 Cavalcade of America, starring Conrad Nagel and William Ith in My Hunt After the Captain, presented by the DuPont Company, Makers of Better Things for Better Living through Chemistry. Good evening. This is Bill Hamilton. Among DuPont's Better Things for Better Living through Chemistry is DuPont rug anchor. Most of us think of home as a place of great safety. And yet each year, three million people are injured in accidents in homes. The records show that many of these accidents were caused by small rugs that slip and slide, especially rugs at the head or foot of a flight of stairs. You can help eliminate this source of danger in your home by using DuPont rug anchor sponge rubber underlay. Rug anchor is placed between the rug and the floor and helps prevent the rug from slipping. It also keeps dirt from working up into the underside of the rug. Rug anchor can be trimmed to fit your rug and it's waterproof and moth-proof. Make your home a safer place. Ask for DuPont rug anchor at leading rug cleaners, rug, and department stores. Rug anchor is one of the DuPont Company's Better Things for Better Living through Chemistry. With Conrad Nagel as Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and William Ith as Captain Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., here is My Hunt After the Captain. September 1862. The streets of Boston are deserted for its long past midnight. Suddenly, a messenger appears walking quickly. As his eyes light on a certain house, he breaks into a clattering trot. He stops in the doorway and raises the heavy brass knocker, on which are engraved initials famous throughout all America, old W.H. He lets the knocker fall. Again and again. Yes, yes, what is it? Telegraph, sir. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. Telegraph? Oh, all right. I'm Dr. Holmes. Here you are, sir. Thank you. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Your son, Captain O.W. Holmes Jr., shot through the neck in battle of Antietam. Your own thought, not mortal. Signed Captain W.J. Hleduke. And we know for this night there'll be no more sleep than this house. Next stop, Frederick. That's where you get off, Dr. Holmes. Oh, thank you very much, conductor. I'm there. You'll have to hire a wagon and take you to the battlefield. You are going to Antietam, aren't you, sir? Yes, I am. May I ask how you knew that? For days now, this train's been full of men like you. Fathers going out to the battlefield to look for their wounded sons. It has? Yes, sir. By the way, how do you know my name was Holmes? Oh, I recognize you, sir, from your pictures. Everyone knows what the art of credit at the breakfast table looks like. Although I must say you're a little shorter than I expected, doctor. Yes, and I always make sure to be photographed sitting down. Is your son, is he on the short side, too? My son is well over six feet, sir. Yes, sir. I have to look up to my son. And on occasion, mind you, my son looks up to his father. Well, I hope you find him, sir. I'll do it. I'll find him, conductor. He's just a boy, 21, and he needs me. I'll find him tomorrow. What's the matter? We've stopped. Yeah, it's a local station. We're on the side. And I guess there's a special going the other way. Yeah, here she comes. Looks like she's going to make a stop here, too. Taking on water, I guess. Yeah, this train always has to wait on sightings for other trains to go by? No, sir. This is the first time we ever had... Hey... Must be a mighty important train. Wonder what on earth she can be carrying. It's so important. I don't know, sir. Let's go out to the back platform, take a look. Yeah, it's all right. And then where are I? Dad! Captain, I'm Captain Holmes. What's the matter? Wake up, Captain. Yes, who are you? Sergeant Lloyd, sir. The doc asked me to keep an eye on you. No. The train has stopped. Where are we, Sergeant? We're still in Maryland, Captain. We're taking on water and additional medical supplies. You see, there's more than 100 wounded on this train besides yourself. How are you feeling? Better. Much better. But why'd you wake me up? You were yelling in your sleep, sir, and I... Oh, sorry. I was dreaming. What was I yelling about, Sergeant? Your father, sir. I heard you calling for him, so... I didn't. I guess he couldn't hear me, Sergeant. No, sir. Do you know when we get to Hagerstown? It won't be long, Captain. I changed trains there. What's the matter, Nick? Oh, just healing pains. Your neck's fine. Your neck's all right, Captain, but... What? The doc's worried about your eyes. My eyes? Yeah, he said you had them closed tight all the while. I was bandaging your neck and wouldn't open them. You see, he was afraid... What's the matter? Don't you see he's good out of them? No, no, no. I can see all right. It's just an effort to keep him open. Come on, Captain. Try. Open them up. That's it. Now, look, can you see out that window? What do you see out that window? On