 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 colds, blistering heat, snow, floods, bears, rattlesnakes, mountain lions. Yes, all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done. There was excitement in Ranger headquarters. I was watching the teletype as it skipped across the yellow paper printing its message. The other rangers were grouped around me and peering over my shoulder. I could tell the fellas had a somber look on their faces as they watched the message unfold in type. This was the beginning of the story, Ice Pack. There's a ship stuck in the ice off the coast of Alaska. There's sea chase here. Now doing much chasing right now. Wow, look at that. This ship is loaded with government scientific apparatus and scientists. Yes, sir. And the ice is sealing up tight around it. How would you like to be in ice prison, huh? I not like that. Too dangerous. I'll say it's dangerous, Grey Wolf. The ice could crush that ship. Even steel girders and plates can't resist the heavy pressure of thousands of tons of ice. And it says 30 passengers and 15 crewmen on board that ship. Boy, those fellas are in a spot. Well, that's the end of the message. I'll say one thing about that situation. What's that, Bill? I wouldn't want to be in those fellas' shoes for all the tea in China. New officers and those in charge for the expedition meet in the captain's cabin in five minutes. That is all. Where's the watch of the bridge, Mr. Colson? The second officer, Mr. Hannibal, captain. Go to the bridge and tell Mr. Hannibal that the captain requests his presence with the rest of the senior officers. Also, tell Mr. Gilquist it's the captain's orders that he temporarily relieved Mr. Hannibal on the bridge. Aye-aye, sir. I hope this isn't the last staff meeting I'll have on my ship. Gentlemen, the captain. That is, find yourself a place around the table. How bad is the situation, Captain Manduz? Dr. Nichols, it's pretty bad. I've just rechecked my calculations. We're drifting slowly into the middle of this ice pack. To the south, sir? No, Mr. Hannibal, to the north. I regret to say. And what is the significance of that, Captain? By drifting to the north, Doctor, we'll meet another ice pack and join it. As near as I can make out, this adjacent pack is about ten miles square. If we join that and another joins that in turn... Well, you understand what I mean. We're locked in. That's a fine mess, isn't it? Yes. For all practical purposes, gentlemen, this hull of steel would crumble like a matchbox under the tremendous pressure. Also, being carried farther north as we are, that means the ice will freeze more solidly instead of being loosely joined together. Even if the ship held together, we could drift all winter locked in this ice. But our food and fuel will hold for only 60 days on full rations, 120 on half rations. An important factor, Mr. Hannibal. Captain, what is your plan of action? At the present moment, only to wait. We're radioing constantly for help, but the atmospheric conditions up here are bad for radio transmission. Yes, and we're in the part of the world where everything works opposite to what it should. Gentlemen, let's face it, we're in a spot, a terrible spot. Frankly, it's a moot question as to whether we'll ever get out of it alive. Same story, Mr. Hannibal. No contact. Magnetic fields have isolated us like iron curtains. We got through with one call for help and no more. Still, the Navy did answer, Captain, which is something to be thankful for. Yes, at least they know we're up here. But as to giving them our position and help them find us, what can we do? They can't roam all over the North Pacific looking for us. Perhaps they can track us with radar, sir. Even if they did, these ice packs are so many and so vast, they wouldn't know where we are. I guess you're right, Captain. It's pretty hopeless. How are the men taking it and the other officers? Well, first officer steward is ill with the grip, sir. Yes, I looked on to them this morning. What a time for our first officer to be stricken. And the others? The rest of the crew are in fair shape. Getting a little jittery, however. I think they'll be all right as long as they've got plenty to eat. I'm afraid that won't be for long, Mr. Hannibal. Monday will be forced to cut rations in half. We've been out here a week now and no sign of help coming. We've got to do something. But, sir, we have enough food to last us 60 days. Surely we'll be rescued by then. You say surely. What makes you so sure, Mr. Hannibal? Let's be realistic now. What if the ship splits wide open from the pression? We have to abandon ship. What about food then? I never really thought of that. Rather, I've known it could happen but chose to ignore it. What would we do then, sir? If the ship breaks open, we'll have to strike out over the ice in small parties. Each party would be responsible for its own food and supplies. Some of the food will get lost, of course, bound to in such hazardous expeditions. No, Mr. Hannibal, we have to begin half rations. Perhaps the sooner, the better. They won't like it, sir. It'll make them, well, sensitive. I'm sure if they're told why we're doing it, they'll understand. Better inform them immediately. And if it makes them sensitive, as you say, it's something to be thankful for. They won't be nearly so sensitive when they're dead. Ranger headquarters, Bill Jefferson speaking. Bill, this is