Hobo Binge: Thursday, October 16

On November 14th I will undertake the Hobo Challenge on the Marek vs. Wyshynski podcast. Jeff Marek, great Canadian hockey fan and “The Littlest Hobo” maven, will try to stump me with Hobo-related trivia. To prepare I will watch at least four episodes of “The Littlest Hobo” every day. Today I met my goal.

The following synopses are taken from Kevin McCorry’s excellent “The Littlest Hobo” webpage:

"Small Change"

London befriends a young, deaf man named Terry, who frequents a video arcade. Nick, the about-to-retire owner, is closely observed by two rogue youths who intend to rob the arcade. The hoodlums do not know that Terry is deaf and think he has overheard their discussion of their criminal plan. London guides a lady mime to the place of conversation, to overhear the crooked duo trying to bribe Terry to tell nobody about the impending robbery. The mime informs Nick and the police to be prepared for the robbery believed intended for late afternoon, but the evil pair decide to do the deed earlier and throw Terry in a dumpster when the deaf Terry does not understand their bribery attempt and tries to run away. London sees this and brings the mime to rescue Terry from the dumpster. The mime paints Terry's face, and together they are summoned by London to the arcade to stop the robbers, who have faked a police telephone call ordering Nick to remove all customers from the arcade, donned masks, and entered the establishment. Nick feigns a heart attack, London turns off the main lighting in the arcade and starts the arcade's games' lights to confuse the robbers, the mime calls the police, and Terry and the mime use ropes to trip and tie the scoundrels, who are apprehended by the arriving police. Nick generously rewards Terry and the mime.

Guest stars: Edward Leefe (Terry), Peggy Coffey (Mime), Don Keppy (Nick)

"Prodigal Son"

In a wilderness, London stops a thief from swiping a sleeping traveler's possessions, and the traveler awakes and confronts the thief, who reads the traveler's identification card naming him as Sean Armstrong. Accompanied by London, the traveler leaves the thief and arrives at a rural homestead, where he seems to reunite, after a 14-year absence, with a brother, a cousin, and an aunt. But the traveler is claiming to be Jacob Courter, and London knows that this is not the traveler's true identity. London sees "Jacob" searching a hay barn, uncovering a satchel of money, expressing surprise that "they" have still kept it in the same hiding place that it was in at some past time, and putting it back into hiding. Jacob's cousin, Thomas, is a rival for the affections of Jacob's former girl-friend and wants to discredit "Jacob". London sees Thomas putting the satchel of money in Jacob's room so that it appears that "Jacob" stole it. Thomas then accuses "Jacob" of coming back after 14 years for the purpose of filching the life savings of his late father, the contents of the satchel. Though "Jacob" is not being honest about his identity, London helps him by obtaining the satchel from Jacob's room and returning it to the barn before Thomas can implicate "Jacob" by "finding" the satchel in Jacob's room. The thief encountered earlier by "Jacob" returns and takes the money out of the satchel in the barn. He then flees and spooks the horse pulling the carriage driven by Jacob's aunt, and she is thrown from the carriage. While chasing the thief, London has seen this accident and runs to summon "Jacob", Thomas, and Jacob's brother. "Jacob" urges the others to forget about the money and to follow London to aid the fallen lady. "Jacob" finally admits to really being Armstrong, a similar-looking companion of the real Jacob, who is now dead, and he planned to step into the life of the deceased and be Jacob, so that he could gain access to the satchel of money that Jacob had naively told him about. Armstrong apologizes and asks permission of Jacob's family for him to stay in their country community as Sean Armstrong. Urged by London, the family agrees, contingent upon Armstrong's honest conduct.

Guest star: Peter Dvorsky (Sean Armstrong)

"Born to Run"

In a rural area, London meets a girl named Astra, whose female whippet dog, Allegra, is sure to win a national competition. The top rival is owned by a lady named Mrs. Travis, who hires a rifle toting man named Baxter to abduct Allegra so that Allegra will not be able to compete. London witnesses Baxter's dognaping [sic] of Allegra and pursues Baxter to a dog farm, where London frees Allegra and pulls her by a rope, attached to her collar by Baxter, back to Astra, who has started by herself to search in a forest for her whippet, which she thinks is lost. Baxter chases London and Allegra, firing his rifle and releasing his vicious Doberman pinscher. London sends the Doberman on a false trail before bringing Allegra to Astra. When Baxter tries to retake the whippet from Astra, London snatches Baxter's rifle, and Baxter, reaching to grab the rifle from London, falls into a bog. Astra's father, Philip, arrives, frees Baxter from the bog, and has the dognaper [sic]  arrested. Astra enters Allegra in the competition, and Allegra wins.

Guest stars: Michael Reynolds (Philip), Jessie Fyfe (Astra)

"Passage"

Aging hunter/woodsman Vernie Davis is offered $10,000 to venture alone into a wilderness and capture a peregrine falcon for a zoo, and sees this offer as his chance to retire affluently from his "sweatshop" welding job in a town. London encounters Davis in the wilderness and openly disapproves of Davis' effort, releasing the netted pigeons that Davis is using for bait. Still, he helps Davis after the hunter falls down a steep hill and injures his hands and ankle. London uses a rope, tied around a tree trunk, to give Davis aid in climbing the hill. Davis has captured a falcon, and though he is grateful to London for the possibly life-saving help, he tells to London that the bird represents a way out of a lousy job and he cannot let it go. But after London has successfully assisted the injured Davis to return to town with the bird, Davis relents and lets London release the falcon from its confinement box.

Guest stars: Al Waxman (Vernie Davis), Wayne Best (Price Wickett), David Bolt (Zoo Official)

"Trooper"

The town of Middleton must be evacuated when a truck carrying chlorine gas ditches on a nearby road and the tank of chlorine threatens to rupture. As the town is evacuating, London sees a teenaged girl confusedly drop a doll and board an evacuation school bus. Hearing a crying baby in the house from which the girl with the doll had come, London gains entry to the house through an open window and finds the baby abandoned on the second floor. He goes outside of the house through another window to find a policeman named Stan, who infers that London is trying to guide him into the house but is called away from the location when his partner tells to him that they have been given radioed orders to report to the evacuation centre, a school in the town of Hampton. London refuses to depart Middleton with Stan. In Hampton, Stan discovers the confused girl, who admits to leaving alone the baby that she was assigned to protect. Stan realizes that London was trying to lead him to the baby in the house and returns solo to Middleton. The chlorine tank bursts, and winds carry the toxic gas into Middleton. Stan arrives at the house to help London to save the baby's life and is struck unconscious by a burglar wearing a gas mask. London sees the thug escaping the house through a window. Unable to awaken Stan, London carries the baby out of the front door (opened but not shut by Stan) of the house and to a road. A passing doctor, searching for stragglers overcome by the gas, meets him, collects the baby, and automobiles it to the evacuation centre, where its mother now is. London returns to the house to assist Stan, who regains consciousness and dons the mask which he left downstairs. Stan telephones the evacuation centre and is told that the baby is safe, thanks to London. At the evacuation centre, London recognizes the criminal who hit Stan, and police stop Stan's adversary from escaping.

Guest stars: Jonathan Welsh (Stan), Sean McCann (Jack Petaski)