The Adventures of Sam Spade: Bouncing Betty Caper 12/12/1948

Summary

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The Adventures of Sam Spade: “The Bouncing Betty Caper”

Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode Date: September 27, 2025
Original Air Date: December 12, 1948

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Episode Overview

In this quintessential detective story, Sam Spade is hired to protect Kathy McGraw from a series of life-threatening incidents at the remote Bleakcliff estate. What begins as a classic “protect the heiress” assignment spirals into a web of murder, family secrets, psychological manipulation, and a deadly wartime device called the “Bouncing Betty.” With Sam undercover as a chauffeur, the suspects grow—and in true noir fashion, the butler just might have done it.

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Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. A New Client at Sam’s Door (01:15–03:00)

• Carruthers, the Butler, Arrives:
  Carruthers, an archetypal proper British butler, visits Sam Spade and presents a case: Kathy McGraw is in danger, with several failed attempts on her life.

• The Household:

  • Dr. Mark McGraw (Kathy’s stepfather, a psychiatrist)
  • Anthony (“Tony”) McGraw (Kathy’s brother, suffering from a nervous disorder)
  • Kathy McGraw (the intended victim)

• The Pitch:
  Carruthers wants Sam to observe the attacks and, if possible, gather enough evidence to institutionalize Tony for Kathy’s safety.

  “Someone is attempting to murder her. Specifically, she has, upon several occasions, been shot at from ambush...”
  — Carruthers (03:06)

2. Undercover at Bleakcliff (05:03–05:41)

• Spade Becomes Chauffeur:
  Carruthers offers Spade a week’s pay in advance and suggests detective work disguised as a chauffeur.

• Quick Immersion:
  Sam is quickly caught in drama as Tony, apparently in a violent fit, comes at Kathy with a meat cleaver.

  “I'm sorry. I'm new here. When I saw him coming at Ms. McGraw with that meat cleaver, I naturally thought..."
  — Sam Spade (06:32)

3. Kathy & Sam’s Beach Escape (07:08–09:08)

• Character Development:
  Kathy seems vulnerable, seeking comfort in Sam. They flee to her hideaway—ostensibly to escape Tony.

• Hints of Family Dysfunction:
  Kathy refuses to discuss Tony or Dr. McGraw in detail, preferring to escape her troubles.

  “If you only knew what my life is like.”
  — Kathy McGraw (08:57)

4. An Attempted Shooting—Tony’s Vertigo? (10:46–12:14)

• Beach House Attack:
  An attacker shoots at them through the window. Kathy assumes it was the doctor, Sam believes it was Tony, despite his alleged crippling vertigo.

• Key Suspicion:
  How did Tony, with his severe fear of heights, manage to descend the dangerous stairs to the beach house?

  "I thought you told me he was afraid of heights. Couldn't come down those stairs."
  — Sam Spade (12:10)

5. Digs into Tony’s Condition (12:14–13:10)

• Spade’s Investigation:
  Sam discovers a letter: Tony is unfit for military service due to vertigo (inner ear injury), and hypnotism can sometimes override the symptoms temporarily.
• Medical Angles:
  Dr. McGraw, a psychiatrist, has the means and knowledge to exploit Tony through hypnotic suggestion (narcosynthesis).

6. Confronting Dr. McGraw – A Deadly Twist (13:38–15:27)

• Face-off:
  Spade confronts Dr. McGraw, accusing him of using Tony as a hypnotized weapon against Kathy.

• Murder Weapon:
  Suddenly, Dr. McGraw is killed by a hidden anti-personnel mine, a “Bouncing Betty,” placed in the wastebasket. The mechanism was cleverly disguised among office refuse.

  “The doctor sure was dead. His midsection was perforated like a shower drain.”
  — Sam Spade (15:27)

7. Kathy’s Secret—Army Ordnance Past (17:45–18:21)

• Kathy’s Involvement Revealed:
  Kathy confesses to working on landmine research during the war and possessing a report about the Bouncing Betty.

