[eerie music]
(male narrator) There is a fifth dimension
Beyond that which Is known to man.
It is a dimension As vast as space
And as timeless As infinity.
It is the middle ground Between light and shadow,
Between science And superstition.
And it lies between The pit of man's fears
And the summit Of his knowledge.
This is the dimension Of imagination.
It is an area Which we call The twilight zone.
A commonplace, If somewhat grim, Unsocial event
Known as a "Necktie party."
The guest of dishonor, A cowboy named joe caswell,
Just a moment Away from a rope,
A short dance several Feet off the ground.
And then the dark Eternity of all evil men.
Mr. Joe caswell, Who when the good lord Passed out a conscience,
A heart of feeling For fellow men,
Must have been Out for a beer And missed out.
Mr. Joe caswell In the last Quiet moment
Of a violent life.
Reveren d. No need, I ain't Interested in prayers.
And your immortal Sou l, caswell?
Are you Interested in that?
It's my mortal n eck That concerns me now.
And it's gonna be your Pleasure to see that it's Stretch ed a couple feet.
S I nce that book Ain't going to h elp,
Might as leave Make it short and Get it over with.
J u dg e?
You got anything To say? It's your Right, you know.
That's my right, Is it, j u dg e?
The you ng fellow I put A hole in had too much Mouth, not enough brai ns.
I'd I nvite him out Again tomorrow if I had It to do all over again.
You shot my son In the back, caswell.
And that's a long cou ntry M I le from an I nvitation To a showdown.
Now, that's all You got to say, I got this to add.
I'd like it To take awhile.
I'd like you to Feel it, caswell.
The more you kick, the More j ustice if ig u re There is in the world.
Well, I'll do a J ig for you, pappy,
Just like a pu ppet.
How about it, Can't we get it Over with?
I can tell you this, caswell. You're an evi l person. You're a disease.
And when we hang you, It's a service.
All right, get on With the job.
Oh, my dear god.
What happened to him?
Try to relax. You're going To be all right.
I'll explain to you What's happened.
[raspy voice] Where am I?
You're a long Way from hom e, Old fri en d.
A very long way.
[raspy voice] Where?
You're in new york city,
Eighty years from The last mom ent of Your recollection.
How? How?
[gasping]
By this. This is A time machine.
What's happened to you I nvolves pri nci ples which You wouldn't understand.
For the mom ent, I don't know what Your past was,
But you've got a most Disting u ish ed futu re.
You're the first Time traveler in The h istory of man.
And I'm going To introduce you To a whole new world.
And you're gon na Tell me about An old on e.
(scientist) At 8: 1 5 the subject Appeared desperately tired,
So I put him to bed.
After two hours I've discovered The following :
His name is Joseph caswell.
He tells me he was a Trai l boss on a cattle ranch In the territory of montana.
His last mom ent Of recollection
Was novem ber 1 4, 1 880.
He says he was Ri ding h erd wh en Su dden ly he blacked out.
He awoke to f in d Himself on the cot Of my laboratory.
He felt no Sensations and--
Only in the last few mom ents Did he seem to have any grasp Of what has occu rred.
There's one Distu rbing po I nt.
There are the marks of A rope etch ed deeply Into his n eck.
He has no Explanation for this.
And I have one Other observation Hardly sci entif ic.
I don't like his looks.
I don't like the Eyes or the face Or the express ion.
I get a feeling Of disqu I et, I--
I get a feeling that I've taken a 1 9th Century pri m itive
And placed him in A 20th century j u ng le.
And h eaven H elp whoever G ets in his way.
[door opens]
That's f I re right Out of the air.
I thought you Were tired.
I am.
There's plenty Of time to sleep.
And plenty of Time for that.
Now I wanna look at That world out there.
I wanna see if there are Things out there like You descri bed to me.
Carriag es without Horses and bu I ldings--
They're out There, caswell.
Things that you've N ever seen before.
Things you Can't I mag in e.
[engines humming, Horns honking]
[sirens wailing And engines throbbing]
But some things Don't chang e.
Ideas, concepts,
Things like Right and wrong.
I know all about Right and wrong.
Once there was a deputy Sh eri ff in dodg e city.
Tri ed to beat the difference Between them into my back With a wet rope.
I know all about Right and wrong.
And what about J ustice, caswell?
What about j ustice?
Am I su pposed to Know about j ustice?
More than most M en, probably.
Right and wrong, They can try to Beat into you.
But j ustice, caswell,
This came at the en d Of a rope, didn't it?
That's where you were When I reached Back into time.
You were at the en d Of a rope, weren't You, caswell?
Six or eight feet off The grou n d, and I got to you In that fraction of a mom ent
Before your N eck was broken.
When you're dang ling At the end of a rope It don't matter
Wh ether you're One foot off the G rou n d or one h u n dred.
You ki lled someon e.
A whole territory fu ll.
I stopped Counting after 20.
Well?
I'm going to have To send you back.
Back?
Back to where You belong.
Back to that very Mom ent, if I can.
And that's su pposed To be j ustice, huh?
