MUSIC:

DRUM ROLL ... CAVALCADE THEME ... THEN IN BG

ANNOUNCER:

Presenting "The Gals They Left Behind," starring Shirley Booth and Helen Claire on THE CAVALCADE OF AMERICA, sponsored by E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. of Wilmington, Delaware, Maker of Better Things for Better Living Through Chemistry.

MUSIC:

THEME UP AND OUT

2ND ANNCR:

Before we begin our play, here's an interesting news note on how chemical science is helping to solve the food shortage problem for animals. Cattle and sheep need a certain amount of protein in their diets, just as we do, and protein's scarce. Now, Two-Sixty-Two Feed Compound containing urea, a product of chemistry, takes the place of this necessary protein in mixed feeds for cattle and sheep. Chemistry is helping to solve this critical wartime feed problem and so help bring more food to your own table. And now for our play.

MUSIC:

IN AND UNDER ... OUT BY [X]

ANNOUNCER:

This evening, THE CAVALCADE OF AMERICA turns the spotlight on still another aspect of American life in the summer of Nineteen Forty-Four. At present, our concern is with the home front, which is marching in spirit beside the men who fight. This great army -- composed of wives, mothers, and sweethearts of America's men -- might well be called an army of occupation. Because they are truly occupied with waiting, working, praying for their sons and husbands. It is these women CAVALCADE salutes in the radio adaptation by Edith Sommer of the just-published book by Margaret Shea, "The Gals They Left Behind," the authentic experiences of two soldiers' wives. [X] The DuPont Company presents Shirley Booth as Jo Sullivan and Helen Claire as Taffy Smith in a tribute to the Corporal Sullivans and Private Smiths of this war and, more specifically, to "The Gals They Left Behind."

SOUND:

APPLAUSE

MUSIC:

FOR AN INTRODUCTION ... THEN OUT FOR--

SOUND:

AUTO APPROACHES AND GROANS TO A STOP ... ENGINE OUT ... PASTORAL BACKGROUND (BIRDS CHIRP AND WHISTLE, ET CETERA)

JO:

Well, here we are, Taffy. Never thought the old car would make it.

TAFFY:

Come on, Jo. Let's get out and look at it.

SOUND:

CAR DOORS OPEN AND SHUT AS THE GALS CLIMB OUT

JO:

(DISAPPOINTED) Oh, no. Oh, no, this can't be Great-Aunt Het's farm.

TAFFY:

She didn't like ya maybe and willed it to ya as a kind of a grim joke maybe.

JO:

It's funny, Taffy, but it didn't look like this when I was a little girl. Then I thought it was wonderful. It always smelled of gingerbread and piccalilli and geraniums with a little spicy dash of cow and clover floating in from the barn.

TAFFY:

And now it just smells.

JO:

The house does lurch a bit, doesn't it?

TAFFY:

(READY TO CRY) Lurch? Jo, it's a dump, that's what it is. A big horrible ol' dump! That's what it is.

MUSIC:

BEHIND JO--

JO:

(NARRATES) And that, dearest Bill, is what it was. Of course I'll write you more when we get settled, but right now the big news is Taffy and I arrived in Hosstrough, Maine this morning, bag and baggage -- Taffy's harmonica included. It's a cinch, darling, Manhattan was never like this. But then you probably felt the same when you and Hank arrived in New Caledonia. It's a far cry from our little apartment on Sixty-First Street, Bill, because-- Well, you know what I mean. But I couldn't let Taffy know how I felt when she said--

SOUND:

PASTORAL BACKGROUND (BIRDS CHIRP AND WHISTLE, ET CETERA)

TAFFY:

(READY TO CRY) Jo, it's a dump, that's what it is. A big horrible ol' dump!

JO:

(STERN) See here, Taffy Smith, you're homesick for Hank, that's what's the matter with you. And that's all that's the matter.

TAFFY:

(TEARFUL) Oh--

JO:

Now stop crying. Because if you don't-- Well, if you don't, I'm going to start.

HOD:

(CALLS, FROM OFF) Hey!

