 There's something loose on that mountain top that's bigger than any man I've ever seen, and stronger. Before I leave, I intend to find out what it is. Gun will travel, starring Mr. John Dana as Paladin. San Francisco, 1875. The Carlton Hotel, headquarters of a man called Paladin. I'll not change your mind, Mr. Paladin. You still go? I'm afraid so, hey boy. Oh, by the way, send a dozen long-stemmed roses to Miss Julie Parker, and regrets. Oh, I do not go there, Mr. Paladin. Please. Why not? Why does this trip bother you so much? Oh, I read a newspaper. Monster at Moon Ridge. Lady bewitched by apparition. Oh, please, you know, go there, Mr. Paladin. I've already been hired and accepted. I'm leaving right away. Oh, then, let me, please. And what have you got in that jar? Please. Oh, here, dragon tooth powder. Dragon tooth? Here's one here, and one here. Keep you from harm. Dragon's tooth powder, very powerful protection. Your new country has a better formula for destroying superstition, hey boy. Equal parts of reason and daylight. But I thank you for the friendship behind the thought. Oh, then you go. You see, Mr. Vito Bella? That's right. Vito Bella. Bowtown, California. Even if you've had embarrassing dandruff for years, you can get rid of it now in three minutes. That's all it takes with Fitch, dandruff remover shampoo. Yes, unsightly dandruff's gone in three minutes with Fitch, quickest, easiest of all leading shampoos. What's more, using Fitch regularly is guaranteed to keep embarrassing dandruff away. Just apply in the unique Fitch manner before you wet hair, rub in one minute. This way, Fitch shampoo penetrates right down to the scalp. Next, add water. Lather one minute to wash every trace of dandruff out of your hair. Then rinse one minute. All that loosened dandruff goes down the drain. In three minutes with Fitch, one rubbing, one lathering, one rinsing, dandruff's gone. At the same time, gentle Fitch can leave your hair up to 35% brighter. To get rid of dandruff problems forever, brighten hair too. Use Fitch regularly. Get Fitch dandruff remover shampoo today, only 59 cents. The Indians have a name for the high mountain lands back of Placerville. They call it Shadow Ground. Indians have a way of seeing things in the shape of a piece of land that no white man can see. So they always bypass it. They didn't like the thunder that boiled up against the peaks and rolled down the canyons. But then the Indians had little use for gold and silver, and the white men did. And the white men built their town where a teepee village might have been, close to the top of Moon Ridge. It was after dark and the sky was heavily overcast when I pulled up in front of the sheriff's office in Bowtown. Hold it right there. I'm looking for the sheriff. My name is Paladin. Riding in at night with a black horse and black trail clothes? I'm surprised you didn't get your head shot off. Well, do you have to hold that gun on me? Come on in. He's a hobgoblin, ain't you heard? This is Jake Kelly, Mr. Paladin. He carries silver bullets in his gun. Really? He claims something grabbed him on top of Moon Ridge one night. Oh, sit down and I'll pour you some coffee. Thanks. Where are you from, Mr. Paladin? San Francisco. Are you the fellow Vito said he was in for? About Emily? He wants to know what's bothering her. I'm going to try to find out. I'll tell you what's wrong with Emily. She's hexed. And you know I'm talking true, Darren. If you'd have a ride up there and see her yourself. Sheriff's got to stay around town. Now, you know that. He ain't set foot out since the time your posse got scattered. That was a little accident. A few horses run away and folks build it into something big. There ain't nothing up there. Oh, Mr. Paladin. I was as far from it as I am from you. I've seen it. Half man, half bear. And footprints this long. A human at one end, claws at the other. I guess I'll have to see them, too. Don't believe me. All right. When you get to that Bella place, you ask Emily Bella what carried her off. Don't ask Dan here. He's Sheriff. If he admitted there was something up there, he'd have to go on out after it. Get out of here, Jake. Now go on. Crazy old coot. Sheriff, is there anything valuable up there? Minerals? Gracing lands? Any reason for someone to scare people away? No. Formation ain't right for gold or silver. Indians didn't want it. Said it was full of spirits. You know, a short time ago, I was feeling superior to a Chinese friend of mine when he sprinkled dust on my coat. I forgot that he came by his superstitions honestly, that he learned them from the cradle. I can't find the same excuse for you, Sheriff. I ain't superstitious. Why the mistletoe above your door? Oh, that. I forgot it from Christmas, I guess. There's an old belief that it wards off evil spirits. All