Gunsmoke (1955–1975): Season 5, Episode 3 - Horse Deal - full transcript

Deesha is running a scam in which his partner sells an unbranded horse to an unsuspecting buyer, after which Deesha moves in to claim the horse, leaving the buyer with nothing.

Starring James
Arness as Matt Dillon.

Something wrong, Mister?

Yeah, there sure is.

Well, maybe you'd better tell
me what's bothering you, fella.

Well, maybe you'd better tell
me what you're doing on my horse.

Your horse?

That's a Bar-S brand, ain't it?

That reads Bar-S to me.

Well, it's my horse.

Well, if that's your horse,
how come I'm riding it?

Well, it looks to me like
you might have stole him.



Are you drunk?

Ain't had a drink all day.

You're a stranger
here, aren't you?

Yep, I am.

Well, I'm Emmitt Bowers, Mister.

If you live long
enough to ask around,

folks will tell you
I don't take much

to being called a horse thief.

He's my horse,
and I can prove it.

You can't prove
nothin', you young fool.

I think maybe you ought
to take your saddle off him.

I'm through talking to you.

You're wearing a gun.

If that's your horse,
you can claim it with that.



Dillon: Bowers!

What's going on here?

I'm about to kill
this man, Marshal.

You'll have to
kill me, by golly.

Just hold on here.
What's the trouble anyway?

This young idiot's been
calling me a horse thief.

I won't take that from nobody!

A horse thief? What's
got into you, Mister?

I own over 200 head
of horses, you fool.

I'd more than likely give
one away than steal one.

Emmitt Bowers happens to be

one of the biggest
ranchers in Kansas, fella.

I don't care what he is.

That Bar-S is my
brand, and I can prove it.

It is, huh?

What difference does that make?

I buy horses with all
kinds of brands on 'em!

Where'd you buy this one?

Fella came by the
ranch yesterday

with a whole bunch of
'em. I bought six all told.

Maybe them others is mine too.

This fella said he
bought them horses

from a man named
Pringle up in Wyoming.

What's your name, Mister?

Deesha. Charlie Deesha.

Marshal Dillon: Where you from?

I had a place down on the
Canadian River, Marshal.

But I... I went broke.

The only thing I had left was
my horses, and they all got stole.

Can you prove these
horses are yours?

I got a certificate
of registration.

It's in my saddlebag
up at the stable.

All right, you go get it.

We'll ride out and take
a look at these horses.

I'll get it right now.

I think that man's
a liar, Marshal.

Well, he may be.

But if he isn't,
you sure got stuck.

Well, I'd hate to be
the man who stuck me.

I'm gonna find him, and
I'm gonna kill him sure.

That's them, Marshal.

I told the boys not to turn 'em
out until I had a chance to ride 'em.

I like to get on every
horse I buy at least once.

Them are my horses,
all right, every one of 'em.

They all branded?

Ask Bowers. He's seen 'em.

Bowers: It's true. There's
a Bar-S on all of 'em.

By golly, I never thought
I'd see them horses again.

You're just lucky, I guess.

Sure, he's lucky. What about me?

Well, I'm afraid there's
not much you can do

what with them being
registered to Deesha here.

Uh, how much did you
pay for them, Bowers?

$30 apiece.

How come you
didn't buy all of them?

According to him, there
must have been 10 more head.

I picked out the best six.

Uh-huh. You say this
man was riding alone.

What'd he look like?

Did he give his
name or anything?

Uh, Vic Lowry...
Skinny, hawk-faced fella.

- Does that mean anything to you?
- No, nothing.

Well, he's probably clean out
of the country by now anyway.

You going after him, Marshal?

It's a mighty big country,
Bowers. Where would I start?

I want that man.

I'm, uh, sure sorry
about it, Bowers.

But you can't blame me for it.

Oh, I ain't blamin' you.

It's the idea of a horse thief
going unhung that don't sit with me.

He's probably 100
miles from here by now.

You'd never find
him. I know that.

But look, I got some 20
cowboys riding for me.

They cover a lot of territory.

I can get word to
every one of 'em.

We're not going to have
any lynching here, Bowers.

Oh, no. Of course not.

But the fella might run,
he might have to get shot.

That'd be too bad.

Now, Bowers, listen to me.

You can't stop me, Marshal.

You know there ain't
a man in the country

won't back up
hanging a horse thief.

That's not hanging.
That's lynching.

You try that, and
you're going to jail.

