WEBVTT 00:30.000 --> 00:33.000 I was told all my calls for about half an hour, please. 00:41.000 --> 00:45.000 Dear Winfred, this is a story I promised to tell you. 00:45.000 --> 00:48.000 It's a true story. The case history of Billy Brandon. 00:49.000 --> 00:51.000 The boy nobody wanted. 00:51.000 --> 00:54.000 The most sent against child I've ever known. 00:54.000 --> 00:59.000 Billy lived with his father, a professional gambler in a boarding house. 01:00.000 --> 01:01.000 Dad, you're home! 01:02.000 --> 01:06.000 Hiya, son! One, two, three! 01:07.000 --> 01:10.000 Come on, let's do that knockout stuff you showed me! 01:10.000 --> 01:12.000 Oh, there, take it easy, Bill, huh? 01:13.000 --> 01:16.000 I've been practicing, and I can do it pretty good now. 01:17.000 --> 01:20.000 Now look, the guy's coming at me with a knife, see? 01:20.000 --> 01:22.000 Now I grab his arm like this, and then... 01:22.000 --> 01:24.000 How's that? 01:24.000 --> 01:25.000 Not bad. 01:25.000 --> 01:27.000 Now come on, let me try it on you! 01:27.000 --> 01:29.000 Oh, not now, son, I'm all dressed. 01:29.000 --> 01:30.000 You going away? 01:30.000 --> 01:33.000 Yeah, I'm sorry, kid, but I've got some important business. 01:33.000 --> 01:36.000 But it's Sunday, and you promised we'd go to the zoo! 01:36.000 --> 01:40.000 Oh, that, well... Why don't you ask Miss Nelly? Maybe she'll take you. 01:40.000 --> 01:44.000 Oh, she's gone. Everybody's gone. It's Sunday. 01:44.000 --> 01:47.000 Well, you'll think of something to do. You're a big boy now. 01:47.000 --> 01:50.000 Play with your electric train, or try that knockout trick again. 01:50.000 --> 01:54.000 No, it's no good with that old pillow. It ain't like a real person. 01:54.000 --> 01:57.000 Well, never try it on some other kid. It's rough. 01:57.000 --> 02:00.000 It's only used for your self-defense, remember, like I told you? 02:00.000 --> 02:02.000 Yeah, I remember. 02:04.000 --> 02:05.000 That's for me. 02:08.000 --> 02:09.000 Yeah. 02:10.000 --> 02:14.000 I'm sorry about the zoo, kid, but we'll make it next time, huh? 02:14.000 --> 02:17.000 That's the boy. 02:24.000 --> 02:27.000 Come on, here we go. A little short, that's fine. 02:27.000 --> 02:29.000 A good butt now. There you go. 02:29.000 --> 02:31.000 Good boy! That's the way to do it. 02:31.000 --> 02:34.000 After your lie. Come on, buddy. 02:35.000 --> 02:37.000 There's the phone, son. I'll be back. 02:37.000 --> 02:44.000 Okay. 02:54.000 --> 02:55.000 Hi. 02:56.000 --> 02:58.000 Can I come over and play? 02:58.000 --> 02:59.000 No. 02:59.000 --> 03:00.000 Why? 03:00.000 --> 03:03.000 Your daddy's a gambler. My dad says so. 03:03.000 --> 03:05.000 What's a gambler? 03:05.000 --> 03:09.000 I don't know, but my dad does. He knows everything. 03:09.000 --> 03:13.000 We own a newspaper. We go to the baseball game free. 03:13.000 --> 03:14.000 Gee. 03:14.000 --> 03:15.000 And sit in a box. 03:15.000 --> 03:16.000 Golly. 03:17.000 --> 03:19.000 My dad was an athlete. 03:19.000 --> 03:20.000 I bet. 03:20.000 --> 03:23.000 He was, and he knows how to box and wrestle. 03:23.000 --> 03:26.000 And he's teaching me how to do knockout trips. 03:26.000 --> 03:27.000 What's that? 03:27.000 --> 03:30.000 That's a way to fight. A way that nobody can beat you. 03:30.000 --> 03:32.000 I bet. 03:32.000 --> 03:35.000 It is. I can do it pretty good now. 03:35.000 --> 03:36.000 Show me. 03:36.000 --> 03:37.000 I can't. 03:37.000 --> 03:38.000 Why not? 03:38.000 --> 03:40.000 Because I might hurt you. 03:40.000 --> 03:43.000 It's only for defending yourself, my dad says. 03:43.000 --> 03:45.000 I bet you can't even do it. 03:45.000 --> 03:46.000 I bet I can. 03:46.000 --> 03:47.000 Then show me. 03:47.000 --> 03:48.000 No. 03:48.000 --> 03:49.000 I bet you're scared. 