The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Stopped Watch Caper 04/10/1949

Summary

Summary of "The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Stopped Watch Caper"

Date of Release: January 18, 2025
Original Air Date: April 10, 1949
Host/Author: Choice Classic Radio
Title: The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Stopped Watch Caper
Host/Author: Choice Classic Radio

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Introduction

In this thrilling episode of "The Adventures of Sam Spade," listeners are transported into a classic hard-boiled detective narrative, featuring the iconic private eye Sam Spade. The story, titled "The Stopped Watch Caper," weaves a complex tale of mystery, deceit, and murder, set against the backdrop of a secluded estate plagued by threatening letters and suspicious deaths.

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Plot Overview

Sam Spade is summoned to investigate a perplexing case involving Rowena Raven and her family. Rowena has been receiving ominous letters that reference time, paired with malfunctioning timepieces, including her own watch. These strange occurrences coincide with the mysterious death of her niece, Lenore Raven, and the worsening condition of her nephew, Ralph Raven.

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Key Characters

• Sam Spade (Howard Duff): The astute and relentless private detective at the center of the investigation.
• Rowena Raven: The affluent and distressed matriarch receiving threatening letters.
• Lenore Raven: Rowena's niece, whose suspicious death escalates the mystery.
• Ralph Raven: Rowena's nephew suffering from pernicious anemia, whose deteriorating health raises questions.
• Dr. Ludwig Schlosser: The enigmatic family physician with questionable motives.
• Boris: The butler with a troubled past, implicated in the family's dark secrets.

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Key Scenes and Discussions

1. The Initial Investigation Begins ([11:41] - [12:00])

Sam Spade arrives at Rowena Raven's estate to discuss the peculiar case.

• Rowena Raven: "My watch hasn't been keeping proper time ever since those threatening letters started. Could that be a clue, Mr. Spade?" ([11:44]).

Spade considers the possibility that the malfunctioning watch is more than a mere coincidence, hinting at deeper machinations.

2. Discovering the Ravenswood Estate ([03:17] - [07:34])

Sam ventures into the eerie Ravenswood estate, encountering peculiar elements that set the tone for the mystery.

• Narrator: "The fog snaked in and out through the dripping trees, long chill ribbons of ghastly fog borne on a sobbing wind." ([05:07])

This atmospheric description immerses listeners in the foreboding environment surrounding the Raven family.

3. Encounter with Ralph Raven and the Carnivorous Plant ([07:04] - [09:33])

Sam meets Ralph Raven, who introduces him to the family's peculiar conservatory filled with carnivorous plants.

• Ralph Raven: "Oh, that's my saren. Senior gigantosa. Meat eater. Carnivorous plant. Don't be frightened. I just fed it." ([08:26]).

This interaction not only adds an element of danger but also serves as a metaphor for the hidden threats within the Raven estate.

4. Rowena Raven’s Suspicion and Dr. Schlosser’s Involvement ([11:41] - [15:31])

Rowena expresses her concerns about the connection between the stopped watch and the threatening letters.

• Rowena Raven: "The letters always contain some reference to time. Your time is running out. Beware when time moves slowly. Soon it may stop altogether." ([12:07]).

Dr. Ludwig Schlosser provides medical explanations, but his evasiveness raises red flags.

• Dr. Schlosser: "Your nephew? Uh huh. What do you think?" ([13:16]).

Sam begins to suspect that the doctor might be involved in the sinister events.

5. The Twist with the Geiger Counter ([23:20] - [25:38])

Sam uses a Geiger counter to detect radioactive substances, leading to the revelation of the true nature of the poisonings.

• Sam Spade: "I picked up the watch and held it to my ear. You guessed it, it wasn't ticking. I had a hunch my client wasn't either. And I was right." ([16:35]).

This scientific twist unveils the method behind the murders, implicating radioactive isotopes as the cause of death.

6. Confrontation and Resolution ([25:11] - [28:33])

The climax occurs when Dr. Schlosser attempts to cover his tracks but is apprehended by Sam and Deputy Bill Whittington.

• Dr. Schlosser: "You knew." ([25:53])
• Sam Spade: "Then they were accomplices." ([27:29]).

