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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 donating@ChoiceClassicRadio.com. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The shadow knows. Ladies and gentlemen, before we start trailing the Shadow on his newest adventure, let me remind you that if you haven't yet replaced worn smooth tires with new safe Goodrich silver towns, do it now. And the sooner the safer. For remember, Silvertowns are the only tires that give you the skid protection of the lifesaver tread. The amazing new Goodrich development that will stop you quicker safer on a wet pavement than you've ever stopped before. And motorists, you don't have to take my word for it. The nation's largest independent testing laboratory, you know, tested the Silvertowne stopping ability. They tested it against both regular and premium priced tires of five other leading tire manufacturers. And their engineers found that no tire tested regardless of price, came up to this new Silvertown in skid resistance. Motorists, that can mean only one thing. Your car and everyone in it will be safer if you ride on Goodrich safety. Silvertown. A Silvertown stop may save your life. The Shadow Lamont Cranston, a man of wealth, a student of science and a master of other people's minds, devotes his life to righting wrongs, protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty. Cranston is known to the underworld as the Shadow. Never seen, only heard. His true identity is known only to his constant friend and Aiden, Margo Lane. Today's story. He died at 12. What's the matter, Commissioner Weston? Nervous? Can't you stand the side of the scaffold? No. Listen, Cranston, I have been attending executions in the line of duty for more years than I'd like to remember. I tell you, hangings still do things to my insides. It'll all be over in a minute. Well, at least I'm not the only one in this room who's nervous about half the wise newspaper guys here look as if they were ready to pass out. You must have started the death march. What time is it? Two minutes at 12. There's a headline for you. He died at 12. Ever a man deserved to die at this. Nick Berati. Yeah, he sure got it coming to him. It's like something out of a jungle. Killing for the sake of killing. Yes, my department's going to feel mighty relieved when that rope tightens around his neck. Here they come. Huh, that's queer. What Baretti, he doesn't seem very frightened. No, he doesn't. Yet up to now, he's always shown a real fear of hanging up. Here, Baretti, build this scaffold up high, huh, Warden? It's the law, Baretti. The law. Stand here. Okay. All set, Mack? All set. Warden Barati, is there anything you want to say before you are hanged by the neck until you are dead? No. Maybe I. No. No, I ain't got nothing to say. All right, Mac. Put the hood over his head. Yes, Warden. Barati. Yeah. Don't worry, Baratti. Everything's going to be all right. That's a fine. Everything's going to be all right. Put the rope around his neck. Okay, Warden. Release the trapdoor. Commissioner Weston, notice what happened before the trapdoor opened? What? The executioner whispered something into Berratti's ear. He was adjusting the hood over his head. Well, what difference does that make? Beretti's dead. He's hanged now. Yes. Yes, that's the end of Nick Berati. I wonder why he wasn't frightened. Warden. Warden. Yes? Brady's relatives are here to claim the body. All right, all right, give it to him. Here's the first one, boss. Okay, put him against the wall. Oh, no. No. What is this? What are you doing to me? Where are you taking me? Dan Amug kidnapping. Well, I haven't any money. I'm just a working man. Take the blindfold off his eyes, Joe. Okay, boys. Whoa. What. What is this? I. I haven't done anything. Now, you look straight ahead, mister. Well, you. You. Oh, no. No, don't shoot. Please, don't. Don't. Here's a second one, boss. Okay, take the blindfold off. Okay, fella, you can look now. Where am I? What have I done? You look straight ahead, Rat. Oh, you're dead. You can't be alive. No, no, don't shoot. I haven't done anything. Help. Help. Okay, Joe, now you get me the rest of them. Paper. Paper. Read all about it. Fifth mysterious murder in five days. Another man found murdered. All right, Margo, shut the window. All right. Lamont, aren't you going to do anything about them? About what? You heard the news, boy. We've got to make a living. Lamont Cranston, you know perfectly well what I'm talking about. Five murders in five days. Isn't there some way to stop them? You just going to sit? By the contrary, my dear Margot, I'm not going to sit. I'm going to ride. And you're riding with me. What are you Talking about when we riding to the place where the dead, even those who are hanged by the neck, should be. The cemetery. Yes. Yes, sir. That's the grave, mister. That's the one over there. Come on, Margot. But please, Lamont. Please tell me why you brought me out to this cemetery. I understand why. In a few minutes. Are you sure this is grave caretaker? Oh, yes, indeed, sir. Yes, indeed. I've been in charge of the graves here for 30 years. Know every single one of them. Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. You see. See the headstone? To the memory of Nicholas Burrardi. You see? I told you I'd take you to the right one. Thank you very much, lady. And I will stay out here a few moments, if you don't mind. Oh, no, not at all, not at all. Are you relatives of this man? No, not exactly. Here, some of your trouble. Oh. Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you very much indeed. Wait a minute. Yes, sir? Did you see them buried, Berate? Oh, indeed I did, sir. Yes, sir. Indeed I did. I make it my business to be present at every one of the burials. Quite late in the day. It was when the buried him. Yes, yes, remember? And a bad day, too. Thunder rumbling in the sky. So you saw them bury him? Oh, yes. Yes, indeed I did. Will that be all, sir? Yes, that's all. Thank you. Well, well, see you on your way out. Lamont, why does the burial place of this murderer concern you? I wanted to make sure of something. That he was buried here? Yes. You know that the shadow doesn't always work on facts, Margot. Sometimes he's able to accomplish a great deal more by basing his actions on. Well, call it intuition, hunch, anything. You will, I know that. But what has Nick Barati's grave got to do with the shadow? I'm very concerned with those five murders which have taken place during the last five days. Well, so by that's why we're here. But what could a man who's been dead for weeks have to do with those killings? Just it. I wanted to make sure he was dead and buried. But you yourself saw Barati. Had, I know. But somehow, during all those weeks since, I never been able to forget the confident look on the man's face as he climbed the steps to the scaffold. Well, now you're sure he's dead and buried. Oh, come on. It's so dark. Let's get out of here. All right. I never did like graveyards, particularly at twilight. Strange. What's strange? I saw the man hang by the neck until dead. And yet there's a feeling in me that all isn't what it seems to be. Wait. What is it? Now as the caretaker's house, I want to ask him another question. All right, Lamont, but please make it fast. The longer I stay here, the less I care for this place. Oh, well. Well, it's you, sir. You leaving so soon? Yes, and before we go, there's another question I'd like to ask you. Well, you just go right ahead. Anything you want, sir. The coffin opened before Berati's body was finally lowered into the grave. Oh, yes. Yes, indeed, sir. I remember that. Yes, I do. Opened it right up, the relatives did, weeping and wailing, a lot of them. And there was a body in the coffin. A body in the coffin? But of course there was. What else would they want to be burying it for you? Thanks. Thanks very much. Oh, not at all, not at all. And there'll be plenty more burials, too, if these killings go on. What do you mean? Well, I was just reading this here evening paper. Another one was murdered back in town. Another one? Yes. Six in six days. You see that paper? Yes, indeed. Here you are. So sure another victim of mysterious murder wave. Charles Harrison was found shot to death. Charles Harrison? Why? Did you know him? Lamont, I was right. Right? Go on to the car, Margot. But, Lamont. Come along. Charles Harrison. I knew my hunch was right. Get in the car, quickly. All right, but please tell me what this is all about. My hunch it was right. The murder of Charles Harrison definitely proves it. What was your hunch? And what did the murder of this Charles Harrison prove? Six men have been murdered in the last six days. No witnesses as each of the victims shot through the head. Well, each and every one of those murdered men spent a week together in a jury box as jurymen at the murder trial of Nick Barati. You mean someone's been avenging the death of Barati? Yes, exactly. But Nick Barate was a rat. All the members of his own gang hated him. I know that for a fact. They wouldn't revenge him. Then who is committing the murder? Lamont, you don't think that Nick Baratti. He's dead. Dead and buried. They tell me the dead don't come back. But if they do, they. The Shadow is going to find out. Ladies and gentlemen, in a moment we'll again pick up the trail of the Shadow. But meanwhile, let me say this. You're reading a lot these days in the newspapers about the hazard zone of motoring. What is this hazard zone? The Shadow knows it's that slippery film of water on the road that may make complete command of your car almost impossible. Causing your car to skid, spin, swerve. Remember motorists, the tire that will give you the quickest, safest, non skid stops in this hazard zone is the new Goodrich Silvertown with Lifesaver tread. Every inch of this wider, flatter tread is specially designed to dry the road. In fact, the never ending spiral bars of this lifesaver tread act like a whole battery of windshield wipers. They sweep the water right and left, force it out through the deep drainage grooves, make a dry track for the rubber to grip. That's why you'll stop quicker, safer on a wet pavement than you've ever stopped before. And don't forget adding one safety feature to another. Silvertowns also give you the famous golden ply protection against high speed blowout. Thus, the lives of yourself and family are protected two important ways against both skids and blowouts. And motorists, don't forget that you get this double protection in Silvertowns at no extra cost. Don't cheat yourself out of this new kind of tire safety. Stay on the sunny side of motoring. Make your next tires Goodrich safety Silvertown. Now. Judge. Judge. There's no reason to get so excited. Commissioner Weston, I have plenty of reason to get excited. Do you realize what the