03:49.000 --> 03:50.000 I am not. 03:50.000 --> 03:52.000 I bet. 03:52.000 --> 03:54.000 I bet. 04:01.000 --> 04:03.000 Oh, Spidey, not that way. 04:03.000 --> 04:05.000 I told you you can't come in here. 04:05.000 --> 04:06.000 Try and put me out. 04:06.000 --> 04:08.000 Right now. 04:08.000 --> 04:11.000 I told you I could do it. 04:14.000 --> 04:16.000 I have to. 04:18.000 --> 04:20.000 Get up. 04:20.000 --> 04:37.000 Get up. 04:37.000 --> 04:44.000 News of this terrible tragedy reached me while I was interviewing a couple seeking a baby for adoption. 04:44.000 --> 04:46.000 What is your name, please? 04:46.000 --> 04:47.000 Wheelock. 04:47.000 --> 04:51.000 Herbert Wheelock, and I'm Martha. 04:51.000 --> 04:53.000 Where do you live, Mrs. Wheelock? 04:53.000 --> 04:54.000 Little Rock. 04:54.000 --> 04:56.000 That's about 30 miles from here. 04:56.000 --> 04:58.000 Rural Route 10. 04:58.000 --> 04:59.000 It's a farm. 04:59.000 --> 05:01.000 It's a nice one. 05:01.000 --> 05:04.000 We have horses and a couple of cows. 05:04.000 --> 05:05.000 Jerry's? 05:05.000 --> 05:10.000 And we raise corn and wheat, and there's a pasture with a little brook in it. 05:10.000 --> 05:14.000 And the house, when we built it, we wanted enough rooms for... 05:14.000 --> 05:17.000 Well, we thought surely there'd be a big family. 05:17.000 --> 05:19.000 That's what we both wanted. 05:19.000 --> 05:22.000 But we know better now. 05:22.000 --> 05:25.000 We can never have a child of our own. 05:25.000 --> 05:27.000 No, no, Martha. 05:27.000 --> 05:30.000 How old are you, Mrs. Wheelock? 05:30.000 --> 05:31.000 I'm strong. 05:31.000 --> 05:37.000 I get up every morning at 4 and milk the cows, and I help Mr. Wheelock with the hay. 05:37.000 --> 05:39.000 She's 46, Mrs. Sherman. 05:39.000 --> 05:42.000 I wish I could help you, but I can't. 05:42.000 --> 05:45.000 No court would award you a baby for adoption. 05:45.000 --> 05:47.000 Our laws draw the line at 40. 05:47.000 --> 05:51.000 But what about the mothers who have their own babies after they're 40? 05:51.000 --> 05:56.000 It's only the law that draws the line, not God. 05:56.000 --> 05:59.000 Excuse me. 05:59.000 --> 06:00.000 Yes. 06:00.000 --> 06:02.000 Put him on. 06:02.000 --> 06:06.000 Hello, Judge. 06:06.000 --> 06:09.000 The son of the editor? 06:09.000 --> 06:15.000 Oh, no. 06:15.000 --> 06:20.000 Come in. 06:20.000 --> 06:24.000 I haven't had a chance to express my sympathy. 06:24.000 --> 06:25.000 You know Nick Brandon? 06:25.000 --> 06:27.000 I know who he is, yes. 06:27.000 --> 06:28.000 What do you know about him? 06:28.000 --> 06:31.000 Well, he reputedly operates a gambling house somewhere. 06:31.000 --> 06:32.000 Where? 06:32.000 --> 06:35.000 I don't know, Mr. Reynolds. 06:35.000 --> 06:36.000 You're a reporter. 06:36.000 --> 06:39.000 Find out. 06:39.000 --> 06:40.000 Well, don't the police know? 06:40.000 --> 06:41.000 Never mind the police. 06:41.000 --> 06:42.000 They're always late. 06:42.000 --> 06:44.000 Go after Brandon. 06:44.000 --> 06:46.000 That's your assignment. 06:46.000 --> 06:48.000 Dig up his past. 06:48.000 --> 06:50.000 Find out where he operates. 06:50.000 --> 06:53.000 Go over his whole miserable life. 06:53.000 --> 06:54.000 Bradley, I want that man's hide. 06:54.000 --> 06:55.000 Do you understand? 06:55.000 --> 06:57.000 Yes, Mr. Reynolds. 06:57.000 --> 06:59.000 It's not only me, Bradley. 06:59.000 --> 07:01.000 There's nothing he can do to me anymore. 07:01.000 --> 07:03.000 But there are others. 07:03.000 --> 07:06.000 It was Nick Brandon who was responsible for this. 07:06.000 --> 07:08.000 You understand that, don't you? 07:08.000 --> 07:12.000 And they can find no law that would make him pay for it. 07:12.000 --> 07:16.000 You, Bradley, you're going to dig up a couple of paragraphs 07:16.000 --> 07:17.000 for them. 07:17.000 --> 07:20.000 Yes, Mr. Reynolds. 