Gunsmoke (1955–1975): Season 12, Episode 3 - The Jailer - full transcript
In an episode that made TV Guide's list of "Top 50 Dramatic Episodes of All Time" (and quite high on the list at that), Etta Stone is the matriarch of a crime family, whose husband was hanged and three sons imprisoned six years earlier at Matt's instigation. Now the sons have gotten out of jail and their first order of business is to kidnap Kitty, forcing Matt to come alone to rescue her. He gets a dire welcome when he sees a do-it-yourself working gallows right in the Stone front yard, and he is quickly seized and locked in the barn (Kitty is locked in the house). Etta Stone, with the help of the three imprisoned sons, tells Matt that he will be hanged from the gallows "on the morning of the second day." The only honest people around are the youngest son and the wife of another son, who have developed a romance of their own. One of the other sons can be bought, but he comes to a bad end -- Etta catches him helping Kitty try to escape and blows her own son away with the rifle she always carries. Now Kitty will also hang for "murder" immediately after Matt does, unless somehow Matt and Kitty can outwit the remaining crooks (which is hard; Matt survives a second botched escape attempt only because Etta demands that he be hanged rather than shot when cornered) and escape Etta herself.
(dramatic theme music playing)
(both guns fire)
ANNOUNCER: starring
James Arness as Matt Dillon.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
(doorknob rattling quietly)
(footsteps)
(screaming)
(theme music playing)
Matt, we talked to 25 people.
Nobody has seen her. Nobody.
Sam, when's the
last time you saw her?
Last night when I closed up.
Her bed hasn't been slept in.
Clothes are all still there.
Festus.
I'll get the horses, Matthew.
Thad, keep an eye
on things here in town.
Right.
Well, Matt, where in thunder
are you going to look for her?
(chickens clucking)
They're here.
Where's Ma?
By the grave.
Sarah...
I'd best get Ma.
Hey, Mama!
I want you to meet somebody.
Where's Mama?
Ben went to fetch her.
Honey, I want you to
meet Miss Kitty Russell.
This is good.
This is very good.
Well, don't you think
she's pretty, honey?
Huh?
We should've taken a case or two
over at your place,
saloon keeper.
Are you gonna tell me
what this is all about?
Oh, now, don't you worry
your pretty little head
none about it, ma'am.
Mama's gonna
tell you all about it.
Listen, if you think
for one minute...
(door opens)
You done fine, Lou.
You all did.
How you been keeping, Ma?
I feel better now.
Just the sight of her
puts life in my bones.
Sarah, put the
food on the table.
Sit, boys, and eat.
You must be hungry.
- Sure am, Ma.
- Sure am, Ma.
It's good to see you boys again.
- Yeah.
- Looks good, Ma.
Good to see you.
What are you doing?
- Lou.
- Get your hands off me!
(grunting)
You just better settle down.
If it's money or
jewelry you want...
What is it you know
about what I want?
Well, I was hoping that
you'd get around to telling me.
Don't talk flippant.
You ain't in no position.
When you're
finished eating, son,
ride back to
Dodge with this ring.
Send one of the
other boys, Mama.
I got a wife here that I
ain't seen in six years.
You don't mind, do you, Sarah?
No, Ma Stone, I don't mind.
Well, I mind.
It'll wait.
You go.
Then he'll come the way I want.
What is all this about?
It's about a dream
started six years ago,
and you're gonna help
me make it come true.
My Judas goat.
It's your man I want.
That... Marshal Dillon.
You look a little
tired, Marshal.
Who are you?
Stone. Lou Stone.
Don't you remember?
Yeah, seems to me I do.
What do you want?
Well, it ain't so much a
question of what I want
as what do you want.
Seems to me a man just out of
prison's got better things to do
than play word games.
Well, I got a message
for you, Marshal.
You and I got to be a
certain place in ten hours.
Alone.
If we ain't there, I know
a woman that you know
that's gonna be dead.
What?
Now, I got the finger
that this belongs to.
Where is she?
You kill me, Marshal,
and you ain't never
gonna see her alive again.
Is that what you want?
(horses approaching)
Where's Kitty Russell?
She's here.
Jack, fetch her out.
Oh!
Kitty, you all right?
Yes.
What's going on here?
My, ain't you in one big hurry.
I've waited six years,
and you want to know
about everything right away.
Well, here it is, then.
I'll give you the same
measure of mercy
the law gave my husband
after you took him in, Marshal.
On the morning of the
second day, you'll hang.
All right, Kitty.
What about her?
Your woman?
Like I said, the same
measure of mercy.
