Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Mei-Ling Buddha Matter 06/28/1959

Summary

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Podcast Summary: “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Mei-Ling Buddha Matter” (06/28/1959)

Episode Date: November 24, 2025
Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Host: Choice Classic Radio

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Overview

This episode of "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar" features insurance investigator Johnny Dollar as he unravels the mysterious disappearance of the Mei-Ling Buddha, one of the world’s most valuable jade statues. The investigation takes Dollar from an insurance office in Hartford to Boston and across the ocean to the shadowy antique shops of Paris. As he digs deeper, Johnny uncovers a web of betrayal and deception hidden beneath a layer of dust and loyalty.

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Key Discussion Points and Plot Progression

1. The Case Emerges: The Mei-Ling Buddha

[01:18–02:54]

• Marty Bruce of Worldwide Mutual contacts Johnny Dollar after hearing that the Mei-Ling Buddha—insured for $40,000—may have surfaced in a Paris antique shop.
• The Buddha was believed to be securely locked in the Boston home of its late owner, Darryl Harcourt.
• Quote:
  “It's probably the most valuable piece of jade there is. A little statue not more than three, three and a half inches high, made during the Meiling dynasty.”—Marty Bruce [01:26]

2. Tracking a Lead in Paris

[03:14–05:14]

• Johnny contacts his Parisian informant, De Marsal (the Gray Cat), who confirms seeing the Buddha at Monsieur Dubuisson's shop on the Rue de Pas de la Mo.
• The Buddha is priced at 32 million francs (~$80,000), implying it’s authentic and highly desired on the international market.
• Quote:
  “Yes, I know it well… I saw it only this morning here in Paris.”—De Marsal [04:37]

3. The Locked Study in Boston

[07:00–09:51]

• Johnny visits Mrs. Mary Haskell, Harcourt’s devoted housekeeper, to inspect the study where the Buddha should be. She insists the room has been locked since Harcourt’s death, and no one else has a key.
• The study appears undisturbed, with thick layers of dust reinforcing her claim.
• Quote:
  “I locked the door and it hasn't been opened since. Except that…”—Mrs. Haskell [07:46]

4. The Study is Empty

[10:19–12:33]

• The Buddha is missing from its casket, despite the apparent dust and neglect. Johnny examines possible suspects and questions Mrs. Haskell about who else may have entered the room.
• The only recent visitors were the federal tax man and the estate’s attorney, but both were accompanied.
• Johnny sets out to interview Harcourt’s nephew Charles Curtis and attorney Howard Bancroft.

5. Motives and Red Herrings

[13:17–14:56]

• Bancroft assures Johnny that neither Mrs. Haskell nor Charles Curtis have motive—Curtis is wealthy, a model student, and planned to donate the Buddha to a museum.
• Suspicion is briefly cast on all who had access, but no direct evidence appears.
• Quote:
  “He's an excellent, hardworking student… he's planned to donate the Mei Ling Buddha to a museum when it comes into his possession.”—Howard Bancroft [14:39–14:56]

6. The Puzzle of the "Dust"

[15:18–17:41]

• Johnny becomes suspicious of the dust itself. He notices the electric fan in the study is clean, unlike the rest of the room.
• He deduces someone could have used fuller’s earth (a cleaning powder used for tapestries) distributed via the fan to fake years of dust, concealing recent entry.
• Quote:
  “I was blind, blind as a bat when I knocked over this electric fan that didn't have any dust on it. Because it's what you used to spread the dust, the fine particles of fuller's earth, all over this room.”—Johnny Dollar [17:26]

7. The Culprit Revealed

[16:01–18:41]

• Investigating Mrs. Haskell’s private quarters, Johnny finds a recent bank deposit of $21,000—far more than her historic balance.
• Pressed, Mrs. Haskell confesses—a mix of resentment for years of low pay and a belief she deserved more led her to steal and fence the Buddha.
• She tries to bribe Johnny; he refuses.
• Quote:
  “No, Mr. Darva. I deserved far more from Mr. Harcourt for my years of service... now I have money. Plenty.”—Mrs. Haskell [17:51]

