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August 18, 2025 • 30 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:11):
Around Darge City and the territory on West.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
There's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers,
and that's with the US.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Marshall and the Smell of Gun Smoke.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Gun Smoke, starring William Conrad, The story of the violence
that moved west with Young America, The story of a
man who moved with it.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Matt Dillon, United States Marshall.

Speaker 3 (01:15):
Her Oh what have you got there? Chester?

Speaker 4 (01:25):
Had kid?

Speaker 5 (01:25):
Yes, you're doing. I'll smack you flat stop.

Speaker 3 (01:29):
That kid, I hold it. You want me to take
a strap to you, and I'll hold it. You bet
lock him up somewhere, mister Dylan. It's safe in that way,
all right? Chester, just calm down. Now you come over here,
Son said, come on, look on that you're doing.

Speaker 5 (01:44):
He's got hold of your.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
Don Okay, now you sit there. Don't you move an inch?
You hear me, not one inch?

Speaker 5 (02:00):
Mean little bug?

Speaker 3 (02:02):
Now what's it all about? Chester? What's he done?

Speaker 4 (02:05):
An?

Speaker 5 (02:06):
Now you hush your mean little face. This hare places
the law and you're talking.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
What's he done? Chester? There?

Speaker 6 (02:11):
You hear that?

Speaker 3 (02:12):
Chester?

Speaker 5 (02:13):
Yes, sir brou shopped. I don't really know what he's done.

Speaker 4 (02:17):
That's what I do.

Speaker 5 (02:18):
I ain't done nothing, mister Dylon. I was walking down
the office when I see this this kid. I know
almost all the sprouts in.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
Town, but not him.

Speaker 5 (02:26):
So I says hello, and he starts running.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
That's what he did, yes, sir, And that's why you
brought him in here.

Speaker 5 (02:34):
I sure did, mister Dylon. I figured if the kid
runs away from him for doing nothing, then he's bent
up to something till he must have done something. You
know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (02:41):
No, Now, what's your name? Son? Ain't done all right? Now?
What's your name?

Speaker 4 (02:49):
I ain't sae there?

Speaker 5 (02:50):
You see what I mean, mister Dylan, just plain or
h mischievous?

Speaker 3 (02:53):
You live here? And Dodge?

Speaker 4 (02:55):
I ain't saying all right?

Speaker 3 (03:00):
He Well, he's probably a runaway Chester. I guess we'll
have to lock him up until somebody comes looking for him. Uh.

Speaker 5 (03:06):
Best thing in this whole wide world to do, mister Dillon.
Just looking where he gnawed my thumb, best thing to do.
Come on, lock me up.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
You've got a better idea. We got to do something
with you.

Speaker 4 (03:17):
Let me be on my way.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
But where do you live?

Speaker 4 (03:20):
About four miles out?

Speaker 3 (03:23):
Oh? Oh sure, sure I know you. You're uh the
Macklin kid.

Speaker 4 (03:29):
No, I ain't I Danny Burschman, I ain't see him there.

Speaker 5 (03:33):
I knew he wasn't timeted. I just knew that, mister Dylon,
What did I tell you?

Speaker 3 (03:38):
Nothing? Now? If you'll just close up him in a chester,
we can get this settled and Danny can go on
his way. Now. You say you haven't done anything wrong, son? No,
your ma know you're in Dodge this morning.

Speaker 4 (03:50):
Guess soir?

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Uh all your chores done before you came? No? Or
maybe you better go on back then? Huh? Your ma
might be kind of worried.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
I guess so.

Speaker 3 (04:03):
You uh got a horse?

Speaker 4 (04:05):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (04:07):
Okay, so on and take it easy.

Speaker 4 (04:12):
I can go now, Sure, go.

Speaker 3 (04:14):
Ahead, Danny.

Speaker 4 (04:18):
You're a marshall jilling, ain't you?

Speaker 3 (04:20):
Yeah? That's right.

Speaker 4 (04:22):
Well, I guess I can come to Dodge to fetch you.
My sister sent me. Oh, I wasn't going through, but
I got you now because I promised Lily. She made
me swear on raillers buttons. I figure if I didn't
see I wouldn't be killing no lie if I told
you wasn't around.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
No, I see no, no, no, hold on, Your sister
wants me to come out with you. To your place.
Is that it?

Speaker 4 (04:44):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (04:44):
Why on a kind of paw?

Speaker 4 (04:47):
None of us gives a hood septing sister Lily and
she just acting like a girl.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
Oh what's happened to your paw?

