Gunsmoke (1955–1975): Season 13, Episode 3 - The Prodigal - full transcript

Gunsmoke, starring
James Arness as Matt Dillon.

Come on, Lem.
Let's bet 50 cents.

Look, I told you, I ain't
in no wagering mood.

You mean you ain't
in a losing mood.

- I told you I never miss.
- All right.

I'll just bet you a whole
dollar against your 50 cents

that you miss one out of three.

You just lost yourself a dollar.

Come on, stand
back. All the way back.

- Come on.
- Hey.

Hey. You boys have
to step back back there.



You feel your pockets
getting any lighter, Regal?

You ain't even halfway.

Hey, I thought I told
you boys to move.

Well, they'll have their
fill in just a minute, mister.

Well, now, if you wanna take a
chance on getting your horse all cut up,

I guess that's your business.

Oh, no, that's gonna
be your business.

How's that?

Been a long time since
I saw a Paterson 40.

Ain't that what you're wearing
there, sonny, a Paterson 40?

- Uh-huh.
- No trigger till you cock it.

That takes a mighty practiced hand.
Last time I saw a fella wearing one...

Hey, I see'd the pictures.

You be the Cole
brothers, ain't you?



Wearing your daddy's old gun.

Now, you boys finally
getting up to Dodge

to take care of your
daddy's back-shooter.

Hmm. Boys don't seem to
be much for words, do they?

Ain't much for
much is what I hear.

I mean, if... if my daddy was to
get shot some 10, 12 years ago

and that back-shooter walking
around enjoying all that reward money,

I don't think I'd be wearing his
gun except maybe I meant to use it.

My, my, my. These boys
don't flare too easy, do they?

Maybe I'm hinting, sonny,
that that respectable gun

just don't belong on your hip.

I figure it ought to have
a real honored spot,

like in there over the
bar in the saloon in there.

Now, look here, mister, we
ain't looking for no trouble.

Oh, I can tell that.

Letting old Frank
Coles' back-shooter

wander around free
and easy all these years.

Yes, sir, I just about
got my mind made up.

I'm gonna give you two dollars
for that gun. That'll make it legal.

We been taking it
for a long time, mister,

from every saloon
loafer with a loose mouth.

Well, right now,
right this second,

I'm figuring maybe it's time
we don't take it anymore.

Meaning you two
are just plain unlucky.

Well, now, it appears
to me you're calling us

and I don't think
you're that growed.

Or make a game
out of it. Play draw.

Let's just see if you're man
enough to hold onto that gun.

I had a mind to put lead
through your thick heads,

and I'm still wondering.

Amos.

We didn't ask for this
to get to a shooting.

You got just one minute
to get going down that road.

You better strop dragging your feet or
you ain't gonna have no use for them.

Well, come on. I don't want
an estimate on a new buggy.

Will you just hold your tail?

I'm trying to see what
shape these wheels is in.

Well, they're round.

All right, smart alec. Did you know
that some of your spokes is loose?

Did you know that you're about to lose
two or three rims? Did you know that?

I know all about it. All I wanna know
is how much it's gonna cost to fix it.

How much?

Well, it oughtn't cost too much.

- 50 cents?
- Fair enough. Go right ahead, fix it.

Course, you don't realize
what a job this is, Doc.

Now, you see what I gotta
do, I gotta take this here buggy

right down yonder to the creek

and I gotta set in there for several
hours just soaking these wheels.

Course, it'll tighten
up the spokes.

They'll be tighter than the
pinfeathers on a prairie chicken's rump

when I get done, I'll
guarantee you that.

- You gonna take it down to the creek?
- Yes.

Course, it wouldn't occur to you

that while the buggy's sitting
in the middle of the creek there

soaking up the
wheels and everything,

you hadn't figured on
maybe sitting there in the seat

and just doing a lot of little
comfortable fishing maybe?

- You hadn't thought of that?
- Well...

