I'm E .G. Marshall. Come in. Settle down and
listen. For we're about to tell you a very important
story. Have you ever looked at your children
and wondered what in the world are they thinking?
What goes on in those tiny minds? You don't know,
do you? Admit it. You haven't the faintest idea.
Yet, you were once a child. So why don't you
know? I'll tell you why. You have forgotten,
and try as you will, you simply cannot remember
what it was like to be a child. I don't know
the reason for this, but perhaps it's because
being a child is not always the happy thing we
think it is. Didn't you mind being shut up in
that dark room, Bobby? All by yourself for such
a long time? Was it a long time? Three weeks.
Is that a long time? What did you do, Bobby,
all alone there? Oh, listen to the silence. Talk
to the dark. Our mystery drama, The Secret Life
of Bobby Deland, was written especially for the
Mystery Theater by Elspeth Erick. and stars Michael
Tolan. It is sponsored in part by CONTAC, the
12 -hour allergy capsule, and Anheuser -Busch
Incorporated, Brewers of Budweiser. I'll be back
shortly with Act One. We said earlier that this
story is an important one. Not because our small
hero is an important figure a boy of ten How
much time has he had to achieve importance in
our world? No We call our story important because
it is our attempt to explore the inner life of
one small child An attempt which we admit may
be awkward and incomplete Because we have grown
up and in growing up grown stupid Everybody inside.
Go with Miss Hamill and Mr. Garth. Now we can
talk better. Well, Mr. Carlin, have you finally
made up your mind about adoption? I don't know
that we want to go that far, Mrs. Appleton. Not
just yet. You see, I thought if my wife and I
could take one of the children home for a month,
two months, see how it worked out. You see, our
son died in an automobile accident a year ago.
And Mrs. Carlin hasn't been really right since.
Depressed, migraine, headaches. Spends a good
deal of time in bed. And I thought if there were
a boy around the house, it might help her. Help
me too. You've been here several times. You've
met all our children. There's one. I believe
his name is Bobby. About ten years old. Bobby
Deland, that's the one I looked for him today
when I was walking around the playground. I didn't
see him He's he's still here isn't he Bobby's
still here. Thank goodness He's such an unusual
boy. I'm surprised. He wasn't asked for before
this he was Last year It didn't work out Can
you tell me why I? Can do better than that. I
have a tape of the interview with the lady who?
Tried to give him a home. It's a practice here
to make tapes of the conversations with prospective
parents. It saves confusion, possible embarrassment
later. If there's trouble. Oh, you're being taped
right this minute, Mr. Carlin. I hope you don't
mind. No, not at all. Look, I won't play it all
for you. Just the part that concerns us now.
to think of to make Bobby happy, Mrs. Appleton.
He seemed happy. There wasn't any way we could
guess that he didn't like it with us. And then,
then to wake up one morning and, and he was gone.
Simply gone. I'm sure you did everything you
could. Oh, we did. And he seemed to like us.
Of course he's naturally so sweet, so good. Except
for the stealing. The what? We shouldn't call
it stealing. We'd find little things missing.
Little nothings. Once it was a frying pan. A
wooden spoon one time. Oh, we found them later.
In his room. Once he took the belt from one of
my dresses. A leather belt. Not that I cared.
That's enough of that. But I should tell you,
Barbie's been guilty of petty pilferage like
that here at the orphanage. A hair brush belonging
to one of the teachers. Where did he go when
he ran away? Well, the police found him that
same night, wandering along a country road. There
was a full moon. They had no trouble. And when
the woman came to pick him up, he wouldn't talk
to her. Wouldn't even see her. Didn't seem to
hold anything against her. He just said it was
no use. No use? It's what he always says. You
mean this has happened before? Several times
during the last couple of years. Look, I'm telling
you all this to let you know that if you take
Bobby into your home, you're not getting the...
well, the usual child. No child is the usual
child, Mrs. Appleton. Well, shall we go and have
a talk with him? See how he feels about all this?
By all means. Oh. Oh, I should tell you, Bobby's
in confinement. You don't mean... solitary confinement?
