Originally Aired: July 13, 1958

In Gunsmoke #327, "The Proving Kid," a dangerous young troublemaker named Bravo arrives in Dodge City determined to prove he's no child. When he becomes aggressive with Kitty Russell at the Long Branch, Marshal Matt Dillon intervenes and disarms the hot-headed youth without drawing his weapon. The humiliated Bravo vows revenge, insisting the Marshal will regret not facing him in a gunfight. Doc Adams recognizes the young man as scared and desperate to prove his toughness, while Matt predicts Bravo will eventually use his gun before leaving town.

The situation intensifies when Wally Stirk is robbed and beaten in an alley after being set up by a woman named Gina Prebel. The trail leads Matt and Chester back to Bravo and Gina, where they discover a more experienced outlaw named Big Red has returned to town and is pulling the strings behind the scenes. As Matt closes in on the truth, he faces both Bravo's mounting rage and the threat of a seasoned criminal manipulating the volatile young man, creating a powder keg situation that threatens to explode into deadly violence.