Yes! You expect me to pay you
50 cents for fishing? Not on your life.

All right, just hold on.
That ain't all there is to it.

Now, just supposing that I was
to think about doing a little fishing,

I'd have to go out yonder and
I'd have to dig me a can of worms

and I'd have to run all over
that prairie and them hills

a-catching grasshoppers,
and that gets tiresome.

Now, if it wasn't for having to
take your dang buggy down yonder

to soak them spokes, I wouldn't
have to get all tired like that.

Hold on here a minute, now.

You are a never-ending
source of amazement to me.

The way your little pea brain

can connive and take
devious and diabolical routes

and circumnavigate the truth.

- Did you ever think of just being...
- Doc?

- What?
- Ain't that them Cole boys?

You're right, Festus. Paper
said they'd be here today.

Just makes me feel plumb good

to know that they're
gonna be out yonder

helping their
grandpa on his farm.

Don't it you?

Yeah, that'd be nice if that was the
way it was gonna be, but I'm afraid not.

Why not?

Well, the way people are beginning
to think how their father was a big hero,

the man that shot him
was a coward and all of that,

all on account of those penny
dreadful magazine articles.

- Penny dreadful?
- Yeah, books. Articles in the maga...

When are you ever
gonna learn to read

so I don't have to
explain everything to you?

All right, smart alec. How do
you know I ain't started to learn,

and how do you know that?

Well, Festus, I think that's
wonderful. I'm proud of you.

When did you start to learn
to read? That's wonderful.

- Ain't nobody said that I did start to.
- You said so yourself.

Just supposing I... I...

I could have started to
commence to begin to learn

and you wouldn't have
knowed a thing about it.

Supposing you was out of town
and you didn't hear nothing about it.

You ain't as smart as you
think you are, you know.

'Cause I could have started to
learn and you'd have never knowed,

and then you come up and make
them... them smart-alec remarks

like you just done
just... just now,

the... the very same
thing in the same way.

- Morning.
- Howdy, Marshal.

What can I do for you?

Well, my name is Cole and
this is my brother William.

Well, how do you do?

Uh, Marshal, we figured we
ought to just come by and see you

before we went
on up to the farm.

I'm glad you did.
Welcome to Dodge.

Sizable town.

I was out seeing your
grandpa the other day.

He's gonna be mighty glad to
have you boys out there with him,

I'll tell you that.

We didn't exactly come
up here to farm, Marshal.

Boys, you know, what happened
to your pa was 12 years ago.

Now, don't you think it's better
to leave that whole thing alone?

Marshal, do you have any idea
what it means to be Frank Cole's sons

and to have everybody
always wondering

when you're gonna start
looking for your pa's killer?

Yeah, boys, I think I got a pretty
good idea of what you've been through.

But, you know, there's nothing to
be gained by opening it all up again.

I guess you wouldn't
have any objections

to our asking around
now and then?

Well, if you do that, you're just
gonna start people talking again.

- Is that what you want?
- No.

No, we just kind of figured we'd come
in and lay our cards on the table with you

right from the beginning.

So that's why we come in.

Marshal, you don't happen to know a
newspaper man named Stoner, do you?

- Yeah, I know him. Why?
- He was in Tucson to see us.

Said maybe he'd have some
information for us after we come up here.

- You mean he's coming to Dodge?
- Yeah, yeah, he is.

He said sometime
tomorrow he ought to be in.

Boys, I'm gonna tell you
something about Mr. Stoner.

He's the man that's most responsible
for keeping this whole story alive.

He'll print anything as long as it
keeps people's tongues wagging.

Marshal, the point is that whoever
back-shot our pa in that saloon

is still walking around free.

What makes you so sure of that?

Mr. Stoner said if he was dead,
you'd have said so a long time ago,

and if he wasn't in Dodge,
you'd have said that too.

The governor's orders were
that the name of Frank Cole's killer

was never to be revealed.

