Original subtitles

- The Indian demonstration isn't over, is it?

Did we miss it?

- There isn't going to be any Indian demonstration.

Our Junior Pathfinder chief hurt himself.

- Mr. Abernathy?

- He was putting a totem pole in the department store

window for the demonstration, and he hurt his back.

Now, how am I going to get to be a First Class Pathfinder if we

don't do that demonstration?

- Well, there is an assistant chief?

- He got poison oak on our field trip last week.

- He's not sick in bed, is he?

- No.

The doctor just won't let him wear any clothes.

- I guess that would keep him out of any demonstration.

- Especially in a department store window.

- Jeepers, it sure would be great if someone just

offered to take Mr. Abernathy's place,

like some Pathfinder's father.

Wouldn't it, Dad?

- I'm-- I'm sure there are a lot of fathers

who'd be happy to help, Dennis.

It's just that-- well, there aren't

many of them who have Mr. Abernathy's knowhow.

- Jeepers, Dad, all this father'd have to do

would be to help me to light the victory torch.

- Well, how do you do that?

- Well, he just has to make a fire

by rubbing two sticks together.

- Uh, those fathers are pretty scarce, son.

Besides, I've got a meeting at the office this afternoon.

- We do have an honorary chief.

Maybe I'll go next door and ask him.

- Not Mr. Wilson.

- Mr. Abernathy made him an honorary chief

when he camped out with me on Pine Ridge that one time.

- Well, I'd like to help, Alice.

But honestly sometimes I have trouble lighting matches.

[theme music]

- (CHUCKLING) Martha, just look at this mailbox.

Solid brass.

See what it says?

Member, Pioneer Club.

- But George--

- Oh, I know that only members are supposed

to buy these mailboxes, but I'll be a member soon.

- Mrs. Schooner had good news?

- Yes.

She's coming by this morning with Mr. Judd.

He's the membership chairman.

And if he's impressed, I'm sure to be made a member.

- I know how important the club is to you, dear.

But is it so important that you had to buy the mailbox first?

- It's not just the honor of belonging.

The Pioneer Club gives to every member

the free use of a mountain cabin for the whole summer.

- Free?

- Just think of all the money we'll be saving.

We're not only gaining a mailbox,

but we're getting practically a free summer vacation with it.

- Even so, I think you should have waiting.

- Oh, now don't you worry, Martha.

I've made sure that Mr. Judd is going

to be favorably impressed.

The Pioneer Club's main interest is county history.

Look at that-- my great uncle, Jeremiah Wilson,

a prominent early settler.

I'll just show Mr. Judd that we Wilsons

are part of this county's history.

- Well, he's very impressive.

Where did you find him?

- I borrowed him from cousin Fillmore.

- Fillmore?

- Yes, you remember.

He fireproofed our attic.

My, isn't he a distinguished-looking

gentleman?

Now, let's see.

Where can we put him where he won't look borrowed?

- You find a good place, dear.

I have to get back to my dishes.

- Hi, Mr. Wilson.

- Dennis, I approve of your interest in the Indians,

but this sneaking up behind people is too much.

- You want to see some arrowheads I found?

- No, thank you, Dennis.

I'm very busy.

- Boy, he must have a nice mother.

He got his picture taken, and he didn't even

have to comb his hair or anything.

- My great uncle was a leader, Dennis.

- We Pathfinders sure need a leader.

Mr. Abernathy can't be in our Indian demonstration today.

You can take his place.

- Oh. Oh joy.

But no thank you, Dennis.

- You're the only chief we've got left, Mr. Wilson.

- Well, an honorary chief isn't supposed to do anything.

That's the honor of it.

- Boy, wait'll I grow up and somebody asks me to be chief.

Maybe that's why the Indians had so much trouble, Mr. Wilson.

Too many honorary chiefs.

- Hi, Dennis.

Your mother said I could find you here.

- So what?

