 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. Ranger Ed Quarters, Bill Jefferson speaking. Oh, yes, Fred. Yes, that's right. He's a dupe back here tomorrow. Yeah, it'll be good to see Henry again. Been away a long time. How are you and Stompy doing with fire lane inspection? Two or three more days, huh? Well, Henry will be sorry not to see you as soon as he returns. I think he's probably even more sorry he's not riding trail with you this time. That bus rides a long dull trip. Okay, Fred. I'll tell him. Okay. I think he'll be very glad to be home. And you really ride around on the trail and everything with the Rangers? That's right, Dale. Boy, I never met anyone who did anything like that. Well, when you live in different parts of the country, you do different things. That's all. I don't know. Doesn't seem like there's anything you haven't done. Hey, Henry. Do you think you could get me a ride with the Rangers when we get to Naughty Pine? Dale, what a thing to ask a perfect stranger. Oh, that's all right, Mrs. Kavanaugh. You're very nice, Henry. I'm glad we ran into someone like you to ride with on this trip. But I don't think Dale has any business trying to... Oh, mom. I didn't mean anything bad by it. I just thought I know what you just thought, young man. If Henry wanted to offer a thing like that, I'm sure he would have in his own good time. Hey, there's a whole empty bus back there to have your arguments in. I'm going to let those who want to sleep sleep. Oh, I'm terribly sorry. See all the trouble you can get into me. Why don't you and I go back farther in the bus, Dale? I can tell you how the Rangers use planes in patrolling forests. Wow, planes. Have you ever been up with them? Come on in, back in. I'll tell you. That's a good idea, Dale. Now you go along with Henry. That's a real good idea. Okay. Hey, Henry, did you ever parachute on a plane? Oh, hey, this riding certainly does make one tire, doesn't it? Oh, hello. Yes, I can hardly stop. I know what you mean. Look at Jack over there. My husband. Sound asleep. I'm sorry we bothered him with all that noise a few moments ago. Oh, that wasn't Jack. He's been asleep almost since we started to move. How's that other man over there? Oh, well, I'm sorry we bothered him. Are you going to Naughty Pine? That's right. To visit relatives. So, Dale and I, that young man back there with Dale lives in Naughty Pine. I know. I couldn't help hearing some of the conversation. Oh, dear. Oh, it wasn't a bother at all. I mean, I thought all he was telling your boy was very interesting. He seemed like a nice lad. Well, my name is Josephine Kavanaugh. Mrs. Harold Kavanaugh. I'm Jill Channing. Jill? Isn't that cute? Didn't you say your husband's name was Jack? That's right. Jack and Jill. How many times have people made jokes about that? Well, more times than I can count. I'm sure. But we don't mind. In fact, that's how we met. Because of your name? Yes. You see, Jack had a friend that taught at the same school. He must get pretty bored and just drive them every day like this. Oh, you get used to it. Like any other job. I figured out once it's yet to be a certain type to be a bus driver. That's all. What kind did you decide he had to be? Oh, I forget. Doesn't matter anyhow. How far are we from Central City? Oh, roughly 900 miles. We'll make it there sometime around noon tomorrow. That's far, huh? Are you gonna stay awake that long? Don't have to. We'll change drivers and naughty pine and I can get a little shut-eye there. Speaking of shut-eye, it looks like just about everyone stopped babbling, going off sleep. Maybe I can. Take it easy. Sure, sure. Jack, you're snoring louder than the bus motor. Huh? Oh, sorry, dear. Dear, well, I guess he did get to sleep. I wonder how Dale and the nice young man are doing back there. Oh, look. I guess they finally gave out. Well, maybe I should get a little rest myself. Rest stop. This is the last stop we'll be making tonight, folks. Well, Henry, I'd like to have someone with your experiences talk to my biology class. Oh, I don't know any more than anyone else about it. I mean, I've had a nice school, but nice biology. It's a study of animals and plant sales. Like horses and things? More like whole bunches of animals, Dale. Animals that are like each other. Like four-legged animals. You mean like horses? That's right. But in biology, we try to see some of the things that make all animals with four legs a lot of life. You should be in that category, Dale. Why? How am I like a horse? Well, you sometimes eat like one. I'm talking about eating. Looks like our drive is about to finish with a sandwich and coffee. It's better start for the bus. Yeah, we better get going. Come on, Dale. You don't want to get left behind, do you? They won't walk without us, will they, isn't it? Well, probably not with this small load, but there were more people making the trip. You'd really have to keep on your toes. We'd better go out there anyway and get aboard. Hey, what's this thing? Wake up and feel refreshed with this split foot massage. I guess you're supposed to stand on it and it jiggles your feet or something. Sounds great. Let's try it. Oh, we really should be getting back on the bus now. Why? The driver's still in here. It can't go without him, can it? No, I guess