 The Mutual Broadcasting System, in cooperation with Family Theatre Incorporated, presents Journey Home starring Preston Foster and Daryl Hickman. Ruth Hussie is your hostess. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Family Theatre is dedicated to all homes, to all families, but as hostess tonight, I'd like to dedicate this particular program in a special way to the young mothers of America. I'm speaking as just another parent, a young mother, when I say ours is this great honor, the duty of bringing up our children in the knowledge and love of God. The sweetest memory they'll have in later life is the remembrance of a happy childhood, a childhood where there is the daily evidence and expression of love. Not only love of parents for children, but love of parents for one another and love for God, which is the greatest inspiration we can give our little ones. I feel very happy in making this simple dedication, because the future of our homes is secure when we pray together every day, when we pray together as a family and make family prayer a daily practice. No matter what success we as parents have in other careers, the knowledge that we were good parents, good mothers, is the greatest and most important success story in the world. Ruth Hussie will return later in the program. Now Family Theatre presents Journey Home, starring Preston Foster and Daryl Hickman. He came from over the horizon and stood strangely against the sky like a cloud, reaching from earth to heaven. It was early November, the fall frost was spreading across the California mountains. I had set out from San Francisco that morning to Hitchhike East. Now it was evening. The afterglow of sunset made the sky above a dull, lingering red. The surrounding mountains were like black, unshapely giant, silhouetted against the coming night. I had finally reached the Colfax Railroad Yards at the base of the Sierra Nevada Range. As I left the highway and made my way down into the freight yard, I was uncertain of my plans. I'd never ridden on a freight train before, but had no desire to hike over the Sierra Nevada's either. I dropped my pack on the platform and sat down. I closed my eyes against the dark shadows and leaned against the wall, wondering what my chances would be of getting back home to Chicago. Running away I knew now was no solution to a problem. Going over? Going over the Great Divide? Gosh, I must have fallen asleep. Yeah, yeah, I'm going. Looks like you've been traveling. Yeah, trying to hitchhike east, but the going isn't so good. Never riden automobiles myself. Stick to trains, kid. Always sure where you're going. Yeah. Mind if I sit down? No. When's the next train going over? Oh, about nine o'clock. What time is it now? Never worry about the time. There's plenty of that. I'd say it's about eight. How do you know? Oh, I just look at the stars. They're never wrong. The stars? That's right. You've got to keep looking up. There are lots of things you'll learn if you keep looking up long enough. We sat in silence for a while. I watched the man beside me. In the shadowy light I could see the gaunt features of his face. His hair was long and shaggy. He shifted and looked across the yards at a signal light. I heard the tolling of a church bell. I remembered then that the day was Sunday. I thought of Mom and Dad getting ready to go to evening services. The bell was ringing out the time. It was eight o'clock, all right. The figure beside me shifted in the darkness. It's quite a force in the air tonight. All right. You going over? It'd be pretty cold in the mountains. I made up my mind to keep moving. I'm going over. I'll be on that train, too, kid. Uh, where do you catch it? This is your first time, innit? Yeah, that's right. Well, you just stick to me. We'll make it. By the way, I guess we might as well introduce ourselves. My name is... Don't make no difference what your name is. It's what you are. It counts. Well, if we're gonna... I found that some of the best names belong to the worst people. Some of the best people never make any name for themselves. So I'll just call you kid. All right? What'll I call you? Hank. Glad to know you, Hank. Where you from? Oh, I ain't no place in particular. Got recollections of different places. Been all around, huh? Yeah, seen a few things in my day. Some pretty, some not so pretty. Saw a kid fall off the rides once. Gee. Yeah, met a lot of people, too. People who were hungry for something. But most of them didn't know what they were looking for. They must be making up a train. Yeah, that's ours. They put on about a hundred cars before they high ball. Might as well walk over that way. Hey, don't forget your pack. Okay, Hank. I'm coming. We made our way in and out around the freight cars. I followed closely behind him as he moved through the shadows. Once or twice, he seemed to disappear. And then I discovered that he was just ahead of me. My nervousness at the idea of riding a freight train became a little less as I followed him. But his words kept echoing in my mind. She'll be pulling out soon. They're waiting for the pusher. Pusher? Yeah, they put a locomotive on behind to help push her up the grade. They're taking out the slack. Be careful. Don't get out in the light. The Yardmen are all right, but there might be a railroad detective around. We'll catch it on the right side, kid. There's no danger of falling between the cars if you