• Guilt or Innocence?:
  She claims she placed the device, out of desperation, believing only by killing McGraw could she guarantee her safety (and Tony’s).

  “I want to make a confession.”
  — Kathy McGraw (18:30)

8. The Butler Did It (20:45–22:19)

• True Confession:
  Carruthers enters Spade’s office and calmly confesses that he planted the mine, seeking poetic justice against Dr. McGraw’s tyranny over the household.

  “Where could be found 12 good men and true who would allow themselves to be called the peer of that monster, Dr. McGraw?”
  — Carruthers (22:12)

9. Noir Epilogue—Effie’s Wit (22:21–23:41)

• Classic Banter:
  Spade’s secretary Effie is flummoxed—“the butler can’t be guilty, that’s old fashioned!”—closing the mystery with a nod to detective genre tropes, humor, and affection between Sam and Effie.

  “He was an old fashioned butler. Sweetheart, where today can you get help like that?”
  — Sam Spade (22:28)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sam’s Detective Snark:
  “I conclude that in spite of your glad rags and fancy handle, you are somebody's butler.”
  — Sam Spade (02:35)
• On Family Dysfunction:
  “She's convinced that her brother was not out to kill her, but that the doctor was. I couldn’t sell myself on that part…”
  — Sam Spade (10:46)
• The Butler’s Justice:
  “It struck me as a bit of poetic justice that the buzzer which that dreadful man used as a symbol of his despotism should be the instrument of his own destruction.”
  — Carruthers (21:36)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | Key Points | |-----------|-----------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:00 | Carruthers arrives | The case is introduced. | | 03:50 | Carruthers’ Briefing | Details of murder attempts on Kathy. | | 05:41 | Bleakcliff, first chaos | Tony attacks with a cleaver. | | 07:08 | Drive to the beach | Kathy’s vulnerability; hints at family tension. | | 10:46 | Shooting at beach house | Motive, vertigo, and confusion about Tony’s condition. | | 13:38 | Confrontation w/ Dr. McGraw | Accusations, mine explodes—Dr. McGraw dies. | | 17:45 | Kathy reveals army past | Landmine background, emotional confession. | | 20:45 | Carruthers confesses | The butler did it, poetic closure. | | 22:21 | Effie & Sam's banter | Comic wrap-up, genre nods. |

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Tone & Style

• Noir Style, Dry Wit:
  The narrative crackles with classic Sam Spade sarcasm, sharp retorts, and hard-boiled observations.
• Rich Character Interplay:
  The cast—especially Carruthers the butler and the tormented Kathy—deliver both melodrama and subtle humor.

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Summary

This taut, entertaining “Adventures of Sam Spade” caper checks all the noir boxes—dysfunctional family with secrets, a deadly household, postwar intrigue, and yes, the butler did it. The episode is punctuated by glib exchanges, shifting suspicions, and a surprisingly poignant meditation on justice and retribution.

For fans of vintage detective drama, “The Bouncing Betty Caper” is both a mystery and a wry nod to tradition, ending with Sam’s signature blend of melancholy and resilience.

Transcript

[Kathy McGraw]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Kathy McGraw]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Kathy McGraw]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Kathy McGraw]

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[Sam Spade]

My school uses Podbean. My church too.

[Kathy McGraw]

I love it. I really do.

[Sam Spade]

Welcome to Choice Classic Radio where we bring to you the greatest old time radio shows like us on Facebook. Subscribe to us on YouTube and thank you for [e-mail] the Adventures of Sam Spade Detective. Very funny. Certainly took you long enough.

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, thank you, Sam. Well, do you like them? My curls?

[Sam Spade]

I guess so. It's your own hair, I trust.

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, yes, Sam. When it's brushed out, you'll never know anything happens.

[Sam Spade]

Whenever you're ready, Curly.