8. Resolution

[18:41–19:32]

• Johnny brings Mrs. Haskell to justice and notes the Buddha still needs to be recovered from Paris.
• The episode closes as Johnny reflects on the case and his expense report.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On professional intuition:
  “After handling more or less straight insurance cases for so many years, I almost instinctively suspect anyone close to the… well, to the problem at hand.”—Johnny Dollar [14:56]
• On misplaced trust:
  “You simply can't think that he… And anyhow, no one could have gotten here without leaving a trail.”—Mrs. Haskell [12:23]

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|-------------------------------------------| | 01:18 | Introduction of the Mei-Ling Buddha case | | 04:16 | Johnny bargains with De Marsal | | 07:00 | Johnny visits Mrs. Haskell in Boston | | 09:51 | The Buddha is discovered missing | | 13:17 | Interview with attorney Bancroft | | 15:18 | Johnny re-examines the “dust” | | 16:01 | Johnny searches Mrs. Haskell’s quarters | | 17:26 | The fuller's earth trick is revealed | | 17:51 | Mrs. Haskell confesses | | 19:32 | Case closed, Johnny’s reflections |

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Tone and Atmosphere

• Wry, perceptive, and procedural: The narration and dialogue preserve Johnny Dollar’s cool professionalism, laced with the era’s characteristic hardboiled wit.
• Atmospheric details: The episode evokes the faded elegance of an old Boston mansion, the intrigue of Paris’s antique underworld, and the low, resigned desperation of Mrs. Haskell.

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Conclusion

In classic “Johnny Dollar” fashion, a simple insurance query snowballs into an international caper hiding betrayal behind a façade of loyalty—proving even locked rooms and years of dust might be just another cover for human greed. Johnny’s sharp eye for detail, especially the clean fan amid the dust, clinches the case and brings the episode to its satisfying, old-radio close.

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Transcript

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[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

Johnny Dollar, Marty Bruce, Johnny at Worldwide Mutual.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, hi Marty. How are you?

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

Did you ever hear of the Mei Ling Buddha?

[Johnny Dollar]

Nope. I'm afraid I never.

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

It's probably the most valuable piece of jade there is. A little statue not more than three, three and a half inches high, made during the Meiling dynasty.

[Johnny Dollar]

And you've insured it?

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

Yes.

[Johnny Dollar]

For how much?

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

40,000.

[Johnny Dollar]

So what's happened to it?

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

I don't know. I don't know if anything's happened to it.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, if nothing's happened to it, I'm.

[Narrator]

Not even sure of that.

[Johnny Dollar]

Huh?

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

That nothing's happened to him. Come on over here and let's talk about it, huh?

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, I think I'd better.

[Narrator]

Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of a man with the action packed expense.

[Johnny Dollar]

Account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar to the Worldwide Mutual insurance Company home office, Hartford, Connecticut. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the Mei Ling Buddha matter. Expense account item one, A$10 for a taxi from my little apartment to the office of Worldwide Mutual, where Marty wasted no time in getting to the point.

[Narrator]

I'd know for sure if it weren't for that knuckleheaded Ray Kerma.

[Johnny Dollar]

Who's he?

[Narrator]

One of our cop men. Got back from a European vacation just this morning. For being so stupid. I ought to fire him. He knew we'd insured that jade Buddha. And when he saw it over there in Paris a couple of weeks ago. He should have looked into it, found out what it was doing there.

[Johnny Dollar]

Doing just exactly where, Marty?

[Narrator]

In a dingy little antique shop somewhere.

[Johnny Dollar]

On the Rue de la something or other.

[Narrator]

He didn't even have sense enough to get the address or the name of the place.

[Johnny Dollar]

Where was it supposed to be?

[Narrator]

Locked up in the home of the late Darryl Harcourt up in Boston.

[Johnny Dollar]

And of course it isn't. Well, that's the point.

[Narrator]

I don't know. There's been no report of a theft.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, if somebody's seen it in Paris, is that Buddha pretty well known among collectors and so on?

[Narrator]

I told you, it's probably the most valuable piece of jade in the whole world.

