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Albert Bronson
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? A shadow knows.
Narrator
Ladies and gentlemen, in a moment the Shadow will again start into that hazard zone of crime, the underworld. And don't forget, motorists, every time you ride over wet, slippery roads, you are entering the hazard zone of motoring, where a slippery film of water on the road may make complete command of your car almost impossible. That's why the development of the new Goodrich Silvertown tire with Lifesaver tread is such good news to every motorist. This new kind of tire gives the greatest protection ever offered against skids. Because the lifesaver tread sweeps water right and left from under the tire actually dries wet roads. You stop quicker, safer than you've ever stopped before. Remember too, that the new Silvertown also gives you the famous golden ply blowout protection. Keep dangerous stranger. Put these life saving Silvertowns on your car.
Unknown Minor Character
Now.
Narrator
There is no extra cost. 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, the Voice of the Trumpet.
Fred
Well, Bronson, the drawing's all done with one section.
Albert Bronson
Ah, but Fred, my dear boy, can't you finish it? You could guess what wheels and cogs will fit in with the rest of the mechanism.
Fred
Nothing doing. I'm just a draftsman, not an inventor. I'll have to have more information.
Albert Bronson
Oh, damn me. And the Normandy sails at midnight tonight. I wanted to catch it.
Fred
Oh, so you're going to hustle a drawing aboard the minute it's finished?
Albert Bronson
Yes, indeed. The customers in Europe are willing to pay very good prices right now for secrets from our war department.
Fred
Well, be careful. Anyone catches on to this game of ours and it'll be curtains for us.
Albert Bronson
Don't be absurd, my boy. No one would suspect Albert Bronson, the distinguished authority on fine books, of being a spy.
Fred
Yeah, it's a good cover for selling government secrets. It gives you an excuse for traveling.
Albert Bronson
Yes, it's a clever dodge. But then we're all three very clever. You and I and our spiritualist friend, Brother Dyckmann.
Fred
Ah, Dykman's. A fake.
Albert Bronson
Perhaps he's a spiritualist, my boy, but not as a mind reader. Yeah, he must be able to read Philip Rider's mind. At any rate, Philip comes to the seances, sits there concentrating. Dyckman gathers from his mind all the secrets of the War Department.
Fred
Yeah, it is funny, but I always figured Dyckman must have got next to Ryder some way.
Albert Bronson
Oh, impossible. Both Philip and Paul Ryder have been proven perfectly honest.
Fred
Yeah, Paul got bumped off because he was so honest.
Albert Bronson
Oh, let's not go into that subject, okay?
Fred
I'm getting pretty sick of sitting through those long winded seances to get the information from my drawings.
Albert Bronson
Be patient, Fred. One more session with that fake spirit should give you what you need.
Fred
What? Why can't Dyckman Reed write his mind and bring the information here?
Albert Bronson
Because we mustn't be seen together. It might be fatal. Besides, I don't quite trust Dyckmann.
Fred
He's sure a clever faker.
Albert Bronson
All right, I'll take it. I'll take it. Hello?
Unknown Minor Character
Yes.
Albert Bronson
Tonight?
Philip Ryder
You're sure?
Fred
Yes, what's up?
Albert Bronson
That was Dyckmann. Wright is coming to a seance tonight. And you'll be there, dear boy. You'll be there.
Fred
Sure, sure.
Albert Bronson
And in two days, the latest invention of the War Department should be on
Philip Ryder
the way to Europe.
Margot Lane
I love this Cafe Le Mans. None of our friends seem to have found it.
Lamont Cranston
My dear Margot, when I start meeting up with my friends at restaurants, I. You're looking for new places to eat.
Margot Lane
Well, you'd better start looking then.
Lamont Cranston
Why?
Margot Lane
Philip Rider's getting up from that table over in the corner. Haven't seen him for months.
Lamont Cranston
All right. Not since his brother's funeral.
Margot Lane
No, he certainly changed. Paul's being murdered was an awful shock to him. Have they any notion who did it?
Lamont Cranston
Well, last time I talked to Commissioner Weston, he said the police were still in the dark. Coffee, mademoiselle?
Margot Lane
Oh, thank you, Pierre Lamont. Philip's coming this way. Why don't we try to cheer him up?