TAFFY:

What's that?

JO:

(UNCERTAIN) A - bird.

TAFFY:

Oh.

JO:

Singing.

TAFFY:

Oh!

JO:

There's not another human being within miles.

HOD:

(IN CLOSE) Boo!

JO:

(STARTLED) Oh--!

TAFFY:

(STARTLED EXCLAMATION)

HOD:

(CHUCKLES) Well, now. You ain't ones for courage, are ye? Too much city livin', I reckon. I take it you're the womenfolks that's aimin' to take over this here Perkins place.

JO:

That's right. And who are you?

HOD:

Either of you kin of that hellcat?

JO:

Certainly not!

TAFFY:

Which hellcat?

HOD:

Het Perkins, that's which. Yeah, ol' Het kept me in land courts all the time with them boundaries of hers. And if you got any of her blood, little lady, you better get steppin' back down South where you come from.

TAFFY:

(LIKES THE IDEA OF GOING HOME) Yeah.

JO:

(COOL) Your name, sir?

HOD:

Ma'am, my name is Hod Cluff. I didn't mean to scare you girls none, but--

TAFFY:

Well, you certainly did!

JO:

Now, wait a minute, Taffy. I know I'm a churl to bring it up, but it occurs to me that you are on our land, Mr. Hod.

HOD:

The name is Mr. Cluff.

JO:

(MOMENTARILY DEFLATED) Well, Mr. Cluff. (STERN AGAIN) And another thing--

HOD:

All right, all right, all right. Might have known I couldn't beat nobody that's kin to old Het. (IRONIC) Heh! Great old lady she was. She could spit words further than I could spit tobacco. (SPITS TOBACCO) See what I mean? (BEAT) Well, good day to ye.

TAFFY:

Bye.

HOD:

Now, if you need anything and you wait long enough, I'll prob'ly be by to help you out. Sooner or later. Maybe. And, by the way, I wouldn't use your well water, was I you. Leastways, not the way it is.

JO:

Why not?

HOD:

Got a muskrat into it.

JO:

A what?

HOD:

Yeah. I throwed it in myself.

TAFFY:

(GASPS)

HOD:

Well, I didn't know you was comin'.

TAFFY:

But what'll we do? We can't drink water that's got a muskrat in it. It - it's dangerous. We might get hurt.

HOD:

No, ma'am. That muskrat won't hurt ye. He's dead.

TAFFY:

Oh, look, now, Jo, this is insane. We're not here two minutes and already we're poisoned to death by the well water. Jo, let's go back to New York.

HOD:

Now, wait a minute, ma'am. If ye just put the boil to that water, it'll be all right. Might smell a mite, but that ain't gonna hurt ye. Just put the boil to it. (BEAT) Well, I guess I'll be goin' along. Goodbye now. Hope you two girls have a nice time here. I don't think you will, but - I hope you do. Yeah, goodbye.

TAFFY:

Goodbye.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE ... THEN BEHIND JO--

JO:

(NARRATES) But even so, Bill, we'll make out all right, I think. But, darling, we've got rooms crammed with Boston rockers, old calendars, marble-topped commodes, and not a Fifth Avenue bus in sight. These are facts, my darling, not complaints. Oh, I'd meant to write you such gay, dashing letters. (EXHALES) I will tomorrow, Bill, honest. Tonight, I can't. Tonight, something's happened to the starch in my stiff upper lip. I miss you. Your Jo.

MUSIC:

OUT

JO:

(NARRATES) P. S. Before we went to bed tonight, Taffy and I paid a visit to our well with a pitchfork, and we buried the muskrat in the front yard. I just thought you'd like to know. Jo.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

TAFFY:

Jo? (NO ANSWER) Jo, you asleep?

JO:

(NO; SLEEPILY) Mm mm.

TAFFY:

Me, either. The moon's in my eyes.

JO:

Well, turn over.

TAFFY:

Doesn't do any good. Gosh, the night's so soft and warm and mellow. And your Aunt Het's bed's so big!

JO:

Mm.

