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Gunsmoke - "Xmas Story" (Old Time Radio, 1952) · Gunsmoke | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: On Christmas Eve, Marshal Matt Dillon is stranded on the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: winter prairie after his horse is injured until a drifting
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: stranger offers him a ride toward Dodge City. From there
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: comes Gunsmoke, Ixmus Story, episode 35. First heard on CBS
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: December 20th, 1952. William Conrad stars as Dylan, with Larry
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Dobkin as Angus Cowley, Parley Bear as Chester, Howard McNear
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: as Doc Adams, and Georgia Ellis as Kitty Russell. As
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: the two men make their slow way across the prairie,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Dylan recalls an earlier Christmas in Dodge, Anthony Ellis wrote
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the script, and Norman MacDonald directed and produced. And now,
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: the original broadcast.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Around Dart City and in the Territory on West, there's
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers,
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: and that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of Gunsmoke.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: Gunsmoke Gunsmoke, starring William Conrad. The story of the violence
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: that moved west with young America. The story of a
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: man who moved with it. Matt Dillon, United States Marshal.
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: Gunsmoke Everything was all right until about a mile north
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: of the Cimarron. That's when my horse got a hoof
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: caught in a frozen dog hole and broke his leg.
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: So I had to shoot him. It made me feel
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: awful bad.
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: I didn't feel any better thinking about the walk.
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: Ahead of me.
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: Close to 40 miles to dodge and carry in my
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: saddle all the way. I guess I'd been on the
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: trail about an hour, near as I could figure.
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: Just around three in the afternoon.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: And I'd ease the saddle off my shoulders for a
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: rest and a smoke. And that's when I saw the
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: stranger riding up from the way I'd come. He was
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: tall and thin. And his horse was taller and even thinner.
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: And they made quite a pair. Hi. How are you?
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: You lost? No.
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: My horse busted his leg a way back.
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: I'm on my way to Dodge. That's your house, huh?
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: I saw it. Yeah. On your way to Dodge, huh? Yeah,
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: that's right. You got any more of that tobacco? Yeah, sure.
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: Here you are. Thanks. Thanks a lot. That's okay. A
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: big walk you've got ahead, ain't it? Kind of. It's
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: going to be dark soon. You figure making camp? That's
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: the idea. Well, it's too bad.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: Do you need any food? No, no, no, thanks. I
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: got none. Well, I thank you for the tobacco. Sure. Anytime. Hey. Yeah?
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 3:44
  Speaker 5: That's saying this beast won't drop dead from the shark foot.
• 3:47
  Speaker 5: Do you want to climb on behind? Save you a
• 3:49
  Speaker 5: piece of boot leather for a while, anyway.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: Well, I'd be much obliged if you think that animal
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: of yours can carry us.
• 3:55
  Speaker 5: Well, she won't mind. It should have been dead a
• 3:57
  Speaker 5: long time ago, except she don't know it.
• 4:00
  Speaker 6: She don't mind.
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: Well, okay. Thanks. Here, will you hold my saddle till
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: I get up, huh? Yeah, give it to him. Can
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: you manage this saddle?
• 4:14
  Speaker 6: Yeah, give it to me.
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I got it. Now, let's go. Are you heading
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: for Dodge, too? Not in particular. Just north. Uh-huh.
• 4:32
  Speaker 5: This beast will do about ten knots with the wind
• 4:34
  Speaker 5: behind her, but we ain't gonna get more than five
• 4:36
  Speaker 5: with this load.
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: You ain't in no hurry, I am. Well, I was
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: kind of hoping to get back tonight, so... Christmas Eve,
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: you know. Oh, yeah, that's right, isn't it?
• 4:49
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: That backbone of hers sticking into you? Oh, no, that's okay.
• 4:55
  Speaker 6: Thanks.
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: Notice that tin do-jigger tied to you. You with the law? Yeah, yeah,
• 5:03
  Speaker 4: I'm a U.S. Marshal. My name's Matt Dillon. That's, uh....
• 5:10
  Speaker 5: I've never seen a marshal on foot.
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: Well, it happens sometimes.