07:20.000 --> 07:22.000 Bradley was a good reporter. 07:22.000 --> 07:24.000 He started digging. 07:24.000 --> 07:26.000 He questioned the people at the boarding house 07:26.000 --> 07:28.000 where Nick Brandon lived. 07:28.000 --> 07:30.000 He looked into the records. 07:30.000 --> 07:34.000 He consulted the back issues of newspapers. 07:34.000 --> 07:36.000 And he found something. 07:36.000 --> 07:38.000 It's about the little boy. 07:38.000 --> 07:40.000 Five years ago, he was playing with matches 07:40.000 --> 07:43.000 and ignited the dress of a little girl. 07:43.000 --> 07:45.000 She was horribly burned and died. 07:45.000 --> 07:54.000 And the real source of that threat, 07:54.000 --> 07:56.000 the evil-minded, motivating force behind the murder 07:56.000 --> 07:58.000 of Nick Brandon, was the police. 07:58.000 --> 08:01.000 The evil-minded, motivating force behind it, Nick Brandon, 08:01.000 --> 08:05.000 is still at liberty, openly challenging our laws. 08:05.000 --> 08:08.000 Are the authorities helpless in the face of this provocation? 08:08.000 --> 08:18.000 Billy Brandon, did you say? 08:18.000 --> 08:21.000 I'm sorry, Mrs. Sherman, but after all, 08:21.000 --> 08:24.000 a boy who killed, those were accidents, Mrs. Harris. 08:24.000 --> 08:27.000 According to our psychiatrist, Billy's a normal boy 08:27.000 --> 08:29.000 with a higher than average intelligence. 08:29.000 --> 08:32.000 I'm awfully sorry, but I have a small child of my own, 08:32.000 --> 08:35.000 and I just couldn't let... 08:35.000 --> 08:37.000 You can understand. 08:37.000 --> 08:39.000 Yes, of course, Mrs. Harris. 08:39.000 --> 08:40.000 I understand. 08:40.000 --> 08:43.000 Judge, about Billy Brandon, 08:43.000 --> 08:45.000 I simply can't place that boy in a foster home. 08:45.000 --> 08:47.000 Nobody wants him. 08:47.000 --> 08:51.000 I'm afraid we'll have to keep him here indefinitely. 08:51.000 --> 08:54.000 I'll make up my report. 08:54.000 --> 09:08.000 Goodbye. 09:08.000 --> 09:12.000 Get me the boy's dormitory, please. 09:12.000 --> 09:15.000 Mrs. Sheldon, this is Mrs. Sherman. 09:15.000 --> 09:18.000 Would you bring Billy Brandon over to me, please? 09:18.000 --> 09:21.000 Make him put on his best suit. 09:21.000 --> 09:31.000 Yes, I think... I hope to goodness I've found a home for him. 09:31.000 --> 09:33.000 Hello, Mrs. Wheelock. 09:33.000 --> 09:35.000 Hello. 09:35.000 --> 09:37.000 Why, it's Mrs. Sherman. 09:37.000 --> 09:42.000 Herbert, Herbert, look who's here. 09:42.000 --> 09:44.000 Who's the little boy? 09:44.000 --> 09:46.000 That's Billy. He's one of our chargers. 09:46.000 --> 09:48.000 Hello, Billy. 09:48.000 --> 09:51.000 He's a little bit shy. 09:51.000 --> 09:53.000 Well, howdy, Mrs. Sherman. 09:53.000 --> 09:54.000 Hello, Mr. Wheelock. 09:54.000 --> 09:55.000 Good to see you. 09:55.000 --> 09:56.000 Thank you. 09:56.000 --> 09:57.000 Well, come on in. 09:57.000 --> 09:58.000 It's hot out here. 09:58.000 --> 10:05.000 I'll make some iced tea. 10:05.000 --> 10:07.000 Mmm, that smells. 10:07.000 --> 10:09.000 I've got some bread baking in the oven. 10:09.000 --> 10:12.000 Would you like some real fresh bread, son? 10:12.000 --> 10:14.000 Oh, no, Herbert, you sick people and children. 10:14.000 --> 10:15.000 You don't offer food. 10:15.000 --> 10:17.000 You just feed them. 10:17.000 --> 10:23.000 I'll do that in a minute. 10:23.000 --> 10:26.000 Thank you, Mrs. Wheelock, but I'm afraid I can't stay for dinner. 10:26.000 --> 10:28.000 I'm really on my way to Greenvale. 10:28.000 --> 10:30.000 I have an appointment with the minister there. 10:30.000 --> 10:32.000 It was such a nice day, I thought I'd bring Billy along for the ride. 10:32.000 --> 10:35.000 Then we saw your name on the mailbox. 10:35.000 --> 10:38.000 I thought maybe he'd enjoy staying with you while I kept my appointment. 