right, Paladin. The Bella place is north out of town. Last house on the way to Moon Ridge country. What makes the difference sound and sound difference that you hear on this station? It's the teamwork between the CBS Radio Network and its affiliated stations. This teamwork combines the far-flung resources of CBS News with local programming that helps you know your neighbors and neighborhood. Your listening post on your town, your nation, and the world is this station backed by CBS Radio. Don't settle for less. The Bella place was run down and listless with a small light gleaming in the window and the figure of a woman seated on the porch steps, a young woman, dark, plain, no shoes or stockings, long hair, and the most vacantly staring eyes I have ever seen. Good evening, Miss Emily Bella. It's dark. Yes. Oh, Mr. Bella. Yes. My name is Paladin. Oh, Mr. Paladin. Call me, oh. Moment, please. Emily. Now, you promised you tell Papa when you stepped outside. Remember, it's cold here. When a visitor comes, a big girl says, what? How do you do? How do you do, Emily? It's very good. Now, you come in the house with us, huh? Emily, you can go to your room. A dozen years ago, there was, in this valley, an epidemic. It took my wife, almost my daughter. I'm sorry. Afterwards, Emily's body grew, but her mind, huh? She remains a child. Wine? Please. Well, this epidemic, what was it? Well, we don't know. No doctors here. Yes, a young boy was affected the same way. People treat him like an animal. They call him names. They kick him until he's a mother, but she took him away. I saw I have to leave too, bring Emily here, far from the town. The land here is, it's no good, but we manage. Those dolls are hers? See, she is of an age where toys are pleasant. She's fortunate to have you as a father. I think she's fortunate in other ways. Maybe you don't know what I mean, huh? Perhaps I do. There's nothing shocking, ugly about remaining a child. At the best age of all, their world is wonderful, mysterious, half real, half make-believe. The world you and I live in, Mr. Bella, is not always as pleasant. I think you're a wiser man, Mr. Paladin. We drink. Salute. Salute. The newspaper said Emily was this way because of shock, some unusual experience. A spell cast by the monster of a moon rage. Since that story is untrue, why do you want to pay me $200, Mr. Bella? The telegram has said $500. You haven't answered my question. Mr. Paladin, there is something on Moon Ridge. It took Emily away from me for a week, and she wishes to go back to eat. I don't want to lose my daughter. Go on. For that week I searched for her. I find her prints and other prints which I will not describe because... Half bear, half man. You have heard, huh? She will not tell me, even her father, what kept her there. But she was not harmed. She wishes to return to this thing? Yes. She has tried twice to run away. Then I think it's time you let your daughter go back to Moon Ridge, Mr. Bella. The three of us will leave first thing in the morning. The morning was dark and foreboding with the threat of rain in the air. Low clouds hung over the peaks and in the valleys, misting the trees into gnarled shapes and making the rocks grotesque and sudden to come upon. All very unreal. But the track we came across on the top of Moon Ridge late that afternoon was real enough. Half a man, half a bear, huh? Maybe. Emily. No, Mr. Bella, then be honest with me please. What make this print? I don't know, Mr. Bella. No, it's going to be dark less than an hour. Hey, what is that? I'd say it was a bear. Emily, come over here. How did she go down the canyon? You follow with the horses. I'll try to catch her. The canyon walls were steep and rocky and it made the climb down them treacherous. By the time I was standing on the floor of the canyon, darkness was coming overhead. I walked toward what I thought might be the head of the canyon, only to find a wall of granite blocking my way. But no, Emily, no sign of Bella, no way out. But something, something watching me, something old, bent in tattered clothing, which like in the quick look I had then gone suddenly. You come back here. All right. I know whoever you are. Listen to this carefully. I have a gun. I'm not going to be frightened away. Are you there? Can you hear me? I warn you that I am going to... When I regained consciousness, I was inside an old mine shaft, a chain on my leg, minus guns. A very real looking bear was chained across from me. There, in the dim light filtering back from the opening of the mine shaft, I saw something moving slowly toward me. Something which seemed only half human. Something old and horrible. I waited there, quiet, as the thing came closer. What do you want with me? Leave while you can. He had dropped a small sledgehammer before she turned and left. It