The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Quarter-Eagle Caper 11/28/1948

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Adventures of Sam Spade – "The Quarter-Eagle Caper" (Original Airdate: 11/28/1948)

Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives
Featured Detective: Sam Spade
Episode: The Quarter-Eagle Caper
Release Date (Podcast): September 20, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this classic episode, private detective Sam Spade investigates a bizarre string of vandalism targeting gumball machines. What appears to be a simple case of business sabotage quickly turns into a deadly treasure hunt for a rare and valuable gold coin—the "Quarter-Eagle." Amidst penny collectors, eccentric clients, and a trail of smashed gumball machines, Spade must untangle motives that include greed, desperation, and murder. The episode brims with witty banter, classic noir intrigue, and memorable moments typical of radio’s Golden Age.

---

Key Discussion Points & Plot Progression

---

1. The Gumball King’s Plight (01:17–04:20)

• Junius J. Eagle, owner of Eagle Vending Machine Company ("The Gumball King"), hires Sam Spade to investigate a wave of sabotage: 11 of his vending machines have been vandalized, with gum stolen rather than money.
• Eagle insists this is part of a concerted campaign to ruin his business, not just random theft.
  • “My competitors, Mr. Spade, are leaving no stone unturned in their contemptible campaign to drive me out of business.” – Eagle (02:37)
• Spade receives a list of machine locations and sets out to protect them.

---

2. Pennies, Gumballs, and Indian Heads (04:25–05:47)

• Spade’s secretary, Effie, reveals her hobby of collecting rare coins, hinting at the episode’s central object—hidden among the pennies, perhaps something of unique value lies waiting.
• Effie playfully muses:
  • “All those pennies. Indian head pennies are scarce, Sam. You have to go through a lot of pennies to find even one.” – Effie (05:09)

---

3. Surveillance and the Redhead with a Hatchet (06:04–07:36)

• Sam stakes out one target machine and, just before midnight, catches a woman (later identified as Thelma Darling) smashing the machine and collecting pennies and gumballs.
• She hurls a hatchet at Sam when caught, mistaking him for someone else.
  • “She went at it with the enthusiasm of Carrie Nation busting up a saloon.” – Sam (06:55)

---

4. The Black Pearl… or a Gold Coin? (07:39–10:02)

• Over drinks at a bar, Thelma confides in Sam: she’s searching for the “Black Pearl of Galila Bay,” believed to have been hidden in a gumball by mistake after being shown to Eagle—a task with life-and-death consequences for her brother.
  • “My brother brought it back from the South Pacific when he was in the war. When he went to prison, he gave it to me to keep for him.” – Thelma (08:46)
• Thelma’s story of gumballs and a missing pearl rings suspicious to Sam.

---

5. Murder at the Gumball King’s Mansion (10:21–12:41)

• Eagle, alarmed by Spade’s questions about the pearl and “Chiselhurst,” summons Sam to his home.
• Spade finds Eagle dying—stabbed, possibly with a hatchet—and a cryptic note: “Spade, quarter, eagle."
• The room is covered in pennies, a bookkeeper’s sheet stained with blood.
  • “The wound in the back of his neck could have been caused by a small hatchet. There was a bookkeeper's account sheet open across the desk and scrawled across the neat rows of figures, there were three words. Spade, quarter and eagle.” – Sam (11:35)

---

6. The Key to the Case: The Quarter Eagle (14:07–16:04)

• Maintenance man Higgins recounts his routine: collecting machines, swapping them, and leaving pennies for Eagle’s coin-collecting hobby.
  • Sam learns the maintenance man had recently switched the machine on Drum Street—the very machine Thelma had smashed.
  • _“I carry about four extra machines in the truck. When I go to fill a machine, I take one of the extras already filled out of the truck and trade for the empty...”—Higgins (15:49)
• Sam puzzles over the term “quarter eagle,” suspecting it’s more than just a clue.

