WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:23.719 Radio Mystery Theater presents... Come in. Welcome. 00:00:24.820 --> 00:00:28.760 I'm E .G. Marshall. Many of you may not be familiar 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:32.000 with the writings of William Austin since his 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:35.539 main claim to fame is that he was the forerunner 00:00:35.539 --> 00:00:39.539 of the famous Nathaniel Hawthorne. But it is 00:00:39.539 --> 00:00:42.780 as sad in a way as this haunting tale I bring 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:46.520 you that he should have been so overshadowed 00:00:46.520 --> 00:00:50.000 by his famous antecedent for no more poignant 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:53.380 and heartbreaking while at the same time terrifying 00:00:53.380 --> 00:00:57.710 story could be told than this. The American version 00:00:57.710 --> 00:01:01.770 of the wandering Jew, condemned and outcast, 00:01:02.289 --> 00:01:05.010 and the small shivering fever -wracked child 00:01:05.010 --> 00:01:08.189 with the sad brown eyes innocently doomed to 00:01:08.189 --> 00:01:24.870 share his exile with him forever. in the center 00:01:24.870 --> 00:01:28.489 of the cloud. What? An open carrot, drawn by 00:01:28.489 --> 00:01:31.609 a fierce black horse, and the child clinging 00:01:31.609 --> 00:01:35.689 in terror to the man. There he goes, the Storm 00:01:35.689 --> 00:01:48.890 Breeder. Our mystery drama, The Storm Breeder. 00:01:49.069 --> 00:01:51.730 was especially adapted from the classic William 00:01:51.730 --> 00:01:54.709 Austin story for the Mystery Theater by Ian Martin 00:01:54.709 --> 00:01:59.230 and stars Michael Tolan and Fred Gwin. I'll be 00:01:59.230 --> 00:02:14.330 back shortly with Act One. For the strange, weird, 00:02:14.610 --> 00:02:16.949 unforgettable fragment of American history brought 00:02:16.949 --> 00:02:20.409 to you here, We are indebted, according to William 00:02:20.409 --> 00:02:24.110 Austin, to one Jonathan Dunwell of New York. 00:02:24.789 --> 00:02:28.110 Mr. Dunwell was a judge and as such a general 00:02:28.110 --> 00:02:31.870 officer of the court by profession, but by inclination 00:02:31.870 --> 00:02:36.129 an antiquarian and a collector of American history. 00:02:36.770 --> 00:02:43.240 It is his manuscript we bring to life. In the 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:46.039 summer of 1820, business called me to Boston. 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:49.120 I sailed in the packet to Providence. And when 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:50.939 I arrived there, I learned that every seat in 00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:54.099 the stage was engaged. I was fortunate enough 00:02:54.099 --> 00:02:57.099 to find a seat with a driver. It being a pleasant 00:02:57.099 --> 00:02:59.580 night and he quite intelligent, we were chatting 00:02:59.580 --> 00:03:01.900 pleasantly when all of a sudden the horses drew 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:05.159 their ears on their necks flat as a hairs. And 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:09.479 the whole business of Peter Rugg began. What's 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:11.590 the matter with the horses? Have you a third 00:03:11.590 --> 00:03:14.069 too with you? Oh, I need no overcoat. My jacket 00:03:14.069 --> 00:03:16.770 isn't out there. You'll need one soon. You see 00:03:16.770 --> 00:03:18.729 the horse's ears? Well, as a matter of fact, 00:03:18.810 --> 00:03:22.050 yes. I was just about to ask why. They see the 00:03:22.050 --> 00:03:25.810 storm breeder. The who? You'll find out, sir. 00:03:26.189 --> 00:03:29.530 Keep your eyes ahead. I am. The road seems empty 00:03:29.530 --> 00:03:31.370 and the weather is lovely, not a cloud in the 00:03:31.370 --> 00:03:34.590 sky. But you will see him soon. And the weather 00:03:34.590 --> 00:03:38.229 that follows will blot out the sun. Are you pulling 00:03:38.229 --> 00:03:41.969 my leg, driver? I wish I were, Mr. Dunwell, sir. 00:03:42.949 --> 00:03:46.509 Here, sir. Wind this blanket about you. But the 00:03:46.509 --> 00:03:48.129 sun is shining and I'm very... Listen to what 00:03:48.129 --> 00:03:53.770 I say. Protect yourself as much as you can. Approaching 00:03:53.770 --> 00:03:56.610 us was a weather -beaten chair, once built for 00:03:56.610 --> 00:03:59.270 Ashey's body, drawn by a great black fiery horse, 00:03:59.830 --> 00:04:01.689 traveling at least at the speed of 12 miles an 00:04:01.689 --> 00:04:04.990 hour. Seated in it were a child and a man, who 00:04:04.990 --> 00:04:07.270 glanced at us as he passed in such dejection 00:04:07.270 --> 00:04:09.819 of spirit and hopelessness. that my heart seemed 00:04:09.819 --> 00:04:12.560 to suspend beating momentarily. In the moment 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:15.439 that he passed us, our horses' ears sprang forward 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:19.360 and bent so that they nearly met. Who, uh, who 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:22.519 was that man? Nobody knows. And the child? Nor 00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:27.379 her. Though both are familiar to me. I must have 00:04:27.379 --> 00:04:29.740 passed them more than a hundred times on near 00:04:29.740 --> 00:04:32.220 as many routes. Without ever exchanging a word? 00:04:32.339 --> 00:04:35.399 Not a word. In the beginning he used to stop 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:37.740 and inquire the way to Boston, even when he was 00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:40.939 traveling directly away from the town. But since 00:04:40.939 --> 00:04:43.920 he never seemed to follow my directions, I have 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:47.240 ceased communication with him. So that was the 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:49.720 reason for the strange, fixed look he turned 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:54.240 on you. It could be. And now he's gone. Disappeared 00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:56.800 as if neither he nor that frail, shivering child 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:00.730 had ever been. Does he never stop anywhere? Never 00:05:00.730 --> 00:05:06.110 longer than to inquire the way to Boston. I see 00:05:06.110 --> 00:05:08.850 no signs of this promised storm. Look in the 00:05:08.850 --> 00:05:12.170 direction from which the man came. The storm 00:05:12.170 --> 00:05:15.310 follows him. I guess you're right. There is a 00:05:15.310 --> 00:05:18.250 little black cloud speck in the east, but not 00:05:18.250 --> 00:05:20.790 much more than the size of my hat. Aye, that 00:05:20.790 --> 00:05:24.290 there's the seed storm. With luck we may reach 00:05:24.290 --> 00:05:27.319 Polly's tavern before it strikes. But to mark 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:30.660 my word, the wanderer and his child will go on 00:05:30.660 --> 00:05:34.439 through rain and thunder and lightning to Providence. 