Author's Playhouse.
Well, there's this stuff Pazz always telling us about strangers. But I'm not a baby anymore. I can take care of myself. Besides, what could happen at the movies anyway? This guy wasn't a stranger. He's been around before I've seen him. I guess he must be retired or something.
Young Frankie didn't know just what to make of this man. He'd never seen before, or had he what the stranger offered him adventure? I released boredom of his sick death. Author's Playhouse presents Zachary Gold's intrigguing story of a youngster's rendezvous with a mysterious stranger.
I was lost, and that was funny because I knew the way. I mean, I can understand a fella getting lost when he's somewhere new. He can't know every place.
In the world.
But I wasn't anywhere New. I was only around the corner they resave Meyer's garage with the old car in front that he's been trying to sell as long as I can remember. This person's grocery in Sam's candy store, it was just the same as always. I'd been there a million years. It's only around the corner. Now, maybe I was just tired. I put in a big day, and maybe I was just knocked out, you know how you get old guy should let me ease when asked me what he wanted with a kid like me, make
an older guy to have his own bells. And that's another funny thing. I can't remember his name. It's right there in the tip of my tongue. You'd know it in a minute. I mean him, doesn't Smith or Jones put it something like that. I'll tell you, I'm beginning to feel dopey about the whole thing. That's the way it always goes, though. You gotta get home in a hurry,
and a million things turn up to stop you. Then when you get back home, everybody saw her, and PA wants to know where you've been, and PA wants to know what kept you so long. Just to make it worse, I shouldn't have been out at all. I thought I could be up and back before anybody find out about it. I thought I could do it in a hurry. I was in hot water, all right. But a fella gets tired staying in bed all the time. If you know that, they keep you cooped up for no good reason at all.
Maybe just because you got up looking a little cross eye in the morning, the pile in the bed, and it's goodbye for a week. Maybe you're more what's the sense of It just makes you tired and sleepy and stiff. You look out of the window, you look up at the ceiling. He go whacky trying to figure out things to do. If you keep your eyes almost closed, it's just a narrow crack open, everything gets blurry and starts
to fade away. If you look up at an electric light like that, gets big and fuzzy, got it with all kinds of colors you'd never see otherwise. It's a trick, but you can do it, which you get the hang. It's easy, anybody can do it. But a fella can't be playing games like that all the time. He gets sick and tired of it after a while, I tell you, you get sick and tired of a lot of things. Laying in bed, mos tiptone around all the time, and
every ten minutes Pat calls up on the phone. You'd think a fella never got a little sick in his life. The fuss they make he get, the doctor poking his fingers all over the place, shoven stick in your mouth and gouge in your and all the time. You just gotta lay there and take it while he keeps talking the way doctors talk, just to hear the voices, I think, because it doesn't make any sense.
Just once more, just once more. There, now, that didn't hurt. Now, just turn a little mm now, cough.
There, that's fine, what's fine? Anyway? It got me all right, hym not making any excuses for what I did. I'm just telling you how it happened. That's all it got under my skin. I tell you, the sun was shining that day, and I could hear the kids yelling and pepping it up on the street. I could smell the trees, and I could see the sparrows going like boebe shots through the air. I tell you I was sick of that bed. I had an awful yin. I mean, I just had to get out. Then I heard the side
door slamming. The kitchen faucet went on like Niagara falls. Sitting in the rocks, it was my kid, brother Itzsey, home from school. That kid's always drinking water. He's like a fish. I can't figure what anybody does with all that water? Huh? But then I can't figure it sy anyway. My kid brother's a nut house, franky, nut, so loud. Can I do anything for him? Can I get him anything? Fifty weeks a year, He don't care if my head split open all of a sudden. He's my pal when
I'm up and around. I can't get him to move from here to there for me, go figure out a kid like itsy? Can I go in later? Maybe he's sleeping now. But MA didn't know the half of it. I tell you it was then or never for me. I was out of bed and it was something to feel a solid throw under my feet again. I grabbed my knickers off the hook and pull him over my pajamas. I does out an old shirt in my socks and chow.
I must ad dressed and flat my window open something in the portroof, and from there it isn't much to get down to the street. Just winging and jumpin', that's all.
It's easy.
Anybody can do it. I was out in the shingles in a minute. A All right, MA, won't he that kid?
Some day?
