Ranger Bill, warrior of the woodland. Ranger Bill, warrior of the woodland. Struggling against extreme odds, traveling dangerous trails, fighting the many enemies of nature. This is the job of the guardian of the forest, Ranger Bill. Pouring rain, freezing cold, blistering heat, snow, floods, bears, rattlesnakes, mountain lions. Yes, all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done. Boys and girls, you know Bill's been asked to do many strange things and help solve a lot of unusual problems. But this time he's going to show us how to fish. Oh, not the kind of fish you're thinking of. The fish Bill's going to be asked to catch is a man, a big and important man. Now it's one thing to catch a fish when he's hungry and will take any kind of bait on almost any kind of hook. You know, jump right out of the water after it. But when the fish isn't hungry or even interested, that's where the science of fishing really has to be used. The man Bill's going fishing for is vitally connected with national defense. Well let's get into our story. Here's catching a big fish with a small hook. We're in the nation's capital, Washington D.C. Here the top leaders of our country plan for our welfare and safety. Right now a very important meeting's taking place in a secret place. Suppose we quietly drop in on the meeting and listen. Remember this is top secret. Gentlemen, gentlemen, let's come to order since we're all here now. Thank you, thank you. I am sure that you're all aware of the crisis we face in the development of our nuclear work because of the sudden illness of Dr. Orlando. The good doctor dragged his ailing body from bed to be with us at this meeting. We'll ask him to speak right away so he can leave and return home as quickly as possible. Dr. Orlando. Thank you, General. Gentlemen, my time is limited. My physician tells me my days are numbered. That's why I've asked for this meeting. What does your physician say, Doctor? Not more than three weeks, Colonel. Now gentlemen, there's only one man who can take my place. He was my understudy at one time and since has made quite a name for himself in nuclear science. Well, Doctor, let's get this man here at once. Yes, yes, by all means. I wish it were as simple as that. The man I'm referring to is Dr. Jonathan Black. Black vanished from the face of the earth 18 months ago, Doctor, after that accident that killed his lab assistant. Surely you can't be serious about having him replace you. General, at this stage of the game, I haven't time for jokes. Dr. Black is the man and he's got to be found. We don't even know if the man's alive. I'm well aware of the problem, but I suggest we call in Inspector Andrew Anderson of the Secret Service and have him locate my colleague. Inspector, you have the whole story and all the material we could get our hands on about Dr. Jonathan Black. Thank you, General. This will be a tremendous help. I think you know what this means to our national security. Inspector, you've got to find this man and find him quickly. I know I'm asking for the impossible, but it's got to be done. Well, General, there's a little motto on my desk. It says the difficult we do right away in the impossible takes a little longer. We sincerely intend that sign not to be a joke or a bribe. Well, I hope not, but it sure sounds like it. You remember, keep one thing in mind, Inspector. What's that, sir? Dr. Orlando's got three weeks to live. Gray Wolf, see that Angus and his boys clear out that border fire lane. I'd do that, and that fire lane grow plenty of scrump in a short time. Well, it's one of those things. The little acorns keep growing into big oaks faster than we can chop them down. Ah, but truth, we go by J. Wessel's place soon now. Hey, that's right. This trail leads right out in front of his farm or ranch or whatever you call it. Well, whatever he calls it doesn't matter. The way he grows flowers, vegetables, and stock sure makes a fellow wonder how he does it. I've never seen such beautiful plant life anywhere. Hello there, J. Hello, fellas. Wait till I shut off this bug killer. Hey, don't point that thing at me. It won't kill you unless you're a bug. Well, now, I ain't so sure about that. That stuff you use is real potent. Yes, it is. It does a good job of keeping pests out of the garden. Bill, let's get out of here. He's talking about us. I'm glad to have you gentlemen drop it on me. Your company's always welcome. Let's go up the house, and I'll put the coffee pot on the stove. Thanks, J., but we have to be moving along. We just stopped a moment to say hello and also to refresh our horses. Well, I'm glad you did. You're welcome to stay if you wish. We got plenty of work to do yet. Lots of paperwork after many days on trail. Yes, I guess you fellas don't find it hard to keep occupied. No, I'll say we don't. Well, we'll have to be going. See you again, J. Yes, come again. Make it soon. Next time we will have to have coffee. Okay. Come on, Storm. Come on, get him up. Come on. Did you see that? Did you see the beautiful flowers that fella's got growing? Great day in the morning. I sure don't see how he does it. They're extraordinary, all right. That man really knows his business. How can he keep his nose out of other people's business? Nice fellow. I'll say he is. Fine gentleman. Well, let's step on it and get back to town now that the horse is