 and danger. Hundreds of dramatic behind-the-scenes adventures are all part of the Clyde Beatty story. Here is the story of the wild man from Borneo. We circus folks are constantly on the move. The show picks up and travels almost every day while on tour. On the few occasions that find us in a larger town for two or three days, we get to enjoy sleeping without the jolting of a pullman. A few years ago, Harriet and I were snug and comfortable in a hotel for a change. Hello. Clyde? Yeah, who is it? It's Clarence. Clarence Hill. His brother have ideas for you. Hold it, hold it. Look, what's the idea calling me at this time of the night? I'm true. And here's something sensational for you. Two o'clock in the morning, what's the matter with that guy? Spectacular. Sensational. Clarence Hill. You know, that fast-talking animal agent. Oh, thought he was in Borneo or something. Did he go along this way? If that sharpie had been more than a nickel's worth away, he'd have reversed the chart. Maybe you shouldn't have hung up on him. Hang him from the center pole if he wakes me up again. Maybe it doesn't have something important to show you. You'll have to wait a little more. Look, this is the first time in six weeks we've had a chance to sleep in a hotel instead of a pullman or a trailer. I'm tired and this bed feels good. Night, dear. Night. Oh, no. Really, I get my hands on that guy. Now, don't be hasty, dear. Why do they have to have the phone clear across the room? A man could freeze his freedom. Look here, you big bad boon. I've paid for a night's sleep in a hotel room and I intend to get it. Call me once more, sir. Help me. I'll strangle you. Gee, I'm sorry, boss, but say, who is this? It's me, Mr. Fady. Thanks. Well, what in places do you want? What'll I do with it? With what? The geek Mr. Hill brought from Borneo. Geek? Well, it ain't exactly a geek. I guess you'd call him a wild man. What did you say? It's a reel for true wild boar. This is ridiculous. He's been carrying on, so I figured he was hungry. I tossed a hamburger into his cage. He slammed it right back at my face. Look, put Hill on the phone. Mr. Hill left. Okay, I'll be right over. What is it now, Clyde? Don't look now, but the Clyde Bady Circus has just acquired a wild man from Borneo. Back to Clyde Bady's adventure entitled, Wild Man from Borneo. It was P.T. Barnum who declared there's one boar in every minute. However, with all respect to this great showman, it's always been my policy as a circus owner never to take advantage of my patron. Tricks of the trade, such as dressing a kid in a monkey skin and billing him as Joe Joe the Eight Boy, are never far to the Clyde Bady Circus. It was after two in the morning when Harriet and I hurried to the circus lot from the hotel. We were anxious to see what sort of a trick Clarence Hill the animal agent had played on us. I think Clarence has really brought back a wild man from the jungles of Borneo. Probably just another of his tricks. He'd pull anything to make a sale. I'm glad you're here, Mr. Bady. Hank, what's going on? Just, just take a look at that cage. That's the wildest looking human I've ever seen. Horrible. Ah, probably just a fake, a stunt of hills. I've never seen anything so fierce. Chill, you know what? I'll get to an hour. If that cage gives way, look out. That's a fake, I tell you. There's no such thing as a wild man from Borneo. Hey, you in there? Cut the act. I won't buy it. Come off it, Mr. Yorak's corny as high-button shoes. Oh, well, I get that hill character trying to pass off a thing like this on me. Somebody mentioned my name? What's Clarence Hill? It's a service, ma'am. Clarence Hill, purveyor of acts unusual, strange, and startling. Guaranteed to amaze, confound, and bring in checkers at the box office. Why, you cheater. Well, what do you think of him? Don't tell me I can see how pleased you are with my world, ma'am. Why, you foamy. Is he something? Turn, stick, line up, folks. You can't afford to miss it. The one, the only, the amazing wild man from Borneo. More savage than any jungle beast in captivity, the mixed and late nature in the raw. The beast that walks like a man, step right up, one dime, ten cents, one ten, part of a dollar. You can't afford to miss it. Stop it. And get that, that, that thing out of here. Are you kidding? You know I don't go for that stuff, Clarence. I've never had a geek in my show and I never will. A geek? Why, Clarence, no geek, it's a genuine wild man. Now don't give me that. I tell you, we found him