 The Clyde Beatty Show! The world's greatest wild animal trainer Clyde Beatty with another exciting story from his brilliant career. This master of the big cats captures ferocious jungle beasts and trains them to perform under the big top in the circus where there are always thrills, action and danger. Hundreds of dramatic behind-the-scenes adventures are all part of the Clyde Beatty story. Here is the story of the fabulous General Ike. Several years ago the circus was playing a small town in Virginia called Collinsville. My wife Harriet and I were taking a stroll before the matinee and we were passing the storage shed of a small brewery outside a town. Suddenly Harriet snatched at my sleeve and halted dead in her trap. Clyde, look. What is it? What's the matter? In that shed on that stack of barrels. I don't see anything. Hey, it's a kid. He's balanced on the top. He's going to fall. Oh, that crazy kid. Boy, come down from there. I'm sorry, mister. He's not all right. If those barrels start to roll, he'll kill him. Leave it to a boy to find a dangerous place to play. Listen, son, stay perfectly still. Don't move. Oh, I won't fall. Those barrels could roll any minute. You'd better come down. Okay, but... Watch it easy there. Clyde, jump! Roll it! That boy who'd be killed, he's fallen in among them. I'll try to get to him. No! He's heading right for the boy. I can't reach him in time. The last one that fell, it rolled right over him. And now, back to Clyde Beatty's adventure entitled The Fabulous Generalike. After the heavy barrel rolled over the youngster, we got him to the hospital as soon as possible. We waited for hours in the hospital corridor. Finally, the doctor came out of the operating room. Oh, doctor, that youngster will be all right. That's too soon to tell. He may be able to save him, but... Well, I'm not sure we can save his legs. You're the folks who brought the boy here, aren't you? Yes, I'm Harriet Beatty. This is my husband, Clyde. How do you do, sir? Hello. I was fortunate you were near. The boy hadn't been brought right in. There'd be no chance for him at all. Tell me, doctor, who is the boy? Name's Johnny Hart. Father's a groom on one of the horse breeding farms nearby. He has no mother or any other family. Oh, I don't suppose they have much money. No. Whenever Johnny's father gets any cash, he goes on a drinking spree. Poor little kid. Yes, he's had a rough time being the son of the village drunkard. Look, doctor, we'd like that boy to have all the carry needs. We'll pay the bills. That's very generous. You may be sure we'll do everything possible for the boy. Thank you, sir. Harriet was reluctant to leave the youngster, so pitiful-looking, lying in the big hospital bed. But the show had to move on. We communicated with Dr. Ireland, who finally reported Johnny out of danger, although seriously crippled. Then I became occupied with a thousand and one activities of running a circus, and had almost forgotten about the boy. About 18 months later, the circus train was once again rolling over the Virginia countryside. Honey, what are you looking so pensive about? What did you say, dear? Fine, I've been talking to myself. I'm sorry. I was just thinking how long I've been looking forward to our stand at Collinsville. It's a nice little town. Where Clyde, baby? Don't tell me you've forgotten. Wait a minute. Collinsville? Sure. Well, that's where Johnny Hart lives. I sure hope the little fellow is all right by now. You've been worrying about him all these months, haven't you? Oh, yes, Clyde. There's something about that boy. Well, I don't know quite how to put it. You're a sentimentalist, Harriet. Is that bad? No. No, in this unfeeling world, that's not bad. How much farther is the Hart place, Clyde? It should be just around the next turn. Oh, I hope you're right. My feet are killing me. Coming out here was your idea. No, I don't mind the walk. I just wanted to see Johnny. That must be the place. Oh, Clyde, it's just a shack. It's going to run down. It's a horrible place to raise a child. From what I hear about old man Hart, you can't expect him to live in a white-pillared manor house. Look, there's Johnny sitting on the porch. Let's hurry. I wish we could have gotten back to see him sooner. That's the unhappiest-looking kid I've ever seen. He