10:38.000 --> 10:39.000 We'd love to have him. 10:39.000 --> 10:43.000 Herbert, why don't you show Billy what we have in the barn? 10:43.000 --> 10:49.000 All right. 10:49.000 --> 10:55.000 Billy, how'd you like to see what we've got down in the barn? 10:55.000 --> 10:58.000 It's a little colt, born less than a week ago. 10:58.000 --> 11:00.000 He's hardly as big as you are. 11:00.000 --> 11:02.000 Wouldn't you like to see him? 11:02.000 --> 11:05.000 Well, come on. 11:05.000 --> 11:08.000 Well, I guess I'd better be going. 11:08.000 --> 11:11.000 Greenvale's about a half an hour drive from here, isn't it? 11:11.000 --> 11:13.000 Yes. 11:13.000 --> 11:15.000 You've never been there? 11:15.000 --> 11:16.000 No. 11:16.000 --> 11:18.000 And you don't need to go there, Mrs. Sherman. 11:18.000 --> 11:23.000 Not if your business is with the minister, because Greenvale doesn't have a minister. 11:23.000 --> 11:26.000 Just a gas pump and a couple of stores. 11:26.000 --> 11:31.000 Oh. 11:31.000 --> 11:36.000 The boy, he's Billy Brandon, isn't he? 11:36.000 --> 11:37.000 Yes, Mrs. Wheelock. 11:37.000 --> 11:40.000 I recognized him right away from those pictures in the paper. 11:40.000 --> 11:42.000 That was a terrible thing. 11:42.000 --> 11:44.000 He's a good boy. 11:44.000 --> 11:45.000 I didn't want to trick you. 11:45.000 --> 11:49.000 I just thought if I could leave him with you for a couple of hours, you'd see what a nice child he is, 11:49.000 --> 11:56.000 and then it wouldn't matter that his name was Billy Brandon. 11:56.000 --> 12:01.000 I'm sorry for trying to, well, to smuggle him into your hearts. 12:01.000 --> 12:03.000 I understand, Mrs. Sherman. 12:03.000 --> 12:07.000 But it's the only thing I could think of to do. 12:07.000 --> 12:11.000 He's the boy nobody wants, but nobody, and I'm sure he knows it. 12:11.000 --> 12:15.000 We have to keep him with other children, older boys with criminal records. 12:15.000 --> 12:16.000 I'm afraid they've talked. 12:16.000 --> 12:18.000 You've seen how frightened he is. 12:18.000 --> 12:20.000 Yes, Mrs. Sherman. 12:20.000 --> 12:24.000 I didn't want him to go on thinking that the whole world is his enemy. 12:24.000 --> 12:27.000 Wasn't that fun? 12:27.000 --> 12:31.000 It was all black and with him, and his mother was licking him all over. 12:31.000 --> 12:33.000 Billy thought she was trying to bite him. 12:33.000 --> 12:35.000 Yeah, I thought she was trying to bite him. 12:35.000 --> 12:37.000 But she was only licking him, wasn't she? 12:37.000 --> 12:39.000 Well, sure enough. 12:39.000 --> 12:42.000 You were kissing him. 12:42.000 --> 12:48.000 I think. 12:48.000 --> 12:50.000 Billy, you've seen our place. 12:50.000 --> 12:52.000 It's pretty big, isn't it? 12:52.000 --> 12:54.000 And there are only the two of us. 12:54.000 --> 12:55.000 We get lonesome. 12:55.000 --> 12:59.000 How would you like to stay here? 12:59.000 --> 13:02.000 Mrs. Wheelock, hadn't you better speak with your husband? 13:02.000 --> 13:04.000 He knows. 13:04.000 --> 13:08.000 Billy, we'd like to have a nice little boy like you around. 13:08.000 --> 13:10.000 I'm bad. 13:10.000 --> 13:13.000 They took away my daddy just because I was bad. 13:13.000 --> 13:17.000 Good or bad, Billy, I like you, and so does Mr. Wheelock. 13:17.000 --> 13:23.000 And so will all the horses and the cows and the little ducks on the pond. 13:23.000 --> 13:25.000 Look at me, Billy. 13:25.000 --> 13:28.000 If Mrs. Sherman gives her permission, 13:28.000 --> 13:33.000 how would you like to visit us until your daddy comes back? 13:33.000 --> 13:38.000 We'll have a party and ask the other children around here to come and meet you 13:38.000 --> 13:40.000 so that they can be your friends. 13:40.000 --> 13:43.000 Will you stay? 13:43.000 --> 13:47.000 Can I? 13:47.000 --> 13:57.000 Oh. 13:57.000 --> 13:59.000 I don't understand it. 13:59.000 --> 14:01.000 Oh, sit down, Martha. 