Lamont Cranston
All right.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
Why, Philip Ryder, Margot and Lamar.
Lamont Cranston
I said we've been hiding yourself in one of your vaults in the War Department.
Philip Ryder
We've been awfully rushed the last few months.
Margot Lane
I should think you might have been.
Lamont Cranston
You sit down, Philip.
Philip Ryder
Well, all right for a minute.
Lamont Cranston
You been doing it yourself?
Philip Ryder
Just keeping busy.
Margot Lane
Oh, you and your state secrets. You always get me so curious I could burst. But it never does me any good. Don't you ever break down and tell one little secret, even to your best girl?
Albert Bronson
Never.
Lamont Cranston
And Quite right, too. Margot wants to paint the town. Philip, won't you come along?
Philip Ryder
Well, I'd like to awfully, but I can't tonight.
Margot Lane
What is it? A previous engagement.
The Shadow
Why bring her along?
Philip Ryder
Well, it's not an engagement, really. I'd be delighted to have you both come with me, if you cared to.
Margot Lane
Where are you going?
Philip Ryder
Don't laugh. I'm going to a spiritualistic seance.
Margot Lane
Oh, that sounds like fun. How do you feel about it, Lamond?
Philip Ryder
How's the meeting going to be at Mr. Dyckman's house? He's the medium.
Lamont Cranston
How do you happen to start, then?
Philip Ryder
Well, Dyckmann looked me up. Came to my apartment one evening. Said he'd had a message for me from my brother Paul.
Margot Lane
From Paul? How odd.
Philip Ryder
Yes, I miss my brother frightfully. Well, anyway, I went to the seance.
Lamont Cranston
You actually think this medium is a real thing?
Philip Ryder
Yes, Lamont, I do.
Lamont Cranston
Spiritualism can be such a shield for fakers that I'm always a little suspicious.
Philip Ryder
I know. But Mr. Dyckmann is no faker. You see, when I went to the seance, Paul spoke to me.
Margot Lane
Oh, Philip.
Brother Dyckmann
Yes.
Philip Ryder
Yes, he did. Through a trumpet.
Narrator
You're positive?
Philip Ryder
Yes. He's spoken to me of many things that only we two knew about. I'm forced to believe indictment.
Lamont Cranston
I see.
Philip Ryder
Well, do you care to come?
Margot Lane
Please do, Lamont. It sounds fascinating.
Brother Dyckmann
Yes.
Lamont Cranston
Yes, let's go. I'm very eager to meet this Mr. Dyckmann.
Brother Dyckmann
Good evening, brothers and sisters. I wish to extend a greeting to all our old friends and our new one. It is my hope that you will find peace and comfort which the rest of us share in the knowledge that the grave is not the end of life. Brother Ice, will you play the Tie that Binds
Margot Lane
Lamont?
Lamont Cranston
Yes.
Margot Lane
Somebody's dimming the light.
Philip Ryder
That's. That's part of the service.
Lamont Cranston
Don't tell me you're afraid.
Margot Lane
No. No, of course I'm not. Really.
Albert Bronson
Quiet.
Philip Ryder
You're not supposed to. To talk.
Margot Lane
The mond.
Lamont Cranston
What is it?
Margot Lane
Look up at those shiny stripes that are swinging around up there.
Philip Ryder
Those are the luminous bands on the trumpet.
Margot Lane
But how did they get up there?
Philip Ryder
Marvel, please. Please.
Margot Lane
Oh, sorry.
Brother Dyckmann
That's. That's my dead father's voice.
Unknown Minor Character
I'm sure it is.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
Yes, Father, I helping you. You must be careful of a tall blond man. Trouble may come to you through him.
Unknown Minor Character
I'll be careful, Father.
Margot Lane
The voice did seem to come from the trumpet.
Lamont Cranston
I know. Be quiet.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
Philip Phillips.
Philip Ryder
Yes, Paul, I'm here. What is it?
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
I'm watching your Work. I'm proud of what you're doing.
Philip Ryder
I'm glad.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
It's not easy. I wish I could be there to help you.
Philip Ryder
I wish you could, Paul. So much I. I miss you.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
Don't be sad for me, Philip. Think of your work. I can't quite understand just what it is, this last assignment.