He's confined to one room without lights or windows.
I know that sounds severe, but we've tried everything
else. Even corporal punishment, though that's
prohibited by law. It didn't do any good. He
doesn't seem to feel it. How long has he been
confined? Oh, nearly three weeks now. Mrs. Appleton,
24 days is supposed to be the limit before the
victim goes mad. That's been established in prisons
with grown men. Bobby's a boy. A most unusual
boy. Shall we go talk to him? Please. This way.
Mrs. Appleton, may I ask you, what is Bobby being
punished for? What did he do? Oh, didn't I tell
you? He ran away from the orphanage. That's the
only thing he ever needs to be punished for,
running away. Mrs. Appleton, when Bobby ran away
from here, was it at night? Middle of the night,
as near as we could tell. Oh, here we are. Was
there a full moon that night? I don't recall.
Does it matter? It might. Oh, here's my key.
Bobby? It's Mrs. Appleton, Bobby. Yes, Mrs. Appleton.
He's all right. You can come out now, Bobby.
The door's open. Can you see? Yes, I can see
Mrs. Appleton. Does the light bother your eyes?
Not very much. You remember Mr. Colin, Bobby.
It's nice to see you. I'm very well, Bobby. Thank
you. I'm going back to the office now, and you
two can have a nice talk. Thank you. You can
join me there later, Mr. Colin. Well, Bobby,
I'm pleased you remember me. Didn't you mind
being shut up in that dark room all by yourself
for such a long time? Was it a long time? Three
weeks. Is that a long time? What did you do all
alone in there? Oh, I listened to the silence.
Talked to the dark. I see. Would you like to
come and stay with me and my wife for a while?
See if you like it. We have a big house. A very
big house? Well, pretty big. With servants? We
have servants, yes. And beautiful gardens and
a big green lawn. What does it matter if it's
a big house with a lawn? A big white house. And
servants, does that matter? I don't know. I thought
it did. I could sort of see it. Well, what do
you say? Would you like to visit with us for
a while? I think I would. There's a good school
nearby if you'd like to go. I'm tired of memorizing
things. Whatever you say. Now why don't you go
pack some clothes and I'll go see Mrs. Appleton
in her office and make the arrangements. Come
in. Mrs. Appleton, that's a remarkable child.
Oh, well, close the door, will you, Mr. Collin?
Oh, yes. You've persuaded him. I'm convinced
the reason Bobby can endure, even enjoy, three
weeks of confinement is because he's able to
hypnotize himself. And not only hypnotize himself,
but put himself into a deep trance. Almost anyone
can be hypnotized. But only one in 20 can hypnotize
himself. And I've never heard of anyone who could
put himself into a deep trance state. Well, supposing
he can. What's the advantage of it? Why, it means
that he can reach his unconscious mind and perhaps
unite it with his consciousness. A terribly difficult
thing to do. And to do it alone, without any
outside help. I... I never thought it was possible.
Well, supposing he can do whatever it is you
say he can. What of it? Mrs. Appleton, do you
know what powers are locked in the unconscious?
What forces, what instinctive knowledge, primitive
memories? I've always thought of the subconscious
as an untidy mass of very unpleasant emotions.
It is untidy, but we've been taught the emotions
are unpleasant because they lack morality and
purpose, as indeed they do. Their only purpose
being to express themselves. Most of us manage
to live without expressing ourselves, Mr. Cobb?
Yes, but supposing you find one solitary human
being who refuses to live that way? You mean
Bobby? Well, mr. Carlin if he's willing to go
with you and you want him I've checked you out
and everything's in order. Oh One thing mr. Carlin.
I hope you're not going to talk to Bobby about
his mother. Why not? Why shouldn't he talk about
his mother if he wants to well, it's not really
healthy in his case He makes up outrageous stories
about her such as what? Oh, but she was fantastically
beautiful that she married into royalty A prince
or a duke? Oh, children often fantasize that
way. Last year he told us that she was a movie
star, imagine. Who was she really? Oh, just a
poor pathetic woman on relief. I found that out
from our records. I wasn't here when she brought
him. That was six years ago. He was only four.