Now, that's the way
it's been all these years

and that's the way it's
gonna have to continue to be.

I'm sorry, boys. I
wish I could help you.

Come on.

Hey, let's go get us a couple
of beers before we head out.

Well, Stoner said we shouldn't
talk to nobody till he gets in.

I know, I know,

but I just wanna watch her face
when we ask her that one question.

Well, what are
you drinking, gents?

Would you ask the lady
to take our order, please?

I'll take care of it, Sam.

Couple of beers, ma'am, please.

Say, my brother and
me, we got a question.

The time was about 12 years back,
the night our... our pa, Frank Cole,

got killed in this saloon, and
you were here behind the bar.

And we were always wondering
if you owned the saloon that night

or maybe you suddenly got
enough money to buy the place.

There was fifteen thousand
dollars on our pa's head.

I bought the Long Branch a year
before your father was killed in here.

Oh. Well, we see, ma'am.

Not knowing you before, this has
been something that's been on our mind.

Yeah.

Hello, Grandpa.

Grandpa.

Hey, we got your letter.
We got your letter OK.

I wanna thank you for asking us to
come up here and make a home with you.

Got your pa's looks. He
was a handsome man.

No matter what's said about him,
you boys had a pa people took to.

Well, the land ain't
much to look at,

but I always seen a promise,
some strength be put to it.

Well, Grandpa, I think
this is a fine-looking place.

Will be, my grandboys run it.

An old hen probably
running around that barn.

One of you boys handy at
neck-ringing and dressing,

we might put us up a
homecoming dinner.

I'll get her for you, Grandpa.

You be the older. Amos.

That's me, Grandpa.

Be the one wearing
your pa's gun.

- His, Grandpa.
- That's a good boy.

It's right the older
boy wears his pa's gun.

Kind of says something
lives on after a man.

Something he had
lives in you. I can see it.

It's a nice section of land.

Something wrong, Grandpa?

I'll... I'll get the horses.

Times I figured giving
up working the land,

but I kept thinking of you boys
and the day you'd be taking over.

I mean, knowing your ma was
sick down in Texas holding you there.

Kept writing to your ma telling
her she sure had a place up here.

Yeah, but, Grandpa, you know,
Dodge held bad memories for her.

Can appreciate that.

Maybe we wouldn't
be up here at all

except for a newspaper
fella called Stoner.

And he's right.

Your pa was no animal to
get shot down like he was.

Man who done
it ain't fit to live.

He's coming in to see us tomorrow,
says he's got something to tell us.

You boys put some cooperation
along with him, you hear?

That man's with your pa
and that's the important thing.

Grandpa, you remember the
times Mr. Stoner talked to you?

Nice fella.

He couldn't get clear what happened
that night even after talking to you.

Grandpa? Grandpa?

That night, Grandpa.

You and pa were talking,
drinking down at the Long Branch.

It was almost morning,
you remember, and...

and you and pa
were sitting at a table.

Yeah, and Kitty Russell, she was the
lady tending the bar, you remember?

Nice woman.

Mr. Stoner couldn't get it
straight if the man who killed pa

went out the back of the saloon.

Might have.

Don't recall.

That's when everything
happened, me getting my stroke,

Doc Adams called it.

Real sick after that. Real sick.

Yeah, I know. Well, I hate to
worry you with questions, Grandpa.

But Mr. Stoner always claimed that
the man wasn't a stranger in Dodge,

it was somebody who lived here.

A stranger. Marshal said
he was and he'd know.

Frank!

Frank!

It's me, Grandpa, Amos.

Oh.

I'll...

I'll... get to bed, I guess.

It killed Grandpa
that night too.

And you say maybe
we should forget it.

Amos, I keep
getting a funny feeling

like we're walking through
some kind of a graveyard.

I got that feeling too.

But there's one more
grave needs filling.

Whoa. Whoa!

Marshal Dillon.

Stoner.

