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

Summary

The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Quarter Eagle Caper

Choice Classic Radio presents an enthralling episode from the Golden Age of Radio, featuring the legendary private detective Sam Spade in "The Quarter Eagle Caper." This detailed summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting key plot developments, character interactions, and pivotal moments, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps to provide a comprehensive overview for both longtime fans and newcomers alike.

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Introduction

The episode opens with Sam Spade receiving a peculiar case from Junius J. Eagle, the so-called "Gumball King," owner of the Eagle Vending Machine Company. Eagle is distressed over a series of sabotage incidents targeting his gumball machines, which are not merely being destroyed but are having their gumballs stolen. This unusual form of vandalism prompts Eagle to seek Spade's expertise.

Investigation Begins

Junius J. Eagle approaches Sam Spade with a pressing problem. At [02:12], Eagle explains the situation:

Junius J. Eagle: "Our new avocado flavor. Yes, I've kept the Bay area chewing for 20 years and I will not be swerved for my purpose."

Eagle details how competitors have escalated their tactics from mere aggression to outright sabotage, smashing and stealing from his vending machines. He provides Spade with a list of machine locations and a retainer, entrusting him to uncover who is behind these destructive acts.

Notable Quote:

Sam Spade: "It sounds like a police case to me, Mr. Eagle." [02:36]

Despite Eagle's initial skepticism about involving the police, Spade takes on the case, determined to solve the mystery.

Encounter with Thelma Darling

As Spade delves deeper, he is assisted by Effie, who introduces a personal subplot involving her hobby of collecting penny cards. This subplot adds depth to the narrative, showcasing Spade's interactions beyond the central mystery.

Spade's investigation leads him to a darkened loft building near the Seamen's Hiring Hall on Drum Street. There, at [04:35], he recounts a tense encounter:

Spade: "Just before midnight, I shut up. My heart skipped the beat as she passed under the light—red hair. My secretary."

This confrontation with Thelma Darling reveals her connection to a rare coin, the Black Pearl of Galila Bay, which her brother entrusted to her before his imprisonment. Thelma seeks Spade's help to recover the pearl, which she believes has been smuggled into a gumball machine by Mr. Chiselhurst.

Notable Quote:

Thelma Darling: "It's called the Black Pearl of Galila Bay. My brother brought it back from the South Pacific when he was in the war." [08:18]

Uncovering the Mystery

Spade's investigation uncovers a complex web involving Chiselhurst and a man named Junius J. Eagle. Through meticulous observation and deductive reasoning, Spade identifies a pattern in the sabotage incidents, realizing they coincide with the machines being refilled. This leads him to connect the theft of gum to the concealment of the valuable quarter eagle coin.

At [10:01], Spade confronts Chiselhurst over the phone:

Chiselhurst: "Yes, I think you better come over to my house right away."

The plot thickens as Spade discovers that Chiselhurst orchestrated the sabotage to recover the rare coin, placing it strategically within the gumball machines to disguise its presence.

Final Confrontation

The climax unfolds at [17:52] when Spade confronts Chiselhurst and his accomplice, Merle, in a hidden back room. The tension escalates as Chiselhurst reveals his true intentions:

Chiselhurst: "You've brought the Quarter Eagle." [17:57]

A heated exchange ensues, leading to a physical altercation where Spade manages to overpower Chiselhurst, securing the quarter eagle and ensuring justice is served.

Notable Quote:

Sam Spade: "I cut you to pieces. I've cut you to pieces, all right, now drop the shiv." [21:59]

Conclusion

In the aftermath, Spade reveals to Thelma Darling that the quarter eagle remains missing, indicating perhaps a larger conspiracy at play. Meanwhile, Effie discovers counterfeit money in her penny collection, adding a humorous twist to the episode's resolution.

Spade concludes his report, reflecting on the complexities of the case:

Sam Spade: "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 is, shall we say, no place. Period. End of report." [23:01]

Character Development and Subplots

Throughout the episode, the interplay between Sam Spade and Effie adds a layer of personal dynamics to the narrative. Effie's passion for penny collecting serves as both a subplot and a means to showcase Spade's human side, balancing the tension of the main mystery.

Notable Interaction:

Effie: "Isn't it wonderful you took this job, I mean, because of my penny card." [04:43]

This relationship underscores Spade's multifaceted character, adept at both professional investigation and personal relationships.