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:37.459 To the town we are coming from, you mean? Yes, 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:40.420 sir. I would guess the real Providence is as 00:05:40.420 --> 00:05:43.100 far out of his reach as the Boston. He never 00:05:43.100 --> 00:05:47.600 seems able to find either. Arrump that saddle 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:53.379 blanket about you, for here it comes. Hey! Get 00:05:53.379 --> 00:06:04.019 up! Get up! My eyes are dazzled. What do you 00:06:04.019 --> 00:06:09.319 mean? Watch as he comes again. There, in the 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:12.300 center of the cloud. What? Don't you see? An 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:15.459 open carriage drawn by a black horse and a child 00:06:15.459 --> 00:06:20.360 clinging in tarot to the man. Now look. Do you 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:22.660 see? I see nothing but the lightning and the 00:06:22.660 --> 00:06:24.920 boiling blackness of the cloud. No matter. Perhaps 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:28.589 as well for you. Now hold fast. We go full out. 00:06:29.029 --> 00:06:40.610 Hey! Get up! Move and move! Within a few minutes, 00:06:40.790 --> 00:06:43.129 we had broached a rise and sliding and slithering 00:06:43.129 --> 00:06:45.170 came down into the hollow to Polly's Tavern. 00:06:46.069 --> 00:06:48.550 In spite of the summer weather, a steam of damp 00:06:48.550 --> 00:06:50.750 arose from our clothes and those of other travelers. 00:06:51.610 --> 00:06:53.810 And the whole common room seemed to be awash 00:06:53.810 --> 00:06:56.459 with discussion of the Storm Breeder. whom almost 00:06:56.459 --> 00:06:59.240 all of them seem to have met on the road. Ah, 00:06:59.459 --> 00:07:02.899 the name is Darwin, sir, of Boston, in the import 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:06.139 -export trade. Jonathan Dunwell, recently seated 00:07:06.139 --> 00:07:08.920 as judge in our circuit courts, bound from New 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:11.079 York to your fair city. Well, sir, my pleasure 00:07:11.079 --> 00:07:13.160 and privilege to meet so distinguished a gentleman. 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:16.779 I'm afraid your city is fast surpassing ours 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:20.680 in credit and notoriety. Not entirely, sir. I'm 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:22.740 afraid a citizen of your city is the focus of 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:25.740 all conversation tonight. The Storm Breeder. 00:07:25.879 --> 00:07:29.279 Did you chance on him? No, as it happens, not 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:33.779 today. But too many times. Too many times? I 00:07:33.779 --> 00:07:36.699 could wish to see neither that man nor his horse 00:07:36.699 --> 00:07:39.959 again. For they seem not to belong to this world. 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:42.939 Well, how's that? I saw them plain, father and 00:07:42.939 --> 00:07:45.100 daughter, passing us on the road. Ah, did you 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:50.279 speak? No. I have seen him wet and weary many 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:53.939 times before tonight. And no one who has ever 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:57.459 once seen him can ever be deceived again as to 00:07:57.459 --> 00:08:00.500 his identity. You know him by name? Yes, sir. 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:06.079 Peter Rug. Peter Rug. But who is this mysterious 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:09.339 man? Ah, that is more than anyone can tell exactly. 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:12.860 Save that he is a famous traveler. Though held 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:15.420 in low esteem by all in -holders, for he never 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:18.240 stops to eat, drink, nor sleep. But why does 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:20.779 the man never stop anywhere? Long enough to speak 00:08:20.779 --> 00:08:23.379 to anyone at least. By those who know the most 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:27.819 about him, say the least. It is asserted that 00:08:27.819 --> 00:08:32.139 sometimes heaven sets a mark on a man, for judgment 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:37.379 or for trial. I'm thinking of the one time Rug 00:08:37.379 --> 00:08:41.179 spoke to me. I was in Connecticut at the time, 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:44.080 on a winding road, my horse as weary as myself. 00:08:45.100 --> 00:08:48.059 It was tall dusk, though all of a sudden from 00:08:48.059 --> 00:08:50.940 behind me... Travelling in that reckless clip 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:54.460 for those roads, a fiery black horse pulling 00:08:54.460 --> 00:08:59.539 an open chase caught up to me from behind. Could 00:08:59.539 --> 00:09:04.019 you tell me how far it is to Boston? 100 miles. 00:09:04.779 --> 00:09:08.519 100? How can you say so? I was told last night 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:10.919 it was but 50, and I have traveled all night. 00:09:11.539 --> 00:09:14.139 Problem is, sir, you are traveling from Boston. 00:09:14.759 --> 00:09:17.899 You must turn back. How can you tell me so? It 00:09:17.899 --> 00:09:21.919 is all turned back. Boston shifts with the wind. 00:09:22.460 --> 00:09:25.059 One man tells me it is to the east, the other 00:09:25.059 --> 00:09:28.679 west. You and the guideposts all point the wrong 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:31.960 way. I think perhaps you're tired, and your little 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:36.379 girl too. Why not stop and rest? You're wet and 00:09:36.379 --> 00:09:39.519 weary. Yes, foul weather since I left Holmes. 00:09:39.659 --> 00:09:42.360 Stop then, up head at the inn and refresh. No, 00:09:42.539 --> 00:09:46.289 no, I cannot stop. You see what follows me? I 00:09:46.289 --> 00:09:48.950 must ever stay ahead of it, so I must reach home 00:09:48.950 --> 00:09:52.970 tonight. I pray you are mistaken in the distance 00:09:52.970 --> 00:10:00.529 to Boston. I wish I were. May I make some boldest 00:10:00.529 --> 00:10:04.870 to inquire if you are Peter Rug? I think we've 00:10:04.870 --> 00:10:10.509 met before. My name is Rug. I meet so many... 00:10:10.509 --> 00:10:16.870 I have lost my way. I am wet and weary. I would 00:10:16.870 --> 00:10:19.970 take it kindly if you would direct me to Boston. 00:10:20.710 --> 00:10:23.149 Where do you live in Boston? On what street? 00:10:23.470 --> 00:10:26.870 Why, Middle Street. Everyone knows the house, 00:10:27.250 --> 00:10:30.129 with the great shade maple, across from the cemetery. 