Abelia Johnson lives with her two children on a farm in the hill country north of Dodge City. Judd Ward and his gang of outlaws are on the run after robbing a bank in Garden City. One member of the gang, Judd's brother Deeter, was shot and seriously wounded during the escape. The gang finds Abelia's house and stops there for the night.
Judd Ward sends Abelia with one of his men, Tom Cole, to Dodge to get some medicine to help Deeter. Abelia resists at first, but Ward tells her they will harm her kids if she does not do what they want.
When Abelia and Cole arrive in Dodge, they find Doc Adams's office. (Doc is not there, as he had left town for a brief time.) Matt Dillon is chasing the Ward gang, and Festus Haggen is watching the town. Festus confronts the pair in Doc's office, but Cole knocks him out with a hit to the head with a pistol. During the escape, Cole shoots Newly O'Brien. Following some attention from Doc, Festus begins tracking the wagon Cole and Abelia were using.
By the time Abelia and Cole arrive back at the farm, the gang members are busy burying Deeter's now dead body. They soon leave the farm, but not before Ward warns Abelia if they encounter obstacles, they may return. He also warns her if she tries to inform law enforcement as to their whereabouts, they will come back and harm her kids. Abelia assures Ward she prefers to keep to herself and promises not to reveal anything about the gang.
Before too much time passes, Festus arrives. He recognizes Abelia as the woman with Cole in Dodge, and he assumes she is somehow connected to the gang. Abelia denies ever having visited Dodge. She is too frightened the gang will return to tell Festus what happened.
While Festus and Abelia are talking, Abelia's son Jonathan runs into the house and tells them his sister Marianne has been bitten by a rattlesnake. Concerns about the Ward gang and Abelia's involvement are quickly forgotten as Festus tends to the little girl. Fortunately, the actions taken are sufficient to prevent any serious effect of the snake bite on Marianne.
Festus decides to spend the night at the farm since it is late, it is a considerable distance back to Dodge City, and he wants to make sure Marianne is okay. He still wants answers from Abelia, but she stubbornly refuses to tell him anything out of concern for her children. She grudgingly tells Festus he is welcome to use a bedroom in the house.
As Festus is preparing for bed, Abelia enters the bedroom to retrieve her nightgown. Festus's reaction is hilarious, as he is outraged and acts as if he is stark naked, when all he has done is remove his shirt and shoes exposing his undershirt and socks.
Suddenly, the situation becomes serious as the Ward gang, except for Tom Cole, returns to the house. All trails South were blocked. Cole was sent to scout alternative paths to the North. Ward assumes Festus is Abelia's husband, because she had not previously told him she was a widow. However, Festus and Abelia fear that Cole might return and recognize Festus.
Jacqueline Scott is excellent as Abelia Johnson. She is convincing in her laser-focused dedication to the protection of her children. She portrays a certain stoicism that would be necessary for anyone living alone with two kids in the middle of nowhere. (I am always a bit curious at this kind of story where a someone can live in an isolated place and manage a farm on their own. In this case, the person even has two young children for which to care!)
It has been a few seasons since we have seen Jeremy Slate in a Gunsmoke episode. Here he plays the Judd Ward role. I always think of Slate in Season 9's episode "The Gallows," which I consider one of the best episodes of the series.
Tom Stern fills the role of the Tom Cole character with the appropriate level of nastiness. ("Cole doesn't like kids," according to Judd Ward.) Jack Lambert is the character known only as Gar. Lambert had a sinister look that always made him look villainous. Gregg Palmer makes yet another of his many, many Gunsmoke appearances as another of the Ward gang members. Palmer appeared in over 20 episodes, but he has one of those faces that allows him to do so without the viewer immediately recognizing him.
Mike Durkin and Susan Olsen play the Johnson kids. Durkin's acting career was extremely short. He only appeared in a few television shows in the mid-to-late 1960s and early 1970s. Susan Olsen would soon join the cast of The Brady Bunch as the youngest child, Cindy Brady.
Ken Curtis deserves accolades for his performance in this episode. It is difficult to know whether Curtis had a penchant for exaggerated, clownish characters, or whether the producers encouraged the excessive behavior, or both, but it could sometimes be too much. Here, Curtis is much more restrained and likable as a real person, instead of a just a goofy caricature.
There is much to like about this episode. The story contains many different plotlines, but they are handled well. As a result, everything moves along swiftly. The cast is first rate. My only minor complaint is the resolution happens too quickly and conveniently.
A couple of final notes about this episode: Abelia and her kids will appear again in Season 15's "A Man Called 'Smith'." The details in that story imply that Festus has seen Abelia and the children since he first met them in this episode. In earlier seasons when Festus first arrives in Dodge, he has an on-again, off-again relationship with a woman named April. This episode is the first since those earlier installments that hints at Festus having any sort of romantic interest.
