The Ride North

A radio drama by

Bill Olson

 

© 2005 William David Sherman Olson

 

 

Writer/Director contact information:

Bill Olson

418 Marston Ave., Eau Claire, WI 54701

(715) 835-6446

 

E-mail the author

Iconostar Productions

Radio and Film Scripts

 

 

July 9-28, 2005            REV. 8/10/2005, 8/16/05

 

CAST 

(Announcer: Robert Dawson)

 

Karl Sherman  --

 

Sheriff Bob –

 

Jeannie --

 

R.J. Silvertooth – Bruce Bartels

 

Henry --

 

Oluf -- Bruce Bartels

 

Ruff-Cut Jade --

 

Orville --

 

Lillie –

 

Various Children --

 

 

NOTES

OFF MIC = The actor is far from the mic when speaking.

GOING OFF MIC = The actor moves away from the mic while talking.

COMING ON MIC = The actor moves towards the mic while talking.

BEAT = A short pause.

 

 

 

1                   SOUND:          A TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS, AND THE STEAM LOCAMOTIVE CHUGS TO A STOP.

2                    KARL:             (NARRATION) When I boarded the train to head north, I was getting very short on money.  Lumber jobs were getting harder to find where I lived, and soon I’d be unable to buy food.  Knowing, of course, that I’d have to protect a layer of prestige that had been growing around my mid-section, I decided to leave my kin for one of the major lumber centers in the Union.

3                    KARL:             (NARRATION CONT.) So, in the summer of 1894, I headed north, through Wisconsin, to a place called Eau Claire.  It was a hot, dry summer, and riding inside the railcar, I felt like a pie baking in an oven.

4                    KARL:             (NARRATION CONT.) When the Milwaukee train pulled into the station, near the confluence of two rivers, I was happy to exit the car.  And even though there was only a slight breeze, it left me feeling cool as sweat rolled down my face.

5                      KARL:           (NARRATION CONT.) As I looked around, feeling rather lost, I noticed the pungent odor of wood smoke filling the air.  I looked around, expecting to see a house fire nearby.  I saw none, but a fire lit within me when my eyes beheld the most beautiful sight they had every landed upon.  She had long brown hair and wore a blue dress.  She carried a sack with handles, by which I presume she had just been shopping.  She stood by, watching people disembark from the passenger cars.

6                   SOUND:          PEOPLE DISEMBARK AND GREET OLD FRIENDS.

7                    KARL:             (NARRATION CONT.) Since I was still a young man, and single, my eyes roved about her hands, searching for a wedding ring.  Finding none, I decided I would have to meet this young woman.  As people passed me, some of them greeting friends and relatives they apparently hadn’t seen for a long time, I walked slowly, as if in a daze.  I was confused by my new surroundings, but this played in perfectly with my plan.  I looked around, confused, carrying my bag, until I found myself adjacent to the young woman in blue.  Then, trying to make it look accidental, my gaze fell upon her, and when she looked at me, I tipped my hat in a gentlemanly manner.

8                    KARL:             (TO JEANNIE) Excuse me, ma’am.  I’m new in these parts, and I’m wondering if you can tell me where I might enquire about a logging job.

9                    JEANNIE:        Well certainly!  You’ll want to go to Barstow Street.

10               KARL:             Is that very far?

11               JEANNIE:        Not at all; we’re almost standing in it.  There still are some logging offices downtown, but if you don’t have luck, you should visit the mills, too. 

12               KARL:             That’s very kind; thank you.

13              SOUND:          AS THEY WALK, THE SOUNDS CHANGE FROM THE TRAIN STATION TO THE CITY STREETS, WITH PEOPLE, HORSES AND CARRIAGES.

14               KARL:             (NARRATION) So we walked along together, me on the outside to protect her from erratic carriages, as a gentleman should always do.  The streets, which where covered with sawdust, were busy with people of all ages.  A group of children ran, screaming; ladies walked along the boardwalks with shopping bags; a group of old men stood outside a shop talking and laughing; people crossed the street between the horses, the carriages and the bicycles.  Then I saw the railroad tracks in the middle of the street.

15               KARL:             (TO JEANNIE) Isn’t it rather dangerous to let trains drive down the middle of the street?

16               JEANNIE:        Oh, the electric streetcars!  They never go very fast, but you can still get from one end of town to the other in half the time it takes by mule.  Here’s a place we can try.