[Johnny Dollar]

Then let me use your phone. Sure.

[Apollo Announcer]

Here.

[Johnny Dollar]

But if we don't even know what.

[Narrator]

Shop or where it is in all.

[Johnny Dollar]

Of Paris, just leave it to me. My phone call was to a slimy little character whose name is de Marsal, but who calls himself the Chagri, the gray cat who knows the Paris underwear like the back of his hand. He'd been a lot of help to me some months before in locating a painting that was stolen from my good friend and the actor and art collector Vincent Price.

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

Certain won't monitor if you are willing to pay me.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, if you can dig up the information I want, I'll mail you a check for a hundred bucks American immediately.

[Narrator]

Oh, Johnny.

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

Only 200. What you call bucks for my. In the steam of both services.

[Johnny Dollar]

Okay, 200. Now, listen, there's a little idol, the Meiling Buddha.

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

Yes, I know it well.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, we, we.

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

I. I saw it only this morning here in Paris.

[Apollo Announcer]

Where?

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

At the shop of Monsieur Dubuisson on the Rue de Pas de la Mo. Yes, it was smuggled in only a few weeks ago.

[Johnny Dollar]

And the price on it?

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

Well, for such a rare and exquisite piece, most reasonable.

[Johnny Dollar]

How much?

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

32 million francs.

[Johnny Dollar]

That's around $80,000. So it must be the McCoy you.

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

Wish me to, shall I say, obtain it for you?

[Johnny Dollar]

You mean steal it?

[De Marsal (The Gray Cat)]

But of course, monsieur, but for a price.

[Johnny Dollar]

No, no, thanks. I'll send you a check.

[Narrator]

You're giving him 200 bucks just for that?

[Johnny Dollar]

A lot cheaper than my flying over there.

[Narrator]

Well, yes.

[Johnny Dollar]

So now I'd better check at the home of this, what you say the name is?

[Narrator]

Darrell Harcourt in Boston. I'll put down the address for you. Died about two years ago, Holmes. In charge of his old housekeeper, Mrs. Mary Haskell.

[Johnny Dollar]

And I take it his property hasn't.

[Narrator]

Been disposed of yet. His final tapestries and furniture. Yes, will to various museums.

[Johnny Dollar]

Here. Thanks.

[Narrator]

Everything but the contents of Mrs. Haskell's room in the study. The ladder he willed to a nephew, Charles Curtis, to be given to him the day he finishes at Harvard.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, that's a funny sort of arrangement.

[Narrator]

Harcourt was a funny man. The Buddha was the only thing of real value in that room. And he figured it was enough to get his nephew started in a business of some kind.

[Johnny Dollar]

I see. This Curtis boy get the house too?

[Narrator]

No, no, that goes to Mrs. Haskell. After Curtis gets the contents of that one room.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, looks as though I'd better hire myself up to Boston and make sure that Buddha's really gone. Item 2, the $200 check to in Paris. Who was sure he'd seen the mailing Buddha was sure it had only arrived there recently. But if so, why hadn't it been reported missing from the home of the late Darrell Harcourt up in Boston? Item 350 bucks deposited on a rental car. When I reached Boston, I headed west on Beacon Street, a couple of miles beyond Kenmore Square. And there, on a little side street, found the Harcourt home. It wasn't much of a place anymore. The lawn and garden had been neglected. The building itself was in need of repair. The doorbell was the old fashioned kind.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Yes?

[Johnny Dollar]

Mrs. Haskell, I'm Johnny Dollar, insurance investigator.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Oh, of course. Do come in, Mr. Dollar. Rather dismal, desolate, isn't it?

[Johnny Dollar]

You live here all the time?

[Mrs. Haskell]

I am responsible for this house until the terms of the will are fully met.

[Johnny Dollar]

That's when Charles Curtis finishes school.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Yes, of course. My own quarters at the back are as tidy as they've always been. And Mr. Harcourt's study is exactly as it was when he passed away.

[Johnny Dollar]

I want to see that study, Mr. Haskins.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Oh, no, Mr. Dallas. It's to be left as it is until Master Charles opens it to claim his inheritance.

