Episode Details

Originally Aired: November 1, 1959

Gunsmoke #395, "Westbound," finds Matt Dillon and Chester traveling to Abilene on what should be a routine prisoner pickup. While Doc grumbles back in Dodge about Chester's easy assignment, the deputy himself feels uneasy about the trip. Their mission is to arrest Jack Daggett, a killer who fled to his hometown after a shooting in Dodge. The arrest goes smoothly at the Last Chance Saloon, but trouble quickly surfaces when the local constable, Roar, proves unhelpful and warns that Daggett's older brothers won't take kindly to the situation. With Wild Bill Hickok away in Topeka, Matt finds himself without local support and denied use of the jail.

With four hours to wait until the westbound train departs for Dodge, Matt and Chester hole up in a hotel room with their handcuffed prisoner. The hotel keeper reluctantly accepts their business but demands payment in advance, fearing the bloody confrontation that may come when the Daggett brothers learn their younger sibling is under arrest. As the minutes crawl by and tension mounts, Chester's earlier hunch about this assignment seems increasingly justified.