"In case I get hurt." "People will know I'm a bleeder." "Ralph, that's a sick kid." "He's a bleeder." "Suppose he dies." "Now, it's not too late." "You can still call it off." "You don't like it, go, get out." "Get out?" "I'm hooked." "The kid could identify me." "Why did you have to bring him here?" "Why did you have to drag me into it?" "Okay, you don't like it." "What are you gonna do?" "Blow the whistle on your own brother?" "Oh, I'd like to." "I wish I could." "Just this once." "MAN That's a birdie putt, and he doesn't quite get it down." "He settles for the par." "That gives him a 4-over-par round of 75." "Uh, you must have seen that." "So?" "Well, sure." "That's why we brought you here." "That boy's a hemophiliac." "He's a bleeder." "He might die." "Relax." "He won't die." "Are you sure, honey?" "I mean" "Oh, now, take it easy, bluebird." "You're rushing the signals." "You take care of him, huh?" "I'm, uh" "I'm sort of counting on you." "NEWSMAN Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt this program to bring you a special appeal." "Here it is." "Right on the dot." "Just like I said in the note." "Come here, doc." "You can have a box seat." "Here in the studio with me now are Mr. and Mrs. Harold Franklin, whose son Jimmie disappeared early this morning." "It has now been established beyond all doubt that the boy was taken from his home." "Now, Mr. Franklin, we understand that you've received a ransom note." "Yes." "We found it in the mailbox this morning." "It's a great deal of money, but" "Please take care of him." "He's a hemophiliac, a" " A bleeder." "So be careful of him, please." "I mean, don't let him fall or- Or scratch himself because" "Well, please." "We're collecting the money now." "I hope to have it in the morning." "But I insist on hearing from Jimmie himself." "Do you understand?" "We now are going to show you the latest photographs taken of the kidnapped victim, Jimmie Franklin." "You know how much I'm collecting, doc?" "We're collecting, honey." "We're collecting." "My bluebird and me, to fly away on." "Two hundred thousand clean, no-tax bucks." "Two hundred grand." "If anyone has seen the boy within the last 24 hours, please notify your local police immediately." "Unless we hear from Jimmie..." "I will not accede to any ransom." "I must be sure he is alive." "Here." "Now, let's fix the arm." "How did you know I wasn't asleep before?" "I had my eyes closed tight." "Yeah, too tight." "How'd you get this?" "When he pulled me over the wall." "We have a big wall around our yard." "And he's strong." "Didn't you hurt yourself anywhere else?" "Any pain?" "Maybe we'd better check." "This happen at the same time?" "Does it hurt?" "Don't you want to know how he is?" "Or don't you see anything in this bed but, uh, sable and mink?" "Well, now, don't blame this on me." "It was Ralph's idea." "A girl has to do what her husband says." "You mean you're married?" "Well, of course I am." "What do you think I am?" "I'll be right back, Jimmie." "Room service, doc." "Davey brought 'em in, but, uh... don't overtip him." "I don't want you to spoil him." "He's my kid brother." "I kind of feel responsible." "How's the boy?" "Your name is Simmons, isn't it?" "Ralph Simmons?" "I thought I'd seen you." "You know, everybody thought that you'd just about hit bottom when they kicked you out of pro football, but I guess everybody was wrong, right?" "I was framed." "They never proved a thing." "They never proved I was hooked in with the fixers." "Weren't you?" "Ralph!" "Ralph, stop it!" "You're always ready with your fists!" "Now, let's be smart this time." "We need him." "He can be our ticket to South America." "hot sun, white sand?" "You promised me, honey bear." "You'll have it." "Doc... the boy, how is he?" "I don't know how the boy is." "With hemophiliacs, it's, uh" "It's hard to tell." "You watch for complications." "Complications?" "Internal bleeding." "Sometimes even the slightest bruise." "What bruise?" "You think I'd hit a kid?" "You dragged him over a wall." "He should be in a hospital under observation." "You observe him!" "If he's gonna sound right when he talks to his parents," "I'll need some drugs." "Yeah?" "Like what?" "Coagulant." "Something to stop the bleeding." "There's a drugstore in town." "Dave can drive me in." "Yeah." "Yeah, Davey could drive you... right to the cops." "You drive." "Davey can go with you." "What do you need, doc?" "I'll write it down for you." "No" " Don't write anything." "Davey's a smart one." "He can remember it." "Vitamin K. It's a standard coagulant." "Except that you may have- Except what?" "Except that you may need a prescription." "So give him one!" "I told you, I'm not a doctor." "If I go with him, maybe I can talk to the druggist." "Well... maybe she can talk to him better." "Bluebird, you just smile at the man, he'll give you anything you want." "Go on." "Oh, well, it's vitamin K." "K, like after J." "What are you doing?" "Well, I'm trying to get my shaving kit