14:01.000 --> 14:04.000 They're not going to come a minute sooner with you watching. 14:04.000 --> 14:06.000 But I told everybody 3 o'clock. 14:06.000 --> 14:07.000 It's almost 4. 14:07.000 --> 14:10.000 Did you tell all the folks about Billy and, uh... 14:10.000 --> 14:11.000 No. 14:11.000 --> 14:16.000 Like Mrs. Sherman said, if they see him first, they won't believe all that. 14:16.000 --> 14:17.000 Aren't they here yet? 14:17.000 --> 14:18.000 No, Billy. 14:18.000 --> 14:19.000 You just go on playing. 14:19.000 --> 14:21.000 I'll let you know when they get here. 14:21.000 --> 14:22.000 Okay. 14:22.000 --> 14:23.000 Here's paper. 14:23.000 --> 14:26.000 Thank you, boy. 14:26.000 --> 14:27.000 Phone. 14:27.000 --> 14:29.000 I could call them. 14:29.000 --> 14:32.000 You ought to have a phone now that Billy's with us. 14:32.000 --> 14:36.000 Kids get sick and... 14:36.000 --> 14:38.000 What's the matter, Herbert? 14:38.000 --> 14:41.000 There ain't going to be any party today, Martha. 14:41.000 --> 14:42.000 What? 14:42.000 --> 14:44.000 Read this. 14:44.000 --> 14:50.000 Billy Brandon, two-time killer, son of a convicted criminal, is at large again. 14:50.000 --> 14:55.000 Juvenile authorities have dumped him on a Mr. and Mrs. Wheelock in Little Rock 14:55.000 --> 14:59.000 from where he can threaten the lives of neighboring children. 14:59.000 --> 15:05.000 Is it too much to demand that this menace be removed from our community? 15:05.000 --> 15:09.000 Oh. 15:09.000 --> 15:11.000 Herbert, get the car. 15:11.000 --> 15:17.000 I'm going into town. 15:17.000 --> 15:19.000 Mr. Reynolds? 15:19.000 --> 15:20.000 Yes? 15:20.000 --> 15:23.000 I'm sorry to barge in like this, but there's nobody outside. 15:23.000 --> 15:24.000 That's all right. 15:24.000 --> 15:26.000 But it's really after my office hours. 15:26.000 --> 15:28.000 It won't take long. 15:28.000 --> 15:30.000 I'm a subscriber to your newspaper. 15:30.000 --> 15:31.000 Please, sit down. 15:31.000 --> 15:39.000 Thank you. 15:39.000 --> 15:40.000 What can I do for you? 15:40.000 --> 15:43.000 I need your help, Mr. Reynolds. 15:43.000 --> 15:46.000 I have a child, a little boy. 15:46.000 --> 15:48.000 He's eight. 15:48.000 --> 15:50.000 And I'm about to lose him. 15:50.000 --> 15:52.000 I'm terribly sorry. 15:52.000 --> 15:54.000 But what can I do? 15:54.000 --> 15:55.000 What's wrong with a child? 15:55.000 --> 15:57.000 Nothing. 15:57.000 --> 15:59.000 The doctors say he's a normal boy. 15:59.000 --> 16:01.000 And he's a nice boy. 16:01.000 --> 16:07.000 Since we've had him, well, you see, we weren't very young when he came to us. 16:07.000 --> 16:12.000 It's been like the sun shining night and day. 16:12.000 --> 16:18.000 But when I think how it'll be without him, that big, empty house, 16:18.000 --> 16:20.000 you understand that, Mr. Reynolds. 16:20.000 --> 16:21.000 Please. 16:21.000 --> 16:22.000 I'm sorry. 16:22.000 --> 16:27.000 I know it's painful to be reminded, but it's my only chance. 16:27.000 --> 16:30.000 If you know how we must feel. 16:30.000 --> 16:31.000 Yes, I do. 16:31.000 --> 16:33.000 But I don't understand. 16:33.000 --> 16:35.000 You say he's not ill. 16:35.000 --> 16:37.000 And why would you lose him? 16:37.000 --> 16:39.000 They're trying to take him away from me. 16:39.000 --> 16:41.000 Oh, for heaven's sake. 16:41.000 --> 16:43.000 You, Mr. Reynolds. 16:43.000 --> 16:56.000 I'm Martha Wheelock, Billy Brandon's foster mother. 16:56.000 --> 16:59.000 I've only come to ask you this. 16:59.000 --> 17:03.000 Suppose it had turned out the other way around, as it might have. 17:03.000 --> 17:14.000 And the papers were calling Tommy Reynolds a murder. 17:14.000 --> 17:27.000 All right, Mrs. Wheelock. 