Themes and Insights

"The Quarter Eagle Caper" weaves themes of obsession, integrity, and the intricate dance between legality and moral righteousness. Spade's relentless pursuit of the truth, even when it leads to unexpected complications, highlights his unwavering dedication to justice.

Conclusion

Choice Classic Radio's rendition of "The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Quarter Eagle Caper" masterfully blends suspense, character development, and intricate plotting. Through Spade's keen detective work and the intertwined lives of those he encounters, the episode offers listeners a captivating glimpse into the classic detective saga, enriched with memorable dialogues and timeless intrigue.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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.

[Sam Spade]

To Thelma Darling.

[Effie]

Last name Sam.

[Sam Spade]

Roger Thelma Roger Darling.

[Effie]

I only asked Sam.

[Sam Spade]

Let's get on with it.

[Effie]

Yes, Sam, I'm sorry. From Samuel Spade, license number 127596. Subject.

[Sam Spade]

Subject. The quarter eagle caper. Dear Thelma Darling.

[Effie]

Sandy.

[Sam Spade]

Yes. That isn't that redundant again.

[Effie]

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

[Sam Spade]

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

[Effie]

I have that. Dear Thelma Roger Darling.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Thelma Darling]

Oh, really, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

Can't you take a joke on the egg type? You should paste a 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.

[Junius J. Eagle]

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

[Sam Spade]

Eagle Vending Machine Company.

[Junius J. Eagle]

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

[Sam Spade]

Not while I'm on duty.

[Junius J. Eagle]

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.

[Sam Spade]

Bully.

[Junius J. Eagle]

I intend to fight them tooth and nail and tong to the last ditch.

[Sam Spade]

Bravo.

[Junius J. Eagle]

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 have 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 demolish my entire equipment.

[Sam Spade]

It sounds like a police case to me, Mr. Higel.

[Junius J. Eagle]

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.

[Sam Spade]

You're sure? Then what would you think?

[Junius J. Eagle]

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?

[Sam Spade]

I'll buy It?

[Junius J. Eagle]

Oh, by all means. Oh, here, buy this.

[Sam Spade]

It's our best seller.

[Junius J. Eagle]

In Chinatown we call it Sub Gum.

[Sam Spade]

Better not. I have to drive later.

[Junius J. Eagle]

No, I had the foresight to buy up a three year supply of chewing gum at non inflation prices.

[Sam Spade]

So I see.

[Junius J. Eagle]

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.

[Sam Spade]

And you want me to try and stop them.

[Junius J. Eagle]

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

[Sam Spade]

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

[Junius J. Eagle]

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

[Sam Spade]

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? 300.

[Junius J. Eagle]

And guard them well.

[Sam Spade]

300. 300 nuts.

[Effie]

300 nuts, James.

[Sam Spade]

No, 300 gums. Gumball machine.

[Effie]

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

[Sam Spade]

I'm sorry if I wasn't listening.

[Effie]

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

[Sam Spade]

Scalps.

[Effie]

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 for.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Effie]

You see, that's what I had in mind, Sam. All those pennies Indian had. Pennies are scarce. Then 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.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Effie]

No, no, I won't.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Effie]

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

[Sam Spade]

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

[Effie]

Busy places where they'd have more pennies.

[Sam Spade]

But they're not after the pennies. They take the gum.

[Effie]

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

[Sam Spade]

Well, they've knocked over 11 so far. Here, there and everywhere. Busy spots, dead spots. No pattern at all. Well, 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. 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, 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 paid. She paused before the gum 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 Perry 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. And I saw that hatchet sailing through the air, straight at me.

[Higgins]

Hey.

[Thelma Darling]

Now see what you've done?

[Sam Spade]

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

[Thelma Darling]

Well, don't just stand there. Let's get out of here.

[Effie]

That noise.

[Thelma Darling]

That'll bring the police down on us.

[Sam Spade]

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 breath. 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, hey, now, aren't you ashamed of yourself?

[Thelma Darling]

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

[Sam Spade]

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

[Thelma Darling]

I thought you were Merle.

[Sam Spade]

Who's Merle?

[Thelma Darling]

Why, he works for Mr. Chiselhurst.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Thelma Darling]

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

[Sam Spade]

Well, Match. Match. Now, look, please don't make me say what pearl.

[Thelma Darling]

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 and gave it to me to keep for him.