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, gee. You like it that well?

[Sam Spade]

Yeah, very cute. Well, it's a business. To Detective Lieutenant Dundee, Homicide Detail, San Francisco police from Samuel Spade. License number 137596. Subject, the bouncing Betty caper. Dear Dundee, it all began on a Wednesday. My secretary, Ms. Effie Perrine, tiptoed into my office and laid an engraved calling card on the desk in front of me. The name on it was Randall Carruthers. She said he looked like money. So I said, show her in or him in. She did.

[Carruthers]

Good morning, sir. Do you wish the morning paper?

[Sam Spade]

Thanks. I've read it.

[Carruthers]

Dear me.

[Sam Spade]

What's the matter?

[Carruthers]

This ashtray, sir. Have you a silent butler?

[Sam Spade]

I don't even have a noisy one.

[Carruthers]

In all my years of service, it has been my constant endeavor to keep things neat and tidy down to the smallest detail.

[Sam Spade]

I see. Well, if it bothers you, just dump those butts into the waste basket.

[Carruthers]

If you will pardon the presumption, sir, you could use a well trained servant in this establishment. Waste paper baskets clean and empty at all times. Never allow refuse to accumulate.

[Sam Spade]

That's not refuse, that's this month's bills.

[Carruthers]

So I noticed, sir. I also noticed that you have not opened them. From this I conclude that your services are immediately available.

[Sam Spade]

Yeah, And I conclude that in spite of your glad rags and fancy handle, you are somebody's butler.

[Carruthers]

Oh, that is correct, sir. I am first butler in the household of Dr. Mark McGraw.

[Sam Spade]

First?

[Carruthers]

Bleakliff is the name of the estate. It's near the village of squid beach, some 50 miles in a southerly direction on the Pacific coast.

[Sam Spade]

You know, I think I'm gonna like you as a client, Mr. Carruthers. I mean, it's refreshing to get a few accurate facts without, shall we say, priming the pun.

[Carruthers]

Thank you, sir.

[Sam Spade]

You're welcome to continue.

[Carruthers]

Not counting the staff, there resided Bleakcliff three persons. Dr. McGraw, master of the house since the death of his wife, his stepson, Mr. Anthony McGraw, of whom more later, and Mr. Anthony's sister, Ms. Kathy. It is on her behalf that I've come to you, sir.

[Sam Spade]

What is her problem, Mr. Carruthers?

[Carruthers]

The correct form of address is Carruthers, sir, not Mr. Carruthers. Check now as to Ms. Carthy's problem, sir. Someone is attempting to murder her. Specifically, she has, upon several occasions, been shot at from ambush. Twice she has awakened in the night to feel the hands of an assailant closing about her throat. And only yesterday, she narrowly escaped death when her motor car went out of control owing to some blackguard tampering with the steering mechanism. And upon numerous other occasions.

[Sam Spade]

That's enough. You have convinced me that she indeed has a problem. What do the local police think?

[Carruthers]

No one has been to the police, sir.

[Sam Spade]

Why not?

[Carruthers]

It's a delicate situation, sir. Ms. Carthy's brother, Mr. Tony, is undergoing treatment for nervous disorder, sir. The family did not wish to place him in an institution. And since Dr. McGraw, his stepfather is a psychiatrist, he is allowed to remain at home.

[Sam Spade]

I see. He's flipped, huh? Where do I, Ferdan Carruthers?

[Carruthers]

Well, sir, if a reputable gentleman such as yourself were to come to Bleakliff and witness these persistent attempts upon that girl's life, perhaps they could be forced to put the boy away where he belongs.

[Sam Spade]

That's possible. Possible? I'm willing to try. For money?

[Carruthers]

Oh, splendid, sir, splendid. I took the liberty of drawing in your favor a draft upon the First national bank of Squid Bay. One week's remuneration in advance of your services to the Bleakliff Estate in the capacity of chauffeur.