arrested. Come on, come on, come on, come on, boy. He's good to be back at the office again. You know, we've been out on the trails for three weeks. Oh, I'm not right. I wonder what happened in that time. A lot could happen, fellas. Maybe we're fortunate this time and life kept the normal pace. Well, it's about time you fellas showed up. Hey, let's scram. It's the cops. Drop your gear here, fellas. Okay. Well, Andy, what brings you out to our neck of the woods? One of my usually difficult assignments. Oh, well, it's good to see you again. Thank you. I'm right. And long time now since you were here last. I'll say it is. Why, you ain't been here since the pickles were just warts on the vine. That's right. But it's sure good to be back. I don't suppose you can tell us what your new job is. Yes, I can. And what's more, I think it's going to involve you fellas directly. Oh, there goes my high blood pressure. Every time we work with you, I almost get scared out of 10 years growth. And I ain't got many 10 years left to get scared out of, Sammy. Stumpy. Stumpy who says more truth than fiction. What you up to this time, Andy? Well, the way you fellas talk, you'd think I'm a wild man. I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you this trip. No excitement? No. That is, I don't expect any. I'm looking for a man that's been missing for 18 months. He's either dead or he's gone to the moon. What are the details, Andy? Well, if you'll rustle up some coffee, I'll start from the beginning and tell you what I know about Dr. Jonathan Black. So now you know as much as I know about this case. Well, you sure ain't generous with the information, young feller. I don't say I'm not, but it's all I've got to donate to the cause. This tough one, what make you think Dr. Black come out here? I don't know, Grey Wolf. You might call it an instinct. What better place for a man to come and nurse his soul and mind and get away from whatever he's trying to escape. You have a point there, all right. Bill, I'd like you to do me a favor. Yeah? Sure. Bill, let's take a close and hard look around this part of the country. I'll hop a plane and go to the coast for a few days, contact my undercover boys out there, then I'll be back. It'll save valuable time. Okay, Andy. We'll do some serious scouting around and see what we can find. Mr. Sims, will you check the beakers for over sedimentation? Right away, Dr. Orlando. Dr. Orlando, you all right? Yes, yes. It was just an accident. I don't think so. I'll call your physician right away. No, no, no, please. There isn't a thing he can do anyhow. I'll be all right in a few moments. Got to go on with my work. Time is running out for me. All right, sir. What you gonna do if Dr. Black can't be found? I don't know. We'll have to ask God for a miracle. Jonathan has to be found. Well, bill me by, I've asked the question all day until I'm never be forgetting the name of Dr. Jonathan Black. No, sir, no more than I can forget me aching feet. You've done a fine job, Pat. I sure appreciate your help. I think nothing of it. Patrick O'Rourke's always glad to help. I'm just sorry I couldn't get results. So am I, but that can't be helped. Well, let's find out how Stumpy made out. How about it, Stumpy? How many more thousand people do I have to ask about Jonathan Black and have him say no? I take it you've had negative results, eh, Stumpy? Negative ain't the word for it. I've heard the word no so much it's beginning to drive me crazy. You want me to keep on? No, head back to headquarters, Stumpy. I'll meet you there. No? I mean, yes. You see what you've done to me? Now I automatically say no to everything. That old gentleman has a great sense of humor. He sure has. Well, I'd better try Grey Wolf on the radio since he hasn't shown up yet. I don't think he'll have anything better to report. You're probably right. Bill to car two, Bill to car two. Come in, Grey Wolf. Grey Wolf to car one. Nothing good to report here. Everybody say they not hear of Dr. Jonathan Black. Okay, Grey Wolf, that's enough. I'll meet you back at the office. Over and out. Not plenty of good. I'm tired asking the same question and get the same answer. Out. Bill, Jonathan Black's got to be in this part of the country. How can you be so sure of that, Andrew? Well, all of my undercover agents and their contacts never heard of the man. Now anyone as prominent as this gentleman would have been spotted somewhere. Now, wait a minute, Sonny. Tie your horse up to the hitching post and set a spell. Go ahead, old timer. I'm listening. You mean to tell me that a man can't disappear if he wants to without being spotted? How could you tell if Black was in San Francisco or Los Angeles? That's a hard question to answer without giving away secrets. But I can say this much. Every terminal point of transportation is covered, and so are hotels, motels, resorts, and the like. Carpolisher to fancy resort could be an undercover secret service agent. Now, Stumpy, it's our job to know where folks are going and why and when. In other words, everybody's business is your business and not his own. That's right, and this is why I say that Dr. Black's right out here somewhere. Somewhere is a good statement. And how. Andy, let's take a look at the picture you have of Dr. Black. Sure. That briefcase of yours is loaded worse than a woman's handbag. Get full