Sam meticulously ties together the evidence, exposing Dr. Schlosser's role in the orchestrated deaths and manipulation of timepieces to conceal his crimes.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Rowena Raven: "The letters always contain some reference to time. Your time is running out. Beware when time moves slowly. Soon it may stop altogether." ([12:07])

• Sam Spade: "I have got to see. It was only three in the PM when I skulked in through the gates of Ravenswood." ([05:29])

• Ralph Raven: "I phoned for another doctor. He's on his way now. Spade. My aunt. Take me to her. I must tell her." ([16:03])

• Dr. Schlosser: "You're a detective. These plants should interest you." ([08:46])

• Sam Spade: "If Ralph was too ill to walk, then somebody had to push him upstairs in the wheelchair." ([28:46])

• Sam Spade: "I got it, Sam. But I don't get it." ([27:16])

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Conclusion

"The Stopped Watch Caper" is a masterful installment in the Sam Spade series, seamlessly blending classic detective work with suspenseful storytelling. Through intricate plot developments and well-crafted dialogues, the episode keeps listeners engaged until the very end. Sam Spade's keen intuition and methodical investigation unravel the mystery, revealing the sinister motives behind the Raven family's tragedies. This episode not only entertains but also showcases the timeless appeal of old-time radio detective stories.

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Final Thoughts

For enthusiasts of old-time radio and detective fiction, "The Stopped Watch Caper" stands out as a compelling narrative filled with atmospheric tension and intellectual intrigue. Choice Classic Radio successfully revives this golden age of radio, offering both nostalgia and captivating storytelling for new and seasoned audiences alike.

Transcript

[Sam Spade]

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[Narrator]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Narrator]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Dashiell Hammett]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Dashiell Hammett]

My school uses Podbean.

[Narrator]

My church too.

[Sam Spade]

I love it. I really do.

[Dashiell Hammett]

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 Brought to you by Wild Root Cream Oil Hair Tonic, the non alcoholic hair tonic that contains lanolin Wild Root Cream Oil. Again and again the choice of men and women and children too.

[Sam Spade]

Sam Spade Detective Agency.

[Narrator]

Quoth the Raven nevermore.

[Sam Spade]

Yes, this is me. Is this Mr. Spade?

[Narrator]

Yes. But is this Ms. Perrine?

[Sam Spade]

Yes.

[Narrator]

But why are you eating a peanut butter sandwich at this time of night?

[Lenore Raven]

Why?

[Sam Spade]

The allusion to Poe's Raven was your assignment among the literati?

[Narrator]

It certainly was. There was Rowena from Ivanhoe, a lost Lenore, a no Place Ralph, and a Boris from the Karloff of the same name.

[Sam Spade]

Oh, how distinguished.

[Narrator]

Have you got a cold?

[Lenore Raven]

F. No.

[Narrator]

Well, then there was a carnivorous plant, a hideous meat eating specimen of the botanical world. Try to take two fingers off me.

[Sam Spade]

Well, I've got three fingers all poured out for you here.

[Narrator]

Pretty hip. I can see you intend to be terribly amusing tonight. But even so, I intend to come right down and dictate my report on the stopped watch caper or Time Stood Still.

[Dashiell Hammett]

Dashiell Hammett, America's leading detective fiction writer and creator of Sam Spade, the Hard Boiled Private Eye, and William Spear, radio's outstanding producer, director of mystery and crime drama, join their talents to make your hair stand on end with the Adventures of Sam Spade presented by the makers of Wild Root Cream Oil for the hare. Well, in a few weeks, many of us will be going bareheaded now and then, meaning we'll have to pay more attention than ever to the appearance of our hair. The best way I know to always keep your hair in trim is to use Wild Root Cream Oil Hair Tonic. Wild Root Cream Oil grooms your hair neatly and naturally removes loose dandruff and relieves dryness, which may be even more prevalent when your hair is exposed directly to the wind and sun. So right away, get the 25 cent get acquainted bottle of Wild Root Cream Oil Hair Tonic. Again and again, the choice of men and women and children too. And now, with Howard Duff starring as Spade, Wild Root brings to the air the greatest private detective of them all in the Adventures of Sam Spade.

[Narrator]

I'm looking over a furry clover.

[Rowena Raven]

Hello, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

That's a mighty sharp routine. You give a parine on the phone.

[Narrator]

Where's Effie? Who are you?

[Sam Spade]

Sam, don't you remember me?

[Lenore Raven]

Buffy?

[Narrator]

Certainly not. I never saw Buffy. Buffy? Wait a minute. Do I sense a certain family resemblance? No, you can't be Effie's little sister. Buffy.