[Sam Spade]

Nice. Chauffeur?

[Carruthers]

Yes, sir. I thought that might be a capital disguise. Have you a better suggestion, sir?

[Sam Spade]

Well, no, no, that's okay. This check?

[Carruthers]

Yes, sir.

[Sam Spade]

At 200 bucks. It's a pretty big weekly salary for a chauffeur, isn't it?

[Carruthers]

Well, you will be allowed to shop for the vegetables, sir. Your cut has been added in.

[Sam Spade]

I told them I didn't know one vegetable from another, that I was a lousy driver and in more time than it takes to tell, I was installed at Bleak Cliff in a room above the garage and told to wait there until summoned. I put on my pearl gray uniform with the brass buttons and Leather puttees. Looked in the mirror and decided I had missed my calling. But not by much. Nothing happened for nearly an hour. And then I got my first buzz. Yeah, I mean, garage.

[Kathy McGraw]

Finish the car quickly. The main entrance. Keep your motor running. I have him locked in the living room, but he's breaking off.

[Sam Spade]

Okay, okay. Yes. Let me see.

[Kathy McGraw]

Get that door open. Open that door. Why didn't you have the door open?

[Sam Spade]

I'm sorry, miss.

[Kathy McGraw]

Look, get going. Please. Please.

[Sam Spade]

Darn it, miss. Where's the spark on this?

[Kathy McGraw]

What's the matter with it?

[Sam Spade]

Well, it's. It's flooded the housing.

[Kathy McGraw]

You know, he's got the make. Cleaver again.

[Sam Spade]

Well, I'm trying.

[Kathy McGraw]

Get out. I see. You're hurting him.

[Sam Spade]

All right, put it down. Put it down. Come on, give it to me.

[Kathy McGraw]

What's going on?

[Carruthers]

I say, who are you? Haven't you been instructed not to disturb my patients?

[Sam Spade]

I'm sorry. I'm new here. When I saw him coming at Ms. McGraw with that meat cleaver, I naturally thought. Oh, well, no harm done.

[Carruthers]

Come along, Tony.

[Sam Spade]

Come along now.

[Carruthers]

Come along, boy. We'll have a nice long talk. What shall I do with this now?

[Kathy McGraw]

We'll put it back.

[Sam Spade]

You all right?

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, sure. I should be used to it by now. By the way, you're new here, aren't you? What's your name? That's nice. Turn to the left outside the gate, Sam, and drive straight out to the shore road.

[Sam Spade]

Well, if I can just. Hey, I just turned that little key. Look, Ma, I'm driving. I adjusted the rear view mirror so that it showed more of her and less of the rear view. A mile from the house, she ordered me to stop, moved up to the front seat with me and asked me to drive on. By the time we got to the shore road, she was driving and I was resting my head on her shoulder. Where are we going?

[Kathy McGraw]

I've got a little hideaway down the coast. Right on the beach at the foot of a tall cliff. There's a fireplace, a little bar, some records.

[Sam Spade]

Got some bop.

[Kathy McGraw]

It's wonderful there with the surf pounding outside. Hidden away from the world. You feel so safe.

[Sam Spade]

Mm. Don't stop.

[Kathy McGraw]

You'll like it there. You feel as if there's no one else on earth. Time standing still.

[Sam Spade]

If I could just be sure that Mother wouldn't worry about me.

[Kathy McGraw]

You're impossible.

[Sam Spade]

Okay, Kathy, I'll be serious. Yeah. What's with that brother of yours?

[Kathy McGraw]

Tony, I'd rather not talk about that, if you don't mind.

[Sam Spade]

Well, maybe I Can talk about your stepfather. I really should know what kind of a man my boss is.

[Kathy McGraw]

I go for these drives to forget all that. Please don't spoil it for me.

[Sam Spade]

Okay, Kathy.

[Kathy McGraw]

Okay. Please. The sharp turn into this driveway. Now we get out here.