---

7. Coin Dealers and Confessions (17:01–21:19)

• Spade places a classified ad referencing “quarter eagle,” drawing out a competitor and leading him to coin dealer Sergey Zacharias.
• Chiselhurst, acting as Thelma’s agent, explains:
  • A highly rare gold coin (the “Quarter Eagle”, $2.50 US gold piece, 1841) was accidentally dropped in a gumball machine during a mishap.
  • The coin’s extreme rarity means its value could be “several times $10,000”—and much more if its very existence disrupts the known coin population.
    • “The price last paid was $10,000…I think we may safely assume it would bring several times that amount in today's market. But only, mind you, if but two specimens, not three, are in existence.” – Chiselhurst (21:06)
• Chiselhurst admits the plan was to ransom the coin to the owners of the other two specimens.
• The motive: greed, deception, and deadly rivalry among coin dealers and collectors.

---

8. Murder Solved, Coin Found (22:48–25:21)

• Chiselhurst fingers his own associate, Merle, as Eagle's killer; after a brief scuffle, Spade subdues both and turns them over to police.

• All that's left is the matter of the missing coin.

  • “After I'd sprung you from the pokey, I got hold of Higgins and we went through every coin out of every Eagle gumball machine in the city of San Francisco. It couldn't happen, but it did. Your Quarter Eagle, shall we say? No place.” – Sam (24:17)

• In a comedic final twist, Effie presents Sam with a “joke” coin from the Drum Street machine.

  • After a double-take: it's no joke, but the actual lost quarter eagle—worth a fortune.
    • “It's cold. Really?” – Sam (25:11)
    • “Oh, look at it shine like the stars in your eyes, sweetheart.” – Sam (25:15)

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Junius J. Eagle, on sabotage:
  • “They are not only smashing my machines, they're making off with my gum.” (03:40)
• Effie’s comic obsession:
  • “My penny card, Sam. My new one, that is. I've already completed my Lincoln series and now I'm collecting Indian heads.” (04:33)
• Sam (dryly):
  • “Riddle me this, sweetheart. How does one detective guard 300 gumball machines scattered all over the city?” (05:27)
• Effie, on the coin:
  • “This money is counterfeit. It's joke money. It says two and one half dollars. You see where it should say one cent. Two and a half dollars.” (24:49)
  • Sam’s sudden realization: “A quarter eagle. ... It's gold. Really?” (25:11)

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:17] Introduction to Junius J. Eagle and the sabotage plot
• [04:25] Effie’s coin collecting subplot introduced
• [06:55] Thelma caught smashing gumball machine
• [08:42] Thelma explains the black pearl (real motive: the coin)
• [10:21] Sam receives urgent call from Eagle
• [11:35] Spade finds Eagle murdered, cryptic note left
• [14:07] Higgins explains gumball machine swapping system
• [17:01] Sam's classified ad yields a lead
• [21:06] Chiselhurst reveals the true value and rarity of the coin
• [22:48] Merle identified as the killer; both crooks apprehended
• [24:49-25:11] Effie discovers the “joke” coin is the real quarter eagle

---

Tone & Style

The episode features Sam Spade’s trademark combination of sardonic wit, hardboiled narration, and light flirtation with his secretary. The dialogue is sharp, playful, and laden with puns—especially around coinage and gumball machines. The mystery, though convoluted, is unraveled with a mixture of deductive prowess and luck, culminating in a classic radio drama twist that delivers both suspense and comedic payoff.

---

Ideal Listeners:
Fans of pulp detective stories, classic radio drama, and those who relish dry humor and intricate whodunit plots will enjoy this taut, witty episode of “The Adventures of Sam Spade.”

Transcript

[A]

Your message amplified.

[B]

Ready to share your message with the world? Start your podcast journey with Podbean.

[A]

Podbean.

[B]

Podbean.

[A]

Podbean.

[C]

Podbean.

[A]

The AI powered all in one podcast platform.

[D]

Thousands of businesses and enterprises trust Podbean to launch their podcasts.

[A]

Launch your podcast on podbean today.

[D]

My school uses Podbean.

[B]

My church too.

[A]

I love it. I really do.

[D]

Welcome to Choice Classic Radio, where we.

[E]

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 to Thelma Darling.

