"Elizabeth." "Where's Elizabeth?" "John!" "Let me off!" "I'm gonna fall!" "I'm gonna fall!" "Most of our memories of growing up on Walton's Mountain are good ones, but there did come a time when a dark remembrance from Elizabeth's childhood rose to haunt everybody in our house." "Please, someone, let me down!" "Come on, somebody, let me down!" "I'm gonna fall!" "Somebody, let me off!" "Somebody!" "Somebody, let me get off!" "Mama!" "Oh, Elizabeth!" "Who is it?" "Elizabeth." "Is she all right?" "She scared me to death!" " Are you okay?" " It's all right." "It's all right." "It's all right." "Are you all right?" "What's going on up there?" "Pa, it's Elizabeth." "She's had a dream." "Sounded like Gabriel blowing his trumpet." "It's the second time this week." "Something's working on that child." "Come on, now." "She's all right." " Gently." " Come on." "Stand up." " Let me down." " Are you all right?" "Does it hurt, honey?" "It's all right, baby." "Come on." "Come on, back to bed, everybody." "Come on." "It's all right, baby." "It's all right." "I couldn't get off." "Dreaming about that Ferris wheel again." "And then it started going faster." "And I started to fall." "Well, you're safe now." "It's all right." "Can you leave the lights on?" "I'm gonna stay right here with you till you're asleep." "You don't have to do that, Mama." "Elizabeth, you can sleep with me if you want." "Thanks, Erin." "Here you go." "I'm gonna sit here for a while." "It's all right." "Sure?" "Yeah." "I'm gonna leave that light on, all right?" "Oh, it's all right, sweetheart." "All right?" "Good night, Erin." "Good night, Mama." "I'm gonna leave the door wide open, and I'm gonna leave the hall light on, okay?" " Good night." " Good night." "It's the same dream she had last time, about being on a Ferris wheel and not being able to get off." "It's probably the excitement about the carnival coming." "It could be that." "It's hard to tell what a dream like that could mean." "It's that sleepwalking that worries me." "Well, is she settled down now?" "She's in Erin's bed." "I think she'll sleep through." "Good night, Son." "We'll leave the door open just in case." "All right." "Good night, Mama." "Somebody!" "Somebody, let me down!" "Is my lunch ready yet?" "No, and neither is Jason's, so you might as well have something to eat." "Did you know I once had a dream that a Martian came out from under the Rockfish bridge?" "He had big hairy ears and yellow eyes just like a dragonfly." "Is your dream as scary as that?" "Jim-Bob, if you talk about dreams, you can walk to school by yourself." "I don't know what she's so grouchy about, anyway." "I don't think we should keep reminding her of something she'd rather forget." "Well, unless that dream has some meaning for her." "I'd a whole lot rather we didn't talk about it at all." "Well, she has no control of it." "It comes from her unconscious mind." "John-Boy, what are you talking about?" "Well, there's two kinds of mind, Mama." "There's the unconscious mind and the conscious mind." "Now, the unconscious mind is always storing up things we're not even aware of." "Things that we, we'd like to forget or we'd like to hide, and a dream can be a sort of a code message from the unconscious mind." "Oh." "Nice tie, Ben." "It's yours, you know." "Yeah, I know it's mine." "Looks good, doesn't it?" "Yeah, looks pretty good." "I can use it, can't I?" "Well, of course you can." "Hey, wait a minute." "How come you're all gussied up?" "Oh, I'm just going to the Jarvis Used Car Lot to take care of some ads after school today." "Seems to me that ever since Darlene Jarvis went to work for her daddy, you've been giving them extra-good service." "I give good service to all my customers." "Ben, would you reach me down that jar of peanut butter." "Sure." "Good morning." "About time, Jason." "I'd have been ready sooner if Ben hadn't decided to shave this morning." "Shave this morning?" "Yeah, you ought to smell his shaving lotion." "You can smell it from here to Rockfish." "Thank you, Jason." "Mama, I won't be home for supper tonight." "I have to play at the Dew Drop Inn." "Got anything I can eat in the car on the way to school?" "You can take some toast with you." "Elizabeth!" "Elizabeth!" "Hey." "I