The records say she simply couldn't afford to
keep him. She's never been back? Never been back.
Never called to see how he was getting along.
Never sent him a present or even written him
a note. Don't come in. Oh, Bobby. All packed
to go home with Mr. Carlin. He has a big white
house, Mrs. Appleton, with a big lawn and flowers
and lots of servants. Haven't you, Mr. Carlin?
Yes. I'm sorry about your wife. What? What about
my wife? I'm sorry she's so unhappy. Didn't you
tell me she's unhappy and sick sometimes? I...
I don't think I did. You must have. Or how would
I know? Do we really know only what we've been
told? Or what we've read? Or heard? I hate to
believe that because then each of us is only
a jumbled mass of information. And very often
we go about spreading this jumbled information
for others to pick up and repeat. No wonder the
world isn't such a turmoil if all we know is
what we've been told by people who only know
What they've been told who only know what oh
no no no there must be more. We can't go on this
way however Having no solution at hand. I shall
return shortly with act two When one adopts a
boy ten years old, it is not only the ten -year
-old boy who has been taken into the new home,
it is also the boy who was once nine, once eight,
once seven, and so on. Clear back to the day
an infant was born. And these early years are
unknown, utterly unknown, to the new parents.
Just how unknown they are to the child is the
subject of our story. We're almost there Bobby.
I know. You know? Well, I figure. You mean you
felt it, that we were almost there? Something
like that, I guess. Mental telepathy, maybe?
What's that? Well, thought transference. I was
thinking to myself, we're almost home, and the
thought transferred itself to your mind. Is that
what happened? I wasn't thinking about anything
at all. It's when we're not thinking about anything
at all that the thoughts of other people enter
our minds. I'd like to think about that. Well?
I think that's very true, what you said, Mr.
Carlin. It's when you're not thinking about anything
at all. That's when the good things happen. What
good things, Bobby? Oh, all the good things.
Mr. Carlin, you should have turned right there.
No, no, that's Birch Tree Road. We live on a
tree... You should have turned there. Go back!
Hey Bobby, Bobby, take it easy. Go back! Bobby,
I know where I live and I know how to get there.
Your telepathy wasn't in good working order that
time. Now, here is where we turn. To the left.
We go about a quarter of a mile up this road
and then we're there. It's pretty. Is it what
you expected? Kind of. It smells nice. You smell
something? It smells sweet. Very, very sweet.
I don't smell anything. Oh, we're coming to the
privet hedge. That's the sweet smell. Imagine
you picking it up way back there. Now we're coming
to the house. It is white. I told you it was.
And there's a lawn in front, with flowers. I
told you there would be. Well, here we are. But
it's not a very big house. It has 16 rooms. And
where are all the servants? Did you sleep well
in your new room, Bobby? Yes, I did. It's a very
nice room. Nicer than the orphanage? That was
nice, but this is nicer. This morning, Bobby,
I want to take you to meet my wife. Her name
is Anita, if you want to call her that. I think
I should tell you, she gets migraine headaches
from time to time. I know. I knew she was sick
sometimes. I think she's sick now. No, she's
not. I saw her this morning. She was fine. Come
on. Let's go upstairs. Okay. It's not very nice
to be sick like that, is it? No, it certainly
is not. I used to have asthma. That was terrible.
What did you used to do about it? Oh, I made
it stop. Made it stop just like that? Sort of.
It was a long time ago. Here we are. Anita, may
we come in, dear? Anita, this is Bobby. Go away,
please. She's sick. My dear, is it another migraine?
Please, I can't... Bobby, Bobby, we'd better
come back later. She's sick. You'll meet her
tomorrow. Come on. Mrs. Carlin, I'm here. I know
how much it hurts, but I want you to know I'm
here. And I want it to stop hurting. Please.
Try to look at me, Mrs. Carlin. Bobby, don't.
When she's like this, it's no use. I want you
to give me your headache, Mrs. Carlin. I want
you to give it to me. Look, Mrs. Carlin. Anita,
look. Give me your headache. I want to take it
away from you. I'm going to take it away from
you. Do you hear me? I'm going to take it. You're
going to give it to me. I'm going to take it.