in a Borneo jungle. He put up a terrific fight before we captured him, took 15 men to hold him. You come over here a minute, Clarence. Look, are you on the level? Why, sure. You know I'd never try to pass anything phony off when you cried. You, you mean you found that, that creature wild in the jungle? That muscle man in there could tear a person limb from limb. Well then it's the most revolting thing I've ever heard of. Revolting? Look, Clarence, you could make a million bucks with an attraction like this. You get off this lot now. Okay, okay, I was only doing your favor. Giving you the beat on the rest of the boys. If you don't go for the deal, somebody else will. Clarence Hill, if you ever set foot on my circus lot again, I'll have you thrown out on your ear. All right, Clyde, if that's the way you want it. The way I want it is for you to get yourself in that, that thing out of my sight. You're passing up a good thing. Beat it. Well, I'll get my truck and some of the boys to move the case. Wait, I thought you'd change your mind. I've changed my mind, all right, about one thing. What? You won't haul that wild man away from here. What do you mean? I mean, I'm calling the sheriff. What for? How did you get that wild man into the country? Why, I just... Puggle him in. Well, no, look here, Clyde. You just puggled him in by plane, didn't you? Hey, look here, Clyde. You just said that. Well, I'll get my property off you a lot. But you keep your nose out of this. If anyone touches that cage, you'll be sorry. You can't do this. Oh, no, I'm gonna call the sheriff. Come in. Oh, hello, sheriff. I'm a lady. Well, I'm glad you've come. What have you decided about our little problem? Yeah, it ain't no little problem, Mr. Beatty. To be honest with you, like I told you last night, I'm stuck. Mr. Beatty, I demand that you release that poor man at once. Why? As a leading citizen in this community, I hereby go on record as declaring this the most atrocious, the powerless, the most horrible, the... Just a moment, madam. I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you. I'm fortunate not to have had the displeasure of meeting an inhuman, cruel man like yourself. Well, now, just a moment, Ms. Post. I mean, Mr. Beatty had nothing to do with this here, wild man. Well, don't tell me that. Any man who would beat and whip poor defenseless lions and tigers like he does is capable of any atrocity. Helpless lions and tigers? Madam, you don't know what you're saying. I don't. Well, young man, I intend to see that your circus will never play this community again. But I see you beat those unfortunate days. I assure you, Mrs. Post. See, I dare forcing nature's wild creatures to live in captivity. Well, you don't understand. Carving them, whipping them, abusing them till they cower in their cages. Well, have you run out of food? I've had you arrested for nothing. Now, just a moment. Do your duty. But, Ms. Post, Mr. Beatty hasn't done anything. Never mind, Sheriff. I'll handle this. Mrs. Post, I know you're well-meaning, but do you realize that wild animals in captivity are better off, better fed, and better cared for than in their native jungles? It's not true. It is true. Are you calling me a liar, young man? Not at all. I simply want to set you straight. You can't talk your way out of this. I've seen you whip those animals in the arena. I don't whip them, Mrs. Post. I just snap a whip in front of them. What? If I ever hurt one, they'd tear me to shreds. All I do is bluff them into performing. If I told you what percentage of jungle animals ever lived in maturity, you wouldn't believe me. I certainly wouldn't. Why, most of them starve to death or they're killed by other animals. Those in captivity live far longer than the average. Well, none of this has anything to do with that poor young man in the cage I'd demand to release him. Mrs. Post, that unfortunate creature was discovered running wild in the jungle. How he happened to be there, I don't know. I'm as concerned about him as you are. That's right, Mrs. Post. The man that captured him was trying to sell him to Miss Beatty. Sell him? The idea. I'm just keeping the wild man until we find some means of disposing of him. Why not simply turn him loose? You don't understand. He's a wild man, savage, ferocious. He'd kill anything or anybody you've got in his way. Gracious. Now, you see why we can't just turn him loose. Well, what are we going to do, Mr. Beatty? Yes, what about it? I don't know. I'm anxious to get him off my hands, too. Maybe