She'll get visiting privileges,
like I did, two times
a day for ten minutes.
You'll get a taste of what
suffering is really like.
Your man's gonna die.
He's gonna swing from
the end of some hard rope
till he breaks his neck,
and there ain't nothing
you can do about it
except count the
hours until it happens.
He'll hang like a hammock,
swinging back and forth...
back and forth.
Lock him up in the tack room.
It's all right, Kitty.
Marshal...
you got a nice view.
You'll see each board
that goes into the
making of your gallows.
You're tying that rope
around your own neck.
And your boys'.
It's not gonna end right here.
You listen to me, old woman.
Let us go.
Let you go?
Do you think all you
got to say is "let us go"?
Six years I lived
for nothing but now:
the next two days, the
morning of the second day.
Lock her up.
I'll pay you.
$5,000.
Oh, you can get more than that.
How much?
Ten thousand.
I don't have it,
but I can raise it.
You're already beginning
to tear your heart to pieces.
Think what it'll be
like in five hours, ten...
the morning of the second day.
Put her in her cage, Jack.
That's a lot of money, Ma.
Well, after the marshal hangs,
maybe she'll talk money again
to save her own life.
Not one penny.
We'll see.
(lock clicks)
(hammering)
♪♪
♪♪
Fred, the boys are home.
And they brought the marshal
and that woman with them.
And in a little while,
he's gonna pay,
on the morning
of the second day.
It's come, Fred.
Fred...
what am I gonna
do when it's over?
There'll be nothing left for me.
Nothing to make
me want to keep on.
But it'll be a glorious
two days, Fred.
You'll see.
Glorious.
You got ten minutes.
Enjoy them.
(Kitty sighs)
(lock clicks)
You all right?
Mm-hmm. How about you?
Fine.
Now, Kitty, I know
what you're thinking.
But I don't want you to
give up hope on this thing.
Now, there's time,
and when there's time,
we can think of something.
I want you to believe that.
(hammering)
Y-You know,
I-I've been thinking.
I-I've got to be back
in Dodge by Friday.
I've got supplies coming in.
Now, Kitty, listen to me.
If you get a chance to
get out of here by yourself,
I want you to take it,
do you understand?
Sure.
I mean it.
I know you do.
(spurs jangling)
Festus, will you
take off those spurs
and sit down or something.
Don't...
Golly Bill, Doc, I'm worried.
Well... so am I.
First it's Miss Kitty.
Now Matthew's went
someplace... Who knows where.
He's probably out
looking for Kitty.
Ah, he wouldn't have did that,
'cause if he was to do that, I
was supposed to be with him.
He told me that.
Well, wherever he went,
he sure left in a hurry.
Has he ever done that before?
Matt's left in a hurry
an awful lot of times.
Not like this.
Well, fudge.
We can stand around
here a-guessing all day,
but the fact is Miss Kitty's
gone and now Matthew's gone,
and I'm fixin' to do
something about it.
What?
We're gonna get us a
searching party together
and go out looking.
Get down there
at the Long Branch.
Get Sam and whoever
else you can find.
- I'll meet you back here in five minutes.
- Right.
Doc, I'm going to Delmonico's
and do the same thing.
Hold on, now.
That's fine, but why don't you
just wait till tomorrow morning?
Wait?
Well, it's gonna be
dark in a couple of hours.
Well, so it gets dark.
Hold on a second.
What is it?
How about taking
these cuffs off?
I can't do that.
Well, it's like a jail in here.
There's nothing I can do.
I'll talk to Ma about it.
(door closes)
(lock clicks)
Sarah?
Ben, I got to get back.
I know. Just one minute.
SARAH: I'm scared.
I been scared all my life.
But not like this.
They should have
hung Lou with my pa.
Ben?
We got to forget these last
years between you and me.
Lou's my husband, and he's back.
BEN: I'll talk to him.
- No!
- I'm not giving you up, Sarah!
I got to get back.
Oh, we just
forget it, is that it?
Maybe you have already.
Is that it, Sarah?
Is it?
LOU (in distance): Sarah!
Did you get lost or
something, Sarah?
No, Ma Stone.
What took you so long?
I'm sorry. I just
took a little air.
You got nothing to
do but take the air?
Let me see the tray.
I checked it.
Looks like the food wasn't
good enough for him.
It ain't the food.
He just ain't very hungry.
You said you checked
the tray, did you?!
I swear.
I took everything
out of the tack room.
It's all there.
Where?
There's no spoon.
It was on the tray.
We'll go find it, Mama.
Come on.
(door closes)
♪♪
Found it right out on
the ground, right outside.