already. Here's a picture, Bill. Uh-huh. I've got an idea. I'm not much of a freehand artist, but I'm going to try. Don't let Bill pull your leg, Andrew. He's pretty good with a lead pencil. What do you have in mind, Bill? Who are you thinking about as you draw? I'm thinking about Jay Wasfield. Jay? Huh? Why, you're talking through your hats, honey. Jay's a clean-shaven man. He wouldn't look right with a mustache and goatee. Why, Jay Wasfield's no more Jonathan Black than I am the President of the United States. Well, there it is. Took three tries before I got what I wanted, but there it is. Well, looks like I shot my mouth off too soon. That's Jay, all right, or I'll eat my shirt, buttons and all. It's hard to believe, but it's true. You do plenty of good job with drawing pictures, Bill. I agree. Jay Wassel and Jonathan Black are one and the same. Where is this Jay Wassel? He lives outside of town, about four miles, in a nice little place he's got fixed up out there. You interested in taking a look at the man? Yeah, he has a duck-like water. Let's go. Hello, Storm. Oh, Matilde. We'll leave the horses here and walk through the brush for a few yards. How far away will we be from Black? About a hundred yards. Is he able to get a good look at him with glasses? Am I right? Well, this should about do it. There, Jay work in garden now. Hey, he has got a nice place fixed up there. Really beautiful. He sure is. Seems like a downright shame to disturb the man. I mean, this country needs him, Stumpy. He's one of the most brilliant chemists and physicists alive. Bill, let me use your glasses. I think they're more powerful than mine. Sure, Andy, help yourself. Well, what do you say, young fellow? It's the man we're after, all right. Jay Wassel is Dr. Jonathan Black. Well, now you see the fish you're after, what kind of hook and bait are you going to use to catch them? I'm going to use my own hook and bait. You mean you're going right down there now and talk to them? Certainly, what better time than now? After all, I haven't got much time left. Dr. Orlando may be dead right now, for all I know. What you say is true in parts, honey, but we know Jay better than you do. I think you'd better let Bill handle this. What do you mean? I can handle any man. Are you trying to tell me that Bill can catch the fish better than I can? Well, I think maybe so. You're not making the pinch now, sonny. Dr. Black doesn't have to leave here and work for Uncle Sam. He can tell you to get and stay gone and there's nothing you can do about it. Yeah, we'll see about that, old timer. I'll let Jonathan Black eating out of my hand just you wait and see. Yeah, we'll be waiting. I have a sneaking suspicion that you're coming back with an empty book. That's a whole story, Dr. Black. We need you badly. And Dr. Orlando's dying request is for you to take his place. That's very touching, Inspector, but the answer is no. And Dr. Orlando said that you're the only man that can carry on his work. You have a genius and ability second only to he. Now, he didn't make that last statement, but I am. Inspector Anderson, I've served my country for many years. Now all I ask is peace and quiet. Is that too much to ask? This isn't the time to be thinking of yourself. Your country needs you and demands your services. Nobody demands a thing from me. I've given the fullest measure. For 30 years, I've worked in a stinking laboratory for my country, to all hours of the day and night. Yes, and at great personal risk. And even helped a good friend of mine who loses his life. Now I'll thank you to leave. Well, I'm sorry that I'll have to tell the powers that be that you're not interested. That you're considering your selfish interests before your country. Get off my property, Inspector, before I have you arrested for invasion of privacy. Get off before I forget that I'm a gentleman. How'd you make out, Andy? Oh, not good. Stumpy, you were right. I should have listened to you and let Bill handle Blank. No, don't despair, Sonny. Bill can still handle him. Would you, Bill? I'll try. Perhaps I'll come back empty-handed, too. I don't think you will. See what you can do. I will, if you have the patience. Well, I'll have it. Take all the time you need, but bring in the bacon. Okay. Well, let's get back to town. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll accidentally drop in, Anjay, as we come down the trail. Hey, this coffee is mighty good. It's kind of drizzling out a little. Hot coffee takes the chill out of my old bones. These rolls are mind-eatable, too. Oh, not truth. I have more, please. Say, Bill, what do you think about the new bark disease we ran into up on the north section? I don't know what to think about it, because I don't know what it is. I'll send the bark samples to the lab as soon as we get to town. I'll not take much time. The way disease is spreading, we not have that much time. You say you don't know what this new bark disease is, Bill? No, Jay. And what's more, even if we did know, we'd have to find out what type of fungicide would kill it. And that's going to take more valuable time. May I see the bark sample? Sure. I've got them right here in my pack. Bill wanted to make sure they didn't get away. Here they are. Would you mind if I ran some tests on this diseased bark? What kind of tests? Lab tests. You have a lab here, Jay? Yes. Come