- Can I be in your demonstration?

- It's all off.

We don't have a chief.

- How about me?

Princess Margaret of the Pathfinders.

- A girl chief?

That's silly.

- All right, I'll start as a squaw.

- We don't want any squaws, Margaret.

- If I'm not your squaw, when we grow up,

who'll take care of our children?

- I'll get a babysitter.

No, you go on home, Margaret.

Because that's where squaws are supposed to be. [inaudible].

Margaret.

[doorbell]

- Mrs. Schooner.

- Mr. Wilson.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you who this is.

- Why, of course not.

I know a pioneer when I see one.

Mr. Judd.

- Well, you appear a likely candidate yourself, Wilson.

But I must point out that having lived a long time

doesn't qualify one for the Pioneer Club.

- Oh, I quite understand.

- Mr. Wilson really belongs in our club, Mr. Judd.

He has distinguished forbearers.

- As a matter of fact, my great uncle Jeremiah Wilson

was one of the county's early statesmen.

- Well, that's Jeremiah, all right.

You're related to him?

- I'm his only great nephew.

- There's something very odd about you, Wilson.

Most people would hide the photo of the black sheep

of the family.

But you have it out here where everyone can see it.

- Black sheep?

Jeremiah?

- He was the worst surveyor this county has ever known.

As a matter of fact, if they hadn't double-checked his maps,

our county seat would have been built in the next county.

- Jeremiah?

- I'm sure Mr. Wilson's forbearers

weren't all black sheep.

- Oh, no.

Of course not.

There was, uh-- uh-- oh, why don't you

sit down, Mrs. Schooner, and be comfortable?

- Thank you, Mr. Wilson.

- Well, Mr. Wilson, we take a very dim view

of non-members who buy their mailboxes prematurely.

- Oh, dear.

- Oh, Mr. Judd, I hadn't planned to use it ever,

unless I became a member.

- But anyone with the effrontery to buy a mailbox, clearly

stamped, Member, Pioneer Club, without the right,

without the justification, without-- you

didn't tell me you were interested in Indians?

- Indians?

- Indians are Mr. Judd's main interest in life.

Why, if he had his way, everybody would be Indians.

- Wonderful. That's fine.

That's fine.

Oh, my.

Arrowheads.

Oh, my.

If they could talk, what stories they could tell, eh?

This one in particular.

If-- if-- oh, I don't think I've ever

seen one with those markings.

- Oh, it just takes knowing where to dig.

- Mr. Wilson is always so modest.

I'll bet he knows a lot about Indians.

- I would just give anything I own

to have had personal contact with the Indians.

Did you have some, Wilson?

- Oh.

Well, I did spend a little time with some when I was younger.

- Oh, this is very interesting.

Oh, I'd like to take these and-- and show them to our expert.

- You'd like to take them?

- Well, surely you intend to donate

your findings to the club, don't you?

- Oh, I'm sure Mr. Wilson does. - Well--

- I told you he was modest.

I'll bet he learned bowing and arrowing and everything.

- Mr. Wilson, you are going to be permitted

to do the Pioneer Club a tremendous service.

- Oh, anything I could do would be my pleasure, Mr. Judd.

- Thank you for volunteering like that.

The demonstration takes place in about two hours.

But you have to drop by and pick up

your outfit from Mr. Abernathy.

- I beg your pard-- a demonstration?

- Yes.

It's the Junior Pathfinder Indian demonstration.

We're sponsoring them, you know.

Oh, aren't we lucky to get him to fill

Abernathy's place as chief.

- Fill his pl-- oh, you mean what Dennis was talking about?

- Oh, yes.

It'll be simple for an old Indian-lover like you.

You simply rub the two sticks together,

make the fire that lights the victory torch.

- Rub the two sticks together? - Yes.

I want you to know that the Pioneer

Club will not forget this.

Oh, I'll meet you down at the department store,

because Barton's has donated his whole front window.

