 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. Up in the naughty pine country, there's a terribly deep gash in the earth's surface. This oversized ditch is called Dead Man's Gorge. It's 1,200 feet to the bottom of this monstrous chasm, and Uncle Sam's decided to build a new bridge over it. Ranger Bill is responsible for the construction of the bridge since it's on government land. Of course, we know that Bill's hired bridge builders and engineers to construct the steel giant. Right now, he and Gray Wolf and Stumpy are in the main construction shack talking to the top bridge building boss, Stony Farwell. Here's the story. They called it the Jinx. Well, you're the best boss I've ever had. It's a real pleasure to work with you. Oh, thanks, Stony. I'm just here to see that things roll along and schedule. You're the man who's building the bridge. I not want your job for all tea in China, Stony. Why, Gray Wolf? How you know bridge going to stay up. Maybe first big win, knock it over. Yeah, you got a good point there, Stony. And I wouldn't want to be the feller to figure the stress and strains on that there bridge. Not the way the wind takes off down Dead Man's Gorge. Ah, it too bad if engineers not add two and two and get four. Yeah, you said it, Stony. That bridge out there would make a lot of pieces to pick up at the bottom. Now, you fellas are going to make me lose faith in my engineers if you keep on. Actually, all the engineering is checked and double checked. And then a safety factor is added to be on the safe side. That's plenty of good idea. The bridge have to hold extra large fat man, as well as extra skinny thin man. Ah, Gray Wolf, that was a good one. Yeah, you'll be catching up to my record if you keep proud of young feller. I like you, fellas, a laugh and corny joke. Well, gentlemen, we've got work to do. Stony, how's the schedule coming along? Not so good, Bill. What do you mean? Well, here, take a look at the schedule yourself. It'll explain better than I can. Thanks, Stony. According to the schedule, you're a week behind. That's right, Bill. I'll come. I need a good general bridge foreman, someone who really knows the fine points of getting things done. I just can't do it all myself. Well, is there such a man available? Yes. Who is he? Tom Ferris. Tom Ferris? Been a long time since I've seen him. Is he the man we need? I'll say he is. Tom is the best in the field. Well then, let's get him up here right away. Well, it's not as easy as all that, Bill. Are you employed now? That's the least of my worries. Stony, will you stop beating around the bush? What's the matter with Tom Ferris? Well, I guess you have a right to know. The men call him a jinx. It's mighty cold out on the bridge. The men get so chilled from the frosty wind and the cold steel that they're given a rest period every hour and a half. There's the stop-work signal. The girder-setters, the riveters, the bucket men, the structural foreman, the laborers, stiffly climb down from the superstructure or up from the substructure and head for the coffee shack. The half-frozen men try to get their blood circulating full steam to drive the cold out of their bodies. Ah, the fragrant aroma of good coffee sifts into their nostrils and they quickly find their way to the coffee shack and the warm stone. What do you want, Tony? I heard a rumor that Tom Ferris is coming to be boss of this job. Where do you hear of that, Tony? I went to buy Stony's shack to get a bucket of rivets and he and a bill was talking about being late on the schedule. Yeah, yeah, go on. Well, the bill was a given Stony the business about us losing the weeks of time. Stony, he ups and says, Tom Ferris be brought in for top foreman. That's all I heard, Pedro. Ain't I working for Tom? He's a jinxer. That's right, he's a jinxer. What are you fellas talking about? I heard that Tom Ferris is the best top bridge foreman in the game. He gets things done. It's all right, Sandy. But as old time as now when Tom's a boss in the job there's always a lot of accidents. That's right, Sandy. You younger fellas don't know about the jinxer Tom carries with him. All the kinds of crazy accidents are happening. What are you talking about? Tom, he's to bring a jinx with him. There isn't such a thing as a jinx. Maybe it's what you say, but I'm not going to work for Tom Ferris. I'd probably end up in the bottom of dead men's gorge. It's right. Hey, Stony, what's all this here nonsense about Tom being a jinx? Don't you men know that there ain't no such thing? That superstitious foolishness. Well, actually it's not Tom's a jinx, but the way he handles a man. They call it the jinx. What do you mean by that, Stony? That's exactly how Tom used to lead his men to accomplish outstanding construction records. All right. I'd appreciate some of the background on Tom. We've met several times, but this I didn't know. When I graduated from engineering school, I worked on the Mid-Mountain Bridge as a jinxer engineer. Tom was a top foreman on that job. Tom had a way of getting things done. He led his men and they worked like Trojans and didn't know it. They wanted to beat the schedules. The Mid-Mountain Bridge was completed three weeks ahead of time. It was a clean