[C]

Last name Sam.

[E]

Roger Thelma Rogers Darling.

[C]

I only asked Sam.

[E]

Let's get on with it.

[C]

Yes, Sam, I'm sorry. From Samuel Spade, license number 137596. Subject.

[E]

Subject. The quarter eagle caper. Dear Thelma Darling.

[C]

Sam.

[E]

Yes, that isn't that redundant again.

[C]

Salutation, Sam. Shouldn't it be Dear Thelma or Thelma Darling, but not both?

[E]

Now get this F. It's real deep. Her name is Thelma Darling.

[C]

I have that. Dear Thelma Roger Darling.

[E]

It's a name. Her father was a darling before her.

[C]

Oh, really, Sam. Can't you take a joke on the egg type?

[E]

You should taste the label. Grade AA Fresh. Dear Thelma Darling. I'm stubborn. Not all of this will be news to you. The part that is will be bad news. The start of it was not a quarter eagle, but a bald eagle. He swooped in through the door of my office, landed in front of my desk, perched on the edge of a.

[D]

Chair and said, my name is Eagle, Mr. Spade. Junius J. Eagle. My card.

[E]

Uh huh. Eagle Vending Machine Company.

[D]

And they call me the Gumball King. I'm proud of it. Care to join me in a ball, sir?

[E]

Not while I'm on duty.

[D]

Ah, that's very good. Our new avocado flavor. Yes. I've kept the Bay area chewing for 20 years and I will not be swerved for my purpose.

[E]

Bully.

[D]

I intend to fight them tooth and nail, hammer and tongs, to the last ditch.

[E]

Bravo.

[D]

But I'll need help. That's why I've come to you. My competitors, Mr. Spade, are leaving no stone unturned in their contemptible campaign to drive me out of business. Now they've resorted to outright sabotage. In short, they have hired hoodlums to destroy my gumball machines. They've already smashed 11, and they won't be content until they've demolished my entire equipment.

[E]

Sounds like a police case to me.

[D]

Mr. Higgin, I've been to the police. No, they don't understand my problem. Gave me a lot of double talk about juvenile delinquents. Ha. My foot. Cutthroat competition.

[E]

You're sure of that?

[D]

What would you think if theft were their motive? They most certainly would steal the pennies from the machines. But what do they take? My gumballs. And why do they do that?

[E]

I'll buy it.

[D]

Oh, by all means. Oh, here, try this. It's our best seller. In Chinatown we call it Sub Gum. Better not.

[E]

I have to drive. Later.

[D]

Now, I had the foresight to buy up a three year supply of chewing gum at non inflation prices.

[E]

So I see.

[D]

Now you can see with what thoroughness they encompass my ruination. They are not only smashing my machines, they're making off with my gum.

[E]

And you want me to try and stop them.

[D]

No, I do not. No, I want you to catch them in the act and find out who is paying them.

[E]

Well, okay, Mr. Eagle, I'll see what I can do.

[D]

Good, good. Now in this envelope is a list of my machines and their exact locations. Together with a check for your retainer.

[E]

Thank you, Mr. Eagle. I'll keep in touch with you. Oh, Mr. Eagle, I meant to ask you. How many of these gun machines do you operate here in town?

[D]

300. And guard them well.

[E]

300. 300 nuts.

[C]

300 nuts, Sam.

[E]

No, 300 gums. Gumball machines.

[C]

Sam. Isn't it wonderful you took this job? I mean, because of my penny card.

[E]

I'm sorry if I wasn't listening.

[C]

My penny card, Sam. My new one, that is. I've already completed my Lincoln series and now I'm collecting Indian heads.

[E]

Scalps.

[C]

No, Sam, pennies. See, this is the card. And these little slots, you see right there, that's where you put the pennies. And they're classified according to the date and the mint where they're manufactured. Now you see, Sam, See where the little S is on these? Now that's for the San Francisco men. And the D, that's for Denver. And the ones with nothing, that's the.

[E]

Washington D.C. yeah, well, it's a very nice hobby. Pardon me? 300 gumball machines.

