Personal Justice

Bad Seed

Originally Aired: May 29, 1960 Gunsmoke #425, "Bad Seed," finds Marshal Matt Dillon on his way back to Dodge from Fort Larnard when an unexpected visitor enters his camp. A young woman named Trudy Trent, claiming to be starving and desperate, begs the marshal not to send her back to her father. She paints a dark picture of life with her Pa, describing him as a violent drunk who mistreats her terribly. Despite her pleas and increasingly inappropriate advances, Matt insists on taking her home the next morning. When they arrive at the ramshackle Trent farm, Matt meets Asa Trent, a slovenly drunk who alternates between professing affection for his daughter and threatening the marshal. The tension at supper is thick as Trudy recounts disturbing incidents from her past, including a Christmas when her drunken father accidentally set her on fire. Convinced that the girl's situation is genuinely dire, Matt agrees to take Trudy back to Dodge with him despite Asa's threats and warnings. But as Matt settles into the barn loft for the night, he senses something isn't quite right about the whole situation.

Marryin Bertha

Originally Aired: May 22, 1960 Gunsmoke #424, "Marryin Bertha," Marshal Matt Dillon finds himself dealing with an unusual problem when his deputy Chester Proudfoot confesses to a reckless mistake. Suffering from spring fever and feeling romantic, Chester has been writing letters to lonely women advertising in St. Louis newspapers, stretching the truth about himself and even sending one woman Matt's photograph instead of his own. Now a widow named Corinne Gatesley has arrived in Dodge expecting to marry Chester, and the panicked deputy begs Matt to impersonate him and send her away. When Matt meets the imposing Mrs. Gatesley, a woman taller than Chester and built like the Marshal himself, he discovers Chester's letters promised her he had money coming his way. The situation turns dangerous when Doc Adams recognizes Matt's description of the woman. She may actually be Bertha Hoskowitz, a woman once suspected of marrying and murdering several men for their money in St. Louis, though authorities could never prove it. With Chester having foolishly promised wealth he doesn't have, Matt realizes the deputy may have made himself the target of a cold-blooded killer.

Tall Trapper

Originally Aired: May 15, 1960 Gunsmoke #423, "Tall Trapper," presents Marshal Matt Dillon with a puzzling murder case when Doc Adams discovers a woman beaten to death in a covered wagon east of Dodge. The victim, Cassie Riley, had been traveling west with her husband Riley in hopes the dry climate would improve her failing health. When Doc arrives to treat her, he finds she's already dead from a brutal beating. Riley tells Doc and Matt about a mysterious trapper who shared their camp for two nights, eyeing Cassie the whole time, making him the obvious suspect. The case takes an unusual turn when Matt and Chester ride out to the murder scene and discover the body has been moved to a Pawnee burial platform high on wooden poles. There they encounter Ben, a laconic trapper raised by the Pawnees who admits to burying Cassie in the traditional elevated grave. Though Ben denies killing her and could have easily shot Matt and Chester before they drew on him, the evidence looks damning. As Matt brings Ben to jail and confronts the grieving Riley with his wife's suspected killer, the truth behind Cassie's death remains murky.

Wrong Man different story from #135

Originally Aired: May 8, 1960 Gunsmoke #422, "Wrong Man different story from #135," Marshal Matt Dillon receives a warning from lawman Blair about a dangerous killer named Jim Waddell who may be passing through Dodge City. Waddell is described as a smooth-talking, well-dressed man who never carries a gun but prefers to kill with a knife. Meanwhile, a charming stranger calling himself Jack Norman arrives in town and makes an immediate impression on Kitty Russell with his cultured manners and polite behavior, a refreshing change from the rough cowboys she usually encounters. When Norman gets into a poker dispute and pulls a knife to defend himself against accusations of cheating, Matt becomes suspicious and decides to hold him in jail. The situation grows more complicated as Matt notices the striking similarities between Norman and Blair's description of the wanted killer Waddell. Both men are refined, well-mannered, knife-carrying Texans who avoid firearms. Despite Kitty's protests that Jack couldn't be a murderer and Norman's own insistence that Matt is making a grave mistake, the marshal keeps him locked up while waiting to hear back from Blair about the suspect's true identity.

Nettie Sitton

Originally Aired: May 1, 1960 Gunsmoke #421, "Nettie Sitton," Marshal Matt Dillon and Chester find themselves in desperate circumstances after a renegade Ute ambush leaves Matt badly wounded with a bullet in his leg. Fevered and unable to ride, Matt must be dragged through the wilderness by Chester toward what appears to be an abandoned cabin. However, the cabin is anything but abandoned. They're met by Nettie Sitton, a hardened frontier woman wielding a shotgun, who immediately demands their money and guns in exchange for shelter. Nettie is no ordinary settler. She's a woman who's buried four husbands and twenty children, and she makes it clear that a couple of strangers don't faze her one bit. Despite her rough exterior and mercenary demands, she removes the bullet from Matt's leg and allows them to recover in her cabin. As Matt fights fever and Chester stands exhausted watch, the threat of the renegade Utes lingers nearby, and the marshal and his deputy must rely on this formidable woman's grudging hospitality to survive.