Original subtitles

NARRATOR: "Gunsmoke" with Milburn Stone as Doc.

Amanda Blake as Kitty.

Ken Curtis as Festus.

Buck Taylor as Newly.

And starring James Arness as Matt Dillon.

Now, who can give me the answer to the first problem?

Lester Pruitt?

248, Miss Merkle.

That's right, Lester.

And does anyone know the answer to the second problem?

Eliza?

6,004, Miss Merkle.

That's correct, Eliza.

You're doing very well.

Now, does anyone know the answer to the third problem?

Thomas?

3,150, Miss Merkle.

That is a plus sign, Thomas.

Mary Beth?

Young ladies do not giggle.

I'm sorry, Miss Merkle.

Perhaps you can give us the answer to the third problem?

Yes, ma'am.

It's 635.

Oh, boy, a picnic!

Flora.

The plant life characteristic of a region.

Named after Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers.

Fauna.

The animal life of a region.

Named after Fauna, the sister of the Italian deity Faunus.

Insects.

I'm sure you all know what those are.

[laughter]

Now, on this field trip I want you all to keep your eyes open,

and observe.

There are many people who go through their whole life

and never really notice anything around them.

They never fully appreciate any of the beautiful things

that God has created.

All around us there are wondrous and sensitive things,

if we only take the time to open our eyes and look.

Lester Pruitt's father is going to provide the wagon.

Yes, ma'am.

He said to tell you he could bring along a barrel of cider.

It's a real fine cider this year.

Oh, that sounds very nice, Lester.

Yes, ma'am.

I'll tell him.

We'll meet at 8:00 in the morning at the closest

place for us all, which is the Brewbaker

farm at Four Crossings.

And we'll go to the picnic area from there.

You're it!

Hello, Lester.

I could comb the erasers for you

before I go home, Miss Merkle.

Oh, Lester, you don't have to do so many things for me.

Now, it's Friday.

No one likes to stay after school on Friday.

Well, I wouldn't mind.

I'll tell you what.

You come early for school on Monday,

and I'll bring my needle and thread,

and I'll mend that pocket for you.

You don't have to.

My pa sews pretty good.

Well, I'm sure your pa has plenty

of things to worry about, without mending your clothes.

Now, you run along now.

And don't forget, come early to school on Monday.

All right.

See you at the picnic tomorrow, Miss Merkle.

All right, Lester.

Try to get that frog!

Uh, where do you want this, Miss Merkle?

Well, I think right there at the end of the wagon's

fine, Mr. Pruitt.

You know, uh, can I help you do something?

Oh, no, that's all right.

Thank you.

BOY: Let's go climb that tree!

Would you like a cup of cider?

Maybe later, Mr. Pruitt.

Thank you.

GIRL: You're it!

Sounds like they're having fun.

Wait for me!

It's sure good of you to give up one of your Saturdays.

Well, I have nothing more important to do.

You sure spend a lot of time with them, all right.

Pa!

Pa!

[inaudible]

Excuse me, Miss Merkle.

Mm-hm.

Hey, what did you find, boy?

Hey, that's a quail's nest, son.

Can I take 'em home, Pa?

Now, you wouldn't want to rob a poor mother quail

of her children, would you?

I didn't think of that.

Sure pretty, ain't they?

Yeah, almost anything that brings life into the world is.

Think Miss Merkle would like to see 'em?

I don't think she's got anything on her mind,

except scrubbing tables and fixing lunch.

Let's you and me go see who can spot the biggest fish, huh?

OK.

Oh, Miss Sarah?

Well, a good day to you, Miss Sarah.

Well, now, it's too nice a day to be working out here, now.

Let's take a little stroll.

Come on.

Nobody will see us.

Now, let's you and me take a little walk in the woods, huh?

My god, what are you doing here?

Now, is that any way to greet an old friend?

One of the childrens' father is over there,

and if you don't leave, I'm going to call him.

Naw, naw, no.

Now, you wouldn't do that, would ya, teacher?

He might find out about us.

Please.

Please leave.

After all the trouble I took to come out here?

Now, that's not being very friendly, Miss Merkle.

Marco

How did you find out my name?

Aw, come on, teacher.

Everybody in town knows Miss Merkle.

You talked to someone about me?

Sure.

Well, sure I did.

But don't you worry, nobody knows our little secret.