along, fellows, and we'll see if we can't save some valuable time. By the smile on your face, I'd say you got the answer, Jay. Yes. Plain old DDT will kill the parasite causing this disease. Fine. We'll have the crews and planes spraying first thing in the morning. I sure appreciate what you've done. Quite all right. I'm glad I could do it. It's a shame you're hiding away here, Jonathan. Then you know about me. Yes. My friend Anderson asked us to help find you. Weren't you aware before that that I wasn't an ordinary retired man? Well, yes, but I felt that that was your business, and I let it go at that. What are you going to do now that you know? Jay, this is your affair. I've learned my own business, unless I'm asked to buy in. You'll have to answer to your own conscience and to the Lord for your actions. I won't have to answer for you. But I killed a man. That right in laboratory, and it was accident. It was I that caused the accident, Grey Wolf. Young fellow, we who work with danger take that calculated risk. But God didn't give you all this talent to hide it away. You can help save thousands of lives with your knowledge. You can make life beautiful just like you make your gardens. Fellas are right. But again, I say that this is your affair. Well, we better be getting along so we can get after those trees at the crack of dawn. Thanks for your help, Jay. Yep, you can help lots of folks like you helped us, but not from here. Andy, this message is for you. Dr. Orlando died this morning. He lived three days over the three weeks the doctors gave him. Bill, when are you going to win in this battle of minds? Well, you've got to be patient, Andy. Dr. Black's got to make this decision of his own free will. Yes, and in the meantime, we're getting peptic ulcers. I know, but we've got to wait. I'm going down to the post office and drop this in so Jay'll get it first thing in the morning. What good is mailing the teletype message to Dr. Black going to do? Bill's baiting the hook with stronger bait. What do you mean? Bill is using love and loyalty to bring Jonathan Black out of his shell. You've got a lot to learn about catching big fish with a small hook, young fellow. I have? Well, how? When you've got a whopper on a small hook, you've got to let him have line until he gets tired out. Then, when he's resting, you reel in. Then he'll fight again and get tired again. Each time he rests, you reel in more until you got him. Oh, not right. If you try bringing big fish in when he's full of fight, then he break hook or straighten it out and get away. It'd take much patience to catch big one. What you fellas are saying makes sense, but I hope I've got the patience to hold out. Oh, Dr. Wilton Orlando died Tuesday, 3.23 a.m. Your country needs you more than ever now, Jay. Bill Jefferson. Hello? Jay, did you get my letter? Yes, but my mind's the same. Each day means another day that you're losing out in helping folks. But I can't forget that I killed a man. God doesn't hold you responsible for something you couldn't help, but he does for your neglect of your opportunities. Oh, hello, Bill. It's three days now, Jay, that your country's been in need of you. Jay, it's four days. Your country still needs you. You're still wanted, Jay. Now, Andrew, you'd better count to a million. I can see the fire in your eyes and the smoke coming out of your ears. Cool off, sonny. Oh, you and your philosophy and Bill, you and your patient preaching. Fellas are driving me crazy with waiting. Four days have gone by, and not one word, four whole days. Even the message of Dr. Orlando's death hasn't moved that man. I'm going out there and give him a good-sized piece of my mind. That won't be necessary, Inspector Anderson. I'm sorry you heard my outburst. I lost my self-control for a minute. Don't apologize. I deserved it. Have you reached a decision, Jay? Yes, Bill. My name isn't Jay Wassel any longer. It's Dr. Jonathan Blank. Well, we really learned a lesson from Bill on how to get a man to do what you want him to do and what he should do without him knowing it. When you're going after big fish with a small hook, you've got to take it easy. And he found that out. Well, we'll see you next week for more Adventure with Ranger Bill. Hi again. Our program today gives me, Ranger Bill, just a little time to talk to you moms and dads about our adventure stories and why we're on the air. We all know that every time a boy or girl listens to one of our programs, he gets some impression of the Christian life and the character of the people involved. So we must be constantly alert to guard the image that's presented, to make it realistic and truthful, either setting up faults, ivory tower heroes for fellas and gals to aspire to or creating the impression that Christianity is an impossible goal in this day and age. We also try to present Christians as people, something which they are. The faults of a Christian don't have to be glossed over. He's human too. So we try to present to you, the listener, a story that from your point of view is a factual photograph of a way of life, namely the Christian way, and showing individuals living, seeing, understanding this way of life or maybe missing it completely. Let's all be honest before God so that truth can survive. And our young people will turn out to be the good citizens and real Christians that we want them to be.