[C]

You see, that's what I had in mind, Sam. All those pennies. Indian head pennies are scare, Sam. You have to go through a lot of pennies to find even one. Honestly, sometimes when I go past one of those penny machines, that's all I can do.

[E]

Oh, f. This is all right between you and me, but don't ever mention your hobby to Mr. Eagle?

[C]

No, no, I won't.

[E]

Riddle me this, sweetheart. How does one detective guard 300 gumball machines scattered all over the city?

[C]

Well, if they're going to smash all of them, you could just pick out one in the middle and it's somewhere and wait.

[E]

No good. If it's an organized plan to sabotage, there might be some pattern. You seem to have given us some thought though, Effie. How would you pick them in the.

[C]

Busy places where they'd have more pennies?

[E]

But they're not after the pennies.

[D]

They take the gum.

[C]

Well, then maybe the quiet sections where they don't sell much gum.

[E]

Well, they've knocked over 11 so far. Here, there and everywhere. Busy spots, dead spots. No pattern at all. You know, Effie, maybe I've bitten off more than I can chew. I wasn't sold on Mr. Eagle's theory that the caper was organized sabotage, but I decided to test it out anyway. I learned the operation did follow a pattern. Unless it was coincidence that the 11 machines knocked over the previous night were the same 11 machines that had been refilled that afternoon. I checked with the Eagle Company's maintenance man and learned that only five had been refilled today. I picked the one that looked like the easiest to knock over over. It was the one in the doorway of a darkened loft building near the Seamen's hiring Hall on Drum Street. At 9 in the p.m. i strolled down there. The block was deserted. I took a plant in the adjacent doorway and talked to myself just before midnight. And I shut up. My heart skipped the beat as she passed under the light red hair. My secretary. Then I noticed how she was dressed. Not on the salary I paired. She paused before the gun machine, opened a large handbag, stripped off her long black gloves, dropped them in her purse and took out a small Boy Scout type hatchet. She went at it with the enthusiasm of Carrie Nation busting up a saloon. I edged around the doorway as she bent over the mess of pennies and gumballs at her feet. When she reached out her hand, I took one more step and that was all. She was up on her feet, facing me, and I saw that hatchet sailing through the air straight at me. Hey.

[C]

Now see what you've done?

[E]

Ye. I'm sorry. I won't let it happen again. I hope.

[C]

Well, don't just stand there. Let's get out of here. That noise, it'll bring the police down on us.

[E]

Yeah, you're right. No, not that way. The alley. And that's how I met you, Thelma, darling. Pausing only to pick up an Indian head penny for luck, I escorted you through the alley to Washington, up Washington Salon, jogged through Front street and followed back to Market, where we entered the Happy Hour Bar and Grill by way of the kitchen. You proceeded unfalteringly to the darkest booth. We sat down and caught our bread. You ordered a Pirate's Dream. By the way, I did get that recipe. Lime juice, grenadine, passion fruit, a sprig of mint and six jiggers of rum. After two swallows, I heard myself saying, now aren't you ashamed of yourself?

[C]

But, Sam, why should I be? After what I've been through, I think I deserve a drink.

[E]

I didn't mean that. I meant throwing that hatchet at me.

[C]

I thought you were Merle.

[E]

Who's Merle?

[C]

Why, he works for Mr. Chislehurst.

[E]

Yeah, that figures. Now tell me who Mr. Chislehurst is. Not who he works for, just who he is.

[C]

He was acting as my agent for the sale of the Pearl.

[E]

Well, natch, natch. Look, please don't make me say what pearl?

[C]

It's called the Black Pearl of Galila Bay. My brother brought it back from the South Pacific when he was in the war. When he went to prison, he gave it to me to keep for him.

[E]

So you decided to sell it?

[C]

I had no choice. I needed the money desperately to finance his appeal. It comes up next week. If I don't get that pearl back, I don't know what I'll do. You've got to help me.

[E]

What makes you think it's in a gumball machine?