Philip Ryder
Well, it's simple, Paul. If I could explain.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
I know you can't. But think of what you're doing at the office.
Spirit
Think.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
Think and help me understand.
Philip Ryder
Yes, Paul.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
If I am silent for a moment, it's because I'm going to try to understand what's in your mind. Trying to help.
Fred
Now
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
be silent. Silent.
Narrator
This is absurd.
Margot Lane
Come on. Be quiet. Sir.
Philip Ryder
Lamont, you broke the thread.
Narrator
Paul.
Philip Ryder
Paul, come back.
Brother Dyckmann
Turn up the lights. Turn them up. Mr. Rice. Thank you. I'm sorry that we've been interrupted. But it is impossible for the spirit to communicate when there are unfriendly influences at work. You, sir. I am speaking to you.
Lamont Cranston
Yes, what is it?
Brother Dyckmann
He thinks this is all a fake. That I have no power.
Lamont Cranston
On the contrary, I think you have great powers.
Brother Dyckmann
And yet you interrupt us. You scoff. You're determined to be hostile.
Narrator
Not at all.
Lamont Cranston
You interest me enormously. As a matter of fact, I should like to ask you a few questions.
Brother Dyckmann
You simply want to discredit me. The only satisfaction I can give you is that you have robbed these good people of the aid and comfort they seek.
Margot Lane
Lamont, let's go. This is terribly embarrassing.
Lamont Cranston
Very well. Let's leave. Well, you know, I'm not embarrassed. I'm really very interested.
Narrator
Ladies and gentlemen, when the Shadow laughs, it's no laughing matter for his enemies. And when you are suddenly faced with that common enemy of all motorists, a dangerous skid on wet sleep, slippery pavements, it's no laughing matter to be behind the wheel.
The Shadow
The Shadow knows every day, someone somewhere experiences that sickening pit of the stomach feeling when his car swerves out of control.
Brother Dyckmann
Beware.
The Shadow
It pays to play safe.
Narrator
Yes, motorists. And when you equip your car with the new Goodrich Silvertown tire, you know you're playing safe. Because the nation's largest independent testing laboratory, the impartial Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory, tested this new kind of tire over a three month period against the regular and premium priced tires of America's six largest tire manufacturers. The official report from these impartial engineers reads, the new Goodrich Silvertown, with lifesaver tread gave greater skid resistance than any other tire tested. And some of the tires tested are priced at from 40% to 70% more than Silvertown's. Yet the new Silvertown with lifesaver tread came out on top in skid protection. It came out on top in mileage too. Averaged 19.1% more non skid mileage than any of the tires tested in its own price range. Motorists, doesn't this prove which tire to put on your car? Get these life saving long mileage Silvertowns. Now, there is no extra cost.
Margot Lane
Here.
Brother Dyckmann
Philip.
Margot Lane
Sit down and cheer up.
Philip Ryder
I'm sorry things turned out this way.
Margot Lane
For heaven's sake, don't you apologize. I think Lamont ought to beg your pardon, behaving like that. Lamont.
Unknown Minor Character
What?
Lamont Cranston
Oh, yes, Phil. I'm sorry if you're upset.
Philip Ryder
Lamont, you. You must admit that Mr. Dyckman is unusual.
Narrator
Oh, yes.
Lamont Cranston
But the mental world is so full of unusual things. I was just thinking about a drawing that I saw very recently. Strange how vividly I see the piece of apparatus right now.
Margot Lane
What in the world are you raving about, Lamont?
Lamont Cranston
Piece of apparatus. It's so clear to me. I even started drawing it here on the menu. It's a curious contraption of one small wheel within another. They revolve in opposite directions. There is a thousandth of an inch between the two. Look.
Philip Ryder
Lamont.
Unknown Minor Character
Yes?
Philip Ryder
Don't draw that.
Albert Bronson
Don't.
Margot Lane
Philip, what's wrong? You look ill.
Philip Ryder
This is serious.
Lamont Cranston
You've seen this piece of apparatus before?
Philip Ryder
We've been working on it for weeks at the department.
Margot Lane
What's it for?
Philip Ryder
You might as well know now. It's part of a new anti aircraft gun. It ensures almost perfect aim at long range. Why, that's what Paul Spirit was talking about. Only tonight.
