Episode Details

Originally Aired: March 16, 1958

Gunsmoke #310, "Real Sent Sonny,"

A young man named Sonny Garnett calls out Marshal Matt Dillon from the jail, standing brazenly in the middle of the street with a rifle and demanding the marshal come out and fight. Rather than kill the boy, Matt has Chester shoot the gun from his hand. Under questioning, the defiant youngster refuses to reveal who sent him, but Dillon soon tricks him into exposing his partner: Nate Schuyler, a notorious outlaw wanted for train robberies, bank holdups, and murder. Matt realizes Schuyler is using the boy to eliminate the local law before moving in on Dodge City, a cowardly tactic the veteran lawman has seen before.

After locking Sonny up, Marshal Dillon makes a calculated gamble by releasing the boy and having him followed, hoping the youngster will lead them straight to Schuyler. When Doc Adams spots Sonny at Wilbur Jonas' store trying to buy a gun, he rushes to alert Matt about the supposed jailbreak, only to learn it was all part of the marshal's plan to flush out the dangerous outlaw.