Oh come, Mrs.--

- You're as good as in.

The arrowheads did it.

Goodbye.

- See you soon.

[nervous chuckling]

- Me?

Indian chief in a department store window?

Oh-- oh-- Martha!

- I'm not sure this is the way it works, Mr. Wilson.

I just followed the diagram in the book.

- Well, I'm pretty sure it isn't the way it works.

This thing acts as though it were fireproof.

Fireproof.

Mitchell, would you say that a man

who knew how to fireproof material

would know how to un-fireproof it?

- Un-fireproof it?

- Yes.

You know, make it combustible, flame up.

- I wouldn't know of such a man, Mr. Wilson.

- Well, I do.

My cousin Fillmore.

- The one who fireproofed your attic?

- Yes, he's a chemist.

Now, if I could get him to put something

on this contraption that would make it ignite--

- I don't know, Mr. Wilson.

- Well, I'll bet he can.

He's always coming up with nutty ideas like that.

Why, he probably knows more about making fire

than even the Indians did.

Come on, Mitchell.

Let's go over to my house and phone him.

Yes.

Uh-huh.

Oh, that's wonderful, Fillmore.

Uh, cousin Fillmore.

Thanks a million.

Bye.

Well Mitchell, he says he can fix it.

Isn't that great?

Well, Mitchell, you do understand

that I'd be letting down all those people if I didn't

have a little help of some kind.

- Of course, Mr. Wilson.

I-- I imagine if there had been chemists in those days,

the Indians would have been steady customers.

[doorbell]

- Oh, that must be Dennis with your costume.

- Mr. Judd.

- Oh, Wilson, I thought it might save time

if I drove you down to the demonstration.

- Oh, but I have a little errand to do first.

Why don't you just go ahead without me?

- Errand?

This is no time for errands.

The show must go on.

- But Mr. Mitchell's young son isn't here with my costume yet.

- Well, we can pick that up on the way.

Hello, Mitchell.

- Oh, how are you, Mr. Judd?

- Oh, I'm just great now.

You have no idea what it means to the Pioneer Club

to have a man who actually lived for a year with the Indians

take over for us.

- I'll be right there.

Mitchell-- oh, you better run the errand for me.

I'll give you cousin Fillmore's address.

It's right down the street from the department store.

- Come on, Wilson.

- Coming, Mr. Judd.

You better hurry.

- Mr. Wilson, just one thing before you go.

Not that I doubt you, but did you really

live with the Indians for a year?

- I had two Indian roommates my first year in junior college.

Why I never bothered to learn fire-making from them

I'll never know.

Yes, coming, Mr. Judd.

- Don't worry, Mrs. Wilson.

Henry's gone to get something that

will make things work all right for Mr. Wilson.

- I hope so.

When he left the house, he didn't

look like an Indian chief.

He looked more like Custer going to his last stand.

- How long will this stuff stay on, Dennis?

- Oh, you don't have to worry, Tommy.

Mr. Abernathy said that it'll last a week,

unless your mother makes you wash your face.

- Knowing my mom, that's the way it'll happen.

- Hot chocolate, Mr. Wilson?

Courtesy of the Pioneer Club.

Good for what ails you.

- Oh.

Well, it's not good for what ails me, Mrs. Schooner.

- Oh.

Have you seen Henry Mitchell yet?

- Were you expecting him?

- If he doesn't appear before I go into that window,

oh, I'll be a disgrace to everybody,

including the Indians. - Oh dear.

I'll keep an eye out for him. - Yes.

Do that. Please.

- Well, we're ready to get started, Wilson.

Why, you haven't got your war paint on.

- Oh.

Well, all I do, Mr. Judd, is make the fire.

- Oh, not without your war paint, you don't.

These Pioneer Club demonstrations

are going to be authentic.

- Did you say these demonstrations?

- We're going to take this show all over the county.

- All over the county with me?