I was running.
It must have
fallen off the tray.
You gonna be needing her
anymore tonight, Mama? Hmm?
Make sure one of
you wakes Mike in time
to take over for
Ben at the tack room.
Sarah...
Come on.
Come on. Huh?
Dishes. I got to finish.
The dishes can wait.
Dishes can wait.
Go ahead.
Pleasant dreams, baby brother.
(door closes)
(lock clicks)
What do you want?
Well, I thought you'd like
to take a little company.
Hmm?
Would you like a drink?
Yeah.
I could use a drink.
Here's to you.
I'm glad you came in.
How about another?
(liquor pours)
(crickets chirping)
BEN (whispers):
Marshal. Marshal.
Hello, Ben.
Uh, I wanted to ask
you something, Marshal.
What's that?
Uh, what would happen if
you were to get out of here?
And the woman.
I mean, what would
happen to all of us?
Would we go to jail?
Well, I'll tell you one thing.
If your ma has her
way, you're gonna hang,
every last one of you.
If not?
Well, whatever it is would
be better than hanging,
wouldn't it?
Well, would it mean jail?
Ben, I couldn't make
any guarantees about that,
but I'll tell you something.
You help us get out of here,
I'll do everything in my power
to see that you
get a fair trial.
(door opens in distance)
Open it up, Ben.
Are you comfortable, Marshal?
No, I'm not.
What a pity.
What is it you're lacking?
Mrs. Stone...
One step nearer
could be your ending.
You wouldn't shoot me. You
want to hang me too much.
You'd hang
crippled just as well.
Marshal, you remember my man?
He was a handsome man.
He should've died a better way.
You gave him an ugly death.
Mrs. Stone, I didn't kill your
husband, and you know it.
Yes, you did.
You tracked him
with a vengeance.
The state of Kansas
hanged your husband
because a judge and jury
found him guilty of murder.
But you put him in their hands.
And now you're in mine.
And you're gonna sit here
and wait, just like he did,
and think what it's like
to swing from a rope.
What about afterwards?
Have you thought about that?
I don't care none
about afterwards.
Well, maybe not for yourself,
no, but what about your boys?
They've already spent
six years in prison.
Now, if you go
through with this,
they're gonna
swing from a gallows
just as sure as
your husband did.
Is that what you want?
You know what I want, Marshal.
What about Kitty?
She's just fine.
You don't have to
worry none about her.
All right, then let her go.
I'm the one you
want. You got me.
That's something else
for you to think about.
Just look at it like... her
being on your conscience.
Hey, Kitty, could you
see me in Chicago?
I'd have some time, wouldn't I?
$5,000 is an awful lot of money.
It sure is, lady.
Sure is.
You could, um, make up for
all that time you spent in prison.
Wait a minute.
How do I know that if
I get you out of here...
you're gonna give me the money?
(chuckles softly)
You're a lot stronger than I am.
I'd be afraid not to.
Yeah.
I guess you would, at that.
Nah.
My mama, she'd kill me.
She'd kill me dead.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
All Ma wanted was the marshal.
Right?
That's right.
And all you were supposed
to do was help us get him.
That's all.
That's right.
Well, we got him.
Don't we?
Not only would you save
yourself from the noose,
but you'd be a rich man.
You sure do give a
convincing argument, lady.
All right.
I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna help you out, lady.
I'm gonna help you out.
Now, listen.
We got to make it to the barn.
I want you to follow me.
I want you to be real quiet.
And, lady...
if you're double-dealing me...
You'll kill me.
Yep.
Now, come on.
Come on out.
♪♪
(door opens, closes in distance)
You watch him good, Ben.
All right, Ma.
Mike will be out
soon to take over.
- Yes, Ma.
- Night.
Good night, Ma.
♪♪
Let's go.
I'm not going without him.
I told you, lady,
it's just you and me.
Without Matt
Dillon, the deal is off.
Oh, you're talking crazy.
I don't go without him!
All right.
Get off the horse!
I'm gonna take you
back in the house.
No, you're not.
If you make one move toward me,
I'll start yelling
this place down.
And what do you
think your ma would do
if she came out here and saw
me with two saddled horses?
Now, you got no choice.
Get another horse saddled!
(door opens)
It's, uh, not what
you think it is, Ma.
Believe me, Ma.
You-you know I wouldn't...
- (gunshot)
- (horse neighing)
(grunting)
(panting)
My man wasn't enough.
Now Jack is dead.
You and that marshal,
you're killing my whole family.
But if it costs the
lives of all of us,
you'll both die on the rope.
