Loretta Swit was a little more than two years away from beginning her iconic role as Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H when she appeared here as Belle Clark. This is the third of his four appearances on the show. He finds Sancho's antics amusing, and he offers his unsolicited views on babies. Here, his Sam Danton character is slightly less depraved. In his two other appearances he plays about as nasty, incorrigible a human being as one can imagine. William Watson appeared in three different Gunsmoke episodes (counting the two-part "Island in the Desert" as one episode). In return for the setup, the Dantons will be set free. Hawkins and his men are waiting in ambush where Hawkins plans to kill Dillon. Danton and Belle are supposed to get the drop on the Marshal and his Deputy at an appointed place on the trail. To further complicate matters, an outlaw named Jake Hawkins, who hates Matt Dillon, has made an arrangement with Danton. When Festus discovers Sancho and Ruth are missing, he is not far behind. Since Sancho is aware of the situation with the Marshal on the trail, he "borrows" Festus Haggen's mule, Ruth, and sets out in pursuit. (How fortunate Belle is perfectly capable of delivering the baby, cutting the umbilical cord, cleaning the child, and is able to find ample blankets and other supplies for the baby in the supply wagon!) Meanwhile, young thief Sancho looks at pictures he finds in a jewelry box he stole from Belle and discovers she and Danton are married. Fortunately, everything goes well, and a healthy baby boy is born. (A pregnant woman hides under a tarp in the back of a wagon loaded with supplies and manages to remain undetected for what appears to be a significant amount of time?) When the mother-to-be begins experiencing labor pains, the others on the trip realize they have an additional passenger. She stows away under a tarp in the wagon. Mason is to get to the fort to be with her husband. The travelers do not know just how determined Mrs. Matt leaves Sancho in Kitty Russell's care until he returns. Why is a wagon, supplies, and a deputy needed to transport one man to Fort Union?) The next morning, Matt, Newly, Danton, and Belle all set out for Fort Union.
For some unknown reason, Marshal Dillon asks Newly O'Brien to go with him on the trip to the fort and asks Newly to obtain a wagon and supplies for the trip. Matt inexplicably agrees, but he does not know what the viewer will soon learn: Belle is married to Sam Danton. When Belle learns that Marshal Dillon is on his way to Fort Union, she asks if she can travel with him. Mason should not travel in her present condition. (Among many odd aspects to this story is the fact that two women travel some distance to Dodge City by stagecoach with a final destination not easily accessible from Dodge.) Doc warns that Mrs. Fort Union is the intended destination for both, but neither knows how they will get there, since there is no stage service to the fort. The two women met on the stage before arriving in Dodge. Mason is another woman named Belle Clark. Mason was planning to travel on to Fort Union where she intends to meet her soldier husband. Doc is busy treating a very pregnant woman named Martha Mason. He pays a visit to Doc Adams's office, because he wants Doc to look at a wound on Danton's leg. After they reach Dodge, Marshal Dillon begins making plans for the trip to Fort Union. Matt decides to take Sancho along to Dodge. The Marshal learns that Sancho is an orphan, and he has been stealing to survive. (There is no explanation offered for why the Marshal is responsible for transporting the prisoner to Fort Union, or why a prisoner must be delivered there.) A young Hispanic boy named Sancho sneaks into their camp while they are asleep and begins stealing everything he can. Matt Dillon is taking a prisoner named Sam Danton to Dodge City with plans to take him on to Fort Union later.
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