Ranger Bill, warrior of the woodland.
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.
Say have you ever heard of animal ghosts?
Gus McDougall, the owner of a large bus line, has problems with ghosts and Bill and his
rangers are directly involved.
In fact, the ghosts almost put Gus out of business and Bill is hard put to solve the
problem of ghosts appearing along forest edges at night.
What would you do if a man told you that you had to stop his men from seeing ghosts?
That's quite a question, isn't it?
Let's find out what Bill and the fellas do in the story, The Road Ghost.
Big Sandy Thomas is pushing his cross country bus as hard as he can and yet drive safely.
The large vehicle has a full load of 55 sleeping passengers as the bus roars through the night.
The drive from Junction City to Naughty Pine is the last leg of a long trail for Sandy.
One of the passengers sitting directly behind the driver's seat speaks a few words now and
again.
Say driver.
Yeah?
Why do you flash your brights every time you climb a hill?
I do that to alert a driver coming up the other side that I'm here not to pass on the
way up.
See that's smart safety.
It would be good for anybody driving in a hilly country.
Yeah, to save a lot of accidents.
Of course you're not supposed to pass on a hill but there's always a wise guy on every
road.
Hey driver, you have the time?
Yeah, midnight.
Right on the head.
Thanks.
It's too dark to see my watch.
It's quite all right.
I suppose it's too dark for you to see the sign over my head too.
You mean the one about not talking to the driver while the bus is in motion?
Yeah, that's the one.
Everybody breaks rules and regulations, you know.
They do, huh?
Sure, that's what they're made for.
Boy, I'm sure glad you're not driving on the other side of this hill.
Hey, hey, there's a deer in the road.
All right folks, all right.
Quiet down, take it easy.
There's no serious damage done to the bus.
Anybody hurt?
No, we're just shaking up, that's all.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'll back the bus onto the road and we'll be in Naughty Pine in 40 minutes.
What happened, driver?
Lance thinks you like to scare the life out of me.
I saw a deer on the road and tried to avoid hitting it.
I didn't see any deer and I'm sitting right behind you.
You didn't?
No.
That's strange because I sure saw it had a funny color, like a ghost deer.
No, no, no, take it easy folks.
The doctor's on his way over and he'll check on you for any possible injury.
What about the driver?
He's the one that should be checked before he kills somebody.
How do you explain away what happened, Mr. McDougall?
I'm not trying to explain away anything.
It's not unusual for animals to jump in front of vehicles driving along forest highways.
The bus headlights picked up the deer as they bounded across the road and startled the driver.
Perhaps, but why did the driver take off to the side of the road like he did?
Well, mate, there might have been a serious accident if Sandy hadn't pulled onto the shoulder.
Running into a deer or any large animal could put even a heavy bus completely out of control
or turn it over.
Well, I'm satisfied that everything's all right.
For a minute I thought the driver went off his rocker.
So did I.
Land sakes, whoever heard of seeing ghost animals on the road?
Gus had a good sound answer to this one, but his fine logical remarks soon go up in smoke.
A series of accidents follow over a period of three weeks.
Three nights after the first incident, Paul Gebbish drives the same route.
It's late at night.
The bus nears a narrow bridge and a car is crossing from the other end.
Suddenly the bus swerves into the path of the oncoming car.
How are you feeling, Paul?
Oh, not bad.
I'll be as good as new after my harm bends.
How's the driver of the car, boss?
He wasn't hurt too badly.
Saw you swerve and brazed himself for the crash.
What happened?
A deer jumped in front of the bus.
Boy, it sure had a ghostly look.
Two more accidents occurred in a lesser degree than the one Paul had.
It wasn't long before the whole country around Naughty Pine, Junction City, Canyon City, and
Centerville was in a hubbub.
What do you think about all them there bus accidents, Knute?
Well, I think there's something wrong for sure.
I ain't ridin' them there buses until they find out what it is.
I was on the bus that had that first accident, Phil, and I'm telling you for your own good,
don't ride on those buses.