[C]

Mr. Chiselhurst took the pearl to show to a man named Junius Eagle. And that's when it disappeared. Mr. Eagle decided not to buy. And when Mr. Chiselhurst returned to the.

[E]

Hotel, Eagle had palmed the pearl and substituted a ball of blackjack gum. Then what?

[C]

Mr. Chiselhurst had Merle follow him. Nothing happened the first two days, but day before yesterday, he followed him to his warehouse and saw him drop a fish single ball of gum into a barrel of them that was waiting to be loaded onto a truck. The pearl must have been hidden in it. Why else would he do a thing like that?

[E]

Uh huh. He would put a valuable pearl in a machine where anybody could buy it for a penny.

[C]

I suppose it'd be safe for a few days. I don't know how these machines work. Well, now you know why I had to break those machines. You don't believe me. What are you gonna do?

[E]

Check the psycho wards and find out which one you escaped from. Hello, Mr. Eagle speaking. Spade.

[D]

Oh, yeah, I just got in. I've been out making my monthly collection. Hey, I want to talk to you. You're falling down on my job. Another of my machines.

[E]

Yeah, I know Drum Street. I nailed the hoodlum.

[D]

Ah. Who's he working for?

[E]

Let me ask you one. Did a man named Chiselhurst ever try to sell you a black pearl? Hello? You still on the line? You stopped chewing.

[D]

Yes. I think you better come over to my house right away. Hello?

[E]

Hello? Nuts. When I came out of the phone booth, I wasn't surprised to find that you had flown the coop. Darling, if I may call you by your last name. But I was surprised at what I found at my client's house. I rang the front doorbell and waited. Nothing happened. Then through the glass door, I saw a man rush out on a landing at the top of the stairs. He half ran, half stumbled down a long flight to the entrance hall, yanked open the door and tried to shove past me.

[D]

I grabbed him. Get out of my way.

[E]

Wait a minute.

[D]

Let go. I gotta get a doctor.

[E]

You're bleeding.

[D]

No, no, no. Not me. I've gotta get a doctor.

[E]

Why don't you phone?

[D]

They rip the wires out. Now let go or it'll be your fault if he dies.

[E]

I memorized his mug, lifted his wallet as we unclenched and let him go. On the way upstairs, I checked his ID cards. Higgins, Morris L. Employer. Eagle Vending machine Company. Occupation, maintenance supervisor. On the floor of a room at the top of the stairs was quite a sight. The floor of the room was covered almost completely with pennies. In the middle of it, sprawled forward like a miser who had been attacked while counting his hoard was Junius J. Eagle. The wound in the back of his neck could have been caused by a small hatchet. There was a bookkeeper's account sheet open across the desk and scrawled across the neat rows of figures, there were three words. Spade, quarter and eagle. The United States Armed Forces Radio Service is presenting the weekly adventure of Dashiell Hammett's famous private detective, Sam Spade.

[A]

Podbean. Your message amplified.

[B]

Ready to share your message with the world? Start your podcast journey with Podbean.

[A]

Podbean, the AI powered all in one podcast platform.

[D]

Thousands of businesses and enterprises trust Podbean to launch their podcasts.

[A]

Use Podbean to record your podcast.

[B]

Use PodBean AI to optimize your podcast.

[A]

Use PodBean AI to turn your blog into a podcast.

[B]

Use Podbean to distribute your podcast everywhere.

[A]

Launch your podcast on Podbean.

[D]

Today.

[A]

When it's time to scale your business, it's time for Shopify. Get everything you need to grow the way you want. Like all the way. Stack more sales with the best converting checkout on the planet. Track your cha chings from every channel right in one spot. And turn real time reporting into big time opportunities. Take your business to a whole new level. Switch to Shopify. Start your free trial today.

[E]

And now back to the Quarter Eagle caper. Tonight's adventure with Sam Spade. That you, Higgins?

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[E]

Save yourself the trip upstairs. There's nothing you can do for him.

[D]

Oh, dead, huh?

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

Well, I guess he won't need that doctor I called.

[E]

We can use one anyway. Did you tell the doc Eagle had been stabbed?

[D]

Yeah, sure, sure I did.