You'd look fine, wouldn't ya?

Locking up an honest rancher

and letting a horse
thief run loose.

Come on, I'll help
you with your horses.

Thanks, Marshal.

Well, Mr. Dillon, I can't find
that Slim Trent nowheres.

He's gone off and left
his stable plumb deserted.

Where's Deesha?

Well, he's out back.

Oh, might as well get
back to the office, I guess.

Yeah.

Speak of the devil!

Hello, Slim.

Hello there, Marshal,
Chester. Get!

Get!

Where you been, Slim?

On the country.

What are you men doing here?

We just brought in some
horses with Charlie Deesha.

Oh, him. Well, I'm
stabling one horse for him.

Where'd he get the others?

Well, he had 'em stolen
down on the Canadian River.

They were sold to
Emmitt Bowers yesterday.

Is that so?

Bowers rode one
of 'em in this morning

and this Deesha
fella spotted it.

Say, I bet Emmitt
Bowers ain't fit to live with.

He's not exactly happy about it.

Well, I was out his way.

If I'd had known, I would have
stopped by just to burr him a little.

Where's that boy I left here?

Chester: What boy?

Well, I've been gone
since yesterday morning.

I might've known I
can't trust that fool kid.

Went out past Bowers'
place to see a friend of mine.

That's where I got
these two horses.

Fella come by
selling a bunch of 'em.

I picked these two out.

You did?

Pretty good horses for $30.

Yeah. It's that
brand I'm looking at.

What about the brand?

- Bar-S.
- So?

Well, Slim, I'm afraid

you're not going to be any more
fit to live with than Emmitt Bowers.

Well, what are
you talking about?

That Bar-S, that's
Deesha's brand.

What?

Yep. I'm afraid those
horses were stolen

from him the same as the
ones Emmitt Bowers bought.

Well, I don't believe it.

I'm afraid it's true, Slim.

Somebody's been traveling
through this part of the country

selling the horses
they stole from Deesha.

Well, I ain't gonna
stand still for it, Marshal.

I want that horse thief,
and I want him hung.

I'm gonna be doing
everything I can.

Well, then get going.

Now, Slim, you know I can't start
riding out all over the countryside

on the off-chance
I'll find this man.

Then I'll do it. I'll get a
bunch of the men together,

and we'll make
a little party of it.

You're beginning to sound
just like Emmitt Bowers.

I told him, and I'm telling you,

I'm not gonna stand
for any lynching party.

Now, you get that through
your head. Is that clear?

It's clear, Marshal.

It's clear I've been
took by a horse thief,

and he ain't gonna
get away with it, neither.

You know, I'm
not sure it's proper

for a lady to be riding
around out on the prairie

with the marshal like this.

The only thing that's
not proper about it

is that I don't get you
out here often enough.

Oh!

You know, I don't think it would
take too much work after all

to make you a lady's man.

Not more than a couple
feet of rope to start with.

Well, you don't have to
worry. I'm not gonna try it.

You know, Matt, there's something
I've been wanting to ask you.

What's that?

Well, I've heard some talk
that you're gettin' kind of lazy.

Lazy? You must have
been talking to Doc again.

What have you done
about catching the man

that's been selling
the horses that he stole

from Charlie Deesha?

Oh, nothing. I just kind of
figured I'd let that take care of itself.

Oh?

All I need is a little luck.

I guess you know
what you're doing.

Look at that.

Kitty: Whoa.

That's Chester.

It sure is.

If that horse hits
a prairie dog hole,

Chester will never stop rollin'.

I've been looking all
over for you, Mr. Dillon.

What's the trouble?

Well, they're having a
meetin' at the Dodge House

is what the trouble is.

Who's having a meetin'?

Slim Trent, Deesha,

Emmitt Bowers, Jake Wirth.

They're gonna do something
about that horse thief.

What's Jake Wirth
got to do with it?

Well, he got robbed too.

He bought six of them horses,
and then he come to town yesterday,

and he found out about
the whole business.

And they're getting together.

And it looks like trouble to me.

We'd better get back
there and find out about it.

The way I look at it, we
get together on this thing.

We got about 30 hands among us.

We arm 'em all, we got plenty
of men to run this fella down.

[Door closes]

Well, now what are
you doing here, Marshal?

Well, Jake, I understand you got stuck
for about six of those Bar-S horses, huh?

I'll get my money back, Marshal.

How you plan on doing that?

We'll handle this.