[Sam Spade]

Yes, ma'. Am.

[Kathy McGraw]

Down this path.

[Sam Spade]

Uh.

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, Matt, are you afraid of high places?

[Sam Spade]

Yeah, you just pushed me off of one.

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, Sam, don't be like that. You're pouting like a little boy. Come on, I want to show you my little house.

[Sam Spade]

What's so special about your little house?

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, Sam, if you only knew what my life is like.

[Sam Spade]

You only knew what mine is like.

[Kathy McGraw]

I need someone so much to talk to, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

As long as you can steer the conversation, you mean.

[Kathy McGraw]

Come on, Sam. I'll show you the house.

[Sam Spade]

The path led to a flight of wooden steps that clung to the face of a sheer cliff. There was something like the stairs you find yourself falling down in nightmares. They dropped maybe 200ft to a crescent of white sand.

[Kathy McGraw]

Watch out for that one step. It's broken.

[Sam Spade]

Yeah. You have to make your dream house this hard to get to.

[Kathy McGraw]

Because of Tony? He has vertigo.

[Sam Spade]

What?

[Kathy McGraw]

When we were kids, he used to chase me and I'd run down here, and he was scared to follow me. Afraid of heights. He still is. Well, you. Light us a fire, Sam. The wood's there in the box. I'll go make us a drink.

[Sam Spade]

Fire. Who needs a fire? I'm hot.

[Kathy McGraw]

What'd you do before you took up driving?

[Sam Spade]

Oh, I was a private eye for a while.

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, how exciting.

[Sam Spade]

Nah, it's a sour racket.

[Kathy McGraw]

Tell me.

[Carruthers]

Bottom.

[Sam Spade]

Ah. Let's talk about you.

[Kathy McGraw]

Here's your drink.

[Sam Spade]

Thanks.

[Kathy McGraw]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Kathy McGraw]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Kathy McGraw]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Kathy McGraw]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Kathy McGraw]

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[Sam Spade]

Come here. The scent she was wearing was 20 carat. The story of her life was heavy melodrama. It seemed that Dr. McGraw, a handsome fortune hunter, was a folly of her mother's middle years. But she had come to her senses shortly before she died and cut him out of her will. But that was not the end of it. When Kathy's brother had been faced with the alternative of entering an institution or remaining at home under his stepfather's care. She had begged the doctor to remain in spite of his warnings that her brother might take a notion to kill her. But get this, Dundee. It's real deep. In spite of visible evidence to the contrary, she was convinced that her brother was not out to kill her, but that the doctor was. I couldn't sell myself on that part of the urine. But she looked so awfully pretty while she was telling it, and suddenly she didn't look so pretty. An expression of terror was on her.

[Kathy McGraw]

No. No.

[Sam Spade]

Get down. I rolled her onto the floor and kicked the lamp out. With a glow of the embers in the fireplace, I could still see the gleam of the gun barrel shoved in through the broken window. I hope he couldn't see so much. I knocked over a chair to give him something to shoot at. He was already halfway up the face of the cliff in those rickety wooden stairs. At the top, he turned and looked back.

[Kathy McGraw]

Who was it? It was Mark, wasn't it?

[Sam Spade]

The doctor? You know better than that. It was Tony. I thought you told me he was afraid of heights. Couldn't come down those stairs.

[Kathy McGraw]

He never did before. Don't you believe me?

[Sam Spade]

Yeah. Yeah. Kathy. I may wind up believing the rest of your story. I took Kathy back to Bleakcliff and stashed her in my quarters over the garage. Then I went into the main house via the back stairs, found her room and shook it down. In a cabinet, a bunch of war souvenirs, German helmets, grenades, rifles and other lethal gadgets. In a desk drawer, I found a letter headed, U.S. army Office of the Surgeon General. It certified that one Anthony McGraw was unfit for military service. Vertigo, origin, Childhood injury to middle ear. Downstairs in the library, I found a shelf of medical books. Vertigo. Vertigo was almost incurable, and there was certainly no quick cure. But some patients had lost their symptoms temporarily under hypnotism. Then it said, see narcosynthesis. I did.