You're mad.

Oh?

I'm also a little drunk.

But that's a nice way to be.

If you know what I mean.

You know, I'd have been back here a long time ago,

but I had some business in Kansas City.

In fact, I just got back in town this morning.

And I'll bet you missed me, too, didn't ya?

What's it been, about-- three months ago?

How can you dare face me?

How can you dare talk to me?

Are you so drunk you don't remember?

Well, sure.

Sure, I remember.

I remember we had a real nice time.

Now, it sure would be nice if we could have us a little time

like that again, now, huh?

Now, come on.

Now, come on!

You're not gonna be shy, and start off with me!

Mr. Pruitt, look.

Somebody's hurting Miss Merkle!

[screaming]

Pa!

What are you doing?

Are you defending that lady's honor?

You want her?

Well, you can have her.

Cause she's easy.

You shut your lying mouth, or I'll shut it for ya.

What happened, Pa?

Nothin'.

The man was just drunk.

You all right, Miss Merkle?

Well, now that you're all here, I could

use some help cleaning up.

All right, children.

I'm sorry I took so long.

Couldn't seem to find the right buttons--

the right button holes.

Sarah.

Sit down.

There's something seriously wrong with me, isn't there?

Sarah, you're pregnant.

Well, that's not true.

It's true.

Oh my god!

Sarah!

Sarah!

Miss Merckle!

Hey, look out!

Are you trying to get run over?

What's wrong, Miss Merkle?

You almost got killed.

What's wrong with her, Doc?

Doc?

What's wrong with her?

It's none of your business.

Whoa, boy.

[crying]

I'm all right now.

I'm all right.

Is there anything I can do?

Anything I can help you with?

No.

No, I'm fine.

The way you come running out of Doc's office, almost getting

run down like that-- I, uh, know it's none of my business,

Miss Merkle, but you've been so good

to Lester since his ma died.

I appreciate your concern, Mr. Pruitt.

Was it, something Doc Adams said?

No.

No, I'm in the best of health.

He was very clear about that.

I'm-- I'm just overworked, that's all.

Miss Merkle, I've been meaning to talk

to you for a long while, but-- well,

the time never seemed right.

Maybe this ain't the right time, either,

but if I don't say it now, I'll never say it.

I'm not, uh, very good with words.

And you know, I'm not well educated,

and all, but that doesn't mean we,

uh-- we've been alone three years, now.

That boy loves you, Miss Merkle.

And, uh, I-- I-- I've admired you for-- well, a long time.

You say you've admired me, Mr. Pruitt-- you

don't even know me.

Oh, yes I do.

Very well.

If that were true, you'd know I'm not fit to be anything.

Did Doc Adams tell you that--

No.

Does it have anything to do with what

that-- that fella Stokes said?

Because if it does, I--

No.

Please, please, just leave me alone.

Hello, Kitty.

What's going on with Carl?

Well, he's been in here since before dark.

You know, I've never known Carl Pruitt to take more than one

or two drinks in a whole year's time.

Tonight it looks like he's going at the bottom of the bottle.

What about, uh, trying to sober him up?

Last time I tried, he said he could get coffee at home.

Tonight he's drinking whiskey.

Well, guess there's nothing wrong with a man

drinking himself blind, if that's what he wants to do.

Long as he doesn't cause any trouble.

He sure has been quiet.

It gives me the shivers.

You mean to think maybe he'll, uh,

change, and not be so quiet?

No, not really.

He's not the kind of person who would get mean,

no matter how much he drank.

I wouldn't think so.

Well, I'll, uh, look in on him later.

OK.

Buy me a drink, Carl?

Sure.

Thank you.

Where's your boy tonight?

Not home alone, is he?

Lester, Carl.

He's at home.

Big enough to get himself to bed, now.

Where are you?

I'm sitting here in the Long Branch saloon, ain't I?

You could have fooled me.

I would have guessed you'd be about, um, 1,000 miles away,

at least.

What you been thinking about so hard?

That she might as well be 1,000 miles away.

She?

Miss Merkle.

Miss Merkle?

Is she the reason you've been acting so strange tonight?

I'm just sitting here drinking.

What's so strange about that?

Because it's you, Carl.

You've never done this before, as long as I've known you.

Now, it seems to me like you're going to need

all of this you can get.

You mad, Kitty?