I died once Already, mister. I been to h ell.
Now I'm back.
And those 20 men that You ki lled, caswell?
They died with No discom fort?
Mister, y-you're Just talking words.
J ustice, right And wrong.
They sou n d good in This nice warm room
With a n ice Fu ll stomach,
Just a few feet away From a soft bed.
They sou n d nice and They go down easy!
But you just try 'em On an ice-cold mesa
Where another man's bread Or another man's jacket
Stands between you And staying alive.
You get in this machine Of yours and you go Back to where I was,
And you talk about Your law and your Order and your j ustice.
They're gonna Sound different!
Mister, I know Your kind.
Your clean-faced, your Joh n ny-com e-lately dan dies.
You come out in your Warm trai ns rolling over The graves of men like me!
I just hate Your kind!
[tape recorder rewinding]
[over tape recorder] And I have one other Observation hardly scientific.
I don't like His looks.
I don't like the Eyes or the face Or the expression.
I get a feeling That I've taken a 1 9th century prim itive
And placed him in A 20th century jungle.
And heaven Help whoever Gets in his way.
[car horn honking]
[horns honking]
[horn honking]
[tires screeching]
[ringing]
[ringing continues]
(operator) There is overtime.
Please deposit 25 cents.
Hello? Hello?
There is overtime. Please deposit 25 cents.
[swing music playing]
What'll it be?
[swing playing On jukebox]
[music stops]
Expens ive evening for You, pal. That's Gonna cost.
Hear me?
There's so much no ise.
Look, buddy, if you Don't pay for it, I'm gonna have to.
So let's have No trou ble, huh? If you got any--
U h, easy, pal, easy.
Just bring me One of those.
Well?
Nothing, pal, No arg u ment. No arg u ment.
What is that? Where does the Music come from?
That thing? That's A jukebox, just a Plain old jukebox.
You been in sti r, buddy?
No, it's, it's j ust That I need some sleep.
And those, those things That are ru n ning around!
Things?
Those-those carriag es Without horses,
An d-and the lights Going on and off.
And the no ise, It's-it's like Th u n der all the time.
Buddy, why don't You go home and Sack down, huh?
And get a good Night's sleep.
Take a couple of bottles With you. That's what You need is sleep.
Here, take these Home with you.
Well, don't-don't You know what that is?
It's a win dow.
Here, we'll-we'll give You a demonstration, huh?
All right, hom bre,
You got your Chance to draw.
Now, you better Make your move.
All right, cowboy, You gotta pay for this.
Police! Police!
Police!
[car horn honking]
[horns honking]
[brakes screeching]
[woman screams]
[whistle blowing]
[people yelling]
[siren blaring]
[panting]
Mister, you--
Man, you--
H elp me, please!
H elp me!
I thought the Place was em pty.
Just move away From the desk, cowboy.
What do you want?
What do I want? What do you want, Bu ffalo b I ll?
Well, that's what I want. Whatever is around loose.
Well, it looks like You got here before me.
Saved me a little Trou ble. Thanks.
But I'm here now.
You know, I Usually go to Bed this early.
So with the place Being dark, if ig u red I'd be all alon e.
You checked The desk, did you?
I gu ess he don't keep Much cash around here.
If ig u red maybe A key to a drawer Or something.
See? I expect he's got A wall safe or something Around here, don't you?
Hey, cowboy, I Asked you a qu estion.
Don't you f ig u re He's got a wall safe or Something around here?
[groans]
[electronic whirring]
[electronic beeping]
[whirring increases in pitch]
[muffled] Hey! H elp!
H elp, somebody! H elp me get out!
H elp, h elp. H elp me. Somebody!
H elp me! H elp me!
Cut him down, Hurry up. Cut him down.
That ain't Joe caswell.
That ain't the Guy we hang ed.
Look at his cloth es. What kind of cloth es Are they?
Who is it?
This is not Caswell, reveren d. It's a strang er.
What kind of Devil's work is this?
I don't know.
I don't know I f It is devil's work.
Did we hang an In nocent man, then?
I hope not.
I pray to god not.
(narrator) This is november 1 880,
The aftermath of A necktie party.
The victim's name, Paul johnson, a m inor League crim inal
And the taker of Another human life.
No comment on his Death save this.
Justice can span years.
Retribution is not Subject to a calendar.
Tonight's case in point In the twilight zone.
Rod serling, The creator Of twilight zone
Will tell you about next Week's story after this word From our alternate sponsor.
And now, mr. Serling.
The man who lives In this ten em ent
Is an aging fighter Nam ed boli e jackson.
Over the h I ll at ag e 36. From leaving too much of Himself in too many arenas
For too many years Before too many Screaming people.
And next week he looks For a m I racle, and h e F in ds it in a little boy.
On the twilight zone Next week, the big Tall wish.
Something very, Very special.
I hope we'll See you then.
[eerie music]
Be sure to the see the Fun-filled family life
Of one of america's Greatest entertainers, The dan ny thomas show.
Monday nights over Most of these stations.