[Carruthers]

Spade. I beg pardon, sir? Mr. Spade, whatever are you doing in the butler's pantry, sir?

[Sam Spade]

Looking for a butler. Namely you, Carruthers.

[Carruthers]

May I serve you, sir?

[Sam Spade]

Yeah. How do I get an interview with Dr. McGraw?

[Carruthers]

Well, sir. Oh, strange. After all my years of service, I. I still started the master summer.

[Sam Spade]

Hey, you did it again. Well, I'm sorry, sir.

[Carruthers]

I'd better see what Dr. McGraw wants.

[Sam Spade]

Forget it. I'm answering this one.

[Carruthers]

You're not going to drop your disguise, sir?

[Sam Spade]

Why not? Who am I kidding anyway? You rang, Dr. McGraw.

[Carruthers]

I didn't ring for you. I rang for Carruthers. I ordered him to tidy up my office while I was at dinner. And look at it.

[Sam Spade]

Looks neat as a pen to me, Doctor. Oh, yes. You're new here.

[Carruthers]

Chauffeur, huh?

[Sam Spade]

I'm only wearing his uniform. Here's my card.

[Carruthers]

Oh, detective, eh?

[Sam Spade]

That's right, Doctor. And this one's just about ready to wrap up.

[Carruthers]

Well, you interest me.

[Sam Spade]

Go on. I will. I think you've been trying to use that boy as a murder weapon against his sister.

[Carruthers]

And you call yourself a detective?

[Sam Spade]

If you can call yourself a doctor, I guess I can. You've been treating him with narcosynthesis, haven't you?

[Carruthers]

That's right.

[Sam Spade]

Hypnotic drug. While he's under it, you brief him on his activities for the day and he follows through. Including assaults with deadly weapons.

[Carruthers]

That would be possible with certain very suggestible patients. But, I'm afraid, impossible to prove.

[Sam Spade]

I think I can prove it, Doctor. You shouldn't leave your textbooks lying around loose. I found out the only way Tony could have walked down that stairway to Kathy's beach house without falling would be temporary relief of his symptoms due to hypnotic suggestion, unquote.

[Carruthers]

I see. What do you intend to do about this theory of yours?

[Sam Spade]

What do you suggest?

[Carruthers]

You see this row of buzzers here on my desk? This one is for my secretary. This is to summon Carruthers. And when I press this buzzer, two of the most hideous plug uglies you've ever seen will rush into this office, beat you to a pulp and dump you outside the front gate. That's what I think of your theory.

[Sam Spade]

Buzz away, Doctor. I think I like them better than I do you.

[Carruthers]

As you wish.

[Sam Spade]

From where I was on the other side of the room, I didn't know what had happened at first. All I saw was a lot of paper gushing out of the wastebasket. The doctor sure was dead. His midsection was perforated like a shower drain. And in the walls fanning out around the end of the room, about a yard up in the baseboard, there was a straight line of holes. I dug into one. What I took out wasn't a bullet. It was a perfectly round steel ball. Then I remembered the wastebasket. The paper flying out of it just before the explosion. In the bottom of it, I found the answer. The base of a steel mechanism with German lettering on it. It was a wartime anti personnel mine that the GIs called the bouncing Betty. The United States Armed Forces Radio Service is presenting the weekly adventure of Dashiell Hammett's famous private, Det. Sam Spade. I didn't wait for the Squid beach law to arrive. Who could? I went straight back to San Francisco. You, Lieutenant Dundee, were waiting at my office. Morning, Sam. Hello, dundee. About that McGraw killing, Sam. The chief down at Skid beach has asked us to cooperate with the department down there at Skid Beach. Squid Beach, Dundee? That's right. They say you caught a bus at Skid Beach. Squid. Squid, that's right. At a quarter of 2 in the company of a young woman answering the description of the Morale girl. They say that, do they? They say they got a statement from that butler, Carruthers. Well, it's open and shut, anyway. The butler hired you. The girl is wanted and you're hiding her out. Why? Why not? Well, it's established that the girl hated the deceased and bickered with him constantly. The doctor and the boy were pals. That girl's guilty, isn't it? You've been able to place her in the murder room? Well, no, but here's an item. She worked with an army ordinance during the war in research subject. I made a note of that. Enemy landmines, anti personnel. One of the reports she helped put out was on the Bouncing Betty. Yeah, definitely. Hey, where you going?