Lamont Cranston
How interesting.
Philip Ryder
No one knows of this. How do you come to Le Monde?
Lamont Cranston
I saw it someplace, just by chance. But where?
Philip Ryder
Who had it in their possession?
Narrator
Do you recall?
Lamont Cranston
I'm sorry, Philip, but.
Philip Ryder
Well, it doesn't matter anyhow. The thing will have to be scrapped.
Margot Lane
Thrown away, of course.
Philip Ryder
Have the whole big job to do over again.
Margot Lane
But how terrible. Lamont, try to remember where you saw it. It may not be too late to save the secret.
Philip Ryder
Yes, please try, Lamont. But in the meantime, I've got to find my chief. Let him know.
Lamont Cranston
I'm sorry, Philip.
Philip Ryder
Yes, it's too bad you can't remember. There are spies at work.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
There are.
Lamont Cranston
I hope you catch them, Philip.
The Shadow
Good night.
Philip Ryder
Good night. Good night, Margot.
Margot Lane
Good night, Philip. And now, Lamont Cranston, Suppose you tell me where you saw that drawing. Now, Margot, don't try to tell me you've forgotten? You never forget anything. Where did you see it and who had it?
Lamont Cranston
Philip had it. I saw it at the seance.
Margot Lane
What? What? What do you mean?
Lamont Cranston
I saw the image in Philip's mind. Saw it as plain as day.
Margot Lane
But how?
Lamont Cranston
Remember when that fake voice he thought was Paul's asked him to concentrate? In that moment of silence I saw the drawing plain as day. The dimensions, everything. That wasn't spiritualism. It was mind reading. Philip Ryder had been giving the government secrets away to spies ever since he started going to these seances.
Margot Lane
That's impossible.
Lamont Cranston
If I could see the drawing in his mind, so could a clever, practiced mind reader.
The Shadow
A man like Dyckmann.
Margot Lane
But why didn't you tell Phil?
Narrator
He wouldn't believe me.
Margot Lane
But he may go back there and talk to Paul. Spirit, he may tell other secrets.
Lamont Cranston
No, I don't think that he will. Let's go now.
Margot Lane
Go where?
Lamont Cranston
Back to Dyckman's and find out who he passes his information to and how. Perhaps the seance will still be in session.
Margot Lane
But Lamont Dyckmann will certainly not be pleased to see you again.
Lamont Cranston
But Margot, he won't see me. I'm going as the shadow.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
Friend. Praise.
Fred
Yes, spirit. Speak. I'm listening.
Spirit
You have understood all the facts I have communicated.
Fred
Gotten all down pat, spirit? Go ahead, spiel some more.
Spirit
This inner wheel I have told you of is separated from the outer one by a hair like space of one thousandth of an inch.
Brother Dyckmann
Understand?
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
Fred?
Fred
Yeah, I got it. Is that all?
Spirit
That is all. I must return to the spirit world
Brother Dyckmann
now, my friends, to get on to other messages. Our brother Fred should be very satisfied. I see he is leaving us now. Let us wait for further communications from my controls.
Unknown Minor Character
Mr. Fred.
Brother Dyckmann
Huh?
Fred
What do you want? I don't know you.
Unknown Minor Character
Oh, it's nothing, nothing. Only it's wonderful how the spirits talk to you at our meetings. You don't seem very reverent. But they talk to you?
Fred
Sure, sure, they talk. What about it?
Unknown Minor Character
Nothing. Nothing. Only I wish they would to me. Do you think?
Fred
I think you're just a nut. Get out of my way.
Unknown Minor Character
What's that? Who laughed? Why, there's no one there. Why, the spirit. Spirits must be hovering over Fred.
Albert Bronson
Ah, Fred, my dear boy. Come in, come in. You're late.
Fred
I stopped beefing. I got here, didn't I?
Albert Bronson
Yes, yes, yes. You closed the door, Fred.
Fred
I did close it.
Albert Bronson
No, no, Fred. It's still open.
Fred
I'd have sworn I shut it.
Albert Bronson
You obviously didn't.
Fred
Well, the cats can't be working right.