I don't intend to, Jane.
I want to keep my body in one piece.
Maybe those drivers need a psychiatrist.
I don't allow Zeds however hurt or ghost animals, do you?
Don't reckon to do, Josh.
I wouldn't ride in one of them there buses if you paid me.
My old borough, she's much safer.
Gus, do you have time for an interview?
Yeah, sure, Frank.
What makes you think I have got a story for the Gazette?
Oh, man, you're the hottest news of the day.
Everybody's talking about the road ghosts, and I mean they're talking nasty about your
bus line.
Oh, I was afraid of that.
The talk is bad.
I wouldn't be here for a story if it wasn't.
What are you going to do about these ghost animals your drivers see?
Oh, I got a couple of ideas.
But first of all, I don't believe that the drivers are seeing ghost animals.
I think they're real.
How are you going to prove that?
I don't have to prove it.
I know.
Who ever heard of ghost animals?
That's more ridiculous than believing in human ghosts.
You been out along the road and looked for hoof prints?
No, I'm going to let the Rangers do that.
You think the Rangers fit into this?
Why not?
It's their forest and it's up to them to keep the animals off the road.
Can I print that as a statement?
Sure.
I've just about made up my mind to make a visit to Ranger headquarters and get Bill
Jefferson hot on this problem.
Hey have you read the latest edition of the Gazette?
What's the hot news, honey?
Oh, I'm thinking about Rangers from Look on Henry's Face.
Yeah, you guessed it, Grey Wolf.
Gus is going to ask us to stop the road ghosts.
Yeah, we can't do it.
Why not?
Article 7, paragraph 3, line 9 of the regulations say Rangers will not chase ghosts, especially
ghost animals.
Stumpy have answer for everything, including road ghosts.
You're not joking.
Hey Bill, you haven't said a word.
How come?
When have I had a chance until now?
Oh, I knew I should have kept my tater trap shut.
I'm only ribbing you.
What do you want me to say about this?
Say something.
You happy or not happy?
Yeah, make some kind of noise, honey.
Okay, I'll make some kind of noise.
Let's hear it.
What would you like to say if I told you I expected Gus to do this?
Well, what is there to say?
You're always able to set in Gus the other guy.
When do you think he'll come?
Oh, in about five minutes.
What?
You must be getting to be one of them there prophetic fellows to be able to tell the exact
time Gus is coming into this office.
Oh, I don't think I have to be a prophet to tell that, especially if I keep looking out
of the window and watch him walking up the street.
Oh Bill, you're smart.
Hello, fellas.
Howdy, Gus.
Good to see you.
Sit down and rest yourself and we can talk out your problem.
No, thanks.
I'll stand.
Come on, Gus.
We don't charge for setting the spell.
And I don't think this is a laughing matter or any time for jokes.
Well, perhaps it ain't, young fella.
There's always room for a little humor, no matter how serious the problem.
Good, clean humor helps a man keep the right perspective on life.
Those that ain't got the Lord as their savior need something to help them keep the right
perspective.
Of course, humor ain't a substitute for the Lord, sonny.
Now you come storming in here like a rhino with a hot foot.
Expect everybody to drop dead because you're upset.
Well, this old duffer ain't about to do that for anyone.
If I can't have a good clean laugh even in the face of trouble, then life ain't worth
living.
If you don't like that, you can get.
Well, I guess I have that coming.
What you've said makes a lot of sense, old timer.
Sorry.
Now you're talking, sonny.
Now what's this stuff about your driver seeing animal ghosts down the road?
I don't know myself.
That's why I'm here.
I need help.
Seems as though you knew all about it from this article in the paper.
Yeah, I thought I did.
I guess I was steamed up.
I've been losing business and all the adverse publicity from the accidents is going to cost
me more fares.
I was getting filled up inside and, well, I took it out on you fellows.
Well, there's nothing to be sorry about, Gus.
What you've said in the paper is perfectly logical.
You mean you're not angry with me for saying what I did?