Colonel Anders. Oh, how are you, sir? Nice to hear your voice. It's good to talk. Yes, sir? Fine. Oh, yes, we have. We saw it come in on the teletype. And checking each day. Oh, yes, sir? This is Lisa at Collie City. It's going to take you and the boys to a destination in the southern part of Alaska near the coast. From there, you'll be picked up by the destroyer Peabody. Oh, excuse me, sir, but this comes as a surprise. And I guess, and with you, take Stumpy, Grey Wolf, and Henry. You got it? Yes, sir. Fine. Now, better get packed and on your way. Right away. And what's that, sir? All the gear on board the plane, fellas. Yeah, Bill. How about the dogs and the sleds and the weather equipment? We'll get that in Alaska, Henry. All's have to get aboard. The pilot's waiting, boys. Ah, we get on board now. Hey, it's before a beauty there, young fella. Hey, I'm up. Give me your hand, Henry, and I'll ice you up. Okay, Stumpy. Here I come. I'm it. I am, too. Okay, I'll fasten yourselves down. As soon as I close the hatch, we'll take off. I'm Alaska at all points north. Captain Manders, excuse me, but this waiting is getting on our nerves. Are you doing something to get help? Your impatience is understandable, Dr. Nichols. But don't expect miracles. We've only been able to get through the magnetic field three times with a distress signal. But at least the outside world knows we're still alive. Captain, my men and I want to leave the ship and strike out on our own. Perhaps we can reach the land and then send back help. Don't be fools. You wouldn't last five hours out on those packs with all their traps and crevices and death holes. You seem to forget, Captain. I'm an experienced explorer in ice fields. I know what I'm doing. Do you? I question that, Doctor. In the ice fields you've explored have been solid, hundreds of feet thick. What do you know about these packs and all their sudden treachery? I know what's happened to men who've tried to outsmart these packs. More than one expedition has been lost that I myself put over the side. And I refuse to do it again. But we've been here three weeks now, sir, and nothing's been done except radio for help. I'm going to leave this ship with my men and take a far better chance. Doctor Nichols, you're forgetting one thing. You're talking to the captain of this ship. He orders, I'm responsible for every soul on this vessel. And I say, nobody's going to set a foot on that ice unless this ship begins to split apart. Understand? Yes, Captain. I understand. I'm aware that you're responsible for this ship, its crew, its passengers, and its cargo. However I think... Well, then, please, let me continue to carry that responsibility as I see fit. Now, if we use our heads and work together, we may get out of this alive. But as each man for himself, every last one of us will perish. Commander Cole at your service, Rangers. Glad to meet you, Commander. Hello, Mr. Jefferson. Welcome aboard the destroyer Peabody. We'll save the other introductions for later, if you don't mind. Must get underway in a few minutes. But we haven't brought the sled dogs and their gear aboard yet, Commander. I'm sorry, sir. You won't be able to use sleds and dogs where the ship is marooned. Oh? You mean the packs are not solid enough? That's my understanding. The packs are certainly drifting north, judging by the location of the three radio signals we've had. Perhaps the ice will be one solid mass by the time we get there. So we must get to them as soon as possible. That's right. There's not an hour to lose. I'll have someone see that the dogs are taken back, and then we'll get underway. Bill, what does this mean? The condition of the ice packs, that is. I mean just one thing, Henry. The ice packs are full of death traps. Soft spots, cracks, break off chunks that give way with a man's weight. A man fell into that water, he wouldn't last two minutes. Any more signals from the sea chaser, Commander? No, Bill, not one. How far away are the ice packs? Oh, we should be getting into a general area very soon. We've been doing 30 knots all night and most of the day. Yes, I judged it was full speed ahead from the vibration. Mr. Amats wishes to speak to you, Commander. Very well. Excuse me, Bill. Certainly. Commander Cole. Yes, Mads. I'll be right there. Good news, Commander. I don't know. Bill, let's go down to the radar room. They've picked up an object. Looks like a ship. There's trouble brewing in the crew's force. What kind of trouble, Mr. Hannibal? Mutiny. Mutiny? By whom? All of them. Both the crew and the men of the expedition, sir. Are they going out of their minds? What's being done about it? Well, Dr. Nicholas has been trying to calm them down, but I'm afraid for his safety, sir. They're going crazy with fear. All right. We'll go right down there. Here's the revolver. Shoot the first man on the leg that tries to start a fight. Don't jump in the ocean with your orders. We want to get off this ship alive. I tried to control them, Captain, but they are scared out of their wits. What of? Somebody start the room where the ship was sprung a leak. Well, that's nonsense. There's no leak. Now you men, quiet down and come to attention or else. Or else what? We're taking over this ship and you're not going to stop us. No, no, man. Make ready with your revolver, Mr. Hannibal. I'll count to three. And if you don't, quiet down or open fire. One. It's not going to