[Sam Spade]

Yes.

[Narrator]

Big girl now.

[Sam Spade]

But thanks anyway for the tinker toys you sent me last Christmas.

[Narrator]

I've killed myself.

[Sam Spade]

I intend to start having children of my own just as soon as it's practical.

[Narrator]

Where's F. Buff?

[Sam Spade]

She had to go to LA to visit a sick friend.

[Narrator]

A likely story.

[Sam Spade]

No, really.

[Narrator]

Chapter and verse, please.

[Sam Spade]

St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank. They went to school together. And her name is Lorene Tuttle. She's an actress.

[Narrator]

Yes, I know. A very fine actress. Is it serious?

[Sam Spade]

I hope not, for Effie's sake. They're very close.

[Narrator]

Yeah. Well, what now? You take shorthand, Buff?

[Sam Spade]

Sort of.

[Narrator]

Spoken like a troopering. Come on in.

[Sam Spade]

Well, I hope it's good and gruesome.

[Narrator]

I take it back.

[Sam Spade]

I meant the caper, not what you're drinking.

[Narrator]

Okay, Buff, you win. Ready?

[Sam Spade]

Why not.

[Narrator]

Date, April 10, 1949. To Deputy Sheriff Bill Whittington, Marin County Sheriff's Office, San Rafael, California. From Samuel Spade, license number 137596. Oh, steady listener. Subject. The stopped watch keeper. Dear Bill, here's how it turned out. And if I ever phone you for advice again, I'll take it. Because you were right. She was loaded.

[Bill Whittington]

What about those threatening letters, Sam? Don't give another thought. Old lady Raven's had me up there a dozen times the last six weeks. She's got threatening letters, she got prowlers. But when I got there, she can't find the letters. And where that house is tucked away in the woods. I don't think a prowler could find it.

[Narrator]

How do I find it, Bill? Huh?

[Bill Whittington]

By the Gray Line bus. Goes right by the gate. Mount Tama Palais Road about three miles this side of a rock spring.

[Narrator]

Well, that sounds pretty rugged. You say she's a crank, but she's got money, Sam. Oh, the poor old soul.

[Bill Whittington]

And she got a niece.

[Narrator]

Oh, yeah.

[Bill Whittington]

Over 23. But she's stacked.

[Narrator]

The old lady's loaded. The niece is stacked. Who else lives there?

[Bill Whittington]

Well, there's a butler. Somebody flattened his head when he was young and he wears bangs to call attention to it. Sort of shuffles around the house. You ought to see him out in the woods chasing them old ground squirrels, quick as a deer hound.

[Narrator]

Never mind. Never mind. You sold me all these marvels. I have got to see. It was only three in the PM when I skulked in through the gates of Ravenswood. But it was so dark the hooty owls hadn't gone to bed yet. The fog snaked in and out through the dripping trees, long chill ribbons of ghastly fog borne on a sobbing wind. I mushed on into the deepening gloom of the forest, primeval. After 10 minutes of that, I began to wonder if there was any house there. When I saw it, I still wondered. It looked more like a fungus growth. Oh, no. Yes. Speak of the English.

[Ralph Raven]

It is chilly, isn't it, sir? Won't you come in?

[Narrator]

Sure, why not? Yeah, Expected that.

[Ralph Raven]

If you'll be so kind as to wait here, Sir, I'll inform Ms. Rowena of your arrival.

[Narrator]

Thank you. Jimmy Stewart.

[Ralph Raven]

Boris.

[Narrator]

Who's out there?

[Ralph Raven]

Is it the man with the hemlock? Answer me. You. Bruce, I. Oh, where is it?

[Narrator]

Did you say hemlock?

[Ralph Raven]

Oh, you must be my aunt's detective. Spade, was it?

[Narrator]

It is right.

[Ralph Raven]

I'm Ralph Raven. Come along with me. Spit. I have something interesting to show you.

[Narrator]

Ralph Raven was the one member of the household you hadn't described to me. And no wonder. The wasted figure that looked up at me from the wheelchair was more like a ghost than a man. His face was chalk white, so white it seemed almost luminous. And the skin clung so close to his skull there seemed to be no flesh beneath it. And his wide staring eyes looked like two cups of black coffee on a snow white tablecloth. I followed him into a glass enclosed room only slightly larger than the garden court of the Plaza. The humidity was several points higher than the dripping woods and the temperature was several degrees lower, but the plants he had growing there seemed to thrive on it. As I edged nervously through the dense quivering foliage, I noticed a strange looking yellow green pod about the size of a milk bottle at the end of a long tubular stem. It leaned over, opened its red mouth and said, hey, what is that thing?

