 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. You know, fellas and girls, sometimes we think that mother and dad are just a bit stuffy with their advice and counsel. We even feel that our parents try to take the fun out of life. Well, that's not true. What mom and dad tell us is for our own good. Life would be so much better if we'd listen to what older folks tell us. This is the story about two young fellas who wouldn't listen to experienced advice. And it almost cost them, well, say I'm almost giving the story away. Stick around for a breathtaking story, The End of the Role. Here's a telegram for you. I came past the Western Union office and the way up here and Sid stuck it in my hand as I went by. Well, thanks, pal. I wonder what's up. Hey, maybe his uncle left him his old sway back mule. Yeah, for his model T. Ford. Bad news, fellas. Well, how bad? My old friend Nathaniel Norton is sending his son Bart and a friend of his out here for a couple of months on a vacation. Uh-oh. And what kind of rascals are these young whippersnappers, Bill? Well, I guess they're well-behaved as far as that goes to me. Well, then we haven't anything to worry about. Perhaps not, but I don't like being responsible for his son and friend. I'll keep my eye on them, Bill. Well, thanks, pal. We've got lots of trail work to do in the next couple of weeks. Well, when are these young seers coming, Bill? Tonight. We'll meet them at the station. Two young tenderfeeds, isn't he? Yeah, they're coming toward us. Man, he must be Bart Norton and his friend. Excuse me, sir. Are you Bill Jefferson? Yes. You must be Bartholomew Norton. Yes, I am. Just call me Bart. This is my friend Jeff Murdock. How do you do? Fine, thank you. I'd like you to meet Henry Scott and Stumpy Jenkins. Hi, Henry. Hi, Bart. All right, station wagon just outside the depot. We'll give you a hand with your luggage. Say, this is a wonderful place you have here, Mr. Jefferson. Thanks, Bart. Just call me Bill. I've never been in a ranger's office before. Is that right? Well, I hope you'll see a lot of you in the next few weeks, Jeff. See, did you ever see hoop snakes, honey? No, Stumpy. What do they look like? Well, they're big, long snakes. They grab a hold of their tail with their mouth and roll down the road like a hoop. Oh, go on, Stumpy. That's not true. It ain't, huh? Where do you think they get the name hoop snake from? Well, maybe you're right. Sure, that's just like the snake we got out here, that milk's cows. It's called the milk snake. Hey, wait a minute. I'm not going to swallow that one. Why don't you guys lay off? Well, it's like the yarn about the left-handed monkey wrench. Monkey wrench? Come in, too. I've heard of a cow wrench and a sheep wrench. Never heard of a monkey wrench before. Oh, Stumpy. Oh. All joking aside, though, Bill, I've never seen a left-handed monkey wrench. You haven't? Why, they've got one down at Pete's garage. Can we go look at it? My sure. The garage is just a block down the street. Come on, Bart. I want to see that wrench. We'll be back in a few minutes, fellas. You got your nerve, Bill Jefferson. If I had to pull that, you'd have turned blue in the face. Well, old timer, it's like you said. We're trying to harden up their tender feet. We'll pick them up at the garage in a couple of minutes and head for home. It's almost supper time. It sure is peaceful and quiet out here. And I could sit on the porch all night and listen to the crickets and katydids. Yeah. Lord sure knew what he was doing when he created the earth. He knew that man needed time to rest, so they'd be fresh for a new day. You're right, sonny. See, I hope you ain't got no hard feelings about that left-handed monkey wrench. And the hoop snake and the milk snake. We had to initiate you fellas into the ways of the west. That stumpy's right. We hope you haven't taken offense. No, Bill, we haven't. We expected to have tricks pulled on us. Yeah. This is milder than we expected. Well, I think it's time we hit the hay, fellas. Why don't you sleep here tonight, Stumpy? Twist my arm, will you? How about mom's wheat cakes for breakfast? That does it. I'm staying. Let's have our devotions and then turn in. In the morning, we'll saddle up for a long trip on the trail. Easy, boy. But, Jeff, I'm leaving Henry here to entertain you. Well, we appreciate that, Bill. Just