work, sir. We'll have to fire. Two. You're not going to shoot them, are you, Captain? No. See those mattresses along the bulkhead, Mr. Hannibal? Yes, sir. We'll fire into them? Yes. If they don't stop when I count three, I'll scare them, but it won't hurt anybody. Ready? Ready. Three! I hope you men realize I mean what I say. Now that you've decided to stop acting like a bunch of boiled animals will talk sense. Mr. Hannibal, take one of those sailors right in front of you and put onto the bilge. Shake the ship for leaks and report your findings to me at once. Captain, the ship is sound. There isn't a leak nor a split in her seams. Now, you sailor, is this true or not? Not a leak in the whole ship, Captain. Is that satisfied you men? I guess so. I want to say this. Whoever started this evil rumor ought to be put in our irons for inciting a mutiny. Now let's be reasonable. You've still got a good supply of food and water and fuel. Help will soon come. Believe me that it will. Lose faith and you haven't got a thing left. Let's forget this ever happened and go back to your station. Come on, man, let's go back. Well, I'm aged ten years facing that mob. I know what you mean, Doctor. The sea and ice does strange things to men. This ship, it's getting to be a prison for them. Any suggestions how to keep their minds off of this until help comes, Captain? Yes, Mr. Hannibal, keep them working. If they have to scrub the decks with a toothbrush, but keep them busy. I'm sure that's an ice pack we picked up on the radar, Bill. Well, it's certainly not the ship, although it must be somewhere in this area. Wouldn't you say so, Commander? Yes, I would say so, Bill. A present position agrees with the general area of the distress signals that were picked up. How can you put us onto the ice packs so we can set out to look for the sea chaser? No, we can do that all right. This destroyer has a bow that can be used for ramming. We'll wedge into the ice off of an ice pack and put you over the side with your men. Well, that's fine, but won't you get stuck too? No, since we're on the rim of the pack. If I see a trap setting, I'll blast it wide open with dip charges. Oh, sounds good. When do we start? In about two hours. We'll lower you over the bow. Boom, an ice gives me the creeps. You've got everything you need, Bill. Yes, Commander, including a good supply of shells for our very pistol. Okay, now you know the signals we've set up. We'll sound siren blasts every ten minutes until you get back. Commander's ready, Bill. Oh, good, Henry. All right, over the side, then. I go first. Goodbye, sir. So long, Grey Woof. Now listen, men, whatever you do, be sure to watch where you're going. Thanks for your concern, Commander. We'll be back, and God willing, all hands from the sea chaser with us. Don't mind me if I shiver a bit. I'm really not cold. It's just that this boom and ice pack reminds me of a hungry monster devouring ships and men. And it can do it, too, Sonny. Now watch your step now, young fella, and keep those goggles on. Look before each step. Slow going, huh, Bill? Yes, it is. It's necessary. Hey, Pellas, grab me. Be slipping. I got him. It okay, Henry. Phew. Okay. Don't scare an old man like that. If you'd have slipped into that crack, you'd have lost a good leg, young fella. You're telling me. Boy, am I glad you were right behind me, Grey Wolf. I'm glad, too. Henry Scott, I oughta send you right back to the destroyer. Please, Bill. I'll be more careful. Honestly. All right, but watch yourself. Now as we go along, we'll drive these small markers into the ice. They'll help us find our way back. The warship will sound its siren every ten minutes to help give us direction. Bill, I just thought of something. If the ship is stuck in this pack, why don't they blow their horn? I don't know, Henry. Maybe if we wait long enough, they will. Anyway, how are we gonna know which way we're going? I've got a gyro compass, pal. That's how. Come on. Let's push on ahead. We gotta keep going until we find that trapped ship. I don't like that booming ice, Mr. Hannibal. It means pressure's building up from the outside of the ice pack. I don't like it either, sir. It could spell the destruction of the ship, sir. All we have to have happen is to have the ice bash in a bulkhead and we'll have to clear out and take to the ice. Lord, help us then. Yes, only God will be able to help us then. Don't you think we ought to blow the ship's horn more often, sir? Mr. Hannibal, let me congratulate you. That's the first real sign of faith you've shown that help would come. How long have we been out here? About four hours, pal. Oh, it seems like all day. Hey, stop, man. Listen. I didn't hear anything. Did you hear anything, Mr. Hannibal? I'm not sure, Henry. Don't you ever wash your ears! I heard a ship's horn coming from straight ahead. It should be about the middle of the ice pack, I take it. You're imagining things, old timer. I don't think so. I think I hear a ship's horn. I thought I heard something, too. Trouble is, it's to the windward. Let's push on, see if we find where a sound comes from. Right. Wait a minute. Hey, I hear it this time. You guys, you're right. That is a ship's horn. That's a long way off, though. Well, let's get a move on, then. We won't get there standing still. The starboard bulkhead has a piece of ice sticking through it, and that's the truth. Ah, let's get off this time before we