The Boots

Originally Aired: January 25, 1959 Gunsmoke #355, "The Boots," opens with a tense confrontation at the Long Branch Saloon when a young gunman named Hank Fergus humiliates Zeno Smith, forcing him into a showdown that exposes Zeno's paralyzing fear. The once-respected gunman freezes and crawls on the floor while Fergus mocks him, cementing Zeno's reputation as a coward and driving him deeper into the bottle. For ten years since that night, Zeno has struggled with alcoholism, working sporadically at the general store while being looked after by young Tommy, a thirteen-year-old orphan boy who lives with him. As Tommy's fourteenth birthday approaches, Zeno promises the boy a pair of boots he's been wanting, but when Zeno goes on another drunken binge and spends all his money, he finds himself unable to keep his word. Marshal Matt Dillon encounters Tommy crying outside the store window, staring at the boots he'll never receive. The situation takes an ominous turn when Hank Fergus returns to Dodge City after ten years, claiming to be broke and looking to make gambling money. As Fergus and Zeno come face to face once again, the stage is set for a dangerous reckoning.