00:10:30.610 --> 00:10:35.350 When did you leave Boston? I... I cannot tell 00:10:35.350 --> 00:10:39.129 precisely. It seems a considerable time. What, 00:10:39.230 --> 00:10:42.409 sir? How did you and your child become so wet? 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:46.740 It has not rained in these parts today. The shower 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:49.759 caught me back on the road a piece. It always 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:55.759 catches me, unless I keep moving. Moving. Would 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:58.460 you advise me to take the old road or the turnpike? 00:10:59.019 --> 00:11:04.000 Why, the old road is over 120 miles, the turnpike 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.200 but 97. You impose on me. It is wrong to trifle 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:10.980 with a traveler. You know it is only some 40 00:11:10.980 --> 00:11:13.679 miles from Newbury Port to Boston. But this is 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:17.279 not Newbury Port. This is Hartford. Do not deceive 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:21.100 me, sir. Is not this river I've been following, 00:11:21.220 --> 00:11:23.779 the Merrimack? Oh, no, sir. You are just outside 00:11:23.779 --> 00:11:26.460 Hartwood. And this river is the Connecticut. 00:11:27.299 --> 00:11:32.080 Have the rivers changed their courses? Has the 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:37.580 cities their places? Am I forever? But again 00:11:37.580 --> 00:11:39.419 the clouds are gathering and the storm is at 00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:43.879 my heels. God curses me for that fatal oath! 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:55.299 He would talk no longer. His impatient horse 00:11:55.299 --> 00:11:59.740 leaped off, his flanks rising like wings. And 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:02.679 that's the last time I saw the ill -fated Mr. 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:06.350 Rug. Amazing. But you say he gave his address 00:12:06.350 --> 00:12:09.809 as Middle Street. That is correct, Mr. I should 00:12:09.809 --> 00:12:13.950 say Judge Dunwell. The house with the great maple 00:12:13.950 --> 00:12:17.049 shade tree across from the cemetery. So he said. 00:12:17.769 --> 00:12:19.370 Do you know Boston well enough to locate it? 00:12:19.509 --> 00:12:22.350 Oh, no, sir. And my business seldom carries me 00:12:22.350 --> 00:12:26.370 that way. But mine does. I think for curiosity's 00:12:26.370 --> 00:12:29.129 sake I must go to Peter Rugg's home and try to 00:12:29.129 --> 00:12:31.250 find out why it is so difficult to return to. 00:12:32.620 --> 00:12:34.539 Twenty years, you said, you've been seeing him 00:12:34.539 --> 00:12:40.100 on the road. Oh, all of that. And the last was 00:12:40.100 --> 00:12:42.980 the only time we spoke. I should like to meet 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:45.679 the man face to face. If for no other reason 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:47.580 than to find a better fate for that little girl, 00:12:47.779 --> 00:12:51.139 long since turned woman. When I get to Boston, 00:12:51.179 --> 00:12:57.500 I shall make it my first order of business. Which 00:12:57.500 --> 00:13:00.440 is exactly what I did. It was not easy, for the 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:02.610 maps were inaccurate. And there was more than 00:13:02.610 --> 00:13:06.409 one middle street. But finally I found it. The 00:13:06.409 --> 00:13:08.690 great tree smothering the house so that it lay 00:13:08.690 --> 00:13:12.629 in a shadowy gloom. The paint was peeling. The 00:13:12.629 --> 00:13:16.129 windows cracked and cobweb ridden. But the path 00:13:16.129 --> 00:13:19.409 to the door was cleared and I was sure that someone 00:13:19.409 --> 00:13:23.870 or something still lived there. It was with a 00:13:23.870 --> 00:13:25.970 strange trepidation I walked through the weeds 00:13:25.970 --> 00:13:29.629 and lifted the heavy knocker. At last with a 00:13:29.629 --> 00:13:37.320 deep breath I let it fall. Then in utter silence, 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:41.419 bathed in the shadowed gloom, I waited to meet 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:53.240 whatever waited behind that door. The house abandoned 00:13:53.240 --> 00:13:57.059 by its master for countless years. Is it possible 00:13:57.059 --> 00:14:00.840 that any evidence of him has remained? Or his 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:04.559 family? Does some heartbroken woman We still 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:08.360 wait for that lost child, or even for the storm 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:12.580 breeder himself. Who and what is Peter Rugg? 00:14:13.580 --> 00:14:18.919 Phantom, or reality, or legend? We shall have 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:21.820 to await those answers with Judge Dunwell until 00:14:21.820 --> 00:14:37.379 I return shortly with Act Two. Judge Dunwell 00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:40.179 was never fated to have an answer to his knock 00:14:40.179 --> 00:14:44.080 on the door. For in the very moment that something 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:47.720 old stirs and rustles within the house, outside 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:51.220 it, the small noises are smothered by the arrival 00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:54.480 of the familiar black sheds and the snorting 00:14:54.480 --> 00:15:00.259 prancing steed that draws it. Whoa, Lightfoot! 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:07.350 Whoa! Don't you recognize home at last? At the 00:15:07.350 --> 00:15:09.710 sound of the arrival, instinctively I had withdrawn 00:15:09.710 --> 00:15:12.710 deeper in the shadows, finding perfect concealment 00:15:12.710 --> 00:15:16.149 behind a clump of overgrown rhododendron. Twilight 00:15:16.149 --> 00:15:19.070 was just upon us, as a confident and somehow 00:15:19.070 --> 00:15:21.409 younger man than I remembered Peter Rugg to be, 00:15:21.629 --> 00:15:24.129 strode up the path, just in time for the door 00:15:24.129 --> 00:15:27.309 to open. The little girl sat timid and immobile 00:15:27.309 --> 00:15:29.809 on the seat of the carriage, as if knowing the 00:15:29.809 --> 00:15:33.389 hopelessness of it all. Somewhere, low thunder 00:15:33.389 --> 00:15:37.700 grumbled. Mistress Rugg. Your husband is sorry 00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:39.960 to have been delayed, but circumstances be... 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:44.480 I beg your pardon, madam, but I am looking for 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:47.820 Mistress Catherine Rugg. Who? Who did you say? 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:51.840 My wife, madam. The Mistress Rugg. Oh, Lord, 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:55.179 bless you, sir. She ain't here. Ain't been here 00:15:55.179 --> 00:15:57.919 or in this world for 50 years. What do you mean? 