sink with it. Come on, man. Let's go over the side. The captain, he won't let us go, and he's got the artillery. Ah, come on. He can only wing a couple of us. The rest of us will get away. You want to die in a ship like rats, or do you want to live? Let's get out of here. Let's get out of here together and go over the side. Captain or no captain? That piece of ice is in there solid, gentlemen. When the surrounding area of the hull hasn't started to crack yet, that rings true. We can brace the watertight door to this compartment and we'll be safe for a while. Yes, as long as a large piece of ice doesn't share us open the midships and pour in tons of water with it. No, gentlemen, I'm afraid I'm going to have to admit that it looks rather black. The ship's beginning to break up, and help hasn't come yet. What does that mean, Captain? That means that in two days we'll have to... have to take to the ice. But why, Captain? We've still got about 60 days of food left, half rations, and about that much fuel. Well, you forget one thing, Mr. Hannibal. This tremendous pressure increases, and the ship is crushed. We stand the danger of an explosion from the boilers. I don't want to be anywhere near when that happens. And neither do you. Yes, of course. Well, guess we might as well start getting ready. Sounds like the crew's on the rampage again. The news of the Stovin bulkhead must have got to the... Oh, God. Gentlemen, check your revolvers carefully. We may have to warn a few men to save the lives of the rest. Come on, let's get up there and stop this wholesale march to death. Am I ever glad to see that ship? That's a sight for sore eyes. You said it! I'm glad too. I'll take a look through my glasses, see if I can find any signs of life. Hey, that sound like pistol shot come from ship. Yeah, surey! Maybe there's trouble on board. Fellers are maybe going crazy with waiting. They're not going to blame them. What are we going to do, Bill? Get your very pistols loaded with green cartridges, fire them over the ship when I say the word. If there's trouble, that should distract them and break up the party. I only hope they see us before somebody gets killed. The next man that tries to go over the side will get the same thing. You hear that. I mean businessmen. I'm trying to save your lives. If we go over the side, we'll do so in organized parties, not like wild animals. Why? You don't even have enough food with you and most of you don't have the clothes to stand the weather out there. We don't worry about that. Get off this tub before it's bashed in. They're out of their minds with fear, Captain. Yes, there's a couple of ringleaders that keep the ball rolling. Watch it now. They're going to try to rush us. They like to come up the ladder one at a time. Be careful you don't wound them critically, but make every shot count. I think they'll stop after one or two of them get hit. Come on, you guys, let's storm the quarter, Dick. The Captain doesn't have the nerve to shoot us down like dogs. Here they come, sir. They mean business. So do I. I'll fire when I get away and shoot straight like this by that man. Make every shot count. A bullet wound will be a small price for them and their lives. The first one's coming up the ladder. Ready when I give the word now? What's that? Someone in the crew have a gun? Look over to the above us. Look. Well, that was quite an ordeal you went through, Captain Manders. Yes, Mr. Jefferson, it was. It would have been a more tragic one if you and your Rangers hadn't shown up just when you did. You never could have held off those 35 desperate men, especially when you're not particularly anxious to hurt them. I don't want to press mutiny charges, Captain Manders. No, Commander Cole, none of those circumstances. A sea in the ice can turn men's minds to jelly sometimes. Tell me, Bill, how come you fellas made it over the ice safely? Captain Manders tells me it was extremely treacherous. Well, we had some close calls, all right. Henry here particularly. But we just took it easy and were very careful. Then we marked a trail, of course, so we'd come back the same way we went. Captain, the crew and the men of the expedition wished to express their gratitude to you for saving their lives. They wished me to say that they're ashamed of their conduct. Oh, tell them to forget it, I have. As for the other, well, it seems to me the Rangers and the Navy did all the life-saving. But thanks go to them. Well, boys and girls, the situation was pretty tense there for a while, wasn't it? But it merely emphasizes a principle of action. Never lose your head or you may lose your life. See you next week for more adventure with Rangers! Hi, fellas and girls. Ranger Bill again, stepping in here for less than a minute to invite all of you out there to another half-hour of adventure next week at this special spot on your radio dial. We've gathered a pile of stories for you with mystery and adventure and all kinds of excitement. And we don't want you to miss a single one. So next time, call up your friends or get together with them and join all of us Rangers for a session of fighting forest fires, grappling with grizzly bears or just plain trying to help somebody out. We're sure you'll enjoy the story and you might just learn something that'll be of real help to you in later life. So next week be sure to join us for more adventure with Rangers next week. Be sure to listen.