Albert Bronson
Ah, there, there. That's better. Tell me, have you the figures to finish our drawing?
Fred
No, not all of them. There's one spot I can't fill yet.
Albert Bronson
Why not?
Fred
Some nutty guy interrupted Dykman's session with Philip Ryder.
Albert Bronson
Too bad, too bad. But here's the drawing. Get to work, Fred.
Fred
Hey, stop ordering me around.
Albert Bronson
Now, Fred, don't be impudent.
Fred
What do you think I am?
Albert Bronson
Fred, dear boy, you are the man who killed Paul Ryder. Don't forget that.
Fred
You were in on that job, too.
Albert Bronson
But you fired the shot. Dear boy, please don't forget that I haven't. Now, let's not have any more impertinence, please.
Brother Dyckmann
Why, you.
Albert Bronson
Now, now, now, cool down. You and I can't afford to fight there, boy. We're too useful to each other. Only think what a nice, large sum of money we shall get from this job.
Fred
Yeah, all right, then. I'll just throw in those two wheels I got the dope on tonight, and
The Shadow
then I wouldn't, Fred, if I were you.
Commissioner Weston
Huh?
Fred
What'd you say, Bronson?
Albert Bronson
I didn't say a word. I hope you haven't started talking to yourself.
The Shadow
He hasn't, Mr. Bronson.
Fred
Hey, what is this? Who are you?
Albert Bronson
Where are you?
The Shadow
Men know me as the Shadow.
Brother Dyckmann
What the.
Fred
I can't see anyone. Who is it? What do you want?
The Shadow
I want to stop you two from betraying your country's secrets.
Albert Bronson
What?
The Shadow
If you sell that drawing, millions of your countrymen may pave your treachery with their lives.
Brother Dyckmann
Hey, Bronson. I can't stand this.
Fred
It gets me a voice and nobody's there.
Albert Bronson
Don't be excited, Fred. Look at me. I'm perfectly calm.
The Shadow
You are not afraid then, Bronson?
Albert Bronson
Of course not.
Fred
But Bronson, this spook is real.
Albert Bronson
Fred, don't be a fool. This is some trick of Dykman's.
Fred
Dykman's?
Narrator
Of course.
Albert Bronson
He's so clever with his trumpets and strikes. Strange voices. Aren't you, Dyckman? I'm not afraid of you.
The Shadow
I am not Dyckman. I am the Shadow. I have come to warn you indeed.
Albert Bronson
Shadow. Are we in danger?
The Shadow
Grave danger, Bronson. If you attempt to sell the information in this drawing, tear it up now.
Fred
Hey, I don't like this.
Albert Bronson
Calm down, Fred. This is Dyckman. He's trying to drive us out of the field so we can collect everything for himself. Isn't that the truth, Dyckman?
Fred
He don't answer. Is he gone?
Albert Bronson
I imagine so. Once he realized.
Brother Dyckmann
Hey, Branson.
Narrator
Look.
Albert Bronson
What is it?
Fred
Here, on the desk where the drawing was.
Philip Ryder
Why?
Albert Bronson
Why, it's gone.
Fred
Yeah, it's been stolen. Hey, Bronson, I'm scared.
Albert Bronson
Ah, nonsense, nonsense. Come on.
Fred
Where? Where you going?
Albert Bronson
To find Dietman, you fool.
Fred
What are you gonna do?
Albert Bronson
You and I, Fred, are going to kill our dear friend Dyckman.
Narrator
Come along.
The Shadow
The Shadow calling Margo Lane. The Shadow calling Margo Lane. Margot Lane, get in touch with Commissioner Weston. Have him surround Mr. Dykeman's house at once. Have him bring Philip Rider with him.
Unknown Minor Character
Hurry, hurry, hurry.
Brother Dyckmann
Now, my friends, we must have silence or the seance cannot succeed. Silence, please.
Philip Ryder
Hey, Bronson.
Albert Bronson
Yes, friend?
Fred
You hear that? Dykeman's got a late seance going on inside right now.
Albert Bronson
Yes, dear boy, that seems to be true.
Fred
And he couldn't have been the shadow.
Albert Bronson
Nonsense. He probably just sneaked back here ahead of us. Go ahead and speak to him. Tell him you wish to reach the spirits. We'll surprise dear Mr. Dyckman.
