 Ranger Bill, warrior of the woodland, struggling against extreme odds, traveling dangerous trails, showing rare courage in the face of disaster, in the air, on horseback, or in a screaming squad car. Ranger Bill, his mind alert, a ready smile, unswerving, loyal to his mission, and all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done. There's something about a police officer pounding a beat at night that gives everyone a real sense of security. He walks along in the dark with his lead-weighted nightstick dangling readily from his hand while he stops here and there to check locked doors to make sure they're doing their job. Every once in a while he flashes his light into some dark corner to make sure that only the dark of night is there. The officer on the beat also watches homes to make sure there's no suspicious smoke coming out or people trying to break in. And then he's an awfully nice fellow to meet if you're walking home late at night. Now, in naughty pine, there isn't much in the way of excitement on the night beat, but officers O'Rourke and Ryan walk their beats just as carefully. Let's find out what happens on this night in the story River of Fire. Come on, Patrick, this is the halfway mark on the bridge, me boy. And the rulebook says you got to walk to the half mark. Ryan, you're a hard man. It's too bad you ever learned to read. You'll drive me to retiring by reciting that rulebook every time you look me squarely in the eye. Come on, Patrick, me boy, you can make it if you try. All right, are you happy now? I'm sure glad you never made sergeant. Say, and what's the matter with your nose? It's jumping around like a rabbit. Don't you smell it? Smell what? Fuel oil. Certainly I smell it. Do you think my nose is stopped up? It's coming from one of them barges tied along the dock upstream. I tell you, that smells strong. Sure, and so's the breeze flat foot. You're standing downwind at the barge. Maybe you're right for once in your life. If you ever know the time, I wasn't. Take it easy, Patrick, me boy, on your next round. You too, Ryan, and don't try to be a hero if you spot something. Use your whistle or phone for a squad. Remember that for yourself, and stop smelling so good. Sure, now me aching feet give me more trouble than me nose. Too warm hearted Irish policeman having a bit of chin music at the end of their beat before they start back. Let's follow Pat as he slowly walks along, giving everything the once over. Wait a minute, Pat stopped. Has he seen something he doesn't like? No, he's just standing there. No, he's turning back. Pat's walking quickly now, back toward the river. Something's on his mind. Something's disturbing him. He's not letting it go by as a passing thought. Let's follow Pat as he heads back toward the bridge. Ryan, what are you doing back here? I might be asking you the same thing, all right. You got the river on your mind too? That I have. Let's go down and have a look. Come on. Flash your light on the water. A few lils smell as strong as day old fish. Now I have to agree with that. The river's covered with oil. And that it is, Milad. The whole thing is covered. And those barges must be leaking. Let's have a look. Barges? Where's the stuff coming from? Now, if I knew the answer to that, I'd be worth a million dollars right now. It's coming from up the river, sure as I'm standing here. The pipeline's over the river. You don't suppose it sprung a leak, do you? Where else could it come from? Let's pull the box over there and get the boys hot on it. Come on, Ryan. We've got to sound the alarm. One spark and this will be a river of fire. What's all the excitement about? Yeah. It's a fine time of me getting people out of bed. That's the way I felt until Pat and Ryan showed me that river. Well, let's take a look. Time the top ranger got here. Hello, Pat. Hello, Ryan. Time for them running to you, Bill. That's what it is. The top of the morning or the bottom of the night. I'm not sure which. Ha, now there's a youngster for you. Full of fire no matter how little sleep. Say, Bill, can you smell it? I'll say I can. Fuel oil. How bad is it? I'll take a look across the river. You follow the beam of me, flashlight. There's a regular blanket of the stuff floating on top of the water. Must be a couple of inches thick. You said it, pal. Have you found out where it's coming from? No, not yet. Pat and Ryan think it might be coming from the pipeline where it's bridged across the river. It didn't leak it in town. You're probably right. Come on, pal. Let's pick up Stumpy and Gray Wolf and take a look at the pipeline bridge. Yes, sir. I'll