spirit of competition. The riveters tried to catch up with the beam setters. The painters were pushing the riveters. The men were happy and they were proud of their work. Building a bridge was more than a job to them. It was an art. Then Tom changed. He grew tense and impatient. He soon passed this tension and impatience onto his men. Not good. Men have accidents that way. You said it, Grey Wolf. Tom began needling the men into getting more work done instead of leading them. If the riveters were setting 1,000 rivets a day, he'd needler shame them in his setting 1,200. Somebody should have called him for that. Tom was young then, wasn't he, Stoney? As he was, Bill. But he hasn't changed any with maturing age. Tom can get up and set rivets like a madman. And therefore he thinks that the rest of the men should do the same. And not all men can work like Tom. That's right, Grey Wolf. But you can't tell Tom that. No, that's strange. What strange, young feller? Tom professed to be a Christian when I last talked to him. In fact, he was walking very close with the Lord. Well, maybe you did then, Bill. Well, that's changed now. Perhaps this change came because he is away from the Lord now. It could be. You might say he's no more than a human machine that's never satisfied with the amount of work done. He's lost his easygoing quality of leadership that makes his men want to work. We need Tom, don't we, Stoney? Yeah. Tom's the only answer to our getting back on schedule. Tom won't do as much good since the men refuse to work for him. You're absolutely sure of that, Stoney? Absolutely. And get Tom up here as fast as you can. Leave the rest to me. Okay. I'll go after him first thing in the morning. Oh, by the way, Bill... Who's going to tell the men? You are. Fellows, quiet down. You all know by now that we're behind schedule. You also know that this can't go on. The only answer to our problem was to get the one foreman who could do the job. I think most of you know Tom Ferris. Tom's going to be the general bridge foreman on this job starting as of now. We're all familiar with Tom's ability to get things done. Since our construction is a week behind, we've asked Tom to help us bring the work up to schedule in a reasonable length of time. Tom, do you want to say anything to the fellows? Nothing more than I'm glad to be here. I know we'll all work together as a team and build this bridge ahead of schedule. And so what do you think, Tom? I ain't looking for you. Not no more. You're a jinx. You said it. Yeah, Pedro's right. I'm quitting Tom. Pedro, you know better than to talk like that. You've never had an accident on the job. That's right, Tom. I ain't no sticking around until I get one either. Pedro's right. You're not. It's a long way to the bottom of the gorge. I'm not waiting till I'm on the bottom looking up. I quit. What's the matter? Have you lost your nerve, Tony? When it comes to the work with you, I have. I'd rather be a live coward than a dead hero. You're a jinx, Tom, and you know it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, fellas. Let's quiet down. Fellas, I think we're letting ourselves be influenced by a lot of things we've heard about Tom. Some of you have been on jobs with him before and seen some of the accidents. You say something about that time. I've seen a lot of accidents. No doubt you have, Tony. But we must remember this. Your work is hazardous. Accidents occur 99 times out of 100 because somebody was careless. Carelessness such as not checking the scaffolding to make sure it's safe. Being in too much of a hurry. And ignoring warning bells and verbal warnings. There are dozens of ways a person can be careless. And sometimes they'll get away with it, and sometimes they won't. I think he's got something there, fellas. You're superstitious if you believe Tom's a jinx. Or that he's bringing a jinx with him. It's like stopping and turning back because a black cat crossed your path. I know it sounds absurd, but... What you're accusing Tom of is the same basic thing, isn't it? You're right, Bill. I'll work for Tom. Or what you say makes the horse sense, Bill. I'll stick on a job. I want to be a stubborn mule, but the first accident that comes, I'm a leave here. Unless the accident's a me. I'm glad you fell as a thinking straight. What do you say to Tom taking over the first thing in the morning? Can you settle with one ball? Yeah, I can do it. If you stand there yacking, you've got another beam coming behind you. Take too much strength. I don't know sipping out of us. I'm going as fast as I can. Don't give me the business, Tony. You're the best riveter in the country. Step it up, man, or those bald bees will fall on your head. I have the suspension because you haven't got the footings going out of the gorge wall. Your charges aren't heavy enough. You don't put them in the tub to make the charges bigger a bit, but the danger is around here. Nonsense! Make the fuses longer and harder the warnings louder. Well, Bill, look at the way the work's getting done. Now, the end of next week will be a day ahead of schedule, thanks to you. Thanks to me? Yeah, you're the man who talked the men into working for Tom. Well, there wasn't anything to that, Tony. Tom's