17:27.000 --> 17:30.000 Well, this is the first birthday party he's ever had. 17:30.000 --> 17:32.000 He seems to be having a wonderful time. 17:32.000 --> 17:33.000 Oh, he is. 17:33.000 --> 17:35.000 And all the children like him. 17:35.000 --> 17:37.000 So he's been accepted. 17:37.000 --> 17:38.000 Mm-hmm. 17:38.000 --> 17:40.000 How did you do it, Martha? 17:40.000 --> 17:43.000 Well, my friends wouldn't bring their children to see him, 17:43.000 --> 17:45.000 so I took Billy to see them. 17:45.000 --> 17:49.000 I figured they wouldn't shut their doors in my face, and they didn't. 17:49.000 --> 17:52.000 So I forced them to watch Billy and me together. 17:52.000 --> 17:55.000 I loved him in front of them. 17:55.000 --> 18:00.000 That's what I did with Mr. Reynolds, and he promised never to print Billy's name again. 18:00.000 --> 18:04.000 I hope he doesn't start picking on Nick Brandon again. 18:04.000 --> 18:06.000 He's going to be released soon. 18:06.000 --> 18:12.000 Mrs. Sherman, can he ñ will he get the child back? 18:12.000 --> 18:18.000 Yes, Martha, if he's able to prove that he can provide a decent home for the boy. 18:18.000 --> 18:20.000 But I wouldn't worry about that yet. 18:20.000 --> 18:23.000 Our court's requirements are very strict. 18:23.000 --> 18:27.000 There'll be a lot of birthday parties before Nick Brandon can prove himself. 18:27.000 --> 18:29.000 Well, it doesn't matter. 18:29.000 --> 18:36.000 Even if he stays with us only a little while, he'll always be our son. 18:36.000 --> 18:40.000 As it turned out, he stayed with the Wheelocks through high school, 18:40.000 --> 18:42.000 and it was a happy family. 18:42.000 --> 18:45.000 But there was still a decision to be made. 18:45.000 --> 18:47.000 He just went to get the mail. 18:47.000 --> 18:49.000 He'll be back in a minute, if he will. 18:49.000 --> 18:50.000 Just fine. 18:50.000 --> 18:52.000 Graduated near the top of his class. 18:52.000 --> 18:56.000 Got a scholarship to go to an agriculture college, too. 18:56.000 --> 18:59.000 I know what you've done for Billy, and... 18:59.000 --> 19:03.000 I don't know how to say what I've come to say. 19:03.000 --> 19:07.000 Mr. Brandon has petitioned the court for the return of his boy. 19:07.000 --> 19:10.000 The court ruled that Billy was old enough to make his own decision. 19:10.000 --> 19:12.000 It's up to him, huh? 19:12.000 --> 19:13.000 Yes. 19:13.000 --> 19:16.000 It's going to be tough for him, because he loves his father, too. 19:16.000 --> 19:20.000 And this little woman never let him forget that he had a father. 19:20.000 --> 19:22.000 It's going to hurt. 19:22.000 --> 19:23.000 Hello, Mrs. Sherman. 19:23.000 --> 19:25.000 Hello, Billy. 19:25.000 --> 19:27.000 My, you've grown again. 19:27.000 --> 19:29.000 Billy, I have some news for you from your father. 19:29.000 --> 19:31.000 Please, Mrs. Sherman, let me. 19:31.000 --> 19:33.000 You don't have to say anything, Mother, I can guess. 19:33.000 --> 19:35.000 Dad wrote to me that he had petitioned the court. 19:35.000 --> 19:37.000 Yes, and the decision is... 19:37.000 --> 19:38.000 Well, it's up to you. 19:38.000 --> 19:40.000 You'll have to make the choice. 19:40.000 --> 19:42.000 The choice has already been made. 19:42.000 --> 19:46.000 From the President of the United States, greetings. 19:49.000 --> 19:54.000 So the decision was postponed while Billy went off to fight a war. 19:54.000 --> 19:58.000 It was not long after that Mr. Reynolds broke his promise 19:58.000 --> 20:01.000 about not printing Billy Brandon's name. 20:01.000 --> 20:04.000 When he returned from the war, Billy came to see him. 20:04.000 --> 20:07.000 He was a little boy, and he was a little boy. 20:07.000 --> 20:09.000 He was a little boy, and he was a little boy. 20:09.000 --> 20:12.000 When he returned from the war, Billy came to see me. 20:12.000 --> 20:14.000 He was with his father. 