Speaker 4 (04:54):
He's gone off again, shooting up the cattle. Thing is
he took two guns with him, this time in a
whole miss of bullet. Lily's just scared.

Speaker 3 (05:04):
Your pap been drinking a little?

Speaker 4 (05:06):
Maybe, yes, anyhow, he goes local and stays that way
for a long while. But it's like Dave and Donald
c He'll get over he always does. They are my brothers,
Devin Donald. They worry you.

Speaker 3 (05:19):
Uh huh, Hey, you want me to go out with
you to help find him? Is that it?

Speaker 4 (05:23):
I don't want it, Louie does. And I had just
worn railer buttons that i'd fetch you.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
Oh yeah, sure, sure, Well it's good that you did.
Uh Chester, get your stuff with you. We'll ride out
with Danny. I didn't get anything more out of the
boy on the way out to the Birch place. No
one in tom knew much about the family. They had

(05:50):
moved in about a year earlier. Came up from the territories.
The folks about said, Birch and his brood kept pretty
much in themselves. They'd never been any trouble with anybody.
I looked at the boy riding his horse bareback. He
was nice looking enough, but there was something the matter

(06:10):
with his mouth. It was too hard. He could tell
he wasn't a kid who did much smiling. Maybe with
his paw acting that way. I didn't blame him. He
sure rode his horse proud though. It was hot and dry,

(06:34):
and by the time we were in sight of the
Birch place, the sun was burning down hard. Yeah, they're
just get off on that horse and get over here

(06:54):
to get yourself a liquing lily. It's not my fault.
Who as I say.

Speaker 1 (07:01):
The name is Dylan.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
I'm the US marshal out of Dodge. Your brother asked
me to come out and help. You don't need no help.
Shut off him.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
Nothing to help with.

Speaker 6 (07:14):
Danny, you heard, but the horse Wayne, get in my house.

Speaker 4 (07:16):
You ain't give me no licking.

Speaker 3 (07:18):
Put up your gun. I'm coming over to talk. Come on, Chester.
He's against the law to shoot a man in cold blood.
Should know that. Shucks.

Speaker 6 (07:37):
I wasn't naming it you. I was aiming at a
rabbit up on the rise. There, your horse has scared away.

Speaker 3 (07:46):
Oh now what about your poor What about him? Have
you found him?

Speaker 6 (07:51):
Shucks, he don't need to be fine. He'll come back
when he's good and ready. Pause off hunt.

Speaker 3 (07:58):
That's not what your brother says. He he's where'd he go?

Speaker 6 (08:02):
He's gonna get hisself a licking.

Speaker 3 (08:03):
That's what he knows. It got his self away. That's
why Donald, that's your name, isn't it. Yeah, well, look,
I'm not one to interfere in family matters, but if
you do need help, I mean, if you're pause shooting
up cattle like Danny says, Well, maybe he'll be practicing
next on people, and that wouldn't be so good.

Speaker 6 (08:25):
That brother of Oz, he's a dirty little liar.

Speaker 1 (08:27):
No, he's not.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
Donald. I'm glad you came, Marshall. You come into the
house please, Chester and I followed the girl into the house.
I knew it was the sister Lily. All the family

(08:49):
i'd seen up to then, it had a great likeness
to each other. Donald slouched them behind us and moved
around the room, nervous like it wasn't by rights a house,
and it was too big for a cabin. I had
the feeling that they'd put up boards and studs where
their fancy took 'em, and the place just grew another room,

(09:10):
like a lizard's new table. I don't know what it was,
but I got a funny feeling. It was too hot
and mean. Something was wrong, all wrong, And the girl
Lily looked square at me with hard eyes. Donald, huh,

(09:34):
sit down, let me nervous.

Speaker 5 (09:38):
Oh sure, Marshall doing I want you to help us find.

Speaker 6 (09:45):
Paul, Oh, Lily, Dave's gonna be awful man.

Speaker 1 (09:47):
Somebody's gotta do something around here.

Speaker 3 (09:49):
Did uh did your paw take a horse?

Speaker 6 (09:53):
No?

Speaker 3 (09:55):
Oh? Where do you think he went, miss Lily?

Speaker 1 (09:58):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
Maybe up to horse flats, maybe over by Gorman's crib
ficks all dried up.

Speaker 6 (10:06):
I'm gonna be no water in there.

Speaker 3 (10:07):
Did he take a water skin with him? Uh?