know." "You're here about the ad." "That's right." "Saved a space on page three." "Think your daddy will go for two columns?" "I think he will." "Good." "Here's the prices." "Hey, that's a good price on that Model A." "Maybe you should lead off with that one." "But the LaSalle's got more style." "It's practically brand new and it goes 75 miles an hour." "Yeah, I realize that, but people these days would rather go for the bargain." "Oh." "Well, you know more about it." "You do what you think best." "Okay." "I got a job in Charlottesville." "I heard the carnival was coming." "I persuaded the carnival owner to let The Chronicle office handle all his advance publicity." "I was wondering if you'd just leave these handbills around so your customers can get the message." "Oh." "Always an eye for business, huh?" "You got to when you're getting started." "I suppose you'll be going to the carnival?" "Oh, I hadn't really thought about it." "I got a couple of free passes from the manager." "Hi, shorty!" "Are you going to send us some more customers this week?" "Darlene, get me the specifications on that Studebaker coupe, will you?" "Sure." "See you later." "Oh, bye." "What's that stuff?" "It's my invention." "You invented the trash dump?" "Well, it's not put together yet." "It's going to be an alarm." "What kind of an alarm?" "It's gonna wake up Elizabeth in case she walks in her sleep again." "Jim-Bob, you and your Rube Goldberg contraptions!" "You just wait and see." "It'll work." "What are you staring at?" "Oh, I was just noticing." "You look sort of like a turtle." "Oh, don't do that." "Oh, the bed broke, Jim-Bob, the bed." "It worked!" "Hey, everybody, it worked!" "Was this your idea, Jim-Bob?" "Elizabeth." "Where's Elizabeth?" "Jim-Bob, do you mind taking this junk out in two trips?" "Oh, I thought about it, but I decided against it." "What is all the racket?" "Elizabeth on the prowl again?" "No, that was James-Robert Edison taking out one of his great inventions." "Oh." "Your grandma and I kind of over-slept this morning." "Been too much night life going on around here." "Grandpa, you sure these marks are right?" "Oh." "Your growing-up marks there?" "You questioning this old carpenter's ability with a yardstick?" "No." "Just seems like everybody's growing around here except for me." "I wouldn't say that." "Here, you were down there one day." "You're way down here." "From the time of your young un's first birthdays," "I would put a mark down there." "There you are, 1929." "I guarantee those heights are right within 16th of an inch." "Well, in that case, I've got a lot of catching up to do." "Oh, you'll get there one day." "Yeah, but that doesn't help me much now." "Oh." "If you think you're bad off, just think about Long John Cavanaugh." "He was so tall that his feet stuck out over the edge of the bed, out under the covers." "He got cold, pneumonia, did him in." "And that poor fellow was so tall, they had to bury him in a well, standing up, 'cause no coffin would fit him." "Don't you fret, Son." "A short man who thinks tall stands taller in the saddle than a tall man who thinks short." "Esther, breakfast." "I don't like to discourage good customers from making purchases, but do you really think you need all of these locks?" "We are having them installed on all our outside doors immediately." "You see, that carnival will be here this weekend." "Well, Mr. Dawes assures me that all of his employees are absolutely reliable." "Well, that's what they led us to believe the last time the carnival was here, and our very own home was broken into." "And Mama's diamond necklace and matching tiara were mysteriously removed." "Never to be seen again." "And Papa had presented them to Mama on their wedding day." "I had planned to wear them whenever Ashley Longworth made a proposal of marriage." "He was a young student, don't you know, from the University of Virginia and he used to..." "Are you absolutely certain that it was an employee of the carnival who broke into your house?" " Oh, quite." " Certain." "Why, the sheriff was about to question one of the carnival workers, and then the poor man lost his life in some unfortunate accident." "But this time we are going to make