miss. Oh, I'll make it, Hank. I'll be okay. Must be having trouble with the brakes. Keep quiet. Somebody's coming. Oh, there's a breakman. Brakes are all right, too. That's the high ball. Aren't we gonna get on now? Oh, we gotta let her roll before we jump her, kid. Take your time. Don't hurry. Not yet. Now don't get nervous. Now, kid, run alongside. That's it. Grab the ladder. Get a good grip. All right, jump! There was no answer, and suddenly I realized that I was hanging on the side of a speeding train. I climbed slowly up the iron ladder, the wind tearing against my body. I was scared to death, but I pulled myself out of it. What had happened? Where was Hank? It wasn't bad, kid. Hank? For a beginner, you did all right. But I thought you... No, here I am. That breeze feels nice. Smell that smoke. That's oil. No coal burners on this run. How are we gonna get down inside? This is a fruit train, kid. All the cars are probably closed tighter in drums. You mean we're gonna ride over the mountains out here? I'm afraid that's how it's gotta be. But how are we gonna hang on to the top of this bouncing box? Well, it'll level off, and you can roll out your blanket and stretch. There's no place better for seeing the world than the top of a freight. Just look up, kid. Just keep looking up. Hank stood tall against the wind, his short coat flapping in the tattered legs of his pants billowing like balloons. There was a smile on his lips as he watched the black smoke curl up toward the mountain tops. No, he was getting up too close to the front engine. If you do, you eat smoke instead of watching it. It is pretty up here, all right. Man-made clouds. And blacker than night. Riding tops ain't the best thing in the world, but you do get to see the scenery. You always ride tops? Oh, most of the time. I like to look up and see the stars. Guess there must be millions of them just rolling around in the sky. Never went to school much, but don't take education to figure there's a lot of machinery up there for somebody to keep running. Yeah, looking up at that sky really makes you think. Sure. Here we are, just rolling along. It takes a lot of people figuring how to keep a train on schedule. But up there... Hank? What's the matter? You know, I ducked out from home a month ago. What did you do that for, kid? Oh, I just got something into me. So I thought I'd ditch the whole deal and make a go of it alone. We're starting up the canyon. That's the lead engine. Everything okay? Yeah, I'm all right, Hank. That's the pusher. How high do we go? Oh, about a mile. Better break out that blanket of yours. Yeah, I'll do that. You know, Hank, I'm thinking about heading home. Good for you, kid. There's no place like home if you got a home. Yeah, I'm finding that out. Hey, kid, look over there in the east. What? Now watch after we round this curve. The moon? Yeah, frozen to the top of the Sierras, and a sky loaded with stars. Yeah, it'd be fine if it weren't so cold. This blanket will help. Come on, you can share it. No, no, no. You keep it. I'm okay. But you've only got a thin coat. I ain't cold. Well, I certainly can feel it. You just wrap up and sit there. I'll go on up front and see if there's a better spot. Maybe a reefer somewhere up there. A reefer? A refrigerator car. When they don't have ice, you can hide in the refrigerator compartment. Okay, Hank, be careful. Thanks, kid. I will. Stay right back. Time passed slowly as I waited. I had watched Hank lean into the sharp, cold wind and disappear into the darkness as his body swayed with the rhythm of the train. Suddenly, I felt a terrible loneliness, a feeling that might come only with the remembrance of things warm and good. Yeah, mother and dad were probably back home from church now. Maybe they're talking about me, worrying, wondering where I am. I guess they can never understand why I ran away. It's hard to explain even to myself now. Gee, I must have made them feel... I looked up at the silent stars. Yes, God has a lot of machinery up there to take care of, but maybe take a little time out to think about me. For long moments I waited. It was getting colder. I drew the blanket tighter about me and looked again in the direction Hank had gone. I thought I heard someone coming along the catwalk through the darkness. Hank! Hank, did you find it? What's that? Did you find the reefer? No empties on this train, Bo. Oh, I thought you were Hank. What do you mean? You're the breakman. Yeah, it's pretty cold for a young fellow like you to be riding on top. Why didn't you wait until tomorrow? Well, I wanted to get home. Anyway, things look, it's going to be plenty freezing by the time we reach the top of the range. I got a blanket. You'll need it, and then some. Must be in an awful hurry. How far are you going? Chicago. Well, you've still got a long way to go. Tell you what you'd do if you were a young fellow. Try taking the spur line at Borey, Wyoming. Get off at LaSalle Junction, Colorado, and catch a hot shot cattle train from Denver. That'll get you home in 31 hours. Spurline where? Borey, that's just west of Cheyenne. Still a long ride, but once you get over the mountain, you have easy going. Well, I've got to check on things. You seem to be the only hope on this train. I guess a cold scared of most of them. But Hank is up front someplace. Who did you say? Hank, the fellow I'm traveling with. On this train? He went that way to see