If real deer and other animals are jumping out on road and cause accident, then it's
up to us to stop them.
Maybe you have to build fence.
That's right, young fellow.
We ain't said that this ain't possible until we've had a look.
That's what we're going to do first thing in the morning.
Don't look so surprised, Mr. McDougall.
Well, that is, I came in here ready to fight and you fellows took all the fight out of
me by being friendly and cooperative.
That's all right.
We understand.
Don't take it too hard.
You know, when you've got a serious problem, the best thing to do is to let the Lord help
you with it.
The Lord may decide to have other folks lend a hand or if it's humanly impossible, then
he'll take care of it himself.
What Bill say is great truth.
You let us look into road goes problem, see if we can help.
We'll do our best.
And in the meantime, try to relax, Gus.
You'll crack under the strain, my friend.
Yeah, I know.
Hey Wolf, the Stumpy, help me move the cabinet in the back room.
Okay.
Gus, you know how to pray.
Oh, no.
I haven't been in a church but two or three times in my life.
Well, you don't have to be in a church to pray, you know.
If you'll believe in the Lord and are on speaking terms with him, the Lord will answer your
prayers.
You'll find that you'll receive tremendous help, what seems an impossible load to bear
will become quite tolerable.
Try it, see if it doesn't work and I'll be glad to pray with you.
Yeah, well, I appreciate your interest and offer to help but I think I'll try and make
it on my own.
I would be obliged though if you'd take a look along the road in the morning.
Okay, we'll be out bright and early.
I'll let you know what we find.
What do you think we'll find out here, Bill?
I'd say right off hand that we won't find anything, pal.
Huh?
How do you know?
I don't.
Just a guess.
You didn't sneak out here last night while we were sleeping and take a look.
No, I didn't, Stan.
Their bridge ahead where one accident took place.
Mm-hmm.
We'll park on the shoulder just the other side of the bridge.
How are we gonna work this?
Two of us will walk along the road and the other two will walk along parallel to the
road about a hundred yards in.
We'll all look for trail sign of deer and any other animals that might have crossed the
road.
How far along road we search, Bill?
Oh, I'd say five miles one way and then we'll come back along the other side.
That ought to be good.
Drivers see road ghosts along this part of road only.
That's right, Grey Wolf.
As strange as it seems.
I wonder why just along this five-mile stretch.
That's a good question, Henry.
I don't know if the answer is so easy to come by.
Well, by that, old friend.
Let's give it a good look and see what we can find.
Henry and I will take the inside, at least on the way up.
You fellas can do the hard work coming back.
I don't think there's been any animals crossed the highway for quite some time.
It looks that way, pal.
All we've found so far are some old trails.
At least four, probably five weeks old.
Right.
We've only got three and a half miles to go until we start back.
I hate to think of poor Gus's reaction if we don't find any animal tracks.
Yeah.
He's so sure that his drivers saw real animals instead of ghosts.
That curve where one accident happened and here a place where Sandy ran off road and
hit tree.
Yep.
This is it, all right.
Well, we should find some recent animal tracks in the next hundred feet, thereabouts.
I think Bill right when he say we not find animal tracks.
Yeah.
Sure looks that way, all right, Grey Wolf.
Unless maybe we're getting blind.
We're all host at the five mile mark.
Still no footprints.
I wonder if Stumpy and Grey Wolf saw anything.
I doubt it.
They would have called to us.
We'll walk another 300 yards and call it quits.
We look careful Bill, not find any sign of deer or other animals cross road.
Now neither do we.
I can't imagine we will find any on the other side of the road either.
Highly improbable that an animal would walk out into the middle of the road, change its
mind and turn back the way it came.
Bill, did you find the tracks?
No Gus, not a one.
You didn't.
How far did you look?
Five miles on either side of the road, a hundred yards in, as well as along the edge
of the road.
Yeah, we took special care to examine the places where the accidents happened.
And we didn't even find bird tracks.
To say nothing of deer tracks.
We make plenty careful search.