this is the case with the immigration department. After all, the wild man was illegally smuggled into the country. I guess you're right, Sheriff. Technically, anyway. Oh, shoot a wire to the county seat if I can't get some action on this case. I hate to keep the wild man overnight again, but I, well, I guess there's nothing else I can do. Mr. Beatty, you don't think the creature could escape? I've taken every precaution, Mrs. Postman. Well, you'd better. If we're murdered in our beds, you'll be held responsible, young man. Everything happens to me. The very idea. That, Mrs. Post, saying you abuse animals. I only wish you'd give me happy attention. You'd give your pet. How's being a woman? Well, it's true. You're not serious, Harriet. Of course I am. You spend more hours with those cats than you do with me. Oh, great. Now, this is all I need. Well, we haven't been together for a whole day and month. But, honey... Don't you deny it, Clyde baby. I'm not denying it, but please be reasonable. I have to take care of my animals. Maybe Mrs. Post is right. What? I said maybe Mrs. Post is right. But, honey... Maybe you are a cruel, inhuman man. Harriet. Well, you probably enjoy beating those poor animals. The wonder you haven't started beating me. Now, just a minute, Harriet. I... Now, I know you don't. If you think you can put me on the defensive with a woman strict like that, you're mistaken. Oh, God. I haven't got enough of you without you pulling gay. You should have seen your face. Just goes to show you. A sensible person like you can get, well, womanish ideas. Think of what an old busybody like Mrs. Post can do. She's liable to cause trouble. Clyde, why don't you come to bed? You're wearing yourself out, pacing the floor. Oh, I know. You really shouldn't let that woman upset you so. It's not Mrs. Post who's worrying me. A wise man? Yeah. Well, we'll be rid of him in a day or so. Sure. Only meanwhile, if he ever broke out, well, it'd be awful. Well, isn't he in a strong cage? Yes. I had him transferred to an extra strong one. But what? Well, you see, Harriet, he's not just a wild animal. He's a man. He has more than animal intelligence, even if he is wild. You mean, you're afraid he might figure out how to unfasten his cage? Something like that. He's strong, too. Stronger than any human I've ever seen. I wish we'd hear something from the authorities. How do I? That poor sheriff. All of this is way over his head. I bet he'd rather have a gang of cattle rustlers on his hands. That's for sure. That's green. Somebody's in trouble. He's done it. That wild man's escaped. And now, back to Clyde Beatty and the wild man from Borneo. When the wild man escaped from the cage while I was holding him for the authorities, I found myself in one of the worst predicaments of my career. Chills raced in an icy chase up and down my spine as I realized what might result from this unfortunate occurrence. The entire circus family was aroused. They poured from the sleeping quarters and were gathering in excited knots around the empty cage when I arrived. All right, friends, hold it. Hold it. Hank, where's Hank? Over here, Mr. Beatty. All right, now quiet, all of you. You've got to be quiet. You were guarding the cage, weren't you, Hank? Yes, sir. Well, what happened? I was jumped, Mr. Beatty. Jumped? Yeah. Four or five guys snuck up behind me. They tied me up and stuck a gag in my mouth. Ah, that must have been some of Clarence Hill's men. I didn't have a chance, boss. All right, then what happened? They knocked the wild man cold with black jacks. Then they got in the cage and tied him up with heavy ropes. They were just about to drag him out of the cage when he come to. But how could anyone... Mr. Beatty, I've never seen anything like it in my life. The critter bounced to his feet, ropes and all. The men dashed out of the cage and didn't wait to slam the door. Then the wild man asked his back. Them ropes busted like so much twine. He howled like turds and it took off in the direction the men went. All right. All right, now listen, all of you. Listen, I don't have to tell you how dangerous this creature is. He must be recaptured at once. I've already sent word to the sheriff. He should be here soon with some men. I want all the women to stay in one place. Normans see that they're adequately guarded. You men organize yourselves in groups of not less than six. And whatever happens, don't separate. There isn't a minute to lose. That critter sure is traveling fast. Yeah, he probably wants