Slaughter's my name, Luke Slaughter. Cattle's my business. It's a tough business. It's big
business. I've got a big stake in it. And there's no man west of the Rio Grande big
enough to take it from me. Luke Slaughter of Tombstone.
Luke Slaughter of Tombstone. Civil War cavalrymen turned Arizona cattlemen.
Across the territory from Yuma to Fort Defiance, from Flagstaff to the Wachukas,
and below the border through Chihuahua and Sonora, his name was respected or
feared, depending on which side of the law you were on. Man of vision, man of
legend, Luke Slaughter of Tombstone.
This special meeting of the cattlemen's association of Tombstone is now in order.
And I guess it's in order for me to ask what's so special about it to take up my
time when I'm getting a herd ready for shipment. That's a fair question, Slaughter.
Now wait just a minute. I'm not finished. Oh, go on. Mr. Canfield, how can you hold a
meeting special or not when you haven't got a quorum? There's only you and Bigelow
here. That's no quorum. It's enough. Well, Slaughter, this is a very special meeting.
We kept it small on account of you. Me? Yes. You are the reason for this meeting.
I gotta ask you to elucidate that, Mr. Canfield. Canfield, may I have the floor?
I'd like to do the elucidating. Of course, Mr. Bigelow. I agree that the accused has
the right to know the charges against him. Accused? So I think it only fair that
you know right off that this special meeting has been called to give you a
private opportunity to answer to the charge of horse stealing and cattle
rustling. Who says I'm a cattle wrestler and horse thief? I do. You stand up, mister,
and dig for your iron. No, no, no, boys. Now, let's not add injury to insult. We want to
get to the bottom of this, Slaughter. So do I. And I aim to. No man accuses me
without proof. And there isn't any proof. Well, I'm afraid there is, Slaughter. Meaning?
Meaning somebody's been stealing horses from around Tombstone, running them
across the border and selling them in Mexico. I know. I lost a couple of three
ponies out of my string. Oh, I'll bet you did. No, no, Mr. Bigelow, now let me handle this.
Now, this appears to be a two-way rustling deal, Slaughter, because this
someone's been stealing cattle in Mexico and from around here too and selling them
in Bisbee and Phoenix and Prescott. Oh, in this time you were stupid, Slaughter. You
stole some of my cattle and you had the brass to turn around and sell them to
Canfield along with that last herd you drove up from Mexico. Bigelow, I'm
telling you again. You better back that up with steel. I'm afraid we've got proof
it's you, Slaughter. What proof? Well, that last herd I bought from you. I paid for
them in Mexico with my own money. I drove them all the way up here through some
pretty rough country and fattened them on the way. I sold them to you for a fair
profit. Yeah, and about a dozen of them had Bigelow's brand on them. What? Oh, wait,
it'd been altered, but it was a pretty clumsy job. Now, what have you got to say
to that? The only thing I can say, I didn't steal Bigelow's cattle or anybody
else's. Well, that ain't good enough for me, Slaughter. You're new here in these parts,
Slaughter, but people hereabouts think pretty well of you. Thanks. So, we got a
proposition to make to you. Proposition? Yes, you pay Bigelow for his cattle and
we'll just forget the whole thing. And if I don't? Well, you leave us no choice but
to turn you over to the sheriff. Well, Slaughter, which'll it be? Neither.
Reach, both of you. I'll just relieve you, Jensa, your guns. You're putting
yourself outside the law, Slaughter. No, you're putting me there. We'll get up a posse,
Slaughter. We'll come after you. You do that. And we'll get you, sooner or later.
That I doubt. Thanks for the guns, gents. Of course, I'm not taking them permanently.
Any more than I take horses or cattle. You'll find them in the watering trough
across the street. If you take my advice, don't come looking for them until I've
ridden out of town.
Well, howdy, Luke. What took you so long in town? Plenty. Well, I'm ready to move these critters over to Tucson any time you are, Luke.
That'll have to wait. Wichita, how long will it take you to get together your gear
and chow for three days and saddle up? Oh, half hour if I was rushed. You're rushed.
Make it 20 minutes. There's a posse less than a half hour behind us.
Luke. Yeah. If we're figuring on getting any further use out of these horses, we'd better give them a rest.
Yeah, I know, Wichita. That's why we're headed for the river. Oh, figuring on throwing the posse off the trail by riding down the middle of the street.