All I can say, Carl, is that if I

felt the way you do about something,

I'd do something about it.

I mean, other than what you're doing.

[ringing]

All right, all right.

Just hold your horses, will ya?

Now, you want to wake up the whole place?

That drummer fella Stokes-- stays

here when he comes through.

Dresses kind of fancy.

Stokes?

Up the stairs, second door on the right.

[knocking]

Oh, god.

You?

So you wanted in, you're in.

What else you want?

I want to talk to you about Miss Merkle.

Yeah?

What about her?

Now, what did you say the other day?

I didn't nothin' that wasn't plain old fact.

Did you and Miss Merkle-- I asked you something.

Look, she's your lady friend, and I apologize.

She ain't quite my type, anyway.

Look, I was drunk, all right?

Drunk as you are now.

I think she's in trouble.

She gonna have a baby.

What?

You gonna have to marry her.

What do you mean, marry her?

There ain't no other way.

What, she say I was papa?

She didn't have to.

What the heck are you doing?

Ain't nothing funny about it, now, you see?

It ain't.

Well, you come bulling your way in here in the middle of night

and inviting me to my own wedding,

and you don't think that's funny?

Where's your shotgun, friend?

It ain't gonna be like that.

She's too fine a woman.

Now, you're gonna there tonight, and you're

gonna ask her like you mean it.

I'm gonna go ask her to be my blushing bride, huh?

Sure, I will.

When hell freezes over.

She's a fine woman.

Any man would be lucky to have her.

Just how many lucky souls you figure there are around here?

Outside of me, and maybe you.

What are you talking about?

How many of you hometown boys Miss Sarah carried on with?

About half the men in Dodge, I figure.

Let go!

Let go!

You gonna go there tonight, and you gonna ask her.

You can get dressed, or go the way you are.

It don't matter to me.

Now look, you can't take a man out of the room

in the middle of the night.

All right!

All right, let go! I'll go peacably.

Let go.

What happened?

What's going on?

I never saw him before.

Well, you can't say being boneheaded

ain't a blessing sometimes, or you'd

have got your brains knocked clean

out of your noggin tonight.

You feeling any better, Carl?

Eh.

Some, I guess.

I'll get you a cup of coffee.

Carl, you wanna tell me what that was all about tonight?

Matt, my boy's home alone.

He's gonna be scared if he wakes up, and I ain't there yet.

I can't let you go, Carl.

There's a man lying over in Doc's office

with a busted spine.

The people at the hotel tell me you're responsible for it.

Now, what happened?

They don't know.

Me and Matthew don't know, neither,

and we ain't likely to, unless you quit

being so blamed stubborn, Carl.

Carl, everybody says that you had trouble with this man

at the picnic the other day.

Now you go over to his hotel in the middle of the night,

and this happens.

Now, what's it all about?

You know, I don't want to have to lock you up,

but unless you tell me, I'm going to.

I can't.

Carl, you're the hardheadedest--

you're stubborner than my mule.

You'd rather get put in jail than to open up them

jaws of yours, wouldn't you?

Yeah, Festus, I-- I guess I would.

All right, Festus.

You'd better go on out to his place and see to Lester.

Well, Festus-- tell him I-- tell him I'm all right.

Tell him I'll be home in a day or two.

Howdy, Doc.

How is he, Doc?

He's dead, Matt.

Whoa.

Whoa, whoa, now.

Willie.

Hi, Doc Adams.

Here, son.

Will you tie up old Popcorn for me, there?

Thank you.

-Hello, Dr. Adams. -Hello, Doc.

I bet you'd all rather be patient, wouldn't ya?

We haven't seen you for a long time.

I thought so.

Well, you, uh-- now, wait a minute.

You're Sally.

Hey, I knew that.

You look just like your mother.

Now, you're Tim Gleason's oldest boy.

And your name-- I know-- your name is, uh-- your name

is Dave.

Not Dave?

Well, uh, Fred?

You-- hm.

Now, let me see.

It's Johnny?

I knew that.

Sure, you're Johnny.

Johnny, you got any money?

No, I didn't think so.

All right.

You have now.

Now, don't spend that.

Oh, Sarah?

Can I talk to you for a minute?

Come in, Dr. Adams.

Sarah, I don't like intrude on you in schooltime like this,

but--

No, it's all right.

The children are at recess.

Would you like to sit down?