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, Sam, it's been so lonesome. Cooped up here all day.

[Sam Spade]

Why didn't you tell me you were with army ordinance during the war?

[Kathy McGraw]

I don't know. I suppose I thought it was unfeminine or something.

[Sam Spade]

Try again.

[Kathy McGraw]

All right, I'll tell you the truth. I had a copy of that report with instructions for the operation of the Bouncing Betty in the desk in my room.

[Sam Spade]

What the devil you're doing with a thing like that?

[Kathy McGraw]

I don't know. I was proud of it. It was the only report I worked on with the general.

[Sam Spade]

Should have got rid of it.

[Kathy McGraw]

I did. I burned it in the fireplace as soon as I learned what had killed him.

[Sam Spade]

You didn't burn it good enough, Sam.

[Kathy McGraw]

They found it?

[Sam Spade]

Yeah.

[Kathy McGraw]

Have they arrested Tony?

[Sam Spade]

Not yet, but he's definitely sane. He'll have to take the rap for anything he's done.

[Kathy McGraw]

I see. Well, I guess there's no other way. Tony didn't do it, Sam. I did. I want to make a confession.

[Sam Spade]

Not to me. Please, not to me.

[Kathy McGraw]

After what happened down at the beach, when I knew I was no longer safe anywhere I realized I had to do for Tony's sake as well as mine. When we arrived back at the house, I looked into the dining room and I saw Dr. McGraw eating dinner I knew it was my chance to get into his office.

[Sam Spade]

Yeah. Then what?

[Kathy McGraw]

The Bouncing Betty was in my room. There was some wire in the tool chest. And I knew that Carruthers always went to tidy up while the doctor was at dinner. So I waited until I saw him come out. And then I went in. And I looked around for a place to plant it out of sight. Then I saw the wastebasket full of paper. It was the perfect hiding place. The whole thing didn't take more than five minutes. But say something. Go on, say you hate me. Sis, please don't.

[Sam Spade]

Wish I'd been.

[Kathy McGraw]

Help me. Help me.

[Sam Spade]

I'm sorry, baby. I am sorry. I don't know how long we sat there. I held her in my arms until she cried herself out. Then we just looked at each other. I knew if I put it off another minute, I wouldn't call you at all, Dundee. So with my arms still around her, I reached for the phone. Homicide, Lieutenant Dundee. This is Sam Spade. Lieutenant Dundee.

[Kathy McGraw]

Hello.

[Sam Spade]

Hello.

[Kathy McGraw]

Give me that. Lieutenant, this is Captain McGraw. I wish to make a full confession in the murder of my stepmother.

[Sam Spade]

I walked out while she was still talking to you, Dundee. I knew she'd wait for you, and I didn't want to be there when you took her away. As I walked over to my office, everything she'd said kept coming back to me. I could see her sneaking into her brother's room and getting her contraption out of the cabinet. I could see her hiding behind the door until Carruthers came out after tidying up McGraw's office, dumping ashtrays, emptying waste baskets. And that's as far as I got. I went back to my office to wait, and sure enough, 20 minutes after the papers hit the streets with Kathy's confession, the door opened and he came in.