Him first, then you.
(door opens)
What happened?
(Kitty sighs)
I must look like I fought
the War Between the States
single-handed and lost.
Come on, sit down.
Tell me about what happened.
Oh, Matt, that woman's crazy.
You know what
she did last night?
She shot her own son
without so much as a word.
She just shot him dead.
Why?
Well, I had one of the boys
talked into trying to
help us get out of here,
and-and she caught us.
(hammering)
Oh, Kitty, I'm sorry
you got mixed up in this.
You should've gotten
out of here by yourself
when you had a chance.
And leave you here?
Not on your life.
Or is that a bad joke?
Now, look. What about
this youngest son, Ben?
Have you had a
chance to talk to him?
- No. Why?
- Well, I did.
I talked to him last night.
And he doesn't want
any part of this thing.
And he and this girl Sarah
seem to be pretty close.
I think our best chance
is to get to one of them.
Well, I'll... I'll try
and talk with him.
I don't think she'd
be much help.
They've got her frightened
out of her own shadow.
Matt, we don't have much time.
Kitty, a lot of things can
happen before tomorrow morning.
Ben.
(talking quietly)
BEN: What do you want?
Some water.
(lock clicking)
She'd look pretty
in a new dress.
What?
Sarah.
How long has it been
since she's had a new dress?
You want something. What is it?
To get Matt Dillon
and myself out of here.
Yeah, well, Jack
died trying to do that.
So will you, Sarah
and your family
if your ma gets her way.
Maybe.
You're not much of a man.
They treat her like a slave.
She's Lou's wife.
But she loves you,
and you love her.
Yeah, it's simple as that.
We could help each other.
I don't think so.
I'd like to, but I... I can't.
Look, you could start
over, you and Sarah.
I'd see to it that you
got a place of your own.
It's her only chance, Ben.
There's no chance.
There is, and
you got to take it.
They'll hang you
and your whole family
for killing us.
And believe me, they'll get you.
Now, you think about the life
that you might
have had with Sarah.
(lock clicking)
(lock clicking)
Hi, Marshal.
Nice night out, ain't it?
Gonna be the last one
you're ever gonna see.
You got something
to say, say it.
Otherwise, get out of here.
(chuckles): Well, now...
ain't you the one for
giving orders, huh?
You know, I'll bet
tomorrow night at this time,
you're knocking
on the pearly gates
and hollering up at
Saint Peter, saying,
"Open up the gate, Saint
Peter. I'm the marshal."
Sarah.
Wait.
You stay there, honey.
Okay.
Now, why don't
you let the marshal
have his supper...
His last supper.
(chuckles)
Thank you.
(gunshot)
Lou, you out there?
Stay in here.
Open the door.
Marshal, if you don't
stand up in the moonlight
where I can see you,
I'm gonna unload my
rifle in your woman.
Marshal, do you hear me?
(whispers): Ben, I...
She's a dead woman right now.
Ben.
Watch her.
Mike, go see what
happened to Lou.
If you killed him, Marshal...
MIKE: He's all right, Ma!
Don't, Lou. He's got to hang.
I've waited six
years for tomorrow.
You ain't gonna
cheat me out of it.
I'll shoot you dead
just like I done Jack.
Mike, drag him in the tack room.
Watch over him.
Lou, my true son, come
on in the house with me.
♪♪
Nobody saw you?
I don't think so.
It's hard to forget, isn't it?
I don't want to.
I might as well
forget I'm alive.
When was the last time
you had a new dress?
(chuckles)
A long, long time ago.
Why?
Uh, she asked. Miss Russell did.
She wanted me to help her
and the marshal get out of here.
She said she'd help us find
a place to start, you and me.
I couldn't.
I was... scared.
Scared of Ma, Lou...
I was scared I'd die and
never see you anymore.
Ben, Ma's gonna
kill us all, anyway.
(door opens)
Hey!
What are you doing?
Lou...
You take your
hands off her, Lou!
- What did you say?
- You heard me.
Let me tell you something, boy.
After that hanging tomorrow,
you see that gun you got on you?
Better come here
prepared to use it,
or you better
hightail out of here
and never let me
see your face again!
You got that?
Get out.
Get out!
♪♪
(door closes, lock clicks)
Kitty.
It's morning of the
second day, Matt.
Please, you've got to help us.
There ain't no help.
You got ten minutes.
(lock clicks)
Thanks for all the
wonderful years, Matt.
MA: Lou!
Lou!
Ben!
Where are ya?
It's time!
Now, Kitty, I want you to
go through that door first,
and once you get outside, duck.
All right.