Speaker 5 (10:09):
Huh, No, he He didn't turn a bad wandering around
without no water.

Speaker 3 (10:14):
When did he leave? Yesterday morning? We heard a couple
of shots along about noon they found a calf laying
dead over in the north range. Uh. You can see
it there through the window, and had time to bring
it in here. Was Was he drunk?

Speaker 6 (10:34):
Sure?

Speaker 1 (10:36):
Drunk as you can get.

Speaker 3 (10:37):
Where do you, Lily? I I'm a feared for him,
Marshall dinner. Yeah, I understand, Well it makes good sense
you're sent for me. Well, i'll uh, I'll try and
find him and bring him back. Well, I ain't gonna
do no such thing you had, Marshall. Fella out of doc.

(11:01):
This is Marshall, Dylon, Dave, my brother, Dave Birch. How
I am. I told you, Lily, told you to keep
our business to us, not outside. It's got to be
somebody else's business the way it is, Dave.

Speaker 5 (11:17):
You know it.

Speaker 6 (11:17):
No such thing, Lily, I told her, Dave, I told
her I knew he was gonna be mad.

Speaker 3 (11:21):
I figure the four of us, you and your brother
here and Chester and May ought to be able to
get him in before now I missed. I told you
we don't need you, oh, no one else. I'll be obliged.
You get off this product. I'll see you and your
fellow there to the door. Marshal. I'm sorry, but if

(11:45):
your pause running around dangerous, it's my duty to find him. Donald.
I got him get up slow.

Speaker 6 (12:01):
And you fella reach up high. Okay, Dave, take the guns.

Speaker 3 (12:11):
The younger brother, Donald had got behind my chair and
now he was covering us with a shotgun. Dave took
our guns. It was kind of crazy, and I almost
wanted to laugh when I saw the kid, Danny, peeking
it around the door. But then I saw his eyes
and there was the same thing. And I'm hard angry

(12:33):
as in the others. The girl started to say something,
then she shut up. I'll get on your horses and
ride back.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
Now I want you out here.

Speaker 3 (12:45):
Say no matter for the law, and you're trusting you're
making it a matter for the law right now. You
know that.

Speaker 1 (12:49):
Start walking them guns?

Speaker 5 (12:51):
Is you asked property?

Speaker 3 (12:54):
Okay, I ain't no thief here bullets I'm keeper figure
they're worth about two bitch, Donald, give them two bits
here right now? Is your guns? Now?

Speaker 1 (13:17):
Get out fast. You've come snooping back again.

Speaker 3 (13:20):
Me and my brother are gonna be shooting at you.

Speaker 2 (13:41):
We will return for the second act of gun smoke
in just a moment. But first four centuries, arthritis and
rheumatism have plagued mankind, and it's only in the last
few years that science has begun to find hopeful avenue
to explore toward relief and cure. The Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation,
established nineteen forty eight, holds a yearly drive to obtain

(14:03):
funds for yet more concentrated research. A contribution to this
year's drive, sent simply Arthritis in care of your local postmaster,
will help this fine work to continue for the eventual
benefit of everyone.

Speaker 1 (14:18):
And now for the second act of gun smoke.

Speaker 3 (14:43):
The two brothers followed us out and over to the horses.
As hot as it was in the house, it was
worse than the open. The saddles were burning. There wasn't
another word passed between the Birch boys and me Igst
dicovering us look back a hundred yards or more off
they were still there.

Speaker 5 (15:07):
Well, sir, that's what comes of trying to do a kindness,
mister Dylon, As far as I'm concerned, they deserve whatever happens.

Speaker 3 (15:18):
I can't make it out Chester. You'd think from the
way they talked, they don't care what happens to their poor.

Speaker 5 (15:23):
Mean a bunch of children. They probably don't. My mister Dylan,
you ain't even riled they pulled guns on us.

Speaker 3 (15:30):
I guess I'm not Chester. You know there's something off
or wrong back there. Those boys don't look the kind
to pull a gun. And the girl wanted to talk,
all right, but they wouldn't let her.

Speaker 5 (15:45):
Just mean that's all. Oh, you aim to go back,
mister Dillon.

Speaker 3 (15:51):
It's like I said, Chester, if it's just a family affair,
you and me don't belong in it. But if the
old man's as drunk as he sounds, he could make
a lot of trouble. No, we're not going back right now.
We're gonna have a look around this country for a spell.