Well, now, I detect a certain lack
of warmth in your greeting, Marshal.

What brings you
to Dodge this time?

A newspaperman's
prime obligation

is searching for news,
sir, and reporting it.

What news is that?

I've always been intrigued with
your interest in that Frank Cole case.

Not really that of the
impersonal lawman, is it?

Would you care to
comment on that, sir?

Stoner, I made my comments
to the governor 12 years ago.

Well, Eli. They finally
promoted you to day clerk.

Oh, no, Mr. Stoner.
Howie's a little out of sorts.

I'll be back on tonight.

Thank you, Eli.

It's... It's room number
eight, Mr. Stoner.

That's the one...
That's the one you like.

Thank you, Eli.

You ought to take
something for your nerves.

Or is it just when I'm
in town you fall apart?

- It wasn't you, was it, Eli?
- What?

Frank Cole's killer?

Oh, come on, Eli. I was only
joking. Don't you ever loosen up?

You shouldn't say things
like that, Mr. Stoner.

The Cole boys are
up here right now.

I know that.

The next few days will
be mighty interesting.

I was first on the scene
covering the story of your father

when he rode into Laredo
and signed up for amnesty,

and I was with
him in Littlefield

when he went after Bob
Daniels and forfeited the amnesty.

I lived with him in the
hills, him and his men,

after they knocked off
that Mexican silver train.

Just reporting the facts, mind you,
nothing more than I was paid to do.

I wasn't interested in
giving any moral lectures,

just lucky enough to be
somebody he trusted, I guess.

Mr. Stoner, people have told us

that you've been making
a career out of our pa.

I have devoted the greater
part of a dozen years

to writings on the
life of Frank Cole.

I've enjoyed doing it.

I was an admirer of
your father, still am.

I want the end of his story,

the one who shot
your father in the back

in the Long Branch
saloon 12 years ago,

and you get no apologies from me

for wanting to be the one to
turn the final page on your father.

You said you'd have
some information for us.

I have.

The man who killed your father

rejected the fifteen thousand
dollars' worth of reward money.

What?

Now, I had always assumed,
along with everybody else,

that that money
had been collected.

Well, last month I
was in the state capital

and I came across
an old auditors' file.

It was just a wild shot.

I was hoping somebody'd be
careless enough to name the man

who'd received fifteen thousand
dollars the year your father was killed.

Well, did you get a name?

No, but the next best thing.

"Returned to general funds."

That was the entry against
the amount appropriated

for the capture and/or
death of Frank Cole.

In other words, the
reward was refused.

Now, who would turn
down fifteen thousand dollars

after killing to get it?

Well, certainly not a
professional bounty hunter.

We have here a man so terrified
that after killing your father,

he rejected that money rather than
chance his identity became known.

We have here a man
who's rooted to Dodge

and who cannot simply take that
money and ride off like any other man.

That doesn't get us any
closer to knowing who it was.

12 years ago Dodge was simply
a place you... you rode through.

There was barely 50 people paying
county taxes, and all that's changed.

Half of those have either
died off or moved away.

Here's all that's left.

23 names.

You know, you stir a pot enough,
everything comes to the surface.

I come up with a pretty long ladle
there in addition to those names.

If you fellas are interested, we
could start a little stirring tonight.

- You're requesting a what?
- A coroner's jury on our pa.

There was never one held.

Son, your father was
wanted dead or alive.

There's no question about
his death being justified.

Now, Marshal, the law says
there has to be a coroner's jury

if the next of kin,
meaning us, asks for it.

- And there's no time limit.
- I know what the law says.

I also know who
put you up to this.

Marshal, are we in our
legal right or ain't we?

It's not a question of
legal rights and you know it.

Now, being his boys, we just wanna
make sure it was our pa shot down.

All right, then I'll tell you
exactly what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna ride over to
Allentown and see Judge Brooker.

I'm gonna get an injunction
against this inquest.