TAFFY:

So's Hank.

JO:

What?

TAFFY:

Big. He's - big! I bet my husband is the biggest, strongest man-- Jo?

JO:

Huh?

TAFFY:

Know what I'm thinkin'?

JO:

(YES) Mm hm.

TAFFY:

He's been gone so long.

JO:

I know, Taffy.

TAFFY:

You know, at a time like this, bein' from New England must be of great comfort to you.

JO:

For heaven's sake, why?

TAFFY:

Because you can be so brave about Bill's being off in New Caledonia, nine thousand five hundred and forty-five miles away.

JO:

Think of something else, Taffy, quick.

TAFFY:

(TEARFUL) But I don't want to think of somethin' else! I just want to think about Hank! (WEEPS IN BG)

JO:

Now, Taffy, stop it; you're just being silly. What would Hank think if he knew?

TAFFY:

He'd love it!

JO:

Oh, Taffy, for heaven's sake.

TAFFY:

(STOPS WEEPING) The trouble with you is you haven't got any heart. I don't think you even care that Bill's away, out fightin' a war. I don't think you even miss him! Ow! What's that?!

JO:

What's the matter?

TAFFY:

There's - there's somethin' in this bed.

JO:

Here. Give it to me.

TAFFY:

No, wait a minute. It's-- Why, it's a pipe! A man's pipe!

JO:

Yes. I know. In fact, it's Bill's.

TAFFY:

Bill's?

JO:

He forgot it when he went away.

TAFFY:

Well, I know, but--

JO:

He was always smoking it and now-- Well, I like to keep it with me as sort of a talisman. When I think I can't stand the thought of his being away another minute, well, I just - look at the pipe and remember how Bill smiles, and how he kissed me and--

TAFFY:

(UNCOMFORTABLE EXCLAMATION)

JO:

Taffy Smith, if you laugh or say one word, I'll--

TAFFY:

Jo?

JO:

Now, come on, Taffy. No more talking. We've got to get to sleep. There's a lot of work to be done tomorrow and--

TAFFY:

Jo?

JO:

What is it?

TAFFY:

Would you--? Would you mind if we held hands? I know it sounds childish, but--

JO:

(COMFORTING) No. No, I wouldn't mind.

TAFFY:

(BEAT, SLOWLY) 'Night, Jo.

JO:

'Night, Taffy.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE ... THEN BEHIND JO--

JO:

(NARRATES) Dearest Bill. It's April twenty-sixth now and already we've got twelve laying hens, a dog, a cow, and a little girl. The dog's Amy; a lovely dog. She's deaf, poor thing, but it's all right; she doesn't know it. Now, er-- Now, Eloise, the little girl-- Well, that's another proposition. She's nine years old and her favorite author is Edgar Allan Poe. She's the offspring of Doris and Jake Ware, both overseas. So we have Eloise, who does needlepoint, reads editorials in the Times, and loves to improve people. Best of all, she loves to improve people. Why, the first thing she said to me was--

ELOISE:

May I try to do something about your hair someday, Mrs. Sullivan? It's so unfair the way you do it.

MUSIC:

BEHIND JO--

JO:

(NARRATES) You see what I mean? But we have a fine time, though. Taffy plays her harmonica and Eloise helps me feed the chickens and scrub the house. And this summer we'll be eating our own vegetables and drinking milk from our own cow. Oh, Bill, she's such a lovely cow. Brown and white and her name's Rosie. Hod Cluff brought her over this evening and showed me how to milk her. Tomorrow morning at five, I do it alone. I know just how I'll do it. I'll be calm and efficient. First, I shall gently lead Rosie into the barn. And then--

ROSIE:

(MOOS LOUDLY)

JO:

(AS IF TO A BABY) Come on, Rosie. Come on. That's a good cow.

ROSIE:

(MOOS LOUDLY)

JO:

That's it. That's the way. Oh, what a fine, beautiful cow. Come on now. Just a little bit more. A little more.

TAFFY:

(SKEPTICAL) What do you mean "just a little bit more"? She hasn't moved a' inch.