have the fire engines flood the river with water and try to disperse this stuff down rapidly. Right. You better send cars around informing the people of the danger, even though you'll wake them out of a sound sleep. Make sure there isn't any fire of any kind nearby. What are you going to do about that fire way over yonder? Huh? Where? The lightning. Looks like a storm coming on. And how? We've got to try and get that leak stopped before the storm gets here. All right. Let's go. Please. The river is covered with fuel oil, and the situation is very dangerous. You can help by staying in your homes until this emergency is over. Please do not go down to the river to sightsee. It's too dangerous trying to disperse the oil downstream. This is the sheriff speaking. If you refuse to cooperate, I'll have to ask the governor to establish martial law and to send troops into town to keep you home. Great. And this won't be necessary. Thank you. Naughty Pine Dispatcher calling Junction City. Naughty Pine Dispatcher calling Junction City. Come in. Over. Junction City Police. What's up, Naughty Pine? We've got a river covered with fuel oil, and it's moving your way. Naughty Pine Sheriff wishes you to notify Central City. Say, you fellas got your hands full. What's leaking? We think it's the pipeline. Man, that's not good. Pass the word to the Central City Police. Thanks for the water. Sonny, that's me. Pretty good size hole. I guess we all are thinking the same thing, fellas. What bothers me is what they've got in that line. What do you mean? What they've got in it? Isn't it all oil? Not this pipeline, pal. This is a freight line. You mean they sent batches of different stuff through that line instead of only one kind of fluid? Right. How do they pull off that stunt? It's a matter of chemistry. They know which liquids won't mix. Like they can put a load of Ethel gas between two loads of regular gas. Sovereign catfish. You mean they pump automobile gas through that line? Yeah, sure do, pal. That's smart trick. How they know where one kind begin and end in pipeline. They put a mass of radioactive substance in between each load. And by using Geiger counter as they can tell when a load begins and ends. Dad, for a fancy dangle of contraption. You speak truth. And company can send a lot of different liquids through line. That's what has me worried. What's next in line after the fuel oil? We won. This is Scotty Logan with the 5 o'clock news. This early morning, I'm sure, there are more listeners than usual. And this isn't the cheery morning we'd like it to be. Here's our sheriff to speak to you about the emergency situation of the flood of fuel oil on the river. Here's Sheriff Hopper. Thank you, Scotty. Ladies and gentlemen, Bill Jefferson and the Rangers are trying to locate the source of this fuel leak. I haven't heard from them yet, but I expect to at any time. I want everyone to be calm and to stay at home just as you've been doing. Those of you who have to cross the river to get to your jobs will have to do it on foot. And only across the Main Street Bridge, and only if conditions permit. If we feel dangerous and crass, the bridge will have to be closed to everyone. I wish to thank you for your wonderful cooperation by staying at home. It's made our job much easier. And again, I urge you not to become panicky, even in the face of the oncoming storm. The fire department is rapidly dispersing the oil as it comes downstream, and our fire chief feels that the danger point has been reduced considerably. Thank you. Henry, throw the spotlight along the bridge. Malcolm Gray speaking. Amal, Bill Jefferson, you've got a busted pipeline. No. Now where? I'm at the bridge over the Shady River, watching the fuel oil spill out by the hundreds of gallons. Is there room to land a helicopter close by? Yeah, plenty of room. Well, I'll be there with a crew in 20 minutes. Oh, the company man are in the air now, flying here from Canyon City. That's about all I can tell you right now, except the stuff is spilling out like crazy. That's fast work, Bill. Our thing's a naughty pine. Wonderfully quiet, everyone's doing his best to stay cool and calm. The fire boys are pumping water into the river as fast as they can. Fine, Cal, that's fine. I'll call you as soon as I know more, over and out. Well, here come pipeline men now. Yes, sir. And not too soon. That star is beginning to kick up and off of us. When's your toss of that copter around? Fast. There's no minute to lose. Yes, sir. Let's go, boys. Hello, men. Come on. Hello, Mal. Howdy. Hey, sure looks like a kind of a risky business