a big show of being drunk and still be sober, you know? You mean if he's trying to fool somebody? Let's go up and find out, huh? Oh, Chester, you probably better wait here, huh? No.
No.
Can't we-? Don't hit me.
G-Get away.
Stop it! Or I'll kill you.
I'll kill you.
Don't hit me, marshal.
Don't hit me.
He's asleep.
Don't hit me.
Oh.
No.
No more.
Don't hit me.
Delk.
No.
Don't hit me.
Delk, wake up.
Come on out of it.
Come on.
What are you doing here? Who's he? Well, I'm Doc Adams.
You're all right.
You just had a nightmare.
Oh.
Yeah.
Where you been? I sent for you hours ago.
What did you bring the marshal for? What's your trouble? Nothing.
Like you said, I- I was dreaming, that's all.
A man like you can't afford to dream, Delk.
He can't afford to get as jumpy as you are.
Doc, will you give me something? Something I can take? Well, I'll give you a couple of pills here, if I can find 'em.
You'd probably be a lot better off with about a gallon and a half of coffee.
All right, marshal.
What are you starin' at me for? Here, you can take these.
They might help a little.
Stop starin' at me.
Stop it, will you? Stop starin'.
I just wanna get a last look.
What do you mean? You're leaving Dodge.
I'm what? I'll give you two hours to get out.
Now, wait.
I ain't done nothing.
You're through, Delk.
That gun will never be any good to you again.
Ever.
I had a bad dream.
That don't mean nothing.
Did you ever have that kind of dream before? You've lost your nerve, Delk.
You're afraid.
Go get yourself killed somewhere else.
I don't wanna watch it.
Well, here she is, Mr.
Dillon.
I found her at the bank.
Hello, Mrs.
Baxter.
Marshal Dillon.
I wanna thank you for coming.
I- I thought it would be best if I saw you alone.
What was it you wanted, marshal? Well, uh, I already told you how everybody felt about your husband and Billy.
Yes.
Well, they were fine young men, both of them, and, well, uh, people around Dodge just- Well, they wanted to show you how they felt.
Take this and put it in the bank.
Might help some.
You did this? No, I didn't do it.
A lot of people did.
Marshal, I'll- I'll need it for the boy.
The boy? Well, if it's a son.
Lew wanted a son.
Thank you.
Thank you, marshal, for that.
Sure, Mrs.
Baxter.
Oh, it's a miserable thing, Lew and Billy getting killed like that.
Can't think of nothing worse.
Yeah.
Look at him, Mr.
Dillon.
He's just a low-down, rotten murderer, that's all he is.
I'm feeling some better, marshal.
Uh- Them pills the doc gave me helped.
What makes you think I care how you feel? Nothing, unless I decide not to leave Dodge.
You'll leave.
You got an hour to go.
Maybe.
It's your choice.
You know what'll happen if you don't.
I may not be so easy to get at next time, marshal.
Maybe not.
But we'll find out.
We'll find out real quick.
Well, I'll think it over while I'm gettin' a drink.
You do that.
Whiskey.
Whiskey.
Looks like you and me are the only ones at the bar.
I'm a stranger in town.
Come on, I'll buy you a drink.
No, I ain't drinking no more.
Look, I said I'd buy you a drink.
One's all I could take.
I did my drinking yesterday and the day before.
I don't like it much when a man's downright unfriendly.
Some other time, mister.
I take it you think you're too good to drink with me.
That ain't what I'm saying.
You'll drink with me.
Now, look, I told you.
All right, you're wearin' a gun.
No.
Hold it, mister.
What are you interfering for? Did you ever hear of Joe Delk? What's he got to do with this? You're about to fight him.
Joe Delk? Nah.
Can't be.
Well, it is.
It can't be.
He'd have killed me right off.
You're just lucky.
Are you really Joe Delk, mister? I am.
Well, look, uh, I-I didn't mean anything.
Uh, I didn't know.
Uh, besides, I-I-I gotta be running along.
Another whiskey.
Delk's hour's about up, ain't it, Mr.
Dillon? Yep.
You think he's left? I hope so.
Tsk.
I hate to say it, but I feel kind of sorry for him.
Do you? Well, it's not like, you know, like you feel sorry for anything that's- Now, take it easy, marshal.
I ain't lookin' for trouble.
I wanna talk to you is all.
All right, go ahead and talk.
Over at the saloon, a fellow called me out, but I backed down, marshal.
He wasn't even a gunman.
He was just a bum.
So? Well, don't you understand? Something's wrong with me.
Ever since that beating you gave me, I ain't the same.
What do you wanna talk about, Delk? You gotta help me.
What? I'm taking my gun off.
I'm through gunfighting.
But you gotta protect me when I do.
You gotta do it, marshal.
Sorry, Delk.
There's nothing I can do for you.
But they'll kill me.
There's men all over looking to kill me.
You should have thought of that a long time ago.
I gotta stay in Dodge, marshal.
And you gotta tell people to leave me alone.
Let me ask you something, Delk.
How many men have you killed in your time? Well, I don't know.
A lot of them.
What difference does it make? How many like those two boys you shot down the other day? You're a killer, Delk.
You're nothing but a murderer.
Hold on a minute, Delk.
Did you ever hear of that saying, "Who lives by the sword dies by the sword"? Yeah, I heard that.
Yeah.
Well, it's true, you know.
I guess it's gonna be true for me.
Yeah.
And you know something, marshal? I can see no reason why someday it ain't gonna be true for you.
Maybe, except for one difference.
What? I'm not a murderer.
I'm not afraid to die.

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