certain that" " all our treasures are under lock and key." " And key." "Including ourselves." "Oh, most assuredly." "All right." "Thank you, Mr. Godsey." " You're welcome." " Goodbye." " Goodbye, John-Boy." " Goodbye." "Bye, ladies." "John-Boy says the Baldwin sisters have locked up everything in sight and are not coming out of the house till that carnival goes away." "I'll never forget the day the Baldwin ladies were robbed." "Oh, what a dad-doo." "I remember it, too, but for a different reason." "That was the day Elizabeth wandered off, and was gone all morning." "We found her down by the river." "Never could tell us just what happened." "Elizabeth," "do you remember when the carnival was here the last time?" "Some." "I was real little." "Yeah, I know." "I remember you got lost one morning." "Did you go to the carnival that day?" "I don't know." "Daddy says I went to the river." "Well, I know what Daddy said." "I was just wondering if you knew what happened." "I don't know." "I don't want to think about it." "Well, it just seems kinda strange to me that you could end up down by the river all by yourself, that's all." "I don't know!" "Did you go to the carnival first that day or what?" "John-Boy, Elizabeth, come to supper." "John-Boy, I don't want to talk about it anymore." "Talk about what?" "Well, I was just asking her what she remembered about the last time the carnival was here, that's all." "I didn't mean to upset you, honey." "Well, from now on, I think the less we talk about it, the better." "Is The March of Time on tonight?" "No." "Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy." "Would you look at this?" "Smack dab in the middle of my article on Dizzy Dean." "Who'd do something like this?" "Hey, it's looking good." "Yeah." "Thought I'd put another coat on and let it dry overnight." "Good." "Good idea." "Here's that article of yours that you were looking for." "Old Dizz." "He can pitch words better than he can baseballs." "He sure can." "I was thinking about getting those." "Elevator shoes?" ""Now you can be taller than she is"?" "Well, it sounds funnier than it is, but I'm just..." "I'm just plain tired of being called shorty." "Waiting for myself to grow." "Aren't you getting ahead of yourself, Son?" "Yeah, I know." "I'm just a growing boy." "It takes some people longer than others to get their full growth." "Yeah, but what do I do in the meantime?" "Just be yourself." "Think about what's going on inside." "Yeah, but it's the outside that everyone sees." "John!" "Elizabeth's out of her bed!" "She's not upstairs!" " We'll find her." " Is it Elizabeth?" "Yes!" "Now, Liv, check the kitchen." "Elizabeth!" " What's all the racket for?" " It's Elizabeth again." "Oh, gracious!" "The front door is open!" "Esther, she's gone again." "I can see him." "John!" "Somebody, help me!" "Get below her, John-Boy!" "Let me off!" "I'm gonna fall." "Let me off." "I can see him." "He won't let me off." "Let me off!" "I'm gonna fall!" "I'm gonna fall!" "Help me!" "It's all right, baby." "It's all right." "It's all right." "A fine state of affairs, you having to make your own coffee." "I was hoping you could sleep late." "I couldn't." "Every time Elizabeth stirred next to me," "I'd wake up." "I guess that old sofa isn't too comfortable for sleeping on." "Little lumpy in spots." "How's Elizabeth?" "Any more bad dreams?" "No, she didn't have any more bad dreams, but she sure was restless." "I can't figure how she got up in that tree." "Well, sleepwalkers have been known to do some amazing things, Daddy." "Rearrange the furniture or climbing around on rooftops." "What are we going to do about it?" "She can't stay in our bed forever." "I wonder why she's walking in her sleep." "It's got to be something she's afraid of and she doesn't know what it is." "Well, last night up in the tree house, she kept saying, "I see him." "I see him."" "I'd like to find out who he is." "Now, John-Boy, I don't want you to go upsetting her again." "I think she went to the carnival that morning that she got lost." "I got to figure out something to keep her from breaking her neck." "There's no swelling, no fever." "Heart is fine, chest clear." "She's a healthy little girl." "Too healthy not to be in