[Johnny Dollar]

You're talking about the main ling Buddha claim.

[Mrs. Haskell]

The furniture and books and things.

[Johnny Dollar]

How long since you've seen that little jade idol?

[Mrs. Haskell]

Why not since Mr. Harcourt died. I locked the door and it hasn't been opened since. Except that.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, I'm sorry, but I have to look around in there.

[Mrs. Haskell]

But Mr. Darlow, do you have the key? Of course. I keep it on this chain about my neck at all times.

[Johnny Dollar]

Let me have it, please.

[Mrs. Haskell]

But, Mr. Dallas.

[Johnny Dollar]

Listen, I can get a court order if necessary, but it would only waste time.

[Mrs. Haskell]

But how am I to know if you're even? Well, that is.

[Johnny Dollar]

Here, here. My credentials. I'm a fully authorized agent of the company that insured that Buddha.

[Mrs. Haskell]

But I. I'm responsible.

[Johnny Dollar]

Has it occurred to you, Mrs. Haskell, that the Mei Ling Buddha might possibly have been stolen?

[Mrs. Haskell]

That's impossible.

[Johnny Dollar]

Is it? Okay, where's the study?

[Mrs. Haskell]

I. I'll go with you.

[Johnny Dollar]

By all means.

[Mrs. Haskell]

And I'll open.

[Johnny Dollar]

Here.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Now.

[Johnny Dollar]

This door looks a couple of inches thick.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Yes, just like the one to the library where Mr. Harcourt kept all his lovely tapestries. Oh dear, look at all that dust.

[Johnny Dollar]

Dust is right. It was on everything. The accumulation of a couple of years on the desk that shares the oaken floor, bookshelves and tables. The room was dark and gloomy.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Yes, it looks just the same, except for all this horrible dust. But as I told you, Mr. Dollar, this is the first time the door has been opened.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah. Now where is the. Oops.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Oh.

[Apollo Announcer]

Oh.

[Mrs. Haskell]

I hope you didn't hurt yourself.

[Johnny Dollar]

No, I. I just didn't see it.

[Mrs. Haskell]

But he always insisted on keeping the electric fan on that little table next to the door.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah. Now where's the Buddha?

[Mrs. Haskell]

The little wooden casket on the desk?

[Johnny Dollar]

Let's see.

[Apollo Announcer]

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[Johnny Dollar]

Well, I was afraid of this.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Afraid of what, mister? Oh, no. It's gone. The Buddha's gone. Oh, no.

[Johnny Dollar]

I searched the room thoroughly and found no trace of the mailing Buddha. Somehow someone had got in that locked room and stolen it. It must have happened recently. A piece as valuable as that wouldn't be allowed to lie around for long. The Vasaka told me it arrived in Paris only a few weeks ago, and I had no reason to doubt it. How could anyone possibly have got in there without leaving marks in the dust that swirled about our feet every time we moved? That showed a clear imprint of every step we made. It left a mark on everything I touched.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Oh, dear. Oh dear, Mr. Dollar, this is terrible.

[Johnny Dollar]

You're sure you have the only key to this room, Mrs. Haskell?

[Mrs. Haskell]

Yes, it was entrusted to me to prevent this very thing. Oh, dear.

[Johnny Dollar]

What about the nephew, Charles Curtis?

[Mrs. Haskell]

No, I'm sure he's never had one.

[Johnny Dollar]

You think he could have got hold of yours and had a copy made?

[Mrs. Haskell]

No, impossible, Mr. Dollar. Oh dear.

[Johnny Dollar]

Where is he?

[Mrs. Haskell]

That school at Harvard.

[Johnny Dollar]

I think I'd better see that boy.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Certainly you can think that Master Charles did this.

[Johnny Dollar]

I don't know what to think yet. Tell me you're absolutely sure you've let no one in here since Mr. Harcourt died.

[Mrs. Haskell]

You can tell by the dust over everything that no one has been in here. Not for years.

[Johnny Dollar]

You're sure of that?

[Mrs. Haskell]

Absolutely. Well, except for the federal tax man, of course. The appraiser for the estate.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, when was that?