if he could find a reefer. There's no one in this train besides you. Not up front, anyway. No empties, either. But he just went that way a little while ago. I didn't see anybody. You sure? Yeah, he's a tall fellow. Well, if he did go up that way, he's not there now. Might have fallen off. Rough trip. Yeah, take it easy. I sat there stunned. Fallen off. Yeah, maybe that's the way it happens. Maybe that's the end for this kind of life. No, Hank couldn't have. Hank knew the ropes. Yeah, I'd better wait. I was going up trying to find him. I looked over the side of the car and pulled back in fear. Now the train was creeping along the edge of a jagged cliff. A river lay far below. That's the American River, kid. Hank! Looks like a silver ribbon down there. But the breakman's... Didn't find any reefers, but there's a car up ahead that's slung lower than these regulars. We can lie on it and let the front car buck the wind. The breakman said it was really going to get cold. I've seen it colder. Where were you when he passed? He said he didn't see anyone. Smoke was pretty thick up there. He really scared me. He said you probably fell off. There's a sound I like. Kind of makes you feel like you're going somewhere. We must be climbing. Where are you heading, Hank? We'll be hitting the snowsheds soon. We're getting high. I've pretty well made up my mind to go home, Hank. That's what you should do, kid. Yeah, only... Gee, how can I tell you? Mom and Papa? You'll be able to make it all right. Let's go. Where? At the front. When we come to the tunnel. But I'll... I'll stay on the catwalk and follow me. Yeah. Take your time. Okay, okay, Hank. Just lean into the wind. Right. Get down, kid. On your face. What? Watch it. Fall down. Get down. Get down. All right, kid. What happened? Everything went black. That was the first tunnel. That was close. Just keep your eyes ahead. Ready? Ready. Don't look down between the cars. Get set and then jump. I leap for the car ahead. My hands clutch wildly for the boards beneath me. My feet began to follow the figure in front of me. Several times in the next few minutes, he seemed not to be there at all. Eight, nine, ten times I leaped across the gaping space between the cars. Each time gaining more courage. We climbed slowly up through the canyon. For long miles, Hank stood gazing into the distance. Then he started to talk. Told me about his experiences. In his own way, I think he was trying to explain his loneliness. I was too cold and uncomfortable even to try to understand most of what he was saying. Lights ahead. We're coming in. The top of the divide. I think you can pile off up here. I hope there's some heat. My hands and feet are frozen. There's a roundhouse. I'm so cold, I'm stiff. Better stand up and move around. My legs are dead. Just keep moving. Watch it when we pull into the yards. She's slowing down. Keep down and stay out of the light. When do we get off? Better stop first. Okay, kid. Careful now. Watch my legs. Over here, this way, in the shadows. Okay, here we are. I'll open the door and get inside. Follow her over there, kid. We can stand in that pile of sand. Gosh, this heat feels good. Better keep quiet. Be careful in here. There's too many people around tonight. I think we'd better get back. But I'm just beginning to get warm. That freight will be highballing soon. I sure hate to leave. We made it back all right and stretched out on the reefer. Hank was strangely quiet after we had crossed the top of the divide. The expectation that had been in his face as a train climbed the western slope was gone. He stood still, looking into the wind. But his eyes were narrowed with darkness. He didn't speak for a long time. I was beginning to think he had forgotten me. I guess I dozed off for a while. I woke up suddenly as a train was rounding a curve. Downgrade from here on. What's that smell, Hank? Hot iron. Brakes are beginning to smoke. We're slowing up. Yeah, they stopped to check for hot boxes. Brakes get a red hot going in the truckie. And that's where I'll be leaving you, kid. You mean you? That's as far as I'm going this trip. I thought you might be going through to Chicago. No, kid, I got other business. Gee, Hank, I was kind of counting on you. I'm not going that way now. Someone's coming. It's a breakman checking the boxes. Maybe I'll string along with you for a while, Hank. How's that? I mean, uh... You said you were heading for home. I know, but... You're changing your mind, huh? Yeah. Not much use going back now. I figured it all out. The folks... Maybe they wouldn't understand. You seem to have made a go of it this way. Sure, I made a go of it, kid. Being hungry and hunted and always moving. Having no place to go. Then I can do it too. We'll go together. We're pals. Sure, sure. I made a go of it. But it took me a long time to learn what I know now. I'll get to know the ropes quickly, Hank. Sure, sure. You catch one fast. But it took me a long time to learn it to never find anything by running away. Oh, Hank, you're giving me that double-talking. Oh, no, kid. No, I'm giving you this straight. There's no use running. You're young. You got a whole lifetime ahead of you. I don't remember much of what happened coming down into trucking. I lay there shivering and trying to make up my mind whether or not I'd go home. As far as asking Hank about the spur line at Barry and the hot shot cattle car out of Denver, his