I was afraid of this.
I was hoping that this would turn out to be something concrete so as not to affect business.
But it didn't.
No, we're fighting the intangible, the unknown.
You don't really believe in ghosts do you?
Oh no, of course not.
But I'd sure give my right arm to know what the answer is.
Who knows, maybe I'll have to believe in ghosts before this is over.
Have there been any more accidents Gus?
No, fortunately.
You haven't taken the night buses off the schedule have you?
You know, I think your men might be just plain tired.
Oh no, then I'd be licked for sure.
That would be admitting defeat.
You know this road ghost business might be over with.
Might have been atmospheric conditions or something like that.
Say do you think that's possible?
Well I've seen it happen.
Scientists fellers call it some kind of light reflection or something like that there.
Bill, you tell them.
Stumpy is referring to strange deflection and reflection of light like through a prism.
Cloud conditions cause this.
Scientists say this is the cause of the flying saucer effects.
You know, maybe this is the answer.
Perhaps the road ghost business is over and things will get back to normal.
We hope that right Gus.
You hope it's right Grey Wolf.
Boy, how do you think I feel?
Well let's let things stand the way they are and see what happens I guess.
Right.
Thanks a million fellas.
I appreciate your help more than you know.
That's okay sonny.
Maybe we scared off them there road ghost characters for good.
Sure.
When they found out you and Grey Wolf were tracking them, they knew their little game
was about to be nipped in the bud.
Well let's head for home fellas.
Our job is done.
You know, I get a good feeling inside when a tough problem or job is done.
Yeah, I know what you mean pal.
It's real satisfaction to see the smile come back in the Gus's face.
Yeah.
Hey, look at this fishing tackle in the window.
Yeah.
It's sure some set of bass flies.
Sure is.
Had to get our stuff out of storage and give it a going over.
Before we know it, the fishing season will be open.
Yeah and how?
Say, are we going to fish the Big Falls River this year?
You like to live dangerously don't you?
Well, not exactly but man, the trout that's in that river.
Boy, the giants those fellas are.
If I could just hook one of those great grand daddies, I'd be satisfied.
Well, we'll have to see what we can do to make that wish come true.
Hey, you aren't joking are you?
No, I'm not.
Well, we'd better head back home and hit the hay.
Yeah, I've got exams in the morning and then I have to meet you fellas out on the trail
in the afternoon.
Yeah, let's go home.
Hey Bill, there's a note mom left for you.
There was a call for you while you were out.
Oh, who was it?
Gus McDougal.
Huh?
Gus?
What does he want?
There's been another accident.
He wants you to go right over to his office.
I'm telling you Mr. McDougal, I wouldn't ride in one of your buses again for all the gold
in the United States mint.
I'm going to write to the Commerce Commission, have your license revoked.
Neither you nor your drivers are fit to run a bus line.
Well, my dad hears about the accident.
He'll call his lawyer and have him sue you.
You just better hope I didn't get hurt.
Whoever heard of anything is absolutely ridiculous as seeing ghosts of animals on the road.
You fellas ought to be locked up and not let out unless there's a guard with you.
Please, now folks, now if you'll sign these forms, everything will be taken care of.
I'm really sorry this happened and I'll make sure that it won't happen again.
Maybe you can fool some of the people some of the time, but it'll catch up with you.
What's the use of sounding off, fellas?
Write to the proper authorities and have their license taken away.
Let's get out of here and be thankful that we're still alive.
Hey, young fella, those folks here hopping mad like a grasshopper on a hot rock.
Yes, and they've got a good right to be mad.
What happened, Gus?
Sandy saw another road ghost.
He almost had a head-on collision.
Wow, that's not so good.
You're telling me.
I'm ruined now, that's for sure.
Anybody hurt this time?
No, and I'm thankful for that.
Bill, what's the answer?
What is this road ghost stuff?
Are the ghosts real?
Yes, they are.
What do you mean, Bill?
Hey, are you telling us that you believe in ghosts?
I didn't say that, pal.