one thing I didn't mention, Barn. Your father said in his wire to me that you're not to do any mountain climbing. What? That's right. But that's what we wanted to do most of all. What's dad thinking about? He's thinking about your safety part. I must say, I agree with him. So remember, no mountain climbing. Oh, okay. Now, you can use one of our cars to take the fellas around, Henry. Oh, fine, Bill. I'll take them sightseeing. When you'll be back. In about ten days. Well, fellas, we've seen about all there is to see around Naughty Pine. We sure appreciate how you've taken us around, Henry. That's right. You've been a swell host. Oh, forget it, fellas. I'm glad to do it. When will Bill be back, Henry? All about Wednesday, I imagine, Jeff. We'll have to dig up something to keep us busy for a few days. Well, I won't be able to help you for a day or so. I have some work to do over at headquarters. Jeff, I'm bored stiff. Henry's got work to do, and here we sit. Yeah, what'll we do? Go mountain climbing? What? What? Your dad'll scalp you for that. Oh, dad won't care as long as we're careful? Oh, don't take me wrong, Bart. I'm all for it, but... But nothing, Jeff. As long as we're careful, who'll care? Yeah, maybe you're right. When will we start? How about right now? Okay, let's go. You got to this ledge without any trouble, Jeff? Yeah, but it scares me when I look down. We've been climbing almost straight up. Never look down when you're climbing. What do you say we start again? Yeah. Yeah, we can't stay on this ledge. Right. Say, Jeff, what do we do if a strong wind comes up? Oh, don't worry. I got my pick set. I'll go first. Okay. Here goes. Got the pick set again, Jeff? Yeah, come ahead, Bart. Jeff, hang on, the pick's slipping. Bart! Jeff, are you all right? No, Bart. I think my ankle's broken. It's a 90-pine right now. Let's go, Storm. Plenty of good CU fellows again. Got kind of lonesome on the northern boundary, didn't it? Long time. Not see anybody. Maybe you started talking to yourself, eh? Not quite. Oh, Storm, boy. He's a king. It's all right, fella. I don't know where the rock slide is, old timer. He's a king. It sure sounds like rock slides start. I wonder where those large stones came from, and why? Well, sir, up on ledge, on side of mountain. Huh? Great scout. How'd those men get up there? You'd have to be a monkey to scale that mountain. You'd have to be a monkey with magnets in feet. That's straight up, 500 feet. There's two of them up there as far as I can make out. Let's go back to town and get some rescue gear. Come on, Storm. Hey, let's go, boy. Come on, get him up. The rangers are leaving. What do we do now? Maybe they've gone for help. Oh, sure. Why didn't I think of that? They know we're up here. We'll be back, I hope. I'm sorry I got you into this mess, Jeff. You couldn't help it. The rock gave way. Perhaps. But if I'd listened to my dad's advice, we wouldn't be in this mess. Bill warned us, too. What's the use of crying over spilt milk? Even if your word hurt, we couldn't climb down with the wind blowing up the way it is. That's right, Bart. All we can do is wait and hope. Yeah, and pray. There's Henry in front of the office. He looks worried. We find out what's wrong in a minute. Something's there by the look on his face. Oh, Storm. Henry, what's the matter? It's Bart and Jeff. They've been gone all day. You know where they went? No, I left them at the house when I came over here to do some work. Mom says they took off about an hour after her left. Bill, you think maybe they fell as up on ledge? I don't know, Gray Wolf. I'm going to find out. How do you figure to do that, young fella? With a helicopter. Bring copter closer to mountain, Bill. Okay. Hold on, though. I gotta be careful of downdrafts. Hey, Bill, what are we gonna do if those crazy guys did climb onto the ledge? Get them off, pal. Can you see them now, Gray Wolf? All right. Get dark now. Hard to see through glasses. Here's the landing spotlight on the copter. I'll shade it on the ledge, Gray Wolf. How's that? Oh, I see plenty of good now. Can you tell who they are yet? You're right, Bill. That Bart and Jeff on ledge. Jeff, that must have been Bill and Henry and the other rangers in the copter. Yeah. Well, now they know we're up here. Hey, Jeff, you're shivering. I'm getting cold, Bart. I think I've got a fever. Jeff, I guess