I'll get Einstein to tell me what makes him take I took the drop from the port roof to the street with my knees bent. Oh boy, it felt good to be out again. All I wanted was a smell of fresh air. I thought I'd be back in no time at all. I didn't have to know, nobody had to know. I skipped along the curve, walking tight rope. I tell you I hadn't been out so long. I wasn't near half as good at it as I used to be. Some days I could be four or five
blocks without losing my balance. But the day was falling all over myself. I was staying a lot of practice. I cut up toward the parkway a couple of blocks. There's an empty lot in the corner of Eleventh Street where the gang hangs out after school. Most time there's a game going on, ball maybe or stickball. I tell you, it felt like a million years since I had a bat in my hands. I mean, I felt like I was coming back from a long vacation or something. I can hear him yelling him a lot even before I
got there. I can hear Hanny, Joey, You're on their heads off. The whole gang was there. Sounded like a hot game. I came around the corner on the lope.
Hi yer, Hi, you guys.
There was somebody coming around second heading for third. Joey had the ball in the outfield and he uncorked to throw. It must have been a mile high. The guy came around third and headed home, and by that time the ball was botting in the high grass over in a corner of the lattin. He made a homer standing up. I ran over toward home plate. Henny was there picking up a bat. Nice gone, I said. Henny didn't say anything.
He banged the bat a couple of times on the plate it was just an old rock for use, and then took a couple of practice wings. They finally found the ball up there in the weeds and they threw it in. Henny stepped into the bucket and screwed up his face the way he does when he's all set the powin it in a mile, I said, I squat it over one side and picked me a handful of grass. Henny didn't even give me a look. But that's how
he is when he's up there. He can drop a ten of bricks next to him and he won't bet an eye. He keeps his eye on the ball all the time. He let the fry. It was too wide anyway. Then on the next one he took a cut, but he was way off. There was nothing in the ball either. It was just a floater. Yeah yeah, out set ups. Henny husted a little choked up on the batin, and the next one came through. He swung like a rusty gate boy. Then Henny could look funny when he misses.
What are you trying to do? Pick Flowers didn't even get a rise out of him most times. Jing Cans steamed up with just a word. Henny's got a temper like a gasoline fire. But he banged the rock a couple of times and keeps some dirt off his sneakers, just like he didn't hear me. You're a dead pigeon, Henny. He's got your number hard. It's good to be out there again talking it up. It fell right all the time I wasted just layin around. Art was ashamed. I
could see that little Herby fending was playin. They must have missed me bad. If Herbie could get in the game. He was just a kid, that's all. He couldn't it wear sour apples and the hot grounder'd go past him like it was a rocket. Well, we still had forrnings to go. When I was back. Let's see it now, boy, let's see it travel. A ball came up, pick us a balloon. I could have hit that ball from here to China and back. But Henny almost split his side
reachin for it. I wanted to bust out, laughin' put it's no joke. When a guy strikes out, the guy feels bad enough about your having to tell him too bad. Henny threw the bat away and kicked up some dirt. Eh, he was disgusted, all right. I could see that he cut across the sidelines to pick up his glove. He passed right in front of me. How about a game?
Ain't he.
Ah talk to the president or somebody? You think I was some chut narcy? He jest went on past without even lookin at me. He could a set a low or somethin, couldn't he? What about that?
All right?
So I missed a couple of games, and Henny got stuck with a deadlife herby finnin Oh. I know that's tough, but it wasn't my fault. I didn't ask to be coop of bedroom. Who's Hanny gott to be so sorry about? Plenty o other teams want me? I didn't have to take that kind of stuff. I didn't waste any more breath on him. You'd think he'd be glad to see a guy when he turns up after beIN away a while. I gave Henny just one shot one when he got out into the field. Back to the push nags, why't
you try, Potsy? The other guys came in for their turn at bat fightin Mad. They were sore about that run that came in. They wanted it back bad. Joey looked down in the dumps about his wild throw. It's the brakes, everybody blows one. Maybe didn't hear me, Joey, Hey, Joey, what goes? Anyway? There was no call for Joey to be sore at me. I wasn't on his team, but they treated me like I was somebody's kid brother. Guys I've known ever since I was in first grade? How
do you like that? Eh? It must have been Henny. He's got a mean streakin him as white as the Hudson. Eh. It was Henny set him up to it. I could tell him a minute. But it wasn't my fault. You'd think I got sick on purpose the way he was actin. Ah, he was just sorr out of spite.