• 5:16
  Speaker 5: How is it you're down this way? You need to
• 5:19
  Speaker 5: might off your course? So you marshal down here as
• 5:22
  Speaker 5: well as dodge?
• 5:23
  Speaker 4: No, no.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: I just took a prisoner across the Cimarron into Oklahoma territory.
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: Turned him over to the army there.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: Did.
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: And then he shot up tight. He must have ridden
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: a couple of miles without a word. I got to
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: thinking about Dodge and Chester and Doc and Kitty and
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: the rest of them. You know, there's something pretty special
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: about any place at Christmastime. The backbone of a stranger's
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: nag was just about to split me in two when
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: he talked up.
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: My name is Cowley. Oh, Cowley. Oh. A bit of
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: heave to a spell. She's breathing mighty hot. All right,
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: hold up. It's getting a little chilly, isn't it? Yeah.
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: Could I trouble you for another smoke? Oh, sure, sure.
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: Here you are. All right, thank you. Say. Hmm? What's
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: it like in Dodge?
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: What?
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: Dodge. Well, what's it like? Oh, it's like any other town,
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: I guess. Pretty big, huh? Well, yeah, I guess so.
• 6:53
  Speaker 4: Not so big as New York, though. Oh, no, no, no,
• 6:56
  Speaker 4: not as big as that.
• 6:58
  Speaker 5: You know, I haven't been in a big town now
• 7:00
  Speaker 5: for more than ten years.
• 7:02
  Speaker 4: Oh, is that so? No.
• 7:04
  Speaker 5: Been down the territories, driftin'. Thought I'd move up north
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: this time.
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: Maybe go back east. You're from the east, huh? Sometime back. Say,
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: what's it like? What? Well, Dodge. Any town. At Christmas.
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: Seems it used to be. I guess so. What do
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: you do? Same as most people, I guess. What most
• 7:34
  Speaker 4: people do at Christmas. Well, that ain't saying a lot.
• 7:36
  Speaker 4: What are the folks like? And what does it look like?
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: I'd just... I'd just kind of like to know. Well,
• 7:44
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: Well, there's Front Street. That's most of Dodge right now.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: Of course, it's getting bigger.
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: All the time. Do you have any kids? No, no,
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: I'm not married. Kids have fun Christmas. Yeah, yeah, they do.
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: That's certain. And Dodge, they sometimes have a party for
• 8:05
  Speaker 4: the kids a couple of days before Christmas... Kids like that.
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: And then everybody gets feeling good, looking forward to Christmas Eve.
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: Like last year. There was snow on the ground. But
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: the sky was clear. You could even see the stars.
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: I was going down the street to the Texas Trail
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: to meet Doc and Chester.
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: Chester, he's my deputy. Doc's a doctor in town. We
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: had some work to do later on in the evening.
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: You could see the light.
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: Shining behind the curtain windows, and almost everybody had a
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: sprig of holly berries hanging up.
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: They'd got some from the east a couple of days earlier.
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: I remember running into John Bumby. He's a kind of
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: general handyman in Dodge. Never says much, but he sure
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: had a lot to say that night.
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: Oh, hello, Marshal. Oh, hi, John. Lovely night for Christmas Eve,
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: isn't it? It certainly is, John. Pretty fine night. Peace
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: on earth. Goodwill to men. Mr.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: Dillon?
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: That's the way it should be, John. You know, Marshal,
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: this is going to be quite a night for me. Yes, sir. Oh,
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: is that so? Oh, yes, sir. Tonight, I'm asking Mrs.
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: McNish to become Mrs. Bumby. What? Well, John, I didn't
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: know that.
• 9:35
  Speaker 7: I know it's been a mighty fast secret, but I'm
• 9:39
  Speaker 7: popping the question tonight.
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: Well, I wish you a lot of luck, John. Hey,
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: I'll tell you what. Come by to the Texas Trail later,
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: and we'll have a drink on it.
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: I will.
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: I really will, Marshal. You're good and kind, Marshal. Good
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: and kind. Merry Christmas, Marshal Dillon. Merry Christmas. The same
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: to you, John.
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: That may sound kind of funny to you, but John
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: Bumby's a good man. A little peculiar sometimes, but good
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: as they come.
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: And they don't make enough like him.