the man who's getting the men to produce the goods. Yeah, and he's doing it without accidents. Boy, that man can sure hit the ball. That was nothing short of a miracle the way the bridge is going up. Well, I'm certainly pleased the way things are going. You know, Tom's not himself, Stoney. He's tense. Too tense. He never relaxes, even when he's eating. Now, he's not the Tom I knew five years ago. Hey, Stoney! Hey, Billy! It's an accident on the bridge! I assure you're all right, Jack. I'm okay, Tom. Really, I am. I think you'd better see the dog before... You have an accident, Jack? I don't know what happened yet, Stoney. The boss and chair gave way, and he fell 20 feet. Are you all right? Yeah, sure, boss. I'm okay. Well, you let the Jack dock check you over before you go back to work. Jack! Is that the way you had your block and tackle tied to the superstructure? Yeah, that's right. I want to get this beam torched up before it quit in time, and I thought the rig would hold me. Well, you got a lot of nerve topping your rig like that. What's even worse is that Tom gets blamed for accidents that happened because of careless birds like you. You're not happy to get or I'll fire you, you understand? Sure, boss. Sure, I understand. I don't know how relieved I am that you pinned the accident right on Jack's caroliness in front of the men, Stoney. I'm glad I was able to, Tom, for your sake. Yeah. You don't know how this accident thing haunts me day and night. I don't even dream about the men having accidents. Yeah, you better take it easy, young fella. You'll have a case of nerves. Don't go around and hold men by hand. All you can do is tell them to be careful and watch for those who aren't. Uh, I don't know. I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't some truth about me being a jinx. The britches, they go up like they're growing a boy, huh? That's it, Tony. The britches, she's a grown-up monster too fast. But pretty soon we have to change it from knee-pans to longer britches, huh? I'll let Tommy you make a joke, Pedro. Tommy says we's a one-day ahead of schedule. All the men are a part of it, that. Why shouldn't we be? Takes a good form and a good man to do what we've done? Sandy, you're right. We do it without accident, except for Jack fall down from the Boston ladder. And that was his own fault. Say, you know something, fellas? No, what should we know, Pedro? I think a bill is a right. There ain't no such a thing as a jinx. We all gotta be careful and nobody's gonna hurt. It's all right, Pedro. It's a jinx that Tommy's supposed to have, I think, as they're gonna far away and never come back. Tony's right. The jinx appears to be going far away, but I don't know about it not coming back. In the superstitious minds of the men, that is. Bad weather is descending over the naughty pine area, and dead man's gorge is not excluded. Strong winds, rain turning to ice and snow. You have these up and building a bridge becomes an almost impossible task. Tom slows the work down. All the men have to use safety belts as much of the time as possible. But in spite of the nasty weather, the construction must go on unless it gets so bitter cold the men would stick to the steel right through their clothing. Tom's worried and apprehensive. Then one after another, things begin to happen. Ease the beam down carefully, Max. This wind'll wrap it right around that pier. I said watch it, Max, or you'll knock Cliff right out of that setting joint! Hey, do not knock him off! No, not yet. Keep your right lever a little. Pull the rope! It's broken, Lefty. Yeah, he thought so. Feels like it's been smashed to smithereens. Let me see the rope burn you got, Sandy. Pretty, isn't it? I hadn't slid down the rope, but I've been right where that bolt snapped. Not dead, Tony. He probably wishes they were the way he smashed up. I'm sorry to hear about Louie. You're sorry! How do you think I feel? Oh, take it easy, Tom. That's easy to say. First Cliff, then the bucket of hot rivets burns half a dozen men, then Sandy and now Louie. Oh, I forgot Lefty with a smashed leg. I understand how you feel, Tom. What do you say we stop construction for the rest of the week? We won't have to stop work. What? The boys just walked off the job. Well, except six. I see. The jinx again, huh? What do you think the men call it? Call me. Well, there's only one thing to do. Is there? Yes, I'm gonna call Bill. Well, that's the whole story, Bill. You can see the six men on the bridge from here. Seven with Tom. Perhaps Tom should have stopped operations during this foul weather. Bill, we've got a contract with a penalty clause in it. If we don't finish on schedule, Tom did slow down the pace of the work. He even gave the men extra rest periods and worked them in shifts several of the really nasty days. Our men are used to working in foul weather. That's part of the job. Yeah, that's right, Stoney. What do you think about it? Well, I know you'll blow a fuse when I say this, but I wonder if maybe there isn't something to this jinx business with Tom. Now you too, Stoney. Oh, what else can I think, Bill? Something's wrong with Tom. He radiates his deep down trouble of his right into the men. I don't call a man a jinx who's