Henny's like that, all right, you guys, if you don't want me ro on. I got plenty of places where I can go. I don't have to take stuff like that from the governor of North Carolina. Got up and threw a bat over in the base line. I hope somebody'd slip on it and break his neck. That's the way I felt about it, my pals. It was just about then I met this guy, this guy I'm tellin you about. I went over and sat down in Miss
Hammond's stoop. Across the street and a lot they were yellin and makin enough noise to scare.
All the Indians in Indiana. I didn't even watch him. I kept my eyes on the street. A couple of cars passed. I guessed odds or evens on their license prison. I was right three times out o four. It's a system I got. Then I saw the ball comin across the street and a bouncin It was heading straight for Old Lockjaw's lawn. I could have caught that ball before it bounced over the hedges and rind Old Lockjaw's violet bed. But why should I go out on my way for
those guys after what they did? So I watched it cut down a couple of violets and stopped there, right in the middle of a lawn. He didn't stop bouncing a minute before the front door opened. It Old lock Jaw himself came out. I guess he didn't see it, though, because he just stood there. If he'd seen that, bollyd grabbed it in a minute. He was a terror, Old Lockjaw. You couldn't play anywhere around his house. The least little noise in his allemy'd be calling the cops chase the
kids away if he got yo on his arm. That was our brother, For I've seen him stap a kid so hard his face was red all the rest of the day, just for stepping on the grass a little well with a ball layin' under his nose. It was the end of the ball game. No kidney's right mind was gonna try to snatch it with him standing night there.
It's so right too, foul ball.
There was this old guy who walked up from I don't know where. Maybe he wasn't so old. I don't know. At first I thought it was old Lockjaw speakin' up. But that was a dopey idea because ol'd lock John never talks to anybody.
Foul ball, Oh Lockjaw.
Think Sophie saw it.
Oh Lockjaw. Mister Martin there, oh lock yow, that's pretty good.
It's not good enough to get the ball. So this guy just walked right up to the lawn, hopped the hedge, leaned down over the violet bit and picked up the ball. Oh lock John didn't even let out a peep. Who was out of this world? The guy had him buffalo. He hied to the ball a couple of times and then wind it over toward the lot. Wasn't much of a throw. He threw it like a girl with his elbow stiff. He didn't have any form, but it traveled
all right. It made the load in the bouncing. I saw Hanny dive after it like it was a diamond or something. He didn't even yell thanks, though. That's Hanny for you. Some guy, that Hanny.
How come you're not in the game?
Oh?
I was late, just going to sit around and watch.
What else was there to do?
I wouldn't know. You tell me.
If I had fifteen cents, I could go to the movies, fight a quarter. I could maybe rent a bike fight a quarter if the guy wanted to. I guess he could just sit around Twiddler's thumbs if he wanted to.
You said, movies.
I've got a friend in the business who sends me passes every now and then.
The Ruby.
Well, i've seen that picture.
The Biju.
It's pretty far. The Regal, the Regal, the Regal right down there, I think, so well, they got a good cereal there. Well, there's this stuff pause where he's telling us about strangers. But I'm not a baby anymore. I can take care of myself. Besides, what could happen at the movies anyway? This guy wasn't a stranger. He's been around before. I've seen him. I guess he must be retired or something. He wouldn't fool me, mister.
You try it and see.
They got a tough tournament at the Regal. But this time I figured it wasn't my worry, it was the other guy's tree. Those passes were phonny. They nab him, not me, So I might straight in, and the door man didn't even give me a tumbe freebies. What more did I want? He got there just in time too. I let out a root and a holler as soon as I saw Red coming over the canyon wall with his guns out, and I gave a double whistle for Jackson the cloud Ah. They had read in the cuffs
spy there. He were locked in the cabin when they set a fire to it, tied up like a pick and a gunny said they didn't figure. He'd let the fire burned through his ropes and then jumped through the window into the river and put out the fire that had his clothes. Let's saws one step ahead of them, they laid thrown rode down by the pass. It almost got him, but Red just skidded through with a whole skin. And then he caught up with Jackson down by the
wide hole, and they had it out with fists. But just when Red had him out on his feet, a couple of Jacksons guys came riding up and clouted Red from behind. They tied him on his horse, and then they drove the horse blindfolded out to the cliffs. They quipped the horse on him off it went over the cliff, with Red tied in the saddle, unconscious and not knowing what was going on. There was a good couple a hundred feet to the bottom. That that was the end of the chapter.
Well that's that, that's what reds are gone ghost.
