I know all about Dennis Weaver but we last saw Chester the previous season walking down the street in Dodge City after 'Bentley' and we never heard from him again. He went where ever Adam Cartwright went after leaving Bonanza the next year, never to be heard of or mentioned again. Matt clearly misses him. For the first 7 years of the series, whenever Matt left town, Chester was bound to be with him, helping him track down or look out for the bad guys. He wasn't Matt's equal with a gun but he could give him good support in a shoot out or keep an eye on some varmint while Matt went after his partner. The next two years sometimes Chester was there, sometimes not. Now he's gone for good.
In his absence, we sometimes see Quint or Festus riding around with Matt. later Festus will become a deputy and we'll see more of him. But in these middle seasons, Matt is often off on his own and if something goes wrong, as it does here when his quarry's secret partner shoots him, he's in real trouble.
What makes this episode particularly strange is that when Matt doesn't return, it's not Quint and Festus that go looking for him: it's Doc and Kitty, who could hardly have dealt with any bad guys they might meet along the way. Where are Quint and Festus? Probably off filming one of their comedy team episodes. But if Matt had Chester along with him, they might not have been needed.