must have seen us coming. Yeah. He doesn't show much interest. Hi there, Johnny. How are you doing? Mrs. Bady and I came out to see how you're getting along. I'm fine. I brought you a present, Johnny. Here. Thank you, ma'am. You do remember us, don't you? Sure, I remember you. We've come to ask you to be our special guest at the circus this afternoon. The circus? Really? Yes. We'll have lunch in the tent with all the performers. And you'll have the best seat in the house for the show. Gee, that'd be swell only. Only what? Don't you want to go? Sure. But I can't walk. My legs. Don't you worry about that. We'll hitch up a couple of horses and come for you in a real circus wagon. Well, wouldn't you like that? Sure, but... But Pop wouldn't let me go. Never mind. I'll fix it with your father. I don't think you'll let me, but... Gee, it'd be swell. Now you just leave it to me. We'll be back for you in a couple of hours with the finest horses you've ever seen. Surely a day at the circus can't hurt the boy, Mr. Hart? He'll just excite him. But he's just a boy. It's not doing him any good to sit around the house all the time. Look here, baby. I got plenty trouble with that crippled kid and all. Why don't you leave well enough be? I don't mean to interfere. A boy's a cripple. He'll always be a cripple. It ain't no good as getting interested in outside. What do you expect him to be interested in? His condition? You trying to tell me how to raise my kid, Mr. Hart? Certainly not. You just cadaddle and leave me to my work. That boy needs something more than four broken-down walls to look at. And I'm telling you he's better off as is. Now get it. Now just a minute. I said get it. Why, you must be, Mr. Hart. More busybody. They're such a resemblance. You must be little Johnny's dad. You might call him that. Mr. Hart, I want to tell you that your boy's one of the brightest and handsomest I've ever seen. Why, this guy is... Johnny thinks his dad is just about the best in the whole world. Well, ma'am, I try to do for him. It ain't easy, though. Especially with his ma gone and all. Oh, I think you've done a grand job. I'm sure it's been difficult for you, home after a hard day's work and having to tend to the boy. I'll bet you'd welcome a day or two off from your duty. You deserve a bit of time to yourself. Now you mention it, ma'am. I ain't had a evening in town with the boys in more than a year. Oh, that's not right and proper. A man who works as hard as you needs a bit of relaxation. Now, don't you worry about a thing. Mr. Beatty and I will take your Johnny with us this afternoon. We'll keep him overnight and bring him back to your place in the morning. Well, sure it ain't gonna discourage a nun, ma'am. No, certainly not. I guess it'll be all right then. Well, I'll be... Oh, come along, Clyde. We don't want to keep Mr. Hart from his work. Well, I, Beatty, won't you ever learn never to underestimate the power of a woman? Oh, Harriet. Clyde, Johnny hasn't awakened yet. Oh, good. The little guy was all tired out, huh? Too old circuses yesterday. It was just too much. Not according to Dr. Ireland. Then you did speak to the doctor about Johnny. Yep. Can anything be done about his legs? You come out in the other room. I'll tell you all about it. Clyde, is there any hope? A boy without legs to run around on. It isn't fair. It just isn't fair. Well, I asked Dr. Ireland this morning if there wasn't an operation or something that might help him. He told me that Johnny'd already had a dozen operations. Oh, then it's hopeless? Yes, and no. What does that mean? Well, theoretically, after what the doctors have done, the boy should have at least partial use of his legs. But he can't even move them. Dr. Ireland said he could if he wanted to. You mean Johnny doesn't want to walk? More than that, he doesn't want anything. Oh, yes, I think I understand. It is more home, shabby, crow's, drunken father. No mother, not enough love. That's it, exactly. He needs an interest outside of himself. Something he wants with all his heart. Harriet, do you think the boy would like to travel with us with the circus? No, I don't know. He enjoyed the shows yesterday well enough, but, well, he wasn't thrilled way down inside like almost any other boy would be. Well, I talked with Judge Brandt this morning. You