Gunsmoke (1955–1975): Season 17, Episode 1 - The Lost - full transcript

After the stagecoach Kitty is riding in is wrecked in the middle of nowhere, she wanders the desert in a vain search for help. On her last legs, a feral child approaches her at first with trepidation until Kitty can demonstrate she is a friend. She finds a cabin inhabited by a family who explain that the feral girl is an "animal" who has a bounty on her head for stealing chickens. The family captures the girl and keeps her in a cage with the intentions of exhibited for money as a wild animal. Matt and company finally find Kitty and the girl.

Announcer: Gunsmoke, starring
James Arness as Matt Dillon.

Better drop down
them curtains, Miss.

Keep out some of the dust.

Whoa!

Whoa!

♪♪

♪♪

Who's out there?

Who are ya?

Please come out
and let me see ya.

Just wasn't no sign of her.



Nothing but a bunch of
dress boxes strewed around.

Got 'em down at the
house if you want 'em.

Well, no, thanks. Maybe later.

Where can we find the wreck?

About 18 miles. That way.

There's a fallen tree across the
road. Coach is down in the gulley.

You can't miss it.

Thanks for your help, ma'am.

- Thank you, ma'am.
- Mrs. Grayson.

Sorry about your friend.

Thank you, ma'am.

Now, just a minute.

I don't wanna hurt you.

But if you don't quit
fighting, I'm gonna have to.



Now, please,
you've gotta help me.

You've gotta tell
me where we are

and how we can get out of here.

Look, I'll... I'll
tell you what.

I'll turn you loose,
and then we can talk.

All right?

Wait a minute!

Come back here!
You've gotta help me!

Please!

All right, all right.

This is where you live, huh?

I wonder how many
years you've been like this?

Hey, uh, I'm lost.

You can get me out of here.

Oh, please help me.

I know you can hear me.

But you won't talk.

Or you can't.

You just stay right here.

I can't do anything about that.

You just go ahead and
be a dog in the manger.

Eat your... your berries.

I hope you'll be very happy.

Real happy.

Marshal, there's
some blood on the seat.

Festus: Matthew! Matthew!

There's a whole mess
of tracks back yonder

heading off into that...

Why you reckon she'd
want to go thataway?

I don't know, but it's a good
thing she's walking anyway.

Come on, Newly.

Festus: Come on, Ruth. Hyah!

Ruth, hyah!

Curious about what I'm doing?

This is a fire.

I'm gonna try and catch some
fish and get something to eat.

Smells good, doesn't it?

Come on.

Here.

You are wild.

I don't suppose I'll...

I'll ever know how
you got this way.

Festus: Matthew?
Young'un's tracks here.

Looks like she's barefooted.

Made about the same
time Miss Kitty's was.

Sometime yesterday.

Newly: Well, what's a little
kid doing out here anyway?

Miss Kitty was all
alone before this.

Matt: Well, there may
be a ranch around here.

Leastwise Miss Kitty knows
enough to follow downstream.

She's bound to come
to something sometime.

We better get rolling.

I don't know how
to thank you, so...

This is about all
I have to offer.

A very special
person gave me that.

Well... I'm gonna
have to leave you now.

Gotta get across
that river before dark.

You think she was here, Marshal?

Could be her.

I sure hope so.

She's survivin'.

Well, I hate the thought of her
staying out here another night alone.

Oh, I do too, Newly.

I don't know what we're
gonna do neither, Matthew.

We've just ran plumb
out of tracking ground.

I got an idea maybe
she crossed here.

Let's go over to the
other side and take a look.

Look, I've got an idea.

Come on over here. I'm
gonna draw you a picture.

That's a house.

A house.

Where people live.

All right?

These are people.

People.

Like you.

And me.

People that live in a house.

Please.

Come on.

Come on, please.

Come look at me.

I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to frighten you.

Come on.

You should put this back on.

You poor baby.

Wait a minute.

Lamond, get out here!

Just go on now. Come on.

It's people. They'll
help us. Come on.

Come look at this.

Look, look, look, look there.

Ain't that it?

Ain't that the animal?

Will you go after it?

Get goin'.

Stop. Just stop it.

Look at that. Boy, get up
there. Go catch it now, you hear?

What do you mean "it"?

You mean the child?

That ain't no child.
That's a animal.

- What?
- It.

Who are you anyway?

Well, my name is...

is Kitty Russell.
I'm from Dodge City.

And I was in this
stagecoach accident.

I got lost, and that
child helped me.

Helped you? It ain't
ever helped nobody.

I don't want her hurt.

Come on. We gonna
go see Miss Mather.

- Who's Miss Mather?
- That's Ma.

Now, you come on. She'll
get you something to eat.

Don't worry. We're
not gonna hurt you.

I wanna hear how you
become friendly with the animal.

Oh, stop fighting me, Mister.

I gotta get your neck.

That child, who is she?

How'd she get this way?

Ain't nobody around
here knows for sure.

