 Powering Cornel Wild in When Cupid Was a Pup on the Cavalcade of America sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. But first, here is Gain Whitman. Have you been fooled by the uncertain weather of these spring days? Well, here is something you can do to help protect your family in April showers. You can make sure that rainwear, sportswear, and children's clothes you buy carry the Zeeland tag. The tag that means your garment is treated with DuPont Zeeland durable water repellent. Zeeland is different from ordinary water repellents because its protection won't come out when your garments are washed or cleaned. Zeeland is one of the DuPont Company's better things for better living through chemistry. The DuPont Company presents When Cupid Was a Pup, starring Cornel Wild as Dick Pearson on the Cavalcade of America. My name is Dick Pearson. When the war ended, like a lot of other fellows, I craved two things, peace and quiet. I guess everybody can understand that. What might take a little explaining was the fact that I decided to stay in the Coast Guard to get it. Well after a little maneuvering, I found myself heading for a job at a lighthouse, 26 miles out from San Francisco, on the Fowlin Islands. I figured a place like that would be a big and welcome change after the South Pacific business. In 2002, there was one other thing that made me want to take a job in a lighthouse. But well, anyway, when I met Pop Lars in that first day, it sounded like just what the doctor ordered. Well, here we are. How high is the lighthouse, Mr. Larsen? Three hundred and sixty feet above water, highest on the Pacific Coast. Get used to it though. As long as it doesn't rock, it's okay. Most powerful light on the coast. I had no idea it was so large. Uh-huh. Lights mechanically operated. Throw this here switch and you turn on the juice. The clock mechanism controls the flash. Lights on for two and seven tenths seconds, off seventeen and three tenths. Well, why two and seven tenths and seventeen three tenths? What sets those times? Well, every house has its own time, a skipper of a ship knows, or he can look up the flash and know who you see in this light. Visibility's better too. I see. Well, so far, Mr. Larsen. It sounds good. It might as well call me Pop, son. Everybody else does. Okay, Pop. Anything else you want to know? What'll my job be? Mostly men's, isn't it? Hiya, Pop. Oh, taking a look at the old girl. Yeah, Eddie. Oh, this here's Dick Pearson. Oh, sure. Gonna take my place, huh, Dick? I think so, at least, just a job with a view. Well, that it is. Lots of sky, lots of water, and plenty of ships. Take a look. Say, that's all right. Look at those seals down there on the rocks. Why, there must be hundreds of them. Thousands would be more like it. Every spring they come down here to the Fair Lawns and the Arctic, a great herd of them. They're a paper-of-isle, and one day they disappear just like they came. Back to the Arctic they go. Yeah, they're getting restless now, due to shove off any day. You want to see that, Pearson? One minute they're sunning themselves on the rocks, and the next, like that. They're gone. You know, I think I'm gonna like it out here. What'll my job be, Pop? Your head will break in, Dick, and then he's gonna leave. Leave? I can't understand anyone wanting to get away from this peace and quiet. Uh-huh, sometimes it's so quiet, you gotta talk to yourself to be sure you're still alive. That's exactly what I want. I won't get lonesome. It's quiet and I like it quiet. Sure, but you'll get tired of it. A guy like you ought to go for bright lights and excitement and people. That depends on what you mean by excitement. That's for people. I'm a little tired of them. Sure. Well, I'll be seeing you down below. I think Eddie's right. Seems to me that a fella just back from what you've been through would want to take himself some fun. San Francisco's only 26 miles away, you can get off. Come off to run over and have a date with a gal or something. No thanks. I don't like cities and I don't want any gals. Oh. Well, I was just trying. Have for the help you understand. Well, there was a girl. She couldn't wait for the water wind. Is that good enough? Oh, one of those things, huh? Well, forget it, son. No business