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: Of course, most everybody in Dodge suspected Doc and Miss
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: McNish were sweet on each other. But it just goes
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: to show you. I'll tell you about John and Miss
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: McNish a little later. So I went on down the street.
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: You know, it's a funny thing about those words, Merry Christmas.
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: Men say it to each other and, well, it makes
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: them feel kind of good.
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: I know what you mean.
• 10:43
  Speaker 5: Used to be a seafaring man myself. When you're on
• 10:45
  Speaker 5: the sea and it comes Christmas, things like that can...
• 10:49
  Speaker 5: They can count a lot.
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Well, we might as well get underway again, huh?
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: Sure.
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: All right. You want to take my saddle?
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: Give it here.
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: Okay. Give it to me. Okay. I guess.
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: Guess you'll miss it in Dodge tonight. I mean, won't you?
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: Well, if you could get a little more out of
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: this nag of yours, we might make it tonight.
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: Oh, there's not a chance. She'll be on her beam
• 11:24
  Speaker 4: ends pretty quick. She's been on the long reach since sunup. Oh.
• 11:30
  Speaker 5: Mighty bear country up this way. All right. Depends on
• 11:34
  Speaker 5: what you're used to, isn't it? Mighty bear where I've been, too.
• 11:37
  Speaker 5: It's not like the sea. That's... Always different.
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: How come you left it? I always heard a sailor
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: doesn't ever get it out of his blood. The sea?
• 11:46
  Speaker 5: I guess you can get it out of your blood,
• 11:49
  Speaker 5: all right. You got the right reason you can.
• 11:52
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I guess so. Say, you trying to get something
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: out of me? What? Why, no. Get what? I was
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: just reminding you. You want to ride with me? I
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: don't want any talk about the sea. Well, you brought
• 12:08
  Speaker 4: it up.
• 12:11
  Speaker 6: Get at me.
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: Amos Cowley sulked his way along the trail for the
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: next while. And then it was almost like he couldn't
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: stand the quiet. Or maybe he had things on his mind.
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: He turned his head.
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: Go on. What? Go on, tell me some more. Oh,
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: about Dodge? Yeah. Well, I don't know. Well, you try
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: some more, huh? Well, uh... They got a little pine
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: tree in the Texas Trail. A tree?
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: Yeah, come down a long way from the north. Kitty Russell,
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: she's a hostess in the Texas Trail. Well, she got
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: a lot of ribbon and gee-gaws and made it look
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: real nice.
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: That was last Christmas. A star at the top? A star?
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so. It looked like a star, I guess.
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: It sure looked pretty. And there was, well, a difference
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: in the place that day. Everybody was celebrating and feeling
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: real good. The doors would swing open and somebody would
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: come in. You know, maybe somebody you just knew to
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: nod at. But because it was Christmas Eve, he'd come
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: right up and say, hello.
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: Maybe that's a good reason, maybe not. I don't know.
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: All right. Anyhow, it was still kind of early.
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: Kitty and Chester were standing off looking at the tree.
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: Hi, Matt.
• 13:51
  Speaker 6: Good evening, Mr.
• 13:52
  Speaker 7: Dillon.
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: Hi, Kitty, Chester. How do you like it, Matt? Christmas tree. Oh,
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: that's real pretty. Only tree but one in the whole town. Yeah,
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: Kate's got one over at the Alphaganza. Oh, well, I'll
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: have to see it later.
• 14:05
  Speaker 7: You're next, Jenny.
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: Where's Sam? I don't know. Maybe he started celebrating too soon.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: Doc's taking over the bar. Yeah, that's right. You want
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: a drink, Kitty?
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: Sure.
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: Oh, right away.
• 14:17
  Speaker 7: I'll get you a drink.
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: You haven't forgotten anything, have you, Mr.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: Dillon?
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: Forgotten? What, Chester? There. What did I tell you, Miss Kitty?
• 14:27
  Speaker 7: I knew just as sure as my nose.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: Oh, that.
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: No, no. I hadn't forgotten. Well, I thought as.
• 14:35
  Speaker 8: Soon as it gets Sam sober enough to take care
• 14:37
  Speaker 8: of the customers, we.