Well, no thank you, Sarah.

Dr. Adams--

Sarah, I, uh-- I guess you know Carl

Pruitt's in jail, on account of what happened to Jack Stokes?

Yes, I-- I heard about that.

Well, I thought you might be able to help him.

Now, how on Earth could I help him?

I thought you might be able to think of some way.

He's in pretty serious trouble.

He needs all the help he can get, Sarah.

Did Mr. Pruitt send you here?

Oh, no.

Certainly not.

I'm sorry.

I'm just a little bit confused.

I would like to help Mr. Pruitt, but I don't see how I can.

I really don't.

Sarah, you're not being honest with me.

Dr. Adams, I think you've intruded on my privacy enough.

Now, if you have nothing better to do with your time, I do.

Sarah, I wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't important.

Now, you're pregnant, and that's your problem.

Maybe you can live with it, but Carl Pruitt may

not be able to live with his.

I can't help him!

Sarah, Carl won't tell Matt about this

because he's obviously protecting you,

and I can't because I'm your doctor.

Now, that leaves Jack Stokes, and he's

dead-- so it's up to you.

Dr. Adams, I have tried to live my life

in a way that would never bring disgrace on my name.

I do not spend my time idly, and I try not to gossip.

I read and I study, and I try to improve myself for my students.

Now, that has been my whole life, to become a better

teacher for my students.

I want to try to teach them something

more than can be learned on a farm.

I want to try to show them something

of the world that's beyond the confines of Ford County.

Now, if I expose myself to the whole of Dodge City

as an unwed mother, just how many students do

you think I would have?

Not even one!

You can't hide it much longer.

Yes I can.

Very soon, now, my aunt in St. Louis

is going to become very ill, and I am going to have

to go nurse her back to health.

And that will take several months.

And after that time, I will come back here,

and I will resume my life.

What about the baby?

I don't care about the baby.

Sarah, I don't think you mean that.

You don't know what happened!

I was working late here one night, correcting papers.

Jack Stokes must have seen the lights on.

He was very drunk.

He came in here.

Well, I certainly didn't invite him in!

Well, Sarah, I guess that's about all I have to say.

I'll leave the rest up to you and your conscience.

Oh, there's one other thing.

Festus went by and stayed all night with Lester,

and brought him into town so he could see his father.

That's the reason Lester wasn't in school today.

Matt would like for me to ask you to-- well,

maybe you'd go by and kind of stay with Lester tonight, or--

Oh, no. I can't.

I-- no, it's impossible.

I see.

Well-- he's a pretty grown up boy.

I guess, uh, another two or three nights

alone won't hurt him.

Carl?

Now, there's a man here that you're gonna be mighty

tickled to have a visit with.

Come on in, Lester.

You and your pa have a good visit,

and I'll be right out here, if you want me.

Howdy, boy.

Hello, Pa.

You didn't comb your hair this morning, did mean?

No, sir.

Can't have you going around town with your hair

mussed up like that.

Give us Pruitts a bad name.

Yes, sir.

Well, I-- I guess I gave us a bad enough name

as it is, didn't I?

What happened, Pa?

Well, I don't know.

I-- I got drunk, got into a fight.

It was an accident, son.

Hey, boy, now, you're too big to cry.

I'm trying not to, Pa.

I know.

I know.

You always told me never to fight, and never to drink.

And you shouldn't.

You did.

I was wrong.

You see where it got me, don't you?

What's gonna happen now, Pa?

Oh, uh, in a little while the marshal's gonna walk in here,

and he's gonna say, Mr. Pruitt, sir, we kind of made a mistake.

You're free to go.

Is he?

Of course he is.

You know no jail is big enough to hold a Pruitt.

You believe that, don't you, son?

Yes, sir.

I love you, Pa.

Miss Merkle?

Lester.

I'm sorry I didn't come to school today.

I was-- well, I was downtown, seeing my pa.

I know.

They've got him in jail, Miss Merkle.

I heard, Lester, and I'm truly sorry.

I'm supposed to go to Tommy Gilbert's house for dinner,

and stay there for the night.

You are?

Yes, ma'am.

Lester, how would you like to come and spend

the evening at my house?

Could I?

Only if you want to.

Yes, ma'am.

I'll make you a real nice dinner,

and I've got a great big room where you can stay.

Come on, let's go.