Fred
Yeah, all right. Come on.
Brother Dyckmann
Newcomers have entered the room. Please do not be disturbed. My friends, have you any questions?
Fred
I want to ask some. This is Fred again.
Brother Dyckmann
Silence. Fred is calling. Silence. I am here, Fred. What do you wish? Is there something wrong?
Fred
Yeah, there is. You know that drawing I was working on?
Brother Dyckmann
Yes, yes, I know. It's been stolen. Stolen?
Unknown Minor Character
By who?
It was not stolen. The Shadow took it.
Brother Dyckmann
What's that? Who is speaking?
Unknown Minor Character
The Shadow Dyckmann.
Brother Dyckmann
Friends, someone is trying to put over fraud. That is not the spirit voice.
Unknown Minor Character
No, this is the voice of the Shadow Dyckmann. You're in danger.
Commissioner Weston
What is this voice, Dyckman?
Brother Dyckmann
I don't know. It's some sort of fraud.
Unknown Minor Character
It's you who are the fraud, Dyckmann. Making these poor people think they are talking to their loved ones.
Brother Dyckmann
Friends, this is an outrage.
Narrator
A trick.
Brother Dyckmann
Ladies and gentlemen, please keep your seats. This is obviously a fraud. It isn't the voice of a spirit.
Unknown Minor Character
Confess, somebody.
Brother Dyckmann
Turn on the lights and show this faker up. Turn on the light.
Narrator
Where's the door?
Margot Lane
Come on.
Brother Dyckmann
Now. The lights. Ah, there they are, ladies and gentlemen. What is that voice? You see? The voice has stopped. The faker can't talk through the trumpet with the lights on. Stop it. Stop it, do you hear?
Unknown Minor Character
Do you still think I'm a fake?
Brother Dyckmann
No, no, but Go away and leave me be.
Unknown Minor Character
Not until you've done as I tell you.
Brother Dyckmann
What is it you want me to do?
Unknown Minor Character
Tell these people you're a fraud.
Brother Dyckmann
No, no, no.
Unknown Minor Character
Tell them that you're the voice of the spirit.
Brother Dyckmann
That Talk to them. All right, all right. I'm at it now. Now will you leave me alone?
Unknown Minor Character
There's one thing more.
Brother Dyckmann
What?
Unknown Minor Character
Tell them you're a member of a spy ring. The same ring that killed Paul Ryder.
Brother Dyckmann
Paul Wright. Tell them who your boss is. All right, I'll tell them. I. Who fired that shot? It was this man here. Brother Dman. Brother Dman. Brother Dman, are you all right?
The Shadow
Come in. Commissioner Weston, you're just in time.
Commissioner Weston
Someone fire a gun in here?
Unknown Minor Character
Yes.
Narrator
Brother Dyckman has just been killed.
Commissioner Weston
Who did it?
Brother Dyckmann
Who? We don't know.
Commissioner Weston
He. Did anybody see the gun being fired?
Brother Dyckmann
We were all too excited to notice, but.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
But the shots seemed to come from over there.
Commissioner Weston
None of you saw who did it?
Narrator
Well, I. I couldn't be sure, but I. I thought it was this man.
Brother Dyckmann
Yeah, I did. It was too.
Narrator
It was this fella here.
Margot Lane
It was not no man.
Commissioner Weston
Lock the doors. Don't let anyone out. We search this.
Fred
Mom.
The Shadow
Commissioner Weston.
Commissioner Weston
Yes, what is it?
The Shadow
What?
Commissioner Weston
Say, who spoke to me?
The Shadow
This is the shadow, Commissioner Weston.
Commissioner Weston
The Shadow? I might have known.
The Shadow
You see the man standing in the corner?
Commissioner Weston
The man? Oh, yes. That's Albert Bronson, the book collector.
The Shadow
He poses as a book collector. He's really the head of a great spy ring. Search him.
Brother Dyckmann
This is an outrage.
Commissioner Weston
I'm sorry, Mr. Bronson, but is necessary. Just a minute, please. Stand still. No gun on him.
The Shadow
Search the young man beside him. His name is Fred.
Commissioner Weston
Yes. Ah, here we are. A gun. And just fire.