20:14.000 --> 20:16.000 One look at the beaming men, 20:16.000 --> 20:20.000 I had the sinking feeling that Martha Wheelock was about to lose her son. 20:20.000 --> 20:24.000 Why, Billy Brandon, what a pleasant surprise. 20:24.000 --> 20:26.000 I just flew in. Dad picked me up at the airport. 20:26.000 --> 20:27.000 You remember Dad. 20:27.000 --> 20:29.000 Yes, of course. How are you? 20:29.000 --> 20:31.000 Couldn't be better, Mrs. Sherman. 20:31.000 --> 20:32.000 Billy's back, honorably discharged. 20:32.000 --> 20:34.000 Did you know he was shot down twice? 20:34.000 --> 20:35.000 Look at all those medals. 20:35.000 --> 20:37.000 Oh, come on, Dad, lots of guys got them. 20:37.000 --> 20:39.000 Sure, but they're not my son. 20:39.000 --> 20:40.000 He won't let me be proud of them. 20:40.000 --> 20:42.000 Everybody's proud of you, Billy. 20:42.000 --> 20:44.000 I saw your foster parents a couple of days ago. 20:44.000 --> 20:45.000 How are they? 20:45.000 --> 20:46.000 Oh, they're fine, just fine. 20:46.000 --> 20:47.000 When are you going to see them? 20:47.000 --> 20:48.000 Oh, right away. 20:48.000 --> 20:51.000 I just stopped by to say hello and, well, to thank you for everything. 20:51.000 --> 20:52.000 Don't thank me. 20:52.000 --> 20:53.000 Go to Little Rock. 20:53.000 --> 20:54.000 Come on, Dad, let's go. 20:54.000 --> 20:55.000 Wait. 20:55.000 --> 20:57.000 I have something to say, and I want Mrs. Sherman to hear it too. 20:57.000 --> 20:59.000 I'm a settled man now. 20:59.000 --> 21:00.000 I have a good wife. 21:00.000 --> 21:02.000 I own two restaurants in town. 21:02.000 --> 21:04.000 The only thing that goes on in the back rooms, Mrs. Sherman, 21:04.000 --> 21:05.000 is dish washing. 21:05.000 --> 21:06.000 Yes, I know. 21:06.000 --> 21:10.000 The first time in my life since your mother passed away, I can offer you a home. 21:10.000 --> 21:12.000 I want you to become my partner. 21:12.000 --> 21:14.000 Is that all right with the law? 21:14.000 --> 21:15.000 Well, that's up to Billy. 21:15.000 --> 21:16.000 He's a full-fledged citizen now. 21:16.000 --> 21:18.000 What do you say, Billy? 21:18.000 --> 21:22.000 Well, I think I'd be a fool not to jump at your offer, Dad. 21:22.000 --> 21:25.000 But if it's all right with you, I'd like to spend a couple of days around the farm 21:25.000 --> 21:27.000 and talk it over with Mother. 21:27.000 --> 21:37.000 And if you don't want to, I'm afraid it's not going to be easy. 21:37.000 --> 21:40.000 Billy! 21:40.000 --> 21:42.000 Oh, Billy. 21:42.000 --> 21:44.000 Oh, good to see you, son. 21:44.000 --> 21:46.000 You've turned into a man. 21:46.000 --> 21:49.000 Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet my father, Mr. Brandon. 21:49.000 --> 21:50.000 Hello. 21:50.000 --> 21:51.000 How do you do? 21:51.000 --> 21:54.000 Won't you come in and join us, Mr. Brandon? 21:54.000 --> 21:57.000 Oh, sure. 21:57.000 --> 21:59.000 So the family's all together again. 21:59.000 --> 22:01.000 Haven't you got any luggage, son? 22:01.000 --> 22:02.000 Oh, sure. 22:02.000 --> 22:03.000 I left my duffel bag in the car. 22:03.000 --> 22:04.000 I'll get it. 22:04.000 --> 22:05.000 No, Herbert. 22:05.000 --> 22:07.000 Billy's not sane. 22:07.000 --> 22:09.000 Mrs. Sherman just called me. 22:09.000 --> 22:11.000 She wanted to make it easier on you, Billy. 22:11.000 --> 22:13.000 She told me everything. 22:13.000 --> 22:15.000 I don't see what the fuss is all about. 22:15.000 --> 22:17.000 Of course you're going. 22:17.000 --> 22:19.000 Mother, it's not going away. 22:19.000 --> 22:20.000 You know that. 22:20.000 --> 22:22.000 I live in town not far from here. 22:22.000 --> 22:24.000 I'll visit you every week. 22:24.000 --> 22:25.000 Oh, sure, Billy. 