[Ralph Raven]

Oh, that's my saren. Senior gigantosa. Meat eater. Carnivorous plant. Don't be frightened. I just fed it.

[Narrator]

Don't tell me you know what it eats. Acts like it Means a dose of bicarb.

[Ralph Raven]

No, perfectly healthy. Merely part of the digestive process. Even as you and I.

[Narrator]

Not me, but over here.

[Ralph Raven]

You're a detective. These plants should interest you. Oh, don't touch that. Mandrake.

[Narrator]

Never thought of it.

[Ralph Raven]

It won't cry out. No vocal cords.

[Narrator]

Oh, I see.

[Ralph Raven]

It's very sensitive.

[Narrator]

Oh, sensitive and deadly poison.

[Ralph Raven]

And see here, these pretty purple blossoms.

[Narrator]

Yeah, it's very pretty.

[Ralph Raven]

Source of an alkaloid poison favored by the Borgias. And these white hellebore.

[Narrator]

Watch your language.

[Ralph Raven]

I use it in compounding. Veratria, a poison so ancient it would probably go undetected in the police laboratories of today. And here, here's a charming one. Both a killer and a medicine. Belladonna, or deadly nightshade. Source of atropine. And this, commonly known as nux vomica. Well, produces not one, but two deadly poisons. The well known strychnine and the rare and not easily detectable brucine.

[Narrator]

Yeah, well, it's quite a hobby, Mr. Razor.

[Ralph Raven]

It's not a mere hobby, Mr. Spade. It's a practical science. All the plants in this conservatory have their fatal properties. And all have played a role in the great times of history. Did my aunt get another threatening letter?

[Narrator]

So she says.

[Ralph Raven]

Odd that she should fear death at her age. And odd that she should hire a bodyguard. How does she know how it'll come? It might be poison.

[Lenore Raven]

Speaking of poison, brother dear, it's time for your medicine.

[Ralph Raven]

Oh, Spade. My sister, the lost Lenore.

[Lenore Raven]

How do you do, Mr. Spade?

[Narrator]

How do you do?

[Lenore Raven]

Here, Ralph, drink up.

[Ralph Raven]

Why does it always have to be in milk? And look here, it's not time anyway. Oh, this confounded watch has stopped again. Spade, what time do you have?

[Narrator]

Why, it's three. That's funny. My watch has stopped, too. I didn't know then what that meant. In fact, if you look on the last page of this report, Deputy dear, you'll see that the stopwatch was the key to the whole puzzle. I protest that my failure to realize its significance at that moment had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my client's niece, Lenore Raven, was, as you so roguishly put it, stacked about there. Boris, the butler, bobbed up and beckoned me from the balustrade. I followed him upstairs and was ushered into the austere and regal presence of my client, Rowena Raven.

[Rowena Raven]

That would be all, Boris.

[Ralph Raven]

Yes, madam.

[Rowena Raven]

Oh, Boris, I just remembered.

[Ralph Raven]

Yes, madam?

[Rowena Raven]

There, on the occasional table, my watch. I want you to take it around to the watchmakers in the morning. It's on the fritz again.

[Ralph Raven]

Yes, madam.

[Sam Spade]

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[Narrator]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Dashiell Hammett]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Narrator]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Narrator]

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[Sam Spade]

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[Rowena Raven]

Mr. Spade, I must apologize for keeping you waiting.

[Narrator]

That's all right.

[Rowena Raven]

My watch hasn't been keeping proper time ever since those threatening letters started. Could that be a clue, Mr. Spade?

[Narrator]

Maybe we'd better start with the letters, Mrs. Raven.

[Rowena Raven]

I can't find them anywhere. I think that young man from the sheriff's office must have pinched him.

[Narrator]

Bill Whittington? Oh, I'm sure not.

[Rowena Raven]

Well, all the same, it's very odd that every time he comes here, he can't find me.

[Narrator]

Where did you put him, Mrs. Raven?

[Rowena Raven]

Right there on the occasional table.

[Narrator]

Yeah. Well, Mrs. Raven, sometimes people have very vivid dreams. Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with their minds or anything like that.