of mine. Ah, there they go. Shevin' off, I guess. Listen, son, you run on down to the rocks and watch. It's a sight you don't want to miss. Okay, thanks. I'll see you later. Don't be late for supper. Bobby won't stand for it. Bobby, who's that? Coach for it. Don't worry. Tell him I'll be on time. What? What are you saying? I can't. Can't hear a word you're saying. Seals are making too much noise. Well, don't get too close to the edge. Oh. Hey, what are you doing here? Oh, just watching the seals. You ever see them before? Yeah, but not like this. You stay here? Stay? Well, if I didn't you'd starve to death. Didn't cop tell you about me? No, he didn't say anything about a girl being out here. What's the matter with that? It would take too long to tell you. You are not very friendly, are you? Being friendly isn't part of my job here. How'd you know my name? Carl told me. He's a skipper of the boat that brought you out here. Oh, I see. I'm Bobby, Roberta Larson. But don't you dare call me Roberta. I cook. Do you like chowder? Not particularly. Scholars? Not at all. And you don't like girls? Look, we went over all out a minute ago. Let's skip it. All right. Do you want it that way? And what's that? Oh, it sounded like a seal. This close in? Well, sometimes you come all the way into the cove. Hey, that sounds awfully close. We're coming from right below us. Well, I'll climb down and see what it is. All right, then. But hurry. The piercing sounds as if it's in pain. Oh, he's rockin' slippery. Oh, hold tight. See anything? Well, I'll be dodge gone. Hey, look. Oh, it's a seal. Look, I guess the herd left it behind. Yeah, I guess so. See, poor little thing. Can't it swim? Oh, look. It's eyes. Yeah, blind. It must have climbed up here thinking it was going toward the herd. Well, what are you going to do with it? Gee, I don't know. Let me look at its eyes. Now, I don't think it's really blind. They're just something wrong. I wonder. You wonder what? I'm going to take care of it and try to bring it around. Oh, but you don't know anything about seals, do you? I don't have to. I used to be a pharmacist's mate. There were a lot of men who... Well, I'm going to take them back to the lighthouse, see what I can do. You may not be much of a seal, but I want to give them a break. Oh, he doesn't like it. Maybe not, but Borek asked it all to help his eyes. Now, hold still, baby. Now, what are you feeding? I don't know. See, it eats fish, doesn't it? Well, I suppose so. But this one can't. He's too little. Look, is there plenty of milk around here? Then that's it. I'll feed him warm milk until he's able to eat solid food. Now, just a minute, just a minute. Say, is there a baby bottle around here? A baby bottle? What do you want to... Can't drink milk like a dog or a cat. He needs a nursing bottle. I don't think it's so funny. Is there one around here? Well, no, of course not. Any idea where I can get one? Well, San Francisco. Oh, only there, huh? Well, what's the matter with that? All right. I don't want to go into San Francisco. Well, why not? We can leave early in the morning and... Would you do me a favor? A favor? Well, I suppose so. Well, the next time you go to the city, bring me back a baby bottle. But... Will you do it or not? Well, that's no way to ask anyone to do you a favor. Well, I'm not going to use it. It's for him. Oh. Well, in that case, all right. Thanks. Until I get the bottle, I'll feed him warm milk for the medicine dropper. That's right, baby. I'll have you up and around in no time. What's going on here? Oh, Carl. Come in. What do you got there? You know Dick, don't you? Sure, bro. I'm out this afternoon. What's doing here? We found the seal pup. Found him? Let me see. He's blind. He hasn't got his eyes open. That's why we're baiting them. They'll have to be killed. Killed? What for? The herd deserted him. He wasn't fit to go along with them. He's a weakling. Not fit to live. Oh. Only the physically fit should survive, huh? I thought I heard the last of that one. What do you mean by that? Nothing at all. I found the seal and I'll take care of him. Huh? All right. Knock yourself out. It's not my business. Father, you and me had a date this afternoon. I've been looking for you. Oh, well, I forgot. We found the