out of here." "Thought maybe I could stop the bleeding with this styptic pencil." "Sorry I don't have anything for nerves." "Well, go on!" "Now, this will sting a little." "We're gonna keep this on for a while." "It might get a little tight, but" "Don't worry about it." "I'll... keep checking on you." "Come on." "Just slide down." "Get some sleep." "Louis Pasteur." "Come on, I'll buy you a drink." "No, thanks." "Come on, it's on the house." "Not tonight." "How's the kid?" "Asleep." "You should have seen his bedroom." "Big enough for a bowling alley." "How old would you say that kid is, doc?" "Seven, 8 years?" "What's the difference?" "You know where I slept when I was his age?" "On the floor, with a burlap sack for a blanket." "To keep from freezing, we used to scrounge lumps of coal from the railroad yard." "And... pajamas?" "Did you see that kid's pajamas?" "You know what I had?" "You had a chance most men would give an arm for." "Yeah, I know all about you." "I read the sports page." "Football scholarship." "Big man on campus." "All-American." "Yeah, you had it made." "Anything I got I paid for it." "Quit school, didn't you?" "Well, I" " Couple of profs, they had it in for me." "Why?" "Wouldn't they lead a cheer for you when you came into the classroom?" "Yeah, you quit school and joined the pros." "Why?" "More cheers?" "More money?" "Now, I earned it." "I broke my back for that kid's old man, and what did he ever do for me, except sit in that meeting with the other owners and point the finger at me, and get me kicked out." "You got yourself kicked out." "You and the gamblers." "You were their boy- Now, look" "I know." "You never had a chance." "Where's the bathroom?" "I'll get you a crying towel." "If I didn't need you..." "If I just didn't need you..." "You sure?" "Vitamin K?" "That's right." "I knew you, uh, wouldn't want any vitamin A." "Not with a nice complexion like yours." "Well, isn't that sweet of you." "If I didn't have a date tonight, I'd" "We're in sort of a rush, if you don't mind." "Oh, uh, not a bit." "Uh- Just let me look." "Oh." "I didn't have any." "I thought I'd, uh, phone the drugstore over in Hastings." "Well, it's not that important." "Oh, wouldn't be any trouble." "We'll pick it up someplace else." "Thanks anyway." "Uh, this is Walter Maddox." "Is the sheriff there?" "All right, Jimmie." "Let's take a look at your arm." "Hey, it looks okay, huh?" "Not bad." "We'll leave this off for a while." "Help your circulation." "Say something, kid." "Let's hear the voice." "Am I going home?" "Hey, that's pretty good." "It's not loud, but it's clear." "Listen... when I get you to the telephone, you remember to say:" ""I'm all right, Dad. "" "Davey." "It's your turn." "Changing of the guard." "Yeah." "Wish I had that vitamin K." "I'm sorry." "When that druggist started phoning around," "I got scared." "Level with me." "You could have written that prescription, couldn't you?" "Nope." "But you could have once." "I can't remember that far back." "Can't?" "Or- Or don't want to?" "A man like you, educated, hiring out as a migrant worker." "You're running, aren't you?" "Well, why aren't you?" "Why don't you get out of all this?" "You didn't have anything to do with the kidnapping." "Jimmie told me." "Maybe I'm trapped." "Maybe I could use some of that ransom money." "Um, maybe you're afraid of your brother." "Why?" "Because he's Big Ralph Simmons?" "He is my brother." "And you know what they say." ""Blood is thicker than water. "" "Yeah." "Yeah, some of it is." "And some of it isn't." "No, that's all we have." "Yeah." "Yeah, it would have been easier if he'd have gotten the license number." "Command." "State police?" "Yeah." "Here's a copy of the area alert." "That's a real long shot." "I mean, just because a couple people ask for Vitamin K." "And they got jumpy and wouldn't wait for it?" "And it is a coagulant?" "And we know that the Franklin boy is a hemophiliac?" "No, look, let's just keep all the patrols out." "Every car we got." "We do have a pretty good description of the couple and the car they were driving." "At least we've got some clues." "I hope they're not as cold as that coffee." "Pretty good trap play." "Except I'm too smart." "Conk me on the head, grab the keys, and away you go." "Besides, that bottle's still half full." "Ha." "You don't want to waste all that good whiskey." "Tell me something, doc." "Were you going to cut out all by yourself, or were you gonna be a hero and take the kid with you?" "Huh?" "Tsk." "Oh, you." "You shouldn't look at people when they don't know." "It's not polite." "Now, you stop that." "You're fine." "Now, you want to go home, don't you?" "Well, you won't if you keep acting like a baby." "Now, you say it:" ""I don't hurt. "" "Say it!" "I don't hurt." "You're fine." "Say it." "I'm fine." "Tsk." "Pretending like that." "Trying to scare me." "Trying to do me out of my trip." "You know where we're going?" "South America." "Ralph says once we get down there, they can't