[Rowena Raven]

You talk just like Dr. Slosser. That young sawbones my knee sent around looked my sciatica. Sciatica is nothing but a pain. How can you look at it? It's a lot of bull.

[Narrator]

Yeah. What did the letters say, Mrs. Raven?

[Rowena Raven]

That's why I wondered about my watch. Mr. Spade, the letters always contain some reference to time. Your time is running out. Beware when time moves slowly. Soon it may stop altogether. That sort of thing. You think there could be a connection? I mean, has someone been tampering with my watch? Repairman doesn't know what's causing it to lose.

[Narrator]

Did he think it might have been tampered with?

[Rowena Raven]

No, he thought it was something in the mountain. Magnetism or something.

[Narrator]

Well, that sounds logical.

[Rowena Raven]

That's a lot of hooey. I lived here 40 years and my watch never lost a minute. Something in the mountain, my eye. Something in this house, more like. Or somebody ask me, he's not half so sick as he pretends to be.

[Narrator]

Your nephew?

[Rowena Raven]

Uh huh. What do you think?

[Narrator]

Well, I think he's a very sick man.

[Rowena Raven]

No wonder, sitting in that damp conservatory day after day, pattering over those fiendish, poisonous plants. You see, the one that eats mice and hamburgers?

[Narrator]

Yes, I did. What's supposed to be the matter with your nephew, Mrs. Raven?

[Rowena Raven]

Oh, he was in an auto accident. Injured his neck. He had to remove part of a gland or something.

[Narrator]

His neck?

[Rowena Raven]

But Dr. Slosser says he's in good condition. Aside from that, and if he takes his medicine faithfully, there's no reason why he shouldn't.

[Narrator]

Come in.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Ah, Mrs. Raven. How is that pain this afternoon?

[Rowena Raven]

Worse, thank you. Dr. Slosson is Mr. Spade.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Ah, yes. The detective you engaged to investigate those letters you've been receiving.

[Rowena Raven]

Mr. Spade thinks it's an inside job. Don't you, Mr. Spade?

[Narrator]

Well, that depends on what you mean by an inside job.

[Rowena Raven]

There, you see?

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Inside that romantic imagination of yours. My dear lady. Hold still now while I give you your shot.

[Rowena Raven]

I loathe being jabbed.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Well, now, that wasn't so bad, was it?

[Narrator]

Can I work on.

[Rowena Raven]

How's Ralph getting on, Doctor?

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Not well, I'm afraid. He doesn't seem to be responding to the. Mrs. Raven, what is it?

[Rowena Raven]

Poison. You poison me.

[Narrator]

The cry she uttered was only half as terrible as the expression on her pain contorted face. She pitched forward in her chair with both fists clenched and shaking as if in anger at the doctor standing before her. He put down the empty hypodermic on the occasional table.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Yeah. Help me carry to the couch.

[Narrator]

Yeah, sure.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Take away that pillow. She must lie perfectly flat. There, that's better. Now she's relaxing.

[Rowena Raven]

I'm dying. There was poison in that needle.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Please, Mrs. Raven, it was only sedative to make you sleep.

[Narrator]

Sleep.

[Rowena Raven]

And time is running out.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

The poor woman. Malignant condition. Only a matter of time.

[Narrator]

Does she know that she has only.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

A short time to live? Oh, yes. Well, I have another call. Do you have the time? My watch seems to have stopped.

[Narrator]

Another one?

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

I beg your pardon?

[Narrator]

Nothing. I left my watch at home.

[Lenore Raven]

Oh, well, I. Ludwig, something terrible is happening.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Your aunt is sleeping.

[Lenore Raven]

You'd better come down to the conservatory right away. Ralph is in terrible pain.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

What kind of pain?

[Lenore Raven]

He keeps saying he's been poisoned.

[Narrator]

What?

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Well, come along. Take that hypo to the kitchen lawn. Sterilize it.

[Lenore Raven]

Where is it?

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

On the table there.

[Narrator]

He stopped on his tracks. His mouth fell open and he gaped at the tabletop where he put down the hypodermic. In its place, it appeared, two items. An old fashioned lady's watch and a note written in green ink. The note said, time must have a stop. I picked up the watch and held it to my ear. You guessed it, it wasn't ticking. I had a hunch my client wasn't either. And I was right.