Marshal, somehow you ain't
very impartial in this case,

and seems to us you should be.

Boys, I'm gonna
tell you something.

This is better left alone.
And I'm telling you as a friend.

Are you friendly
enough to tell us

why the back-shooter
wouldn't take the reward money?

Come on, Billy.

I tell you, Matt, I
was afraid of this.

Yeah, when that
Stoner got off the stage,

I should've put
him right back on.

There's no doubt about that,

but if you ran him out of town
now, it sure wouldn't look good.

Doc, do you realize how
few people there are left

that could be
subpoenaed to an inquest?

That's exactly what
Stoner's counting on.

Yeah. I just hope Judge Brooker sees
fit to grant me an injunction, that's all.

Something wrong, Mr. Stoner?

Eli, I may decide to give myself
the blue ribbon for stupidity.

You know, it's getting to
me, a marshal taking sides.

Yeah, I know.

I think something
just dropped in my lap.

Huh?

With just a particle of luck,
which I richly deserve at this point...

we shall be closing this case by
the time the marshal gets back.

It's all right. I was
just practicing drawing.

Well, I knew a man who lost a foot
practicing his draw from a loaded gun.

That right? Well, I'll
know better next time.

Eli... you've always told
a rather credible story

about where you were
when Frank Cole was shot,

asleep on your stool there.

That's the truth, Mr. Stoner.

And a shot rang out and woke
you up and you ran to that door,

but when you got there, the
killer had disappeared from view.

Well, now, why would you run to
the door when you heard a shot?

It's... the natural
thing to do, isn't it?

I accepted that as a
rather natural reaction

to having a shot
ring out in the street.

But upon reflection, Eli,
was there a week went by

that some drunken wrangler
wasn't causing a fuss out there?

Any single night
that you didn't hear

some kind of disturbance
outside that door?

Well, I guess not.

Well, now, I would wager,
Eli, about a dozen times a night

you leaned across this
desk, looked out in the street,

down one side and up the other.

- I don't know what you're getting at.
- Oh, yes, you do, Eli.

Frank Cole's killer was standing in
the doorway of the Long Branch saloon.

Now, you were leaning
across your desk

just a fraction of a
second after that shot,

so you must have seen who it
was standing there in the doorway

of the Long Branch saloon.

I hardly remember that... that
far back just where I was or...

Well, a little
personal transaction.

I... I didn't say I saw anybody.

I'm sick of the people of this town
protecting the man who shot my father.

Now, Eli has a
nervous condition.

Amos! He frightens easily.

Please, Mr. Cole.

I'm a family man.

So was my pa.

And he left my ma to
raise my brother and me.

Now, I'm giving you just five seconds
to guess if I'm gonna pull this trigger.

- I only saw his back!
- His back?

Now, Eli, you tell me of
any man near or in this town

that you would not recognize
front, back or sideways

from all the time you've
spent looking through that door.

- I don't know nothing about it.
- Who killed my pa?

The marsh...

It was Marshal Dillon.

The marshal.

We're gonna have to be careful.

We're gonna have
to be mighty careful.

Your grandfather
said that the man

was standing out in front of the Long
Branch saloon when he fired that shot.

You, Eli, you heard
the sound of the gun,

you leaned across the desk and
you saw Dillon in that doorway.

The marshal never knew I
saw him. Nobody ever knew.

I... I didn't blame him.

I didn't blame him for taking
any chance with a fast gunfighter.

Only protecting himself.
Keeping it a secret.

Lawmen aren't
entitled to a reward.

That's why the money was never
collected. This all fits in so nice.

He shook hands with us.

- Said he wanted to be our friend.
- Oh, he was just playing it smart.

And that's what you
got to do right now.

What do you mean?

- We'll talk it over in my room.
- I don't wanna talk.

Now, listen to me.

There's a right way and a
wrong way of handling this.

You've gone along this far.
You're gonna go on a little farther.