seal. Wait. Maybe you better get ready. But I... Go ahead. I can manage alone all right. Sure. Step on it, Bobby. All right. I'll get ready. I'll meet you at the boat. Don't forget the bottle. I won't. What are you talking about? What bottle? I asked you to pick up a baby bottle in San Francisco. Baby bottle? You nuts? It's for the seal. He can't eat solid food. What's the matter with you going in together? Nothing. I don't feel like going in the city. She said she'd do it, huh? That's right. She said she wouldn't mind. Well, maybe I might. You? Yeah, me. Maybe you and me better get something straight right now so we don't have any trouble later on. And why should we have any trouble later? Because I'm going to marry Bobby. Is that clear? Yeah, it's clear. But I can't see it's any great interest to me. So you're going to marry Bobby. What am I supposed to do? Just keep away from her, that's all. Now, look, you gave me some advice. I want to tell you something. Yeah, what? When I came here, I wanted this job because it got me away from people and stupid things like this discussion we just had. I don't want any part of them. All right, you marry Bobby or anybody you want. It's none of my business. Sure, but I was just telling you. Exactly, you just told me. So let's let it go with that. Now move over. I'm going to bat his eyes again. Quiet, baby. He mustn't wake Eddie. Oh, what makes you think I could sleep through all that racket? I'm sorry, Ed. Oh, look, Dick. I like you. You're a great guy. Sometimes you get funny spells still. I like it. But there is a limit. I told you I should have slept downstairs. Oh, no, no, no, it's all right. But for two weeks, we've been waking up every hour on the hour because the baby has got to have his bottle and his boric acid polishes. But I ask you, if the C11 gets better, who's going to nurse us back to health? I'm sorry, Ed, but I got to take care of Oscar. Oh, Oscar, how you got a name for him now? Sure. It fits his personality, don't you think? Hand me the bottle, will you? Sure, sure. You want me to take it downstairs and warm it a little? No thanks. This'll be all right. Oh, that's good. That's good. You know something? I'm worried about Oscar. His eyes are better now he can see, but it's about time he was taking solid food, isn't it? Me? I'm a bachelor. I don't know anything about babies and solid food. You know, I tried to give him a fish yesterday. He just smelled it and barked. You know, you're a funny guy. You come out here after being all through the Pacific to play wet nurse to a seal. I can't figure you out. Come on, I'll give. What's troubling you? Well, you see, Ed, when I got back, I wanted to be alone, get away from people. I thought that would help. Help what? Oh, a lot of things. Oh, a gal, huh? Well, not only that. I was sick and tired of everything I'd seen. But, you know, I found out something. No matter what you do, you can't get away from yourself. That's why I've got to keep Oscar alive. He's given me something to be interested in again. Does that sound silly? No. No, it ain't silly, Dick. But what are you going to do? Well, I guess all I can do is keep feeding him milk every hour. But I'll tell you what, I'll sleep downstairs when we're both off watch. That way, we won't keep you awake. Oh, never mind that. But you know, if my friends ask me why I'm looking so ragged, I'm going to sound pretty silly telling them I'm sitting up with a sick seal. Well, I don't know, Dick. Looks like you're going to lose him. Yeah, look at him. Thin as a rail, and he won't touch solid food. Then if I ever saw a seal, it wouldn't touch fish. Look, Oscar, look, fish. You see, all he does is smell it. He wants to eat it, but he can't. The person that think it was a kid, the way you worry about it, well, it's almost that way with me. Or he's dying. I think he is, Dick. And only because he can't eat. Oh, Dick, I've got it. What? Oh, with a book, he asked me to get in San Francisco on natural history. And look, there's a whole chapter in it about seals. Right here, Thin. Let me have it. That's a feeding habit. The bottom of his mouth, the membrane. Well, I'll be doggone. There's even a picture. Hey, Pop, what is it? Look, I'll show you here. Oscar, hold still, baby. Open your mouth. Now