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: Could go on over to Doc's like we planned. Sure,
• 14:40
  Speaker 4: we'll do that, Chester. Here you are, Matt. Thanks, Doc. Ah, oh. Eh, well,
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: still snowing out? No, no, stop. Where are you going, Kitty?
• 14:55
  Speaker 5: Oh, I just want to look outside.
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: Ah, real pretty. Man thinks of a lot of funny
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: things that don't mean much.
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: Kitty standing at the door sniffing the cold air. And
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: the warmth inside. And the whiskey in me. It was
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: a good feeling. And then Chester and I decided to
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: take a bottle over to Mr.
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: Hightower.
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: He's the telegraph operator over at the depot. He runs
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: a printing shop on the side.
• 15:37
  Speaker 8: Say, Mr.
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: Dillon? Yeah, Chester.
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: Do you.
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: Mind if I stop by the church for a minute? No,
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: I don't mind. I just feel kind of right tonight, Mr. Dillon.
• 15:51
  Speaker 8: Figure out how to thank somebody for it.
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: Sure. So we stop by the church.
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: I've never been much of a man for a church,
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: I guess, but I went along with Chester. Wasn't anybody
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: else there, just the two of us. Guess we sat
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: for ten minutes in that place. Chester, a little way
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: off with his head bowed. You know, there's a lot
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: of peace in a church. Maybe it's the quiet. Maybe
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: it's the good that people find in there. Whatever it was,
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: it made a man feel glad about pretty much everything.
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: I haven't been in a church since I don't know when. Oh,
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: is that so? Well, she's becalmed again, mister. Okay.
• 16:56
  Speaker 5: She sure wasn't built for it, I'll tell you. You
• 17:00
  Speaker 5: ever see anything like that? She is kind of old,
• 17:03
  Speaker 5: isn't she? I've had her going on eight years. She
• 17:05
  Speaker 5: hasn't changed a mite.
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: Eats like a pig and looks like a four-legged mizzenmist. Smoke?
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: Don't mind. Hey, what about that... That fella Hightower, did
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: you get that bottle to him?
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: Oh, sure, sure. Yeah, I guess it was lonely over
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: in the depot all alone. He was glad for the company.
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: There was a wood fire burning in the stove, but
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: it didn't keep out the cold.
• 17:46
  Speaker 7: Well, how are you, gents?
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: Merry Christmas. Well, how's it going, Mr. Hightower?
• 17:50
  Speaker 7: Oh, slow, Marshal, slow. Bit of excitement about an hour back, though.
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: That so?
• 17:55
  Speaker 7: Yeah. 9.15 got stuck between here and Hutchinson. Lots of
• 17:58
  Speaker 7: snow back there.
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: They getting her out?
• 18:00
  Speaker 7: Sure, they're trying, but... I'm sure glad I'm not on it.
• 18:04
  Speaker 7: It's going to be a cold night on that train.
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: Well, it's kind of chilly in here, isn't it, Mr. Hightower?
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: And it warmer, and I'm going to sleep. Well, say,
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: we brought you over a bottle of Irish for company. Jameson's.
• 18:16
  Speaker 7: Well, I declare I was just thinking about a top
• 18:20
  Speaker 7: before you boys come in. Now, that's real friendly. Will
• 18:23
  Speaker 7: you have a drink with me?
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: We sure will.
• 18:24
  Speaker 7: Let's open her up, huh? A couple of glasses up
• 18:27
  Speaker 7: on the shelf there just to get them down, will you?
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: I don't know if you get an idea about the
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: folks in Dodge or not. They're not any different than
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: any other people.
• 18:43
  Speaker 4: Nor the town either.
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: I guess maybe it's a pretty small place at that.
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: The depot, the hall, a few stores, a church, Doc's office,
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: a Texas trail, Alifaganza.
• 19:00
  Speaker 4: My office? Not much, but it's where you live, you know?
• 19:08
  Speaker 4: Sounds all right. I lived in a town once back east. Small.
• 19:14
  Speaker 4: I know what you mean. Maybe you'll be going back.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: Maybe.
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: Say, kids, they still believe in St. Nick? Oh, sure.
• 19:25
  Speaker 5: Might have few kids down where I've been. Indian kids,
• 19:29
  Speaker 5: they don't believe in St.