Yes, I'm taking it. You're giving it to me. You're
giving me your headache, aren't you? Yes, you
are. I know you are. Please give it to me. All
of it. Yes. Oh, please. Oh. Oh, yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes. Yes. Bobby? Bobby, where are you going?
It's all right. All right. Bobby? I couldn't
help. Mr. Carlin, I had to throw up. Well, that's
all right, son. That's all right. How is Mrs.
Carlin? She says her headache is gone. Yes. Of
course it's gone. She gave it to me. And how
are you? I think I'm going to be all right pretty
soon. I never knew before what a migraine headache
was like. Now I know. Mrs. Appleton speaking.
This is George Carlin, Mrs. Appleton. I've got
great news for you. Everything's working out?
Three weeks now and everything's going wonderfully.
He seems very happy here and heaven knows he's
made us happy. My wife hasn't had another headache
since that time I wrote you about when Bobby
cured her Well, he did something to mrs. Carlin,
perhaps he hypnotized her I don't know but her
headache stopped. I was there I saw it happen
No, I don't think so. Well, you better check
there's a belt of mine missing, but I'm sure
I must have mislaid it his room. No, I wouldn't
dream of doing that. The boy is happy here and
we're happy having him here. Has he talked about
his mother? No, he hasn't mentioned her. Well,
my advice is to keep it that way. I don't think
I agree with that, Mrs. Appleton. You know what
I told you? All you'll get from him is a lot
of wild fantasy. At this point, I feel I'd like
to hear anything Bobby cares to tell me. Well,
if you don't want to take my advice... No, it's
not that, Mrs. Appleton. It's that for the time
being, I'd sort of like to follow my own instincts.
You understand? I suppose so. I'll keep in touch
with you. Please do. Good luck to you. Thank
you. Oh, Bobby, I didn't hear you come in. That
was Mrs. Appleton I was talking to on the phone.
How is she? She's fine. Do you miss her? Not
too much. Bobby, you know that black tooled leather
belt of mine? Yes, I know that belt. I can't
find it. Have you seen it? It's in my room. Well,
did I leave it there do you think I don't know
I? Don't think so by any chance Bobby Did you
take it out of my room? I think I? Guess I did
I'm pretty sure I did You want me to go get it
or you can have it if you really want it Only
I'd rather you'd ask me instead of just taking
it, but I don't want it. No It's too big for
me. Why would I want it? I don't know. I just
saw it and it reminded me of something. Reminded
you of what? I was going to give it back to you.
I didn't mean to keep it. I didn't even want
it. All right, all right now. It's all right.
Just put it back in my room when you get a chance,
will you? I'll put it right back now. No, in
the morning will be all right. Bobby, do you
ever feel you want to talk to me about your mother?
My mother? Do you remember her at all? I know
you were only four when she left you at the orphanage.
She was very, very beautiful. What else? I'm
not supposed to talk about my mother. Well, don't
you want to? Not now, Mr. Carlin. All right.
But if you ever want to, I'm here, you know.
I know. George? Oh, what are you doing up? Can't
you sleep? Not for hours. Oh, the moon is so
bright, I don't wonder. No, it's not just the
moon. I was thinking about Bobby. Oh, funny.
I was thinking about him too. I talked to Mrs.
Appleton this afternoon. She asked me, did Bobby
ever talk about his mother? He never does. That's
what I told her. And she said, fine, keep it
that way. But I said I didn't agree that I thought
he should talk about whatever he felt like talking
about. Oh, you're absolutely right Bobby came
into the room about that time and I brought up
the subject of his mother and all he'd say was
She was very very very beautiful. That's all
I tried to get him to go on but he just clammed
up said I'm not supposed to talk about it Mrs.
Appleton probably told him not to she has a point
in a way She says Bobby makes up wild stories
about his mother whom he hasn't seen or even
heard from in six years You mean since he was
four? That's right, but he tells people or used
to that she had dozens of admirers finally married
some title -gen became a movie star Oh George,
my children often do that Another thing Mrs.