took me the rest of the night to pound out the connecting pin so that I could remove the shackles from my leg. Outside it was morning, bright and clear. Bella! Bella! Over here! Have you seen Emily? No. I found the organ on a belt. Thank you very much. I didn't know what to do. I have expected to find your body. Let me ask you something, Bella. Has anyone, has anyone ever been hurt in Moon Ridge country here, actually physically injured? No, no. Only frightened? Yes. I've been frightened too, but I'm not hurt, Bella. Where? I would say up there. Beyond that cliff that backs the canyon. The cliff? Possibly a meadow behind there. The trailer would be worse than in Sicily. It would frighten a bad rider. And with a little clever discouragement, even a good rider. Come on. Now there's a luxury car that fits regular parking spaces and ordinary garages that's easy to handle and traffic. An exact luxury car. The Ambassador by Rambler. 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It was a steep trail, but a worthwhile one to follow because at the end of it, there was a meadow brilliant in the high sunlight and there was a house with a fireplace and smoke coming from a chimney. Not very mysterious at all. Some more living up here. Very comfortably, I'd say. Look there, across the meadow. Emily, my Emily. Wait. No, wait for what? She may be hurt. Does she sound like she's in trouble, Bella? Look, there's a boy with her. Do you recognize him? Maybe. It could be Maria's boy, the one I told you was afflicted like Emily. Yes, the mother and son, the ones they ran out of town. I think it's time that we visit her. There's no need. Maria? Yes, I watched you two climb the trail up there. You have no respect for witches. But I have a great deal of respect for a clever woman. So, where else could I take my son? I had no money. I had to find a place where people wouldn't ridicule him. Mr. Bella suffered from the same things. Yes, and once we were old friends, Maria, you should have had faith in the me. Well, I should have sent her away the first time she wandered up here, but it's just so good to see children happy together. The soil is good up here. Better than below. More sun and more water. Why talk of it? Why not? Because there's always a man somewhere who won't scare off, like this one. I'm sorry. Materialize an apparition on a broomstick in front of him and he'll ask it to sweep the floor. The monster footprints I made, half mine, half a bear, they meant nothing. I've run out of tricks. I've moved before. We can do it again. Why move? See, why move, huh? If I lived here, there would be no man bear track, no cave to put foolish men in and then release him to run frighten, shouting foolish things. I think since I am a man, there would be a gun in my hand and friends would be welcome, others would not. If a man has something to say, he comes right out and says it. Yes, well, Maria, I think perhaps I like your land. And I think I'll be going. I'll expect $200 to be placed in my San Francisco account, Mr. Vella, and I suspect that you got more than you bargained for. But you will get what you bargained for, Mr. Paladin, a $500. You have to ride through town, I suppose, and talk to the sheriff. No, no, no. They can rent and prejudice people like to be deceived and they deserve it when they are. Why confuse them with the truth? Oh, Mr. Paladin, you back safe only on one piece. I'm glad to be back, hey boy. Was it bad? Oh, bad for people who believe in witchcraft. Any messages for me? Oh, yes, many messages. Let me see. Oh, lady send note and say you call on her when you come back. Uh-huh. Not a lady send servant over and tell you not to call on her when you get back. What else? It's all. Well, in that case, tell me the name of the lady over there, hey boy. Oh, yes, it's Miss Romero from Spain. Very new in this country. Thank you. Miss Romero. Oh, yes. My name is Paladin. May I be of service to you? Service, senor. See, it is the custom for a gentleman to offer his services to a lady in this land. Oh, what kind of services? Any kind the lady wishes. Dining in fine restaurants, the theater, the opera, perhaps a carriage ride to historical points of the city. Your heart names it. I like these customs, senor. But isn't such a relationship fraught with possibilities? It is, senorita. All kinds of possibilities. Shall we begin with the possibility of dinner this evening? Travel, created by Herb Meadow and Sam Rolf, is produced and directed by Norman MacDonald and stars John Daener as Paladin with Ben Wright as Hey Boy. Tonight's story was written by Jean Roddenberry and adapted for radio by John Dawson. Featured in the cast were Lauren Stopkin, Virginia Christine, Jess Kirkpatrick and Jean Bates. Hugh Douglas speaking. Join us again next week for Have Gun. We'll travel.