death of these men will mean to the future administration of justice in our courts? But we're doing everything in our power to protect. Yes, to protect the survivors. But what about the six who were murdered? But Judge, we had no idea there was a plot to exterminate those jurymen. If we had, we'd have taken measures immediately. That's the point. You didn't know. The entire police department didn't know. And you should have known. You should have known at once. How could we? Men are found murdered on lonely roads. I tell you, there wasn't the slightest reason to connect them with a Baretti murder trial. It was a matter of deduction. And certainly the ability to reason things out is one of the things we should be able to expect from our police department. Judge, be fair. There was no reason to tie up the murders with the Baretti trial. How you ever discovered that all six men were on the jury is more than I can figure. Why, there's been hundreds of trials since then. How did you do it, Judge? I didn't do it. But you were the one who discovered that the victims had been jurymen. I repeat, I didn't discover that fact. It was revealed to me by an Anonymous letter I received in the mail. Anonymous letter? Yes. Here. There it is. Look at the signature. The shadow. Yes. Rather a peculiar signature, isn't it? Peculiar, Judge? Why in heaven's name didn't you tell me this before? The shadow. Now, Commissioner Shirley, you don't believe the nonsense I've been reading about this. This super being of criminal investigation. So the shadow is the one who worked out the fact that the murdered men were Beretti jurymen. I might have guessed it, Commissioner Weston, stop wasting my time talking about someone who doesn't exist. Your duty is to trace down the murders of those jurymen. If you don't, the entire law enforcement organization of the city may be irreparably damaged. What citizen will want to act on the jury if he thinks that the assassin's gun waits for him as soon as he leaves the courtroom? I tell you, forget about this so called shadow. Get those murderers. There's a shadow on my side. I'm sure I will. Good night, Judge. Good night. Imagine, Commissioner Weston, believing in such rot as a shadow. Nonsense. No, not nonsense, Judge. Who. Who speaks? The shadow. I am the shadow. The shadow. I hear the voice, yet I see no one. It is my will that men should never see me. Can't be. And yet your senses tell you that it is. So you hear my every word? Yes, I hear. I have come to ask you a favor. Favor? Of me? Yes. What? What can I do for you? Six men still live. The rest of the men who served on the jury convicted Nick Berati. Well, you can save the lives of those six. I? How can I save their lives? By doing as I say. Will you help me? What? What do you want me to do? There are detectives guarding this house. Well, I want you to send them away. Send them away? But if I do that. Yes? Your life will be in danger. Are you afraid? But how would sending the detectives away help save the lives of those six jurymen? The one who caused the murder of the six who died will want to kill you above all men because you were the judge who pronounced the sentence. Well, when he is certain your house is unguarded, he will come here after you. And when he comes, I'll be waiting for him. Are you willing to risk your life to save six men? Yes. Yes. It's. It's getting late. Shadow. Are you still here in my room? Yes, still here, Judge. Seems strange, this talking to empty air. A murderer's feet danced on empty air. What did you say? I was thinking aloud. Oh. Are you sure someone will come here after me? For days, while the Commissioner's men have been guarding this place, there's been someone else watching. And I'm positive that person will soon be here. We've been waiting so long. Believe me, it'll be worth the wait. Yes, if you were sure. But how can you be sure that. Quiet. Don't speak. Don't speak. Pick up your pen and start writing. There's someone at the French windows trying to get in. Someone trying to write. Keep your hands on the table, Judge. Now, don't make no noise or I'll let you have it. Who. Who are you? Don't make no difference who I am. What do you want? Money? Sure I want money, but not from you, Judge. Keep your hands on the table. What do you want of me? Me? I don't want a thing. It's a friend. He wants to see you. Friend? Who? Don't ask questions like that, Judge. Why doesn't he come here? I tell you, don't ask questions like that. It ain't smart, it ain't healthy. Now, come on, get to your feet. I want to know. Get to your feet, I tell you. Now, keep your hands up where I can see him. Come on. You and me, we're going places. My hat. Where you're going, you will need a hat. Come on, we'll go out the same way I came in. Get a move on. All right. Willing, ain't you? And here I thought maybe I'd have to slug you. That's too bad. I never got a chance to slug a judge before. Shadow, are you still here? What'd you say? I. I was talking to myself. Yeah, well, keep your trap shut. Come on. Through this window, the way I came in. Shadow. Shut up, I said. Come on. Now, I got a car parked around the side. Now, keep your trap buttoned up, or I'll fill you full of slugs right now. And. And would that disappoint a certain party? It's a windy night, ain't it? And dark. Get in the car, Judge. Where? You're gone pretty soon, believe me. It's a lot darker. Come in. Okay, Judge, get in. Go on, get in there. The boss, he's real anxious to meet you. The feeling is neutral. Yeah. Okay, boss. Here's the big shot. Bring him closer. Okay, Judge, you heard what he said. Okay, far enough. You go sit down, Joe. Sure, boss. How are you, Judge? Who are you? Oh, now, don't tell me you forget me, my friend. I know you, don't you? So dark in here, that mask over your face. Who are you? Kind of worried, Judge. Stand back by the wall a little bit. That's it. I take off my mask. Now I show you that gun. What are you going to look? Look at me. Marati, Mick Marotti. You don't forget. But you're dead. You're dead. You're gonna be dead, Judge. I count three. And you're gonna be dead the way you think I am. 1. No, don't shoot. 