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:01.059 I mean, she's dead and gone like all of us. Dead 00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:04.320 and gone and buried and lost. But that can't 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:10.360 be. I'm... I'm tired and worn, but this, I know 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:14.700 my own house. I live here. Oh, no, you don't. 00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:17.879 Not now, you don't, whoever you are. I can show 00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:19.960 you deed in title, which says that it's mine. 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:23.460 It is true. It seems as though it might be on 00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:26.580 the wrong side of the street. I don't know. It's 00:16:26.580 --> 00:16:31.039 hard to... Forgive me, madam. I'm confused. Everything 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:35.409 seems misplaced. The streets change. The people 00:16:35.409 --> 00:16:39.649 changed. The town changed. And what is strangest 00:16:39.649 --> 00:16:43.649 of all? Catherine Rug has deserted her husband 00:16:43.649 --> 00:16:49.169 and child. Pray tell me, has John Foy come home 00:16:49.169 --> 00:16:54.049 from sea? Who? John Foy, my kinsman. He could 00:16:54.049 --> 00:16:56.529 give me some account of Mrs. Rug. I never heard 00:16:56.529 --> 00:16:59.649 of John Foy. Where does he live? Just above here 00:16:59.649 --> 00:17:03.460 on Orange Tree Lane. Oh, bless you for a stranger. 00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:07.200 No such place in this neighborhood. But that 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:10.200 can't be possible. The street's gone. Orange 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:12.779 Lane is not the head of Hanover Street near Bamerton's 00:17:12.779 --> 00:17:16.900 Hill. There is no such lane now. You cannot be 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:20.539 serious. Woman, you mock me. The next thing you 00:17:20.539 --> 00:17:22.259 will tell me is that there is no King George. 00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:27.420 However, be that as it may, you must see, madam, 00:17:27.619 --> 00:17:29.980 that both my daughter and myself are wet and 00:17:29.980 --> 00:17:34.190 weary. I must find a resting place. Can you direct 00:17:34.190 --> 00:17:39.809 me to Boston? But this is Boston. The only city 00:17:39.809 --> 00:17:47.329 of Boston I know. But not the one I know. Guess, 00:17:47.490 --> 00:17:51.009 Lightfoot, coming, coming. I am wrong, of course. 00:17:51.329 --> 00:17:53.289 I don't know how I could have mistaken it, but 00:17:53.289 --> 00:17:56.809 this is a much finer city than Boston. Boston 00:17:56.809 --> 00:17:59.369 must lie at a distance, my good woman, since 00:17:59.369 --> 00:18:02.569 you are ignorant of it. Yes. It's the same old 00:18:02.569 --> 00:18:12.529 story. No home tonight. I must away. No! Mr. 00:18:12.730 --> 00:18:18.509 Rugg, wait! Wait! Who are you, sir? A thousand 00:18:18.509 --> 00:18:21.910 pardons, Mrs. Croft. May I present myself? Judge 00:18:21.910 --> 00:18:24.690 Jonathan Dunwell of the Circuit Courts, but recently 00:18:24.690 --> 00:18:28.369 come to Boston. A judge? Had you some business 00:18:28.369 --> 00:18:31.230 with that man? Not legal business, but I had 00:18:31.230 --> 00:18:33.970 hoped to meet him here and question him. I am 00:18:33.970 --> 00:18:35.930 obsessed with the desire to know exactly who 00:18:35.930 --> 00:18:40.710 and what he is. I'm ashamed for allowing you 00:18:40.710 --> 00:18:43.710 to stand so long in the rain. Come in and warm 00:18:43.710 --> 00:18:52.369 yourself by my fire. May I offer you some more 00:18:52.369 --> 00:18:55.069 sherry, Your Worship? No, no. You are more than 00:18:55.069 --> 00:18:56.769 kind to have given me what I have against the 00:18:56.769 --> 00:19:00.210 chill. Heaven help that poor man in an open carriage. 00:19:00.309 --> 00:19:03.769 And that child beside him. And the child. That 00:19:03.769 --> 00:19:06.509 a man named Rug once owned this house is all 00:19:06.509 --> 00:19:09.509 I know. The factor who arranged for my father 00:19:09.509 --> 00:19:11.730 to take it over is supposed to have made sure 00:19:11.730 --> 00:19:14.730 all papers are legal. How I wish I could have 00:19:14.730 --> 00:19:17.109 stopped him, learned more about him, tried to 00:19:17.109 --> 00:19:19.650 solve the mystery of him. The mystery of him? 00:19:20.450 --> 00:19:23.170 Well, I cannot help there, but I should think... 00:19:23.150 --> 00:19:25.670 I think the Factor who sold us this house should 00:19:25.670 --> 00:19:28.549 know more of him than anyone, if he is still 00:19:28.549 --> 00:19:30.390 alive. Could you give me his name and address? 00:19:31.390 --> 00:19:33.710 I shall not rest till I have followed this strange 00:19:33.710 --> 00:19:41.450 affair to its depths and its beginnings. You 00:19:41.450 --> 00:19:45.309 understand the hour is late, Judge. Yes, I do 00:19:45.309 --> 00:19:48.869 indeed, Mr. Felt. You know the history of Peter 00:19:48.869 --> 00:19:51.089 Rugg, sometime of Middle Street in this district? 00:19:52.470 --> 00:19:56.609 I will be brief. He rented a property of mine 00:19:56.609 --> 00:20:00.309 in his youth. He was married to a fine young 00:20:00.309 --> 00:20:05.250 woman who bore him a daughter, as I remember. 00:20:05.349 --> 00:20:09.950 Jenny. So I believe was the name. With no matter, 00:20:10.369 --> 00:20:13.369 an offspring. And then without so much as a by 00:20:13.369 --> 00:20:16.349 your leave, he ran off with the child, leaving 00:20:16.349 --> 00:20:21.829 the wife to die, as I believe or remember. Yes, 00:20:21.890 --> 00:20:26.089 yes, yes, yes, she died. Why? Well, damn it, 00:20:26.089 --> 00:20:30.829 she was deserted. Fortunately, Rog left no creditors. 00:20:31.190 --> 00:20:35.130 He owned his horse and chaise, and after she 00:20:35.130 --> 00:20:39.890 died, it was all soon forgotten. Yeah, soon forgotten. 00:20:40.750 --> 00:20:44.450 I suppose he died. No. To the best of my belief, 00:20:44.450 --> 00:20:47.150 he is now alive and living. I have lately seen 00:20:47.150 --> 00:20:49.569 him and his horse and chaise. And his child. 00:20:49.809 --> 00:20:52.450 Oh, is that so? That's so. Well, now I wouldn't 00:20:52.450 --> 00:20:54.930 presume to argue with a man of your standing 00:20:54.930 --> 00:21:00.109 that Peter Rugg could still be alive. I... I 00:21:00.109 --> 00:21:06.410 will not deny, but Jenny Rugg, if you saw her... 00:21:06.410 --> 00:21:12.410 Let's see now. The Boston massacre was 1770. 