Gunsmoke (1955) s03e14 Episode Script

Doc's Reward

starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.
Oh, the Cape Cod girls, they got no home No, they got no home They comb their hair with a sunfish bone Hold up there! Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Who are you? Well, I'm Doc Adams from Dodge.
You're a long way from Dodge, ain't ya? Well, yes, as a matter of fact.
I'm going on to Cam Seton's, about 15 miles on south of here.
His horse kicked him in the chest.
He's pretty bad hurt, I guess.
How do you know? Well, a cowboy rode in and found him there and put him in bed.
Then he hurried into Dodge to get me, you see.
Do you know Cam? I just come from there.
That cowboy must have been funning you.
Cam never got kicked by no horse.
Well, now I don't think anybody would want to joke about a thing like that.
Well, that's the truth.
Now you better turn around and go back to Dodge.
Somebody might be needing you, Doc.
I mean it, Doc.
Who are you, mister? Just do what I say.
Now get that buggy turned around.
Not very likely.
I'm driving on to Cam Seton's.
You ain't driving nowhere if I shoot your horse, Doc.
You shoot my horse, and I'll kill ya.
What are you doing with a shotgun? Well, it just so happens I like prairie chicken when I can find it.
But you better start thinking about what two barrels of this birdshot will do to you.
You? A doctor? You're bluffing.
No, I'm not bluffing.
There's a man with a crushed chest waiting for me about 15 miles from here, and if you shoot my horse, he may die before I can get to him.
You better believe it, mister, I'll kill ya if I have to.
You won't turn around and go back to Dodge, huh? Nobody keeps me from going where I'm needed.
The horse goes, Doc.
And if you try anything, you go next.
Don't you do it, mister.
That's Doc's buggy, all right.
That cowboy must have been right.
Look here.
Let's hope he was right about this, too.
You know him? No.
I never seen him before in my life.
I wonder what could have happened here.
I don't know.
Well, let's get him buried and get over to Cam Seton's.
Doc? You all right? Yeah.
Well, uh, how's how's Cam Seton? Oh, he-he's dead.
He died a few minutes ago.
Aw.
That's a doggone shame.
Yeah.
Doc, we, uh we found your buggy out there on the prairie.
And the man.
Yeah.
Did you kill him? Yes, I did.
He shot my horse.
He Well, what in the world did he want to do a thing like that for? Well, he didn't want me to get here, that's for sure.
He knew Cam Seton was hurt.
Well, I don't even know who that man was.
And, by the time I got here, Cam was beyond talking.
I didn't know Cam had any enemies like that.
Matt, I shot that man before he even turned his gun on me.
You did? Yes, I did.
That's not what you'd call self-defense, is it? That's not for me to decide, Doc.
No.
You've got to arrest me.
Doc, the day I arrest you, that's the day I quit.
Well, no, no, Matt.
Because, uh Well, there'd be a lot of talk about it in town.
I should be in jail, they'll say, waiting trial.
And they'll blame you for that.
Too bad you couldn't help Cam, Doc.
You sure tried.
Chester.
Doc, you how are you? I'm fine.
How are you? You ain't worried, are you, Doc? No.
Worried? Well, why? Well, oh, you know how people are.
I mean, everybody's you know how they been looking at you since, well since the other day.
Oh, well, I don't pay any attention to that.
Well, I just wouldn't want no harm to come to you is all.
Harm? Now what in the world you talking about? Well, you know how people are, Doc.
I mean, take that that feller across the street there.
Well, who is it? Well, I don't know.
He's a perfect stranger to me, that's it.
Well, he doesn't mean anything to me, Chester.
What are you getting all excited You're getting worse than an old woman.
Now, wait a minute, Doc.
You don't need to smart off at me.
I'm just trying to help.
Oh, how do you do? Hmm! Doc! Hello.
Chester, come on.
What? Well Where we going? We're going down to the Long Branch.
What for? I just got through telling off some of the town's leading citizens, and now I want to be seen buying you a drink.
No That'll really give them something to talk about.
Matt, you can't fight them all.
Well, it isn't all of them anyway, Doc.
It's just a few.
And I want them to know where I stand! No, that's not the way.
Well, now, wait a minute, Doc.
Now, I'm going to go, too, and I'm going to buy the second round myself.
Now how about it? Come on! No.
Well All right, I guess I can't refuse to have a drink with two friends of mine.
Well, I say not.
Give us a bottle of whiskey and three glasses, Red.
Right, Marshal.
Uh, make mine a beer, would you, Red? Right.
Now, if I went out and killed a man, I'd be drinking water in jail.
Huh, Marshal? I'd throw a gambler in jail for most any reason, mister.