[Carruthers]

Well, sir, I believe it's turning a bit raw out of doors. Gardiner was saying only this morning that we should order out some shrouds for the sapphire gloss to see. No, Arthur. Am I discommoding you, sir?

[Sam Spade]

No, Carrathers. I've been waiting for you.

[Carruthers]

With your permission, sir. The ashtray.

[Sam Spade]

Just dump it in the wastebasket.

[Carruthers]

Well, I am gratified to note that your secretary has been looking after things and has emptied your waste paper basket as is right and proper.

[Sam Spade]

Quite.

[Carruthers]

Yes, darling. And speaking of waste paper.

[Sam Spade]

Allow me, Carruthers. You have come to apprise me of your part in the death of the late Dr. McGraw. Am I in error?

[Carruthers]

You've already divined my purpose, sir. Yes, it was I who placed that.

[Sam Spade]

Infernal machine in the wastebasket. Carruthers. Yes, I know.

[Carruthers]

It struck me as a bit of poetic justice that the buzzer which that dreadful man used as a symbol of its despotism should be the instrument of his own destruction.

[Sam Spade]

I'm sorry, Carruthers. I'll do all I can.

[Carruthers]

No need, sir, no need. I'm aware that there is no final justification for taking the law into one's own hands. Every man is entitled to trial by jury of his peers. But where, Mr. Spade? Where could be found 12 good men and true who would allow themselves to be called the peer of that monster, Dr. McGraw.

[Sam Spade]

Period, end of report.

[Kathy McGraw]

Damn. There must be some mistake.

[Sam Spade]

Mistake, Effie? Mistake?

[Kathy McGraw]

Well, the butler can't be guilty. That, that's old fashioned.

[Sam Spade]

He was an old fashioned butler. Sweetheart, where today can you get help like that? Somebody who empties the ashtrays, keeps the waste paper baskets clean, tidies up around the place.

[Kathy McGraw]

Well, I'd be only too happy to do the same for you, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

I know you would, though, considering what.

[Kathy McGraw]

Happened to Mr. Carruthers employer.

[Sam Spade]

Effie, you mustn't allow your mind to dwell on such matters.

[Kathy McGraw]

It's wicked, Sam who emptied an ashtray in that waste basket that I just finished cleaning out.

[Sam Spade]

Pay it no heed, sweetheart. I'll buy you a silent butler. I'll go tight that up.

[Kathy McGraw]

Sam. I hope I haven't made any mistakes. I'm in such a hurry.

[Sam Spade]

What? Whatever did you do to your hair?

[Kathy McGraw]

I brushed it out, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

What happened to the pin curls?

[Kathy McGraw]

I told you, Sam, when it was brushed out, it wouldn't be noticeable.

[Sam Spade]

Hours of torture sitting under a hot dry up is something nobody will notice.

[Kathy McGraw]

But dammit, it puts bounce in your whole makeup.

[Sam Spade]

I get it. The bouncing efficiepers. Oh, eyeshadow. New shade of lipstick. You look real gone.

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, no.

[Sam Spade]

Whom is it tonight?

[Kathy McGraw]

Well, it's this friend of Maude, Sam. Of course, she's not really serious about him. So it's all right you're conscious about. Oh, no, Sam. No, he. And he's. He's definitely not serious about her, I mean.

[Sam Spade]

Well, have fun, sweetheart, while Maud burns.

[Kathy McGraw]

Oh, well, she, she. She won't. I suppose you'll be seeing that girl, that. What was her name? Oh, yes, Kathy.

[Sam Spade]

Well, at least f I'm not playing in someone else's garden.

[Kathy McGraw]

No. Well, have fun anyway. Good night, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

Good night, sweetheart. The adventures of Sam Spade, Dashiell Hammett's famous private detective are produced and directed by William Spear. Sam Spade is played by Howard Dove Lorene Tuttle is Effie the Adventures of Sam Spade. Private Detective is a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service, the voice of information and education.