look, just as the book says. Look, see this membrane holding his tongue down to his jaw? That's why he can't eat fish. He can't swallow. Well, I'll be a son of a gun. Well, what are you going to do about it? I'll do. Well, I cured his eyes, didn't I? Well, I'm going to operate. I'm going to cut that membrane. Oh, but Dick, do you think you care? It's got to be done or he'll die. He'll starve to death. It's got to be done now. Come on. You were listening to Cornel Wild as Dick Pearson in When Cupid Was a Pop on the Cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. As the second part of our story opens, Dick Pearson has nursed a sealed pup back to health. Only to learn that unless a membrane in the seal's mouth is cut, it will be unable to eat. Now Dick, Bobby, and Pop Larson are in the kitchen of the lighthouse getting ready to perform the operation. We got everything? Mm-hmm. Knife, iodine, cotton. This ain't the silliest thing. Maybe we ought to wear white robes and masks. Oh, Pop. This isn't a laughing matter. I'm nervous. Well, I am, too. Now, look, Oscar, this is going to hurt. But when it's all over, you'll be able to eat fish. Seals are supposed to eat fish. Hey, Pop, hold on. It's flippers. Yeah, got'em. Okay. And Bobby, try not to touch the knife with your fingers. All right. I'll get Oscar's mouth open. Now, hold it, baby. Now, put Pop's mouth open with his block of wood. Yeah. Now what's going on? Oh, hello, Carl. Sit down. What the devil are you doing? Now the knife. Hey, Bobby, we had a date. Oh, you'll have to wait, Carl. Here's the knife, Dick. Thanks. Now, here we go, Oscar. Hold him, Pop. I got him. Bobby, we got a date. Well, just a minute, Carl. Go ahead, Dick. This time I got a date with you. You got one with that seal. Steady, Oscar. Steady. There. Are you dying? Mm-hmm. There. Okay, Pop. Let him go. I think the operation was a success, but we'll see. We'll try him with that fish. I'm going to. Denders thing I ever heard of. What's the idea? Well, there was a membrane in Oscar's jaw. He held it down his tongue so he couldn't swallow. Hey, look. Look, he's smelling the fish. Oscar, take it. Go ahead. He ain't gonna do it. Please, Oscar. You got it. Come on. He did. He ate the fish. Oh, Dick, I could hug you. Don't try it, Bobby. I guess I'll take Oscar down to the rocks for a walk. Yeah, that might be a good idea. Come on, Oscar. Now that you can eat, we'll go fishing. Well, Bobby, you going with me? I'm all right, Carl. I'll be with you as soon as I change my clothes. I won't be long. Well, yes, sir. I'll be checking the light. Hey, Pop. Yeah? There's a little talk. Tell him to quit hanging around with Bobby. I warned him once, but it didn't stick. Carl? Bobby's her own boss. So is Dick. As long as he does his work, I've got no complaint. Okay. I'll tell him myself. The next time I'll make it stick. I'm telling both of you, this is nuts. Just plain nuts. Oh, Ed, you don't know anything about it. Haven't I seen enough seals to know? Oscar's different. He's not just any seal. That's right. And the book, it says seals have to be taught to swim by their mothers. You need his flippers and the mother instinct. You know, this cove is a good place. The water's quiet and not deep, just like a pool. Oscar is a crazy seal. First he couldn't see, then he couldn't eat. Now he can't swim. Maybe he ain't even a seal. Shut up, Eddie. Hey, Oscar. Look, baby, this is water. Now go on in. Oh, fine. Now you have to tell him what water is. God, she's afraid of it. Well, he ought to be. You had him in a bathtub enough times. Now look, Oscar, you're going in that water. One way or another, you're going in that water and swim. We hope. Give me the book, Bobby. Oh, here. Let's see. The book says he has to be taught to keep his nose closed underwater. Maybe I should teach him to read first. Oh, sure. And that's all we need is a seal that reads. What's next? Oscar, you brought this on yourself. I'm going to push you in and teach you whatever seals should know. Here you go. Ah! Hey, he sank like a rock. Well, he didn't swim a stroke. He's just laying at the bottom. God, he'll drown. Well, he will if he stays there. Oh, Dick, he's got to be pulled out. I know. Here goes. Grab him and hand him out to me, Dick. OK. Eddie, you