(16:12):
Chester and me covered a lot of ground that morning.
The end of the afternoon. I had an idea that
we might find birch wherever we could find water. Without
a horse, he couldn't get too far, and without water
he was gonna get sick pretty quick. We rode over
by Gorman's Creek and then up to horse Flats, and

(16:33):
there was nothing along. About two in the afternoon, Chester
spotted a carcass line off the trail was a cow.
She'd been shopped three times in the head.

Speaker 5 (16:48):
It coulda happened this morning or yesterday. Uh huh, hard
to tell in his weather.

Speaker 3 (16:57):
Oh well, the grounds too dry to pick up a track.
Might as well take a chance and go over to
the hills.

Speaker 5 (17:05):
Yeah, there might be water there. Boy, I could do
was some right just very minute.

Speaker 3 (17:18):
I got a funny taste in my mouth looking at
that dead cow. When the thing dies natural or gets
killed for food, that's one thing, But even an animal
has a look about it when it's been murdered. We
rode the half a dozen miles to the hills. They
weren't rightly hills, maybe more like humps rising up from

(17:41):
the brown, dry earth. And we could get a good
view across the plain. There was a patcher to a
wild oats up there, along pier indoor rust and fox tails.
Maybe it was in our minds, but just those few
feet higher made us seem closer to the sun hotter.

(18:08):
You ought to be able to see if he's out
there anywhere.

Speaker 5 (18:11):
Mister Dylon. He'd be dead if he was. Man couldn't
live a morning out there on foot.

Speaker 3 (18:18):
And I don't think he's gonna find water up here.
And look at that.

Speaker 5 (18:23):
Dry as a boom.

Speaker 3 (18:33):
You see something, mister Dylon, Yeah, tracks, I think, yeah,
he's been up here. I went down again though over there.

(18:53):
You sure have made a long.

Speaker 5 (18:54):
Way on foot, must be more than eight miles in
his place.

Speaker 3 (18:59):
Yeah, Oh you're bound, fool rattler.

Speaker 6 (19:13):
Yeah, I saw blue.

Speaker 5 (19:16):
His head clean off. I'm afraid you was gonna step
on him.

Speaker 3 (19:23):
Well, we'll follow the tracks until they give a come on.
Those tracks kept going in and around the hills. A
couple of places we saw where they'd stop by a
dry water hole and went on. Then as the hill
sloped down to the plain again we lost 'em. But

(19:44):
the direction seemed to be headed back to the Birch Place.
That's the way we rode. We hadn't gone more than
fifteen minutes long when we saw the body of a
man and a horse some few feet away. They were
both dead.

Speaker 5 (20:07):
Hum, you wanted to make sure it didn't mister Dilan.
Birch must have emptied his gun.

Speaker 3 (20:16):
What do they' is not Jack Mason, one of Omn
Gorman's hands.

Speaker 5 (20:20):
Yes, y, it's who tis right now. Nice fella too,
I knew him a bitter.

Speaker 3 (20:29):
Get him on your horse with your chester and take
him over to mister Gorman.

Speaker 5 (20:32):
Yes, sir, I'll do that.

Speaker 3 (20:33):
I'm gonna go back to the Birch place.

Speaker 5 (20:36):
I I'd rather come with you, mister Dil.

Speaker 3 (20:40):
Now meet me there huh, yes, sir. And if you
see Birch on the way, watch your step. Try not
to kill him, but don't take any chances.

Speaker 5 (20:51):
No, sure, I surely won't.

Speaker 3 (20:58):
There was killing now, and I was wasn't in the
mood to talk gentle and kind with the sons and
girl at the house. It was the boy Danny that
saw me first. He was sitting on the doorstep. He
ran inside, and a second later I saw Dave come
out with a shotgun. I didn't give him a chance
to make up his mind. I'm sorry, but I'm not

(21:32):
arguing with you anymore. Where's your paw? I don't know
he killed a man back on the plane away. You're
a liar, told you get in the house, kidnaped get you?

Speaker 1 (21:44):
He's a liar?

Speaker 4 (21:44):
Poor and you ever kill nobody?

Speaker 3 (21:45):
Where's Donald and your sister out? Look, mister Diddy?

Speaker 5 (21:52):
He kills him?

Speaker 3 (21:54):
Yeah, Jack Mason, one of Gorman's boys.

Speaker 4 (21:57):
Don't you say that?

Speaker 1 (21:59):
Don't you say?

Speaker 3 (22:00):
They give me some whiskey with him? Arm paints?

Speaker 4 (22:04):
What do I tell life about?

