Likable brothers Billy and Lew Baxter are in Dodge City picking up supplies. They go into the Long Branch Saloon to have a drink. Gunfighter Joe Delk is in the Long Branch, too. When he begins harassing Kitty Russell, Billy steps in and the two men have words. When Billy starts to draw his gun, Delk kills him. When Lew sees his brother killed, he starts to draw, but Delk guns him down, too.
(John Meston used a similar set of circumstances where two brothers face a gunfighter with tragic results in the story "Executioner" earlier in Season 2.)
Kitty tells Matt Dillon that the Baxters drew first. The Marshal takes Delk's gun and invites him into the street for a fistfight. Matt savagely beats Delk and locks him in jail for some reason. The gunfighter is released after a few days, but now the man's confidence has been badly shaken. When Matt returns Delk's guns, he gives Delk a chance to face him in a gunfight, but Delk walks away.
The eminently recognizable Harold J. Stone makes the first of his seven Gunsmoke appearances as the Joe Delk character. Stone was one of those actors with incredible range. He could play villains, heroic characters, and comedic roles.
Steven Terrell and Robert C. Ross portray the Baxter brothers, Lew and Billy, respectively. Both actors had short-lived acting careers playing mostly smaller parts.
The only other actor of note in the story is Hal Baylor. Baylor was a frequent guest in television westerns. He had previously appeared in the Gunsmoke pilot, "Hack Prine." Baylor appeared in a total of seven Gunsmoke episodes. He is one of the very few actors, other than the series regulars, who appeared in both the first and last seasons of the series.
This is a fascinating psychological tale of a man facing his own personal demons. Stone's performance lifts the story above the questionable details of the story. Why did everyone stand around in the Long Branch while Delk shot both Baxter brothers? Couldn't someone try to stop the fight or get Marshal Dillon? When Kitty tells Matt the shootings were technically "fair" fights, what gives Matt the right to beat the man? And then, after beating him, why was Delk jailed for several days if he technically did nothing illegal?