not. Here, I'll stand on this thing and you put in the nickel. Okay. You better get hold of those handles. It may vibrate you right off. Okay. Ready? Contact. There it goes. Hey, this is great. You look like you're gonna shuffle right off onto the floor. It feels like when you drive over a metal bridge in a car. Well, hang on. That was fun. You ought to try it once, Henry. I don't think we have enough time to. After all this, hey, that's our bus out there honking. Uh-oh. I didn't see the driver go. Oh, neither did I. Let's get a move on. Come on. Come on. We'd better run. Yeah. Let's get on, Dale. Okay. I'm right behind you. Come on, kids, to hold off the works. We're very sorry, sir. We didn't see the driver come out. Sure, sure. Are we gonna yak all night? Do it in the back, huh? We'll try to hold it down. Good, good. The better be successful. I don't like you. You shouldn't feel like that, Dale. You never know why a guy acts like that. What do you mean? Well, maybe you just had something go wrong for him. Don't you get crabby sometimes? I guess. Dale, what in the world were you doing so long? You gave us all a little scare. We thought we lost you. Boy, we sure are sorry. Well, no chance of that happening again on this trip. Why do you say that? Well, the driver said that was the last stop before 95. Well, it's probably a good idea if we all get a good rest tonight. You don't have to tell Jack that. Look, found a sleep. My, my. Are you sure he's all right? Oh, yes, he's fine. If he didn't sleep, then I'd worry. You can believe me when I say that he's setting a good example. Why do you say that, Henry? Well, along about dawn or so, we should be getting in real mountainous country. And the roads aren't smooth like here. I don't think even your husband will be able to sleep much when we hit those roads. These roads are terrible. Isn't there a better route? Sure, but I guess the rains have been having in this area caused some kind of landslide on some of the new highways. We have to take the old one. Old is right. How long will you have to stay on this washboard? Well, it looks like all the way to Naughty Pine. There's no way to get back down on the new highway from here. Oh, good thing I got a lot of sleep last night. No one could sleep the way this thing has jumped. Why, I didn't think anyone could sleep under these conditions, but look at Mr. Channing. Jill, are you sure he's all right? Of course he is. He just works in South to Death Law School of Confession and rests well when we're on vacation. I'll say. Is he in relation to Rip Band Winkle? Yeah. Oh, I guess it'll be this way all the way to Naughty Pine. I don't remember any way to get to the new highway from here. You'd think there would be a smoother route if they could take the bus on. Well, there is, ma'am, but the driver said something about bad road conditions. What does he call this? How far are we from there, Henry? Oh, roughly 40 or 50 miles. I'm getting to recognize the countryside. Sometimes we ride out this far checking fire lanes. Oh, boy. Hey, what do you have to do to become a ranger? One thing you have to do, young man, is pass your schooling. Yeah, that's right, Dale. I'm not really a ranger, and I won't even be able to take training until I get out of high school. Why were you? I couldn't hardly wait. Oh, there's plenty to do until then. The rangers are interested in what kind of grade you make while you're in school. Did you hear that, Dale? What happened? What's happened? That's what I was going to ask. Oh, you're awake. Who could sleep when he's being thrown almost out of bed? What happened? It's all right, folks. We've met a car coming the other way. Uh-oh. What does he mean by that, Henry? Well, this road isn't very wide in places, and sometimes when you meet a car coming the other way, someone has to back up all the way to the next wide spot in the road so that you can pass each other. I hope the driver of that car will have the decency to do the backing up. Well, that's the usual case, Mrs. Kavanaugh. It's a whole lot easier to back a car around these turns than a bus. I should say. Well, why doesn't he get moving? Give him the horn. It's all right. He's backing up now. I hope this doesn't delay us too long. My, certainly, is impatient. I don't like you. Well, give us all a better look at this beautiful countryside. Well, you've seen it almost all your life, haven't you, Henry? Oh, sure. But who could really ever get tired of it? Say, this really is terrific country. How long have we been going through these mountains? Many, many hours, Mr. Rip Van Winkle, but you've been too busy to notice. You should awaken me. It's just beautiful. It's about time. What you wait too long for? Well, I thought this towering bus might make that driver nervous, pushing him along backwards. I might have hurried him a little. Ah, there he is. Good thing that wide spot was so close. We're under way again, folks. I had no idea that the road was so narrow. Well, that's because you're sitting on that side next to the upward slope. Come on over here and look out this window. Hold onto your hat, Mom. It's straight down. Oh, my. What did I tell you? Is it safe? Don't worry, Mrs. Kavanaugh. These drivers have been making this trip for a long time. I notice everything is pretty wet out