This Is Your FBI: The Delinquent Parents 04/05/1946

Summary

Podcast Summary: This Is Your FBI: The Delinquent Parents (Choice Classic Radio Detectives)

Episode Details:

• Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
• Host: Choice Classic Radio
• Episode: This Is Your FBI: The Delinquent Parents
• Original Broadcast Date: April 5, 1946
• Discussed on: February 15, 2026

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Overview

This episode of This Is Your FBI, titled "The Delinquent Parents," dives into the juvenile files of the FBI to dramatize a case linking parental neglect to youth crime. Set in mid-20th century America, the episode tells the story of two teenage boys, Drake and Ronnie, whose emotionally distant and distracted parents fail to provide guidance. Their yearning for attention and material desires leads them into a chain of escalating criminal acts, culminating in a confrontation with law enforcement. The episode ultimately poses a message to parents about responsibility and the importance of involvement in their children’s lives.

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Key Discussion Points & Narrative Highlights

1. Introduction & Social Context

• [02:46] The narrator opens with a stark statistic: "In America today, for every 23 persons, there is one with an arrest record and the tide of crime is rising." Special emphasis is placed on the rise of juvenile delinquency, particularly among 17-year-olds.
• The common misconception that crime is mostly bred from poverty is challenged; the episode suggests parental neglect is often a more significant factor, impacting families of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

2. The Medford Household: Seeds of Neglect

• [03:56] Drake, a scientifically curious 16-year-old, tries and fails to connect with his preoccupied mother.
• Mrs. Medford repeatedly dismisses Drake’s attempts at conversation, prioritizing her social outings over her son’s needs and interests.
  • Memorable Quote:

    "You never have time for anything concerning me."
    — Drake Medford ([05:03])

3. Drake & Ronnie’s Plan

• [05:42] Drake’s friend Ronnie visits; both lament that their parents consistently ignore them.
• Ronnie persuades Drake to help break into his uncle’s (the Pomeroy family's) house, planning to steal $150 for a sailboat—rationalizing that since it’s a family member, it’s a harmless act.
  • They decide to use nitroglycerin, which Drake concocts in his home laboratory.

4. The Crime Escalates

• [07:29] The boys sneak into the uncle's home at night, employing a key Ronnie had copied.
• They blow open the wall safe, steal $50 in cash and $5,000 worth of jewelry, and inadvertently assault the butler (Waters) who comes to investigate.
• Police Involvement ([09:20]): The crime is quickly reported, and clues point to it being an inside job due to the method of entry and the use of nitroglycerin.

5. Attempting to Sell the Loot

• [12:01] The next day, the boys try pawning the jewelry in New York. The pawnbroker is suspicious of the teens and tries to call the police.
• Ronnie panics, forcibly tries to retrieve the jewelry, and knocks the pawnbroker unconscious. The boys flee.

6. FBI Investigation

• [17:25] FBI agents Durant and Baker visit the injured pawnbroker, piecing together the description of the culprits and narrowing their search based on the boys' ages and appearance.

7. Moral Collapse and Regret

• [18:48] On the run, Drake is wracked with guilt, considering turning themselves in.
• Ronnie, increasingly desperate, fears possible accidental murder of the pawnbroker and urges flight.

8. Parental Reckoning

• [20:09] FBI Special Agent Baker visits Mrs. Medford, who is forced to admit her emotional distance from her son. She is shocked to hear of Drake's crimes.

  • Memorable Quote:

    "Perhaps if you had kept up with Drake, Mrs. Medford, we shouldn't be trying to catch up with him now."
    — FBI Agent Baker ([20:55])

• Baker delivers the episode's thesis directly: her ignorance of Drake’s activities—like making nitroglycerin—has led to tragedy.