face softened as he told me about the route. I guess he was hoping I'd go home. At times he looked back toward the hills behind us and seemed to be in deep thought. The moon began to disappear in the west. I could see the lights of trucking in the distance. I stood up and shook the smoke and dust from my clothes. Almost there, kid. If I could just get warm. He'll be pulling in pretty quick. Made up your mind? Yeah. I just couldn't face my mother and father after this. I think I'll tag along with you. You know a smart thing for a kid like you to do? What? Take up a telegraph or a phone and let your folks know where you are. They'll understand, kid. They'll understand. I'll save that for another time, Hank. Okay. You're the boss. You're making a big mistake. Pulling in. What time is it? At past three. It's not so cold now. I'm still cold. I'm so cold I feel dizzy. We'll get down on the left side. Careful, kid. After me. Okay. Wow, I miss that... Gosh, my hands are so cold I lost my grip. Hey, Hank, where are you? Hey, Hank, what's all the hurry? Wait for me. Gosh, I can hardly see you with all those glary lights. Wait for me, Hank. Watch out! Watch out for that train! Gee, that nearly got me, Hank. Hey, Hank, where are you? Get off those tracks. Do you want to get killed? I'm looking for... You better get out of this yard fast if you don't want to be picked up. Yeah, but which way did that fella go? What fella? The one who was standing here when that engine passed. I didn't see anybody. You must have seen him. What was he, a hobo? Yeah, yeah, that's right. He got off the 330 with me. What do you mean? I saw you getting off, but I didn't... He's a tall fella. We're in a short black coat. Hey, son, you look kind of mixed up. What's the matter? I don't know. Maybe it's a coat. I feel... Watch out, son, you'll fall on that track! How is he, Doc? He just fainted. He didn't be all right. Suffering from exposure. I guess he hasn't been eaten right for some time either. Did you get that phone call through? Was that his home? Yeah. His parents said they'd come after him. A strange part of it, he's been gone a month. They didn't know where he was. So they couldn't understand why he did it. Well, some kids get strange ideas into their heads. They take something like lists to bring them to their senses. He'd be glad to go home now. He's a fine-looking kid, Doc. What old is he? I'd say 16 or 17. It's good he's young and strong, or he wouldn't have lasted through this. Yeah, he seemed pretty dizzy when I spotted him getting off the 330. Yeah, he was delirious. I thought so. He was giving me a new mixed up routine about Hank. About Hank? Who's Hank? Well, Doc, haven't you heard of Hank? No. Well, Hank's quite a character. The friend of all the bulls. They say he comes over the Great Divide whenever anyone's in trouble to see that he makes it okay. Yeah, there are a lot of strange stories about Hank. Maybe he's real, maybe he ain't. I never could figure out rightly from what I heard. But he's quite a character, Hank. Family Theater has presented Preston Foster and Daryl Hickman in Journey Home. Here again is tonight's hostess Ruth Hussey. Isn't it true we as parents feel a thrill of pride when we hear someone say that our children are like us? Physical resemblance is one of the wonders of nature. But isn't it more thrilling still to know that we can be an inspiration to our little ones and to know that our example can inspire them to lead good and useful lives? Sometimes we may feel uncertain about what our children will be like when they grow up. We want only the best for them. Well, we don't have to worry about their futures if we're giving them an understanding of the simple things that bring happiness and holiness into everyone's life. And there's no sure way to bring holiness into our lives and into our homes than the faithful practice of family prayer. With all the realization of the wonderful futures our children can have, this program of Family Theater was dedicated in a special way to the young mothers that they whose families are just beginning to grow may realize the powerful influence for good that family prayer can bring into their homes and the happiness and security of the future that comes with the realization that a family that prays together stays together. Before saying good night I'd like to thank Preston Foster and Darryl Hickman for their performances this evening and our thanks to John Lovelace for writing tonight's play and to Max Tehr for his music. This production of Family Theater Incorporated was directed by David Young and others who appeared in tonight's play were Joe DeVal, Joe Forte and Bud Widdem. Next week our Family Theater stars will be Spring Barrington and Ralph Morgan in The Perfect Wife. Your hostess will be Lisbeth Scott. This is Ruth Hazy saying good night and God bless you. This series of the Family Theater broadcast played possible by the thousands of you who felt the need for this kind of program by the Mutual Broadcasting System which has responded to this need and by a friend of the New York Foundling Hospital which cares for homeless and motherless babies without distinction of race, creed or color. Be with us next week at the same time when our Family Theater stars will be Spring Barrington and Ralph Morgan with Lisbeth Scott as hostess. Tony Lofrano speaking. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.