Well, that's a fine way for the law to talk.
Get out of here.
Now, look here, Marshal.
I said get out.
You're in trouble, ain't you? Matt, I don't think that there's any need and reason Never mind, Doc.
Come on, let's drink up.
That's what we came here for.
Maybe, I ought to be in jail.
Oh.
I'll decide that.
I'm not going to have any of these good citizens helping me out, either.
Yeah, well, most people don't know what they're talking about anyway.
Doc.
Huh? Lookee there.
There's that same feller again, right over there.
Lookee there, Mr.
Dillon.
Well, who is he? What about him? Well, I don't know, but he keeps watching Doc all the time.
He was watching him right out there on the street, just a-watching him, and now, he's followed him in here.
You know him, Doc? No.
No, I Something familiar about him, though, and I And I don't like to have him staring at me like that.
I I don't like that.
Stay here.
Like to know your name, mister.
You would? I'm the marshal here.
What is it? Nate.
What's yours? Nate what? Nate'll do, marshal or no marshal.
Where you from? Colorado.
What are you doing in Dodge? You got something against me, Marshal, say it out.
All right.
You've been following Doc around.
He doesn't like it.
Well, maybe Doc got a guilty conscience.
I can't help what he don't like.
What have you been watching him for? No reason.
I heard he killed a man, and he's not in jail.
Just curious.
Mm-hmm.
Let me tell you something, mister.
Doc's a friend of mine, a good friend.
So? So, if anything happened to him, I'd take it personal.
You ain't talking about me, Marshal.
Whiskey, please.
Be right with you.
Chester? Yes, sir? I want you and Doc to go over to the office and wait for me.
What for? 'Cause, from now on, I want you two to stay together, day and night.
Oh, now, Matt I mean it, Doc.
Now, go get yourself a shotgun and keep it loaded.
Oh, yeah.
All right, let's go, Doc, come on.
Come in! I said, come on in! Is that you, Helen? Well, no, it's me.
Matt! Well, what's the matter? Don't come in here! Don't come in here! You all right? Yeah, I'm all right.
I thought it was the girl down the hall.
I I wasn't expecting you.
What do you want? Well, it's important, Kitty.
I got to talk to you.
Well, can you talk from there? I can come back if I have to.
No, I'll come out.
Just a minute.
What's it all about, Matt? Well, it's about this mess Doc's in.
I think you might be able to help.
Well, I'd do almost anything for Doc.
You know that.
Well, this isn't gonna be easy.
It'll probably take most of your evening.
Oh? Well, go on.
Well, there's a fella running around town, calls himself "Nate.
" Nate who? I don't know what his last name is.
Well, what's he look like? Kind of tall, and, uh, he's wearing a buckskin vest, black hat, and he's he's got a bandanna around his neck.
I think I know him.
He bought me a drink last night.
Good.
That'll make it easier.
Well, what do you want of him? Kitty, I, uh I think he's after Doc.
Oh, you want me to find out for sure, huh? You're the only one who can.
Yeah, I know.
It's not gonna be easy.
Maybe I'm asking too much of you.
It might save Doc's life.
Is that what you're saying? I wouldn't ask it of you, otherwise.
Now, look, this Nate is not a man to get drunk easy.
In fact, you may not be able to get him to talk even when he is drunk.
You just leave that to me.
Like I say, I'll do most anything for Doc.
Thanks, Kitty.
I'll see you later.
Right.
There.
That's your move, huh? Yeah, well, I moved it there, didn't I? There you are.
Now it's your move again.
Gracious, you play a wonderful game of checkers.
A man's really got to be on his toes to beat you.
Well, I guess I just need a cup of coffee.
All right, just sit there- I'll get you a cup of coffee.
Save your strength.
I don't know, I think I just better lay down for a minute here.
Try to get the cobwebs out of my head.
Oh.
Chester.
Wake up.
Oh.
Fell asleep there for a minute.
Where's Doc? Uh, oh, well, we he was here.
We was playing checkers there together, and I thought I told you to stay with him.
I just laid down for a minute.
Look, go over to his office, will ya, and see if you can find him, and this time stay with him.
Yeah.
I I don't know how it could've happened.
I just I just laid down there for-for a minute.
Oh.
Miss Kitty.
Good morning, Chester.
It's good to see ya.
Uh.
.
Nice to see you.
I've I-I've got to go.
Well, all right.
Well, did you find anything out? Well, when you said he wouldn't get drunk very easy, you were sure right.
Come on and sit down.
Matt, his name's Nate Brandel.
Nate Brandel? It was his brother Doc killed, Myles Brandel.
Ah.
