312 - September 5, 1967

[bunniefuu]

[Victoria narrating] - A pale, peaceful moon

illuminates the walls of Collinwood...

but the great house knows no peace on this night...

for a small boy has disappeared

and a terrified girl seeks comfort...

from one whose comforting touch

could bring her death and destruction.

- I keep thinking that if I look hard enough out into the dark,

maybe I'll see him.

- You're very devoted to David, aren't you?

- Yes, very.

- I know how easy it is to become attached to children.

- Do you?

- Yes.

A child represents everything that is pure and innocent.

- David's become very important in my life.

I look up on him as if he were my little brother.

- I know.

- And if anything were to happen to him,

I don't know what I'd do!

- Nothing has happened, I'm sure of it.

- I try to believe that.

But I'm just so frightened.

- I understand.

- I'm sorry, Barnabas.

I told myself I wouldn't cry.

- Oh, don't apologize.

Caring for someone never requires an apology.

- He's got to be all right!

He's got to!

- Come, put your head on my shoulder

and cry all you want.

Nobody will hear you but me.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

[Carolyn] - Vicki!

Vicki!

- I'm-- I'm over here.

I was outside watching for David.

You didn't find anything, did you?

- No.

And we went to all the places where he might be playing.

- You haven't heard anything, have you, Vicki?

- Not a thing.

The phone didn't ring once.

- I was afraid of that.

I'm beginning to get scared, Vicki, really scared.

- So am I.

- All right now, calm down, both of you.

Look, I'm gonna call the sheriff

and get him to send out a general alarm.

Now, they'll find him.

- I hope so.

- Good evening.

Is there anything I can do?

- Hello, Barnabas.

- I can't think of anything.

- Well, if I can be of any assistance at all,

please call on me. - Thank you.

You're up rather late, aren't you, Mr. Collins?

- Well, I was out for a walk and I saw Miss Winters.

She told me what happened.

So I was with her, waiting word of David.

- Mr. Collins has been very kind.

- Oh, not at all.

I only would do it for your sake.

I can't understand

why David has disappeared into the middle of the night.

- Well, I'm afraid it's my fault.

- Your fault?

- Yes, I sent him out to find someone.

A little girl we were searching for.

- A little girl?

- Joe, it is not your fault.

You didn't send David out, he sneaked out of the house.

- Well, I certainly suggested it.

- Who is this little girl?

[Joe] - Her name is Sarah.

- Sarah?

David's imaginary playmate?

[Carolyn] - Well, we're not so sure she is imaginary.

- You're not?

- No, we think she's real.

She might be able to tell us what happened to Maggie.

- Well, why do you say that?

- Well, for one thing, because she showed up at Sam's

cottage after Maggie disappeared,

and she told Sam where to look for Maggie.

- She did?

[Joe] - Yes, and Sam found her

right where the little girl said she'd be.

- So she must know something.

Even more than she's already told us.

- And David went out to look for her?

[Joe] - Yes, that's right, hours ago.

- Did he say where he was looking?

- No.

He said it was a secret.

- A secret?

[Joe] - Yes, he said that he and Sarah had a secret place

where they played,

but he wouldn't tell us where it was.

- And he gave you no idea what he meant?

- No.

All he said was that he was sure he could find her.

- Well, how could he be sure?

[Joe] - I don't know.

[Carolyn] - But he did seem positive that he could find her.

He kept saying it over and over again.

- I see.

- Joe, you'd better phone the sheriff.

- Yeah.

- Vicki, I think...

we should call Mother and Uncle Roger

and let them know what's going on.

They have a right to know.

- There's no use in getting them worried, Carolyn.

They can't do anything from Boston.

- What do you think, Barna...

♪♪

Barnabas?

- He's gone.

- That's strange.

I've never know him to leave so abruptly.

- Maybe he went out to look for David on his own.

- Maybe.

♪♪

- Willie?

Willie!

♪♪

- No, Barnabas, I haven't seen him,

I haven't seen him for days.

- Well, we've got to look for him

before anybody else finds him.

- Why are you so worried about David?

- Isn't that obvious?

- Do you really think he knows where Sarah is?

- Perhaps.

He might know.

- Then why hasn't he showed up with her?

Why hasn't he brought her back to Collinwood?

- I don't know.

- It's because he hasn't found her.

It's because he doesn't know where she is.

- Well, perhaps, but...

I can't take any chances.

- Well, even if he does find her,

she's not gonna tell him anything.

You said so yourself.