[Sam Spade]

So you decided to sell it?

[Thelma Darling]

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.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Thelma Darling]

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.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Thelma Darling]

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 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?

[Sam Spade]

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

[Thelma Darling]

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?

[Sam Spade]

Check the psycho wards and find out which one you escaped from. Hello? Mr. Eagle speaking. Spade? Oh, yeah, I just got in.

[Junius J. Eagle]

I. 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?

[Sam Spade]

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

[Higgins]

Ah.

[Junius J. Eagle]

Who was he working for?

[Sam Spade]

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

[Junius J. Eagle]

Yes. I think you better come over to my house right Away.

[Sam Spade]

Hello? 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 the long flight to the entrance hall, yanked open the door and tried to shove past me. I grabbed him.

[Chiselhurst]

Get out of my way.

[Sam Spade]

Wait a minute.

[Thelma Darling]

Let's go.

[Higgins]

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

[Sam Spade]

Why don't you phone?

[Higgins]

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

[Sam Spade]

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 horde 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. And now back to the Quarter Eagle paper. Tonight's adventure with Sam Spade. That's you, Higgins. Yeah, yeah. Save yourself the trip upstairs. There's nothing you can do for him.

[Higgins]

Oh, dead, huh?

[Sam Spade]

Yeah.

[Higgins]

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

[Sam Spade]

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

[Junius J. Eagle]

Yeah, sure. Sure, I did.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Higgins]

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

[Sam Spade]

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

[Higgins]

You're that detective he hired, huh?

[Sam Spade]

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.

[Higgins]

But I don't know a thing.

[Sam Spade]

State.

[Higgins]

I just found him like that.

[Sam Spade]

How did you get in the house?

[Higgins]

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.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Higgins]

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

[Sam Spade]

You always pick up the money at 1 in the a.m. oh, no, no.

[Higgins]

He called me tonight a little past midnight and he asked me to come ride over. Hey, look, look.

[Chiselhurst]

You gotta believe that.

[Sam Spade]

I do. He said the same thing to me. What do you know about a man named Chiselhurst? Chisel. Hey, wait a minute.

[Chiselhurst]

Wait a minute.

[Higgins]

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.

[Sam Spade]

Some punk kid named Merle.

[Higgins]

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

[Sam Spade]

A redhead. Any report on the accident?

[Higgins]

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

[Sam Spade]

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

[Higgins]

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

[Sam Spade]

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

[Higgins]

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

[Sam Spade]

Come on, come on.

[Higgins]

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

[Sam Spade]

Did you leave the pennies in it?

[Junius J. Eagle]

Oh, sure, sure.

[Higgins]

They only get collected once a month.

[Sam Spade]

How much gum was in it? About half full.

[Higgins]

I didn't refill it until today.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Higgins]

I carry about four extra machines in the truck.

[Sam Spade]

When I go to fill a machine.

[Higgins]

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?

[Sam Spade]

Yeah. Does a quarter eagle mean anything to you?

[Higgins]

No.

[Sam Spade]

No. Okay. Now, where's the back? Do 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 Chislehurst. 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, Chislehurst 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 to bed I drained. It was next Thanksgiving and I was eating a roast of Quarter eagle. Then it turned into crow.

[Zacharias]

Good morning, sir. Do you wish to pay for classified ads?

[Sam Spade]

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

[Zacharias]

Kindly write it on this blank.

[Sam Spade]

Kindly read it off this blank.

[Zacharias]

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

[Sam Spade]

That's right.

[Zacharias]

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

[Sam Spade]

Yes, but it's not fit to print. Why is B. Mr. Spay? Yeah, you got it for sale.

[Higgins]

The Quarter Eagle.

[Sam Spade]

Who's speaking?

[Higgins]

I am speaking.

[Sam Spade]

Sergey Zacharias. Zacharias? You are numismatic? No, this is Mr. Spade himself. Look, I'd like to talk to you personally. Where can I reach you?

[Higgins]

Oh, I am by my shop, Tudor.

[Sam Spade]

From Velvety Coffee Shop on the. Okay, Mr. Zacharias. I'll be right over.

[Effie]

Sam. Sam, wait a moment.

[Thelma Darling]

I gotta talk to you.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Thelma Darling]

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

[Sam Spade]

Knew about the Quarter Eagle? Why did you spend that yarn about the pearl?

