Gunsmoke – Puckets New Year, James Nusser. 560101 .

On a cold winter night, Matt and Chester ride the range, and encounter an old gent who has been stranded, and threatens Matt. Until he discovers who the lawman is. Old man Pucket is in need of a doctor to tend his frostbite, but still threatens to kill the man who stranded him.

Doc has the old buffalo hunter fixed up, and offers some insight for Matt as to Puckets way of thinking. Time goes by, Pucket heals up, but his buffalo hunting days are over. Has he forgotten his promise to get the man who stranded him? In the Long Branch, Matt and Kitty make small talk when Matt thinks he recognizes someone at the bar. The man who stranded Pucket claims innocence, but for his own safety, Matt tells the man to get out of Dodge before someone else recognizes him and a riot starts. Pucket’s grudge still hasn’t cooled down.

Since he can’t be a buffalo hunter again, Pucket has declaired that he’ll take up a town job, but Matt stops him from his idea of town work, robbing the bank. What is Pucket trying to prove? Can Matt protect him from himself? It’s time for a career change if old man Pucket is up for it.