that other track out there? What do you see? A train. Which way is it going? It's standing still on the side. That's right. Do you see anything on the back platform of that train? Two men. Can you describe them, sir? One's in uniform. Soldier? No, no. He's a conductor. Yes. The other kind is kind of short little shrimp. Make them out. Fine, fine. You're going to be all right, Captain. I will move it again. In a little while, you'll be in Hagerstown. Hagerstown? That's where I change trains. I said hello. What? Oh, hello. What are you sitting here alone at the depot for? I'm waiting for a train. North or south? North. You always put your head in your arms and sleep when you're waiting for a train? Only when I'm sleepy, please go away. You're a captain, ain't you? Yes. A union captain? Yes. You've been wounded? Yes. What are you doing here in Hagerstown? I'm waiting for a train. Now, will you please go away? See that house over there across the tracks? The white one with blue shutters. I see it. I live there. That's nice. My name's Frank Kennedy. I'm pleased to meet you. Now, will you please go over there to that little house with the blue shutters and stay there? I can't. I'm not without bringing you back with me. What? It's Jonesy. Jonesy told me to tell you there won't be any trains for at least four hours. And why don't you come over to our house and lie down on the couch? No, thank you. Thank you very much. I thought you said you were sleepy. And look, that bandage around your neck is coming off. Jonesy will fix it for you. Tell me, is this Jones a doctor? Well, not exactly. We've been taking in a lot of wounded when we see him waiting for a train. And Jonesy kind of fixes them up. Well, it's very kind of Mr. Jones, but please tell him for me that I... Well, there you are, Frank. Good afternoon. Captain, isn't it? Well, yes, miss. Captain Holmes, 20th Massachusetts Volunteers. Excuse me for not rising, ma'am. My legs are still a bit shaky. I particularly wouldn't want to trust him in the presence of a beautiful young lady. Oh, I take it you haven't seen any young ladies recently, Captain. Franky didn't you ask Captain Holmes to come over to the house and lie down until his train comes? I did ask him, Jonesy, but he won't come. Keeps on saying... Hey, wait a minute. Are you Jonesy? Oh, yes, why? Oh, nothing, nothing at all. It's only that the boy, well, he completely misunderstood me. Miss Jones, I would consider it a privilege to step over to your house. Rest a moment. Oh, boy, is there a message for me, Wilson Dudley? I'll see, sir. Take me a few minutes. I beg your pardon, sir. I just got off that train. Is there a hotel in the town of Frederick? Well, yes, there is, sir. The United States Hotel. Two blocks west. Two blocks west. Thank you. Thank you very much. Oh, one moment, please. Aren't you Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes? I am, sir. Well, I believe you have the advantage of me. You don't know me, Dr. Holmes. My name is Dudley, Wilson Dudley. I'm a great admirer of your writing, sir. I should consider it an honor to shake your hand, doctor. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Dudley. You live here in Frederick? No, Dr. Holmes. I'm from Harrisburg. If you're ever passing through that magnificent macropolis, sir, I'd deem it a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd best be getting up to the hotel. I'd like to secure a room. There are no rooms, doctor. No rooms? No, sir. I took the last one yesterday. The entire place is loaded down with fathers, like you and me, sir. Am I correct in assuming you're the son who's been wounded? You are, sir. A strange phenomenon is going on here, Dr. Holmes. Fathers come here to Frederick from all parts of the North. The last stop on the railroad line. From here south, you hire a wagon or a knocked cart or the walk. All day long, you see the lines of fathers, middle-aged to white-bearded patriots, commuting to and from the battlefield, seeking word of their lost sons. Well, there's never been anything like it in the history of the world, sir. When do they ever find them, their sons? Sometimes, doctor. They find them wandering around in the woods nearby, or living in some out-of-the-way hole, wounded or half-crazed. Sometimes they find them on the battlefield where they fell. I see. Have you, sir? Have you found your son? No, doctor. Your eldest? I only son, doctor. But I'm optimistic. He's covered Antietam pretty thoroughly, and he's still not on the battlefield. The day I heard he was last seen on a stretcher, being carried to the train, while he may be home in Harrisburg by now in his own bed. I sincerely hope so, sir. That's why I came down here to the telegraph office to find out. Oh, boy. Yes, sir? Did you find any message for me? Will some deadly? Yes, sir. Just arrived. There you are, sir. Oh, thank you. What did I tell you, Holmes? He must be in Harrisburg by now. By