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It's roundup time again, and Dodge City braces itself for the annual invasion of hundreds of wild-and-wooly cowboys, all looking for girls, whiskey and trouble. Most of the local merchants demand that Matt (James Arness) provide extra protection agains the rampaging cowpokes; the one exception is crooked saloon owner Ray Torp (Jacques Aubuchon), who expects to rake in a fortune. In his efforts to mollify the merchants and still allow the cowboys to let off steam, Matt makes a fatal blunder that costs the life of one of his closest friends. This episode is based on the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of February 14, 1953.