[Thelma Darling]

How did you find out about it?

[Sam Spade]

Dead men sometimes do tell tales.

[Thelma Darling]

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

[Sam Spade]

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

[Thelma Darling]

All right, I killed him. If that'll make you listen to me. Sam, don't go into that shop, please. You don't know that man, Zacharias. He's the cause of all our troubles.

[Sam Spade]

You mean he sold you that hatchet?

[Effie]

Sam, please quit cling me.

[Sam Spade]

Let go.

[Thelma Darling]

I won't allow you to go in there.

[Sam Spade]

I won't, I won't. Wait a minute.

[Higgins]

Wait a minute.

[Sam Spade]

Wait a minute.

[Higgins]

What's going on here?

[Sam Spade]

What's the occasion of the squabble?

[Higgins]

Oh, well, no, it's Mr. Spade.

[Sam Spade]

Yeah, Clancy. This dame here. Just trying to pick my pocket. Pick pocket. Is it love? It Being such a pretty one too. Never mind that, Clancy. Just have it locked up. I'll be down later. The preferred charges. Hello? Anybody home? Okay, Shamas, just keep on walking straight through the back room. One move and I rip you wide open. Better not, Merle. Your boss might not like that. Smart guy. Knows everybody's name.

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

Where's Zacharias?

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

To take that knife out of my ribs?

[Chiselhurst]

Who's a punk? Now, now, now, Merle. There's been quite enough violence.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Chiselhurst]

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?

[Sam Spade]

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

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

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

[Chiselhurst]

You may find the market valuation of that particular mintage of the Quarter Eagle in my coin catalog. $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 that 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.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

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.

[Chiselhurst]

Precisely, sir.

[Sam Spade]

How did it get in? A gun machine.

[Chiselhurst]

Ah, therein lies a tale.

[Sam Spade]

Keep it short, Willie. I'm getting hungry.

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

Yeah.

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

Yes, I'm glad.

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

Oh, you didn't.

[Chiselhurst]

I gave him a caning and left the premises.

[Sam Spade]

Really?

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

No.

[Chiselhurst]

Sent, I have no doubt, by Mr. Zacharias to rob me of the Quarter Eagle.

[Sam Spade]

Egad, sir.

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

Thank you for that, sir.

[Chiselhurst]

But there upon the wall, I spied a penny vending machine and the word Eagle caught my eye. Association of ideas, no doubt.

[Sam Spade]

No doubt.

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

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?

[Chiselhurst]

Not quite. I caught him in the very act of removing the machine and followed him out of the building.

[Sam Spade]

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?

[Chiselhurst]

I'd rather not say.

[Sam Spade]

Then all bids are off.

[Chiselhurst]

One moment. Mr. Spade.

[Sam Spade]

Yeah?

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

Just that, Mr. Chislehurst.

[Chiselhurst]

Well, I suppose there's nothing for it but to make the supreme sacrifice. Merle. Me?

[Sam Spade]

You double crossing pig.

[Chiselhurst]

Now, Mer, you know perfectly well you did away with poor Mr. Eagle.

[Sam Spade]

Shut up.

[Chiselhurst]

I'll consider pieces. Gross incubordination. You deliberately exceed 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, Mer.

[Sam Spade]

I cut you to pieces. I've cut you to pieces, all right, now drop the shiv. Merle. Not happy, punk?

[Chiselhurst]

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

[Sam Spade]

I Didn't answer him. To cover my embarrassment, I gagged him, manacled him 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 is, shall we say, no place. Period. End of report.

[Effie]

Say, I'm disappointed in you.

[Sam Spade]

Well, so am I, sweetheart.

[Effie]

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

[Sam Spade]

Yeah, yeah, just one from that machine on Drum Street. Oh, thank you. There you are, sweetheart.

[Effie]

Oh, thank you.

[Sam Spade]

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

[Effie]

This money is counterfeit.

[Sam Spade]

Are you sure?

[Effie]

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

[Sam Spade]

Let me say 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?

[Effie]

Come on, let me see. Five dollars would be half.

[Sam Spade]

Damn right. A quarter eagle. Yeah, that's just dirt on it. See? It's cool.

[Chiselhurst]

Really?

[Sam Spade]

Oh, look at it shine like the stars in your eyes, sweetheart.

[Effie]

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 Duff. Loreen Cuttle is Effie. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service, the voice of information and education.