[E]

Yeah, that means the law will come with him or ahead of him.

[D]

But I don't get it. He must have been killed for the money. But why didn't they take the pennies?

[E]

They should have. It looked better for you if they had.

[D]

You're that detective he hired, huh?

[E]

That's right. Now look, Higgins, we haven't got much time. If you want to find out who killed your boss, spill everything you know to me now before the cops get here. Because they're going to hold you. And they'll hold me too, if they find me.

[D]

But I don't know a thing. Spade. I just found him like that.

[E]

How did you get in the house?

[D]

I have a key. He gave me one. So when I came here to pick up the pennies, he wouldn't have to come all the way down to let me in.

[E]

For now, tell the cops the door was open. Did he always collect the pennies from the machines himself?

[D]

Yeah, yeah, he was a coin collector. As a hobby, he liked to go through them and save out the odd ones.

[E]

You always pick up the money at.

[D]

1 in the a.m. oh, no, no. He called me tonight a little past midnight and he asked me to come right over. Hey, look, look, you got to believe that.

[E]

I do. He said the same thing to me. What do you know about a man named Chiselhurst?

[D]

Chisel? Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute. That's the name of the guy that ran into my truck yesterday. Coming down the California incline near Grant. He slammed right into the rear of my truck. I tangled with his chauffeur.

[E]

Some punk kid named Merle.

[D]

Yes. Yeah, that's what they called him. And there was a dame in the car too. A redhead.

[E]

Any report on the accident?

[D]

No, no, the cop took it down on the beat. There. There Wasn't no damage.

[E]

Sounds like we haven't got much more time here. What exactly happened the night the first gun machine on your route was smashed up? Come on.

[D]

First off, I went to a bowling alley on Turk street and removed our machine there. It was discontinued.

[E]

Wait a minute. Where did you take it? Back to the shop.

[D]

Wait a second. I got it here in my book.

[E]

Come on, come on.

[D]

All right, I'm hur. Here it is. 11864. No, no. I exchanged it for an out of order down on Drum Street.

[E]

Did you leave the pennies in it?

[D]

Oh, sure, sure. They only get collected once a month.

[E]

How much gum was in it?

[D]

About half full. I didn't refill it until today.

[E]

Yeah. What's your system on the refill operation?

[D]

I carry about four extra machines in the truck. When I go to fill a machine, I take one of the extras already filled out of the truck and trade for the empty. Then I fill the empty one in the truck, and that saves me from carrying the bag around. Now, is there anything else I can tell you?

[E]

Yeah. Huh? Does quarter eagle mean anything to you?

[D]

No. No?

[E]

Okay. Now, where's the back door? That quarter eagle. What was it? Was it a wrestling hole like the half mouse? I thought of asking Effie, but I was afraid she'd know. I was sure that if I could find Chisel Hurst, I could get all the answers at once. That collision between his car and the rear end of Higgins truck was a good lead in more ways than one. It meant that at least part of your story, darling, was true. But you neglected to tell me that you, Chiselhurst and Merle have been tailing Higgins. Appointed rounds of the gun ball machine. I checked the police report on the accident. The car was registered in Great Britain. The report said transient, no local address. And so the bed. I dreamed it was next Thanksgiving and I was eating a roast of quarter eagle. Then it turned into crow.

[C]

Good morning, sir. Do you wish to place a classified ad?

[E]

Uh, good. Good morning to you, madam. Indeed I do.

[C]

Kindly write it on this blank.

[E]

Kindly read it off this blank.

[C]

Water eagle. Interested party Supply Sam Spade, Sutter 337596.

[E]

That's right.

[C]

That's nine words, sir. I'll have to charge you for three lines anyway. Anything you'd like to add?

[E]

Yes, but it's not fit the print. Barney's Bainry.

[D]

Mr. St. Yeah. You got it for sale. The quarter eagle.

[E]

Who's speaking?

[D]

I am speaking. Sergey Zacharias.

[E]

Zacharias.

[D]

You are new, Ms. Matisse?