remember him, don't you? Brandt? Oh, yes. He's that nice, white-haired gentleman. He sits in the first row every time the circus comes to town. Right. Well, yesterday Johnny's father got very drunk. He broke into a store and stole whiskey and some money. He's been in prison before some years ago, and this time the judge says he'll get at least five years. Oh, dear, what will become of Johnny? Put him in an institution, I guess. Oh, no, we can't let that happen, Clark. That's the way I feel. I've made an appointment for later today for us both to see Judge Brandt. Maybe we can convince his honor that the boy would be better off with us. Oh, I hope we can. I hope we can. So, you see, Johnny, Judge Brandt is going to allow you to stay with us and travel with a circus. Yes, sir. Do you think you'd like that? Yes, sir. I guess I will, sir. You'll find that circus folks are very nice, Johnny. They'll all be your friends, and they'll try to help you in every way. That'll be nice, Mr. Baby. Well, we'd better start introducing you to some of the folks you'll be traveling with. Uh, climb up on my shoulders. Here we go. There's a man over here I especially want you to meet. Oh, Pappy. Pappy James, would you come here a minute? Hi, Mr. Baby. See, that's quite a jockey you're tilting there. He's plenty heavy, too. He should be riding a real horse instead of my shoulders. I want you to meet Johnny Hart. Johnny, this is Pappy James, the best horse trainer in the world. Howdy, son. Pappy trains all those high school horses you saw on the show. High school horses? Yeah, that means they're trained to do tricks. Oh. Gee, Mr. James, it must be fun to work with horses. It's plenty fun, but it takes a heap of patience. Johnny's, uh, not very interested in horses, Pappy, but maybe he'd like to see that new colt. I see. Well, over here. There he is. Oh, boy. Look at that little fella. Runty little knothead. Oh, no. He's wonderful. Say, uh, Pappy, uh, what are you figuring to do with that colt? Him? Why? He's, uh, not much good, is he? Not much... Oh. Oh, no. No, he sure is. I don't suppose you plan to keep around here, do you? Heck no. Man, he just making a darn nuisance of himself. Eat your head off and don't do a lick of work. Reckon we'll just have to get rid of him somehow. Get rid of him? What do you mean? Well, we could always sell him to the glueworks. No, no, you couldn't do that. Well, isn't there something you could make of him, Pappy? I doubt it. All the credit thinks about is eating and playing. Bet you could teach him tricks. You don't like those high school horses. What about it, Pappy? Possible. But, uh, I wouldn't want to try it. Bet even I could do it. I think you could, Pappy. Well, it would take hours and hours of work every single day, including Sunday. I wouldn't mind. Well, I'd be glad to have that colt off my hands, but whoever takes him over has got to take mighty good care of him. I'd take good care of him, Mr. James, honest. Well, you see, son, that there are horses still a baby, and he's just been separated from his mammy. I don't know what to do for him, Mr. James. I don't know just what to do for a little horse that doesn't have a mother. And now, back to Clyde Beatty and the fabulous General Eich. At last, we had succeeded in finding an outside interest for Johnny Hart, the care and training of a young colt. It was heartwarming to see the change in the youngster when for the first time he had something to earnestly love and be responsible for. That's it, Johnny. They can do it again. General, what a name for that son of a little horse. Well, Johnny has two heroes, you and General Eisenhower. You know, it wouldn't do to have two Clyde Beaties in the show. That's the only reason he didn't name the colt for you. I don't know if I should be jealous of the General or not. Oh, there's plenty of room in that boy's heart for both of you. Old Pappy James seems to be doing all right in that department, too. Johnny idolizes him. And Pappy says the boy has a natural talent for handling animals. You know, someday that boy's gonna be a star. Oh, he will, Clyde. I know he will. If only we could get those poor little legs to work properly. As the weeks passed, the crippled boy and his horse became more and more a part of the circus family. The General grew fat and