The ghosts are real to the drivers, however.
Now, wait a minute.
That remark's eluded.
Explain yourself, sonny.
Now, what do you hold back?
Yes, for the sake of my own sanity, what's the score, Bill?
It's a scientific fact that fatigued drivers see animals jumping across the road in front of them.
You can call them road ghosts if you want to.
That's strange.
Well, I guess my drivers aren't resting enough away from the job, eh, Bill?
I don't think that's the answer, Gus.
Well, then what is the answer?
What's causing this fatigue?
You are.
Me?
Why, of all the no-good remarks I've ever heard, this one takes the cake.
I treat my drivers better than most bosses do.
They've got all kinds of fringe benefits.
They get a Christmas bonus as well as good pay.
I pay better than 95% of all the other transportation outfits.
You hear me, Bill Jefferson?
How can I help but hear you?
You still say it's me?
I do.
Well, I don't believe it.
What am I doing to my men that makes them so tired they see ghost animals when they're driving at night?
The haul from Centerville to Naughty Pine is too long, Gus.
What do you mean, too long?
It's 450 miles.
That's only 50 miles over the normal distance allowed for each driver.
What's another 50 miles to a good man behind the wheel?
You should have your drivers change at Junction City.
This wouldn't happen.
What do you know about bus driving?
Listen, I've been in this game for years.
I don't believe a word you're saying.
That's all right with me, Gus.
I tried to say something sooner, but I got a reaction just like this.
I'm only trying to help.
Help?
Listening to you is more demoralizing than all the accidents put together.
Perhaps.
If you won't listen now, I think you will after you're broke and out of business.
I suggest that you drive a bus yourself from Centerville to Naughty Pine.
Boy, riding in this empty bus sure feels funny.
Yeah, it does at that, pal.
Are Stumpy and Grey Wolf still behind us?
Sure.
Uh-huh.
Yeah, we ought to know the facts in half an hour.
Are we that close to Naughty Pine?
Uh-huh.
But what if Gus sees a road ghost and we crack up?
Well, I'll be up there with him ready to grab the wheel if he sees one.
Do you think Gus will be convinced you're right?
I don't know.
He's pretty stubborn.
Not we'll know in a short while.
Is it time yet?
Yeah, we're entering the five-mile stretch where all the accidents have happened.
Let's go up front.
Hold on!
He's seen a ghost!
You fellas all right?
Yeah, we're okay, Stumpy.
Ah, you stopped funny short, Gus.
And good thing bus only hit tree.
What happened, Stumpy?
See a road ghost?
No, not exactly.
What do you mean, Gus?
My eyes started playing tricks on me.
I saw extra beams of light.
It was like I was hypnotized.
Oh, where am I tired?
If you'd have kept going, you probably would have seen a ghost animal, huh?
Yeah, you're right, Bill.
Well, thanks to you, I can save my business.
I'll have the drivers change at Junction City instead of Naughty Pine.
That's the idea, sonny.
Now the boys won't be tired from driving.
This is the end of the road ghosts.
Well how about that?
The drivers were actually seeing ghosts.
Not real ones, but imaginary animals because of fatigue.
Boy, Bill sure can stick to his guns if he knows he's right.
I wonder if Bill's remarks about the Lord in prayer will sink into Gus's mind.
Who knows what happens when the gospel seeds are sown?
The Lord will see to it that they're not sown in vain.
We'll see you next week for more Adventure with Ranger Bill.
Hi, fellas and gals.
Ranger Bill again stepping in here for less than a minute to invite all of you out there
to another half hour of adventure next week at this special spot on your radio dial.
We've gathered a pile of stories for you with mystery and adventure and all kinds of excitement
and we don't want you to miss a single one.
So next time, call up your friends or get together with them and join all of us rangers
for a session of fighting forest fires, grappling with grizzly bears or just plain trying to
help somebody out.
I'm sure you'll enjoy the story and you might just learn something that'll be of real help
to you in later life.
So next week, be sure to listen.