[Dashiell Hammett]

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[Narrator]

Ralph.

[Lenore Raven]

Ralph, where are you?

[Ralph Raven]

Where did you leave me?

[Narrator]

Hey, wait. Over here.

[Ralph Raven]

Oh, Spade. Keep them away from me.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Ralph, I came as soon as I could. Tell me your symptoms.

[Narrator]

No.

[Ralph Raven]

I phoned for another doctor. He's on his way now. Spade. My aunt. Take me to her. I must tell her.

[Lenore Raven]

Tell her what?

[Narrator]

I'm afraid we have some bad news for you, Ralph. Your aunt is dead.

[Ralph Raven]

Oh, so you poisoned her too?

[Lenore Raven]

Ralph, you're sick. You don't know what you're saying. She's been to every specialist in the country. They all said the same thing.

[Ralph Raven]

They all said she was good for another three months.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

My dear boy, in these cases, any doctor's guess is as bad as the next.

[Lenore Raven]

Oh, please, Ralph, you're very sick. Please let Ludwig examine you. If it's what you think, the other doctor may be too late.

[Ralph Raven]

Why not? Why should I fear death?

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

That's better. Now, let me see your eyes. So?

[Narrator]

So.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Open the mouth. So, what is it?

[Lenore Raven]

What is it?

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

He's right. It is poison.

[Ralph Raven]

You see?

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

You know, my dear.

[Lenore Raven]

Yes?

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

When you sterilized that needle for Ralph shot this morning, did you pick up the wrong bottleneck?

[Lenore Raven]

Of course not.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Strange. Very strange. But don't worry, Ralph. There's a very simple answer.

[Lenore Raven]

Thank heaven.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

You should, my dear. Indeed you should.

[Narrator]

And that was that, Deputy dear. Two doctors in the county coroner took one look at my late client's medical history and decided on death due to natural causes. I didn't think so and neither did you.

[Bill Whittington]

So there really were threatening letters?

[Narrator]

I saw one.

[Bill Whittington]

You sure now, Sam?

[Narrator]

Sure I'm sure.

[Bill Whittington]

Where'd you say it was?

[Narrator]

On the occasional table.

[Bill Whittington]

Yeah? What was it doing when it wasn't a table?

[Narrator]

Not occasionally. Occasional.

[Bill Whittington]

Oh, just any old table.

[Narrator]

No, Bill. Now, Bill, get this. It's real deep. An occasional table is a table that a woman picks up at a bargain and puts into a room under the mistaken impression that it may come in handy someday. Mrs. Raven used hers as a catch all for her unanswered correspondence, threatening letters included.

[Bill Whittington]

And what happened to the one you saw?

[Narrator]

I don't know. I put it right here in my coat pocket, along with a watch. It just disappeared.

[Bill Whittington]

Yeah, that might be tampering with evidence.

[Narrator]

Listen, Bill, things were disappearing from that table almost as fast as other things showed up.

[Bill Whittington]

Yeah, sounds like pack rat.

[Narrator]

You follow that up, Bill. I'm gonna pack up and rat out of here. Now look, Sam, my client's dead. It's officially okay. I haven't made a penny out of the caper and now I'm not likely to. So do you give me a lift back to the toll gate or do I hitchhike?

[Bill Whittington]

There's your answer.

[Narrator]

Come on. When we reached the second bedroom whence the scream had come, we found the lost Lenore. Looking well found in something comfortable, she's standing center stage regarding herself with horror in a full length mirror. She looks awful pale, Bill. You better go downstairs and get some ice water. She might faint.

[Bill Whittington]

You think so?

[Narrator]

Yeah. Hurry up. I'll stay here and keep up her circulation in case anything happens.

[Bill Whittington]

Yeah, you're right.

[Narrator]

Beat it.

[Lenore Raven]

I thought.

[Narrator]

You thought what?

[Lenore Raven]

Look, I found these on my pillow.

[Narrator]

One watch. One threatening letter. Whose watch?

[Sam Spade]

Mine.

[Lenore Raven]

I left it on the dressing table when I went in to cream my face. When I came out, somebody had slipped this under it.

[Narrator]

On the dressing table?

[Lenore Raven]

No, under my pillow.

[Narrator]

You said on your pillow.

[Lenore Raven]

I meant under. I mean on. I don't know what I mean. What are you trying to do to me?

[Narrator]

Just trying to get things straight.