00:21:12.670 --> 00:21:15.630 Was it not? I fortunately avoided it, but history 00:21:15.630 --> 00:21:18.710 records that date. So on that date, Jenny was 00:21:18.710 --> 00:21:21.849 10 years of age. And if living, that would make 00:21:21.849 --> 00:21:27.029 her, let's see, 60, 60 now, give or take a year. 00:21:27.650 --> 00:21:31.410 Do you know what you're saying? If Peter Rugg 00:21:31.410 --> 00:21:34.970 is still alive, which I take is possible, he 00:21:34.970 --> 00:21:38.589 could be only 10 years older than myself. And 00:21:38.589 --> 00:21:47.230 I was only 80 last March. It was obvious that 00:21:47.230 --> 00:21:50.029 Mr. Felt was in his dotage. So, despairing of 00:21:50.029 --> 00:21:51.970 gaining any further intelligence from him, I 00:21:51.970 --> 00:21:54.210 returned to my lodgings at the Marlboro Hotel. 00:21:55.529 --> 00:21:58.769 If Peter Rugg, I thought to myself, has been 00:21:58.769 --> 00:22:01.609 traveling since the Boston Massacre, there is 00:22:01.609 --> 00:22:04.230 no reason I can see now that he shouldn't travel 00:22:04.230 --> 00:22:08.109 to the end of time. And I might have left it 00:22:08.109 --> 00:22:09.990 there had I not descended to the taproom for 00:22:09.990 --> 00:22:12.369 a nightcap. And there encountered Mr. Durwin. 00:22:13.289 --> 00:22:15.890 I ran up against a man whose grandfather knew 00:22:15.890 --> 00:22:19.349 our elusive friend, Mr. Rug, and can now tell 00:22:19.349 --> 00:22:22.190 you the whole story, such as it is. Then by all 00:22:22.190 --> 00:22:25.509 means begin. It seems that, if my informant is 00:22:25.509 --> 00:22:29.029 worthy of credit, Peter Rug, a man in comfortable 00:22:29.029 --> 00:22:31.650 circumstances, with one daughter and a wife, 00:22:31.950 --> 00:22:34.789 lived in Boston on Middle Street. He was man 00:22:34.789 --> 00:22:38.930 generally esteemed, save for one thing. Don't 00:22:38.930 --> 00:22:42.970 keep me on tenterhooks, what? An ungovernable 00:22:42.970 --> 00:22:47.009 temper. So violent that the wig would rise from 00:22:47.009 --> 00:22:49.789 his head. And while his fits were upon him, he 00:22:49.789 --> 00:22:52.990 had no respect for heaven or earth. Sorry, spectacle. 00:22:53.089 --> 00:22:56.269 Some of it hard to believe. Less hard to believe 00:22:56.269 --> 00:22:58.990 than his punishment for it. Well, what does that 00:22:58.990 --> 00:23:03.349 mean, sir? Worse, visiting and conquered one 00:23:03.349 --> 00:23:06.450 day late in autumn with his daughter in the chase, 00:23:06.529 --> 00:23:08.890 drawn by his favorite horse, a great black beast 00:23:08.890 --> 00:23:12.519 named Lightfoot. A tremendous storm overtook 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:17.319 them, driving them for shelter as dark fell under 00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:20.220 the roof of a friend of his, Mr. Cutter, who 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:22.839 urged him to tarry the night. Which any man in 00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:24.819 his right senses under the circumstances would 00:23:24.819 --> 00:23:28.319 do. And he did not heed his pleas? Far from it, 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:33.319 Judge. Instead, the vain standing out on his 00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:36.839 neck and at his temples, he screamed to high 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:55.109 heaven, And with that, he clapped, whipped to 00:23:55.109 --> 00:23:58.109 his horse, and disappeared into the rage at night. 00:23:58.730 --> 00:24:02.569 Never to return home? Never. Incredible. Hey, 00:24:02.670 --> 00:24:07.509 what's in that? Supernatural. Why? To man is 00:24:07.509 --> 00:24:11.769 accursed. Whether by God or by the devil, I know 00:24:11.769 --> 00:24:14.930 not which. Still 50 years of wandering in search 00:24:14.930 --> 00:24:18.289 of his home. How could it be possible? Well, 00:24:18.349 --> 00:24:21.660 now as to that, there are two theories. One I 00:24:21.660 --> 00:24:24.740 had from my informant. His grandfather said that 00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:27.480 on the day after he left Concord, 50 years ago, 00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:30.660 his friends and neighbors started inquiries. 00:24:31.299 --> 00:24:34.119 But it appeared that Peter Rugg had stayed no 00:24:34.119 --> 00:24:38.299 place in Boston. And his wife had a strange tale. 00:24:38.539 --> 00:24:41.519 What tale is that? Sitting by the window, waiting 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:45.380 on that wild night, there was a sudden sound 00:24:45.380 --> 00:24:48.529 like an earthquake. And indeed the whole house 00:24:48.529 --> 00:24:51.970 rumbled underneath her as if about to cave in. 00:24:52.470 --> 00:24:56.490 Peering out through the storm, she saw a strange 00:24:56.490 --> 00:24:59.710 sight. What sight was that? Come in, hell fell 00:24:59.710 --> 00:25:02.230 nether. Down the street was Peter Rugg in his 00:25:02.230 --> 00:25:05.349 carriage, straining back on the reins in a vain 00:25:05.349 --> 00:25:30.230 effort to stop his horse and crying, No! that 00:25:30.230 --> 00:25:32.630 fiery horse of his had the bit between his teeth 00:25:32.630 --> 00:25:36.990 and would not stop. Yes, but there were those 00:25:36.990 --> 00:25:40.430 who discount the story, saying merely that Peter 00:25:40.430 --> 00:25:43.349 Rugg wanted to leave his wife and never come 00:25:43.349 --> 00:25:47.230 home at all. That there was another woman somewhere. 00:25:47.390 --> 00:25:49.670 That scarcely fits the facts as we know them. 00:25:50.529 --> 00:25:54.869 Well then, there is the other theory. Which is? 00:25:55.390 --> 00:25:58.170 Perhaps best told by the woman who had the experience. 00:25:58.940 --> 00:26:02.359 Now she's the wife of the toll -gatherer on the 00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:06.000 Charlestown Bridge. Would you care to hear her 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:16.859 tale for yourself? Well, sirs, it's many years 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:20.240 ago by now. My old man has gone to his rest. 00:26:20.359 --> 00:26:24.140 Lord save him who could bear me out. In those 00:26:24.140 --> 00:26:28.200 days we were both young and spry. Many the evening 00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:31.079 I used to keep him company here at the toll gate. 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:35.119 Those days were when? Oh, I under 50 years ago. 00:26:35.619 --> 00:26:37.799 I'm sorry to have interrupted. Go on with your 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:41.859 story. I remembered how annoyed Ethan was by 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:45.579 this big black horse and the shes and the man 00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:48.420 and the little girl. Used to tell me how they 00:26:48.420 --> 00:26:51.180 continually were in contempt of the rates crossing 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:53.440 the bridge without stopping or paying. And were 00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:56.259 they always followed by bad weather? Why, bless 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:59.480 you, sir, that is the truth. My Ian used to say 00:26:59.480 --> 00:27:02.460 they brought bad luck. And you say you saw them? 00:27:02.819 --> 00:27:05.440 One evening we heard them thundering up and I 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:07.960 said, this time they ain't gonna take it out 00:27:07.960 --> 00:27:10.920 on you, Ethan. You're too easy going. So when 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:13.740 he called them to halt and they kept on, I had 00:27:13.740 --> 00:27:16.779 grabbed up a three -legged stool, heavy it was, 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:20.220 but I was young and strong, and I hurled it square 00:27:20.220 --> 00:27:23.920 into the horse's belly. And tell the judge what 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:29.140 happened then. It passed right through that horse 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:33.440 as if it were a shatter. He never even broke 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:37.180 stride as a stool went skipping across the bridge. 