to get as far away from that cage as possible. Where do you suppose he'll go? Oh, he'll head for cover. Try to lose himself in some woods. Yeah, there is. Helly country. Wood is kind of sparse. It wouldn't make very good cover. Oh, he'll try to find a cave or something to hide in. Cave? What's the matter, Sheriff? I'll try to maybe mamma's cave in the Carlsbad Caverns. You see, our county's got the biggest cave in the country. Say, that's right. That wild man never gets in there. We'll never find him. Well, where's the entrance? About a mile in the direction we're going. There are four entrances, though. Oh, fine. That's all we need. Aren't those hounds paying? Yeah, that's Clem Potter. I ordered him out with his dogs as soon as I heard about the escape. Good. Now come on. Sounds like them dogs is on the trail. Well, let's go. There they are. They must have cornered the wild man. That's one of the entrances to the cave. Well, then you were right, Sheriff. If he got in there, we're in for it. That's you, Hank. Yes, sir. We've run the critter into this year's cave. What do we do now? We won't need the dogs anymore, Sheriff. You better send them off. All right. Clem, you take them hounds going back. You haven't got any suggestions, Mr. Beatty? Well, we know he's still inside. First, we better postmen at each of the entrances. Okay, I'll pick them in. Somebody's got to go in after him. Phew, yeah. Might be hard to get volunteers with that job. It's got to be done. We can't just wait here until we starve him out. It might take weeks. That's right. Plenty of fresh water in there for him. Is there anybody around who really knows these caves? Well, there's a couple of professional guides, but the man who's really made you study this lay out's Dr. Lund. Already sent one of the men for him. Let's hope that Dr. gets here quick. I certainly appreciate your help, Dr. Lund. Yep, true to. Not at all. I'm glad to be of service. Made a hobby of studying the caves into the bay. Got lost at that a couple of times. But don't think that could happen anymore. It looks like the entire population's gathering around. Yeah. Now stand back, folks. Let's have it quiet. How many of you think should go in, Dr? Well, not more than two or three. A small group can move faster, and there's less chance of someone getting lost. In that case, I'll go along. Shall we take another man? Take me, Clyde! Clarence Hill. Well, I got you into this, Miss Clyde. I want to help you out of it. How about it, Dr? He doesn't look like much of a climber. What do I guess he'll do? Good. Let's go. Dr, this is the most amazing place I've ever seen. Yes. I've been in here thousands of times, and it never fails to fascinate me. And it scares me to death. Well, that echo is fantastic. Our voices seem to boom out all over the place. It's like being inside of a gigantic megaphore. It's like being a nice box. I'm freezing. Let's start down this tunnel to the left. Since it's allowed, just your whale man probably followed it. Don't move too fast. These rocks are wet from the dripping water. I sure hate to fall into one of those pits. If you stay behind me, you'll be all right. I know where all the clemises are. Baby, keep it a hand on my back. And here, keep all the baby. Don't worry. Now stick closer than the paper on a wall. Now we can turn the lamp low. You'll notice the phosphorescence in the rocks picks up every gleam of light. It's amazing. It's like being surrounded by millions of sparkling diamonds. I hope we're not in the wrong tunnel. So far, I haven't seen any trace of the man. Wait, look there. What? What's the blotch of blood? He must have cut himself on a sharp rock. Now we'll have no trouble today than him. He can't be very far away. He can't move in the dark as fast as we can with his light. Hey, I just thought of something. He's going to be able to see us first. That's right. We'll have to be very cautious. Hill, do you have my medical kit? Yes, sir. Well, whatever you do, don't lose it. There are some things in there we're liable to need. Here, that flail juts off at the right angles. Are you ready, man? Ready. Well, I'm not ready, but lead on, laddus. For what seemed ours, the three of us followed the occasional drops of blood through the labyrinth of tunnels that wound deep underground. The phosphorescence from the surrounding rocks created an eerie atmosphere. The farther we progressed, the more hushed and tense we became. I don't know what the others were thinking, but my thoughts soared into a realm