9. Resolution: Capture and Reflection

• [23:30] The abandoned Medford car is found near rail yards; agents deduce the boys have hopped a freight train.
• [24:03] On the train, Drake resolves to return and face the consequences, despite Ronnie’s protests.
• The FBI intercepts them, and upon hearing their remorse, assures Drake of his mother’s love and concern.
  • Memorable Quote:

    "And you were wrong about your mother. She does care. She cares an awful lot. So come on home."
    — FBI Agent Durant ([24:57])

10. Epilogue and Societal Message

• [25:20] The boys, due to their youth and confessions, are paroled with a chance for rehabilitation.
• J. Edgar Hoover (impersonated) delivers a direct address promoting community resources, particularly the Boys Clubs of America, as preventative measures for youth crime.
  • Memorable Quote:

    "Every community resource should be immediately mobilized. And every parent and adult should take their proper place in the fight against lawlessness."
    — J. Edgar Hoover (impersonation) ([25:46])

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Parental Indifference:

  • "You never have any time for me." — Drake Medford ([05:00])
  • "I never tried to keep up with that boy." — Mrs. Medford ([20:48])

• Judgment on Parental Responsibility:

  • "Perhaps if you had kept up with Drake, Mrs. Medford, we shouldn't be trying to catch up with him now." — FBI Agent Baker ([20:55])
  • "Have you ever bothered yourself enough about your son to see that it couldn't be true?" — FBI Agent Baker ([22:08])

• Moment of Guilt and Decision:

  • "We're gonna go back and tell them we did it and get everything straightened out." — Drake Medford ([19:03])
  • "I care about her and I can't do this. I'm getting off this train right now." — Drake Medford ([24:36])

• FBI’s Reassurance and Moral of the Story:

  • "And you were wrong about your mother. She does care. She cares an awful lot. So come on home." — FBI Agent Durant ([24:57])
  • "A crime wave of growing proportions is upon us. It demands immediate attention on the part of every right thinking American. Increasingly, it is becoming a youth problem." — J. Edgar Hoover (impersonation) ([25:46])

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Structure & Flow

The narrative is tightly structured in the classic radio drama style, interspersed with educational asides. It follows a clear arc:

1. Social problem and case introduction
2. Domestic tension and root causes (neglect)
3. Youthful scheming escalating to crime
4. Law enforcement’s methodical response
5. Moral reckoning for both teens and parents
6. Call to action for listeners to engage with youth

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Conclusion

This Is Your FBI: The Delinquent Parents offers a striking dramatization of postwar American anxieties about juvenile delinquency. The episode positions parental involvement as the key to prevention, blending suspenseful storytelling with direct social commentary. The underlying message remains: youth crime is not inevitable, but the result of preventable lapses in parental attention and community engagement.

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Major Segments & Timestamps

• [02:46] Opening social context and case premise
• [03:56] Family scene reveals neglect
• [05:42] Boys’ scheme takes shape
• [09:20] FBI steps in following the crime
• [12:01] Attempt to pawn stolen goods
• [17:25] FBI narrows suspect search
• [20:09] Confrontation with Mrs. Medford
• [23:30] Boys’ flight and internal conflict
• [24:57] FBI apprehends the boys and counsels them
• [25:46] Epilogue: J. Edgar Hoover’s address

Transcript

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[Narrator/Equitable Life Assurance Announcer]

Society presents this is your FBI. This is your FBI. An official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, presented as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. Tonight's significant story will begin in just a moment. First, a brief word from the sponsor of this Is yous FBI, the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Here at the Equitable Society, we have been working for 86 years on one of the things that you yourself are most concerned about, security for yourself and your loved ones. When we say you, we mean just that. You who are about to listen to this program, even if you're not a member of the Equitable Society, you benefit indirectly through the stability that Equitable Society investments help bring to American industry and business. Get to know the Equitable Society life insurance representative in your community. You'll learn that it's a simple statement of exact fact that by serving Equitable Society members, he serves America. Tonight's FBI file the delinquent parents.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

In America Today, for every 23 persons, there is one with an arrest record and the tide of crime is rising. The greatest number of arrests in all age groups is of boys and girls 17 years old and the number is growing. Tonight's case from the juvenile files of your FBI is a drop of water in the rising tide. There is a popular fallacy that youthful law violators are most always products of poverty or underprivilege. If this were true, Abraham Lincoln might well have become the arch criminal of his day. The truth is that they are, with rare exceptions, the products of parental neglect, a condition just as prevalent in homes of the well to do as in homes of the poor. Take, for example, the Medford home in a suburb of New York City. It is a Few minutes before noon, Drake Medford, 16, comes out of his improvised chemical laboratory to make a request of his mother.

[Drake Medford]

Mom, mom, would you mind. No, Drake.

[Mrs. Medford]

Can't you see I'm rushing?

[Drake Medford]

But, Mom, I just wanted to.