[E]

No, this is Mr. Spade himself. Look, I'd like to talk to you personally. Where can I reach you? Oh, I am by my shop.

[D]

Tudor, from Belvedere coffee shop on O' Farrell Street.

[E]

Okay, Mr. Zacharias. I'll be right over.

[C]

Wait a moment. I gotta talk to you.

[E]

Why don't you do more talking Last night my client might be alive if you had.

[C]

Oh, it's terrible. But how could I have known you.

[E]

Knew about the queen? Why did you spend that yarn about the pearl?

[C]

How did you find out about it?

[E]

Dead men sometimes do tell tales.

[C]

Surely you don't think that I had anything to do with that.

[E]

He was only hacked to death with a hatchet like the one you threw at me. That makes you look fine.

[C]

All right, I killed him if that'll make you listen to me. Sam, don't go into that shop.

[E]

Please don't.

[C]

Soup, you don't know that man Zacharias. He's the cause of all our troubles.

[E]

You mean he sold you that hatchet?

[C]

Sam, please quit clawing me.

[E]

Let go.

[C]

I won't allow you to go in there. I won't. I won't.

[D]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. What's going on here? What's the occasion of the squabble? Oh, well. No, it's Mr. Spade.

[E]

Yeah, Clancy. This dame here just tried to pick my.

[D]

My pocket. Pick Pocket, is it? Glory being such a pretty one too.

[E]

Never mind that, Clancy. Just have it locked up. I'll be down later to prefer charges. Hello? Anybody home? Okay, Shamas, just keep on walking straight through the back room. One move and I rip you wide open. Yeah, better not, Merle. Your boss might not like that. Smart guy. Knows everybody's name.

[D]

Ah, my dear sir, a most propitious meeting. You. You've brought the Quarter Eagle.

[E]

Where's Zacharias?

[D]

He's resting at the moment, in yonder closet. Oh, no, no, no, not dead. Merely under restraint. Bound and gagged. A necessary precaution. Well, shall we talk turkey? Or rather, Eagle, tell your punk to.

[E]

Take that knife out of my ribs. Who's a punk?

[D]

Now, now, now, Merle. There's been quite enough violence.

[E]

Check. I think I'll take that knife. Leave it there. Now sit down.

[D]

Headstrong boy. Now, as to the Quarter Eagle, I'm willing to pay a reasonable reward for its recovery. But first I must tell you that Miss Darling, for whom I'm acting as agent for the sale of the coin, is indeed the legal owner, despite anything Mr. Zacharias may have told you to the contrary. What Would you say to $500?

[E]

I would say. No dice. 1000, I would say. I'm still listening, sir.

[D]

You. You seem to exaggerate the value of that tiny gold piece.

[E]

It was worth one human life to somebody. That sounds like more than a thousand bucks to me.

[D]

You may find the market valuation of that particular mintage of the quarter eagle in my coin catalogue. $10,000. But, sir, that valuation is based upon the mistaken belief that there were only two in existence. It was while rummaging in her grandmother's attic that Ms. Darling came up on a third. When she brought it to me, I could scarcely credit it. It was matter of official record. The two specimens had been stamped out when the die broke. And then it came to me. There must have been a third, namely the coin which was in that rude stamping press when the die broke. Closer examination of the quarter eagle now in your possession revealed certain markings. Some defective feathers in the war bonnet on the obverse and a cleavage in the numeral 4 of the date 1841.

[E]

Yeah, yeah, all right. So how much is it worth?

[D]

Well, as I say, the price Last paid was 10,000. I think we may safely assume it would bring several times that amount in today's market. But only, mind you, if but two specimens, not three, are in existence.

[E]

So you decided it would be more profitable to clam up about it and see what the owners of the other two coins would pay to keep this one off the market.

[D]

Precisely, sir.

[E]

How did it get in that gun machine?

[D]

Ah, therein lies a tale.

[E]

Keep it short, will you? I'm getting hungry.

[D]

Well, sir, I brought the quarter eagle for Mr. Zacharias.

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

Who was acting as agent for the owner of the other two coins. An Australian sheep herder, I believe. Retired now.