17              THE STREET SOUNDS FADE AS THEY ENTER AN OFFICE.

18               HENRY:           Well hello, Jeannie, how are you?

19               JEANNIE:        Hot and tired, Henry.

20               HENRY:           And who’s this strapping young man?

21               KARL:             Karl Sherman, Sir.  I’ve come to town looking for job.  I have many year of experience as a logger.

22               HENRY:           You think you’re going to do logging in the summer?

23               KARL:             I’ve always been able to get millwork in the summer, Sir.

24               HENRY:           Well, I’m afraid you’re a little late either.  The logging industry has been dying for a few years now.  Nobody’s hiring right now.  To make matters worse, there’s been no rain for weeks.  The only good thing about this dry weather is that maybe we’ll get through a year without a bridge in town washing out.  How many times can we re-build the Madison Street Bridge?  But the lack of rain has unleashed a disaster on this industry.  You smell the smoke in the air?

25               KARL:             Yes, I noticed that.

26               HENRY:           Forest fires, lots of them – up north.  We’re hoping to have a harvest this winter, but things have been changing for a long time.  We’ve been cutting down the pine trees, and they don’t come back by themselves.  There’s just not as much to log as there used to be.  That might help you, though.  Those burned trees have to be harvested this winter; won’t be good after that.  Everyone might be hiring extra help to get it done. 

27               HENRY:           (CONTINUED) In the mean time, we have a lot of manufacturing jobs moving into town.  Sometimes you have to look at the writing on the wall and know that things are different.  Then you can either give up or find a new way of surviving.  This town has done well along those lines.  We’re survivors.  Logging might be on the way out, but we’ll always find a way to put food on the table.

28               KARL:             Well, I come from a kin of loggers.  My father was a logger, my uncles were loggers.  I’d be willing to change, but it’s all I’ve ever known.

29               HENRY:           Well, you think it over.  I have to see a man about a horse.

30              SOUND:          HENRY GETS UP AND LEAVES THE OFFICE.

31              SOUND:          THE TELEPHONE RINGS AND JEANNIE ANSWERS IT.

32               JEANNIE:        Hello?

33               ORVILLE:       (FILTERED THROUGHOUT) Is Henry in the office?

34               JEANNIE:        He stepped out for a moment.  This is Jeannie Dawson.

35               ORVILLE:       Well, this is Orville, at the Long Lake camp.  We got some children here… a dozen of ‘em.  Been orphaned by the fires.  We ain’t got no way to feed ‘em nor take care of ‘em.  You gotta get someone here to pick ‘em up.

36               JEANNIE:        We’ll take care of it.  How are the fires?

37               ORVILLE:       It’s a horrible sight, another blow to our livelihoods.  Then the burning of the animals and the people -- The sights I’ve seen I’d rather not remember.  And we’ve had another railroad bridge destroyed.  We’re lucky this phone line is still up.  Someone told me it’s getting better, but I don’t see it.  It ain’t gonna burn itself out till there’s nothin’ left to burn.  We need rain.  We need it badly.

38               JEANNIE:        We’ll get someone up to rescue those children.

39              SILENCE.

40               JEANNIE:        Hello?  (BEAT.)  Orville?

41              HENRY:           (COMING ON MIC.)  You won’t be talking to Orville Hewitt on the phone. 

42              SOUND:          JEANNIE HANGS UP THE PHONE.

43               JEANNIE:        But he said he’s at the Long Lake Camp and has some orphaned children we have to rescue.

44               HENRY:           Orville would be on his farm.  Has no phone there. 

45               JEANNIE:        So you don’t believe there are children in need.

46               HENRY:           I think it’s a prank.

47               JEANNIE:        And what if it’s not? 

48               HENRY:           Jeannie, if you can find someone to take a ride up north to rescue children who probably don’t even exist, I’ll pay for the trip.  I’ll pay for the food, the train and the horses.

49               JEANNIE:        I’ll hold you to that, Henry.  Karl, want to help me round up a rescue party?

50               KARL:             Whatever you need me to do.

51               JEANNIE:        Well, I need you to come with me to the Sheriff’s office.  (FADE OUT:) Would you mind carrying my shopping bag?

52               KARL:             (NARRATION) We rode an electric streetcar for a few blocks.  It wasn’t very fast, but it was a comfortable ride.  Then we got off and walked across a bridge over the Chippewa River. When we entered the sheriff’s office, we were greeted by a lonely deputy seated inside.  He looked bored as he filled out paperwork.