[Lenore Raven]

But the note. Look at it. It's exactly the same as the one he left in my aunt's room.

[Narrator]

Why do you say he?

[Lenore Raven]

Oh, I don't know. Yes, I do. It's because I don't trust Ludwig. Dr. Schlosser.

[Narrator]

That figures. He doesn't trust you either.

[Lenore Raven]

When he pretended to think I might have picked up the wrong bottle. Oh, he was acting.

[Narrator]

Couldn't you see you're not doing a bad Job yourself.

[Lenore Raven]

I'm not acting. Not anymore. Listen to me. Listen. He's acted strangely ever since I foolishly said I'd marry him.

[Narrator]

I would myself.

[Lenore Raven]

Oh, so. Sam, darling, don't joke. I don't mean like that.

[Narrator]

How did you meet him?

[Lenore Raven]

He got me out of a jam once. The accident. When my brother was hurt. I went for a doctor and he happened to be the nearest one. Well, I'd been drinking and he took over and he sent me home before the police arrived at the scene. Didn't Ralph know he blanked out? He doesn't know to this day. Ludwig never forgot. He forced me to recommend him to my aunt. He got into her good graces, practically moved into the house. Then he pretended to make love to me. Pretended he didn't care about me till he found out about my aunt. Didn't have long to live. He knew half her money would come to me. Sam, do you think he poisoned my aunt?

[Narrator]

Officially, she died from natural causes.

[Lenore Raven]

But you said she spoke about being poisoned. And Ralph, too.

[Narrator]

What's that medicine you give him in milk?

[Lenore Raven]

I don't know. It's a prescription. Just some drops that come in a metal container.

[Narrator]

Where do you keep those drops?

[Lenore Raven]

Here. Here in my room. I have to hide them. They make Ralph feel so much better. He used to overdose when the doctor trusted him to dose himself.

[Narrator]

Let me see that Madison.

[Lenore Raven]

Yes, it's just here in this cabinet. Here it is.

[Narrator]

Don't tell me it's empty.

[Lenore Raven]

There was a glass bottle inside the container.

[Narrator]

Small but heavy. Lead yet? Hey, what are you doing with that gadget? The thing with the dials and the speedometer.

[Lenore Raven]

Oh, that's something medical. I have to make a test on Ralph every day to see how he's getting along.

[Narrator]

You know what that actually is?

[Lenore Raven]

Yes, I do. It. It detects anemia.

[Narrator]

Well, I wouldn't know about that. But a Geiger counter is generally used to detect something else.

[Lenore Raven]

What are you going to do with it?

[Narrator]

I'm going prospecting for that missing medicine.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Ah, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. I'm afraid I have bad news for you, Lenore.

[Lenore Raven]

Ralph?

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

My diagnosis was correct. Pernicious anemia.

[Sam Spade]

Dead.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

What is that you are carrying, Mr. Spade?

[Narrator]

Oh, nothing special, Doctor. Just an old Geiger counter.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Lenore, did you let him take it?

[Lenore Raven]

He said he was going to use it to find Ralph's medicine.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

What happened to Ralph's medicine?

[Lenore Raven]

I don't know. It's just gone.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Mr. Spade, that machinery is my property. I must ask you to Hand it over.

[Narrator]

No gun necessary, Doctor. Here, take it.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Take your gun too, sir. Lenore, carry the machine. This way. Walk ahead of us. First we try the conservatory.

[Narrator]

He was an amateur with a gun, but I didn't jump him for it because I'm an amateur with a Geiger. I did notice that the indicator on the dial got nervous the minute we walked into the conservatory. Ralph Raven's body was still in the wheelchair, no paler in death than in life. His sightless eyes were fixed on that obscene plant. The plant looked sick too. It was drooping and his red mouth was hanging open. As we walked past the wheelchair, the indicator on the dial of the Geiger counter moved forward and then slipped back again. Then it took a sudden big jump.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

Ah, so that was his hiding place. The maw of that disgusting carnivorous plant. Well, it's not pleasant, but there's only one way to get it. Don't move, either one of you. My eye is on you. Yes. Yes, it's here.

[Narrator]

At first I thought the plant had bitten him. Then he pulled his hand out and I saw what had happened. There was a hypodermic outfit stuck in the heel of his hand. It surprised him no end, but he still managed to hold onto that gun. He swung it away from me and was holding it on Lenore.