[Mrs. Medford]

Drake, I simply got to make the 1240. Bertha will be furious if I'm not there for the curtain.

[Drake Medford]

But I thought since you're going into.

[Mrs. Medford]

New York, I won't have time to do any errands for you.

[Drake Medford]

Drake. It would only take you a minute, Mom. And I'm running low on nitric acid.

[Mrs. Medford]

Well, I.

[Ronnie]

What?

[Drake Medford]

Nitric acid?

[Mrs. Medford]

Good heavens. Do you want to blow me up?

[Drake Medford]

Nitric acid is perfectly harmless until combined with.

[Mrs. Medford]

Well, I'm certainly not going to combine any with me.

[Drake Medford]

Okay.

[Mrs. Medford]

Whatever it is you're doing, Drake, it'll have to wait long enough for you to drive me to the station.

[Drake Medford]

All right. Be home for dinner.

[Mrs. Medford]

No, I'm never at home for dinner when I go to a matinee.

[Drake Medford]

Seems like you're hardly ever home for dinner.

[Ronnie]

What, dear?

[Drake Medford]

Never mind.

[Mrs. Medford]

You'd better go back the car out. I'll be ready to go by that time.

[Drake Medford]

Ronnie's coming over after a while. May I use the car if we want to go somewhere?

[Mrs. Medford]

I don't care what you do, dear.

[Drake Medford]

Say, by the way, Mom.

[Mrs. Medford]

Please, Drake, not now. Some other time.

[Drake Medford]

Some other time. Some other time. It's always that way.

[Mrs. Medford]

Don't stand there mumbling. Go get the car out.

[Drake Medford]

But you never have any time for me.

[Mrs. Medford]

What?

[Drake Medford]

He said you never have time for anything concerning me.

[Mrs. Medford]

Why, Drake, the idea. How can you say such a thing?

[Drake Medford]

Never mind, Drake. Guess you're sorry you ever had a son, and so am I.

[Mrs. Medford]

Sometimes you're talking utter nonsense, you know. Perfect. Heavens, look at the time.

[Drake Medford]

Okay, I'll go get the car.

[Mrs. Medford]

Please hurry, dear.

[Ronnie]

Sure.

[Drake Medford]

You can't afford to miss the curtain. That's something really important.

[Ronnie]

Greg.

[Mrs. Medford]

Come on in.

[Drake Medford]

Ronnie, I'm back in the lab.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Okay.

[Ronnie]

Anybody home?

[Drake Medford]

Nope.

[Ronnie]

Well, how's it coming?

[Drake Medford]

It's all done.

[Ronnie]

How much of the stuff did you.

[Drake Medford]

Make that little bottle full.

[Ronnie]

Hey, that's enough nitroglycerin to blow up the Croton Dam.

[Drake Medford]

Well, you asked me to make plenty.

[Ronnie]

That's right.

[Drake Medford]

Hey, why do you want it, Drake?

[Ronnie]

That stuff's gonna get us something we both want awfully bad.

[Drake Medford]

What? That sailboat, the nitro. I don't get it.

[Ronnie]

Look, we need 150 bucks, don't we? Yeah, and a fat chance we've got of getting it from our folks. They've Turned us down three times already.

[Drake Medford]

I know.

[Ronnie]

And we're gonna go out and get it ourselves.

[Drake Medford]

How do you mean?

[Ronnie]

Remember my Uncle Ben who lives in Connecticut?

[Drake Medford]

Yeah. He won't give you 150 bucks.

[Ronnie]

He will too, but he won't know it.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

How?

[Ronnie]

Well, he and the family all have gone to Florida. But there's always money in his wall safe, and it'll be a cinch for us to blow it up.

[Drake Medford]

Blow up his wall safe?

[Ronnie]

Sure. He's got tons of dough. He won't miss it. We'll even tell him someday who pulled the job. And he'll get a big laugh out of it.

[Drake Medford]

Oh, but it's not right.

[Ronnie]

Look, it's in the family, isn't it?

[Drake Medford]

But even so.

[Ronnie]

What's the matter? You scared?

[Drake Medford]

Oh, it's not that, especially.

[Ronnie]

Sure you are. You scared your mother will find out.

[Drake Medford]

That's where you're wrong, Ronnie.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Huh?

[Drake Medford]

She doesn't care what I do, and I don't either, anymore.

