As the second part of the episode begins, Matt Dillon, runaway children Tuttle and Hannah Kincaid, Paulette Duvalier, and Pierre Audubon are back on the raft trying to escape from various pursuers, not the least of which are Charlie Utter and his gang of thieves. Young Tuttle is grazed by a bullet in the getaway.
A sizable portion of the second part of the story is spent on character development. Pierre and Paulette have been together for over ten years. They even had a child at one point, but the child died. Marshal Dillon asks Paulette to tend to Tuttle's wound, which she does reluctantly. The woman and boy soon develop a friendship, however.
While the ragtag group continues navigating the river, Charlie Utter and his men are riding along the banks looking for an opportunity for ambush in the hopes of retrieving the $24,000 Matt has in his possession.
The best aspects of these two episodes are the outstanding cast and the astounding scenery. In addition to the cast that appeared in the first part of the story, familiar character actress Maudie Prickett makes a brief appearance as the Kincaid kids' dour, prim-and-proper Aunt Ida.
This is an entertaining story, but it does contain a lot of extraneous filler. The story builds toward a possible exciting conclusion, but the ultimate confrontation is somewhat anti-climactic.
Gunsmoke fans looking for the beloved regular characters will be disappointed as Matt Dillon is the only one of the familiar cast involved. It is always great seeing Slim Pickens in anything, but his character here lacks any depth. The part could have been played by anyone. However, Jack Elam and Miriam Colon are given more substantial roles and are good together.
This story started with a lot of promise, but it never lives up to that promise.