22:25.000 --> 22:26.000 Sure. 22:26.000 --> 22:28.000 But why don't we all sit down? 22:28.000 --> 22:30.000 I'll make you some iced tea. 22:30.000 --> 22:34.000 Remember, Billy, like the first day you came here? 22:34.000 --> 22:36.000 Only I hope you don't want any fresh bread and jam, 22:36.000 --> 22:38.000 because I'm all out of jam. 22:38.000 --> 22:39.000 No, Mother. 22:39.000 --> 22:40.000 As a matter of fact, what I'd really like 22:40.000 --> 22:43.000 is a glass of fresh, foamy, sweet milk. 22:43.000 --> 22:47.000 I'm sorry, but I don't have any milk just now. 22:47.000 --> 22:49.000 I'll fix you the tea. 22:49.000 --> 22:51.000 It'll just take a minute to get the water boiling. 22:51.000 --> 22:52.000 OK, Mother. 22:52.000 --> 22:53.000 I'll be right back. 23:01.000 --> 23:06.000 Well, Mr. Wheelock, you think I deserve them? 23:06.000 --> 23:08.000 You don't deserve people, Mr. Brandon. 23:08.000 --> 23:11.000 You love them. 23:11.000 --> 23:12.000 Why? 23:12.000 --> 23:14.000 There's no stock in it. 23:14.000 --> 23:15.000 All the equipment's gone. 23:15.000 --> 23:17.000 Oh, I forgot to tell you. 23:17.000 --> 23:20.000 We sold the stock and rented the farm out on shares this year. 23:20.000 --> 23:21.000 You didn't mention that in your letter. 23:21.000 --> 23:23.000 Why'd you have to do that? 23:23.000 --> 23:27.000 Got to be too much for us, Billy, and we had a bad year. 23:27.000 --> 23:28.000 But don't you worry about a thing. 23:28.000 --> 23:30.000 We've got a buyer now. 23:30.000 --> 23:31.000 And then? 23:31.000 --> 23:32.000 What are you going to do then? 23:32.000 --> 23:33.000 Well, the Daggetts. 23:33.000 --> 23:34.000 You remember the Daggetts. 23:34.000 --> 23:36.000 They've got a nice little apartment we can rent. 23:36.000 --> 23:38.000 But you belong here. 23:38.000 --> 23:40.000 You wouldn't be happy anywhere else. 23:40.000 --> 23:41.000 This is your house. 23:41.000 --> 23:43.000 This is your land, your profession. 23:43.000 --> 23:45.000 What would you do in a rented house? 23:45.000 --> 23:47.000 Well, if it gets too lonesome here, 23:47.000 --> 23:49.000 we can always move to the city. 23:49.000 --> 23:53.000 You don't belong in the city, not after living here all of your lives. 23:53.000 --> 23:58.000 I know how you love this land, because I love it too. 23:58.000 --> 24:00.000 I didn't know it before. 24:00.000 --> 24:04.000 I took for granted that this house and this land would be here forever, 24:04.000 --> 24:08.000 waiting for me to come home to anytime I wanted to. 24:08.000 --> 24:10.000 Now I know. 24:10.000 --> 24:11.000 I'm sorry, Dad. 24:11.000 --> 24:16.000 It wouldn't work. 24:16.000 --> 24:19.000 I'd rather settle down here if it's all right with you. 24:19.000 --> 24:22.000 I could get a GI loan, get some new stock, new equipment. 24:22.000 --> 24:24.000 No, Billy. 24:24.000 --> 24:25.000 You don't have to make a loan. 24:25.000 --> 24:27.000 I'll give you the money. 24:27.000 --> 24:29.000 For 15 years I've been wanting to make him happy. 24:29.000 --> 24:32.000 If he's happy here, that's fine with me. 24:32.000 --> 24:33.000 I don't know what to say, Dad. 24:33.000 --> 24:34.000 Don't say anything. 24:34.000 --> 24:35.000 I'm not doing this for you. 24:35.000 --> 24:40.000 Well, partly for you too, but mainly on account of Mrs. Wheelock. 24:40.000 --> 24:42.000 Because she took a boy who nobody else wanted, 24:42.000 --> 24:48.000 turned him into a man everybody wants now. 24:48.000 --> 25:17.000 This was a true story. 25:18.000 --> 25:22.000 The next DuPont Theatre will be presented two weeks from tonight. 25:22.000 --> 25:26.000 We invite you to join us then for another entertaining story. 25:26.000 --> 25:31.000 Brought to you by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. 25:31.000 --> 25:50.000 The makers of better things for better living through chemistry.