take him quick. All right. There. I got him. Hey, give me your hand, too, huh? Oh, there. You, Oscar, you dumb clock. You're going to swim if I have to move your flippers for you. Oh, this I can't watch. A seal that sinks like a rock. Oh, I'll see you later. Cat Dick, what are you going to do? Do? The only thing left. Look, the water's not deep. I'll stand close to the rocks and hold Oscar up until he gets the idea. Oh, you can't do it alone. Why not? Come on. Oh, wait. I'll help. Well, OK, if you want to. Now, Oscar, you're going to swim if it drowns you and me. He's learned to keep his nose closed underwater. Yeah, and he's using his flippers. Come on, Oscar. Look at him. He loves it. Why, Dick, you're laughing. Laughing? Well, what's the matter with that? Well, you never laughed much. Well, there wasn't anything to laugh about. Wasn't there? Were things that bad? Now, look, Bobby, we get along as well as long as we have Oscar to think about. Let's not talk about me. Well, why not? You know, sometimes I think you need to help as much as Oscar. Yeah, I guess I do. I certainly need Oscar to make me see a lot of things. But being alone and getting away from things doesn't help. And, well... What were you going to say? Yeah, what were you going to say? Well, Carl, I thought you were going to San Francisco. I didn't. Come on, get out of that water. Oh, now you listen to me. Come on. You better get back up to the house, huh? I will not. I don't like being ordered around. All right, suit yourself. Pearson? What? I told you a couple of times to keep away from Bobby. Maybe you didn't hear right. Now, look, Carl, let's not go over all that again. Since you came here, you've been making a play for Bobby. And I don't like it any better now than I did at first. That seal, I should have killed him right away. That ain't too late. Oh, Carl, don't you dare. I told you to keep out of this. Now, be reasonable, Carl. You're imagining things. Imagining? Well, you see if this is imagination. Oh, you crazy fool. You kicked off. And that ain't all. Oh, Carl, you idiot. You stupid fool. You shouldn't have done that, Carl. But I did. I've been making for a chance to take a poke at you ever since you came here. Okay, I gave you a reason. Slug me. Come on. Look, maybe I know how you feel. But don't try it again. I think you're yellow. Just approve it. I'll do it again. Or you... Oh, stop it. Carl, take it. If you want to get up, Carl, you can try it again. But I wouldn't if I were you. Now, Bobby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause all this. Come on, Oscar. Well, what's eating on you, son? Pop, I kind of made a mess of things since I've been here. And maybe I ought to clear out. Uh-huh. Bobby told me what happened. I wouldn't have come between them for anything in the world. Dick, there was nothing between Bobby and Carl. He sort of took things for granted. Bobby didn't tell you she was in love with him, did she? Oh, no, but that's what I thought all along. Sure, sure. But Bobby wasn't going to come right out and tell you different. There was nobody going to bathe your eyes in boric acid to make you see. You had them wide open. But there was something inside that was blind. Understand? Are you serious, Pop? Maybe you better ask Bobby. I saw her heading for the cove a couple of minutes back. Well, Pop, your wonderful thanks. Thanks a million. Hello, Bobby. Oh, hello. That Oscar's a good company, isn't it? Yes. But I've got a hunch he'll leave me to join the herd. He's well again. He owes her to swim. Yep, he'll leave. Just like that. Okay, Oscar, I'm going to tell her. Tell me? Tell me what? Well, Bobby, I don't know whether I can pick just the right words. They may even sound a little stiff and awkward. Maybe because I swore once I'd never put myself in a spot where I'd say them again. And now? Why, I told you before that I needed Oscar, that he made me see something. Oh? That's right. Well, Bobby, nobody had to bathe my eyes in boric acid so I could see again. I didn't need that kind of help, but there was something I didn't need and I didn't know it. What are you trying to say, Dick? I'm trying to say that I needed you. I thought I wanted peace and quiet, that I wanted to be alone. Well, didn't Oscar help? Well, in