53               JEANNIE:        Oluf, who’s around today?

54               OLUF:             The old man is back there.

55               JEANNIE:        How about young men, are there any of them?

56               OLUF:             Looks like you found vun, Jeannie.

57               JEANNIE:        Karl is new in town, and he’s offered to help rescue some children orphaned by the fires up north.  Do you have any deputies?

58               OLUF:             Henry already called.  He said there are no children.

59               JEANNIE:        He doesn’t know that!  I talked with Orville myself.

60               OLUF:             Henry thinks it vuz a prank call.  I guess he’s too nice to say you’re crazy.

61               JEANNIE:        You will never find a wife talking to a lady like that, Oluf.

62               OLUF:             You vant a rescue party?  You could get men together at the church.

63               JEANNIE:        It will take weeks of cajoling to get those men to church.  I believe those children are up there.  And what if I’m right?  Do you want it on your conscience if we do nothing?

64               OLUF:             I just have nobody to send out there.  It sounds like something the sheriff vould vant to do, though.

65               JEANNIE:        True, but he’s really too old to do anything like that.

66               BOB:                (OFF MIC)  There’s a mean streak in you, Jeannie, to say a thing like that about your favorite grandpaw.

67              SOUND:          SHERIFF BOB ENTERS THE ROOM.

68               JEANNIE:        I’m just looking out for you.

69               BOB:                You don’t have to look out for me.  I have just as much energy as I had -- back when fire was invented.

70               JEANNIE:        But I worry about you, Grandpa.

71               BOB:                Yeah, I know.  So what’s this all about, anyway?

72               OLUF:             She says there are some children orphaned by the forest fires.

73               JEANNIE:        They’re at a logging camp, but there’s not enough food for them.

74               BOB:                Where’s the logging camp?

75               JEANNIE:        Long Lake.

76               BOB:                We’ll have to get downtown and take a train up to New Auburn. Then we can hire a wagon…

77               JEANNIE:        Henry said he’d pay the expenses.

78               OLUF:             Sheriff, the train Von’t reach New Auburn.  I heard today – the heat of the fires have bent the Milwaukee Line’s tracks.  And there are some bridges down.  Isaac told me it vill take a veek to rebuild them.

79               BOB:                Hmmm.  (PAUSE.)  All right, Oluf, call up to Chippewa and see if someone can get a message to R.J.  Have him put together a wagon of supplies.  We’ll need food, water, blankets…

80               OLUF:             Blankets?  In this heat?

81               BOB:                It gets chilly at night.  And we’ll need the wagon to carry the children.  How many are there?

82               JEANNIE:        A dozen.

83               BOB:                Let R.J. know.  We’ll meet him at his place.  So who is this young man?

84               KARL:             The name’s Karl, Sheriff.

85               BOB:                You coming with me?

86               KARL:             I’d like to, Sir.

87               BOB:                Call me Bob.  You have a horse?

88               KARL:             No sir.

89               BOB:                Then let’s get you over to Oleson’s Livery.  He’ll get you a good horse.

90               JEANNIE:        Two good horses.  I’m coming with.

91               BOB:                To keep an eye on the frail old geezer?

92               OLUF:             She’s just vorried about you, Sheriff.

93               BOB:                I look at it this way: Life is kind of like money; it’s nice to have, but it’s most valuable when it can be traded for something more important, like the lives of children.

94               JEANNIE:        Like it or not, I’m coming with.

95               BOB:                (FADE OUT:) Well, lets get going, then.

96               KARL:             (NARRATION) Oleson’s livery was a two-story brick building.  Inside, its stable was filled with some fine horses.  An old man working there got a saddle ready for me, and a side saddle for Jeannie.  Then he let me choose between three horses.  Meanwhile, Jeannie got on the telephone to a woman named Mrs. Shaw about what to do with the children we were going to rescue.  I learned later that Mrs. Shaw ran a home for orphaned children.  Jeannie helped out there a couple times a week.

97               KARL:             (NARRATION CONT.) The ride north was long and uncomfortable.  At one point, Jeannie looked at me and smiled.  I felt my heart skip a beat.  She was a kind and strong woman who didn’t back down in her love.  I appreciated how she worried about the Sheriff.  She and I are about the same age, both single, and I got thinking how I’d like her to worry about me like that.  At the same time, however, a man has to be a man, no matter what his age.  And those children up north needed our help.  They wouldn’t complain if one of us were not young enough.  When someone holds out a helping hand, and you need it, you’ve got to appreciate that hand. 

98               KARL:             (NARRATION CONT.) After riding for a couple of hours, we stopped to rest the horses.  That’s when it happened.