school." "It wasn't my idea." "And Mrs. Fordwick was having a nature walk today." "We wanted Curt to have a look at you." "I am still your favorite brother-in-law, I hope." "Not when you have that doctor thing around your neck." "Well, count your blessings, Elizabeth." "The only time I ever got to stay home from school," "I was too sick to enjoy it." " Can I get down now?" " Sure." "Mary Ellen, can you show me how to make a splint?" "Sure." "You can practice on Reckless like I used to do." "I can't find any physical reasons that would explain her nightmares, but I sure wouldn't worry about her health." "You would if you'd seen her teetering on the edge of that tree house." "Well, you see, there may be another cause for the sleepwalking." "Perhaps something worrying her?" "School work, a friend, something like that?" "Well, it's nothing that I know of." "Some sort of a frightening memory?" "Well, John-Boy keeps talking about something that's hidden in the back of her mind that's trying to find its way out." "Yeah." "He could be right." "He could be right." "You see, we're learning more about the way the mind works all the time." "The only trouble is, every time he tries to help her find out what it is, she gets all upset." "Oh, it's tricky business, probing the unconscious." "Better left to the experts." "Is there something we should be doing?" "Well, I think the main thing is just to watch her carefully." "And if the dreams don't go away by themselves, well, then," "I reckon we might be able to find some help for her over in Richmond." "Psychiatrist, psychologist." "Psychiatrist?" " Hi, Ben." " Well, hey!" "I just talked to your daddy about the ads." "Oh, good." "He was asking about it." "Yeah." "He made a few suggestions, but he seemed to like most of it." "I passed out those carnival handbills like you asked." "Good." "A lot of folks around here are planning to go." "Well, I hope they mention who they heard it from." "Always have your mind on business, haven't you?" "Well, not always." "I was thinking that maybe we could go to the carnival together on Saturday." "Gee, Ben, I'd really like to, but I think I have to work." "Can I let you know later?" "Sure." "Call me Friday!" "What do you say, shorty?" "Hey, do me a favor." "The name's Ben, use it." "Hey, Jim-Bob?" "You seen Wilbur Dawes?" "Sure." "I'm working for him." "You're working for him." "Where do you think I might be able to find him right now?" " Over by the truck." " Okay." "Well, looks like you gonna be opening on schedule." "We're gonna try." "You know it's a nice job you done on the handbills." "Thank you very much." "I just hope it brings you in some business." "Yeah, I hope so." "It's been a while since you've been" " through this way, ain't it, Mr. Dawes?" " Yeah." "We had some trouble here the last time." "Figured there might be some hard feelings, you know." " Really?" " Yeah." "Lost a man right over there." " Oh, yeah, I remember that." " Yeah." "Ferris wheel operator." "You know, that newspaper of yours could..." "Mr. Dawes, excuse me." "Just a minute." "Yeah, sure." "Elizabeth." "I thought you were afraid of these things." "I could see it on my way home from school." "It's bigger than our barn." "Bigger than the barn." "Yeah." "It's about 10 times bigger than you are." "You know people look real little from the top." "Elizabeth, would you be willing to ride the Ferris wheel with me?" "I'll keep my arm around you and I'll hold you real tight, and I'll make them stop the minute you say so." "I can't promise you, but I think maybe if you ride it, it'll make your dreams go away." "All right." "Good." "Good." "You all right, honey?" " Could we have a ride?" " Sure, Walton." "Thank you." "Now we're in tight and I got you, okay?" "Are you nervous?" "Do you want me to stop?" "I'll make him stop if you want to stop, Elizabeth." "John-Boy, I remember!" "You remember?" "What do you remember, Elizabeth?" "I went to the carnival and it was where it started." "And I gave the man a dime to start the Ferris wheel for me." "And then what?" "And I was in it and he left." "He left?" "He left you alone on the Ferris wheel?" "It's all right, honey, I've got you." "It's okay." "He just left her there, going round and