a way, yes. He was the one who brought us together, made me realize that I needed someone as much as he did. Do I make sense, Bobby? Wow. You're not supposed to answer Oscar she is. Well, do you really think I can take Oscar's place? Well, if you try real hard. I'll do my best. Well, you're not supposed to laugh at you kiss a girl. But look, we had a sealed pop playing Cupid for us. Oh, Dick, he's jumped in. Oscar! Oscar! Why, he's going away. Oh, to join the herd. It seems Oscar knows what he wants too. Mission accomplished, is Oscar. And he'll be back next year. You want to wait for him? Uh-huh, with you. Do you want me to tell you I love you? Oh, it might be nice. All right. Bobby, I love you. I know Oscar wouldn't be jealous if he heard me say it. Turn to our cavalcade microphone in a moment. Now here is Gain Whitman. Just how good were the good old days? Not everything about them was good. If you had to buy food for your family in the old-time cluttered general store, for instance, you'd be horrified. Almost no food products were wrapped or packaged. In the daytime, the village loafers parked their muddy boots on the flower barrel, which the rats and mice used at night as a playground. The proprietors' cat slept in the open sugar barrel. If Mrs. Jones decided she didn't want soda crackers after handling them, they went right back into the box. Flies swarmed everywhere. The store was a gathering place for every germ in the neighborhood. People didn't know much about germs then. Today, all of us know that unwrapped, unprotected foodstuffs are dangerous. More and more, products in more and more stores come to you in modern, protected packages. And now that the war is over, more and more are wrapped in DuPont cellophane. Sparkling, transparent cellophane lets you see food products, and because it keeps them better, it saves money for you and for your grocer. But it should not be forgotten that DuPont cellophane as a package for the foods you buy is doing another vitally important job. It is protecting your bread, your cake, your cheese. It is safeguarding your candy, your toothbrush, your baby's underwear against contamination. DuPont cellophane is a wall in the path of disease germs. It keeps germs out. As a matter of fact, doctors, surgeons sometimes use it for that purpose, adding a layer of cellophane to the surgical dressing over a wound. Yes, indeed. Our good new days are better than the good old days. We're healthier. We live longer. We use individual paper towels instead of one towel for all comers. We use paper drinking cups instead of one tin cup or dipper for the whole family. The same increasing knowledge of the importance of hygiene is one of the reasons for the ever-growing number of products wrapped in cellophane. Cellophane that shows what it protects. One of the DuPont company's better things for better living through chemistry. And now, once again, our star, Cornel Wild. And thank you, Gaines. Oh, by the way, doing anything next Monday night? Next Monday night, I don't think so, why? Then here's an invitation for you to listen to Circus Day on Cavalcade. Circus Day with seals and all the trimmings. Pink lemonade, popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, and the greatest array of talent ever assembled. That's a big order. Well, yes. But we fill it with Academy Award winner and revere. And the fine young actor Ted Donaldson. I don't offer anybody. I'll take a ticket for the big top right here. You're in. And thanks for your fine performance tonight. Well, this was my first appearance on Cavalcade and it was a pleasure. Thanks and good night. Cornel Wild appeared for the courtesy of 20th Century Fox. And we've seen in their production Centennial Summer. The music for tonight's DuPont Cavalcade was composed and conducted by Robert Anglister. A Cavalcade play was written based on an original story by Richard English, published in the Saturday evening post. In tonight's cast with Cornel Wild were Sammy Hill as Bobby, Griff Barnett as Pop, Elliott Lewis as Carl, and Jerry Hausner as Ed. This is Tom Collins inviting you to listen next week to Circus Day starring Anne Revere and Ted Donaldson on the Cavalcade of America. Brought to you by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.