Hey, open up!
MIKE: What do you want?
I want to let Kitty
out. Open the door.
Hold it right there.
Now drop the gun.
Slow.
(gunshot)
Lou! Ben!
It was me, Ben.
I snuck a gun to the
marshal on the tray.
(gunshots)
Kitty, get back.
(gunshot)
Ben, open up on him!
You got a clear
shot from the house!
MA: Ben, do you hear me?
BEN: Ma, stop!
Call it off!
We can all get out of it alive!
You miserable cowards!
(gunshot)
♪♪
ANNOUNCER: Stay tuned for
scenes from next week's Gunsmoke.
(both guns fire)
ANNOUNCER: starring
James Arness as Matt Dillon.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
(doorknob rattling quietly)
(footsteps)
(screaming)
(theme music playing)
Matt, we talked to 25 people.
Nobody has seen her. Nobody.
Sam, when's the
last time you saw her?
Last night when I closed up.
Her bed hasn't been slept in.
Clothes are all still there.
Festus.
I'll get the horses, Matthew.
Thad, keep an eye
on things here in town.
Right.
Well, Matt, where in thunder
are you going to look for her?
(chickens clucking)
They're here.
Where's Ma?
By the grave.
Sarah...
I'd best get Ma.
Hey, Mama!
I want you to meet somebody.
Where's Mama?
Ben went to fetch her.
Honey, I want you to
meet Miss Kitty Russell.
This is good.
This is very good.
Well, don't you think
she's pretty, honey?
Huh?
We should've taken a case or two
over at your place,
saloon keeper.
Are you gonna tell me
what this is all about?
Oh, now, don't you worry
your pretty little head
none about it, ma'am.
Mama's gonna
tell you all about it.
Listen, if you think
for one minute...
(door opens)
You done fine, Lou.
You all did.
How you been keeping, Ma?
I feel better now.
Just the sight of her
puts life in my bones.
Sarah, put the
food on the table.
Sit, boys, and eat.
You must be hungry.
- Sure am, Ma.
- Sure am, Ma.
It's good to see you boys again.
- Yeah.
- Looks good, Ma.
Good to see you.
What are you doing?
- Lou.
- Get your hands off me!
(grunting)
You just better settle down.
If it's money or
jewelry you want...
What is it you know
about what I want?
Well, I was hoping that
you'd get around to telling me.
Don't talk flippant.
You ain't in no position.
When you're
finished eating, son,
ride back to
Dodge with this ring.
Send one of the
other boys, Mama.
I got a wife here that I
ain't seen in six years.
You don't mind, do you, Sarah?
No, Ma Stone, I don't mind.
Well, I mind.
It'll wait.
You go.
Then he'll come the way I want.
What is all this about?
It's about a dream
started six years ago,
and you're gonna help
me make it come true.
My Judas goat.
It's your man I want.
That... Marshal Dillon.
You look a little
tired, Marshal.
Who are you?
Stone. Lou Stone.
Don't you remember?
Yeah, seems to me I do.
What do you want?
Well, it ain't so much a
question of what I want
as what do you want.
Seems to me a man just out of
prison's got better things to do
than play word games.
Well, I got a message
for you, Marshal.
You and I got to be a
certain place in ten hours.
Alone.
If we ain't there, I know
a woman that you know
that's gonna be dead.
What?
Now, I got the finger
that this belongs to.
Where is she?
You kill me, Marshal,
and you ain't never
gonna see her alive again.
Is that what you want?
(horses approaching)
Where's Kitty Russell?
She's here.
Jack, fetch her out.
Oh!
Kitty, you all right?
Yes.
What's going on here?
My, ain't you in one big hurry.
I've waited six years,
and you want to know
about everything right away.
Well, here it is, then.
I'll give you the same
measure of mercy
the law gave my husband
after you took him in, Marshal.
On the morning of the
second day, you'll hang.
All right, Kitty.
What about her?
Your woman?
Like I said, the same
measure of mercy.
She'll get visiting privileges,
like I did, two times
a day for ten minutes.
You'll get a taste of what
suffering is really like.
Your man's gonna die.
He's gonna swing from
the end of some hard rope
till he breaks his neck,
and there ain't nothing
you can do about it
except count the
hours until it happens.
He'll hang like a hammock,
swinging back and forth...
back and forth.
Lock him up in the tack room.
It's all right, Kitty.
Marshal...
you got a nice view.
You'll see each board
that goes into the
making of your gallows.
You're tying that rope
around your own neck.
And your boys'.
It's not gonna end right here.
You listen to me, old woman.
Let us go.