Unknown Minor Character
You Bronson.
Brother Dyckmann
You planted it on me after you killed Dyckman.
Albert Bronson
Why, what nonsense. Commissioner Weston, I presume that I'm free to go now.
Commissioner Weston
Well, now I am.
The Shadow
Commissioner, look at the papers you just took from the pockets of Bronson and of Fred.
Commissioner Weston
These papers.
Unknown Minor Character
Show them to Philip Ryder.
Lamont Cranston
Why?
Brother Dyckmann
What are they?
Philip Ryder
A. A drawing commission. The voice is right. These men are spies.
Brother Dyckmann
Brighton, that's the drawing that was stolen from us.
Albert Bronson
Quiet, you fool.
Philip Ryder
It's torn in half.
Commissioner Weston
And each of these men had a half in his pocket.
Albert Bronson
But that's impossible. The drawing had been stolen. It couldn't have gotten back into our pockets.
The Shadow
Then you confess you had it in your possession. Once you own that, you are spies.
Albert Bronson
I own nothing. Convict me if you can.
The Shadow
If you can't be proven spies, at least you can be held for the murder of two men.
Commissioner Weston
Two men?
The Shadow
Yes, Dyckmann and Paul Ryder.
Albert Bronson
I didn't do it. I didn't.
Paul Ryder (Spirit)
It was Fred.
Brother Dyckmann
Men.
Commissioner Weston
Take him away. We won't have much trouble convicting them if they've killed two men.
The Shadow
Yes, they killed two men. But what is worse, they tried to sell the lives of thousands of their countrymen for a little money.
Commissioner Weston
Yes. Shadow. I guess they never counted on meeting up with you.
Unknown Minor Character
No.
The Shadow
They believed they could betray their country and escape the consequences. That they were wrong. Treason cannot succeed. Traitors must be punished. And I will fight to save my country from men like these. They dared to commit these crimes because they had never met me. They did not know or fear the Shadow.
Narrator
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.
Albert Bronson
The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay.
Narrator
The Shadow knows all the characters and all the places named are fictitious. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode: The Shadow: The Voice of the Trumpet (Original Air Date: 07/03/1938)
Release Date: May 7, 2026
This episode of The Shadow delivers a thrilling tale of espionage, spiritualism, and murder set against the backdrop of pre-war intrigue. When government secrets are mysteriously leaked and a respected War Department employee is killed, Lamont Cranston (aka The Shadow) steps in to unmask a dangerous spy ring operating out of the world of phony séances. Listeners are transported into a web of deception where mind-reading and the supernatural become tools for treason.
"No one would suspect Albert Bronson, the distinguished authority on fine books, of being a spy."
—Albert Bronson (03:20)
"You actually think this medium is a real thing?"
—Lamont Cranston (07:00)
"Remember when that fake voice he thought was Paul's asked him to concentrate? In that moment of silence I saw the drawing plain as day."
—Lamont Cranston (15:20)
"If you sell that drawing, millions of your countrymen may pay for your treachery with their lives."
—The Shadow (19:16)
"They believed they could betray their country and escape the consequences. But they were wrong. Treason cannot succeed. Traitors must be punished. And I will fight to save my country from men like these."
—The Shadow (26:33)
"The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows."
—Albert Bronson, closing the episode (27:35)
"He poses as a book collector. He's really the head of a great spy ring. Search him."
—The Shadow to Commissioner Weston (25:00)
"Tell these people you're a fraud."
—The Shadow (23:44)
"What is worse, they tried to sell the lives of thousands of their countrymen for a little money."
—The Shadow (26:25)
The episode features classic old-time radio drama suspense, weaving together patriotic duty, supernatural intrigue, sharp detective work, and moments of dry wit. Lamont Cranston’s persona as The Shadow delivers a mix of menace and moral authority, while Margot Lane provides warmth and curiosity.
Listeners are treated to an engaging blend of espionage and classic radio theatrics, with a cautionary tale about the dangers of misplaced trust and the ever-present threat of traitors lurking behind respectable facades. The ingenuity of The Shadow and the exposure of the fraudulent medium make for a satisfying resolution, emblematic of the series’ themes: justice, morality, and the ultimate price of crime.