JO:

Well, I'm trying to make her think she has.

TAFFY:

(CRACKS UP GIGGLING) Oh, Jo!

ELOISE:

(ALSO GIGGLES)

JO:

If you and Eloise would stop giggling at me, maybe I could think of something. As it is, you both just stand there.

ELOISE:

If it was I, Mrs. Sullivan, I'd offer her something to eat. Seems logical she'd follow you then.

JO:

Eloise, you're terrific! (TO ROSIE) Look, Rosie, here's some nice pieces of feed. Come on, you brown-and-white prima donna. Get going!

ROSIE:

(MOOS LOUDLY)

SOUND:

ROSIE'S HOOF BEATS WALK FORWARD INTO BARN

TAFFY:

Look, Jo, she's moving. (CALLS) Atta girl, Rosie! (LOW, AFFECTIONATE) Eloise, you're an angel.

ELOISE:

Oh, not at all. It was only logical.

TAFFY:

Okay, Jo, Rosie's all set. You ready?

JO:

Oh, yes, yes, I think so. The three-legged stool, the pail, the warm water, yes. All right now. Quiet, everybody. Eloise, begin.

ELOISE:

(READS) "How to milk a cow. Chapter one, page three."

JO:

Go on, Eloise.

ELOISE:

(READS) "The first step in successfully milking a cow is to wash it with warm water."

TAFFY:

(INCREDULOUS) You mean all over?!

JO:

Oh, Taffy, for heaven's sake. Go on, Eloise.

ELOISE:

(READS, QUICKLY) "Recently a new method for milking has been innovated. Experts now advise you to complete the task within four minutes. This is because of the inactive condition of the hormone back of the fourth minute."

JO:

(IMPATIENT) Eloise, what do I do right now?

ELOISE:

(READS, QUICKLY) "For the neophyte it is advised that the thumb and index finger of each hand be used. A steady pressure is also advised. Now, after--

JO:

Tell me that again now -- slowly.

ELOISE:

(READS, MORE SLOWLY) "For the neophyte it is advised that the thumb and index finger of each hand be used. A steady pressure is also advised." (CONTINUES TO READ, STEADILY AND OBLIVIOUSLY, IN BG)

JO:

Nothing's happening. I'm doing it and nothing's happening. Last night it worked all right. I don't understand what--

ROSIE:

(SNUFFLES LOUDLY)

TAFFY:

Oh, my gosh, Jo! Look at Rosie! She's dying!

JO:

Just keep calm, Taffy. You've got to keep calm. She's not dying. She's - sneezing.

TAFFY:

But you're hurtin' her! Don't pull so hard!

ROSIE:

(MOOS LOUDLY)

TAFFY:

Jo, look out! The pail!

SOUND:

METAL PAIL AND JO ... BOTH FALL OVER

ELOISE:

(READS) "To wit, the cow. On no account should the cow be excited during milking." (TO JO) Am I going too fast for you?

JO:

(ANNOYED) Eloise, I've stood just about--

TAFFY:

(ADMONISHES) Jo--!

JO:

Oh, all right. But don't just stand there. Help me up.

TAFFY:

(WITH EFFORT) Okay, here.

ROSIE:

(MOOS UNHAPPILY, CONTINUES INTERMITTENTLY IN BG)

TAFFY:

Listen, Jo, Rosie doesn't look right. I think she's gonna charge or somethin'. Her eyes are red, Jo! Maybe she's part bull.

JO:

Taffy, where's your harmonica? Get it out. Hurry!

TAFFY:

But why?

JO:

Never mind. Get it out! And play something! Anything!

TAFFY:

Oh, now, look here, Jo--

JO:

Taffy, this is a matter of life and death! Go on, play.

TAFFY:

Well, if you want.

MUSIC:

TAFFY PLAYS HARMONICA ... "OH, YOU BEAUTIFUL DOLL" (1911 POP SONG BY SEYMOUR BROWN AND NAT AYER) ... FILLS A PAUSE ... THEN IN BG, OUT ABRUPTLY AT [X]

ROSIE:

(MOOS CALMLY)

JO:

It's working. I think it's working.