Thank you, Eli. I'll send you an
autographed copy of the book.

I'll refer to you
as Mr. X in it.

Amos, you cannot go out
after the marshal on the trail

because they're gonna
say you ambushed him,

whether you call him or not.

He's right, Amos.

A bounty hunter shoots
a wanted man in the back.

All right, I can see that,
maybe, but a lawman?

- You want justice, not revenge.
- I want Dillon dead.

Get the rest of the
town on your side first.

I don't care nothing
about this town.

You might start to care when
they get a noose around your neck.

For settling with the one who
bushwhacked my pa? Oh, no.

You'll get Dillon, but do it with some
style like your father would've done.

Now it's time for some truth!

I want the real reason
that you kept quiet,

and don't tell me it
was to protect someone

just 'cause the
governor said so.

What are you talking about?

Protecting the marshal you're
sweet on is what I'm talking about.

Come on, Amos, that's enough.

The name you deserve
ain't fit to be print.

- Hold it right there.
- Everyone's in on it.

- They're all in on it!
- Nobody's in on nothing.

That back-shooting marshal's
been hiding behind her skirts.

Get him out of here.

All right, now,
you listen to me.

I'm coming in tomorrow
and facing the marshal.

I leave it up to the town if I ain't got
the right to call my pa's back-shooter.

Come on.

Stoner.

I think you've excited
that boy just about enough.

My friend, each of us
inherits certain rights.

Ask any of these
fair-minded gentlemen

if a son has not only a duty but a
right to avenge the murder of his father.

Hoo! Just listen to me, mister.

If you stay in town till tomorrow
when Matthew gets back,

it ain't gonna be the
smartest thing you've ever did,

I'll guarantee you that.

Doc, you know what
this is gonna do to Matt.

This here's the messiest
mess that I've ever saw.

People are gonna be
wanting some answers,

and Matt won't do that,
and he can't face that boy.

Kitty, when someone says
they're coming after you with a gun,

the only thing you can
do is defend yourself.

I don't know of any way in the
world you can avoid a gunfight with...

somebody who thinks they've...
they've got a rightful cause.

Course, Matt could
throw him in jail.

Just postpone it.

Run him out of town,
but he'd be back.

No, sir.

There's a few things
you can refuse a man,

but when he's bound and
determined he's gonna fight you,

you gotta accommodate him.

Always been like magic,
that gun of your pa's.

It has a good feel, Grandpa.
It's all I ever been using.

Guess you know what
I'm feeling, William.

It's a matter maybe
shouldn't be done this way.

- I got strong feelings, Grandpa.
- I know that, Amos.

But the marshal's always been
a man willing to listen and talk.

The marshal's been a man
lying to you all these years

about it being a
stranger that night.

There's only one thing
to think about, Grandpa.

The marshal shot
your son in the back.

- Still thinking I should talk to him.
- Talk about what, Grandpa?

Maybe if he wasn't
wearing a gun...

if he admitted he done wrong...

You don't gun a man
who says he done wrong.

Grandpa, after all these years,

Marshal Dillon is not gonna admit
that back-shooting, now you know that.

We could ask.
I'll go in and talk.

And if he says he's sorry, well,
Amos won't have to go drawing on him.

I don't know.

Maybe if the marshal
says he done wrong

or if he tells all them townspeople
that he's a... a cowardly back-shooter,

and worse, being a lawman.

I mean, if he stands
there without a gun

and shows that it took a
coward to gun down pa,

well, I guess... I guess maybe he
wouldn't be even worth shooting.

I'll hitch the wagon.

That still doesn't
suit you, huh?

Amos.

Amos, I told you that it felt like a
graveyard round here and I meant it.

We should've never
come back here.

We should have left our
pa buried the way he was.

Well, there's either been trouble
or there's gonna be. Which is it?

A little of both.

It's that blame newspaper
fella Stoner, Matthew.