Let you go?
Do you think all you
got to say is "let us go"?
Six years I lived
for nothing but now:
the next two days, the
morning of the second day.
Lock her up.
I'll pay you.
$5,000.
Oh, you can get more than that.
How much?
Ten thousand.
I don't have it,
but I can raise it.
You're already beginning
to tear your heart to pieces.
Think what it'll be
like in five hours, ten...
the morning of the second day.
Put her in her cage, Jack.
That's a lot of money, Ma.
Well, after the marshal hangs,
maybe she'll talk money again
to save her own life.
Not one penny.
We'll see.
(lock clicks)
(hammering)
♪♪
♪♪
Fred, the boys are home.
And they brought the marshal
and that woman with them.
And in a little while,
he's gonna pay,
on the morning
of the second day.
It's come, Fred.
Fred...
what am I gonna
do when it's over?
There'll be nothing left for me.
Nothing to make
me want to keep on.
But it'll be a glorious
two days, Fred.
You'll see.
Glorious.
You got ten minutes.
Enjoy them.
(Kitty sighs)
(lock clicks)
You all right?
Mm-hmm. How about you?
Fine.
Now, Kitty, I know
what you're thinking.
But I don't want you to
give up hope on this thing.
Now, there's time,
and when there's time,
we can think of something.
I want you to believe that.
(hammering)
Y-You know,
I-I've been thinking.
I-I've got to be back
in Dodge by Friday.
I've got supplies coming in.
Now, Kitty, listen to me.
If you get a chance to
get out of here by yourself,
I want you to take it,
do you understand?
Sure.
I mean it.
I know you do.
(spurs jangling)
Festus, will you
take off those spurs
and sit down or something.
Don't...
Golly Bill, Doc, I'm worried.
Well... so am I.
First it's Miss Kitty.
Now Matthew's went
someplace... Who knows where.
He's probably out
looking for Kitty.
Ah, he wouldn't have did that,
'cause if he was to do that, I
was supposed to be with him.
He told me that.
Well, wherever he went,
he sure left in a hurry.
Has he ever done that before?
Matt's left in a hurry
an awful lot of times.
Not like this.
Well, fudge.
We can stand around
here a-guessing all day,
but the fact is Miss Kitty's
gone and now Matthew's gone,
and I'm fixin' to do
something about it.
What?
We're gonna get us a
searching party together
and go out looking.
Get down there
at the Long Branch.
Get Sam and whoever
else you can find.
- I'll meet you back here in five minutes.
- Right.
Doc, I'm going to Delmonico's
and do the same thing.
Hold on, now.
That's fine, but why don't you
just wait till tomorrow morning?
Wait?
Well, it's gonna be
dark in a couple of hours.
Well, so it gets dark.
Hold on a second.
What is it?
How about taking
these cuffs off?
I can't do that.
Well, it's like a jail in here.
There's nothing I can do.
I'll talk to Ma about it.
(door closes)
(lock clicks)
Sarah?
Ben, I got to get back.
I know. Just one minute.
SARAH: I'm scared.
I been scared all my life.
But not like this.
They should have
hung Lou with my pa.
Ben?
We got to forget these last
years between you and me.
Lou's my husband, and he's back.
BEN: I'll talk to him.
- No!
- I'm not giving you up, Sarah!
I got to get back.
Oh, we just
forget it, is that it?
Maybe you have already.
Is that it, Sarah?
Is it?
LOU (in distance): Sarah!
Did you get lost or
something, Sarah?
No, Ma Stone.
What took you so long?
I'm sorry. I just
took a little air.
You got nothing to
do but take the air?
Let me see the tray.
I checked it.
Looks like the food wasn't
good enough for him.
It ain't the food.
He just ain't very hungry.
You said you checked
the tray, did you?!
I swear.
I took everything
out of the tack room.
It's all there.
Where?
There's no spoon.
It was on the tray.
We'll go find it, Mama.
Come on.
(door closes)
♪♪
Found it right out on
the ground, right outside.
I was running.
It must have
fallen off the tray.
You gonna be needing her
anymore tonight, Mama? Hmm?
Make sure one of
you wakes Mike in time
to take over for
Ben at the tack room.
Sarah...
Come on.
Come on. Huh?
Dishes. I got to finish.
The dishes can wait.
Dishes can wait.
Go ahead.
Pleasant dreams, baby brother.
(door closes)
(lock clicks)
What do you want?
Well, I thought you'd like
to take a little company.
Hmm?
Would you like a drink?
Yeah.
I could use a drink.
Here's to you.
I'm glad you came in.
How about another?