[Ronnie]

What's the matter? Have a fight?

[Drake Medford]

No. I'm just realizing where I stand around here.

[Ronnie]

Well, I got wise to that. In my house long ago, she lives her life.

[Drake Medford]

So from now on, I'm gonna live mine.

[Ronnie]

Well, what are we waiting for?

[Drake Medford]

Nothing. We'll blow that safe tonight.

[Ronnie]

I got the tools. You got the nitro?

[Drake Medford]

Yeah.

[Ronnie]

Come on. Let's get out of the car.

[Drake Medford]

Wait a minute.

[Ronnie]

You're not getting cold feet, are you?

[Drake Medford]

No.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

No.

[Drake Medford]

I thought you said they'd all gone to Florida.

[Ronnie]

What do you mean?

[Drake Medford]

That light upstairs.

[Ronnie]

Oh, that's Waters, the butler.

[Drake Medford]

What do we do?

[Ronnie]

I won't know anything's going on until it's too late.

[Drake Medford]

How are we gonna get in?

[Ronnie]

They left the key with the folks. I slipped it out and had a copy made. Come on. Don't close it.

[Drake Medford]

Okay.

[Ronnie]

Okay. Here we are. I'll open the door. I'll go first with flashlight. You follow me. The safe's in the library, just off to the left. Okay. There's the safe, that wall there. I'll drill a hole first. You get the nitro ready.

[Drake Medford]

Okay.

[Ronnie]

Ronnie, what's the matter?

[Drake Medford]

Listen. Put out the flashlight, quick.

[Ronnie]

Right.

[Drake Medford]

What do we do?

[Ronnie]

I'll take care of Waters.

[Drake Medford]

Hey, Ronnie, you don't mean your sh. He's turned on the living room light.

[Ronnie]

Quiet and keep down.

[Narrator/Equitable Life Assurance Announcer]

That's funny.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

I'd have sworn I had to.

[Drake Medford]

Hey, Ronnie, we better get out of here.

[Ronnie]

Not until we get what we came for.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

About an hour later, a telephone rang on the desk of Agent in Charge Durant. Of the New Haven office of the FBI.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Durant speaking. This is police headquarters at Meadowbrook.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Oh, hello.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

What's up?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

We think this is a case for the FBI. Oh.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

What happened?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

The wall safe in the Pomeroy house.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Here was blown a while ago, and the butler was slugged. What's the FBI angle?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

They got only $50 in cash, but took jewelry valued at over 5,000. We've reason to believe the thieves are.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

From New York, Went back across the state line with the stuff. Well, that comes within our jurisdiction. All right, what do you want us to do? I'll start a special agent over to Meadowbrook right away to investigate.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

We'll be waiting for him. Right.

[Ronnie]

Better take it easy, Drake. We don't want to get pinched for speeding.

[Drake Medford]

Now, I wish you hadn't taken that jewelry.

[Ronnie]

What good's $50 gonna do us?

[Drake Medford]

What good's the jewelry gonna do us?

[Ronnie]

Don't you know what the guys in the movies do with this stuff?

[Drake Medford]

Oh, you mean.

[Narrator/Equitable Life Assurance Announcer]

Sure.

[Ronnie]

Hock it before it gets hot.

[Drake Medford]

Where are you gonna pawn it tonight?

[Ronnie]

Oh, we can't tonight. But we'll be in a New York pawn shop with it first thing in the morning.

[Drake Medford]

Well, what are we gonna do tonight?

[Ronnie]

We're gonna go home like nothing happened. Then you pick me up early in the morning and we'll head for a pawn shop.

[Drake Medford]

Look, Ronnie, I.

[Ronnie]

Now, don't go getting nervous on me. You just sit tight and we're in clover.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Back already, Tom?

[Narrator/Equitable Life Assurance Announcer]

Yes.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Pick up any leads?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

The butler is positive the robbers were very young, just kids. Or he started into the library to investigate the noise he heard and had just caught a quick glimpse of one of them when the other one knocked him out.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Could he give you a description of the other one he saw?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

He didn't get that good look at him.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

How did they blow the safe?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

It was a nitro job.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Kids in nitro somehow or other don't quite go together, do they?