99               JEANNIE:        You can eat these and these.

100           KARL:             I tried eating these one time, but they were bitter.

101           JEANNIE:        They take getting used to, but they won’t hurt you.  Most berries are bitter.

102           KARL:             I thought most were sweet.

103           JEANNIE:        Well, I think if you count the ones people don’t usually eat, most of them are bitter.  Grandpa knows a lot about wild foods.  He’s survived some tough times on the frontier.  What are these called, Grandpa?

104         NO ANSWER.

105           JEANNIE:        Grandpa?  Oh Karl!  His horse is gone!

106           KARL:             So, giving us the slip.  We’ll just ride out to R.J.’s.   They can’t go too fast pulling a wagon.

107           JEANNIE:        But I don’t know where R.J. lives.

108           KARL:             Hmm.  Well then, the best thing to do would be to return to town.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we found a message waiting for us at the livery stable saying your grandpa is all right.

109           JEANNIE:        Now why would you say a thing like that?  He could be hurt out there.  Old men fall sometimes.  They get hurt very easily.

110           KARL:             The Sheriff is sure lucky to have kin who cares about him, but a man sometimes has to prove he’s still a man.  He might be young, just becoming a man, or he might be old, having fewer years left.  But you can’t take that away from him.

111           JEANNIE:        He can still be a man if we’re with him.  But what about the children?  What if something happens to grandpa?  The children might not have much time.  We should be thinking about them.

112           KARL:             Well, we don’t know where R.J. lives anyway, so we don’t have much choice.

113           JEANNIE:        I don’t give up that easily, Karl.  Look at the hoof prints.  Here’s where his horse was tied up.  That’s where we came from.  He must’ve led his horse around these bushes.   And it looks like… it looks like he rode off in that direction.  Come on!  Let’s go.

114         SOUND:          JEANNIE MOUNTS HER HORSE.

115           KARL:             You’re not going to listen to reason, are you?

116         SOUND:          KARL MOUNTS HIS HORSE.

117           JEANNIE:        Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you.

118         SOUND:          THEY RIDE OFF AT A FAST PACE.

119           KARL:             (NARRATION) After about a quarter of an hour, we came upon a shabby farmhouse.  A dog came out from behind a shed, barking.  We stayed on the horses, and shortly after, a woman whose skin was tanned and weathered came from the house, followed by three children.  We asked if she knew R.J. Silvertooth, and she said he once helped drive a point for her well years ago.  She directed us a couple more miles down the road. 

120           KARL:             (NARRATION CONT.) Eventually we reached a farm with a newly painted red barn.  There was also a blacksmith shop and two unbridled horses standing near a wagon with three wheels.  As we dismounted and walked over to the wagon, a plump, raggedy man came from the barn, rolling a wagon wheel.

121           R.J.:                 Uh-oh!

122           JEANNIE:        All right, R.J.  Where is he?

123           R.J.:                 Sheriff, we got trouble out here?

124           BOB:                (COMING ON MIC) R.J., there’s always trouble when you’re around – Oh!  Hello, Honey.

125           JEANNIE:        You know better than to give me the slip.  I learned tracking from you.  And I think my persistence comes from you, too.

126           R.J.:                 Well, I’m kind o’ happy you come along.  I need someone with muscles to lift that wagon so’s I can put this wheel on.

127           KARL:             I’d be happy to help.

128           BOB:                I thought we had it planned out.  You lift the wagon and I put the wheel on.

129           R.J.:                 You see, Sheriff, my back’s been hurtin’ me for about the last thirty years – since the war.  But you can supervise!

130           BOB:                And what’s your excuse?

131           KARL:             Um, um, um – m-m-my excuse?

132           BOB:                You know what I’m talking about.  You were supposed to take her back to Eau Claire.

133           JEANNIE:        So, you two were in on this together!

134           KARL:             Well, Jeannie, I was taught to respect my elders.

135           JEANNIE:        He’s not your elder; he’s my elder.  And what are you looking at, R.J.?    

136           R.J.:                 Oh – um—ahh…  I-I-I just wanna get my wheel on…

137           KARL:             Tell me what to do.

138           R.J.:                 Just grab the wagon there and lift.  I’ll slide the wheel on.

139         SOUND:          KARL GRUNTS AND STRESSES AS THE WAGON IS LIFTED AND  R.J. SLIPS THE WHEEL ONTO THE AXLE. 

140           R.J.:                 All righty.  I’ll get this wheel locked on if you fellers would start loadin’ those burlap bags.  We’ll be ready to roll in just a few minutes.  We’ll drive as far as we can before making camp for the night.  (FADE OUT:)  Yup, it sure is good to be on the road again.