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:43.160 No, sir, that was a haunt. A ghost rider with 00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:48.960 bad luck riding in the dust of his wheels. So, 00:27:49.359 --> 00:27:55.180 Judge Tunwell, what is your judgment? I don't 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:58.240 know. Neither explanation fits the pattern of 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:01.279 my mind. And I have a feeling that I am not yet 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:04.640 done with Peter Rugg. Nor will be till his fate 00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:15.359 is truly revealed to me. And the judge's instinct 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:19.619 was right. Neither he nor we are yet done with 00:28:19.619 --> 00:28:23.500 the haunting tale of Peter Rugg. The man or ghost. 00:28:23.769 --> 00:28:28.430 who wander so hopelessly in search of home and 00:28:28.430 --> 00:28:44.190 rest. I'll return shortly with Act III. It was 00:28:44.190 --> 00:28:47.390 to be five years before Peter Ruggs and Judge 00:28:47.390 --> 00:28:51.509 Dunwell's paths crossed again. For some time, 00:28:51.630 --> 00:28:54.329 the judge had tried to track down the sometimes 00:28:54.329 --> 00:28:59.390 elusive person or legend, whichever he was. Then, 00:28:59.529 --> 00:29:03.390 being only human, Peter Rugg had almost passed 00:29:03.390 --> 00:29:08.509 from his mind until... until the rest of the 00:29:08.509 --> 00:29:11.670 judge's story, which you are about to hear now. 00:29:15.269 --> 00:29:18.730 In the autumn of 1825, I attended the races at 00:29:18.730 --> 00:29:21.259 Richmond and Virginia. There was great excitement 00:29:21.259 --> 00:29:23.619 and the races were well attended, for it was 00:29:23.619 --> 00:29:26.059 a match race between two recognized champions, 00:29:26.619 --> 00:29:29.380 a roan called Dart and a light gray mare called 00:29:29.380 --> 00:29:33.140 Butterfly. At a signal the gun sounded, and they 00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:36.200 were off. I was glued to the race. There seemed 00:29:36.200 --> 00:29:38.819 no way of choosing which horse might win, when 00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:40.640 suddenly there was an extra wave of excitement 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:44.380 from the already madly cheering crowd. To my 00:29:44.380 --> 00:29:46.539 open -mouthed astonishment, appearing as if from 00:29:46.539 --> 00:29:49.140 nowhere in the rear, was a majestic black horse 00:29:49.140 --> 00:29:51.960 of unusual size, drawing an old weather -beaten 00:29:51.960 --> 00:29:55.400 chair. Effortlessly, as if his heavy non -racing 00:29:55.400 --> 00:29:57.680 vehicle, encumbered as it was by two occupants, 00:29:57.740 --> 00:30:00.559 didn't exist, he overtook the racing horses shortly 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:03.339 before the winning line. And in concert, both 00:30:03.339 --> 00:30:05.579 Dot and Butterfly, as the horse passed them, 00:30:05.960 --> 00:30:08.539 lay back their ears and pulled up short, so that 00:30:08.539 --> 00:30:11.119 no contest was called. And the winning black 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:13.240 horse and his carriage passed the finish line 00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:16.890 and faded away over the hill. In the clubhouse 00:30:16.890 --> 00:30:19.869 later, I was fortunate enough to have an introduction 00:30:19.869 --> 00:30:23.349 to one John Spring, the owner and rider of Butterfly. 00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:49.440 The hawks or whatever animal it was would frighten 00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:53.079 off our horses. Why, that makes no contest, sir. 00:30:53.319 --> 00:30:56.339 No contest. And yet it looked like a horse. In 00:30:56.339 --> 00:30:59.099 no fashion, sir. Nor was it. In no fashion. And 00:30:59.099 --> 00:31:01.539 that I can prove. How is that, Mr. Spring? By 00:31:01.539 --> 00:31:04.319 my own observation and countless others, sir. 00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:07.859 Would you like to see? I would indeed. Well then, 00:31:08.019 --> 00:31:16.619 follow me. Now you remember. Just about here, 00:31:16.819 --> 00:31:19.599 both of them pulled up and let that interloper 00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:23.700 go by and disappear. Yes, the view is unfamiliar 00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:26.180 from this point, but I do remember it was shortly 00:31:26.180 --> 00:31:29.539 before the finish line. Exactly, sir. Both horses, 00:31:29.839 --> 00:31:33.299 after pulling up, walked deliberately to this 00:31:33.299 --> 00:31:36.920 spot of soft ground. Butterfly dropped her head 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:40.700 and then lifted it, wickering and fried. And 00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:43.859 Dorothy followed, but doing the same. and snorting 00:31:43.859 --> 00:31:47.359 in a sort of anger. So all of us looked to what 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:53.619 they had examined. See you then there, for yourself, 00:31:54.140 --> 00:31:59.579 Judge. I was looking at the hoof marks of the 00:31:59.579 --> 00:32:01.480 black horse which had carried on to the finish 00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:05.700 line and beyond. Horse? From the evidence of 00:32:05.700 --> 00:32:09.039 my eyes from the stands, yes. From the same evidence 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:12.380 as I looked at the soft ground. Mr. Spring's 00:32:12.380 --> 00:32:15.680 strange claim had real validity. These were not 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:18.460 the marks of a horse's hooves, but the evidence 00:32:18.460 --> 00:32:22.660 of another breed of animal or being. The hooves 00:32:22.660 --> 00:32:31.700 were cloven. Judge Dunwell! Mr. Derwent, your 00:32:31.700 --> 00:32:33.940 business takes you far afield. In the nature 00:32:33.940 --> 00:32:37.740 of things. Not like what happened today at the 00:32:37.740 --> 00:32:41.599 races. You saw? Oh, yes. I was stunned, weren't 00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:44.839 you? I thought Peter Rugg had vanished. Oh, no, 00:32:44.940 --> 00:32:48.359 not I, sir. In the years since we met, I have 00:32:48.359 --> 00:32:51.980 come across him time and again and gotten soaked 00:32:51.980 --> 00:32:54.559 to the skin because of him in New Hampshire, 00:32:54.700 --> 00:32:57.220 Connecticut, Massachusetts, and the last time, 00:32:57.359 --> 00:33:00.980 but shortly, in Delaware. Have you spoken? The 00:33:00.980 --> 00:33:04.059 last time only. Tell me, if you will, what took 00:33:04.059 --> 00:33:08.859 place. Well, sir... On his approach, he checked 00:33:08.859 --> 00:33:12.079 his horse with some difficulty. A more beautiful 00:33:12.079 --> 00:33:17.420 horse I've never seen. Sir, your face seems familiar. 