of fantasy and wild imaginings. It was hard for me to bring myself around to the reality of the situation. Suddenly, my heart dropped into my boots. Clarence Hill's clammy hand was no longer pressed against my back. Something wrong? Betty? Yeah. Hill, he's disappeared. Good heavens! Should he have fallen? He would have screamed. We'd have hurt him. Well, what could have happened? He might have dropped back for just a moment, but then then turned down one of the branch tunnels. In that case, he could have yelled his lungs out, and he wouldn't have hurt him. Oh, great. Don't worry, we'll find him. Well, that isn't what I'm thinking. It's a wild man. What if he finds him first? It's him. It's a wild man. That would have hurt anything so blood-truddling. Look right to what we caught him. If not, he wouldn't scream like that. He was found in trouble and just a hit. A fall of water that skews the only exit. That must be what he is. Listen, it's Hill. He's in there with the wild man. Let's go. It's just a hit and all this rock. Kill me. Turn up the light. There's Hill up on that light. He's a wild man. He's starting to climb after him. We're coming. We're coming. He looks like he's going to faint. If he does, he'll fall right in the wild. He's been steeped. Clarence, pull yourself together. Hang on. It bleaches out of us. He's hesitated. Doesn't know which way to go. That may give us the time we need. But the tomb has been never to hold him. Not while he's conscious. But I've got an idea. I hope Clarence still has your medical kit. He has. That's frozen in his glass. Good. Is there any ammonia in it? Yes. A large blue bottle of it. Clarence, listen carefully. Do exactly as I say and you'll be all right. Save me. Open the medical kit. Take out the large blue bottle you'll find inside. See, it is. Here's the bottle there. See the earth. That's ammonia. Unscrew the top. Take careful aim. When you're sure you won't miss, bring it at the wild man. You understand? I hope he doesn't miss. The cleat should have crawled up to the ledge. Now, Clarence. Now. Let's give him. Let's give him a seal. Clarence, give me that kit. Once he does, he wants right from that arm and he'll knock your head off. The fuse from the ammonia. Stop him. We take our time. I can maneuver for a position. Hold on. I'm soaking some glass from the toilet. Now, there's your test, baby. He's off, Clarence. He slipped it. Look, he's knocked himself out. But not for long. What are you doing? A little with a platter of hum. And we'll keep this for the nice and quiet. There, that does it. Good. Let's get the men down here and put this poor creature in a safe place. Hotel bed gonna feel good. But Clyde, you haven't finished telling me all that happened. I'm tired, Harriet. Can't you wait a morning? Oh, where's the wild man now? Dr. Lund had him taken to a mental hospital over at the county seat. They've got him in an escape-proof cell. Oh, poor thing. What will happen to him? Well, Dr. Lund discussed the case with the specialists at the hospital. They all agree there's a chance that our wild man can be civilized. Oh, it doesn't seem possible. They feel it'll work. You see, the only thing that made this man wild was his environment. Well, on that basis, a change of environment, plus patience and kindness, should turn him into the civilized man he was meant to be. Oh, I hope it works. So do I. Oh, well, I'm going to sleep. Call me a week from Tuesday. Before you go to sleep, Clyde, will you answer just one more question? OK, what is it? How in the world do you manage to get into so much trouble? It's easy, darling, easy. All I have to do is stretch out on the bed like this. Oh, and then the phone rang. Oh, oh, no. Here we go again. And now here is Clyde Beatty. One of our featured acts a few years ago was a twin brother acrobatic adagio act. Arvin and Garvin, the marvelous marvins, was the way they were built. And their act was unusual in many respects, chief of which was that they were midgets. But I was to learn that big trouble could come from little people and that good things don't always come in small packages. You'll hear the whole exciting story when next we meet. All stories are based upon incidents in the career of the world-famous Clyde Beatty and the Clyde Beatty Circus. The Clyde Beatty show is produced by Shirley Thomas. Wild Man from Borneo was written by Robert T. Smith and Frank Hart Clossick. All names used were fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. This is a Commodore production.