141           KARL:             (NARRATION) As nightfall came we had reached a hill in an open field.  The landscape was covered with stumps and dried branches left over from a massive pine forest that had long-since been harvested.  In the distance, we saw flames licking the sky, as if orange tongues trying to taste the Moon.  Despite the warmth, a chill hit me as I realized that those flames were our destination.

142           KARL:             (NARRATION CONT.) We cooked up some stew and bedded down for the night.  Each time I opened my eyes, I saw those flames dancing wildly, quietly over the hills.  It seemed like they would never stop and that they would become as permanent as the stars.

143           KARL:             (NARRATION CONT.) We awoke with the earliest bird song, before there was even twilight.  We packed up, and when there was enough light to see our way, we pressed on.  As we drove, I noticed R.J. leaning over the side of his wagon and looking back at the wheel I’d helped him put on.

144           KARL:             (TO R.J.) Is there a problem, R.J.?

145           R.J.:                 Well I don’t like the way this thing’s ridin’.  I think I should check that wheel.  We’d better stop for a moment.

146           BOB:                OK, let’s hold up a moment!

147         SOUND:          THE TROUPE STOPS AND R.J. GETS OUT OF THE WAGON.

148           R.J.:                 Yup.  It’s the cotter pin.  It might not hold for the rest of the trip.

149           BOB:                Why did you use an old, rusted cotter pin like that?

150           R.J.:                 Well, Sheriff, I’m not gonna throw out something that’s still good.

151         SOUND:          ANOTHER HORSE RIDES UP.

152           JADE:              (OFF MIC) You folks need any help?

153           R.J.:                 You got a spare cotter pin?

154           JADE:              ‘Fraid not. 

155           R.J.:                 Sheriff, I think we can make it if we take it easy.

156           JADE:              Looks like you have a lot of weight there.  That’ll put some stress on your wheel.

157           R.J.:                 I don’t think the weight will hurt the wheel.  The axel is good.  But this rugged trial might do us in.

158           JADE:              What you got there, anyway?

159           JEANNIE:        Food for children up north.

160           JADE:              The fires?

161           KARL:             Yeah, orphans.

162           JADE:              Those fires have hurt everyone in these parts.  I need food, too.

163           BOB:                We’d like to help you, but the children have to come first.

164         SOUND:          A PISTOL IS COCKED.

165           JADE:              I’m sorry about the children, Sheriff, but the children will have to wait.  Toss your gun into the back of that wagon. 

166           BOB:                All right.

167         SOUND:          THE GUN IS UNLIMBERED AND IT LANDS INTO THE WOODEN BOX OF THE WAGON.

168           JADE:              You – what’s your name?

169           R.J.:                 (FRIGHTENED.)  Uh – R-R-R.J.

170           JADE:              R.R.R.J?  What are you, a wolfhound?

171           R.J.:                 N-n-n-no, sir.

172           JADE:              Well you whimper like one that’s had its tail stepped on.  Just get back in that wagon.  You’re coming with me.  If I have any trouble from the rest of you, the wolfhound gets it.  All right, let’s move it, R.R.R.J.  By the way, my name’s Jade.  Roy Jade.

173         SOUND:          JADE’S HORSE AND THE WAGON RIDE OFF.

174           JEANNIE:        Now what do we do?

175           BOB:                That’s Ruff-Cut Jade.  He’s a tough character, so we have to play our cards right.  He’s heading for a creek.  There’s one place where the wagon can cross it, and if we go up around that way, we can beat him to it.

176           KARL:             But we don’t have a gun.

177           BOB:                If you’ve turned chicken, you can wait here.  But you’ll be waiting alone, because I know she’ll be coming with me to make sure I’m safe.

178           JEANNIE:        He knows me like a book.

179           KARL:             I’m not chicken.

180           BOB:                C’mon, we’ve got to hurry.

181         SOUND:          THE THREE OF THEM RIDE OFF INTO THE DISTANCE.

182         SOUND:          FADE IN -- THE WAGON.

183           JADE:              So, Wolfhound, what’re you riding with a sheriff for?

184           R.J.:                 He’s my friend.  We were together on a cattle ranch in Wyoming. 

185           JADE:              Are there really kids that need this food?

186           R.J.:                 Yup.  A dozen young’uns.

187           JADE:              A dozen… onions?  What’s that supposed to mean?

188           R.J.:                 No – Young ones.

189           JADE:              You need to talk better, Wolfhound.  (BEAT) OK.  There’s the creek.  Are your horses ‘fraid of water?