00:33:18.259 --> 00:33:22.019 Perhaps I may engage your help. If you are, as 00:33:22.019 --> 00:33:24.660 may be, traveling to Boston, I should be glad 00:33:24.660 --> 00:33:27.880 to accompany you, for I have lost my way. My 00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:30.420 little girl here is weary, and I must reach home 00:33:30.420 --> 00:33:33.559 tonight. Ah, that would be impossible, sir. For 00:33:33.559 --> 00:33:35.700 you are in Concord, in the county of Sussex, 00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:38.720 which is in the state of Delaware. But Concord? 00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:41.700 That is only 20 miles from Lawson, and my horse 00:33:41.700 --> 00:33:44.019 Lightfoot could carry me to the Charlestown Ferry 00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:47.500 in less than two hours. You mistake, sir. You 00:33:47.500 --> 00:33:50.160 are a stranger here. I am well acquainted with 00:33:50.160 --> 00:33:52.859 Concord, and this town is nothing like it. Because 00:33:52.859 --> 00:33:56.440 this is Concord in the state of Delaware. Huh? 00:33:57.440 --> 00:34:02.180 What do you mean by state? Why? One of the United 00:34:02.180 --> 00:34:07.619 States, man. States? Do you mock me because my 00:34:07.619 --> 00:34:10.440 heritage is Dutch? I know well I am not in Holland. 00:34:11.159 --> 00:34:14.000 As a gentleman, I beg you not to mislead me. 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:17.280 Tell me, quickly, for pity's sake, before my 00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:20.119 horse swallows its bit. He is so starved. Set 00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:24.059 me on the right road for Boston. If I could, 00:34:24.139 --> 00:34:29.920 and I did, it would be 500 miles from here. 500 00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:34.980 miles, you say? Nay, I will to no more. This 00:34:34.980 --> 00:34:38.360 beats the Connecticut River. Get up, Lightfoot, 00:34:38.500 --> 00:34:48.760 get up! I can explain his last mark. I met him, 00:34:48.760 --> 00:34:52.059 as you may remember, outside Hartwood when he 00:34:52.059 --> 00:34:54.300 persisted in mistaking the Connecticut River 00:34:54.300 --> 00:34:57.840 for the Charles. So our wandering home seeker 00:34:57.840 --> 00:35:02.000 is still abroad. Man or spirit, I shall not rest 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:09.000 until he can. But how to help him? The courts 00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:12.239 were closed until the winter session. It seemed 00:35:12.239 --> 00:35:14.619 to me that the judgment on Peter Rugg was too 00:35:14.619 --> 00:35:17.440 great, too inhumane, too unreasonable for the 00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:20.820 extent of his small crime. I made it my business 00:35:20.820 --> 00:35:23.800 wholly for once to try to catch him again. But 00:35:23.800 --> 00:35:30.059 I always seem fated to be just too late. At the 00:35:30.059 --> 00:35:32.059 toll gate on the turnpike between Alexandria 00:35:32.059 --> 00:35:34.800 and Middleburg, he had passed and paid no toll. 00:35:35.400 --> 00:35:37.400 But the toll gatherer was grateful for he brought 00:35:37.400 --> 00:35:40.739 rain behind him to relieve the drought. Back 00:35:40.739 --> 00:35:43.900 in Virginia at the toll bridge, an irate gatekeeper 00:35:43.900 --> 00:35:46.019 told me that annoyed by the number of times Rug 00:35:46.019 --> 00:35:49.260 had passed that way refusing to pay, he had stood 00:35:49.260 --> 00:35:52.159 in the way of the vehicle and it had passed right 00:35:52.159 --> 00:35:55.119 through him. or over him without so much as touching 00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:59.960 him. On the ferry boat across the Hudson, a Mr. 00:36:00.159 --> 00:36:02.219 Hardy who collected fare showed me a fare that 00:36:02.219 --> 00:36:04.940 a man had given him, insisting it was 30 shillings. 00:36:05.539 --> 00:36:09.159 It might have been once. It was a half -crown, 00:36:09.480 --> 00:36:12.920 coined by the British Parliament, dated 1649. 00:36:14.300 --> 00:36:16.619 Then I knew I had caught up with Peter Rugg again 00:36:16.619 --> 00:36:19.599 at last. I found him in his rig at the bow of 00:36:19.599 --> 00:36:24.619 the boat. Greetings, Mr. Rugg. Huh? Oh, yes. 00:36:25.239 --> 00:36:28.940 You seem familiar, sir. Judge Dunwell, we have 00:36:28.940 --> 00:36:31.960 met on the road before. That could be possible, 00:36:32.400 --> 00:36:34.760 sir. May I say that since you are a stranger 00:36:34.760 --> 00:36:38.440 here, my house is your home. Dame Rugg will be 00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:41.340 happy to see her husband's friend. Step into 00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:45.280 my chair, sir, if you will. Move over, Jenny, 00:36:46.039 --> 00:36:48.139 for the great man. We shall be in Middle Street 00:36:48.139 --> 00:36:51.179 very shortly. For many reasons, I will. take 00:36:51.179 --> 00:36:56.340 advantage of your kind invitation. I sneaked 00:36:56.340 --> 00:36:59.280 a glance at my companions. Both were dressed 00:36:59.280 --> 00:37:01.840 in incredibly old -fashioned garments of fine 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:05.739 cloth, but showing great wear. Rug himself, at 00:37:05.739 --> 00:37:08.079 least in the face, was little more than skin 00:37:08.079 --> 00:37:11.360 drawn over the skull and cheekbones. Jenny was 00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:13.940 so bundled up she suggested only to my sad and 00:37:13.940 --> 00:37:17.260 horrified eye what her wizened, dried -out face 00:37:17.260 --> 00:37:22.679 proclaimed. A small Egyptian mummy. Only Lightfoot 00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:24.840 looked bigger, sleeker, and more magnificent 00:37:24.840 --> 00:37:29.900 than ever. This is not Boston, sir. Then may 00:37:29.900 --> 00:37:33.019 half it is New York. How can it be New York, 00:37:33.159 --> 00:37:35.860 sir, when that place is 200 and more miles from 00:37:35.860 --> 00:37:41.059 Boston? But I thought I was home. Mr. Rudd, look 00:37:41.059 --> 00:37:43.820 to the west. Only the size of a blackberry now, 00:37:43.820 --> 00:37:45.940 but that looks like an angry storm on our trail. 