all means, sir. Is he... Yeah. You read it. Robert arrived home this morning. He... died last night on the train. Love, mother. There's the key, doctor, home. The key? You won't be needing that room at the hotel anymore. You might as well have it. And I wish... I wish you... better luck than I had. You're listening to My Hunt After the Captain, starring Conrad Nagel and William Eith on The Cavalcade of America, presented by the DuPont Company, makers of better things for better living through chemistry. In the year 1862, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes of Boston received a telegraph message that his son had been wounded at the Battle of Antietam. The doctor sets out for the battlefield in search of his son. Oh, you're Dr. Holmes, eh? And on your way to the Antietam battlefield, eh? Yes, yes, I am. Uh, looking for your son? Yes. Yeah. Well, lots of fathers come out here looking for... Yes, so I've heard. Uh, if you'll excuse me, sir. I'd rather not talk if you don't mind. I'd just like to... Whoa, whoa. Why'd you stop? Oh, we're here, Doctor. Antietam. You can get out and walk around the battlefield, if you like. Yes, I'd like to do that. I'll wait here and take you back to Frederick. Thank you. I won't be long. I won't be long. So, so this is a battlefield. The carnage of fratricide. The stupid, senseless thing called Civil War. The carpet of heroes. The gods of war to walk upon. Can one of these still forms be my son? No, no, I mustn't think that. My son's alive. He's not here. I only came to make sure. One has to begin to hunt some... That boy laying over there. That tall, fair one. Can that be... Faster. Faster. It looks like my son, but... A captain, too. No, no, I mustn't touch him. Whoever he is, he must lay where he fell, until his country moves him. I'll just circle around him and... No, this is not my son. Thank you, Lord, that this is not my son. So you didn't find him here, Doctor Holmes? No. Thank God I didn't find him. Well, what are you going to do now? I'm going back to Frederick. Get on a train going north. At every sizable town, I'll get off and inquire. And then wait for the next train. Well, you'll have a lot of waiting, Doctor. It's my son who's waiting, driver. And he's waiting for me. Then I'll find him. I'll find him. Hello, Jonesy. Time for your glass of milk, Captain Holmes. And the cookies. Thanks, Jonesy. Put them on the table, please. Are you comfortable out here on the veranda? Is it too cool? Perhaps you'd like a blanket or another pillow. No, I don't think so. And your poor head. Does it hurt much? No. Sit down, Jonesy. Yes, Captain. You're over here on this chair near me. Yes, Captain. Jonesy, I've been thinking things over. Very carefully. And I've come to the conclusion that I'm having the best time of my life right here in your house. Well, thank you, Captain Holmes. I'm sure my aunt and I are... Yes, your aunt is very kind. It's not however your aunt I was thinking of. Oh. Oh, you mean the parties. Well, we'll have some more people over this evening. That is, if you're feeling well enough, too. Well, I feel fine. I was thinking of you. Of me? Oh, but Captain... Call me Wendell. Won't you, Jonesy? Don't you think, Captain, that... Jonesy, when a man is invited to spend a few minutes in a lady's house and he stays on for three days and he still doesn't want to leave, don't you think he's... All right, Wendell. Now, what were you saying? I was just thinking about your parents. I mean, won't they be worried? Trying to get rid of me, huh? No, of course not, Captain. I mean Wendell. But won't he be worried? Your father? I've already sent two telegrams telling him I'm here. But telegrams aren't always delivered these days. Why, your mother's probably frantic. And your father. Well, he's undoubtedly mobilized all the readers of the Atlantic Monthly into a search party if he doesn't come down here looking for you himself. My father? Oh, no, not my father. But I hear that the country around the battlefield is filled with fathers looking for their sons. Even an intelligent girl. But you don't know my father. Why, nothing ever worries him, least of all me. He's much too busy to be concerned about me. Now, may I have my milk, please? Yes, Wendell. And the cookies? Yes, Wendell. Move a little closer, please. I always prefer to rest my head on somebody's shoulder when I'm having milk than cookies. Yes, Wendell. That's nice. That's very nice. Yes? I beg your pardon, madam, but if any soldiers can buy this house on the retreat from Antietam, you see my son was... No, sir, they haven't. Corporal. Corporal. Yes, sir, what is it? May I inquire what regiment you belong to? You see, I'm looking for my son. Oh, well, uh, I'm with the Third Pennsylvania, sir. What's he with? The 20th Massachusetts. I'm sorry, sir. Excuse me, sir. Can you direct me to the nearest hotel? Why, yes, there's one just around. Why, Dr. Holmes? Don't you