[Ralph Raven]

You.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

You knew.

[Lenore Raven]

No. No, I didn't.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

You must have.

[Dashiell Hammett]

Ralph knew.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

He must have told you.

[Lenore Raven]

No, I swear he didn't.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

What do you think I did this for? To die and leave you behind to enjoy the money I got for you? No. You will come with me.

[Rowena Raven]

Oh, no.

[Lenore Raven]

You don't know what you're doing. There's someone right here.

[Dashiell Hammett]

Shut up.

[Dr. Ludwig Schlosser]

What are you looking at? It's behind me.

[Bill Whittington]

Don't bother to rush him, Sam.

[Narrator]

I've got him. Hold it, Bill. Yeah.

[Bill Whittington]

How's that for shooting, Sam?

[Narrator]

Yeah. You find a bullet hole in them, Bill, and I'll call it. Good. And that, Deputy, dear, is the crop. And it's all carnivorous. In case you're still wondering what dropped him when your shots missed. It was the poison in that hypodermic needle which Ralph had planted there for that very purpose. And then baited the trap of the all important missing medicine. Later on, I learned that what the doctor had been feeding him was the right medicine for what ailed him. An isotope of iodine. It seems it's radioactive, like uranium. But if you take too much of it, you die. Not a poisoning, but a pernicious anemia, which is how the doctor planned for Ralph to die. It also magnetizes watches so they don't keep the right time. And of their cheap ones, like mine, they may stop altogether. Period. And a report. Got all that, Buffy?

[Sam Spade]

I got it, Sam. But I don't get it.

[Narrator]

Buffy, people have studied all their lives to learn about atomic stuff like isotopes. And you expect me to teach you everything in one easy lesson?

[Sam Spade]

Oh, no, Sam. I know about that. But who killed who?

[Narrator]

Whom, dear? The doctor killed everyone. But Ralph loaded the needle.

[Sam Spade]

Then they were accomplices.

[Narrator]

No, Buff, get this. It's real shallow. Ralph knew there was no way in the world to prove that the doctor was killing him and hastening his aunt's demise. So he saw to her that she got a dose of detectable poison and did him the same. Favorite. Now, like a good girl, go type that up.

[Dashiell Hammett]

And now listen to this. More and more millions agree every day. Wild Root Cream Oil has become America's favorite hair tonic because of the neat, natural way it grooms the hair. Because of the quick, easy way it relieves dryness and removes loose dandruff. Get non alcoholic Wild Root Cream Oil with lanolin right away and ask your barber for a professional application of Wild Root Cream Oil. Hair tonic. Again and again, the choice of men and women and children, too.

[Sam Spade]

Here it is, Sam. And I certainly hope that butler was brought to justice.

[Narrator]

What, for his dialect?

[Sam Spade]

No, for helping to deliver the threatening letters and then stealing off the occasional table.

[Narrator]

A brilliant deduction. How did you deduce, Sam, that's for kids.

[Sam Spade]

If Ralph was too ill to walk, then somebody had to push him upstairs in the wheelchair.

[Narrator]

Wouldn't have been easier just to carry him.

[Sam Spade]

That's how he did it.

[Narrator]

Or just go up himself, that's how. Possibly. And then again, we may never know. But do we care?

[Lenore Raven]

Yes.

[Sam Spade]

I hate loose ends, Sam.

[Narrator]

Then keep it up.

[Sam Spade]

Good night, Sam.

[Narrator]

Spoken like a true perine. So I'll say to you. Good night, sweetheart.

[Dashiell Hammett]

The Adventures of Sam Spade, Ashell Hammett's famous private detective, are produced and directed by William Spear. Sam Spade is played by Howard Duff. The adventures of Sam Spade are written for radio by Bob Tallman and Gil Dow. Musical direction by Lud Gluskin, with score composed by Renee and Pierre Garrigan. Join us again next Sunday when author Dashiell Hammett and producer William Speer join forces for another adventure with Sam Spade, brought to you by Wild Root Cream Oil. Again and again, the choice of men and women and children, too. This is Dick Joy reminding you to get Wild Root Cream Oil. Charlie, it keeps your hair in trim. You see, it's non alcoholic, Charlie. It's made with soothing lanolin. You better get wild Root cream oil, Charlie. Start using it today. You'll find that you will have a tough time, Charlie. Keepin all the gals away. Hiya, baldy. Get wild root right away. This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System.