Yeah.

Between you and Emmitt
here, you got about 30 riders.

You plan to spread 'em
out over the countryside

and run this man
down. Is that it?

You're right smart, Marshal.
That's just how we intend to do it.

Yeah. Then you're gonna string
him up to the nearest tree, huh?

Well, he deserves it, don't he?

That's lynch law, Jake.
I'm here to stop that.

Well, I'm here to stop horse
stealing, and I'll do it any way I can!

I want you men to
listen to me a minute.

Yeah, listen to you talk
us out of doing our duty.

No! If you men won't come
with me, I'll do it myself.

I don't need a bunch of
cowards to help me hang a thief!

All right, Jake, we don't
need that kind of talk.

We're all coming.

All right, Marshal.

We're gonna catch us a thief.

And don't you try to stop us.

Jake, I've known you
a good many years.

You too, Emmitt.

You men have always
lived inside the law.

But if you go out and
do something like this,

and you're gonna stand to lose
everything you ever worked for,

maybe a whole lot more.

Now, are you willing to go out
and take that kind of chance?

I came here as a
friend to ask you a favor.

I want you to give me one
week to find this man on my own.

What for? What you gonna do?

You'll have to
leave that up to me.

You're not making
much sense, Marshal.

One week. That's all
I'm asking. How 'bout it?

Well... it's all right by me,

as long as I get my money back.

All right, Marshal.
We'll give you one week,

but no more.

How 'bout you, Deesha?

Well, these men know
better than I do, Marshal.

All I want is the
rest of my horses.

Well, I can't guarantee
anything. This is a long chance.

Sure, I understand.

Jake, how 'bout you?

Well, you won't
get nowhere, but...

go ahead.

Thanks.

Mr. Dillon?

Hmm?

What are you gonna do?

Now, Chester...

here's $20.

$20? What for?

I'll tell you, I want you to get to
be very good friends with Deesha.

Take him out, get him drunk,
anything you have to do.

But keep him out of the way.

Why?

Well, 'cause there are only
two horses left to sell, right?

Yeah, yeah. That's
the way it figures.

If they're sold, I want to be
the first one to hear about it.

So I want you to stay with him.

Well, I guess I don't
understand what you got in mind.

Just stay with him. And particularly,
keep him away from the stable.

Away from the stable. Why?

Because Slim Trent would probably
be the first one to hear about it

if those horses were
sold, wouldn't he?

All right, and I want to hear
about it right after he does.

Oh. Oh.

Well, you want me to get
started with Deesha right away?

Might as well.

If you run out of
money, let me know.

Oh. Heh.

I think I'm gonna like
this job, Mr. Dillon.

Get... Get out of there!

Well... here, Deesha,
got you a fresh one.

Oh, thank you.
Thank you, Chester.

Ain't you... Ain't you
having any whiskey?

No, no, no, no.

This beer's good enough for me.

Chester, you've been
buying me liquor for two days.

Well, it gives me pleasure
to see a fella enjoying himself.

Yeah, but you shouldn't be
spending all your money on me.

Well, I won a little
money gamblin'.

I figured we might as well
be enjoying it as give it back

to the payroll dealer.

You're a good friend, Chester.

Yeah, well, it's nothin'.

Well, it's a whole lot, Chester.

A whole lot.

Say, I'd better be
getting back to that stable.

I ain't looked after my
horses in two whole days.

Well, Deesha, let's...

Let's have us just
one more last drink.

Old Slim Trent can take
care of them horses for ya.

Don't you worry none about that.

Hello, Doc. Help yourself.

Deesha. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank Chester. He's buying.

Chester's buying?

Well, don't be so surprised.

I brought drinks before.

Before the flood, you mean.

Where you gettin' your money?

Well, if it's any business
of yours, I won it.

Oh. Hank, let me
have a glass here.

I'm not gonna miss
a chance like this.

You won it?

I ain't seen you miss a chance
for a free drink in 20 years.

You ain't known me 20 years.

Well, that's true. I'm
just lucky, I guess.

Well, let me tell you...
Hey, wait a minute.

Before... Before you fellas
hang a claw into one another,

what do you say we get
something to eat, huh?

I mean, all this liquor's
about to blind me.

Yeah, we can go
over to Delmonico's.

You can come along
too if you want to.

No, no. I'll stay here and
guard your bottle for ya.

Oh, yeah.

Don't worry about it.

I'll get us another
come nightfall.