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: Nick. No reason they should, I guess. I used to
• 19:34
  Speaker 4: believe in it, you know that?
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: Well, I guess most people did one time or another. Hey,
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: you figure we come maybe ten miles?
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: Maybe. It's getting dark. Yeah. Well, come on. You want to...
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: You want to ride the saddle for a bit? Oh, no, no.
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: That's okay. Well, then, okay.
• 19:56
  Speaker 6: Okay.
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: We rode on, and I thought about last year, about Kitty, Doc,
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: and Chester and me going over to Doc's place after
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: Doc got tired at Tendon Bar.
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: At the Texas Trail.
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: It was about a quarter to midnight, and we stood
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: around and sang Christmas carols. And I remember how it
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: sounded that night, how it looked. The glow in the
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: stove in the middle.
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: Of the room. And the frosty windows.
• 20:35
  Speaker 7: That was Christmas.
• 20:40
  Speaker 4: Eve, Art.
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: That was so deep.
• 20:45
  Speaker 4: Noel, Noel. Noel, Noel.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: Born is the King of Israel.
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: Say, that was fine.
• 21:04
  Speaker 7: That was just fine.
• 21:05
  Speaker 5: Yes, it was.
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: Oh, gee.
• 21:08
  Speaker 7: Say, now, what do you.
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: Say if we.
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: Hey, hey, hey.
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: Listen. Huh? Huh? Oh. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.
• 21:24
  Speaker 7: You know, I feel sentimental.
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: That's exactly what I feel.
• 21:28
  Speaker 7: I feel sentimental.
• 21:30
  Speaker 4: I know what you mean, Doc. I surely know. Okay, Doc.
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: Bring them out.
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: And I remember how Doc scuttled over to the bureau
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: and brought out some packages.
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: The presents weren't much, but it didn't matter what they were.
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: And when we'd finished opening them, it was Chester who
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: said what we were all thinking.
• 22:00
  Speaker 8: I just want to say, Miss Kitty, Doc, you, Mr. Dillon,
• 22:10
  Speaker 8: I just want to say that this is the best
• 22:12
  Speaker 8: doggone Christmas I ever had. And that's what I.
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: Want to say.
• 22:28
  Speaker 5: Say, you was gonna tell me about that, uh, that
• 22:32
  Speaker 5: fella John was caught in that woman.
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: What was her name? Oh, yeah, Miss McNish. That's right.
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: Well, she said yes, and you've never seen two happier
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: people in your whole life. Yeah, she's Miss McNish Bumpy now.
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: Oh, that's good.
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: Uh, you know, you might settle for a bit in Dodge.
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: You could get work there. Sure would be fine if
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: you could get back tonight, wouldn't it? Well, it can't
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: be helped.
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: I'd be a lot further away and a sight more
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: tired if you hadn't come along.
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: Now, listen.
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: How far do you figure before there's a place you
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: might pick up a horse?
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: Oh, I don't know. Fifteen miles or so, maybe.
• 23:17
  Speaker 5: Oh, I'm not going to make any fifteen miles in
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: this nag tonight, that's for sure.
• 23:20
  Speaker 4: Oh, that's all right. Now, I tell you what. You
• 23:24
  Speaker 4: go on alone, you see. Oh, no, forget it. Now,
• 23:26
  Speaker 4: you go on alone.
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: She'd hold out with one man on her. And then
• 23:30
  Speaker 5: you get a fresh horse and you ride into Dodge tonight.
• 23:32
  Speaker 4: Well, thanks. That's very kind. Now, I'm telling you, I
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: want you to go. I'll be fine. I've walked before.
• 23:37
  Speaker 4: Probably make it almost as quick as you... Look, it's
• 23:41
  Speaker 4: real nice of you, Mr. Cowley, but no thanks.
• 23:45
  Speaker 5: Christmas don't mean nothing to me. You got friends waiting
• 23:49
  Speaker 5: for you. Well, I'll see them tomorrow.
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: You're a fool. Well, that may be. All of them
• 23:58
  Speaker 4: nice folks. You're going to make them feel pretty bad. Look,
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: I'll stay. If you want to go on along, thanks
• 24:06
  Speaker 4: for the ride. Well, Might as well make camp, then.
