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. In the book of Romans, the fourteenth chapter, in the fourth verse, we read, Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. Have you ever heard Christian folks criticize one another about what they did or didn't do in their service for the Lord? Of course you have. And so have I, I'm sorry to say. This very thing became a serious problem in Naughty Pine not too long ago. Oh, it's all cleared up now, thanks to the Lord, working in his usually strange and wonderful ways. But how did it all happen? Well, you'll have to listen to the story. The man with the limp. Those men aren't happy, as you probably guessed. It's been my privilege to serve on the board of directors of the board of missions at Naughty Pine, and also the local orphanage. The board of missions is supported by the churches in our half of the state, and the orphanage is a community work. Unfortunately, a great deal of dissension developed in each of these organizations that concerned me. I attempted to stop the bickering and failed. So I felt personal calls should be made by me on the chairman of the two organizations. My bill, come in please. Thanks Harold. Sit down, make yourself comfortable. Okay. This one looks easy on the back. I expected you to call. And you have an idea why I'm here, huh? Yes, and I'm still of the same mind as I was last night. Was a pretty angry mind then, Harold. It still is. You know, this isn't good among Christian gentlemen. It's not good any time, but especially with the men of the board. Well, I'm still not changing my opinion. Then you're sitting in right judgment of Steve, even though he's faithfully served the mission board for a number of years. What do you call faithfully served? Wearing out the knees of his trousers while others are working themselves to death. Steve's gift from the Lord is the power of intercessory prayer, Harold. Although I'm sure he'd just as soon not have it publicized. But there'd never be a thing done if all of us were like Steve. That's true. The Lord's given each one of us different talents just to avoid a calamity like that. Well he's wasting his time. Harold, are you leading me to believe that you, a Christian, are not a man of prayer? Oh, I believe in prayer. But a man can pray while he's walking to and from his job or take a few minutes in the morning or evening. Is that all the prayer you think is necessary in this world? Yes. The rest of the time should be spent working for the Lord. Well, it's the workers in the hive that get things done, not the drones. And I firmly believe that Steve is using these hours and hours he spends praying as an excuse to get out of work. Harold, have you ever spent hours and hours on your knees before the Lord in real compassionate prayer? Why, why, no, I guess I haven't. Well, try it and you'll find out that it's hard and exhausting work. John, Steve served faithfully on the orphanage board for several years now. I honestly don't understand why the rest of the board members are so critical of him, and why the outburst of anger last evening and the arguing. Bill, every time we run up against a problem, all Steve can offer toward a solution is, let's pray about it. Well, you know that some of the board members aren't particularly religious and, well, it's causing a little friction. I believe that in this materialistic 20th century, John, we need a man like Steve to show us that there's a God in heaven and that he hears prayer. But last night... Excuse me. Although I'm sure he'd be embarrassed to know that we even suspect he prays so much. But last night, Fred told the board that the orphanage needs $2,000 to balance the budget and that our financial outlook for this year shows that we'll need an additional $2,000. That's $4,000, which in my book's a lot of money. All Steve offered to do was pray about it. I say it's high time he got off his knees and went out and talked to people about their problems. Unless my memory fails me, Steve's done his share of asking for money, hasn't he? Oh, he's brought in contribution, yeah. But not enough. Why, the rest of us have spent more hours than he has working on our problems. You mean physical work? Yes, of course. Physical work is the only work that gets the job done. Perhaps you wouldn't need to spend so much time in physical work if you gentlemen spent a little time praying. I take it then that you're siding with Steve just because you're both religious? I'm taking the side of what's right, John. And I don't think the sharp and uncalled-for criticism of Steve is right. If the time spent in ridiculous argument last night had been spent in constructive thinking, we'd be way out in front. Is that so? Well, let me tell you something, Bill. Prayer never balanced the books. You mean to tell me that you're against it? No, but it must be reasonable. Let me put it this way. I'm a practical man. When there's work to be done, like raising $4,000, I think there's only one way to do it. Get out and pound the pavement. Cab! You want a cab, mister? Yes, I do. Which is the best hotel in your town? There's only one big one, mister. That's a pretty good place. Everybody that comes to Naughty Pine stays there. Very well. Take me there. I'll take your bags. Cab's at the car. Thank you. I'm here at the hotel. Yes, I