Chester, you sure make it
easy for a man to go to the dogs.

So long, Doc.

So long, Deesha.

Deesha!

Howdy.

What do you want, young fella?

I've got three horses I'd like to
stable here for a few days, Mister.

I can take 'em. Put 'em
in those rear stalls there.

- I'll throw some hay down for 'em later.
- Well, thank you.

I've got mine tied up out front.

Hey, hey, wait a
minute, wait a minute.

What's the matter?

Where'd you get
these horses, Mister?

I just bought 'em, why?

What, something wrong, Mister?

Both branded Bar-S, huh?

You act like I stole 'em.

Oh, no. You didn't steal 'em.

Well, then what's wrong?

Oh, nothin'. Nothin' at all.

You wait right here.
I'll be back directly.

Yeah, but...

I hope he's still there, Slim.

I told him to wait.

That news is gonna
break his heart, Marshal.

Yeah. I don't know
if a plain cowboy

can afford a couple of
extra horses these days.

Me, either, as far as that goes.

Well, this is what
I've been waitin' for.

That's him, Marshal.

Marshal? What'd I do wrong?

What's your name, fella?

Ed Harper. If it's something
about them horses, you're wrong.

I bought them
animals fair and honest.

I know that you did, but they're
stolen horses just the same.

- No.
- Yeah, I'm afraid so.

Who sold 'em to you?

I don't know. I mean,
I don't know his name.

He's a thin, hawk-faced fella.

That's him. That's the man.

I run into him out on the prairie,
about 30 miles west of here.

I sure didn't know there
was anything wrong.

How much did you pay for them?

$20 apiece.

That's all I had, and he seemed
in a hurry to get rid of 'em.

I might have knowed.

How'd you like to
get your money back?

Sure, Marshal.
Of course I would.

All right. Now I just sent for the man
that those horses were stolen from.

He'll be along here directly.

Now when he gets
here, I want you to tell him

that you paid $90
apiece for 'em.

$90 apiece?

Tell you had a
year's wages on ya.

Tell him you got drunk...
Anything you want to.

I don't understand. If I
paid $20 for 'em, you...

You gonna help me out or not?

Yeah, if that's how I'm
gonna get my money back,

I'll do it.

What'd you want
us for, Mr. Dillon?

We were sleeping off our dinner
out in the back of that Long Branch.

Needed it too.

Deesha, this is Ed Harper here.

- Harper.
- Howdy.

Harper's the man who bought
the last of your stolen horses here.

Oh, he did? Say, that's fine.

Of course, I'm
sorry for you, Harper.

What'd you pay for 'em?

$90.

$90?

Kind of looks
like you got taken.

I paid $90 apiece.

A piece? You must be crazy!

Yeah, I guess I was.

See, I got paid off my job,
and I'd been out drinking and...

Oh. That's too bad,
Harper. I'm sorry about it.

So am I.

Well, Deesha, now that
you got your horses back,

what do you figure on doing?

I've heard up in
the Dakota territory,

horses bring near
twice what they do here.

Yeah. That's right.
I've heard that myself.

Yeah. So I guess I'll pack
up and take 'em up there.

I'll go get my belongings.

I'll be back for
them horses, Slim.

Thanks for the
good time, Chester.

Oh...
- Bye.
- So long.

Some fine way you've got of
getting my money back, Marshal.

Yeah, what's going on here?

You just sit tight, both of you.

I'll let you know
how this turns out.

Is he always like that?

Ever since I've known him.

I'll be doggone.

Man: What's the matter, Deesha?

What are we stopping here
for? Why don't we go on in?

Let's give 'em a minute,
see what they do.

Man: Deesha, wait
a minute! Wait, no!

[gunshots]

[gunshot]

You're hurt bad, Deesha.

I don't care.

Just so I killed him.

You killed him, all right.

Good.

That was your partner, huh?

The one that did the selling?

He tried to cheat me.

He tried to tell me
that cowboy Harper

only give him $20 apiece for...

for them last two horses.

He was right. I told that cowboy
to say that he paid $90 for 'em.

You... You what?

What were you going to do?

You and your partner
split up the money

and then go sell
the horses again?

We sold them twice already.

Ain't gonna sell 'em no more.

Ain't gonna do nothing.

You can't even put
us in jail, Marshal.

Smart as you are.

I'm gonna die now.

I can feel it coming.

He sure was right
about that, Mr. Dillon.

You can't very well
put dead men in jail.