[E]

Yes. I'm glad.

[D]

Well, not to put too fine a point on it, Mr. Zacharias offer was so poor that I took umbrage.

[E]

Oh, you didn't.

[D]

I gave him a caning and left the premises.

[E]

Really?

[D]

But I'd gone no farther than half a league up Turk street when I became aware that two ruffians were sculpting at my heels.

[E]

No.

[D]

Sent, I had no doubt, by Mr. Zacharias to rob me of the quarter Evil.

[E]

Egad, sir.

[D]

Precisely. Knowing full well that they would not dare to strike in a populous, well lighted resort, I entered a bowling alley at the corner of Hyde Street. No pun intended.

[E]

Thank you for that, sir.

[D]

But there upon the wall, I spied a penny vending machine and the word eagle caught my eye. Association of ideas.

[E]

No doubt, no doubt.

[D]

But that, sir, is how I came to put the quarter eagle into Mr. Eagle's gum machine.

[E]

Yes, I think I can take it from there. When you went back, the machine had been taken out by the Eagle Company's maintenance man, right?

[C]

Quite.

[D]

I caught him in the very act of removing the machine and followed him out of the building.

[E]

Yeah, but then you lost track of the machine. I found out why. Never mind that now. What I want to know is who followed Mr. Eagle home the night he was killed?

[D]

I'd rather not say.

[E]

Then all bids are off.

[D]

One moment. Mr. Spade.

[E]

Yeah?

[D]

Am I to infer that your price for the Quarter Eagle necessarily includes bringing the murderer to justice?

[E]

Just that, Mr. Chislehurst.

[D]

Well, I suppose there's nothing for it but to make the supreme sacrifice. Merle. Me? You double crossing pig. Now, Merle, you know perfectly well you did away with poor Mr. Eagle. Shut up. I'll cut you to pieces. Gross insubordination. You deliberately exceeded your instructions. I wanted you to apply only sufficient violence to recover the coin. Instead you seized the opportunity to satisfy your nauseating bloodlust. Really, Ma. Cut you to pieces. I'll cut you to pieces. All right, drop.

[E]

Now drop that shim, Merle. Night. Happy punk.

[D]

That was the near thing, sir. The base and gratitude of that boy. Oh, well, what's done is done. When may I expect delivery of the Quarter Eagle?

[E]

I couldn't answer him. To cover my embarrassment, I gagged him, manacled in the Merle and delivered the package marked one murderer, one accessory to the dumbfounded minions of the law. And that, Thelma, darling, I regret to inform you, is still the crop. After I'd sprung you from the pokey, I got hold of Higgins and we went through every coin out of every Eagle gumball machine in the city of San Francisco. It couldn't happen, but it did. Your Quarter Eagle, shall we say? No place.

[D]

Period.

[E]

End of report.

[C]

Say, I'm disappointed in you.

[E]

Well, so am I, sweetheart.

[C]

But I'll forgive you if you found even one Indian Head penny from my penny card.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[E]

Just one from that machine on Drum street, please.

[C]

Oh, Sam.

[E]

There you are, sweetheart.

[C]

Oh, thank you.

[E]

And it's an old one, no older than I feel. Go type that up.

[D]

Sam.

[C]

This money is counterfeit.

[E]

Are you sure?

[C]

It's joke money. It says two and one half dollars. You see where it should say one cent. Two and a half dollars.

[E]

Let me see that. Two and a half dollars. If an eagle is a ten dollar gold piece, what is a two and a half dollar gold piece.

[C]

Let me see. Five dollars would be half, Sam.

[D]

Right.

[E]

A quarter eagle. Yeah, that's just dirt on it. See? It's cold. Really?

[C]

Oh, look at it shine like the.

[E]

Stars in your eyes, sweetheart.

[C]

Oh, you darling. Good night, Sam.

[E]

Good night. The adventures of Sam Spade, Dashiell Hammett's famous private detective, are produced and directed by William Speer. Sam Spade is played by Howard Duff. Lorene Tuttle is Effie. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service, the voice of infrastructure, information and education.