We think it was the fever
sickness over Jewel Creek way.

It happened years ago.

And folks were
struck down all over.

They just fell down.

Up and down, back
and forth and sideways.

Bodies were layin'
all over the place.

We figured that the animal come
from one of them families that died.

Didn't anybody take her
in or try to take care of her?

The chances are
nobody knew... Knew...

Will you hush up? He rambles on
like that ever since he was afflicted.

Who'd want to take in a mangy
kid right out of a fever house?

We never got it, though,
so's you ain't gotta worry none.

Well, I already told her.
She knows we ain't sick.

Will you stop buttin'
in? I'm telling it.

Yes, Rubilee.

Um...

How long you folks live here?

Oh, we don't live here.

In this burnt-out old shack?

No, we're just
stopping off here.

We're on our way into
town for the big doin's.

It's Fourth of July, and we
just stopped in here last night

to get in out of the rain.

I just told her that.

Well, that explains it.

Explains what?

Well, the child. She's...

She's deathly afraid
of people, and...

Well, she lead me here,
thinking it was abandoned, and...

when she saw you, she ran away.

Faster than a
jack rabbit, she did.

Well, I don't understand
how she survived.

She survived by
stealin'. That's how.

Folks 'round here been going crazy
with her getting into chicken coops.

Bad enough she steals
the chickens and the eggs.

Then she leaves the coops open,

and old Mr. Fox comes in,

steals what she didn't take.

Even known to steal
a pig now and then.

Eats it raw.

Then leaves what
she can't tote off.

Even the seed grain ain't safe.

All right, mister,
you're through.

Hasn't anybody
tried to catch her?

To feed her? To teach her?

Or something like that?

Folks round here tried
everything they knew.

They've tried dogs,
they tried traps.

They even tried poison.

Poison? On a child?

Ain't no child. It's an animal.

Worse than any wolf
or coyote you ever saw.

Because it is smart.

Ain't smarter than us, Ma.

Sure look wore out, Miss Kitty.

I can make a palette for you.

In the shack, on the floor.

I sure could use some rest.

Come along with me.

Like I say, we
ain't got much here.

We're just stoppin' off.

But I can fix you some
kind of a thing on the floor.

Kitty: I sure appreciate that.

What's in here?

Well, such as it is, this is it.

Look.

How much you got there?

$38.

$38 spendin'?

It ain't Confederate.

You give me that.

I said give me that.
You give me that.

We're gonna have
us a hundred more

to match these.

You mean that
bounty on the animal?

How we gonna get it, Ma?

If the animal helped that woman,

that means she's
friendly with her.

Now, we got the woman.

She gonna sleep in there.

And if they be friendly
as I figure they be,

then sometime
tonight the animal...

gonna come
skulking around here...

looking for her friend.

Come on! Come on! I got her!

I got her!

Ow!

Come on!

Get her, Valjean!

Rubilee, we got it! Rubilee!

Get the hell off of her!

Let go of her. What
are you doing to her?

Leave her alone!

There's a bounty on her.

That child saved my life,
and I'm not gonna see her hurt.

Ma: Oh, don't let it get away.

She's worth a hundred dollars!

Valjean, get her.

Get in there. Come on.

Come and get her.

Valjean, will you come
here? Get her. Get her up.

Take her over into the shed.

We'll tie her up,
just to be safe.

Just throw her right in.

Mama, what are we gonna
do with all that money, huh?

We're gonna have us what we
always wanted and never did get.

A real house in town.

You just tie her up tight there.

Keep an eye on her.

All night?

Valjean'll spare you later.

I ain't closin' my eyes, if
that's what you're thinkin'.

No, sir. Not with you worth a
hundred dollars in gold, I ain't.

You're about the ugliest
thing I ever did see.

Not only are you ugly,
you're probably loony to boot.

You know what they're
gonna do with you?

Huh?

They're gonna take you and
lock you up in a big stone building

with chains on the walls.

They're gonna lock
you in those chains.

And you'll scream,
and you gonna holler,

and there ain't nobody
gonna hear you,

much less care.

And that's gonna teach you
for stealin' other folks' stock.

Valjean.

Shh.

Gonna get you out of here.

Just hold still.

All right.

There we go.

Okay. Okay.

Underneath. Go on.
Go on, underneath.

Hurry up.

Run. Go on.

No. I'm just gonna
hold you back.

Go on.

Lamond!

If you twitch a leg,
I'll blow you both.

Clean apart.

Mrs. Mather, you can't do this.

You shut your mouth.

Or I'll kick it shut.

Ma!

We're all ready.

Ma!

Please.

You just can't leave
me here like this.

- Oh, can't I?
- Come on. Let's go.

I can do anything I want
to now, looks like to me.

Son, come. Just
get that wagon going.

Get your hand in there,
you. Get it in there!

A hundred dollars
ain't gonna go far.

Oh, hush up, Marcus Henry.

Hundred dollars.
At least part of it.

I got me a plan.