TAFFY:

(MOUTH FULL OF HARMONICA) But, Jo--

JO:

Go on, Taffy, go on.

SOUND:

SQUIRTS OF MILK IN METAL PAIL, IN BG

JO:

Taffy! Taffy, she's milking! Rosie's milking!

ELOISE:

Well, of course she's milking. It's only logical. As the book says--

JO:

(MELODICALLY) Eloise?

ELOISE:

Yes?

JO:

(VERY NICELY) Come here a minute, dear.

ELOISE:

(QUICKLY) If anybody had asked me, I could have told them that music has a mesmerizing effect on animals, and I could have told you that it was the only--

SOUND:

WHACK! JO SPANKS ELOISE [X]

ELOISE:

(GASPS, PAUSE) You - you spanked me.

JO:

Well, forgive me, Eloise, but it - it seemed so darned logical. (BEAT) Come on, Taffy. Strike up the band!

MUSIC:

TAFFY RESUMES PLAYING HARMONICA ... A JAUNTY "OH, YOU BEAUTIFUL DOLL" ... TOPPED BY ORCHESTRAL CURTAIN (WHICH QUOTES "OH, YOU BEAUTIFUL DOLL") ... THEN CAVALCADE THEME BEHIND ANNOUNCER--

ANNOUNCER:

You are listening to "The Gals They Left Behind," starring Shirley Booth and Helen Claire on THE CAVALCADE OF AMERICA, sponsored by E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. of Wilmington, Delaware, Maker of Better Things for Better Living Through Chemistry.

MUSIC:

UP, TO FILL A PAUSE ... THEN BEHIND ANNOUNCER--

ANNOUNCER:

Jo Sullivan and Taffy Smith, the gals they left behind, have given up New York City for an old farmhouse in Maine. So far, they have learned to cope with chickens, milk a cow, and grow vegetables. As our CAVALCADE play continues, Jo and Taffy -- played by Shirley Booth and Helen Claire -- and their ward for the duration, nine-year-old Eloise, prepare to meet the New Year and the problems it will undoubtedly bring.

MUSIC:

TAFFY PLAYS HARMONICA ... "AULD LANG SYNE" ... THEN BEHIND JO, CHANGING TO ORCHESTRAL BACKING AT [X]

JO:

(NARRATES) Dearest Bill. It's New Year's Eve. Taffy's over by the stove playing her harmonica and I'm trying to put down on paper thoughts that-- Well, don't waste a penny on them, dear; they're all yours. We're three lonely old women up here -- Eloise, Taffy, and I -- but-- [X] Well, we've done all right, I guess. Our cellar's stocked with food we've grown and canned ourselves. We have twelve hens, a dog, and Rosie the cow is about to have a calf. I don't want you to worry about us, Bill; everything's fine. Everything's fine except ---- it's very lonely for Corporal Sullivan's wife, not having Corporal Sullivan.

TAFFY:

Jo? (NO ANSWER) Jo?

JO:

What's the matter? Hasn't he come yet?

TAFFY:

No, not yet. How is she?

JO:

Oh, she's all right, I guess. It's so cold, though. It's thirty below. I'm afraid--

TAFFY:

Don't think about it. Is she comfortable?

JO:

Would you be?

TAFFY:

No, of course not. Poor thing, I wish there was--

JO:

We've done everything we can, Taffy. She's in the back parlor, the warmest room in the house.

TAFFY:

In the back parlor?! But where are the [hens]?

JO:

They're upstairs.

TAFFY:

Oh, I wish Hod would come. Everything's ready. I have every pan in the house filled with hot water. I wish he'd come.

JO:

Don't worry. He'll come.

TAFFY:

Did you say you took the hens out of the parlor?

JO:

Yes, they're up under your bed.

TAFFY:

All twelve?

JO:

Plus one egg. It was warm in the parlor.

TAFFY:

That's nice. Where's Eloise?

JO:

Asleep.

TAFFY:

And the dog?