00:37:46.320 --> 00:37:50.800 Ah! It is in vain to escape. I know that cloud. 00:37:51.340 --> 00:37:54.880 It brings no wrath to spend on my head. Go now, 00:37:55.079 --> 00:37:58.119 kind stranger, whoever you are. Leave me to my 00:37:58.119 --> 00:38:00.300 fate. No, not this time, Peter Rudd. Give me 00:38:00.300 --> 00:38:02.739 the reins. This time perhaps we can outrun the 00:38:02.739 --> 00:38:07.340 storm. I took them from his slack hands, sliding 00:38:07.340 --> 00:38:09.039 over him and pushing him back to huddle with 00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:11.559 his daughter. And it needed only one flick to 00:38:11.559 --> 00:38:13.619 send that strange horse on his way like the wind. 00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:16.840 As we careened around the first corner, I noticed 00:38:16.840 --> 00:38:19.219 that his front hoods had been split on some hard 00:38:19.219 --> 00:38:22.300 road somewhere, but were healing. So Mr. Spring 00:38:22.300 --> 00:38:24.079 had been at least half -right about the cloven 00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:27.099 hoods. I remembered little of that nightmare 00:38:27.099 --> 00:38:29.920 ride for Boston. How many days passed where we 00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:32.519 stayed or ate or slept. I only know that no matter 00:38:32.519 --> 00:38:35.260 how fast we traveled, that mushrooming black 00:38:35.260 --> 00:38:37.639 cloud stayed on our heels every step of the way. 00:38:38.039 --> 00:38:41.500 And then at last, we were in Boston, on Middle 00:38:41.500 --> 00:38:46.500 Street. A crowd was gathered. The great elm still 00:38:46.500 --> 00:38:49.300 stood, although barren now of leaves, fire blackened, 00:38:49.860 --> 00:38:51.639 and all that remained of the house was a heap 00:38:51.639 --> 00:38:55.500 of rubble. All else burnt to the ground, as I 00:38:55.500 --> 00:38:58.420 knew it to be, for the fire had taken place two 00:38:58.420 --> 00:39:01.099 years before. I tell you men of the North End, 00:39:01.260 --> 00:39:05.400 this is holy ground. The city needs this land, 00:39:05.780 --> 00:39:09.320 and let not the name of Peter Rugg dampen your 00:39:09.320 --> 00:39:39.230 ardor. No! I thought I knew every man in Boston, 00:39:39.250 --> 00:39:41.960 but I... Do not recollect at this moment that 00:39:41.960 --> 00:39:45.599 I ever saw one of these. Who are these strangers? 00:39:45.840 --> 00:39:48.760 Listen to me, Peter Rugg. The only stranger here 00:39:48.760 --> 00:39:51.820 is you. You have suffered many years under an 00:39:51.820 --> 00:39:55.179 illusion. Look, look behind. The cloud, the storm. 00:39:55.619 --> 00:39:59.400 Your nemesis is gathering. Then I must flee away 00:39:59.400 --> 00:40:02.380 from home again. Oh, if you do, you have no home. 00:40:03.139 --> 00:40:06.159 If I stay... There is none left. Don't you see 00:40:06.159 --> 00:40:08.440 that for over 50 years the tempest which you 00:40:08.440 --> 00:40:11.219 so profanely defied at monotony has driven you 00:40:11.219 --> 00:40:13.619 before it like a straw in the wind. And now it 00:40:13.619 --> 00:40:16.219 is too late. Your wife, your house and all your 00:40:16.219 --> 00:40:18.300 neighbors have disappeared. You have no home 00:40:18.300 --> 00:40:21.039 left here. You've been cut off from one age and 00:40:21.039 --> 00:40:23.739 you can never be fitted to the present. You can 00:40:23.739 --> 00:40:25.559 never have another home again in this world. 00:40:25.920 --> 00:40:31.019 You or your daughter unless... Yes. Quickly for 00:40:31.019 --> 00:40:34.139 the storm is almost upon us. Unless what? Unless 00:40:34.139 --> 00:40:36.920 you stop fleeing it. Let it catch up with you 00:40:36.920 --> 00:40:39.900 and perhaps pass you by. Then may happen long 00:40:39.900 --> 00:40:44.980 last you can find rest. Oh, rest. Sweet, blessed 00:40:44.980 --> 00:40:51.199 rest. Oh, my father, forgive me. And take me 00:40:51.199 --> 00:41:00.059 and Jenny home. The great black clouds and teeming 00:41:00.059 --> 00:41:03.500 rain engulfed us all. My last view of Peter Rugg 00:41:03.500 --> 00:41:05.320 was standing with his arm about his daughter. 00:41:05.780 --> 00:41:09.280 His face lifted to the rain. And wonder of wonders. 00:41:09.980 --> 00:41:12.980 At last the child's head, too, was lifted. In 00:41:12.980 --> 00:41:15.760 the intensity of it, they were lost. And suddenly 00:41:15.760 --> 00:41:21.320 the storm passed. For a moment, in its last fringe, 00:41:21.340 --> 00:41:25.460 I saw the two of them. Eyes on heaven. And then, 00:41:25.500 --> 00:41:28.679 as if they had never been, chaise, horse, harness, 00:41:29.500 --> 00:41:34.480 father and daughter were gone. Where? I do not 00:41:34.480 --> 00:41:49.300 know. I can only hope home at last. Judge Dunwell 00:41:49.300 --> 00:41:52.980 lived out a long and fruitful life, dying quietly 00:41:52.980 --> 00:41:57.000 in his bed one night. We do not know what his 00:41:57.000 --> 00:42:00.099 last thoughts were, but certainly one of them 00:42:00.099 --> 00:42:03.030 must have been that In all the last 40 years 00:42:03.030 --> 00:42:07.949 of his life, he never again met or heard of Peter 00:42:07.949 --> 00:42:23.530 Rugg. I shall be back shortly. There is no one 00:42:23.530 --> 00:42:27.269 more tragic in all history or literature than 00:42:27.269 --> 00:42:32.889 the soul condemned to wander, lost. alone, cut 00:42:32.889 --> 00:42:36.949 off. And I do have to wonder a little if Peter 00:42:36.949 --> 00:42:41.409 Rugg didn't make his own penance. What we fear 00:42:41.409 --> 00:42:45.429 in life we should not run from, especially if 00:42:45.429 --> 00:42:49.010 we can't out distance it, turn and meet it face 00:42:49.010 --> 00:42:53.469 to face. It's surprising that the reality is 00:42:53.469 --> 00:42:57.809 never as bad as he imagined. Our cast included 00:42:57.809 --> 00:43:00.710 Michael Tolan, Fred Gwin, Anne Petoniak, Arnold 00:43:00.710 --> 00:43:03.909 Moss, and Ian Martin. The entire production was 00:43:03.909 --> 00:43:10.130 under the direction of Hyman Brown. And now, 00:43:10.389 --> 00:43:13.690 a preview of our next tale. You don't hear it? 00:43:15.590 --> 00:43:20.730 What is that? I think so. Well, is it your imagination 00:43:20.730 --> 00:43:30.489 too? No. What is it? It's a... It's a... That's 00:43:30.489 --> 00:43:34.030 a ghost! Now, Abigail... I know there's no such 00:43:34.030 --> 00:43:36.849 thing as a ghost, but what do you call that? 00:43:37.630 --> 00:43:41.309 Well, he... John, I remember my grandfather and 00:43:41.309 --> 00:43:44.809 my aunt. They'd tell us children's stories about... 00:43:44.809 --> 00:43:47.809 John, John, I'm frightened! Oh dear, Abigail, 00:43:48.050 --> 00:44:01.699 it's impossible! There's no such thing as a ghost. 00:44:02.760 --> 00:44:06.099 Then why is your hand shaking? This is E .G. 00:44:06.340 --> 00:44:08.619 Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery 00:44:08.619 --> 00:44:12.519 theater for another adventure in the macabre. 00:44:12.900 --> 00:44:17.179 Until next time, pleasant dreams.