2. Shadow. What are you? Shadow? Shadow? Why you call that a name? Shadows. And oh, Shadow. It's a me. Nick Barati. And I'm gone. Oh, no. No, you're not. Barati. The Shadow. You are here. Yes, I am here. Who say that? Joe, you say that? No, of course I don't say nothing. I spoke. I was. Somebody's talking. I don't see him. Said nobody here. It's a judge. You make a trick with a voice. But I kill him. I kill him like I kill him all. You shoot me? I shoot the jaw. My hand. Sometimes a knock up in my hand while I shoot. Who do I. Oh, I did it. Who? They call me the Shadow. Shadow? Are you afraid now, Nick Barate? No. No, I ain't afraid of nothing. No, not of me. Shadow. How can he be alive? They hanged him. Buried him. Yes. Tell us, Barati, why didn't you die? Sure, sure. Tell you you don't get out of here anyway. Sure, sure. I tell you. The guy would put a rope around my neck. I pay him off for plenty. But you did hang. Oh, sure. But he fixed the rope short, so I don't drop far. 10 grand it's cost. But you hang. Yes, sure. But only a few minutes. I used to be a wrestler in the old country. Neck muscles are strong like iron. I make them stiff when a trapdoor is open. My neck so no break. And then they cut you down quickly. Yeah, you bet your life. Quick. That's a cost. Planning too. The hearse they took you away in. That's a no hearse. Ambulance. That's what it was. The dock. He got to work right away. Injection of my heart, the pull motor. 50 grand. Everything costed me. But I don't die. I live to take care of everybody who think they can make a Nick Barati hang. Then whose body was in the coffin that was buried in the cell? Cemetery. See? Easy to get a body. The doc make up the face to look like mine. What's the matter with your voice? The rope. She's a strange. Something. Something inside of my throat. The doc, he don't do a 100% job. But I do a 100% job on the dock. I kill him. And you killed six men since then. And I kill two more. You, another shadow. And then I kill six more and more. More. All of them die. But not. Your voice is getting weaker. I told you, doc. He don't do a 100% job. But I fix that. It's there fixing me up. That mask. What? Oxygen tank. Oxygen. So he can breathe without choking. That's right. Oxygen picks me up. Good, good. So I kill you too. First you judge. I'm going to put a slugger right in the middle of your pat. No, no, don't shoot. Don't crash the trigger. Nick. Wait. Wait for what? I don't got time. You had seven bullets in your gun. You fired six. There's just one left. You use that last one on the judge. What will be left for you? Left for me? Yes, for you. What will be left for me? What is left for all criminals and murderers like you? The scaffold with a noose hanging. No. No, I'm. Don't die by the rope. Not me. Oh, yes, you, Nick Barati. This time you won't be able to escape it. You won't be able to fix the hangman. There'll be no doctor to save you. Nick never die. But a rope. I'm gonna shoot the judge. You will never kill the judge. I'll knock your arm up again. The bullet will go while. Remember, you cannot see me. You cannot prevent me doing it. And then the noose will get you the way it gets all men who live by murder. Now I get away. Oh, the first step to that door and I stop you. You cannot stop him. Here. Look. See? I go. I can see a chair suddenly bars your way. I kill you. Now you cannot see me. And I kill the judge anyway. You waste that one bullet, remember what will be left for you? The hangman's rope. Oh, no, no. I know hang. The police were will come the trial and A jury of 12 men will say, guilty as charged. And another judge will say to be hanged by the neck until dead. No, no. I know hang. Another warden will take you by the arm and walk to the scaffold. No, no. Stop. Stop. None of me. I don't know. Hang, I tell you. I walk up to the scaffold. This time the rope a long one. Stop. Stop saying that. The trap will spring. The rope will tighten. Tighten tight now. No, I don't hide. Not me. I killed myself first. I killed myself. He shot himself. Never. Never hang with Nick. Berar Is he. Is he dead? Shadow? Yes, Judge. He's dead. There'll be no need to try Nick Berati again. He cheated the law and the noose just once. With bribery. All the money in the world cannot cheat justice at the reward it finally metes out to crime and criminals. It can't bribe justice nor death. You have been listening to a dramatized version of one of the many copyrighted stories which appear in the Shadow magazine now on sale at your local newsstand. The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows. All the characters and all the places named are fictitious. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.