That's right. We'll come out on that lava outcropping down at Jackrabbit Falls,
and we'll see whether they can pick up our trail. If you had to ask me... I didn't, Wichita.
Well, I know, but if you had to, that's just what I would have done. That's just what I figured.
Oh, boy. Slow down there. Oh. Come on there, you honorary critter. No time to stop for a drink now.
We got that much time, Wichita. Let him wait his whistle. Oh, all right. Good.
I don't know, Luke. I just can't get over it. What? You. Ain't like you to take this lying down.
Well, I'm not exactly lying down, Wichita. No, you're a high tail in it, which is worse.
And I always thought you had more guts than you could hang on a fence.
It's a time to fight and a time to run, Wichita. And this isn't the time to fight.
Come on there, fella. That's enough cussing. Come on.
If I was you, I'd have blown the heads off them two slanderin' sons.
That is the only proof I could outdrill them. I couldn't disprove their charges.
Well, you ain't going to disprove them by running away. I hope I am, Wichita.
Ah. I don't know yet.
Well, it's a nice day for a horseback ride, isn't it? Let's give these fellas a little rest.
Yeah. I could use a little more shelf.
Oh, that lava field ain't the easiest thing to pick your way through for a man or beast.
We'll let him graze a while behind these rocks. Yeah.
Now, let's go up and peek over the rim. Maybe we can see our pursuers.
All right.
Get down now. Take off your hat.
Sure.
I want to make a silhouette against the sky.
There's a mighty pretty view of the valley from here.
Yeah.
Heh, heh, heh.
What's so funny?
Look out there. Up the river about a mile. There they are.
Yeah.
Fanning all over the desert. Riding back and forth and up and down the river.
Well, they'll never pick up our trail.
Nope. We shook them for fair.
Eh, what are we going to do now?
Sit.
Sit? Here?
That's right.
Why?
See what happens next. We've made our play. The next play's up to somebody else.
Who?
That's what we're sitting here to find out.
Ain't we sat here long enough, Luke?
Not quite, Wichita.
Sat here all day yesterday. Sat here all night, freezing to death out of fire.
I told you I didn't want anybody to know we were here.
Well, who's to know? That parsley faded back to tombstone before sundown yesterday.
Wichita, didn't you ever learn that patience is a virtue?
Eh, I would never know. It's a very virtuous man.
And that virtue is its own reward.
Now, Luke, sermonizing me ain't going to get you nowhere.
Oh, I don't mean to play sky pilot, Wichita.
But if you look over there, over there toward the east.
A cloud of dust.
I think that may be why we've been sitting here.
Eh, just a small string of horses, six, eight maybe. A couple of hands are herding them.
That's right. Herding them south. Across the border, maybe.
You think they're stolen horses?
I bet on it.
Well, how come you're so certain?
Well, now, if you were running this wrestling and you'd accused me...
Oh, I'd never do that, Luke.
I know, but we're just supposing.
And I skipped town.
Now, wouldn't you take advantage of that fact to wrestle some more horses?
Make it look like I'd done it for certain?
Well, sure. Sure I would, Luke, if I was a wrestler, which ain't.
Now, I think we can both be pretty sure that we aren't the wrestlers.
I reckon so.
But if we ain't, then them wards is down there, our soul. Let's go get them.
No.
Why not? If your theorizing is correct, they're guilty of sin.
Yeah, but they're probably just trail hands.
I want to know who the boss is.
Well, how you going to find out? Right down there and ask them?
No, Wichita, we're going to trail them.
Let's hit the leather.
We trail them south, across the border and into Mexico, keeping well out of sight.
By dark, on the second day, they'd reached the little town of De La Rosa.
We watched the two of them herd the horses into a corral on the outskirts of town,
then paralleled them along a back street as they headed for the cantina.
We edged up to the door, keeping in the shadows.
Fifteen minutes later, they came up and started across the street.
It looks like that's a rumen house over there. They're heading for Luke.
Yeah. You recognize them?
Nope. Never seen either of them before.
We going to follow them?
Not right now. We know where they are.
I'm more interested in seeing who they've been talking to in the cantina.
Come on.
Keep your eyes open and your hand near your holster.
Right.
Senoris?
Dos tequilas.
Si, senor.
Wichita.
Yeah?
Over there, at that table.