Oh you'll get out of it.
You can't be done. I know a little about it myself.
Oh look, it's only chapter eight.
I hadn't thought of that. They did promise twelve installments, didn't they.
Oh you'll get out of it some way.
Well, what time is it getting to be?
He pulled out that watch of his like pause and took a peek at it.
It's getting late.
He was the boss. Besides, the feature wasn't much outside me knowsy down the block a bit. This guy didn't seem to have anything to do anyway. You'd think he could find better things to do with his time. There was a ball game over there. It's field, for one thing. But if my gang was given me the cold shoulder, I wasn't complaining. If I had company, Let's stop for some gum. Okay. I guess the gun made him thirsty, as when he passed the candy store, he wanted to
stop for a drink. I didn't like the idea too much. I could buy my own solders. Nine times out of ten. Pod gives me an a lawns lady. Never a penny on me and the sky under the trees. It was dead in the candy store. It was too early for any of the bigger guys to be around, and it was empty in there. He had some tables in the back against the wall, and there was a pink bom machine over by the telephone booth. I popped over to take a look at it. He certainly got some crazy kinds.
This one was nothing special. He had bumpers and knights, but none next.
He know how to play, Oh Pa, don't let me, but.
I've seen how the bigger fellows do it. He slipped the nickel in the slot, pulled back the plunger and stepped away.
Go ahead, take a try.
It was a little trickier, and I thought on the third ball, I was lucky though, and neither the little extra spin and if you twisted the plunger on the way back, give just enough spin to catch the bumpers right. I rolled up seventeen thousand. That was pretty good. Two more thousand, and I would have worn one.
Not bad.
I guess I had a beginner's luck.
I don't. But you didn't win anything.
Why don't you roll again?
It's pretty late.
Yeah, I'll bet you're good. That got him. He got another nickel and put it in the slide. I could tell from the first he wasn't gonna get anywhere. He only got two bumpers on his first ball. It must have got him mad because he let the second one go like a rifle shot. Hey, you know what happens with those, just skidded right down after coming off the springs, and he didn't even get one hit, not one. He grunted and bent over.
A little bit.
He played the next one easy. It just dribbled out of the alley and on to the board. Didn't have anything behind it at all. Dribbled down into the gutter and he was lucky at the bottom to get a hit or so. He had a grand total of eight hundred going into his last ball. Well, better luck next time, mister. He pushed the last ball out and let it fly. It started to bounce up and back between the springs at the top of the board and and slid down between two bumpers with up neither one crash.
Never mind, I'd get it loose.
He grabbed the machine and began to shake it. It was all over. Then I knew that's stuff's for experts. Guy who doesn't know his shirt to tilt her. And he did, but he didn't even know it. He kept shaking her with a ball bounding against the bumpers and not scoring any points.
Something wrong with this machine.
I think maybe you'd tilted it. He saw the tilt sigh then, and he dropped the machine back on its legs with a bang.
Too bad, my own fault.
He looked at his watch again.
I didn't know it was that late. We'll have to hurry.
He grabbed my hand and we were out in the street before I could catch my breath. He sure was in a hurry, all right. I guess he was sore about the game. He ld me down a couple of blocks and then made a few turns. It was getting dark, and I could tell where we were hidden. He had my hand tight in his, and even in the dark, I saw a big warehouse and loading platforms. I could catch a whiff of the air. We were heading try the water. Sure enough, we came out on a quark.
When we got to the edge, stopped and looked out across the waters. Quinton.
He sighed, well, we made it.
You just pulled my hand for a minute, and I pulled it away. I backed up a couple of steps. I didn't know what it was all about.
Made What didn't I tell you we're going to cross the river For.
Some reason, I shivered, and I knew my knees were shaken. Mister, there are no boats at doc airspt may be a couple of scows and tugs.
I have my own boat, have you honest? Why are you always arguing? Believe me?
All right, you got a boat.
Don't you want to come? It's only to the other side.
Oh mister, I gotta get back home. It's getting laid. It was dark then, and you could hardly make out anything along the river. Everything was shadowing here. There wasn't any moon that night. I put along the shore line. There was a glow in the sky, and I figured it must be the navy yard where the blast ferns going. They're working there all the time. Looks like a big fire. You're heading for the navy yard.
Navy yard.
Then he saw her I was looking, and he smiled.
I don't think we'll head that way.
And I really began to get scared. Where was he taking me? Listen, thanks for everything, but I gotta beat it now.