JO:

Asleep with Eloise.

TAFFY:

(ANXIOUS) Where is Hod?

JO:

Stop it, Taffy.

TAFFY:

Oh, Jo, I feel just like it was me havin' the calf.

JO:

Taffy, you mustn't get excited. Cows have calves every day. Just remember, every cow is somebody's mother.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

SOUND:

HARSH WIND BLOWS ... DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES AS HOD ENTERS ... HOD'S STEPS IN

JO:

(SURPRISED) Oh--

HOD:

Well, hello, there!

TAFFY:

Oh, Hod! Thank the Lord you've come. We've been so worried. We--

HOD:

Hey, now, slow down a minute -- so's a body can get his Ulster off here. (EXHALES, TAKES OFF COAT WITH EFFORT) Eh! (RELAXED) Ah, now. Now what's troubling you ladies?

JO:

It's Rosie.

HOD:

What's wrong with Rosie?

JO:

She's having a calf.

HOD:

(TO HIMSELF) Oh, bleeding angels of mercy. If I ain't gone and left my chawin' tobacco at home.

TAFFY:

But, Hod, Rosie's havin' a calf!

HOD:

You don't say? What's all them buckets o' water doing on the stove there?

TAFFY:

They're for the birth.

HOD:

They're what?

TAFFY:

Well, in the movies, they're always--

HOD:

(HIGHLY AMUSED) Oh, in the movies?! (COUGHS WITH LAUGHTER)

TAFFY:

Don't you laugh at me, you big piece of cheese! How can you stand there being happy and gay when at this very moment our cow hovers between life and death?

HOD:

Oh, life and death; hogwash. Listen, without no help from me, Rosie will produce a full-grown bull. That's the kind of luck you darned-fool women have. You two strawheads come up here not knowing a tadpole from - from the hind end of a whale. You plant enough garden for half a county and I'll be darned if a single cutworm bothered to eat one of your cabbages. Such confounded luck. No rhyme nor reason.

JO:

But we read books on all those things.

HOD:

(DISMISSIVE) Oh, books, books. Why, I bet you a cord of good wood -- oak! -- if you was to feed them hens of your'n caraway seed, they'd lay loaves of rye bread for ye -- sliced and wrapped up in celery-phane! Luck, that's all it is; just plain simple unskilled luck! And another thing--

JO:

Wait a minute!

HOD:

What?

JO:

Rosie!

TAFFY:

Oh, yes, we forgot about Rosie!

SOUND:

THEIR HURRIED FOOTSTEPS TO PARLOR

TAFFY:

Oh, hurry up, Hod, Maybe she's-- Right in through here.

HOD:

Well--

TAFFY:

Hurry! Please hurry! If anything's happened to her, I'll never--

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS STOP ABRUPTLY

JO AND TAFFY:

(BIG GASPS)

ROSIE:

(MOOS CONTENTEDLY)

JO:

(EXHALES IN RELIEF)

TAFFY:

Why, Rosie, you old angel!

HOD:

Yeah, look at that now. Can ye beat it? Two of 'em!

TAFFY:

Twins!

JO:

Twins! Isn't it wonderful, Taffy? Rosie's had-- Hey, wait a minute. Can a cow have twins?

MUSIC:

LIGHT BRIDGE .. ENDS ON A GRIM NOTE

JO:

(NARRATES) Dear Bill. It's January thirteenth and our luck, as Hod called it, has run out. And so has Taffy.

MUSIC:

BRIEF OMINOUS TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND JO--

JO:

(NARRATES) It all started several days ago. It's been around forty below ever since the calves came New Year's Eve. And the day before yesterday we were all in the kitchen when suddenly Taffy burst out--

TAFFY:

Jo, I can't stand it! I can't stand it another day! Cows in the parlor and hens under my bed and the whole world frozen--! (READY TO CRACK) Jo, I've got to go back to Atlanta. I've simply got to go back to Atlanta. (NO RESPONSE) Do you hear me? Jo, do you hear me?