Appleton asked me if Bobby had snitched anything
and I told her about my black tooled leather
belt Then when Bobby came in I asked me had he
seen it and right away. He said yes, it was in
his room I asked me if he'd taken it and he said
he guessed he must have did I want it back? It
was too big for him. Anyway, isn't that peculiar?
You know, I told you the woman who took him last
year said he snitched silly things a Frying pan
a wooden spoon a pelt off one of her dresses.
Oh I wonder if that's where our little frying
pan disappeared to they were asking me in the
kitchen if I'd seen it What? There's a frying
pan missing? Heavens, George. We have about 12
frying pans of assorted sizes. Is there anything
else missing? No, nothing else. Oh. Well, unless
you want to say one of my shoes is missing. One
of your shoes? Those high -heeled things. I'd
given up high heels, and I put those out to give
away. And next time I looked, there was only
one. Must have gotten thrown out. Goodness, it
would take one shoe. Who would throw away one
shoe? Oh, George. Look, come on back to bed.
Maybe you can get to sleep. Yeah, maybe. That
damn moon wasn't so bright. Shines right across
the bed. Why don't you pull the curtains? You
know what? It's a full moon. Well, pull the curtains
and come to bed. Can you see or do you want a
light on? Oh, I can see. What was that? What
was what? Did you hear a door close? What door?
It sounded like downstairs. There he goes. Bobby?
Yes, and there's a full moon. George. Like before.
Call him back. Go after him, George. No. No,
I don't think I'm going to do that. Well, for
heaven's sakes, why not? You can't just let him
go wandering around all by himself. No, I don't
think he's going to be just wandering around.
You think he's going someplace in particular?
Yes. Where? I don't know. And I don't think he
knows either. But someplace As we are all going
some place We don't know where and there is no
one who knows to tell us where Yet very deep
in our minds or our hearts or our tormented souls
We know we are going someplace. We can't see
ahead and it does no good to look back. We can
only trudge on down the road to someplace. I'll
be back shortly with Act 3. with which act two
ended, has been wiped out now by the exploratory
colors of the rising sun, and steadily down a
winding road trudges a small boy, ten years of
age, steadily, purposefully, toward a destination
he could not name were you to ask him. It is
Bobby Deland. The thin little boy's arms start
to wave wildly as a truck approaches. How far
are you going? I don't know exactly. Down the
road away. Come on, get in. Here, let me give
you a hand. That's a pretty big step up. I can
do it. What you doing out at this hour? It's
hardly daylight. I have to go see somebody. You
expected? Yes, I'm expected. I didn't say when,
though. Going to see your folks? My mother. Oh,
your mother. Then I guess you know where she's
at. Somewhere along this road. No number? No
name? Like on a mailbox? I'll know when we get
there. You've been there before, I guess. It's
a great big white house with a big green lawn
and flowers. I think I know what a place she
means. And lots and lots of servants. Yeah. There
it is! You hadn't ought to go in there. Hey,
you know what you're doing? You hadn't ought
to... Oh, what a douche. That's it. That's the
house. This is the lawn. There are the flowers.
But where are the servants? Where's my mother?
You want to sit here, Baroness, under this tree?
Is that all right? I'll fetch you some coffee,
and I'll be right back. Excuse me? Are you my
mother's maid? Yes, yes, I am. Will you tell
her I've come to see her, please? If she... If
she feels well enough to see me. And what's your
name? Bobby Dieland. Would you tell my mother?
And how did you get in here, Bobby? Somebody
dropped me off... before. I've been waiting till
I saw the servants come out of the house. Now,
please, I'd like to see my mother. You mean that
lady over there? Yes, my mother. Oh, I'm afraid
that's not your mother, dear. That's the Baroness
Hortha. Well, her name before was Mrs. Dieland.
Please tell her I want to see her. Oh, never
mind. I'll hold on, Nana, just a minute. Let
go! Let me go! Not so fast, young man. Let go
of me! Miss Copeland, what's going on? This boy,
he wandered in here. He wants to talk to the
Baroness. He's her son, he says. Well, then let
him. Should I, Doctor? Why not? He may succeed
where we failed. Go ahead, my boy. Thank you.