fighting with himself. How are we gonna find out what's bothering Tom? Perhaps I know what this trouble is. Are you ready, Bill? I think so. Will you let me talk to Tom privately in your office? My office is yours. I'll send Tom in. Tom, what's eating you? What do you mean, what's eating me? There's nothing wrong with me. There's nothing besides this terrible fear I've developed of accidents to my men. Tom, don't try to buffalo me. I've worked with men all my life, all kinds of men. I know them pretty well. What are you getting at, Bill? I've told you what was wrong with me. You only told me half the story, Tom. What do you mean? Why are you fighting with yourself? Well... You told me a long time ago that you were a Christian, Tom. Can you still look me in the eye and say you're playing square with the Lord? Well, I... That is, what you see... Come on, talk like a man, Tom. Are you still letting the Lord run your life, or are you trying to do it on your own? Tom, if you straighten things out between you and the Lord, then things will straighten out between you and your men. Well, Tom? All right, Bill, you win. What's the use of fighting the Lord any longer? You're right. I haven't been letting him help me build bridges, and I've been beating my head against a stone wall. You weren't telling me a thing, Tom. I knew that the first day you came on the job. You did? How? You weren't leading your men, Tom. You needled them into a jealous competition with one another. They've contracted your restlessness and impatience. Oh, they do good work, but it's not the satisfying high-quality work they could do. You see, Tom, a boss radiates his thoughts to his people. This happens faster by the boss' actions than his words. I never thought of it that way. Now that I do, I know you're right. Tom, are you ready to straighten things out between yourself and the Lord? Yeah, Bill. Let's have a good old-fashioned prayer meeting right here. Okay? Are you ready to go all the way with the Lord? Yes, Bill. The Lord's got to help me build bridges again, or I'll never make it. Fellows, what I'm about to say may shock some of you, but I'm going to carry it out anyhow. This morning and each morning after this, we're going to have prayer before we begin our day's work. I know some of you don't like it. You can pray with me or you can leave as you wish. In any event, I'm going to pray. If any of you want to leave, please do so now. There'll be no hard feelings. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we ask that you keep us safe from accidents as we go out on the bridge today. Help each other. Hey, Sandy, it's good to see you. What's the news? Federal, I hear good news from the grapevine. Tom's a changed man. I hear the same thing, Sandy. You're dead? Yeah, maybe I go back to work in the morning, eh? I lefty. I just stopped by to tell you I go back to work for Tom. Is it different like a night from a day? That's right, Tony. As soon as my leg bends, I'm going back too. Well, Tony, how about my old job? Can I have it back now that Tom's acting like a human being? I'd like to work for you again. Well, Tom, how are things going? Oh, wonderfully well, Stumpy. The men are happy and they work together like real teammates. The boys are bragging that they'll finish the bridge a week ahead of time. You're much happier now, too, Tom. How can a fellow help but be happy when he's in good fellowship with the Lord? Oh, say, I better keep an eye on that batch of concrete. The boys are going poor. See you, fellas, later. Tony, don't you think I'm back to work since the crate is pretty close to Painter Scaffold? Oh, that's all right, Pedro. I don't know about that. I don't want him to work that close to me. Well, Max, you're going to put a hook right in your pocket and out of scratch. Yeah, that's a pretty big hood. Well, never your mind. You'll set Tony some rivets, eh, Pedro? OK. Hey, Sandy, throw some hotwoods, eh? Here they come! I'll push him all right here. We've finished the beam of tootsuit. Flatten the riveter, Tony. What are you trying to do? Knock me out of the house! Josh, he's got to put him out right now. Oh, sorry, Josh. I tried to keep away from Max Scaffold. Oh, better. I'll take it out with Tom. I don't blame him, Josh, for being a son. Get out of the way down there. Well, that's another worry about that. Tony wants you to set the rivets so we can get some work done. Hey, let's quit the work, huh? Hey, look out at Josh! Hey, fellas, look! Josh is OK! Hey, look at him, Tony! He's the same! Oh, he's a great today. Hey, Josh, he's to catch a rope and hang on like a crazy. That was a close one, Bill. I'll say it was, Sandy. The rope saved the painter from a bad fall. You know, Tony, just to let him think that he's going to be finer than this happens. So what? The painter didn't fall, did he? He's a grab of the rope, he's a save, huh? Hey, that's right. That means a jinx, he's a broke. No, Pedro. That means that God has answered prayer. Yes, Bill, that was the Lord's answer to prayer all right. He has strange ways of doing things sometimes. That is, they may be strange to us, but then the Lord's ways are always the best ways, aren't they? We'll see you next week for more adventure with...