arrived on the limited. Yes. You understand, of course, that my name must not be given or I'll drop the whole thing. Well, when can I talk with you? Fine. Tomorrow night. Goodbye. Hiya, fellas. Have you heard the latest hot news? Nope. We've just been sitting here by the fire, soaking up this heat into my old bag of bones. What hot news, Henry? There's a very unusual stranger in town. Oh? What's so different about him? Well, I didn't see him, but some of the fellows were talking and they said he's dressed to a tee. He's immaculate. And also, he walks with a pronounced limp. What's so strange about that? Yeah, that's what I say. Can a man dress and walk the way he wants to in this country? Sure, but that isn't all. He signed in at the hotel as John Adams. Perhaps his name is John Adams. Not with the initial CTG on his traveling bags. Now you've told us something, young fella. I wonder why he signed register at a hotel under the name of John Adams. Oh, he probably has good reason. I don't think it's any cause for us or the sheriff to be concerned. I just forget about it. Besides, he may have borrowed the luggage. Borrowed it? Oh, Bill, you just shot full of holes the first piece of excitement we've had in weeks. What were you looking for, a bank robber? No, of course not. I thought he might be some famous or distinguished person traveling incognito. Incog-who? Incognito. Traveling in disguise. Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? Oh, it's dumping. Well, getting dinner time, fellas. I gotta attend another session with the board of missions this evening. Again? Yeah, with the orphanage board again tomorrow evening. Wow. Sounds like things are really busy to call another meeting so soon. There are some pressing problems, pal. Say, by the way... By the way what? Don't let the town gossips throw you a left-handed curve. Huh? What do you mean by that? Cabbies and hotel clerks are famous for jumping into conclusions before they know all the facts. Most of the information they put out is fiction. Our boys are famous for that. I get the point. I won't pass along what's been told to me. Good boy. That's the quickest way to kill a rumor. You know, I found it by praying for something. Gentlemen, gentlemen, please come to order. Thank you. Bill, will you open the meeting with prayer? Gladly, Harold. Gentlemen, let us pray. Heavenly Father, we ask Thy blessing upon this body of men. Give them wisdom and guidance as they administer Thy business. Give us peace and quiet and calm thinking within our own hearts. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Gentlemen, as you all know, we accomplished nothing last evening but a good case of high blood pressure. Steve isn't here tonight, so the problem will be eliminated. We have pressing business at hand, and our missionaries will go without funds and equipment unless we get to work. Now, as we all know, we're apparently up against a tough problem, and we'll have to borrow money unless we can think of some way to meet the shortage of funds. Mr. Chairman. Yes, Bill? I suggest that we do two things. Make a two-pronged attack on this problem. Well, that's interesting. That's a good idea. First, we should prepare letters and mail them to our regular contributors, telling them the problem and what we'll need to solve it. Secondly, we go out in teams of two and cover every church in this half of the state. That's a good idea. Very good. Yeah, thank you, Bill, for two sound ideas. The mailing of the letters will be the simplest and easiest of the two ideas to work out. Right. Now, how are we going to pair off into teams to visit the churches? Well, you and I can go together, Harold. That'll be fine, Al. George and I will work as a team. All right, Frank. Ted and I'll pair up. Well, that's fine, Otto. That leaves Bill and Stephen. You mean that leaves Bill. Steve will be home praying when there's work to be done. Gentlemen, I'm afraid this group of Christian men is falling into the same cynical spirit that I find in men who are not Christians. I believe Steve will accomplish more on his knees than all of us will on our feet. So I'll gladly take him as a partner. What does the teletype have to say about the weather, Stumpy? Yeah, wait a minute. Can't you just stop jumping around like some minnow dodging the trout and I'll tell you? Okay. Well, what did it say, old timer? Not much we don't already know. Says winter's still here and spring's down the road a country mile. Hiya, Bill. Hello, pal. How was school today? Fine. How was the board meeting last night? Oh, we got a lot of work done. You sure must have been beat, because when I left for school this morning, you were still pounding that pillow pretty hard. Was he snoring? Nope. He saws word the quiet way, not like you do. You know, like a rip saw with a couple of teeth missing. Say, is that so? I'll give you a couple of teeth missing. Henry, not me an insult. You only teeth. Maybe so, but I don't like people talking about my stumpy teeth. I wasn't talking about your teeth. I meant the teeth on the rip saw. I know what you meant, sonny. I just don't want you telling funnier jokes than I do. It's not beyond the limit. Oh, say, was Mr. Stevens at that board meeting last night? No. Why? No particular reason. Come on. Out with it. Out with what? Oh, don't