190           R.J.:                 Only if they have to swim in it.

191           JADE:              Well they can wade through this.  Come on.

192         SOUND:          THE HORSES AND WAGON START CROSSING THE CREEK.

193           KARL:             (NARRATION -- EXCITED) As Jade came riding his horse slowly across that creek, followed by R.J.’s wagon, Bob and I ran out from some tall grass and cattails.  We jumped into the water, splashing with our feet and yelling.

194         SOUND:          SUDDENLY THERE’S SPLASHING AND YELLING.

195           BOB AND KARL:     Hey! Hey! Yaahhhhh!

196         SOUND:          THE HORSES START SCREAMING AND JUMPING.

197           JADE:              No! You’ll spook my horse! Easy, girl… Calm dowwww…

198         SOUND:          JADE IS THROWN FROM HIS HORSE  AND SPLASHES AS HE LANDS IN THE WATER.

199           JADE:              Ouuu!

200           BOB:                All right, Jade – I’ve got your gun now!

201           JADE:              OK! I give up! I give up!

202           KARL:             The wagon – it’s running off!   

203           JEANNIE:        I’ll catch him.

204            KARL:             (NARRATION) Jeannie was the only one of us still on horseback.  She chased down the wagon, with R.J. trying to drive the frantic horses.  She pulled up alongside and grabbed a bridle.  She could’ve been pulled off and trampled, but she slowed the horses down.  The horse team remained jittery for a while, but R.J. got down and stood in front of them, talking to them like his own children until they calmed down.  Sheriff Bob sent Ruff-Cut Jade off on foot, then we climbed out of the creek and walked over to the wagon.

205            BOB:                R.J., you all right?

206            R.J.                  Yup, Sheriff.  Where’s Jade?

207            BOB:                His horse ran off, so I’m letting him walk home.  If he has a home.  He’s not much danger on foot, and I have his gun.  How’s that wheel?

208            R.J.:                 Still holding.  But I don’t think it’ll make it.  The logging camp should have spares, though.

209            KARL:             (NARRATION) So we crossed the creek again and headed back to the main road.  We passed Jade along the way, walking toward where his horse ran off.  He looked at us once with evil in his eyes, but we eventually forgot about him.

210           KARL:             (NARRATION CONT.) As we headed into early evening, we reached a prairie with some grass fires still burning.  Fortunately, we were able to pass round it.  But that was the least of our problems.

211           R.J.:                 That forest up ahead, that’s where the Long Lake Camp is.

212           BOB:                Look over there – advancing from the East.

213           JEANNIE:        A forest fire!

214           R.J.:                 It looks far off, but it won’t take long to reach the camp.  We’ll have to hurry.

215           KARL:             (NARRATION) We reached a logging road cut through the woods.  The smoke got thicker as we went.  Neither the horses nor we like being there.

216           JEANNIE:        (COUGHS) Uff-dah!   How much farther, R.J.?

217           R.J.:                 Another half-hour, I think.

218           KARL:             (NARRATION) We pressed on, and as we got further through the woods, the smoke mostly cleared for a while.

219           JEANNIE:        Grandpa?

220           BOB:                What is it, Honey.

221           JEANNIE:        You handled Ruff-Cut Jade brilliantly.  I’m sorry I said you’re too old to do anything.

222           BOB:                Well, Jeannie, I’m sorry I gave you the slip.  You rescued R.J.  Who knows what would’ve happened if you weren’t along.

223           KARL:             I guess we make a pretty good team.

224           JEANNIE:        Now you – I’m still mad at you!

225           KARL:             What did I do?

226           JEANNIE:        You deceived me when Grandpa ran off.

227           R.J.:                 There it is!

228           JEANNIE:        The camp!

229           KARL:             I’ll go inside and get the children.

230         SOUND:          KARL DISMOUNTS AND RUNS INTO THE CABIN.

231         SOUND:          A KLUNK AS THE WAGON WHEEL COMES OFF AND A CORNER OF THE WAGON FALLS TO THE GROUND.

232           R.J.:                 Ouuu!  Well, the wheel done come off.

233         SOUND:          THE HORSES ARE GETTING NERVOUS.

234           BOB:                Jeannie, watch the horses, they’re getting mighty jittery.

235           KARL:             (OFF MIC) There’s nobody here!

236           JEANNIE:        Then where are they?

237           KARL:             (OFF MIC) I’ll check the tool sheds!

238           BOB:                We have to hope they found a safe place to hide out.  R.J.!  Where does that trail go? 

239           R.J.:                 (OFF MIC) That one leads to the lake!

240           BOB:                That’s what I was hoping.  Do you think you can find what you need to get that wagon fixed?