[Narrator/Equitable Life Assurance Announcer]

No.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

How did they gain entrance to the house?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

The easiest way possible. What? They had a key, apparently. Opened the front door and walked right in.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Well, what do you know about that?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Guess you're thinking the same thing I am.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Inside job.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

That's the way it struck me.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Well, before we go to work on that, telephone the New York office and give them the details and the description of the missing jewelry.

[Ronnie]

It's okay, Drake. Nobody in the shop but the pawn broker himself. Come on.

[Drake Medford]

Look, wouldn't you rather I'd wait out here?

[Ronnie]

What's the matter? You getting scared again?

[Drake Medford]

I thought he Might be less suspicious if you went in by yourself.

[Ronnie]

No, it's just the other way around. Come on.

[Mrs. Medford]

Okay.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Well, good morning, boys. What can I do for you?

[Ronnie]

We want to point something.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

That's my business. What have you got here?

[Ronnie]

Well, what's the matter?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Diamond bracelet? Pearl necklace. Where'd you get this? Well.

[Ronnie]

Well, you see, it belongs to my sister. She didn't want to come here herself and she asked me to take care of it for her. How much can we. I mean, how much can she get for it?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

You wait a minute. I'll take them in back and examine them.

[Ronnie]

Oh, well, okay, but we're in kind of a hurry.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

I'll be right back.

[Drake Medford]

What do you have to go back there for?

[Ronnie]

To examine it, like he said. Now, don't stop.

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[Drake Medford]

He's dialing a number. Yeah, Maybe he's calling the police. Let's get out of here.

[Ronnie]

Wait a minute. You watch the front.

[Drake Medford]

Where are you going?

[Ronnie]

I said watch the front. Just a minute, mister.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Something wrong?

[Ronnie]

We changed our minds. We want the jewelry back.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

You can't have it back. I think this jewelry's stolen.

[Ronnie]

Give me that jewelry. No, you can't. Come on, Drake.

[Drake Medford]

What happened?

[Ronnie]

Let's get out of here fast.

[Narrator/Equitable Life Assurance Announcer]

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[Narrator/Storyteller]

We repeat, mothers and fathers of America. The greatest number of criminal arrests today in all age groups is of boys and girls 17 years old. And back of it all, with rare exception, is parental neglect. The parent who doesn't take time to understand, to guide, to make a companion of his boy or girl may one day have to watch his child serve time. Misses Medford's attitude of utter indifference concerning her son Drake cannot now be far from a severe shock. The pawnbroker struck down by Drake's companion, Ronnie, was taken by police to a New York hospital for treatment of his head wound. An official visitor enters his room.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Mr. Adams? I'm agent in Charge Durant of the New Haven office of the FBI. This is Special Agent Baker.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

How do you do? FBI New Haven? Yes.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

We came to New York early this morning to follow up an investigation of a jewel robbery up in Meadowbrook last night. When the police reported to our office here, what took place in your shop a while ago? I thought there might be a connection.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

What can I tell you?

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

What kind of jewelry were you offered?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

A diamond and emerald bracelet and a pearl necklace. That checks all right.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

And you told the police the jewels were offered by two boys?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Yes, but they didn't look like criminals. They were so young and clean looking. Could you describe them more fully? Let me see.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Try to be as accurate as you can, Mr. Adams. We have a theory that one of the boys was related to the family that was Rob. But we want to make certain before taking any steps.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

The one who did the talking, he was 16 or 17. He was a big boy, like my son, who plays football. And he's got red hair. That's what we wanted to find out. Yes.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

And now, Mr. Adams, if you'll give us a brief description of the other lad as quickly as you can, we'll be on our way.

[Ronnie]

Stick to this highway, Drake. When we get up around Peekskill, I got another idea. Hey, what are you doing?

[Drake Medford]

I'm gonna turn around.

[Ronnie]

Turn around? What do you mean?

[Drake Medford]

We're going back?

[Ronnie]

Are you crazy?

[Drake Medford]

No. That's why we're going back.

[Ronnie]

I don't get you.

[Drake Medford]

We're gonna go back and tell them we did it and get everything straightened out.

[Ronnie]

Now, I know you're crazy.

[Drake Medford]

That's the only right thing to do, Ronnie.

[Ronnie]

That's the only thing that'll land us in the Hooscal.

[Drake Medford]

Not if we confess.