The later story also involves a character identified as Abelia's ex-husband and hints that the character may be the father of Abelia's children. Those details appear to conflict with Abelia's assertions in this episode that she is a widow, and the father of her children is dead.
Judd Ward sends Abelia with one of his men, Tom Cole, to Dodge to get some medicine to help Deeter. Abelia resists at first, but Ward tells her they will harm her kids if she does not do what they want.
When Abelia and Cole arrive in Dodge, they find Doc Adams's office. (Doc is not there, as he had left town for a brief time.) Matt Dillon is chasing the Ward gang, and Festus Haggen is watching the town. Festus confronts the pair in Doc's office, but Cole knocks him out with a hit to the head with a pistol. During the escape, Cole shoots Newly O'Brien. Following some attention from Doc, Festus begins tracking the wagon Cole and Abelia were using.
By the time Abelia and Cole arrive back at the farm, the gang members are busy burying Deeter's now dead body. They soon leave the farm, but not before Ward warns Abelia if they encounter obstacles, they may return. He also warns her if she tries to inform law enforcement as to their whereabouts, they will come back and harm her kids. Abelia assures Ward she prefers to keep to herself and promises not to reveal anything about the gang.
Before too much time passes, Festus arrives. He recognizes Abelia as the woman with Cole in Dodge, and he assumes she is somehow connected to the gang. Abelia denies ever having visited Dodge. She is too frightened the gang will return to tell Festus what happened.
While Festus and Abelia are talking, Abelia's son Jonathan runs into the house and tells them his sister Marianne has been bitten by a rattlesnake. Concerns about the Ward gang and Abelia's involvement are quickly forgotten as Festus tends to the little girl. Fortunately, the actions taken are sufficient to prevent any serious effect of the snake bite on Marianne.
Festus decides to spend the night at the farm since it is late, it is a considerable distance back to Dodge City, and he wants to make sure Marianne is okay. He still wants answers from Abelia, but she stubbornly refuses to tell him anything out of concern for her children. She grudgingly tells Festus he is welcome to use a bedroom in the house.
As Festus is preparing for bed, Abelia enters the bedroom to retrieve her nightgown. Festus's reaction is hilarious, as he is outraged and acts as if he is stark naked, when all he has done is remove his shirt and shoes exposing his undershirt and socks.
Suddenly, the situation becomes serious as the Ward gang, except for Tom Cole, returns to the house. All trails South were blocked. Cole was sent to scout alternative paths to the North. Ward assumes Festus is Abelia's husband, because she had not previously told him she was a widow. However, Festus and Abelia fear that Cole might return and recognize Festus.
Jacqueline Scott is excellent as Abelia Johnson. She is convincing in her laser-focused dedication to the protection of her children. She portrays a certain stoicism that would be necessary for anyone living alone with two kids in the middle of nowhere. (I am always a bit curious at this kind of story where a someone can live in an isolated place and manage a farm on their own. In this case, the person even has two young children for which to care!)
It has been a few seasons since we have seen Jeremy Slate in a Gunsmoke episode. Here he plays the Judd Ward role. I always think of Slate in Season 9's episode "The Gallows," which I consider one of the best episodes of the series.
Tom Stern fills the role of the Tom Cole character with the appropriate level of nastiness. ("Cole doesn't like kids," according to Judd Ward.) Jack Lambert is the character known only as Gar. Lambert had a sinister look that always made him look villainous. Gregg Palmer makes yet another of his many, many Gunsmoke appearances as another of the Ward gang members. Palmer appeared in over 20 episodes, but he has one of those faces that allows him to do so without the viewer immediately recognizing him.
Mike Durkin and Susan Olsen play the Johnson kids. Durkin's acting career was extremely short. He only appeared in a few television shows in the mid-to-late 1960s and early 1970s. Susan Olsen would soon join the cast of The Brady Bunch as the youngest child, Cindy Brady.
Ken Curtis deserves accolades for his performance in this episode. It is difficult to know whether Curtis had a penchant for exaggerated, clownish characters, or whether the producers encouraged the excessive behavior, or both, but it could sometimes be too much. Here, Curtis is much more restrained and likable as a real person, instead of a just a goofy caricature.
There is much to like about this episode. The story contains many different plotlines, but they are handled well. As a result, everything moves along swiftly. The cast is first rate. My only minor complaint is the resolution happens too quickly and conveniently.
A couple of final notes about this episode: Abelia and her kids will appear again in Season 15's "A Man Called 'Smith'." The details in that story imply that Festus has seen Abelia and the children since he first met them in this episode. In earlier seasons when Festus first arrives in Dodge, he has an on-again, off-again relationship with a woman named April. This episode is the first since those earlier installments that hints at Festus having any sort of romantic interest.
The later story also involves a character identified as Abelia's ex-husband and hints that the character may be the father of Abelia's children. Those details appear to conflict with Abelia's assertions in this episode that she is a widow, and the father of her children is dead.