241           R.J.:                 I think so… I’ll just have to hunt around.

242           KARL:             (COMING ON MIC) There’s nobody here but us.

243           BOB:                I don’t want to leave anyone alone.  I need one person to come with me and one to stay with R.J.

244           KARL:             I’d like to come with.

245           BOB:                Is that all right, Jeannie?

246           JEANNIE:        (DISAPPOINTED) Sure.  I’ll help R.J.

247         SOUND:          SHERIFF BOB AND KARL MOUNT, AND THEIR HORSES GALLOP OFF.

248           R.J.:                 (COMING ON MIC) You look like you got the short straw.

249           JEANNIE:        Oh, R.J., I don’t mind staying here with you, but I’m anxious to find the children.  I suppose I’m a little resentful at not being the first one to find them.

250           R.J.:                 Then again, it’s possible that Henry was right – that there are no young-uns.  You don’t know Orville.  You don’t know his voice.  Maybe it was a prank call.

251           JEANNIE:        There are not very many phones in Eau Claire.  I’d hate to think that anybody who had one would do such a thing.

252            R.J.:                Well, it’s just somethin’ to think about.

253           JEANNIE:        (FADE OUT:) Let’s see if we can find you a cotter pin.

254         SOUND:          FADE IN -- THE SOUND OF BOB’S AND KARL’S HORSES.

255           BOB:                R.J. said the lake is down this way.  If I wanted to protect children from a forest fire and had no way to transport them, that’s where I’d go.  I’m hoping there’s an island they could swim out to for protection.

256         NO RESPONSE.

257           BOB:                Why are you so quiet?

258           KARL:             Jeannie is still mad at me for helping you give her the slip yesterday.

259           BOB:                You’re a brave and honorable man from what I can see, Karl.  Jeannie is the kind of woman who drives a hard bargain sometimes, but I’ve never seen her do that with a man she doesn’t care about.  Sometimes there’s a point where you have to give up, whether it’s courtship or saving the day.  But I don’t believe you’ve reached that point with Jeannie.  So keep smiling at her, keep tipping your hat to her, stand when she enters a room.  I think we can expect a dance in town to raise money for Mrs. Shaw’s children’s home once we bring her this new group of kids.  Men are never allowed to those dances unless accompanied by a lady.  Karl.  (BEAT) Karl?

260           KARL:             Yes sir?

261           BOB:                I’m expecting you to ask my granddaughter to that dance.  I’m also expecting you to find a job.

262           KARL:             But I’m a logger, and Henry told me there are no jobs in the logging…

263           BOB:                (OVERLAPPING) You’re too young to be so inflexible.  And the world is changing too fast.  If you decide to stay in Eau Claire, I’ll do everything I can to help you find a job.  There’s plenty of opportunity in this world for a man who’s willing to work hard.  Maybe that will change someday, but it hasn’t changed yet.

264           KARL:             Yes, sir.

265           BOB:                We’re getting close.  You can smell the lake.

266           KARL:             There it is.

267           BOB:                And there’s where the children went.  Look out there on the water.

268           KARL:             A row boat.

269           BOB:                With children onboard.  Hey!  Come on back!  We’re here to rescue you!

270           KARL:             (NARRATION) Orville was making the last of three trips to transport those children to a small island not far off the Eastern shoreline.  In fact, by the looks of the fire in the distance, the island seemed a little too close to shore.

271           SOUND:          THE GROUP AND THE TWO HORSES START WALKING ALONG THE TRAIL.

272           KARL:             (NARRATION) Once they were all back safely on shore, Sheriff Bob, and I walked our horses back down the trail, leading the children to the logging camp.  The children were hungry and tired.  And my heart tugged at me as I realized what they had been through.  Each one had lost parents and other kin.  The only lives they had ever known would be gone forever.  As I watched them hike behind and along side us, I saw no smiles and heard no laughter.  I looked up at Bob.

273           KARL:             (TO BOB) Thank God, Sheriff, for people like Jeannie and Mrs. Daniel Shaw.

274           BOB:                And thank God for people like you.  You came to town at just the right moment to help us out.