Speaker 3 (22:08):
What do you think he is? Donald? Hers shot up
horse flats when you've gone up there, and he must
have doubled back from the hills. Listen, you tell the
boy to ride in the town and fetch the dock
out here. He'll take care of that arm. Okay, when
my deputy rides in Chester Prodfoot tell him where I've gone.
Will you be sure?

Speaker 1 (22:27):
Marshall? Yeah, Marshall, you gonna you're gonna kill our or Paul.

Speaker 3 (22:39):
I don't want to, not if I can help it.
Over At Horse Flats, I caught up with Donald and
Lily Birch. I told him about to kill him, and
a half mile further on the three of us saw
the old man. He was crouching down on his haunches

(23:04):
by a parched water hole, stripped naked. He was crying.
It was a bad sound. And when I saw his eyes,
I knew he wasn't drunk. There was no sign of
his guns or his clothes.

Speaker 6 (23:29):
Paw, it's okay, You're okay, Paul, come on, come on,
pap please. I knew it would have happened like this.

Speaker 3 (23:41):
Someday. I knew it would. Boys figured be shame on.
A sword word got out. Paul had spells. Your brothers
were wrong. It's all right.

Speaker 5 (23:58):
Till after more time.

Speaker 3 (24:01):
And he started to act this way. That's where we
had to leave our last place. People found out try
to keep him home, but weren't no good.

Speaker 1 (24:14):
You give your boy.

Speaker 3 (24:15):
It's a step of water and your bars.

Speaker 1 (24:18):
This do you now get up or go on?

Speaker 3 (24:21):
That's funny. Pond never took a drink in his life.
We always said he was drunk when he carried on
like this. Oh, people could figure a mind drunk. How
you are? I'm sorry, Miss Lilly. Then help me that.
I'm gonna have to take him in. I got to well,

(24:42):
they do too. I don't know good, but he's done murder.
It's my job to take him in. They'll hang him.
I don't know, maybe not, I don't know. Some shine,
where where's your brother? He didn't let you come out
here at Lona? You're a jewey gunna.

Speaker 5 (25:03):
Where's your mall?

Speaker 6 (25:06):
Better?

Speaker 3 (25:07):
Miss Lily? Come over here, and I want you to
listen to me. It's not my business, but will you
let me give you some advice? Miss Lily? Huh? Now
you settle this place. I'll see what I can do

(25:28):
to help, and you and your brothers go somewhere else
and start afresh. You can get a good price for
your land. You'll do that. It's best. Yeah, will go.
I'm not saying you've got to. I'm saying it to
be better, to be better for the kid. He's seen

(25:49):
too much of this. It's not good. You gotta teach
him to to smile again, act like a kid again.
You understand, you understand, Sure, I understand. Okay, I'll be

(26:11):
taking him along. Now. We'll stop off at your place
with some clothes, all right. We took the old man
back to his place, got him dressed. His children said

(26:34):
goodbye to him, like they knew that they'd never see
him again, like there was no hope. Chester rode in
and the old man seemed real happy to go back
with us to Dodge. He didn't know, he didn't care.

(26:55):
On the way, we passed the Doc and Danny riding
out to take care of Dave's arm. Funny thing the
old man that didn't see the kid. He was prattling
to us about the Indian Wars. At last I saw
Danny Burchie. He was looking back over his shoulder at

(27:17):
his paw, and we heard him still crying. Long way off.

Speaker 1 (27:47):
Gun smoke.

Speaker 2 (27:48):
Under the direction of Norman McDonald, stars William Conrad as
Matt Dylan, us Marshall. Tonight's story was specially written for
gun Smoke by Anthony Ellis, with music composed and conducted
by Rex Cory. Featured in the cast were Richard Beals
as Danny and Michael Ann Barrett as Lily, with Lee Millar,

(28:09):
John Bayner and Lawrence Dabkin Harley bear Is Chester. Gun
Smoke has heard by our troops overseas through the worldwide
facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service.

Speaker 1 (28:21):
Join us again next week.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
As Matt Dillon US Marshall fights to bring law and
order out of the wild violence of the West in Gunsmoke.

(28:54):
The New York Philharmonic celebrates its one hundred tenth birthday tomorrow,
and in observance will be a repeat performance of Beethoven
Symphony Number five. This work was featured on the first
Philharmonic broadcast over one hundred years ago.

Speaker 1 (29:09):
This is Roy Rowan Speaking America.

Speaker 2 (29:12):
Now listens to one hundred and five million radio sets
and listens most to the CBS Radio Network.
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