- We are going to put the Pioneer Club on the map.

So you be prepared.

Until Abernathy gets well, your Saturdays are taken.

And then after that, we'll have you dig up

some more of those splendid arrowheads.

Now, come on.

- Arrowheads.

- Come on, we need some war paint for the chief.

- OK.

- May I have that chair please, son?

Will you put it on? - Sure.

- Yes, but be-- do it in a hurry, will you, please?

- OK. - Because we're late.

- Take it easy now, Dennis.

- My pop says that after this, you ought to get lots of offers

to stand in front of cigar stores.

- Cigar stores-- your father--

- Sit still, Mr. Wilson.

- Well, Wilson, when does the show get underway?

- Oh, Chief Dooley, well, nothing's

going to happen here to be of concern to the fire department.

- All right. Straighten feathers, everyone.

Oh, that's enough war paint, because we just

must get started.

Now, who pulls the curtain?

- I do, Mr. Judd. - Oh, good.

- Shouldn't we let this dry a little?

- Oh, that's quick drying.

Don't worry about that.

All right, Indians, in your places.

All Indians in their places.

Come on, now.

Chief, would you like to see this from out front?

- Don't mind if I do.

I always enjoy being at a fire before it starts.

- I don't see Mr. Mitchell.

I even looked out front for him.

- Oh, good.

Isn't that good?

Huh?

Dooley, you are going to see life in an Indian village

as it actually existed.

[applause]

- Margaret, what are you doing here?

- Mr. Judd said I could be a squaw.

- Well, you just stay out of the victory dance.

- How could I dance with the little one to take care of?

- Boy, if the Pathfinders are letting girls in,

I'm going to desert and become a cowboy.

- I don't think you realize the time problem here,

cousin Fillmore.

- You can't hurry science, young man.

- Isn't there's some way we can speed up the process?

- Well, if you're in that much of a hurry.

- If I don't get it over there in time,

Mr. Wilson's going to look pretty foolish.

- I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time.

- What are they doing now?

- Oh, they're drying and stretching

the skins for the cold, hard winter.

- Better get ready, Mr. Wilson.

We're starting the victory dance.

- Oh, no. Dennis.

I-- oh!

- You're here.

- Oh, and high time.

- Cousin Fillmore guarantees satisfaction.

- Thank you, Mitchell. You've saved my life.

- I'll go watch it from out front.

- Mr. Wilson, I'll just bet you're

going to be the star of our show.

- Oh.

- Mission accomplished?

- Pony Express to the rescue.

- Look at Mr. Wilson sitting there,

just like Sitting Bull himself.

- Yes, he does rise to the occasion, doesn't he?

- Now, watch carefully, chief.

First, you'll notice a tiny little spark,

and then another, and then the nicest little fire

you ever saw.

Huh?

- Boy, Mr. Wilson, you sure learned how fast.

- You call that Indian fire-making?

- Well, Wilson said he knew all about Indians.

- Yeah, he's an expert all right.

You'll be lucky if he doesn't burn down the building.

I've got to turn in the alarm.

- Oh, George Wilson, get out of there.

[alarm]

- Boy.

Boy, I'll bet even the Indians never

had a demonstration like this. - All right, kids.

Everybody get back from here.

- Oh, I assure you, Chief, this was as much a surprise to me

as it was to you.

- Judd, if your club's planning any more of these things,

forget it.

- Oh, we're going to tour the county.

- Oh yeah?

After I turn in my report, you'll

be lucky if you're permitted to start

a fire in your own fireplace.

- Oh, dear.

This would have been such a nice start.

[coughing]

- Oh, Mr. Wilson.

- Wilson, you told me you knew what you were doing.

- Oh, well, you see, Mr. Judd--

- I see only one thing, that this demonstration

is a mess and a failure and the fire department

is threatening to cancel all the others.

And I have you to thank for it.

- Oh, dear.

I suppose he's really angry at me.