sleek. His coat had a shine like a new dime from constant grooming by his young master. And Johnny was growing stronger. Pappy James rigged a handrail around the training ring, and the youngster would climb from his chair and use it to pull himself along as he put his pet through his faces. One morning, we were all gathered around as Johnny was teaching his pet a new trick. Johnny's really excited about that new trick, Clyde. Thinking he can get that coat to mount such a small pedestal? He's sure going to try. General, up boy! Look, Clyde, the General's mounting the pedestal. He's not very steady. He's losing his balance. The pedestal's tipping. The coat's going down. The coat hit his head. Knocking himself out. Johnny's walking to his pet. Johnny's walking. After those first few steps, Johnny knew that if he really tried, he could get strength back in his battered legs. Sooner than any of us would have believed possible, the crippled boy was walking, first with a light cane and then without any aids. Then came the crowning accomplishment. When Pappy James said he was ready, we gave Johnny and the General a spot in the show. Johnny, you were wonderful. Young fella, that was a great performance. Why, the audience loved your act. Gee, Mr. Beatty, Mrs. Beatty, wasn't the General wonderful? Oh, he certainly was. And so was his master. Thank you. Thank you for everything. Well, my boy, how does it feel to be a full-fledged circus performer? I've never been so happy. Look here, young fella. Stop taking all them vows. You've got a colt meat, cooling out, rubbing down. Right away, Mr. James. I'll fix him right away. Come on, General, let's get moving. General, General, you're the greatest horse in the whole world. Now, don't go getting so high and mighty just because you can do 50 tricks. You've got plenty to learn yet. I'm not going to stop till you can do at least 100 tricks. Who is it? Over here, Johnny. Easy, General. It's all right. Come here, boy. I want to talk to you. I can't see you. Who are you? Don't you recognize your old man? Pop! What are you doing here? You don't seem to be very glad to see me, son. I thought you were... you were... Yeah, in jail. Now, you wouldn't want your old Pop Rotten in jail for years and years, would you? You mean you escaped? Let's just say I walked out when no one was looking. What do you want? Just wanted to see him. A boy, that's all. I've been happy here. Everybody's treated me fine. Why don't you go away before you spoil everything? There ain't no cause for your carrying on like this. I don't mean to cause you no trouble. Anyhow, I've got to stay on the move. Don't want to be picked up. Then go away. I'm... I'm gone, son. But, well, I'm broke. Could use a little cash. I haven't any money. Now, don't hand me that. You're working in the show, ain't you? You got that there trick-horse, ain't you? Now, don't tell me you ain't got no dough. I've got a few dollars in my allowance back in my bunk. Get it. I'll wait here. I've got to put my horse away first. Well, be quick about it. Don't you go tipping no one off about not being here. If you do, I'll fix you good. I won't tell. If only you'll go. Get that money. Now! Sorry to bother you, Mr. Beatty. Is something wrong, Pappy? Yeah, I'm afraid so. Say, of course. No, I was just checking the stock before turning in and one of the horses is missing. Not Johnny's coat. Yes, ma'am. The general ain't in his stall. What could he have broken out? He's a smart little horse, but he couldn't have unsnapped the chain I put on his stall door. Oh, this is terrible. Well, did you try to track him? Yeah. He was led away by a man. Stolen, huh? That's it. Me and the boys have scarred the vicinity. The horse is plum-gone. Johnny, I thought you were asleep. One horse is gone, Mr. James. One horse... Now, take it easy, son. It looks like the general has taken a notion to do a better wandering. My horse is gone. He took it. Okay, there, Johnny. It's going to be all right. He stole my horse. He stole the general. Who are you talking about, Johnny? My pop. Your father. He was here after the show. He wanted money. I thought that man was in jail. He was, but he ran away. He made me give him money. He said he'd go away, but he took my horse. Now, don't worry. He can't have gotten far. I'll find him. And