[Ronnie]

Look, Drake, uncle or no uncle, we blew his safe, stole money and jewelry, slugged the butler, and a while ago we slugged a pawnbroker. Maybe we even. Well.

[Drake Medford]

Even what?

[Ronnie]

Well, I hit that old man pretty hard, and I might have hit him too hard.

[Drake Medford]

You mean he's dead?

[Ronnie]

Well, he could be. We can't afford to go back and maybe have a murder pinned on us.

[Drake Medford]

All right.

[Ronnie]

Yeah, we're wanted by the police now, but good. We didn't mean to go this far, but we did. And we're criminals now. And there's only one thing we can do about it. We can't go back home. We've got to go on. Don't you see?

[Drake Medford]

Where did you say to head for?

[Ronnie]

Peachkill.

[Mrs. Medford]

Just a minute. Yes?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Mrs. Medford?

[Drake Medford]

Yes?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

I'm Special Agent Baker of the FBI.

[Mrs. Medford]

FBI?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

That's right. May I come in?

[Mrs. Medford]

Well, of course.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Thank you.

[Mrs. Medford]

I have only a minute. I'm dashing over to the club for a bridge luncheon.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

I really wanted to see your son, Drake.

[Mrs. Medford]

Drake?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Yes.

[Mrs. Medford]

I don't believe he's here. Oh, Drake.

[Drake Medford]

There, you see?

[Mrs. Medford]

He isn't home. He went off somewhere in the car early this morning.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Do you know where he went?

[Mrs. Medford]

Well, I don't believe he said.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Have you any idea where he was last night?

[Mrs. Medford]

Good heavens. I'm afraid not. I never tried to keep up with that boy.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Obviously.

[Ronnie]

I beg your pardon.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Perhaps if you had kept up with Drake, Mrs. Medford, we shouldn't be trying to catch up with him now.

[Mrs. Medford]

What did you say?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Ronnie's mother doesn't know where he is either. I was just there.

[Mrs. Medford]

I don't understand.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Your son, Mrs. Medford, and Ronnie are wanted by the FBI. Can you understand that?

[Mrs. Medford]

Wanted by the FBI?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Yes.

[Mrs. Medford]

Oh, no. There must be some mistake.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Do you think so?

[Mrs. Medford]

I know so.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

How can you know that when you bother to know so little else about your son?

[Mrs. Medford]

But. But I.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

At least you must have known that Drake has a little chemical lab in the House.

[Mrs. Medford]

Yes, I.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

But did you ever bother to know what he can mix in that lab?

[Mrs. Medford]

No, I.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

One of the things he mixes is nitroglycerin.

[Mrs. Medford]

Nitroglycerin?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Yes. Now, you'd better get a good grip on yourself for this, Mrs. Bedford.

[Ronnie]

What?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Last night, Drake and Ronnie blew open the safe in the Pomeroy home. Stole money and over $5,000 worth of jewelry. Struck down the butler with a deadly weapon.

[Mrs. Medford]

Oh, no.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

And this morning, struck down an old pawnbroker who got suspicious when they tried to pawn the jewelry.

[Mrs. Medford]

It isn't true. It can't be true.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Have you ever bothered yourself enough about your son to see that it couldn't be true?

[Mrs. Medford]

Drake couldn't do such a thing.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

I'm sorry, Mrs. Medford, but because you haven't faced the fact of your responsibility to your son, you will have to face now the fact that he's wanted in connection with three crimes. Drake.

[Mrs. Medford]

My poor, poor Drake.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

I'm afraid I'll have to put out an alarm right away. May I have the license number and description of your car, please?

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Thanks a lot, Sergeant. I'll get on it right away. Oh, Baker.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Yes?

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Looks like we've gotten quick results from the alarm.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Really?

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Yes. I've just talked to police headquarters at Peekskill.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Yes?

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

They found the Medford car abandoned down by the freight yards.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

I see. Well, it's pretty obvious what they did next.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

Exactly. We're on our way to Peekskill right now. I'm having them check all freight train schedules. And by the time we get there, we should be able to figure out where those youngsters are.

[Ronnie]

I wish this church trainer get moving again. I bet we've been parked on the siding two hours. What time is it, Drake?

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

What?

[Ronnie]

I say, what time is it?

[Drake Medford]

I don't know. I can't see my watch.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

Okay.

