I think child abductions, molestations, etc. have been happening forever. We just live in a more open society and the Internet is everywhere. But I also remember it seemed rare and distant--at least most of the time.
According to my notes, Ray Carlson (who played the hapless Aldon Wickes), does the VO. Ken McEwen--the late Larry Chase--is billed as Associate Director.
Very funny first act where Yeager is thwarted--twice!--in his plan to carry Maggie off, first when Quentin phones her to say that he's staying with Sabrina for a while and then when Daniel wanders in to say he saw a prowler. He knows it wasn't the night watchman because this man was much bigger. Maggie sees a chance to improve their relationship, so she goes with Daniel to find Roger. (For those who are interested, the [invisible] night watchman’s name is Riggs, the same as one of the 1795 servants in our time. So in Parallel Time at least, the Riggses have continued to serve the Collinses faithfully down through the years.) Yaeger’s original intention has been thwarted, but the evening isn’t a total loss. Before he leaves, he takes Maggie’s silver-backed hairbrush, comb, and hand mirror from the bureau and puts them in his coat pocket.
Sabrina is trying to find Cyrus's notes on his experiment (we know he burned them) and berating herself for not suspecting anything. She and Yaeger have a long and rather melodramatic scene. She pleads that she told Quentin nothing and adds, I still love you in spite of everything. You’re a fool! Yaeger says, roaring with laughter. No wonder Cyrus was so bored by you! He found you so boring, in fact, that he used to go to the Eagle every night to see Buffie Harrington. But when he got there (this is Yaeger’s idea of a punch line), he was too afraid to do anything! She pleads with him to let Cyrus be Cyrus, but he says he's killed Cyrus, who hated being Cyrus anyway, and Yeager just used Cyrus to hide. He flicks the swordcane at her and says, Do you see this sword? Do you know how easily it enters the human body, Sabrina? With just one little flick of my wrist and a scream in the night. Horrified, she finally realizes: You killed Gladstone, she gasps. Yaeger has no problem admitting it: He was my first victim, Sabrina. Ever since then, this sword hungers for another. [Hey, I don’t write this dialogue, I just report it.] Are you going to be the next victim?
I never thought about the sword-cane being pre-rigged to collapse in Sabrina's face. I thought it fell apart when Pennock tried to retract the sword part, but I haven't seen it in years. I'd flinch too in any case.
Sabrina continues to plead. Taking his arm, she begs him, Please be Cyrus again. Very seriously he says, I can’t--I have too much to do that Cyrus is afraid to do. Is there some new formula you could take? she wonders. Be satisfied knowing only what you do, he warns her. I will never be satisfied, she starts, but he shouts, I could kill you! Still terrified but determined, Sabrina plays her last card: You need me. I will be here--waiting. I will do anything to help you. Do you love him that much? Yaeger asks with no small amount of genuine wonder (and perhaps a little envy). He is not completely without sense, so he agrees: All right--you will be here. Right here! Every single night. And maybe sometimes I will come and visit you, and maybe I will need you. I will always enter by that door. (He points to the small side door.) You are always going to be right here--alone. Sabrina promises, and he says, Until tomorrow, then. As he moves to leave, she pleads with him to stay. I have things to do, he says. I’m going to take something that Cyrus Longworth was too timid to take. He licks his lips in anticipation and adds, Now Sabrina, remember, not one word or you are going to end up like our friend the late Horace Gladstone. He leaves Sabrina hurt, terrified, and heartbroken.
Maggie runs into Daniel again in the morning. Shyly he offers her his prized possession: a conch shell. He has thawed out enough to offer to show her where he found it, and she accepts his offer.
Yeager has some strange requests for poor Aldon Wickes: a cot, a rocking chair, and a mirror. Wickes promises to get started right away.
Daniel tells MaggieHe tells Maggie, Hoffman [he should have said Miss Hoffman] doesn’t know anything about your brush and comb. In fact, she looked awfully surprised when I told her they were missing. There must be some explanation, Maggie says. With a smile, he comments, You’ve been here long enough to know that things happen around here--strange things. Then, tentatively, he volunteers, Sometimes before they happen I get a feeling--like I had last night, and like I’m having now. It’s true, he insists, I know it. Something is going to happen tonight--something terrible!
Yaeger returns to the now-furnished cellar. Aside from a stray cobweb or two, it seems comfortable enough for an underground, windowless room with no ROTARY DIAL phone (or any other kind) in an isolated farmhouse far from help. He sets out Maggie’s things, which apparently he’s been schlepping around in his pockets all day, then sits at the table to kiss Maggie’s hairbrush in comfort. A moment later he slams it down hastily when he spots Wickes in the mirror behind him. (Pennock flashes us a sly, hammy grin in the mirror.) I’ve said all my goodbyes, the young man says--not many. I want to make sure everything is okay. Everything is just perfect, Yaeger assures him. Wickes wonders naively, What are you really going to do with the room? I’m going to use it as a prison, he answers. Right, Wickes observes brightly: And next you’re going to tell me that you’re going to keep a fairy princess here. Yaeger agrees pleasantly. Unfortunately for Wickes, Yaeger has had the swordcane repaired and doesn’t waste too many more words before running the hapless young man through.
Later, Maggie reassures Daniel that it's been a wonderful day, but he's still worried.
Now that the cage is ready, Yaeger baits the trap: He uses his Cyrus voice to speak to Maggie from a ROTARY DIAL pay phone in town. He tells her, I must see you. I have important news for you. Can you meet me at eleven tonight? We can’t meet at the lab, because I don’t want Sabrina to know. You can’t tell anyone, not even Quentin, because I’m in great danger. Has John Yaeger gotten you into trouble? Maggie asks suspiciously. Impatiently he asks if she’ll come or not. Of course she agrees. Meet me at Widows Hill, Yaeger says. That’s the only place I can be sure we won’t be seen. Reluctant and puzzled, Maggie agrees to the rendezvous....