out there, isn't he? You're right there, old timer. Bill, may I use your radio? Sure, help yourself. Thanks. QXBC 3, this is JMNX1. QXBC, this is JMNX1. Over. This is QXBC. Come in, boss. Cut off the line immediately, Fritz. Sure, boss. What's up? I'll tell you after you close the valve. Do it now. I'll wait. Right. Be back in a minute. The line is split open on the bridge. I'm afraid to ask you, but I've got to know. What's the load behind the fuel oil? I think I know, but let me check the manifesto to make sure. I don't want to scare the pants off you for nothing. Hurry up. Are you positive? I'm looking right at the manifesto now. If it were Kyle's milk, I might joke about it, but not 107. Okay, Fritz. Now, don't open that valve for anyone or anything. You understand? Sweeney, what are you doing back here? Get out there and fix that hole. Boss, we can't work out there. The wind's too strong. Get out there. Don't tell me what you can and can't do. But, Mal, we've got all we can do to hang on. We can't repair that leak now. It's 500 feet to the bottom of that door. What kind of man are you? Get out there or I'll know the reason why. What's the matter with you? We might get killed. That's too bad, but it's part of your job. But maybe you figure the rangers should do your work, huh? Now get out on that bridge and fix that leak. Oh, all right. We'll try it. But I'm not making any promise. Get out there, dearhears. Stop blabbing and get out there. I'm going to talk to Fritz again. Okay, Mal. Use the radio all you want. Thanks. Boy, is he a gluttle and nerves all of a sudden like... You said it, honey. I smell a rat in the wood pile. I think same thing. He changed like wind after he talked to Valve Station. You fellas are pretty sharp. Pretty sharp. What do you think's wrong? I don't know. I'm waiting for Mal to tell us. Hey, wait until it's too late. I hope not. Here comes Sweeney's men crawling back on bridge, huh? They're hanging on for dear life. We ain't going back out there till this thing blows over. Trying to plug that hole in this storm is like... Like trying to walk a tight wire on a one-wheel bike. Are you telling me what you're going to do? Yes, and if you don't like it, you can jump in the river. I ought to punch you in the nose, you coward, and that goes for your men, too. Let's make him go out there. He's so smart, huh? No, I think we ought to throw him in the river. Don't start swearing if you think you're man enough to lick me. He used to be a good boss until just a few minutes ago. And this thing's got you scared stiff. You mind your own business. Will you get out there or you're fired? Wait a minute, Mal. How you keep your nose out of this, Bill? It's none of your business. That's where you're on. I'm top man here. This is government property, remember? Come on in the car. I want to talk to you. You aren't telling me what to do. Get in the car and make it snappy. We haven't got time to stand around and argue. Sweeney, you and your men take it easy. There's something wrong here. You can say that again, Ranger. I ain't looking for no fights, but I ain't taking any more of Bill's either. He'll get Mal straight now. All right, let's have it. I don't know what you're talking about. Listen, Mal, don't play Ring Around the Rosie with me. You change like night from day right after you talk to the valve station. What's in the pipeline behind the fuel oil? The next load is aviation gasoline. Aviation gas? Yes, 50,000 gallons of it. If the lightning hits that stuff, the whole county's going up. Bill, I'm almost to the point of nervous collapse. That pipeline comes down to the river in a long incline. I don't know how to stop that stuff. It just keeps draining out. I do. Well, how? We've got to cut the pipe open on the other side of the bridge and let the gas run on the ground. Yeah, now that would do it. Come on, we got work to do. Not to Sweeney. I'm ready to jump out of my skin, just thinking what could happen if that stuff spills into the river. Okay. Sweeney, gather your boys around. Okay. Come on, boys. All right. Let's go. Yeah, let's get this thing out of the way. Your boss is on the point of nervous collapse, so I'm taking over. No, I'm not taking over. A mall called the Valve Station and found out there's a load of aviation gas in the line behind the fuel oil. Aviation gas? That's right. Now, there's only one thing to do to save us from a catastrophe. You've got to open the pipe on the other side and let the stuff run out on the ground. That means we've got to cross the river. That's right. Can we go around? It'll take too long to go