JO:

(EVENLY) Taffy, I need a bucket of water from the well. Would you get it for me?

TAFFY:

(EXPLODES) I can't! There's no water in the well! It's ice! Ten solid feet of ice! How can you expect water in the well when it's forty below?! How can you expect--?!

JO:

(EASILY) A bucket of snow, Taffy. Get a bucket of snow.

TAFFY:

Didn't you hear what I said?! Didn't you?!

JO:

(POINTEDLY) Taffy.

TAFFY:

I-- (BEAT, DEFLATED, QUIETLY) Will - one bucket be enough?

MUSIC:

IN ... THEN BEHIND JO--

JO:

(NARRATES) And that was the start. Yesterday, not a word was said. But this morning, Taffy turned up all dressed, ready to go out.

SOUND:

MUTED HARSH WIND BACKGROUND

TAFFY:

Jo, I'm sorry.

JO:

Taffy, don't go.

TAFFY:

I've got to. I'm sick. I'm really sick, Jo.

JO:

(LIGHTLY) Sure, you're sick. You've got a bad case of cracked morale; that's what's the matter with you. But stick around, Taffy. It's not a fatal disease.

TAFFY:

I see no reason for being flippant. I'm not proud of not being able to stand the cold. I took a lot of things in the beginning, if you remember. So many times when I cheered you up.

JO:

Well, how about a smile for baby now?

TAFFY:

Jo, you're insufferable! The trouble with you is you like to see people miserable. You like to see 'em agonized! Tortured!

JO:

Wait a minute, Taffy. The world is full of people like you -- the ones who won't pay the asking price, the ones who want a band playing while they work. So the novelty's gone from kerosene lamps, has it?

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS ... HARSH WIND BLOWS LOUDER

JO:

The novelty of playing the gay young heroine has departed. All right, go home. Go back to Peachtree Street, to the magnolia blossoms. That's right! Go on!

SOUND:

DURING ABOVE, TAFFY'S FOOTSTEPS OUT THE DOOR, WHICH CLOSES ... MUTED WIND FILLS A PAUSE ... FROM OFF, AUTO ENGINE STARTS, THEN DRIVES AWAY DURING FOLLOWING--

JO:

(WEEPS, CONTINUES IN BG)

ELOISE:

(COMFORTS, PLEADS) You mustn't cry. Don't cry, Jo, please. Jo, please don't cry.

MUSIC:

MELANCHOLY BRIDGE .. THEN BEHIND JO--

JO:

(NARRATES) So, Bill, Taffy's been gone for over an hour now. She marched out to the barn with her little bag and her head in the air. And Eloise and I are quite alone. (UNCONVINCING, ALMOST TEARFUL) We'll make out all right, I'm pretty sure. After all, I'm strong and healthy and capable. But I'm so lonely. I - I should be able to manage. But--

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS ... WIND UP ... DOOR CLOSES ... WIND DOWN AND UNDER ... TAFFY'S FOOTSTEPS IN

TAFFY:

(SADLY) Hello, Jo.

JO:

(WHISPERS, SURPRISED) Taffy?

TAFFY:

Car got stuck.

JO:

(CLEARS THROAT, ACTS MATTER-OF-FACT) It did?

TAFFY:

Down by the bridge. (BEAT) I tried, though, Jo. I really tried. I don't want you to think--

JO:

I know. You cold?

TAFFY:

Oh, no, I-- I-- Jo?

JO:

It's all right, Taffy. It's all right.

TAFFY:

No. No, listen, Jo, I - I just got frightened and-- Well, I guess I ran for cover. But now-- Jo, may I come back?

JO:

(CLEARS THROAT, SUPPRESSES HER EMOTION) Taffy, you know what I was thinking? It seems to me that we'll want to paint the house in the spring, don't you think? I was just wondering how a nice even gray would be -- with blue blinds, say.

TAFFY:

I think that would be very nice. Except--

JO:

Except what?

TAFFY:

Well, don't you think a lovely white, with green blinds, would be better?

JO:

(ENTHUSIASTIC) White and green? Oh, I think that would be wonderful, Taffy. And then if we have any green left over, we could paint the flower boxes.