You said it a hundred times.

- I know what I said.

- Well, you believe it, don't you?

- I don't know what to believe anymore.

All I know is we've got to find him

before anyone else does.

- What-- what if he... does know too much?

What happens then?

- You know the answer to that.

- Well, you wouldn't harm him, would you?

- Of course, I'd have to do what was necessary.

- Barnabas!

He's only a little boy, and a Collins.

Well, you wouldn't harm

a member of your own family, would you?

- It would certainly be regrettable.

- Barnabas-- - Willie, I haven't said I decided to do anything.

I merely want to find the boy

and find out how much he knows.

♪♪

[knocking]

- That must be the sheriff.

[Carolyn] - It's about time!

- Come in, Sheriff.

- Any word since you phoned me?

- No, nothing.

- And how long is it since David disappeared?

- Almost six hours.

- Well, why didn't you phone me immediately?

- Well, because we thought we could find him ourselves.

- We thought he was someplace nearby.

But we've looked everywhere we can think of

and haven't found even a trace of him.

- You said that David went out

to search for his playmate Sarah?

- Yeah, that's right.

- Well, didn't he give you any idea of

where he was going to look for her?

- No, he was very secretive about it.

- But then, that's David.

He just loves secrets.

[Sheriff] - Do you think he's lost?

- He must be or he would've come home by now.

- Do you have any reason to believe that David

may have been kidnapped?

- No!

- Kidnapped?

We didn't even think of that.

Oh, with that maniac loose! Vicki!

- Carolyn, don't start imagining things!

- Vicki's right, Carolyn, calm down.

- Sheriff, you've got to find David!

You've just got to!

- Carolyn, I have men combing the town

and searching the property out here.

If he's anywhere nearby, we're going to find him.

- Well, I don't think you're going to find him

on the property because we've searched everywhere.

- Yes, we have. - Wait a minute.

Except for one place.

- Well, what's that?

- The old house.

- The old house?

- You see, we know that David always used to go

to play there.

It was his favorite playground.

- Yes, but Willie said he was not there.

And since Barnabas lives there now,

David has been forbidden even to go near the place.

- Well, knowing David,

that's all the more reason why he'd want to.

- If David had gone there, Willie or Barnabas would have

found him and brought him home.

- Not-- not if they hadn't seen him.

You know, the more I think about it, the more sure I am.

Every time... every time David disappeared,

we'd find him at the old house.

- Yes, but we searched all around the area

and didn't find anything.

- We didn't search inside the house, Carolyn.

We let Willie talk us out of it.

- The little girl at the top of the stairs.

[Joe] - What?

- The night of the costume party

that Barnabas had at the old house,

I thought I saw a little girl at the top of the stairs.

Do you remember, Carolyn?

- Yes.

- Well, at the time, I thought it was my imagination.

But now I know that I really did see a little girl,

and it must have been Sarah!

- Well, that settles it.

- Do you think David went to the old house to look for Sarah?

- I think it's very possible that a room in that old house

is the secret hiding place that David was talking about.

- But, Joe, they couldn't sneak in there

all the time without somebody seeing them.

- Well, maybe not.

But I think we ought to go take a look.

What do you say, Sheriff?

- Well, if there's even a chance that David is there,

I think it's worth a try.

- Shall we go down there now?

- All right, you lead the way.

♪♪

- Come, Willie.

- Where?

- Well, to search for David, of course.

- But you haven't got much time.

The sun's about to rise.

- I'm aware of that.

[knocking]

- Who's that?

- We'll know in a moment.

Well... Sheriff, Haskell.

- Mr. Collins.

We'd like to take a look around your house,

if you don't mind.

- Well, not at all.

My house?

Here? Why?

- We have a hunch that David might be hiding in here.

- David, here? Why would he come here?

- Well, to find Sarah.

- But why would she be here?

- He isn't here. He can't be.

The house has been locked up all day long.

I told you that before.

- Well, David has a way of getting past locks.

- He isn't here, I tell you,

one of us would have seen him.

- Willie's right.

Besides, why would he come finding her here?

- Well, because Sarah has been seen in this house.

Vicki saw her here the night of the party.

Now, we thought that maybe Sarah and David

had been sneaking into the house to play,

perhaps when you were out.

- I doubt that.

And the little girl that Miss Winters saw

was a figment of her imagination.

- Maybe. Maybe not.

All the same, we'd-- we'd like to take a look around.

- Now you can't do that! - Why not?

- Because there's nobody here but us.