(liquor pours)
(crickets chirping)
BEN (whispers):
Marshal. Marshal.
Hello, Ben.
Uh, I wanted to ask
you something, Marshal.
What's that?
Uh, what would happen if
you were to get out of here?
And the woman.
I mean, what would
happen to all of us?
Would we go to jail?
Well, I'll tell you one thing.
If your ma has her
way, you're gonna hang,
every last one of you.
If not?
Well, whatever it is would
be better than hanging,
wouldn't it?
Well, would it mean jail?
Ben, I couldn't make
any guarantees about that,
but I'll tell you something.
You help us get out of here,
I'll do everything in my power
to see that you
get a fair trial.
(door opens in distance)
Open it up, Ben.
Are you comfortable, Marshal?
No, I'm not.
What a pity.
What is it you're lacking?
Mrs. Stone...
One step nearer
could be your ending.
You wouldn't shoot me. You
want to hang me too much.
You'd hang
crippled just as well.
Marshal, you remember my man?
He was a handsome man.
He should've died a better way.
You gave him an ugly death.
Mrs. Stone, I didn't kill your
husband, and you know it.
Yes, you did.
You tracked him
with a vengeance.
The state of Kansas
hanged your husband
because a judge and jury
found him guilty of murder.
But you put him in their hands.
And now you're in mine.
And you're gonna sit here
and wait, just like he did,
and think what it's like
to swing from a rope.
What about afterwards?
Have you thought about that?
I don't care none
about afterwards.
Well, maybe not for yourself,
no, but what about your boys?
They've already spent
six years in prison.
Now, if you go
through with this,
they're gonna
swing from a gallows
just as sure as
your husband did.
Is that what you want?
You know what I want, Marshal.
What about Kitty?
She's just fine.
You don't have to
worry none about her.
All right, then let her go.
I'm the one you
want. You got me.
That's something else
for you to think about.
Just look at it like... her
being on your conscience.
Hey, Kitty, could you
see me in Chicago?
I'd have some time, wouldn't I?
$5,000 is an awful lot of money.
It sure is, lady.
Sure is.
You could, um, make up for
all that time you spent in prison.
Wait a minute.
How do I know that if
I get you out of here...
you're gonna give me the money?
(chuckles softly)
You're a lot stronger than I am.
I'd be afraid not to.
Yeah.
I guess you would, at that.
Nah.
My mama, she'd kill me.
She'd kill me dead.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
All Ma wanted was the marshal.
Right?
That's right.
And all you were supposed
to do was help us get him.
That's all.
That's right.
Well, we got him.
Don't we?
Not only would you save
yourself from the noose,
but you'd be a rich man.
You sure do give a
convincing argument, lady.
All right.
I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna help you out, lady.
I'm gonna help you out.
Now, listen.
We got to make it to the barn.
I want you to follow me.
I want you to be real quiet.
And, lady...
if you're double-dealing me...
You'll kill me.
Yep.
Now, come on.
Come on out.
♪♪
(door opens, closes in distance)
You watch him good, Ben.
All right, Ma.
Mike will be out
soon to take over.
- Yes, Ma.
- Night.
Good night, Ma.
♪♪
Let's go.
I'm not going without him.
I told you, lady,
it's just you and me.
Without Matt
Dillon, the deal is off.
Oh, you're talking crazy.
I don't go without him!
All right.
Get off the horse!
I'm gonna take you
back in the house.
No, you're not.
If you make one move toward me,
I'll start yelling
this place down.
And what do you
think your ma would do
if she came out here and saw
me with two saddled horses?
Now, you got no choice.
Get another horse saddled!
(door opens)
It's, uh, not what
you think it is, Ma.
Believe me, Ma.
You-you know I wouldn't...
- (gunshot)
- (horse neighing)
(grunting)
(panting)
My man wasn't enough.
Now Jack is dead.
You and that marshal,
you're killing my whole family.
But if it costs the
lives of all of us,
you'll both die on the rope.
Him first, then you.
(door opens)
What happened?
(Kitty sighs)
I must look like I fought
the War Between the States
single-handed and lost.
Come on, sit down.
Tell me about what happened.
Oh, Matt, that woman's crazy.
You know what
she did last night?
She shot her own son
without so much as a word.
She just shot him dead.
Why?
Well, I had one of the boys
talked into trying to
help us get out of here,
and-and she caught us.
(hammering)
Oh, Kitty, I'm sorry
you got mixed up in this.
You should've gotten
out of here by yourself
when you had a chance.
And leave you here?
Not on your life.
Or is that a bad joke?