[Ronnie]

It doesn't make any difference anyway.

[Drake Medford]

Ronnie.

[Ronnie]

Yeah?

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

I want to go home.

[Ronnie]

Look, are you gonna start that again?

[Drake Medford]

I've made up my mind this time. Ronnie, sit down. You can do whatever you want, but I'm gonna get off a string right now and start back home. Are you coming with me?

[Ronnie]

No, and you're not going either.

[Drake Medford]

Yes, I am.

[Ronnie]

Wait a minute.

[Drake Medford]

Don't try to stop me.

[Ronnie]

Look, if you haven't got any more sense than to go back, I've got to stop you for your own good.

[Drake Medford]

I don't care what they do to me.

[Ronnie]

Suppose the pawn broker is dead. I guess you want to go to the electric chair for murder.

[Drake Medford]

I didn't murder anybody.

[Ronnie]

So you're going back and squeal on me and get yourself war.

[Drake Medford]

I didn't mean it that way. I mean, I'm not really a criminal. And you're not either. We just didn't stop to think what we were doing.

[Ronnie]

But we did it.

[Drake Medford]

And I'm sorry for it too. So are you and you know it. I want to go back home and get it off my conscience. And you ought to do it too.

[Ronnie]

You're just scared to be out on your own. You want to run home to your mother.

[Drake Medford]

What's wrong with that?

[Ronnie]

You said yourself she didn't care anything about you.

[Drake Medford]

It doesn't make any difference. I care about her and I can't do this. I'm getting off this train right now.

[Ronnie]

No, you're not.

[Drake Medford]

Stone me, Ronnie.

[Ronnie]

No, you're not.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

That'll do, boys. Huh?

[Ronnie]

Who are you?

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

They're special agents of the FBI.

[Pawn Broker / Various Male Characters]

What?

[Ronnie]

FBI?

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

And I'm awfully glad we waited to overhear what you were saying, Drake. It'll make things easier for both of you.

[Drake Medford]

Yes, sir.

[FBI Agent Durant / FBI Agent Baker]

And you were wrong about your mother. She does care. She cares an awful lot. So come on home.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Because of their extreme youth, Ronnie and Drake, after a full confession of their guilt, were given the opportunity of becoming good citizens in the future by being paroled. And now an important message about Tonight's case from Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

[Narrator/Equitable Life Assurance Announcer]

A crime wave of growing proportions is upon us. It demands immediate attention on the part of every right thinking American. Increasingly, it is becoming a youth problem. Last year more youngsters 17 years of age were arrested than in any other age group. Now here is a challenge for every right thinking American. Every community resource should be immediately mobilized. And every parent and adult should take their proper place in the fight against lawlessness. We have many splendid youth serving agencies. Tonight I want to single out one that has been tried and proven. The Boys Clubs of America. With over 1/4 million members and 260 individual clubs, the Boys Clubs of America are celebrating their 40th anniversary. I have studied and seen the Boys Clubs at work. From these groups come thousands of law abiding citizens who are an asset to their community. By developing good citizens, they are preventing crime. This is Boys Clubs Week and I would urge upon my listeners greater support of this worthwhile activity and the extension of the facilities of the Boys Clubs of America. Before we tell you about next week's thrilling case from the files of your FBI, a final important piece of information from our sponsor, the Equitable Life Assurance Society, to Your FBI. You look for national security and to the Equitable Society for the financial security of life insurance. In the past 86 years the Equitable Society has weathered four wars and seven major depressions. During that time over 5 1/2 billion dollars have been paid to policyholders and beneficiaries. This tower of strength, security and stability is represented in your community by a man whom hundreds of your fellow citizens know as their good friend. The Equitable Society representative who like your FBI is dedicated to the protection of you, your home and your country.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Next week we will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Nylon hijacker.

[Narrator/Equitable Life Assurance Announcer]

The incident used in tonight's Equitable Life Assurance Society's broadcast are adapted from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The role of J. Edgar Hoover was impersonated. However, all other names used are fictitious and any similarity thereof to the names of persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight the music was under the direction of Frederick Steiner. The author was Frank Ferries and your narrator was Dean Coke. This is your FBI is a Jerry Devine production. This is Carl Frank speaking for the Equitable Life Insurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community and inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Nylon hijacker on this is your FBI. This is abc, the American Broadcasting Company.

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