This show's got everything-- check the cast credits: young man, cowman, townsman and just plain "man".
Seriously, "TOBE" is another solid, "middle-period" b&w hour-long Gunsmoke that exemplifies what made the series so compelling.
Guest star Harry Townes, who was capable of over-doing things if not controlled by the director, is excellent here...a truly like-able Everyman who copes admirably with life's ups and downs as they are dealt to him.
"Tobe" was broadcast 3 weeks before another TV episode featuring a fine performance by Townes-- as the paranoid/reclusive scientist in The Outer Limits' "OBIT". Both display the actor at his absolute best.
There is real tragedy in "Tobe" which I didn't see coming, which makes it all the more notable. No predictable, neatly tied-together resolution as stated by another commentator on this site.
Additionally, Philip Abbott-- another busy actor from the period--- is cast in an atypical role here. He usually played doctors, scientists, administrative types, etc....and did so very well. Here he portrays an outwardly classy gambler who's really a brutal killer, providing this episode with yet another fascinating dimension.
There's almost a TINY BIT too much "comic relief" interplay between Chester and Doc in this show, but it all comes together in a wonderful and touching final exchange between the two guys who, underneath it all, love and respect one another. LR.