round all by herself?" "No wonder she had nightmares." "He must have gone off to do some other kind of work." "Anyway, when she couldn't see him, she got scared." "She figured there was no one to let her off, just like in the dream." "Well, how did she get off?" "Well, I imagine she jumped off when it got close enough to the ground." "Then she ran away." "She was probably so scared she didn't know where she was going and that's how she ended up down by the river." "I hope that's all there is to it." "It seems to fit." "I have a feeling she was guilty about going down to the carnival." "And unconsciously been trying to hide it." "I don't think she'll have the dream again." "Well, all the same," "I think we ought to lock the doors and put the keys out of reach the way your daddy said." "Hey, Erin, want me to put these plates up for you?" "Well, no, thanks, Ben, I can do it." "Can I give you a hand, Mama?" "No." "But your daddy's fixing the lock on the front door." "You might see if you can give him a hand." "Ma'am." "What's wrong with him?" "Hey, you got that lock working yet, Daddy?" "It was a little rusty from not being used." "I'm gonna put this key up in that nail there, so Elizabeth can't reach it." "It's a good idea." "You and John-Boy working tonight?" "Oh, John-Boy has his own key." "Come in." "You getting ready for bed?" "When somebody buys a new pair of shoes in this family, it's kinda hard to miss." "I guess everyone was kinda busy tonight." "You know, those shoes brought two inches up in my height and no one even noticed." "You may not believe this, but I've been..." "I've been watching the way people look at you, Son." "When they look at you they don't see someone tall or short, fat or thin." "They see a steady, hardworking young fellow." "Good sense of fun." "Knows how to frown once in a while." "They see a big man in lots of ways." "Yeah, but not big in the way I want to be." "Yeah." "I know what you mean." "Me," "I always wanted to have red hair and be good-looking." "Listen, Ben, when people look at you, all they see is the outside." "It's them that come up short, not you." "So you think I should take the shoes back, don't you?" "It's your money, Son." " Elizabeth all right?" " She's fine." "Guess John-Boy was right." "I don't know." "I never heard of anybody being cured of a nightmare by going for a ride on a Ferris wheel." "I feel safer knowing the doors are locked." "You try to get some sleep." "I'll go check in an hour or so." "Thanks." "Good night." "John-Boy, whose idea was it to build the circulation?" " For the newspaper?" " Yes." "I'm almost halfway through." "Well, that's good to hear." "Listen, Ben, you must be tired." "Why don't you go on up to bed?" "I'm almost finished here." "It's okay, I'm getting my second wind." "I'll just stay here till we're through." "Somebody..." "Somebody, let me off!" "Well, we sure earned our money tonight." "Yeah, just don't ask me how much." "I'll figure it out tomorrow." "What do you mean "tomorrow"?" "It's past midnight already." "Well, time sure flies when you're having fun, huh?" "I'll tell you something though, it sure beats cutting timber." "I'll lock the door." " Good night." " Good night." "Erin!" " Erin!" " What?" " Is Elizabeth in with Mama again?" " I don't know." "Ben, check the bathroom." "I just was in there." "John-Boy?" " Mama, is Elizabeth in there with you?" " No." "She's not in my room." "She's not in my room, either." "We should have kept her in our bed." "How about the front door you and Ben came in?" "We locked it." "It's still locked tight, Daddy." "I'll check the back porch." "Daddy, the window in our room is open." "It was closed when we went to bed." "It was." "I checked it." "I was just thinking that if she went out the window," " she could have gone down the trellis." " Of course, Daddy." " We've all done it, a hundred times." " Elizabeth!" "Well, she could have gone down to the carnival." "You get down there and check, you and Ben." "Get some lanterns." "I just can't believe she'd gone this far." "Sleepwalkers do some pretty unbelievable things." "I read about a man who got up in the middle of the night, walked out of the house, went all the way down to the railroad station." "When