remember me, doctor? Wilson Dudley. We met at the telegraph station in Frederick. Of course. How are you, Mr. Dudley? I trust your wife is bearing up well. We're making the best of it, sir. Or trying to. But what brings you to Harrisburg, doctor? Mr. Dudley, I've stopped off at every way station between here and the battlefield, looking for my son. You mean that you haven't found him yet? No, I haven't. But that's impossible. Why? I heard of him only the other day. What? What he is? You did? Where? How is he? Well, as I heard, he was feeling fine, making love to all the girls in Hagerstown. Hagerstown? That's in Maryland. You see, Mrs. Kennedy, at whose house he's staying, is a friend of my wife's. Oh, yes, excuse me, Mr. Dudley, I must get to the telegraph station. Mrs. Kennedy in Hagerstown. Here you are, boy. This telegraph message. Yes, sir. Better see if you can read it. I'm a little nervous. My handwriting is... All right, sir. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. care of Mrs. Kennedy Hagerstown, Maryland. Just happened to be in Harrisburg. Telegraph me of coming through here on way home. Signed dad. I got it, sir. Here's your answer, Dr. Holmes. It just came in. Oh, thank you, thank you. Passing through Harrisburg on way home tomorrow, will be in fourth seat in third car, feeling wonderful. Wendell. My son. My son. Thank God. Well, now, this is it. This is his train. I mustn't be nervous now, or emotional. Harrisburg. Let him off, please. Oh, conductor. Is this the train from Hagerstown? Yes, sir. Thank you. Help you up the steps, sir? Thank you very much. Let's see now. I beg your pardon, sir. Did he say fourth seat in third car? Oh, excuse me, madam. Third seat. Oh, dear, I mustn't be nervous now. Wendell wouldn't like me to be nervous. Here. This must be the car. Cattle now. No scenes Wendell wouldn't like. The first seat. Second. Third. There he is. Well. Hello, son. Wow. Hello, dad. What on earth are you doing in Harrisburg? Oh. Just there on a little business. It's quite a coincidence running into you this way. Isn't it? And so the story ended. Back home in Boston with his son, Dr. Holmes put pen to paper and wrote of his experience. Cherished in American literature, my hunt after the captain appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862. And down through the years we hear those beautiful words with which Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes closed his article, revealing an American father's love for his son. Fling open the window blinds of the chamber that looks out on the waters and towards the western sun. Let the joyous light shine in upon the pictures that hang upon its walls and the shelves thick-set with the names of poets and philosophers and sacred teachers. In whose pages our boys learn that life is noble only when it is held cheap by the side of honor and duty. Lay him in his own bed and let him sleep off his aches and weariness. So comes down another night over this household, unbroken by any messenger of evil tidings. A night of peaceful rest and grateful thoughts. For this, our son and brother was dead and is alive again and was lost and is found. Mr. Hamilton, speaking for the DuPont Company. The ninth most common element in the world is titanium. There is more of it than all the lead, zinc, tin, antimony, nickel, copper, gold and silver combined. But it wasn't until after the First World War that anyone heard much about titanium. Refiners who came across it in iron ore thought it was an impurity. And then in 1921, science discovered that titanium dioxide was a wonderfully white pigment. Since that time, it has been used in manufacturing fine paints, enamels and paper. 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And scientists believe alloys of titanium may be as far superior to the pure metal as stainless steel is to iron. We hope it will not be long before we can tell you more about this newest of metals placed at the service of mankind by chemical science. Titanium, now manufactured as one of the DuPont Company's better things for better living through chemistry. Tonight's cavalcade play, My Hunt After the Captain, was written by Arthur Aaron. Music was composed by Arden Cornwell, conducted by Donald Bryan. Conrad Nagel is currently appearing with Madeleine Carroll in the Broadway success Goodbye My Fancy. And William Ith is starring Linda Nair. This is Ted Pearson reminding you that this week is birthday week for the camp girls, campfire girls rather. Cavalcade wishes success to this organization which seeks to perpetuate ideals of home of health and character in the young girls of America. Next week, cavalcade will present the distinguished star of stage and screen, Charles Boyer. Cavalcade of America is directed by John Zoller and comes to you each week from the stage of our theater on Broadway in New York and is presented by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.