275           KARL:             (NARRATION) It’s embarrassing for me to admit, but I had to look away at that point so nobody would see the tear come to my eye.  I wiped it away, patted my horse – well, Mr. Oleson’s horse – and then I looked down to see a young girl walking along side me, looking up.

276           LILLIE:            I’ve cried a lot, too.

277           KARL:             Oh – I just had something in my eye.

278           LILLIE:            Grown ups say that a lot.

279           KARL:             Who’s that with you?

280           LILLIE:            This is my little brother, Sam.  I’m Lillie

281           KARL:             Hi Lillie.  Hi Sam.

282           LILLIE:            I have to take care of him now.  I miss my parents, but I still have family as long as Sam is all right.  I just have to adjust to things being different and do what I can.

283         SOUND:          FADE IN -- THE CRACKLING SOUND OF FIRE.

284         BOB:                The fire is coming, so we have to hurry!

285           KARL:             (NARRATION) And it was!  We could see it heading our way.  So Bob hopped on his horse while the children, Orville and I began jogging. 

286           BOB:                JEANNIE!   R.J.!  We’ve gotta get out of here!

287           R.J.:                 (COMING ON MIC) I just got the wheel fixed.

288           JEANNIE:        (OFF MIC) Come on, children, into the wagon!  Come on! Hurry!

289           ORVILLE:       Hi there, R.J.

290           R.J.:                 Orville – how are ya?

291           ORVILLE:       Been a rough summer.

292           R.J.:                 Better get in the wagon.

293           JEANNIE:        (OFF MIC) We’re ready!

294           BOB:                Let’s move!

295           ORVILLE:       The flames!  They’ve reached the camp!

296         SOUND:          THE CRACKLING FIRE GETS LOUDER, AND EVERONE HAS TO YELL OVER THE SOUND OF IT.

297           JEANNIE:        The fire is coming through the trees!

298           KARL:             The road ahead!  The fire is shutting it off.

299           ORVILLE:       We should’ve stayed on the island.

300           BOB:                As close as the island was to shore, I don’t think you would’ve been safer.  Fire can jump a hundred feet.  Orville – Where does that other road go?  does it lead out of the forest?

301           ORVILLE:       Don’t know, Sheriff – Haven’t been at this camp very long.

302         SOUND:          CHILDREN SCREAMING.

303           JEANNIE:        Sparks are falling on the children.

304           BOB:                We have no choice, then – follow me!

305           R.J.:                 Hang on tight, young-uns, we’re comin’ to a corduroy road.

306         SOUND:          THE WAGON BOUNCES ON THE CORDUROY LOGS AS THE CHILDREN SCREAM AND CRY.

307           R.J.:                 That old cotter pin would’ve never held through this.

308           KARL:             Look up ahead – we’re almost out! 

309           R.J.:                 The fire – it’s reaching the road!

310           BOB:                Go faster, R.J.!  We’ve got to get through!

311           R.J.:                 Ya! Ya!  C’mon!  Giddyup! Giddyup!

312           LILLIE:            (SCREAMS) Ahhhh!  Help!  The wagon’s on fire.

313         SOUND:          THE OTHER CHILDREN SCREAM.

314           ORVILLE:       I’ve got it – I’ve got it!

315           JEANNIE:        We’re out!  Hey – We’re out!

316           BOB:                How’s the wagon?

317           ORVILLE:       It’s OK, Sheriff.

318           BOB:                Drive over that way.  Get as far from the fire as you can.

319         SOUND:          FADE OUT – THE FOREST FIRE.

320           KARL:             (NARRATION) We set up camp about five miles from the raging fire as nightfall approached.  The first thing we did was to feed the children.  To the North, we could still see fires reaching toward the stars.  I saw Jeannie and her grandpa standing together watching the fire.  I walked over to them.

321           KARL:             (TO BOB AND JEANNIE) I thought you’d like to know I’ve decided to stay in Eau Claire.  I think I’m getting old enough where I should be settling down, anyway.  I guess I just have to adjust to things being different and do what I can.  And Jeannie, I’m sorry I deceived you yesterday.

322           BOB:                And I never should’ve asked you to.

323           JEANNIE:        We all pulled together when it counted, and I’m proud of you both.

324           KARL:             Henry said a lot of manufacturing jobs are moving into Eau Claire.

325           BOB:                There sure are, and I’ve heard that Phoenix Manufacturing is hiring.  You’ll probably retire from there; Phoenix will be around for a good long time.  If they ever closed that place, what would they replace it with, a park?

326         JEANNIE AND BOB HAVE A GOOD LAUGH.

 

THE END