Hello, Mother. I'm here. Hello, Mrs. Appleton?
George Carlin. I wanted to tell you Bobby's been
found. Thank you for not calling the police.
Well, you know, I told you I saw him leave the
house. I simply followed him in my car. It wasn't
hard, so don't worry. What's that? Well, I don't
think that's necessary, but if you want to...
Look, can't you tell me over the phone? Well,
all right. No, no, I'm not at home. I'm at the
place where I found Bobby. It's on Birch Tree
Road, not too far from where I live. A big white
house, very big, big lawn out in front. It's
the Wesley Sanitarium. You know it? Well, I'm
with Dr. Wesley right now. All right, we'll expect
you. Mrs. Appleton's coming over, if that's all
right, doctor. Perfectly all right. She wants
to tell me something, show me something. I don't
know what. Tell me, Mr. Carlin, what made you
think Bobby might come here? It was just a guess.
But when I brought him home from the orphanage,
he wanted to turn onto Birch Tree Road. Did he
say why? He thought it was the road my house
is on. Not that he'd ever been at my house. All
he knew about my house was that it was big and
white, had a lawn with flowers and servants.
He knew that because I told him. And I told him
because he specifically asked. It seemed important
to him, did it? Very. I was puzzled at that because
he's not a snobbish sort of boy, quite the contrary.
That insistence on a lot of servants Now I begin
to understand your sanitarium does have a lot
of servants as well as a lawn and flowers But
the boys never seen the sanitarium has he he
hasn't even seen his mother since the age of
four then how would he know I suppose it when
you think about Dream about a certain person
for such a long time and fantasize about that
person the way he did about his mother what sort
of fantasies. Oh, wild ones. That she was much
admired, much sought after, that she married
into royalty, became a movie star. Hold on there.
She did marry into royalty. You don't mean she's
really a Baroness. Yes, indeed. The Baroness
Hortha. I thought that Baroness stuff was, you
know, part of her dementia. The Baron brought
her here. The Baron pays her bills. He's not
very high up in the royal lists, but he's a baron,
nevertheless. The boy couldn't have known that.
No more than he could have known Birch Tree Road.
Now, about her becoming a movie star. The baron
told us that she made a motion picture a few
years ago. Actually, that's where he met her.
He put up the money. She starred in it. Well,
that's impossible, isn't it? Someone would would
have known seen the picture recognized sir. I
don't know who saw the picture mr. Carlin. It
was a pornographic film No, the Baron has made
a good bit of money on pornographic films. I'm
told She made the film starred in it She married
the Baron. He's devoted to her Well, then what
happened or about a year ago. She became severely
depressed it went further into melancholia Finally,
she became very nearly catatonic, and he brought
her here. She won't talk to him when he comes
to see her, as she's never spoken to any of us.
It was about a year ago, as I understand it,
that Bobby began to talk about a big White House
with a lawn and gardens, and a lot of servants.
Could he have known that she'd been brought here?
To a place he'd never seen, didn't even know
existed? It's a rare person who has a faculty
to sense what is going on. But... If there is
a great affinity between two people, I suppose
a telepathic communication is... Well, it's possible.
Was there such an affinity between Bobby and
his mother? After all, she abandoned him when
he was four and never communicated with him after
that. Communicated with him? I'd say by all the
evidence, she communicated with him the whole
time they were apart. She may not have known
she was communicating, but her son was on the
face of it. so sensitively attuned to her and
her existence, he could pick up waves that emanated
from her that she knew nothing about. Come in.
Dr. Wesley, I hope I did the right thing. What's
that? Well, I left the little boy with the Baroness.
Is that all right? I think so. The Baroness has
never shown the slightest sign of being violent.
Quite the contrary. Well, she does seem interested
in him. I mean, she looks at him. Sounds like
progress to me. So then I should just leave them
together. Where are they? In her room. I'd say
leave them together. But leave the door open.