- Oh, it looks that way.

- Oh, do you mean-- you think-- do you--

- Oh, Mr. Wilson, I'm afraid your chances

of becoming a member of the Pioneer Club

just went up in smoke.

- Smoke?

Oh, good grief.

- The morning paper isn't really bad, dear.

- Well, then why did Crinky call me

and ask all those silly questions?

What does the headline say?

- Fire department averts disaster.

Doesn't even mention you.

Now, don't feel so badly.

You were only trying to make the demonstration effective.

- Oh, it was effective all right, Martha.

From now on, I can hire myself out for 4th of July

demonstrations.

- After all, you did make smoke Indian fashion in a way.

- Looked more as though I were setting off

some kind of secret weapon.

Cousin Fillmore isn't a chemist, Martha.

He's a munitions maker.

- Hey, Mr. Wilson!

Hi, Mrs. Wilson.

Hi, Mr. Wilson.

Guess what.

All of us Pathfinders got our first class badges,

even if we didn't finish the demonstration.

- That's very nice, Dennis.

- And because you helped me win my arrowhead,

I'm going to give you those arrowheads that you borrowed.

- Oh.

Well, thank you, Dennis.

But I don't think I'll be needing those now.

[doorbell]

- I'll see who that is.

- Oh, good morning, Mrs. Schooner.

- Good morning. - Mr. Judd.

- Mr. Judd. - Mrs. Wilson.

- Mr. Wilson's in the living room.

I'll go make you some coffee. - Thank you.

- Thank you very much.

Good morning, Mr. Wilson.

- Good morning.

- You'll never guess what's happened.

Mr. Judd has just made me the happiest woman in the world.

- Well, congratulations.

I hope you didn't come here to ask me to be best man.

- Oh, I don't mean matrimonially.

Goodness no.

I mean historically.

- Mrs. Schooner means that I have a few words

to say to you about your arrowheads.

- We just got word from our expert.

- These turned out to be the only arrowheads from the Wapaho

tribe ever found in this part of the country.

And that proves that the Wapaho did not migrate directly

from Maine to Florida in a straight line,

as everybody thinks.

No.

They came in a wide curve. - Oh?

Is that good?

- Good?

That's great.

Now the Pioneer Club really has something.

Oh, it's better than any demonstration.

We don't have to go out about the country.

Oh, no.

We can put these remarkable arrowheads in exhibit

at the club, and people will come to see us.

That is, if we still have the arrowheads.

- You do plan to donate them to the club, don't you Mr. Wilson?

Now that you're going to become a member.

- Me?

A member?

After yesterday?

- The Pioneer Club needs those arrowheads, Mr. Wilson,

to spearhead our new program.

- Well, I'd love to donate those arrowheads

to the club, Mr. Judd.

- Indians aren't Indian givers like people say, Mr. Wilson.

- Those arrowheads now officially belong to our club.

- Thank you, thank you.

Oh, we must hurry. - Yes.

- I'm sorry we can't wait for the coffee.

- Thank you, Mr. Wilson. - I'll explain to Martha.

- Thank you very much.

- We'll put your name on the exhibit.

- Oh!

Good.

Well-- oh, my mailbox.

Ah.

There it is.

[chuckling] Oh, Martha.

Martha, dear.

I'm a member.

- Well, where is everybody?

- Oh, they had to go on club business.

I'm going to put this up right now where everybody can see it.

- Hey, Mr. Wilson, I've got the first letter

for your new mailbox.

- A letter for me?

- From Mr. Abernathy.

He wrote it out while I was over at the hospital

visiting him this morning.

- Heaven's sakes, what has Abernathy got to say to me?

- Boy, is he impressed.

He heard about what happened, and he

wants to take smoke-making lessons from you.

- Smoke-making lessons?

[laughter]

[theme music]

NARRATOR: This has been a Screen Gems film production

from the Hollywood studios of Columbia Pictures.