He's stirred up a
whale of a mess.

What's he done?

He's got Amos
Cole so stirred up,

he's coming into town
to face you in a gunfight,

and I don't think you're gonna
be able to talk him out of it either.

Amos Cole gonna
fight me? What for?

Well, he's accused you of
shooting his father in the back,

and he's made sure
the whole town knows it.

Yeah, and that Stoner's making
sure the whole country knows about it.

He sent off a whole batch
of telegraphs this morning.

I think I'll just go over and
have a talk with Mr. Stoner.

I'll see you later.

Mar... Marshal.

I'm...

- What room is Stoner in?
- Number eight.

I'm... I'm sorry. Marshal, I...

Judge Brooker rule on
the inquest yet, Marshal?

There's not gonna
be any inquest, Stoner.

I want you on the noon stage.

Fine. Fine. Give me plenty of
time to wrap up my story, Marshal.

Marshal!

Jonathan.

I came in first, Marshal,
to do some talking.

Good. I hope you told Amos what a
foolish thing it is he's thinking about.

Well, now, I'm
thinking, Marshal,

that talking to Amos'd do
more good coming from you.

- He wouldn't listen to me.
- Depends on what you say.

Now, I mean, if you was to tell him
you didn't mean to back-shoot that night,

maybe figuring that Frank was
out to trick you or something,

you could tell Amos that.

- I can't do that, Jonathan.
- Well, why not?

Ain't it enough you killed my son
without maybe killing my grandson?

I don't want no
more killing, Marshal.

Neither do I.

Come with me, Jonathan.

Well, maybe it was accidental.
You could tell Amos that.

Yeah, please tell him that. Then
you won't have to shoot him too.

Marshal!

Marshal always saying
a stranger done it.

Maybe nobody'd blame
him changing his story

if he just come right out and
said it was a thing he couldn't help.

Did you talk to my grandpa?

Yes, I talked to him.

Well?

Is that all you got to say? Huh?

Son, I'll tell you one thing,
you're making a mistake.

Hold it right there, Marshal.

I suppose you didn't
shoot my pa in the back?

I told you, you're
making a mistake.

All right. You're
carrying a gun.

On the count of three, Marshal.

Amos, don't.

One...

Amos, this is no good.

- Two...
- Now, don't be a fool, Amos.

Frank! Frank! Frank!

- Grandpa.
- Oh.

Oh, I thought you was...

I thought he was Frank.

But you... you can't be Frank.

Frank's been dead for 12 years.

I thought he was Frank.

It was me, wasn't it, Doc?

Marshal?

It was me killed your pa.

Oh, Grandpa.

Your pa in town to kill the marshal
and me trying to talk him out of it.

It had to stop, boy.

Your pa killing for money. That's
what he was doing in the end.

Killing for pay.

Taking the lives of decent men.

Marshal, I...

Stoner.

Stay away from there.
You got your story.

Howdy, Jonathan. How's
everything going out at the farm?

Oh, Festus, you'd never
recognize the place.

These two have
worked positive miracles.

They have, huh?

South Forty's been
cleared, plowed and planted.

We're gonna have a fine crop
of milo maize come harvest time.

I knew I was right
hanging onto that old farm.

I just knew my grandboys'd take
to it and make something out of it.

Yes, sir, I did.

Oh, come on, Grandpa,
there's a lot more to get inside.

Let's get on with it, then.

Oh, Marshal, you and Festus gotta
take supper with us one of these nights.

- Well, you just name the time.
- Sunday week.

- We'll be there.
- We'll be expecting you.

Much obliged.

Well, Matthew, it just makes
you feel plumb soulsome, don't it?

Soulsome?

Yeah, seeing Jonathan
be his old self again,

and Amos and William just
as soulsome and roundy.

What I mean is roundy, like there ain't
no sharp edges sticking out no place,

you know what I mean.

Stay tuned for scenes
from next week's Gunsmoke.