Gunsmoke – The Preacher. 551113.

Matt Dillon has to break up a scuffle in the street. A huge, bearcat of a man is stopped from beating up a smaller man. Rather than being recognized as tough and brave, Matt calls him out for being a cowardly bully.

At the Long Branch salloon, Kitty worries that Matt will be in danger and wants him to hang up his guns. Are her concerns justified? Chester rushes in just then to report another fight, a preacher has been beaten up. Was it the big man from the opening scene, Sam Keeler? Why won’t the preacher say? The preacher claims to have lost his faith. Does this have something to do with his silence, or getting beat up?

Despite the silence of the preacher, it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Matt rides out to where Keeler is camped to confront him. Is Matt big enough to fight Keeler on his own terms? Is there a lesson to be learned in the end?