Yes, Doctor. It will be astounding if she recognizes
him, accepts him. It could mean she's on her
way back. Dr. Wesley, this faculty you talk about,
this rare ability to sense things. What is it?
It doesn't have a name. Anyway, not a name that
appears in scientific journals, but some clairvoyants
have it. Some mystics have it. Some saints, I
suppose. Many poets have it. It's an ability
to reach far into oneself. To make contact, do
you know the poem called The Labyrinth? W. H.
Auden wrote it. There are four lines from it
that I quote to myself all the time. The center
that I cannot find is known to my unconscious
mind. I have no reason to despair because I am
already there. Nice, isn't it? What? What does
it mean? Come, come, Mr. Carlin. You know very
well what it means. That if we only go deep enough
into ourselves, we will find the center that
will... that will stabilize us? Is that it? Give
us peace? Is that it? The peace that passeth
all understanding. Because I'm afraid understanding
has very little to do with it. To think that
a four -year -old boy could hold fast to the
image of his mother through all those years.
What else had he to hold fast to? And then find
her by his own effort. Which only proves a game,
Mr. Carlin. We get what we want if we want it
enough. Come in. Mrs. Appleton. I got here as
soon as I could. Mrs. Appleton, Dr. Wesley. Please
sit down, Mrs. Appleton. Thank you, doctor. Now,
the boy's all right, Mrs. Appleton. You're not
to worry. He's with his mother. His mother? He
found her here, Mrs. Appleton. She's the reason
for his running away all those times. Mr. Colin,
Dr. Wesley, I've brought something to show you.
Something for you to hear. And what is that?
Well, when you called me last night, Mr. Colin,
I was so upset. Everything had been going so
well, and then... to have him run away again.
Anyway, I couldn't get back to sleep. So I went
down to the basement and I rummaged around among
the old files and I found this. A tape? Yes.
We keep tapes at the orphanage of all the interviews
we have with prospective parents and with the
people who leave their children for adoption.
Well, this tape, this one goes back six years
before I came to the orphanage. And it's a tape
of... Oh, is it all right if I use this machine,
Doctor? Yes, go right ahead. All right. Now,
I'll just play you the part towards the end.
It's the tape they had running when Mrs. Deland
came to leave Bobby. You gotta take him or I'll
kill him. Look, I am a cheap prostitute. I live
in one room. to send the kid out to play on the
street, Mom, conducting my business. Now, how
long did I go on telling him? It says, Uncle
Charlie, I got up in my room. And another thing,
I haven't got the greatest disposition in the
world. And when I'm hungover, when my head hurts,
I go crazy, and I'm unable to hit him. I can't
just hit him. I'll hit him with anything that's
handy. Yesterday, I hit him with my shoe. You
said that Bobby had taken a belt at your house,
and the woman last year said he took a frying
pan. He took a shoe of my wife's. I think we'd
better go see if everything's all right. Come
with me. He's right down the hall. How in the
world did his mother come to be here? It's a
long story, Mrs. Appleton. How did he know she
was here? That's an even longer story. Here we
are. Is he in there? With her? Yes. Be quiet.
I brought you some presents, Mother. Look. Here's
a belt. And here's a frying pan. And here's a
shoe. See mother there for you with my love Mothers
of the world rejoice for you are loved Of course
in the human nature of things you are simultaneously
hated and by the same person. For no emotion
as powerful as love can flourish unadulterated.
Side by side with love goes hate. It is you might
say a package deal. I'll be back shortly. lived
within ourselves, the posturing we do in full
view of others. What is that but the antique
behavior of a poor clown who needs to be applauded?
The exterior life is really only incidental,
yet we expend all our energy on it, while the
interior life is left to its own devices as though
deeply ashamed of it. We wish to disown it. Our
cast included Michael Tolan, Marion Seldes, Martha
Greenhouse, Hetty Galen, and Gilbert Mack. The
entire production was under the direction of
Hyman Brown. This is E .G. Marshall inviting
you to return to our mystery theater for another
adventure in the macabre. Until next time, pleasant
dreams.