think you can pull a shade down in front of me, pal. I wasn't born yesterday. Come on. Why the question? Well, maybe I shouldn't have asked the question. Henry Scott, are you going to tell me what you're hiding, or do I have to knuckle your ribs? You're not too big for that, you know. The torch will get you nowhere. I'll tell you anyway. All right. What? Well, I saw him in town last night with a stranger. What stranger? You know, the man with the limp. Bill, do you know why Steve isn't here? No, John, I don't. Didn't he call? His wife called to say that he wasn't coming. Well, that's that, isn't it? Well, I guess it is. Only I hope someone might know why he didn't come. If it was for some unimportant reason, I'd call him. We had a quorum this evening because Joel and Brad came down with a flu today. Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. We'll have to go on without Steve. Yeah, we'll have to. Our voting power will be limited because we haven't enough members present. And Bill, we've got some urgent business. The children in the orphanage can't wait. Perhaps we can talk with Joel and Brad on the phone when we get to the voting point. They approve. We can pass the item and they can sign the papers tomorrow. Say, I never thought of that. Well, I feel better now. I'll call a meeting to order. Just a moment, John. Yeah? What did you mean about Steve having nothing important to do? Well, nothing. Nothing at all, Bill. You mean you thought he might be home praying, isn't that right? Well, yes, that is what I had in mind. And you think that's unimportant? Yes, I do. He should be here attending to the business of the orphanage. He's a Christian, isn't he? Shouldn't he fulfill his obligations? Did it ever occur to you that Steve might help this orphanage by prayer? And if so, he's done just as much as the rest of us? No, I'm a practical man, Bill. I can't afford to spend hours and hours praying. I have work to do. Say, fellas, in the morning we're going to have to take a ride up in the passes in high timber areas with the snowmobile and check on food for wildlife. Maybe animals have little or nothing to eat. Maybe we have to put up feeding stations. Could be, sonny. Them fellas get hungry same as we do. Say, Bill, how was that there board meeting last night? Quiet as the other one? Yes, old-timer it was. Quite a bit was accomplished. Was Steve there? No, he wasn't. Maybe he let himself in for more criticism. You think he'd stay away on purpose? You mean because of the insults that were thrown at him the other evening? I don't think so, Gray Wolf. Steve's not that kind of man. Even so, I think he got himself into bad place. Yep, I agree. The worst thing he could have done was to stay away. A man'll think he's pouting like a spanked child. I can see your point, fellas. Whatever his reason for staying away is, I don't think it's because he's angry or brooding or hurt. What other reason could he have and not tell anyone? How about that there stranger with the limp? Hello, Harold. Oh, good afternoon, John. It's a fine, brisk winter's day, isn't it? Yes, it is. Say, Harold, have you heard or seen Charles Stevens? You know, that's strange. I was going to ask you the same question. Hasn't he been attending your board meetings either? No, he hasn't. And no one seems to be able to get a hold of him at his home or place of business. Harold, if that man doesn't shoulder his responsibility, I'm going to throw him off the board. Well, we wouldn't be quite that blunt, but I was coming to the same conclusions myself. Well, our board has become a little too impractical with his religious emphasis. And I think there's something going on that we don't know about. Maybe we've got the answer right now. What do you mean? Look across the street. Oh, it's Stevens. He's with that stranger that came into town a week or so ago. Yes, the man with the limp. Hey, fellas, now there is trouble. How's that, Stumpy? John and Harold saw Steve with the stranger this afternoon. Boy, is Harold in a storm. How did you find out? I was overseeing the pastor for a moment, and Harold called him about it. He wants him to find out what's going on. What do you mean, what's going on? That stranger hasn't touched a hair on anybody's head yet. No, but he's suspicious of him. Men always suspicious of something they not understand. You hit the nail right on the head, Grey Wolf. Well, what's to be done about it? I'm almost sure that Harold and John are ready to throw Steve off the board. They wouldn't. I don't know about that. From the conversation I heard the pastor had with Harold, it looks like that's what's in the wind. What does this mean for Steve? I'm not sure yet, but I intend to find out. Where are you going, Bill? I have a talk with a couple of chairmen. But what about Steve? Don't worry about him. I'm sure he can explain what he's up to when he's ready. A praying man isn't an enemy or a criminal, and certainly his association with a man with a limp is no indication he's sinning. Bill, I'll not have a man on the board who partakes of mysteries and shirking his duties. Either he works with a team or gets out. Just like that, huh, Harold? Just like that. How do you know he's partaking of mysteries, as you say? Steve's associating with a man who didn't even register his right name at the