Chester's Dilemma

The Noose

Originally Aired: August 14, 1960 Gunsmoke #436, "The Noose," Marshal Matt Dillon and Chester encounter a strange little man named Cloyd hanging a noose from a tree outside Dodge City. Cloyd calmly explains he's testing the rope for a hanging - one he plans to carry out himself. He's been following a man across the country, waiting to hear him confess to a killing before stringing him up. Matt warns Cloyd that only the law hangs men, but the peculiar drifter insists he made a deathbed promise to someone in a coffin, and he intends to keep it. Despite the marshal's warnings, Cloyd continues wearing the noose around town, drawing suspicious stares and occasional rough treatment from spooked citizens. When a man named Creel arrives at the Dodge House hotel, Cloyd's patient vigil intensifies. He shadows Creel's every move, politely but persistently haunting the saloons and businesses his target frequents. As Matt discusses the situation with Doc and Kitty, everyone wonders whether the mild-mannered Cloyd will actually follow through on his dark promise, or if he's just harmlessly obsessed. The tension builds as Cloyd waits for Creel to speak the words that will seal his fate.

Old Fool

Originally Aired: August 7, 1960 Gunsmoke #435, "Old Fool," Hannibal Bass catches young Dunk Hedgepath trying to steal a pig from his farm and nearly shoots him. Hannibal's wife Della insists he take the boy home instead, where Hannibal meets Dunk's widowed mother, Elsie. The encounter sets off an unexpected chain of events when the lonely widow Hedgepath lavishes praise on Hannibal, calling him a gentleman and a kind man. Flattered by her attention, Hannibal begins visiting the Hedgepath place regularly, bringing wagonloads of supplies and gifts. Back home, Della Bass watches her husband of forty-five years transform before her eyes. As Hannibal dresses in his Sunday best multiple times a week and grows increasingly critical of Della, the tension between the longtime couple reaches a breaking point. When Della finally confronts him about the widow Hedgepath, Hannibal shocks her by declaring he's through with their marriage and intends to marry Elsie. The conflict leaves Doc Adams' elderly friends on the verge of a devastating split, with Hannibal too blind to see what's happening.

Stage Smash

Originally Aired: July 31, 1960 Gunsmoke #434, "Stage Smash," Marshal Matt Dillon returns to Dodge with prisoner Cleary Small, only to be confronted by the man's brother, North Small, a smooth-talking gambler who attempts to cut a deal for Cleary's release. When Dillon refuses his proposition, North cryptically warns that every man has his price and promises to find the marshal's. The tension escalates when Matt learns that Kitty was supposed to be returning to Dodge on the northbound stage, which has suffered a catastrophic wreck just outside of town. When Matt and Chester arrive at the crash site, they find a grim scene of dead horses and passengers, but Kitty's body is mysteriously absent. The horses appear to have been deliberately shot, suggesting someone arrived at the scene before the townspeople who discovered it. Matt soon receives Kitty's purse delivered by a young boy, containing a note directing him to bring Doc Adams to the abandoned Craig Place. Racing to the deserted homestead with Doc and Chester, they discover North Small waiting for them, revealing that the stage wreck may not have been an accident at all.

The Imposter

Originally Aired: July 24, 1960 Gunsmoke #433, "The Imposter," begins with a weary Chester struggling to keep up with Marshal Matt Dillon on a simple trip to the telegraph office. When they stop to help Sarah Curtin load her wagon, they encounter her husband Rob, who seems strangely uninvolved. The encounter takes on new significance when Matt receives a confusing telegram from Sheriff Ab Stringer of Miami, Texas, announcing he's bringing in a prisoner and needs help. However, when Stringer arrives on the afternoon stage, he's alone. The affable lawman explains the telegram was garbled, but his mission is deadly serious: he's tracking Sam Fraser, a bank robber and murderer he believes is hiding somewhere in Dodge under an assumed name. The challenge facing Matt and Stringer is formidable. Fraser is a sandy-haired man around thirty years old, a description that fits half the men in Dodge. With no wanted poster to aid their search and Fraser's talent for deception, identifying the killer becomes a game of observation and instinct. As Stringer mingles with locals at the Long Branch, Matt begins to wonder if the manhunt might be closer to home than anyone suspects.

Busted-Up Guns

Originally Aired: July 17, 1960 Gunsmoke #432, "Busted-Up Guns," Matt Dillon and Chester head north to the Sioux reservation for a friendly visit with Indian Agent Whip and his wife Gladys, expecting a peaceful hunting trip and warm welcome. Instead, they're met on the trail by Big Feather and his braves, who conduct a suspicious search of their gear and cryptically direct all questions to the white agent. When they arrive at the agency, they find the once-thriving settlement eerily deserted, with lodges falling into disrepair and residents hiding inside. Inside the locked agency house, they discover a drastically changed Whip, armed with a shotgun, drinking heavily, and consumed by paranoia. He has confiscated all the Indians' weapons and keeps them locked in the storeroom under constant guard, forcing Gladys to stand watch when he cannot. Whip bitterly claims the Sioux are no longer human and cannot be trusted, while a distraught Gladys confides that her husband has become a stranger to her. As mysterious explosions like dynamite echo across the reservation, Matt and Chester realize something has gone terribly wrong on the agency.