it's no use to tell you how sore I am about getting you into this mess. Your ankle looks worse all the time. That's all right, Bart. You couldn't help it. Here, put my shirt on. What'll you do to keep warm? I can move around. You can't. You'll need your shirt. The wind's getting colder. No, you take it. Go and get us off here soon. Sure, but how's he gonna do it? Nobody can climb up here in this wind. These boxes look like they'll take a beating. Use plenty of rope around them, Henry. Okay, Bill. We've got everything in boxes they need. Food, blankets, first aid kits, waterproof canvas. Fine. Let's take off then. Everybody aboard? Go ahead. I'll close the door. Take it away, sonny! See you man the spotlight. Gray Wolf, Stumpy. You fellas man the wind. She'll lower the supplies. Okay, Bill. Bring the copter closer, Bill. Shine the light on the side of the mountain above us. There. How's that? That's fine, Henry. I won't be able to get much closer because of that overhanging part of the mountain. That's bad. What do you mean, Gray Wolf? You're not able to lower supplies on Ledge. We're too far away from Ledge. But see an air to drop these here supplies now, young fella? I can't move any closer to the mountain. A sudden gust of wind could push us toward the rock and smash the propeller blades to bits. How are we going to get the supplies to Barton Jeff then? Try swinging the cable back and forth like a pendulum. Perhaps you can get them on the ledge that way. Ah, maybe that's a good idea. We try it. Lay on the floor and reach through the windshield and swing the cable. Lower away, Gray Wolf. You say one lower. All right, lower away. Hang out the box and cable swinging. Let the copter down a little, Bill. It might help. Okay. Enough? Yeah, that's good. We can't get close enough to the ledge. Now take in the cable, fellas. I've got a better idea. We'll go back to the airport and rig it up. Get those supplies on the ledge. Take this rifle and make a weighted plug. It's just a hair smaller than the rifle barrel. Well, I get it. You're going to do the same thing as the lifesavers do on the coast. Exactly, pal. We'll tie a thin and light rope to the weighted plug. Stumpy, you can fire it at the ledge. As soon as the line falls on the ledge, then Barton Jeff can haul in the thin line. Hey, that's all right. On the end of the thin line, we'll tie a heavier line. When the ledge gets the heavier line, we can put the regular line on the end of that. When they pull the third line in, then we can send supplies. Right. Henry, is the power megaphone on board? Yes, it is, Bill. All right, let's go, fellas. You're freezing. Here, take your shirt back. You know nothing doing. I'll just move around a little. Watch out for the edge of the ledge. Hey, here comes the helicopter again. There's the spotlight. We must be going to try something else to get those boxes to us. We've got supplies here for you. Food and blankets. We're going to fire a weighted plug at the ledge. On the end of the plug is a lifeline. When you get your hands on the lifeline, start hauling until you get a heavy line on the ledge. Stay right where you are, and don't move around. When you hear the plug hit, then try to grab the line. Did you hear that, Jeff? We're going to get supplies. Yes. Thank the Lord for that. Boy, I'm so hungry I could eat rocks. Okay, fellas. Keep your heads down and don't move. Here it comes. There it is. Get it, Bart. I got it. I got it. Start pulling it in, Bart. You won't have to be hungry and cold now. The last box. Good work, boys. Henry, tell them we'll be back in the morning to get them off the ledge. Bart, Jeff, we'll be back in the morning to get you off the ledge. Just take it easy until we get to you. Don't worry. We'll get you off. I hope you ain't bragging, young fella. There's going to be plenty of tough climb. Well, let's go back home and get some rest. We'll find out how tough a climb that is in the morning. You ready, Grey Wolf? Uh, me ready now, Bill. Stumpy, Henry. You fellas just hold tight here until we find out if we can climb this mountain or not. Okay, Bill. We won't run off and leave you. And Grey Wolf, I think we ought to climb parallel to each other. Uh, that's a good idea. Then it won't be dangerous from loose rocks. Yeah. All right, let's climb. Me got first solid hold with Pick. Now me climb wall like