Matt is taking a prisoner back to Dodge during a severe drought. They nearly fall prey to the arid condition until they find a small pool of water. The problem is that the water is contaminated and will cause both Matt and the prisoner to become sick.
They are found by members of a cattle drive and taken back to camp. The leader of the drive, Virgil Powell, is trying to be the first to get his cattle to Dodge so they can take opportunity of the higher price for beef. The drive-leader gets Matt and the prisoner back to health and then cashes in on the good money for the cattle.
The men on the cattle drive, with lots of money to spend, start living it up in Dodge. This causes problems with locals until Mr Powell agrees to pay for all damages that the men cause.
What everyone does not know is that one of the cattle men has made a deal with the prisoner. He will help him escape a certain hanging for a large amount of money. However during the escape something goes terribly wrong. And even Matt is sadden by the circumstance that befalls on Dodge that evening.
This episode was well put together and well acted. The entire story held the viewers attention and made for a good watch. Some of the previous shows were lackluster- but this one puts 'Gunsmoke' back on top of its game.
NOTE- Maybe it was the video that I watched, but the opening credits were not from 1967. The credits were from a later period as Newly was seen on the credit and Thad was left out. So at least on my video tape, they replace the opening credit for some unknown reason.