Now, what we're gonna do...

is we're gonna go into town,

and we're gonna charge
everybody we see 50 cents a head

to take a look at the animal.

You mean, like, we're
going into business, Ma?

And then when all the folks have
paid 50 cents to peek at the freak,

we're gonna tell 'em
we want $200 more

or we'll turn her loose again.

You hear that, Lamond?
We're going into business!

We're gonna be rich!

Mrs. Mather: Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Matt: Hold up there.

Lamond: Good morning.

Anything we can do for you?

Well, we're tracking
a woman and a child.

Thought maybe you
might have seen 'em.

No, we ain't seen nobody.

Not a soul.

Ma'am, where does
this road lead to?

Back that away, it
leads to old Jewel Creek.

But the way we're
going, it heads into town.

Matt: Well, thank you, ma'am.

If you see anything
of 'em, why...

Mrs. Mather: Oh, we'll help 'em
out, Marshal. We certainly will.

Thank you.

Hold up just a minute here.
What do you got in there?

Well, that's just an
old animal we caught.

It's none of your affair.

Matthew! There's a
little girl in this here cage.

You leave her alone! She's ours.

There's a bounty on her,
and we got a right to it.

Let her out of there, Festus.

You let her out, you turn her
loose, you'll never catch her again.

Where's she runnin' off to?

Like as not, she's
g-gone to the woman.

Festus, you and Newly
keep an eye on 'em.

It's all right.

It's all right. He's a friend.

He's a friend.

It's gonna be all right.

- Matt.
- It's all right, Kitty.

- Oh.
- I'll have you loose in a minute here.

Mm.

Ow.

Sorry.

Matt,

this girl is scared
to death of people.

She's been living in
this wilderness all her life.

It's all right.

Don't worry. He's a good friend.

He's a good friend.

Oh, Matt.

Oh, thank God.

Thank God.

Kitty, it's all right.

It's all right.

She sleepin'?

She's out finally.

Figure she'll ever
let you clean her up?

Oh, I think so.

We might have managed it by now,

but too many men around.

Well, maybe when we get
back to Dodge it'll be easier.

I'm not gonna take her to Dodge.

You're not?

Newly, she knows that you and
Matt and Festus are my friends,

but she's still
terrified of you.

Now, how do you think she'd
feel in a completely strange town

with a lot of strange
people gawking at her?

Well, I see what
you mean, Miss Kitty,

but if you're not gonna take her to
Dodge, what are you gonna do with her?

Well, I've got an idea.

When we get to Silver Creek
Crossroads, I want you to stop.

Silver Creek? Well,
that's the road to...

What do you think?

I think that's the best
darned idea I ever heard of.

Whoa.

Marshal, we're
stopping at Silver Creek.

Stopping? What for?

Matt, I want you and Newly
and Festus to go on to Dodge,

and I'll meet you there later.

What are you gonna do?

Do you have to know everything?

Let's go, Newly.

Yes, ma'am. Giddup.

Mama, somebody's coming.

Come on. I think
it's Miss Kitty.

- Hi, Miss Kitty!
- Hi, Miss Kitty!

Hi, kids.

Wait.

Land sakes. That's a child.

Good gracious, Miss Kitty.
What has happened to you?

It's a long story, Bess.

- I'm gonna need your help.
- Yes. Yes, of course.

Well, now, where
did you find her?

Out in the badlands.

She's lived like an animal,

and she's absolutely
terrified of people.

She doesn't talk, she
doesn't understand,

and I thought, well, if anybody'd
know what to do, you would.

Oh, my goodness gracious.

Well, the first thing to do is get
her back down here if we can.

And we can't do that all standing
around here gawking at her.

Now, get back on the porch.

Every one of you.
Hurry up now. Get.

And don't gawk.

Miss Kitty.

I've had 17 children,

and wasn't a one of 'em didn't
have a little jealousy in 'em.

Now, what do you think?

Oh.

I think it's worth a try.

Hi, Elsie.

How are you?

Elsie: Fine.

It's so good to see you again.

I hardly recognize you,
you're getting to be such a...

Mm, big girl.

How old are you now?

Four.

Four years old.

Is it working?

I think so.

She's coming down a little.

Kitty: Say, I know
what let's do.

- You wanna have some fun?
- Yes.

Would you like to go for
a ride on the carousel?

Yes.

All righty.

Stand on there.

You better stop it, Bess.

Wait.

No, no. Come on.

Come on. No, no, no.

No, no, no.

No.

Bess.

You wanna go with
Mommy for a minute, huh?

Come on.

Come on.

Please?

Get on up here with me. Come on.

Please.

Put your feet up. That's right.

All right, Bess.

It's all right.

Bess: Robin?

Mary?

It's all right. It's all right.

Maria.

All right, children.

It's all right.

It's all right.

Bess: Stop.

It's all right. Believe me.

Please.

It's fine.

Okay.

All right, boys.

It's all right.

Children ain't no
problem, Miss Kitty.

They just need to be loved.

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