fly. I hope we can say the same thing when we're 400 feet up. Let's rest a while, Grey Wolf. Uh, that's a funny, good idea. How far are we? Let me say about a third of way up. I think that's about right. Boy, this wind is terrible. All right. Terror's right off the mountainside. It's no use fooling ourselves. Jeff and Bart must have climbed this with little or no wind interference. It's back down. We'll get steeper as we climb. It's suicide. Go higher. Take it easy climbing down. You have to take it some other way to get Jeff and Bart off that ledge. Boy, am I glad to see you fellas with two feet on terra firma. That's right, Bill. Grey Wolf, we can see the wind push you around on the side of the mountain up there. Yeah, the winds up there are savage on it. Bart and Jeff must have climbed up and the wind was fairly still. Nobody be able to climb up or down to rescue Bart and Jeff. Well, how are we going to get them off then? I wish I knew. They can't stay up there forever, Bill. If we can't get supplies to them... I mean, we can get supplies to them. Why can't we get them off the ledge? Well, getting them on the ledge is one thing, but getting them off is another, Henry. Boxes are supplies and people are two different things. Wait a minute. I've got it. What you said was right, Powell. If we got the supplies on, why can't we get the lads off? Sure, why not? Well, how can we do it, Bill? I'll explain on the way to the airport. Let's get a helicopter and get busy. Are we going to set this up just like we did for the boxes? Yeah, exactly the same, with one chain. What change is that, Bill? Use the cable as much as possible. It'll take the strain better on the winch. Put the heavier rope on the end of the cable. It'll work fine. Use the stout eyes, supplies down the end. I'm going to bring the copter in as close as I can. Do you think it would be better to wait until the winds die down, Bill? No, Powell. Probably won't be another windless day on this canyon for months. Yeah, I guess you're right, Bill. Stand by the power megaphone, Henry. I'm going to hug them out. Okay, I'm ready. Only don't hug it to death. I'm going to try something again, Bart. I wonder what it'll be this time. Bart, Jeff, listen closely. We're going to take you off the ledge. Just like we put the supplies on. This is the only way we can do it. Be sure and tie the rope securely around your chest. Here comes the shock. Jeff, they're going to swing us off the ledge like a pendulum. It'll work. It has to. There it is, Bart. Grab it. I've got it. Pull a thin line until you get the heavy line over. Tie the heavy line securely. When you're ready, wave your eyes with the helicopter. Do just exactly as we say. Your life depends on it. Don't worry, we will. Okay, Jeff. Raise your arms and I'll get this rope around you. But it feels good and tight. I'll hang on to the rope, too. What's that? Yeah, I guess so. Go ahead. Give him the signal. Take him away! Stop, Winch. Let's pull, Jeff, the rest of the way now. Yeah, let's lift together. Am I glad to see you, fellas? We're glad to see you. You said, Bill. You all right, Jeff? I've got a bad ankle. I'll make Jeff comfortable, fellas. Then we'll get Bart off the cliff the same way with this flying banana. It'll be safe and sound, Bart. It feels wonderful, Bill. You tell him, Bart. There's one thing I want to tell Bill and the rest of the fellas. No! What might that be, sonny? I'm awfully ashamed of myself for getting Jeff and myself into this mess. Well, did you learn something from it, Bart? Boy, and how. I'm going to wire dad that I won't do any more mountain climbing and no more disobedience. Oh? When did you decide that? When I was dangling 500 feet in the air on the end of a rope. I guess that's as good a place as any to learn to be obedient, Bart. Well, fellas and girls, I think Bart found that his dad and I knew just a little more than he did. Only it almost cost him his life and the life of his best friend to learn that lesson. I hope it doesn't take you that long to find out. See you next week for more adventure with... Ray! Dear boys and girls, this is Ranger Bill back again for just a third of a minute with an extra word of thanks to you for joining us today. Hope you'll team up with the Rangers every week at this time when your local station gives us this chance to get together. See you then!