when I do it... Come on, Pappy, let's go. We'll leave the car there. I want to check that old deserted barn down the road. It looked bad, Mr. Beatty. Two whole days. That sidewinder could have that horse clear all the state. But now, if we don't find him, we're going to have a sick kid on our hands. Sure would like to get my hands on that pool cap. That makes two of us. Hey, wait. Somebody's been around here. You see them footprints? Yeah. Might be just a tramp, though. Well, let's go see. The barn doors hooked on the inside. Somebody's in there. The woods rotten. Let's break it down. Hey, there's somebody sprawled on the floor. And I think it's the end of our search. Hey, you! Wake up! Drunk. Dead drunk. It's Johnny's father, all right? Come on, you. Come on. Wake up. What's the matter? What's going on? On your feet, Mr. Beatty. I'll be alone. I want to sleep. You better tell us what you did with that horse or you'll sleep longer than you want to. My horse. I know what you're talking about. You stole Johnny's colt. What did you do with him? What did you do with that colt? Don't hit me. Don't hit me. Where's the colt? Sold. I sold him 15 bucks. 15 dollars? That little horse was worth 10,000. I was swindled. Swindled. Who did you sell him to? I don't know. A guy. I don't remember. You'd better start remembering, Mr. It's no use, Pappy. This drunken sod will never remember who we sold that colt to. And the guy who bought it for such a ridiculous price probably turned right around and sold it for plenty. Let's turn this jailbird over to the police and we'll see what can be done about recovering the general. Gee, I sure hate to face that kid without that colt. I know what you mean. Well, let's get it over with. He was such a good little horse, Mr. Batey. Oh, there are other horses, Johnny. Better and smarter horses, you'll see. No, sir. They'll never be another like the general. Look, son, sometimes life gets kind of rough. Things happen and there doesn't seem to be a reason for it. You've lost your colt. It's a rough deal. Everybody in this entire circus has been out looking for him. Maybe they'll find him. Maybe they won't. Whatever happens, you've got to be a man about it. Yes, sir. Only, I hope he's being treated all right. I hope they don't whip him or hitch him to a plow or something. Don't worry about the general. If he's half as smart as you think, no one will put anything over on him. Oh, there you are. Pappy James just come in. He wants to see you about something very important before it's time for his act to go on. Excuse me, Johnny. I'd better go see what Pappy wants. You don't want to just sit back here, do you, Johnny? Not while there's a show going on inside. I'm all right, ma'am. If you don't mind her, I think I'll stay here. You're thinking about the general, aren't you? Yes, ma'am. This is the spot in the show where we're supposed to go on. You're a real trooper, Johnny. Maybe if you go on in, you can show the others that you are, too. All right, Mrs. Bady, if you think I should. Say, isn't Pappy James' motion to you? Yeah. I wonder what he wants. Listen. Ladies and gentlemen, calling your attention to the center arena, presenting the world youngest horse trainer, Master Johnny Hart. Listen, Johnny, listen. And the greatest of all high school poles, the one and only, the fabulous General Eich. They found my horse. They found the general. Yes, Johnny. They're bringing him in the arena. Now you better get on in there, trooper, before you miss your cue. Clyde will return in just a moment to tell us about his next exciting adventure. But first, and now, here is Clyde Bady. A few years ago, after our circus had played an engagement in Honolulu, Harriet and I decided to stay in the islands for a few days. Our Hawaiian vacation started with a trip through the islands aboard a cabin cruiser, and almost ended in disaster. You'll hear the whole exciting story, Danger in the Deep, when next we meet. All stories are based upon incidents in the career of the world's famous Clyde Bady and the Clyde Bady circus. The Clyde Bady show was produced by Shirley Thomas. The fabulous General Eich was written by Robert T. Smith and Frank Mark Tossig. All names used were fictional, and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. This is a Commodore production.