• 24:12
  Speaker 4: I guess so. And listen.
• 24:17
  Speaker 5: You want to tell me some more about what you
• 24:19
  Speaker 5: was telling me before we turn in?
• 24:21
  Speaker 4: Well, sure.
• 24:21
  Speaker 5: I take it kindly, mister. Now get yourself settled. I
• 24:25
  Speaker 5: got some stuff in my pack we can eat and
• 24:27
  Speaker 5: maybe get a fire going.
• 24:29
  Speaker 4: Then after we eat, you can tell.
• 24:30
  Speaker 6: Me some more.
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: We made a fire and then shared what we had
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: for supper. He seemed to soften up after that, and
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: we talked for a couple or three hours.
• 24:43
  Speaker 4: It was like he was starved for news.
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: Of people, everyday things, and just plain company.
• 24:54
  Speaker 4: And that's how we spent Christmas Eve together, out on
• 24:56
  Speaker 4: the plane.
• 24:58
  Speaker 3: And then when the fire was dying down and I
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: was about ready for sleep, he said, Marshal.
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: Yeah? I want to tell you something. I've been needing
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: to tell it for a long time. Do you mind? Why,
• 25:11
  Speaker 4: of course I don't mind. Well, then I'll tell you.
• 25:12
  Speaker 5: A few years ago, I was skipper of a little schooner.
• 25:17
  Speaker 5: Used to sail up and down the East Coast. You know, Boston,
• 25:19
  Speaker 5: New York.
• 25:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Well, one night, we hit dirty weather off New Jersey.
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: Real dirty. Blew us off course, and we piled up
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: on the rocks and knocked the bottom out. That's too bad.
• 25:32
  Speaker 5: There was 18 passengers aboard, Marshal. Four of them was kids.
• 25:36
  Speaker 5: We never saw them again.
• 25:37
  Speaker 4: Oh. And my own wife and my kid went down, too.
• 25:46
  Speaker 4: I'm sorry.
• 25:48
  Speaker 5: Well, now, something must have happened to me after that.
• 25:51
  Speaker 5: I didn't want nothing to do with ships or the sea,
• 25:55
  Speaker 5: and I started to drift out this way. I couldn't forget, though,
• 26:00
  Speaker 5: do you know? And I didn't want to be near folks,
• 26:03
  Speaker 5: especially kids, to remind me, do you know?
• 26:08
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Well, it's how come I've been slewing around ever since. Sure,
• 26:14
  Speaker 4: I understand. Just kind of wanted to get it off
• 26:17
  Speaker 4: my chest.
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: Sure.
• 26:23
  Speaker 5: Marshal, I'd like to ride into Dodge with you tomorrow.
• 26:28
  Speaker 5: You think I might meet some of them?
• 26:31
  Speaker 4: Folks you was telling about. I don't see why not.
• 26:37
  Speaker 4: Then it'd be all right. Maybe I wouldn't need to
• 26:40
  Speaker 4: drift no more. Maybe I could... Drop anchor, do you know? Yeah,
• 26:50
  Speaker 4: you might at that.
• 26:52
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 26:54
  Speaker 4: Well, good night. Good night. Merry Christmas, Marshal. Merry Christmas, Mr. Cowley.
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: Gunsmoke, under the direction of Norman MacDonald, stars William Conrad
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: as Matt Dillon, U.S.
• 27:36
  Speaker 4: Marshal.
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: Tonight's story was specially written for Gunsmoke by Anthony Ellis,
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: with music composed.
• 27:41
  Speaker 4: And conducted by Rex Corey.
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: Featured in the cast were Lawrence Dobkin with Harry Bartell
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: and John Daner, Parley Bear as Chester, Howard McNair as Doc,
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: and Georgia Ellis as Kitty.
• 27:54
  Speaker 4: Gunsmoke is heard by our troops.
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: Overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service.
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: Join us again next week as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal,
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: fights to bring law and order out of the wild
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: violence of the West in Gunsmoke.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: For this evening, our presentation of Gunsmoke X-mas Story has concluded.
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: Follow Gunsmoke for more classic broadcasts.