there, Henry. What's the story? Well, seasonal rains, Mr. Channing. That's probably why the new highway is out of commission. Probably the storms have caused a landslide or two and covered it. Aren't we in danger of the same thing here? Not usually. This highway is a lot higher up in the mountains, and most of the slides take place lower. Well, that's nice to know. I wouldn't want to get stuck in some kind of a wilderness and... Hey. What's wrong this time? Another car just run him over. I'm afraid it's a little more than that. What do you mean by that? Looks like some of the road ahead is washed away. It doesn't look as though there's enough room for the bus to get through. Change your headquarters, Bill Jefferson speaking. Oh, yes, friend. Well, I heard thunderings, all right. I suspect there's been quite a bit of rain in the mountains. Yes, they cleared off the new highway first thing this morning. All traffic seems to be moving easily now. What's that? The old highway? Well, many places washed out, huh? Hope nobody's trapped up there. All right, Fred. I'll set up roadblocks right away. It's a good thing very few ever use the old highway. Tenses are that no one was caught by washouts. Okay, Fred. No, Henry hasn't arrived yet. As a matter of fact, the bus should have been here before this. Mm-hmm. Okay, Fred. Right. Goodbye. That old highway will be very hard to repair. All dirt and stones. Maybe the road repair crew will just leave it. Never used anymore, anyway. Well, I'll put up roadblocks so no one does get trapped up there in the mountains. I'm telling how long it'll be before someone would find them. This is a fine fix. Here we are in the middle of nowhere and stuck. The way I figure it, the road is two feet shorter than the wheelbase of the bus. That isn't much. Why don't we back up a bit and just charge over that space? Swell idea. We'll all stand back and watch you show us how it's done. A steal. Well, there isn't any need to get sarcastic about it. Maybe there is. I don't like the way you've been complaining about everyone and everything on this trip. And I figure it's about time for you to just... Take it easy, driver. Maybe both of you would better settle down. We're in a fix, as Mr. Brady says, and what we need are level heads. I'm sorry. You're right. When we get to town somewhere, I'm going to report you to your company. I said settle down. You're going to fight? Well, I hope not, Dale. No, Henry, maybe it's a real good thing that you're along on this trip. You know the country and you know what to expect. What do you think would be the best move? Well, I do know that we aren't very near any people. Not a pine is at least 40 miles away. Maybe more. And the nearest ranger tower is probably 15 to 20 miles away. I don't even know in which direction. Why doesn't one of us start looking for the tower? I know what you're all thinking, but we need every man we have. What are the chances of fixing this washed-out spot? Probably could be done. Looks as though if we build up this road with some heavy logs and stuff it might hold. What do you say, Henry? I think it might work, but there aren't too many movable logs around here the size we need. Well, we can scout some up. We don't need to know the size anyhow. How about tools? What do you have in the butts? Well, the only kind of tool we'd have is one for mechanical breakdowns. But I think we could make them... Hey, look here. Dale, please. These men are trying to figure a way out of this. But look, some horses have been by here. Let's take a look. Yeah. Those are hoof prints, all right. And fresh ones, too. Of course. There are some rangers right around inspecting the fire lanes and general conditions of the forest. They were probably by here earlier today. Fine. We can just wait until they come back by and hit your ride. Yeah, I'm afraid that'll be a long wait, Mr. Brady. What do you mean, kid? They don't go over a trail twice. They won't be by here again until next year. Uh, Timberway's bus terminal? This is Ranger Jefferson calling. I'm wondering about the bus. Do it new and from the east. Mm-hmm. Any idea how late? I see. Yes, probably waited until the new highway was cleared. And you'll be glad the bus didn't take the old highway. Quite a few washouts reported up there. If the bus takes the old route, it won't be able to make it through it all. Yes, I'm glad it took the new highway, too. Thank you. Goodbye. Here comes Jack now. Maybe you'll have some good news. I must have covered a good two square miles and couldn't see a single heavy-loggered tree that we could move in here. Well, that's pretty much what we all found. I guess we'll have to toss over the idea of repairing the road. Oh, sure. Just toss it over. Who cares if we're stuck somewhere in the middle of a mountain range? Mr. Brady, maybe you'd better go sit down in the bus for a while. You good. Look, you're his mother, not mine. I was just trying to... Well, don't. You know, Mr. Brady, you're not making this thing a whole lot easier for yourself or making yourself any more popular, either. Jack, please. Hey, how about if we back the bus up from here? Yeah, the whole 50 miles. You forgot you've all had a good night's sleep, and a trip like that would just about kill a driver in top condition. Well, you might be