bring us back." "Cops or nobody." "Do you know how much" "$200,000 will buy?" "It's like a million here." "Emeralds and diamonds." "And it's warm all the year round." "You can swim every day." "Honey, I have a bikini." "Well, talk about a good-neighbor policy." "Now, you just be a good" "The arm's all right." "How long has he been complaining?" "Complaining?" "I" "Easy, doc." "You'll scare him." "He's already scared." "Why didn't you tell me, Jimmie?" "Now, Jimmie, don't be afraid." "Now, why did you hide the pain?" "She said that if I cried, couldn't go home." "Uh, you'll go home, Jimmie, no matter what she says." "All right, so he's got a bruise." "So what?" "Everybody gets banged up once in a while." "He's not just everybody, he's a hemophiliac." "Bruise can mean internal bleeding." "He needs a hospital." "He needs it now." "No hospital." "There's one in Bellinda, off" " We'll wait." "What, till he dies?" "Now, you get something straight." "I got 200 grand riding on that kid, and until I get it, he goes no place." "Not the hospital." "Not home." "No place." "Only to that telephone." "Dave." "You keep an eye on him and that kid." "It looks like they stopped here yesterday, asked for a doctor." "Any identification on them?" "No, sir." "Strangers." "No doc here so they hightailed it off." "The state police want that area roadblocked while they run a house-to-house." "Unit 4, take intersection of Highways... 106... and 22." "106 and 22." "Okay, we're on our way." "I'm cold." "It's the ice, Jimmie." "You think it'll help?" "Well, that's why we're doing it." "Can I have some more ice?" "Come on." "Davey." "Davey!" "Damn it, answer me when I call" "How long ago?" "Oh, let him go, Ralph." "Oh, you've got a fat chance." "Come on." "Helen!" "Helen!" "You okay?" "Hello." "Hello!" "They could be anywhere." "We'll never find him." "We'll find him." "He's got the kid with him." "Don't look at me." "Look for him." "Wait." "Uh, wait a minute." "Please." "Could I use your telephone to call an ambulance?" "Raus." "Go." "How about using your pickup?" "Maybe you could drive us to the hospital." "Hospital." "Is there anyone else in the house?" "This is a sick boy." "He needs a hospital." "Go." "I" " I'll set the dog on you." "I'll send the dog." "They'll catch us." "No, they won't." "Yes, they will." "We'll walk right into 'em." "Bellinda." "That's where the hospital is." "It should be smooth from now on." "No more bumps." "You all right?" "I'm okay." "What's that?" "It's a roadblock." "Jimmie, if I put you down, can you walk?" "Uh, that's the police." "Uh" "There are reasons why I" "Well, if they see me with you, I" "I can't walk." "You said the hospital." "You've got to take me." "You" " You've got to." "All right, get down on the floor." "Cover up with the blanket." "Anything?" "I don't know." "You know that German woman, bought the Gower place?" "She's screaming about someone stealing her pickup truck." "That's not for us." "No, but... she said something about a man looking for a hospital." "A man with a boy wrapped in a blanket." "Come on, Jimmie, we're here." "There's the hospital." "You just hang on for five minutes, and you'll have more doctors around you than you can count." "Louis Pasteur." "Bellinda Hospital." "You called the signals yourself." "What took you so long?" "We've been here 10 minutes, and we took the back road to get around the roadblock." "You'll never make it." "Why don't you just go over to the car and get in." "You must be out of your mind, trying to get him back." "Right here in the middle of town." "Tsk." "Dave, honey, you worry too much." "Now, look at this boy." "Look at his color." "You know what that means?" "So he's sleepy." "You see that door, Jimmie?" "That's a hospital." "Now, you go on and walk right through that door." "Go on." "You're out of your league." "Go on, Jimmie." "Get in the hospital." "Go on!" "Go on." "Well, what are you waiting for?" "A red carpet?" "Turned it off, Ralph." "You hear?" "That big spotlight." "They turned it off." "You're not a football hero anymore." "Face it." "Uh, why can't you face it?" "Hey, I want you to come with me." "You don't need me, Jimmie." "Will I ever see you again?" "Yeah, sure you will." "Where's the boy?" "The boy?" "Come on." "He's in the car." "He's in the trunk of the car." "Come on, I'll take you there." "He's a hemophiliac." "Internal bleeding." "Well, don't just stand there, nurse." "Oh, MedicAlert." "Yes, sir." "Jimmie." "We got them, you know." "They're in jail." "Yes, sir." "You'll be asked to tell what happened." "Jimmie, this, um- This doctor" "The one who brought you here." "We can't find him." "What about the migrant camp?" "We checked." "The name he used there was a false one." "He's disappeared, son." "Can you, um..." "Can tell us anything about him?" "His- His name?" "No, sir." "I remember." "It's..." "Pas-teur." "Louis Pasteur." "Another path." "Another road." "Roads that twist and wind and lead nowhere." "Richard Kimble... fugitive."