hotel. I call that a mystery, and it reflects on the confidence that our people have in the board of missions. If we all acted like he does, the Lord's work would come to a sorry and mighty soon. Where are your facts, Harold? Can a man sign a hotel register under another name if he wants to? Or couldn't it be possible that he borrowed the luggage and his name is John Adams? And don't you think that maybe you're discrediting a fellow believer in the eyes of John Baxter who isn't a Christian? Well, if that's true, then why doesn't Steve come out in the open and tell us what he's up to? Perhaps it isn't the right time. I can't agree with that. We have the prestige of the board to think about. And your decision is final? Yes. At the next board meeting, I'm going to ask for Stephen's resignation. Without hearing his side of the story? Apparently, he's not interested in giving us his side of the story by the way he's avoided us. John, this isn't right. You've got to give the man time. Time for what? Actually, now, what has Steve done? Well, my other board members are dissatisfied, Bill. Let them talk. They haven't any facts. Until they get them, they should remember it's not their problem. Steve won't give us the facts, so we have to form our own opinions. John, I have implicit faith in Steve. I know he'll come through with flying colors when the time is right. He's a sound and fine Christian. Maybe so, but he'd better hurry up and prove it. Because at the next board meeting, I'm going to ask for him to be removed from the board. What do you intend to do now, Bill? Yeah, what now? I don't know yet, fellas. In some respects, Harold and John are right. What do you mean? You believe them too? Now, don't jump to conclusions. A man in Steve's position can't go around creating a stir among folks. But you're letting down a friend. No, I'm not letting him down. I've known this right along. I've been stalling for time. Time for what, Bill? Time for Steve to come out in the open and clear things up. But other folks haven't the patience or the faith in him that I've got. I know Steve's right. I just know it. As sure as I know my own name. But he's got public opinion turning against him now. And that's bad for him. And the Lord's word too. I'm afraid Steve's time has run out. He's got to come out in the open now. Right now! Okay, but what are you going to do to bring him out? I'm going to see him and talk straight from the shoulder. About what? That he's got to let it be known as to what he's up to. How do you know he's up to anything? Grey Wolf, a man of Steve's caliber, doesn't shirk his duties and blacken his Christian testimony. He's working on something. That's what we've got to convince him. He's got to reveal for his own sake and the Lord's sake. Ranger headquarters, Bill Jefferson speaking. Bill, this is Ed Banker. Can you come over to the bank right away? Couldn't it wait until tomorrow morning? No, it's terribly urgent. All right, Ed. I'll be there in a few minutes. Goodbye. What's up, Bill? Oh, no. Apparently we've got another mystery. Bill, this sealed envelope has been entrusted to me to give to you. What's in it, Ed? That I can't disclose. You know what to do with the contents after you open it in your home. In my home? Why there? Those are my instructions to pass on to you. I know you'll honor them. Oh, yes, of course. But, well, who gave you the envelope? A client. Can't you give me his name? No, absolutely not. He insists that his name be unknown. Then I'll never know who this is from, huh? Well, I can say this much, Bill. The man who gave me this envelope is the stranger. You know, the man with the lamp. Harold, John, there's a legal document for each of you and also a check in the folds of this paper. Why, what's this all about? Why, there's a check here for $5,000 and why this document's a trust fund for the orphanage. Why, the same thing for the mission board. A trust fund and a check. Well, Bill, where did this come from? Well, I mean, praise the Lord, but who is the person? This is a cashier's check. I'll never know who the stranger is. You mean the man with the lamp? Yes. Honestly, Bill? Yes, honestly. He left the papers and the checks with Ed Banker. But who told him? Who told the man with the lamp about us? You know who. Stephen? Who else but Steve? Hey, Bill, the man. Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting. It's all right, pal. What were you going to say? I was going to say the man with the lamp is gone. Oh, yes. I expected as much. Bill, who do you think the man really is? I don't know, John. Really doesn't matter what his name is. Because to us, he's a symbol. He's more than a symbol. He's a sign to us that God answers prayer. He's a sign to us that the fervent prayer of a righteous man is effective with God. The Lord has shown us through this man that he who fights the battle of life on his knees is just as strong a warrior as the man who uses his muscles. Prayer is a mighty weapon, and to talk with the Lord is the greatest privilege and honor on earth. Steve prayed and God heard, and sent another of his servants as the answer to Steve's prayer. If you ever hear those peculiar footsteps, let it remind you that God worked a miracle here in Naughty Pine. Well we'll be back again next week for more Adventure with Ranger Bill.