he woke up, he was buying a ticket." "Couldn't figure out how he got there." "I'll start the motor and get her down." "No, no, don't start the motor." "She'll wake up." "She could fall." "Somebody's gonna have to go up." "I'll get the line out of my car." "If I tie one end around my waist, you can ankle me up there." "Okay, look, you hold on to the end of this." "You stay down here and talk to her." "Ben." "Ben, will you let me go, please?" "Elizabeth?" "Elizabeth, it's John-Boy." "Can you hear me?" "Elizabeth?" "I hear you." "All right, honey, I don't want you to move." "I want you to stay right where you are." "Now I want you to talk to me, all right?" "I want you to tell me..." "Tell me about that day again." "Tell me, did the man start the wheel up just for you?" "I gave him a dime." "Elizabeth?" "What's he doing, Elizabeth?" "Talk to me, all right?" "I can see him now." "But now he's gone." "Elizabeth?" "I want you to talk to me, all right?" "What's he doing, Elizabeth?" "The sheriff's down there." "Now he's gone." "Somebody, come and let me down!" "Please, someone, let me off!" " Please." " All right, honey." "Stay right where you are." "I want to get down!" "Come on, somebody, let me down." "It's gonna be okay." "Please, somebody, let me down." "All right, Ben, you know if she falls, I gotta let you go." "What do you see now, honey?" "It's that man again." "What's he doing, Elizabeth?" "Somebody, let me off!" "Don't move, Elizabeth." "Don't move, all right?" "Just don't move, just stay right where you are." "You just keep talking to me." "Elizabeth, do you still see him?" "What do you see now, honey?" "He's over by the rocks." "Tell me what he's doing." "He's hiding something in the cave." "He's coming back now." "Come on, somebody, let me down!" "I'm gonna fall!" "Honey, don't move, all right?" " I'm gonna fall!" " Yeah, you just stay right where you are." "It hit him!" "Don't move." "Stay right there, okay?" "It hit him!" "It hit him!" "It hit him!" "Just don't do anything." "You just stay right there." "It's gonna be all right, you hear me?" "Elizabeth, stay where you are." "Now do not move." "Help me, please!" "You just don't move, honey." "If it's down in here, we're gonna have to..." "Boy, is this really a..." "Somebody..." "I just can't believe that mother's treasured diamonds could still be hidden there." "After all these years." "So near and yet so far." "I sure hope they are." "It all came together when Ep and me were talking this morning." "He checked the records." "That carnival worker died without ever coming to." "Poor little darling, no wonder she had nightmares." "Wait a minute." "Wait a minute, what have we got here?" "Elizabeth, honey, why don't you take this to the Baldwin ladies?" "Go ahead, sweetheart." "Oh, Sister, look." "Just as they were when dear Mama last wore them." "I'd say the stolen goods have been identified and returned to the rightful owners." "Elizabeth, you must have a reward." "Something really special." "I think Elizabeth and the rest of us have already been rewarded." "Ladies, how about a spin on the Ferris wheel?" "This is what happens when you marry a doctor." "You get to come to the carnival with your brother and his girlfriend." "Well, you could do a lot worse." "I know Ben was a real hero last night." "No doubt about that." "You folks should be very proud of him." "We always have been." "Mama, come on, the carnival's starting." "See you in a while." "Ben, you're not wearing your new shoes this morning." "Guess I just don't need them anymore." "Never again was Elizabeth to experience the terrors brought on by that frightening memory." "And never again would I attempt to unravel the mysteries of the unconscious mind." "Once more we could enjoy quiet and peaceful nights in our house on Walton's Mountain." "Ben, when you put your arm around a girl, are you supposed to ask her permission or anything?" "Of course not." "How about when you kiss her?" "It's like offering her the last piece of candy." "I don't get it." "Well, she's gonna feel silly if she says yes, and bad if she says no." "You sound pretty smart." "Well, I've been around." "Around girls or around candy?" "Good night, Jim-Bob." "Good night, everybody." "English"