Who is he?
Dominguez. A bandito. Smart and tough.
You think he's the one?
I think we better have a talk with him.
Hello, Dominguez.
Buenas noches, senor Schlotter.
Mind if we sit down?
Por favor.
You should not have come here, senor Schlotter.
Why not? We're just drifting through.
Oh, no. You're not just drifting through, senor Schlotter.
You were run out of tombstone because they thought you were stealing horses and cattle.
You've got big ears, Dominguez.
You see? These big ears are very valuable to me at times.
I think you follow those horses here to find out who's behind this.
All right, Dominguez. Let's play it your way.
But I don't think you're the boss of this operation.
I think you're just receiving the stolen horses at this end of the line.
And that's your business, not mine.
I want to know who's behind this up tombstone way.
I have no information for you.
No? Might be a good idea for you if you did have.
You're in no position to make threats.
I'm holding a gun on you under the table.
Luke? Easy, Wichita.
Yeah, I figured you were, Dominguez.
What's your play?
There'll be no play, senor Schlotter.
I'm leaving now, and you will not follow me.
That's a matter of opinion.
If you do, senor Schlotter... Yeah?
When you walk through this door, you're going to be shot.
In a moment, Luke Schlotter of Tombstone returns.
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good entertainment does the trick night after night here at CBS Radio.
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Now, Act Two of William and Robeson's production of Luke Schlotter of Tombstone.
What are we going to do, Luke?
Go out that door, I reckon.
But you heard what Dominguez said.
We'll get dry goats the minute we step outside.
Maybe. Now's as good a time as any to find out.
If he's in the dark out there, we'd be setting ducks against the light.
That's why we're going to have a little less light in here.
Quietos todos.
Stay where you are or nobody will get hurt.
I figure it's just as dark in here as it is out there now.
Come on, Wichita.
All right. When I give the word, we'll go through this door fast.
Flatten yourself against the wall on the left. I'll be on the right.
Ready?
Yeah.
Now.
You all right, Wichita?
Yeah. He missed.
Came from over near that horse trough.
Don't shoot till you see what you're shooting at.
Watch out, Luke.
I see him.
There, Piers. You got him.
Stay low. Let's go take a look.
You think it's Dominguez?
I doubt it. He's too smart to leave cover like that.
Here he is.
It's one of the rustlers. You plugged him dead center.
Dominguez probably cleared out.
I know him. He won't ever call unless he's sure he's got a winning hand.
Well, maybe he's... Wait. Listen.
Sounds like somebody's real anxious to get out of here in a hurry.
Dominguez more than likely.
Or it's the other rustler heading north toward Tombstone.
And if it is, we've got to catch him before he gets there and make him talk.
Come on.
Luke, we ain't getting much on him all night.
I know. I was hoping we could head him off before he crossed the border.
Yeah. Well, how far are you? Figure we are out of Tombstone.
Five, six hours.
Starting to get light.
We got one chance of nailing him.
He's swinging to the left around this ridge. We're going over the top.
Luke, if he's got by ahead of us, we're licked.
He's got to climb over the ridge like to kill these horses.
I don't think he has got by us, Wichita.
Here's the trail. There's no fresh tracks on it.
Yeah. I hear him coming, Luke.
We're around the bend from him.
He won't see us until he's right on top of us.
You're going to rope him?
I'm going to try to. I want him alive.
Here he comes.
Hey. Slower.
Yeah.
Got him.
All right. Hold it.
Had you cut me off?
Doesn't matter now. What's your name?
Ben Faraday.
All right, Faraday. Who are you working for?
Nobody.
Don't give me that. Who's your boss?
Come on. Start talking.
I don't know what you...
Get down, Wichita.
Come on.
Came from up on the ridge.
You see anything?
Yeah. A piece of a Mexican sombrero up there for a minute.
Dominguez.
I got to hand it to him for being a good shot.
Faraday's dead as a doornail.
Yeah. He can't do any talking now. That's a cinch.
Come on. Keep low behind these rocks.
Yeah, sure.
Keep that head of yours down, and you'll get it blown off.
It appears to be a lot of cover for him up there.
Yeah. Once we get over this shoulder,
we can see the top of the ridge.
Easy now.
I'll go first.
You see anything?
No. Looks like...
There he is.
Atop his horse and heading for the border.
Sure.