around. Come on, now. I'll lead the way. Henry, you stay here and man the radio. But that's in order. Yes, sir. Inform the sheriff what's going on. You and the copter pilot keep a close eye on us. You may have to pull this out if the lightning touches off the gas. Why can't we use the copter to cross? Too many dangerous wind currents over there in those canyons. We'll save the copter for emergency. Real emergency. Let's go. Every last one of us was in extreme danger crossing the pipeline bridge over the shady river. One misstep on the narrow catwalk. That would be all over. They might find our bodies down in dead man's gorge but they might never find us. The wind howled and angry gale and tried to tear each man off the catwalk and throw him into the river. I wasn't worried about the bridge itself going out even though it swayed like a rope. It was engineered for that. My big worry was getting the men across. And the electrical part of the storm hit us. The lightning played about us waitably. One flash after another so that I could have read a newspaper by it. I decided to hang onto a brace cable and let the men pass me so I could bring up the rear. That would leave me on the bridge longer. I didn't want anyone to panic and lose his life. I tried to encourage them as they itched their way along the grin sight. Watching the men crawl across the bridge and the eerie lightning flashes. I prayed that all would make it safe and sound. They won't make it, I tell you. Did I ever let them go and gas them? Catch a fire and kill them all. Burn them to a crisp. Now keep quiet. Can't you see them now screaming and yelling and burning gas? Nobody to help them. I'm going to rescue them. I'm going to rescue them. They'll die. They'll die screaming with pain. Mal, I'll come back here. Game point, US port. Sorry, Mal. Sorry I had to tackle you. I couldn't let you kill yourself either. Henry Scott, the sheriff won at Nutty Pine. Henry Scott, the sheriff won at Nutty Pine. Come in, over. Sheriff won to Henry Scott, over. Cal, sending ambulance right away. I just had to tackle Mal, throw him on the ground, knocked him out. He was going off his rocker with worry. He was going to go out there on the bridge. Is it that bad up there? Yeah, it's pretty bad. What about the pipeline? Where's Bill? Bill's leading the men across the bridge to try and cut that pipe open on the other side. Let the gas run out on the ground. Gas? Yes, aviation gas. They're on this end and pray for those guys. They'll need all the help they can get. Charlie, get that cart away from here. Want to kill us? How long, sweetie? There's a small hole now, Bill. Maybe 10 minutes. We'll have it split in two. Can't wait that long. You'll have to. Need miracle men, you know. It's time to cut through steel. Pull right open in a can of soup, you know. Get your man out and back. Are you cracking too? First you say cut faster, and now you say stop cutting. You say those rocks up on that ledge? Yeah. Will they open the pipe if they're dropped on it? Okay, get your men out. Your toes, don't be gray wolf. But if the gas is coming through the line when the rocks hit, we won't find you after it's over. I'm not asking you to risk your life, am I? No, sir. I get you. Come on, boys, clear out. I go with you, Bill. You heard me and that's an order. Get out of here, scram! I climbed rapidly up to the top of the ridge. That is as rapidly as I could in the early morning darkness. Now I was glad for the savage lightning, because it helped me see where I was going. I thought of all the people and property along the river for a hundred miles. It would be in danger if the gas got loose on the river. What a blazing inferno that would be. Finally, I made it to the top of the ridge. I stopped for a second, looked the rocks over with the help of the lightning. And I saw the key rock that would start the slide to crush the pipe. Put my muscle to work. The rock began to move. Pushed it over. It went crashing down. Taking more and more rocks with it. Where's the gasoline in that pipeline? As I was holding my breath, waiting for the explosion of the deadly gas. But it didn't come. Then I smelled it. The gas, that is. The rocks had smashed the pipe seconds before the first of the gas got there. I was still alive. I'll wait for explosion and breathe again after it's not come. I did too, Grey Wolf. Thank the Lord there won't be a river of fire. Kirk and Ryan realize how important their keen sense of impending danger was. The whole shady river valley was saved from a most disastrous holocaust. Well, see you next week for more adventure with...