Don't you want to cross the river? No, it's a nice ride.
I gotta get back.
It won't take long. No, listen, I can hear the boat.
I gotta go. He stepped towards me, reaching out, Why don't you come leave me alone?
What's the matter with you? You are afraid? He are you?
I don't know.
I I tucked away from his hand. I dodged back along the forth. I could hear his heels hit in the wood. I began to run.
Wait.
I didn't wait for anything. I just kept them running there all the time. Crazy ideas were running through my head. What's the guy I want to boot for? When you get across the river by a subway for only a nickel, tell you it didn't that up where? But I dodged away from and ran back along the wharf, into the street, across the cobble stone and got her on the dead running ducked into one of the eyes, hopped the fence, and came out along one of the loading platforms me
down in the street. I circled the corner, but here his voice hitting softer behind me. I don't know where I was going. I just want to get as much distance between us as I could. What did I want to get across the river for anyway? What would I do there? Once I got there. I don't know how I did it, and I don't know which way I came, but I ended up on the street near Sands. I was only around the corner from home now, which is a hop, skip and jump. I was dog tired and
I was sweating. I could hardly keep my eyes open. I'd tell you I wasn't in condition. After laying around so much, I felt all knocked out. And then of all the dopey things, I couldn't find the corner.
Would you believe it?
I mean, when I got where it should be, it just wasn't there. I was lost out in my own back. Yeah, well it sounds critizmal. I was just a hoodah holl away from home, and I've been there a million times before. I tell you, it's just around the corner.
I felt.
I can't get lost when he's a cross to home. It just doesn't make sense, but I hung it all over the pace. I took it slow. I stopped running around like I was half crazy. I ate past Sam's, I caught its two stores, and I should have been at the corner. Then I knew that for sure it wasn't there. I had to get back. I just had to get back.
Oh.
I could have brawled. I could have burst out crying like then. I was so tired, and I've done everything I could think of and done my best. I'd tried to find the corner, try to get home. Oh, I tell you, I could have cried like a baby then, and maybe I did a little. I don't care what you say. I don't care what you call me. It's kids, stop crying, I know. But I tell you, by that time, I didn't know what I was doing anymore. I'm not making any excuses. I just broke down. Ma, Ma, I
must have been moving. I just kept walking. Out my eyes. There was the corner right there, right in front of me. I yelled, and I was round the corner and the last stretched home. I was down the black and under the porch of our house, and nothing fat. I shinned up the roof and through my window in two shakes. I was out of my knickers and in the bed like a bowl of grease lightin. I tell you I was finished.
I tell yo, I just.
Barely made it. Ma, Yes, yes, Frankie. She was standing right by my bed. MA keep lying me all the time. Ma, I been, I know. I tell yo, you can't put anything over on em Ma. The doctor must have come in while I was out, because he was there too. I guess he wanted to poke around some more. Even know those doctors. I guess if he knew where I had been the last couple hours, he just skinned me alive.
He'll be all right now.
Funny thing it's he was in the room. He had his lip buttoned. I tell you, I can hardly recognize the kid without his mouth open yelling something. But I guess it was because he was standing there with paw.
Hello, Frankie.
I don't know what to make of it. I don't think my already knows who I was. She never said anything afterwards, and Pine never laid a finger on me. Oh, anybody asked for it, I guess I did. Maybe it's because they figured I was a little sick. He didn't get away with murders sometimes just because they think you're looking a little cross eyes in the morning. But there are a couple of things I gotta get straight yet. I got some business with Henny. He had his nerve,
all right. I want to get us straight from him what the shooting was about. He'd half things out. And there are a few things I'm trying to figure out about that guy, you know what I mean? If I could think of his name, he can't. I'll see you yet. I'm pretty sure that I'll catch up with him again some day. He's always around. You can't miss him.
You have heard Zachary Gold's story The Mysterious Stranger, adapted for Author's Playhouse by Dorothy Cheney Quinnan and directed by mister Homer Heck. Frankie was played by Master David Whitehouse, The Mysterious Stranger by mister Charles Eggleston, and Frankie's mother by Miss Fern Persons. Others in the cast of Author's Playhouse Tonight were mister Thomas Post and Master Bobby Ellis. The musical score was composed and conducted by Doctor Roy Shield.
Next Week, same time, same station, Author's Playhouse will bring you the comedy Bad Dream by Isabel Scott Rock