Then he really was after Doc, huh? Just waiting for the chance to shoot him.
How did he find out about Doc and his brother so fast? Well, he followed Myles out here from Colorado.
Seems that Myles has a wife back there, and she knew there was gonna be trouble and told Nate about it.
Hmm.
Myles came here to kill Cam Seton.
Old feud of some kind.
When he got out of here, he found him hurt so bad he didn't have to kill him, huh? Except by trying to keep Doc away.
Yeah.
Matt, wait.
There's something else.
It seems that Myles had a price on his head- a thousand dollars.
What? Bank robbery in Denver.
Well, I never had any circulars on it.
I know, but it's true just the same.
Don't you see, Matt, that's why Nate is after Doc so bad.
He thinks Doc shot his brother for the reward money.
Well, doesn't he know the true story? He just doesn't believe it.
Mr.
Dillon! Mr.
Dil uh, oh.
Mr.
Dillon, Doc left a note on his door that he was going down to the stable to look over a new horse.
I was just headed down there now.
Well, I'll go along with you.
Doc? He said he'd be here.
Yep.
Look out, Doc! You can kill me easy now.
You just hold still right now.
No, you finish me like you done my brother.
It was his brother you killed, Doc.
All right, you hold still No, no! Matt, that bullet's got to come out of there before I can stop the bleeding.
Let's get him up to the office.
All right.
I just tried to kill you, Doc.
Yeah, I know.
What are you doing trying to save me? I'm a doctor.
I tried to explain that to your brother.
I don't believe you- you're lying.
We're wasting time- let's get him moved.
About finished? Yeah.
Yeah, I'm all finished.
How is he? Well, he'd have bled to death if I hadn't got that out just when I did.
He'll be all right.
That is, in a couple of weeks, he will.
He'll be all right in jail, won't he? Jail? Well, you can't leave him here.
Well, you don't think he'd try it again, do you? Doc, that was his brother you killed.
I know it was Well, I'll tell you something you didn't know.
His brother was a wanted man- there was a $1,000 price on his head.
You don't say so.
That's right.
And he thinks you killed him for the reward money.
He's not gonna believe otherwise.
Matt.
Yeah? Go ahead, put him in jail, then.
He'll be all right.
I'll look at him every day or so.
All right, Doc, I think that'd be best.
I'll be back for him in a little while.
Uh, Matt.
A thousand dollars, huh? Yeah.
Well, send for it.
I want it.
What? I mean it.
It's mine, ain't it? Well, yeah, but All right, send for it.
I want it.
All right, I'll send for it.
Three weeks in this hole- I'm beginning to wish you'd killed me.
Look, you're in jail because Doc Adams wants you here.
Does Doc run the law around here? It was him you tried to kill, mister.
If I had my way, you'd be in state prison.
Hm.
Between you and Doc, I ain't got much of a chance at anything, have I? That'll be settled before long.
What do you mean? I'm gonna do this his way.
What's his way? I don't know, I didn't ask him.
Well, I got it.
Uh, Mr.
Dillon, I got it.
Oh.
That's, I think it's that one on top there, ain't it? Yeah, I think it is.
Go over and get Doc, will ya? Tell him I'll be in the office.
Oh.
Well, all right.
All right.
All right, Nate, let's go.
What for? Come on.
What do you got in mind now, Marshal? Let's go.
What, are you gonna let Doc shoot me or something? Sit down.
All right, now what? I got him, Mr.
Dillon.
Doc, here it is.
Oh.
Came in this morning's mail.
Yeah.
What's going on here anyway? What are you doing? This is the reward money, Nate- a thousand dollars for killing your brother.
Doc wanted it, so I I sent for it.
I might've know'd that's why you kept me alive.
Just so you could show me that.
No, that's-that's not why I kept you alive, Nate.
Hope you have a good time with it, Doc.
That's a lot of money.
What are you gonna spend it on? I'm I'm gonna spend it on you, Nate.
Here.
Here it is.
It's yours.
Mine? Go on, take it.
What for? Did you ever kill a man, Nate? Well, did you ever? No.
But you tried.
You bet I tried.
And you came pretty close to it.
It's a bad it's a bad thing to kill a man.
It it does something to you inside.
Even if you have to kill him, like I did your brother.
That's gonna rot inside of me for the rest of my life.
I just wouldn't want that to happen to you, and I thought that maybe somehow this just might make you see what I mean.
Marshal? Yeah? My brother left a wife in Denver.
I'm gonna see she gets this.
She don't have to know what it's from.
Why don't you take it to her yourself? You mean I can go? I'm free? You can go.
Marshal, will you will you tell the doc that I, uh Don't worry.
I think Doc knows.

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