Now, look. What about
this youngest son, Ben?
Have you had a
chance to talk to him?
- No. Why?
- Well, I did.
I talked to him last night.
And he doesn't want
any part of this thing.
And he and this girl Sarah
seem to be pretty close.
I think our best chance
is to get to one of them.
Well, I'll... I'll try
and talk with him.
I don't think she'd
be much help.
They've got her frightened
out of her own shadow.
Matt, we don't have much time.
Kitty, a lot of things can
happen before tomorrow morning.
Ben.
(talking quietly)
BEN: What do you want?
Some water.
(lock clicking)
She'd look pretty
in a new dress.
What?
Sarah.
How long has it been
since she's had a new dress?
You want something. What is it?
To get Matt Dillon
and myself out of here.
Yeah, well, Jack
died trying to do that.
So will you, Sarah
and your family
if your ma gets her way.
Maybe.
You're not much of a man.
They treat her like a slave.
She's Lou's wife.
But she loves you,
and you love her.
Yeah, it's simple as that.
We could help each other.
I don't think so.
I'd like to, but I... I can't.
Look, you could start
over, you and Sarah.
I'd see to it that you
got a place of your own.
It's her only chance, Ben.
There's no chance.
There is, and
you got to take it.
They'll hang you
and your whole family
for killing us.
And believe me, they'll get you.
Now, you think about the life
that you might
have had with Sarah.
(lock clicking)
(lock clicking)
Hi, Marshal.
Nice night out, ain't it?
Gonna be the last one
you're ever gonna see.
You got something
to say, say it.
Otherwise, get out of here.
(chuckles): Well, now...
ain't you the one for
giving orders, huh?
You know, I'll bet
tomorrow night at this time,
you're knocking
on the pearly gates
and hollering up at
Saint Peter, saying,
"Open up the gate, Saint
Peter. I'm the marshal."
Sarah.
Wait.
You stay there, honey.
Okay.
Now, why don't
you let the marshal
have his supper...
His last supper.
(chuckles)
Thank you.
(gunshot)
Lou, you out there?
Stay in here.
Open the door.
Marshal, if you don't
stand up in the moonlight
where I can see you,
I'm gonna unload my
rifle in your woman.
Marshal, do you hear me?
(whispers): Ben, I...
She's a dead woman right now.
Ben.
Watch her.
Mike, go see what
happened to Lou.
If you killed him, Marshal...
MIKE: He's all right, Ma!
Don't, Lou. He's got to hang.
I've waited six
years for tomorrow.
You ain't gonna
cheat me out of it.
I'll shoot you dead
just like I done Jack.
Mike, drag him in the tack room.
Watch over him.
Lou, my true son, come
on in the house with me.
♪♪
Nobody saw you?
I don't think so.
It's hard to forget, isn't it?
I don't want to.
I might as well
forget I'm alive.
When was the last time
you had a new dress?
(chuckles)
A long, long time ago.
Why?
Uh, she asked. Miss Russell did.
She wanted me to help her
and the marshal get out of here.
She said she'd help us find
a place to start, you and me.
I couldn't.
I was... scared.
Scared of Ma, Lou...
I was scared I'd die and
never see you anymore.
Ben, Ma's gonna
kill us all, anyway.
(door opens)
Hey!
What are you doing?
Lou...
You take your
hands off her, Lou!
- What did you say?
- You heard me.
Let me tell you something, boy.
After that hanging tomorrow,
you see that gun you got on you?
Better come here
prepared to use it,
or you better
hightail out of here
and never let me
see your face again!
You got that?
Get out.
Get out!
♪♪
(door closes, lock clicks)
Kitty.
It's morning of the
second day, Matt.
Please, you've got to help us.
There ain't no help.
You got ten minutes.
(lock clicks)
Thanks for all the
wonderful years, Matt.
MA: Lou!
Lou!
Ben!
Where are ya?
It's time!
Now, Kitty, I want you to
go through that door first,
and once you get outside, duck.
All right.
Hey, open up!
MIKE: What do you want?
I want to let Kitty
out. Open the door.
Hold it right there.
Now drop the gun.
Slow.
(gunshot)
Lou! Ben!
It was me, Ben.
I snuck a gun to the
marshal on the tray.
(gunshots)
Kitty, get back.
(gunshot)
Ben, open up on him!
You got a clear
shot from the house!
MA: Ben, do you hear me?
BEN: Ma, stop!
Call it off!
We can all get out of it alive!
You miserable cowards!
(gunshot)
♪♪
ANNOUNCER: Stay tuned for
scenes from next week's Gunsmoke.