- Listen, Willie, why are you always so nervous about

letting people look in this house?

- I ain't nervous.

- Willie's only trying to be loyal.

He knows I like privacy.

- But in this case, I don't see why you could have any

objections to our just taking a look around.

- I don't.

It's simply that I feel you're wasting your time.

- Then it's all right if we take a look around?

- Of course. - Barnabas--

- It's all right, Willie.

Come with me, gentlemen.

Well, obviously he's not here.

- I'm gonna look in the back of the house.

- All right, I'll look upstairs.

That's where Vicki saw the girl.

It is all right with you, Mr. Collins?

- Certainly.

- I'll meet you back here in a few minutes, then.

- Right.

♪♪

- Barnabas, you shouldn't let them in here.

- I had no choice.

You were making them suspicious as it was.

- But, Barnabas, they might... they might search.

- I know.

But they will find nothing.

There is nothing upstairs or at the back of the house.

- But they might search the basement!

- They haven't yet.

- But they might.

And they might search the coffin room and find your coffin--

- Willie, be quiet, you fool!

- They'd know, they'd know everything!

- Shh, be quiet, Willie, and I meant it!

- Okay.

But don't pretend you're not scared.

You're just as scared as I am.

♪♪

[rooster crowing]

- The sun will be rising in a few minutes!

You've got to get to your coffin! - I know.

- Well, we've got to get rid of them-- we've got to!

- Let me handle this.

[door closing]

There's the sheriff.

Well, Sheriff, did you find anything?

- No, not a thing.

- I was afraid you wouldn't.

- Joe?

Joe!

[Joe] - Yeah, I'm coming.

- Did you have any luck? - No, you?

- No.

All I found was a lot of empty rooms.

- I was afraid you gentlemen were wasting your time.

- Did you search every place?

- Every place on this floor.

The cellar was locked, I couldn't get in.

♪♪

- You keep your basement locked, Mr. Collins?

- Well, yes.

It's been locked ever since I moved in here.

No one ever goes down there.

- Gee, maybe we ought to take a look around.

- Well, you'll find nothing.

There is nothing down there but a lot of odds and ends.

- Well, that sounds like a perfect place

for a couple of kids to play.

I think we should go take a look.

- Haven't you wasted enough time?

- Well, it won't take very much more time, Mr. Collins.

- We've searched every place else.

We might as well do a thorough job.

- I'd buy that.

- But it's impossible for Willie to have gotten--

David to have gotten down there.

[Joe] - Why?

- Well, as I told you, no one's ever been down there,

and that door has been kept locked ever since I moved in.

- Well, maybe David has found a different way to get in there.

- Well, that hardly seems likely.

- Well, likely or not, Mr. Collins,

I think we ought to take a look around.

- May we have the key, Mr. Collins?

- I'm afraid you can't.

- Well, why not?

- I lost it.

[Joe] - Lost it?

- Yes, it was with some keys

that Elizabeth gave me when I moved in

and I misplaced it,

so you possibly can't get down through that door.

- Well, we could break it down.

- Break it down?

- Why not, if there's nothing valuable down there?

- I can't let you do that.

- Why?

- Well, I can't allow you to destroy family property.

- Listen, I can repair the door later.

- But I insist.

I can't possibly allow you to do that.

- Why not?

- Well, for one thing, it isn't necessary

[clock chiming] and David's not down there.

There's nothing down there.

[Joe] - Why do you object to my taking a look?

- I don't object, it's just that I--

[Carolyn] - Sheriff, Sheriff!

- Carolyn, what are you doing here?

- One of the sheriff's deputies just called.

He said they know where David might be.

- Well, where?

- A woman spotted a little boy fitting David's description

several hours ago.

He was walking along the beach road,

about two miles outside of town.

They're gonna comb the area now

and they'd like you down there as soon as possible.

- Thank you, Carolyn-- we'd better get going right away.

- I'll take Carolyn back to the house, then join you.

- Oh, Mr. Collins, would you like to come along with us?

- I think not. I'll see you later.

- Well, thank you for your cooperation.

- Of course. - Good night.

♪♪

[door closing]

[rooster crowing]

- That was close.

- Yes.

But the sun is about to rise.

- But you gotta start your search for David.

- Yes, but I want you to continue the search,

all day long if necessary, but find him.

- And if I do?

- Bring him here to this house.

- What are you going to do to him?

- Find him, Willie, and bring him here.

After that, I'll decide what to do next.

♪♪

♪♪

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