TAFFY:

(EXCITED) Yes! If we have any green left over, we can paint the flower boxes!

JO:

(CHUCKLES) And if we have any white left over, we could paint the-- (CHUCKLES SELF-CONSCIOUSLY) You know. (LAUGHS BEHIND--)

TAFFY:

Oh, sure! (LAUGHS) We can paint that, too!

JO AND TAFFY:

(CRACK UP WITH LAUGHTER)

MUSIC:

BRIDGE .. THEN BEHIND JO--

JO:

(NARRATES) So, my Bill, here we'll stay. And we'll keep poking at the fire and hoeing the garden and writing letters. Common ordinary stuff; it's nothing to shout about. But when the bells ring, all the whistles blow, and your ship comes steaming up the harbor -- soon, my darling, it will be soon -- we'll be there in a gay and handsome bonnet, our arms wide open. And then I'll take you back to Hosstrough for a swing in the hammock. And I'll feed you a bowl of raspberries, yellow with Rosie's golden cream. And you'll think what a lucky girl I've been all along. And -- oh, darling -- you'll be right. I love you, Bill. Jo.

MUSIC:

UP, FOR CURTAIN

ANNOUNCER:

Thank you, Shirley Booth and Helen Claire. Now here is Ted Pearson speaking for the DuPont Company.

2ND ANNCR:

In the final scene of our CAVALCADE this evening, the two "gals they left behind" were planning to paint their farmhouse when spring came. And in real life that's probably just what they'd do. A clean new coat of paint, inside or out, does make a house more cheerful. The hardest job of all for the women of America who are waiting so gallantly for the men to come home is keeping up their own spirits, their own morale. Taffy, in our CAVALCADE play, said she liked white paint. The DuPont Company makes a white paint that has special advantages for a farmhouse in Maine or a bungalow in California. It actually cleans itself.

Even though this self-cleaning house paint is now available in limited quantities only, we want you to know about this self-cleaning feature. Ordinary white paint gets dull and gray after a while as dust and dirt become embedded in its surface. But as DuPont house paint gets older it develops a fine, almost-invisible chalky powder on its surface. Dust and dirt, instead of becoming embedded in the paint, rest on the top of this chalky powder. Then along comes a good rainstorm and the powder washes away, carrying the dirt with it and uncovering a new clean white surface underneath. Your house stays nice and white for a long time, unless of course it's kept from the sun and driving rains by dense shade trees or is located in an extremely sooty industrial community. Constant research has enabled paint manufacturers to supply you with good, long-lasting paints in spite of wartime shortages. While DuPont self-cleaning house paint is available in limited quantity only, it still gives you the long-lasting protection and good appearance which won so many friends for it before the war.

Back of this accomplishment are the DuPont research chemists and their years of experience in formulating high-quality finishes. They've exposed thousands of painted panels to test them in all kinds of weather. They've painted test houses to find out how these paints stand up in actual use. The good wartime paints offered to you today are the fruit of this research, typical of the painstaking work that brings you the DuPont Company's Better Things for Better Living Through Chemistry.

MUSIC:

DRUM ROLL ... CAVALCADE THEME ... THEN IN BG

ANNOUNCER:

Next Monday evening, CAVALCADE presents "The Story of Canine Joe." Based on factual reports of the part played by dogs in this war, our play is the humor-filled account of an unpredictable collie named Joe who goldbricked in training, but became a hero in battle.

In this evening's CAVALCADE cast, Parker Fennelly appeared in the role of Hod and Patsy O'Shea appeared as Eloise. The CAVALCADE orchestra and musical score were under the direction of Donald Voorhees. This is Roland Winters sending best wishes from CAVALCADE's sponsor, E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. of Wilmington, Delaware. THE CAVALCADE OF AMERICA came to you from New York.

SOUND:

APPLAUSE

NBC ANNCR:

This is the National Broadcasting Company.

SOUND:

ALL FADES OUT FOR--

MUSIC:

NBC CHIMES