able to back it up as far as the wide spot and the road and turn it around. Say, that might be a possibility. Sorry to throw another wrench into the works, but while I was looking for logs back there, I noticed that there's been another washout in the road. Another one? That's right. About a mile back down the road. Looks to me like we're marooned. Well, one good thing... What's that? That washout back there didn't happen when we were going over it. Now, there's that cheerful thought. Well, what are we going to do? Stay here? Nobody will come along the road and find us. There are two washouts. There are probably a dozen. No one will be able to get to near us. Hey, where's that kid who lives with Naughty Pine? Henry? I don't know. He was here just a minute ago. Well, he probably knows the way home skipped out on us. I don't think we'd better bother him right now. Oh? I saw him get into the bus a few moments ago and kneel by one of the seats. I think he's praying. I'm awful hungry, Mom. I know, Dale. We could all use something to eat. Well, folks, this is the way I see it. We're marooned here. Unable to contact the outside or be contacted by it. We could set out in search of a ranger tower, but, well, we aren't sure which way to go. There's a radio. No telephone lines to tap a message into. We're stuck. Night's coming on. Are there any wild animals around here? Henry? Well, I don't want to worry anyone, but, yes, there are. Oh, dear. Well, we'll be safe in the bus. That's swell for tonight. But what are we going to do tomorrow and the next day? All I've heard so far is that we're in a pickle. Maybe you have a suggestion. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starting out for naughty pine on foot. That's not a very smart idea, Brady. Why not? Just as smart as sitting here. I can still make plenty of distance before nightfall. And camp? Finish the distance tomorrow. Maybe I'll find a stream or something and catch a little food on the way. And maybe you'll be caught by a hungry bear. Ah, kids, they're always seeing animals where there aren't any. Besides, I have these matches. I don't want to go out at night. I don't keep anything away that might want to visit me. Fire! You almost scared the life out of me. What are you shouting about, Henry? That's it, fire. There's one contact with the outside world that we have that I'd forgotten about. Well, let's have it, Henry. Well, a long time ago, Ranger Bill taught me some smoke signals. I don't remember much, but I think I could send some sort of a message. Boy, that's neat. Okay, so you send them up. Who can read them? Well, the nearest Ranger Tower will see them and probably report them into the station. When Bill hears about them, he'll know what they mean. Sounds good to me. Only workable idea so far. Let's get some wood. I'll go over this way for some. Jack and Jill, you go up the hill. Well, you know what I mean. Right. Come on, Jill. Looks like we're going to get out of this thing yet. That's the biggest pot of sticks and wood I've ever seen. Oh, Mom, it isn't big. Well, it looks big to me. What seems to be the trouble? Can't you get it lit? Well, all the rains have pretty well soaked the wood in this area. I won't even try to start. I know we'd hit a snag. Well, if we only had something to start it with, kerosene or... Don't say another word. I know where there are about ten gallons of fuel oil nearby. Of course. The bus. Wait a minute. You pour that stuff all over these sticks? What are you going to use to drive out of here? We'll get it. Yeah? Where? The same place you get a road to drive out of here on. Come on. Look at all that black smoke. Yes, it's even better than we thought. No one could miss this stuff. Fire town number 16. Go ahead, Ralph. What's the trouble? I don't know what to make out of it, Bill. Maybe just some of your friends having a little fun. What are you talking about, Ralph? Well, it looks like from here there's someone sending up smoke signals over near the old highway. Quick, Ralph. Tell me what they look like. Well, let's see. There go two little puffs. There goes a long one. Is that anything like Morse code? I'll tell you all about it some time, Ralph. Right now, tell me exactly where the smoke is coming from. I think we'll finally find out where Henry and the missing bus are. But I'd ride in a real helicopter. It was great. We sure owe a lot to your sharp thinking, Henry. And you're teaching him smoke signals, Mr. Jefferson. Yeah, sometimes the old ways are the best ways. I think I'll let the bus company figure out what to do with that bus up there. It's probably being used as a house for some bears by now. Well, anyway, it's good that you're all safe and sound. I'm talking about sound. Is there anything out of you for a while, Brady? I'm glad to be here, too. What's the matter, Mr. Brady? You don't look too well. Oh, the poor man. I think that ride in the helicopter upset him. You'll all feel better after a good meal. Food. Well, boys and girls, I guess you can see that it's a good thing to learn as much as you can. You never know when it might come in handy. And here's something to remember. We'll see you next week for more adventure with... Ranger Bill was produced in the radio studios of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.