He isn't interested in us anymore,
and that Faraday's dead and can't tell us who the boss is.
Maybe it is Dominguez.
Unlikely.
The situation's too big for a tin-horn bandito.
It's got to be somebody at the north end of the line.
Probably somebody right in Tombstone.
Well, with Faraday and that other rustler both dead,
looks like we don't have much chance to find out who it is.
Come on now, Wichita.
Don't throw in your hand till you've used up all the aces in your sleeve.
Meaning?
See that hollow down there in the rocks near Faraday's body?
Yeah. What about it?
I'm going to rig up a little camp there for Faraday and me.
You're going to set up camp with a dead man?
That's right.
And you, Wichita, you're going riding.
What you think I've been doing for the last 12 hours?
You've got some more riding ahead of you.
I want you to ride into Tombstone and tell him we caught Faraday.
Tell him he's wounded and unconscious.
Tell him to send the doctor.
Because as soon as he comes to,
we're going to find out who the rustler boss really is.
You figure Faraday's boss will come a-running to keep him from talking?
It's my gamble.
It's a pretty loco scheme, if you ask me.
I didn't. But I'll ask you this.
You got a better one?
No.
Then hit the letter for Tombstone.
Get that story around town and then get back here as soon as you can.
Who's that? Who's out there?
Hey, Luke. Put that gun away.
Oh, jeez.
I...
I bet I got more saddle sores than this horse has.
Did you get the word around?
I sure did.
Who'd you talk to?
Well, Ezra Canfield, for one.
Who else?
Homer Bigelow happened to be in town. I saw to it that he heard.
And a lot more.
What'd they say?
They said they hoped Faraday could clear you.
And, uh, they tried to sober up Dark Eaton and get him out here.
Somebody went to find him. Bigelow, I think it was.
You told them exactly where our camp was located?
Yeah. Luke, you figure it might be either of them two?
Canfield or Bigelow?
Could be. On the other hand, it could be anybody.
Or maybe our message didn't even get to the right man.
Any way you look at it, Wichita, there's only one thing we can do now.
Let's wait.
Oh, eesh.
It sure gets cold out here at night.
I'm gonna put another piece of mesquite on the fire.
Leave it be, Wichita.
But I'm freezing, Luke.
Just leave the embers like they are.
You don't want to light yourself up for a target, do you?
Oh, now that you mention it.
What time do you figure it's getting to be?
Well, past midnight. By the looks of the stars.
Nobody's gonna be looking for us this time of night.
Maybe. Maybe not.
Luke, do you realize that this is the third night running
that I haven't had any sleep to speak out?
Then get some. I'll stand watch.
But I can't sleep, Luke. I'm too dang cold.
Well, it looks like I'm gonna have to turn you out to pasture, Wichita.
You're getting too old and crotchety for this kind of play.
No. No, no, no. You see here, Luke, you're just as sleepy
and just as cold as I am. Only you won't admit it.
Quiet. Looks like the party's about to start.
Quiet!
I can't...
You all right?
Yeah, but I'm gonna need a new stetson.
Serves you right for sneezing.
Dark as the age of spades out there. I can't see a thing.
They're thinking he just shot at the sound.
Keep your eyes open now.
I'm gonna toss a rock to one side. Make him think I'm circling.
Watch for his gun flash.
Right.
Here goes.
Over there.
I've got him.
Come on.
Here he is.
It's Homer Bigelow.
Yeah, Bigelow.
Is he dead?
No. Shoulder.
He'll keep. Long enough to stand trial anyway.
If he hadn't fallen for your trap,
if he'd have known that Faraday was dead and couldn't talk,
he'd still be in the clear.
Yeah. You know, they say what a man doesn't know won't hurt him.
That isn't true in Bigelow's case.
But he didn't know it was gonna kill him.
Luke Slaughter of Tombstone, starring Sam Buffington,
was written by Robert Stanley and adapted for radio
and directed by William N. Robeson, editorial supervision by Tom Hanley.
Supporting Mr. Buffington were Louis Van Routen, Lawrence Dobkin,
Junious Matthews and Don Diamond,
with music composed and conducted by Wilbur Hatch.
Next week at this time, we return with...
Slaughter's the name. Luke Slaughter.
When we meet up again, you can call me that.
Luke Slaughter.
This is the CBS Radio Network.
This is the CBS Radio Network.