People said my pa killed a man.

I heard.

I asked him, and he said it was an accident.

But I just can't believe he killed somebody.

I don't know, Lester.

He just couldn't.

Not my pa.

I'm sure you're right, Lester.

Now eat your food.

Why won't the marshal let him come home?

I don't know why.

Stop asking why.

Be still, and eat your food!

Lester, please.

It's going to be all right, Lester.

I promise you, it's going to be all right.

Lester, I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Can you forgive me for what I did to you?

I was just so upset.

It don't matter.

It does matter.

It matters a great deal.

I guess it showed me how selfish,

and how cruel I've been.

Oh, Lester, you were right about your daddy.

He could never do anything like that to someone on purpose.

There's been a mistake, and I'm going to go to the marshal,

and I'm gonna make him understand.

Mr. Pruitt assumed, correctly, that the baby's

father was Jack Stokes.

What he didn't understand, that was--

Mr. Stokes was not a paramour.

He was drunk.

He broke into the schoolhouse one evening,

and he attacked me.

And he would have done it again, at the picnic,

if Carl hadn't stopped him.

At any rate, I suspect Mr. Pruitt went to Stokes

that evening on my behalf.

Carl?

I just wanted him to marry her.

He said some pretty rough things.

I-- I started dragging him out of his room.

He stopped fighting.

Said he'd go along peaceful to Miss Merkel's I

turned him loose.

He got to the top of the stairs, he-- he tried to throw me.

We both went down the stairs.

Carl, you should have said something.

You know, if you'd just told me that night,

the way he came after you, you could

have saved a lot of trouble.

I was afraid if I told any of it, I'd have to tell all of it.

There was a part of it I couldn't tell nobody.

It's over, then?

There'll be no trial?

No, we might have to have a hearing with Judge Booker,

but that would be in private.

There'd be no other townspeople there.

Thank you, marshal.

Miss Merkle, I, uh--

Mr. Pruitt, my secret isn't the kind that keeps.

I only hope that it's over now for you.

You've been through much too much on my account.

I want to thank you, for coming here to help me out.

That's a fine woman, marshal.

Too a lot of sand for her to come here like that.

Whoa, there.

Climb off, Lester.

[knocking]

Hello, Carl.

I want to talk to you, Miss Sarah.

It's important.

Lester, don't you want to come in, too?

Naw, I reckon I'll stay out here with the horses.

Thanks just the same, though, Miss Merkle.

Come in.

Thank you.

Sit down.

Please.

Oh.

Thank you.

Miss Sarah, I want to talk to you.

I want you to marry me.

Carl-- Carl, I know you're concerned about me,

and I know you think I need a man to take care of me.

Well, don't you?

I don't really know.

I mean, I haven't given it much thought.

Oh, I know it doesn't make much sense,

but-- well, I'm not at all sure that I need anyone else.

Well, I, uh-- I think you ought to give it some more thought.

You can't, uh-- you can't be alone now.

With a baby coming.

Carl, really, I'm going to be fine.

I'll be going east in a month or so,

and-- well, I'll be just fine there.

I, uh-- I need you, Sarah.

Carl, are you sure you want to marry me

and raise another man's child?

A man like Jack Stokes?

Sarah, I'm a farmer.

Any man can plant seed.

It's how you care for the plant that grows that counts.

Carl, the child is my responsibility,

and I intend to face it alone.

No!

No, we're gonna talk about it.

You've got this all figured out for yourself.

What about Lester and me?

That boy loves you, Sarah.

He loves you like you were his own mother.

I love you, Sarah.

I'm not in the habit of saying please, but I'm saying it now.

But we'd be right here in Dodge, where it happened.

I'm not asking you to marry the town.

I'm asking you to marry me.

Sarah, marry me.

Don't you think you should go tell Lester?

Oh, I, uh-- I think he'd like it a lot

better hearing it from you.

Lester?

Please come in now.

Yes, Miss Merkle.

Sit down, Lester.

Lester, would it be all right with you

if I married your father?

Are you going to?

Not without your permission.

Sure, Miss Merkle.

I'd like it real fine.

Well, I'm afraid that won't do.

Huh?

Well, if I'm going to marry your father,

you can't go on calling me Miss Merkle.

How does ma sound?

NARRATOR: Stay tuned for exciting scenes

from our next "Gunsmoke."

[theme music]