[Mrs. Haskell]

A month or so after Mr. Harcourt passed away.

[Johnny Dollar]

And yet the piece showed up in Paris. Only a few.

[Mrs. Haskell]

I was with him, Mr. Dollar, and so was the attorney.

[Johnny Dollar]

Who is the attorney?

[Mrs. Haskell]

Mr. Howard Bancroft in town.

[Johnny Dollar]

Do you have his address?

[Mrs. Haskell]

His office is just off Copley Square.

[Johnny Dollar]

Uh huh. Then I've got two people to see. Charles Curtis and Howard Bancroft.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Mr. Dollar, about Master Charles. He's a good boy.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh yeah, I'm sure.

[Mrs. Haskell]

You simply can't think that he. And anyhow, no one could have gotten here without leaving a trail. Mr. Dallowed it.

[Johnny Dollar]

I want you to close up this room again and leave it closed. I'll be back.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Please, Mr. Daller. About child, listen to me.

[Johnny Dollar]

Maybe later, Mrs. Haskell.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Later?

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, after I've talked to him. One thing puzzled me. If young Charles Curtis did steal the Buddha, why did he do it? After a few months more at Harvard, he'd get it anyway. And he'd be able to sell it on the legitimate market for a lot more than it would ever bring on the Paris black market. On the way in to look him up, I stopped at the office of the lawyer Howard Bancroft.

[Narrator]

I. I can't believe it, Mr. Donald.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, the fact remains, Mr. Bancroft, that the boot is not only missing from the Harcourt home, but has turned up in Paris.

[Narrator]

But the only person who had access to that room was Mrs. Haskell. In accordance with Mr. Harcourt's wishes, that.

[Johnny Dollar]

Room hasn't been entered for years until today. And yet if the Buddha has shown up only recently.

[Narrator]

I'm afraid I don't follow you, sir.

[Johnny Dollar]

Mr. Harcourt willed it to his nephew, didn't he?

[Narrator]

That's right. Charles Curtis when he finishes school.

[Johnny Dollar]

And he willed the house to Mrs. Haskell, didn't he?

[Narrator]

Yes. And it will be little enough reward for her years of service to him.

[Johnny Dollar]

How do you mean?

[Narrator]

Mr. Harcourt paid her very little during all those years. She and I too quite frankly felt she was entitled to a great deal more. You see, his really valuable things, the collection of tapestries he willed to various museums.

[Johnny Dollar]

So I Understood.

[Narrator]

They were kept in an hermetically sealed room, the library.

[Johnny Dollar]

Hermetically sealed? Practically.

[Narrator]

Didn't you notice the tremendous doors on the study and library? The sealed windows?

[Johnny Dollar]

Then how could any dust. What about Charles Curtis, Mr. Bancroft?

[Narrator]

Admirable young man. In addition to the money his uncle always gave him. Well, his own family is very wealthy, you know.

[Johnny Dollar]

No, I didn't know.

[Narrator]

Yes, they've given him everything he wants.

[Johnny Dollar]

And it hasn't spoiled him a bit, even during college.

[Narrator]

He's an excellent hard working student. He's going to be a lawyer, Mr. Dollar, and he'll be a good one.

[Johnny Dollar]

And maybe my thinking about him has been wrong.

[Narrator]

Oh, definitely. Why, Mr. Dollar, he's planned to donate the Mei Ling Buddha to a museum when it comes into his possession.

[Johnny Dollar]

It's just that after handling more or less straight insurance cases for so many years, I almost instinctively suspect anyone close to the. Well, to the problem at hand. In this case, young Charles Curtis, even Mrs. Haskell, maybe even you. I beg your pardon, but I guess I'd better just shake the dust out of my brain and tackle this as a plain, ordinary. Wait a minute.

[Narrator]

Dust, eh?

[Johnny Dollar]

It's a little matter of dust that really has me stopped. That makes it impossible for that room to have been entered since. Tapestries, you said.

[Narrator]

I mentioned them, of course.

[Johnny Dollar]

How blind can I be, eh? Look, you better get ready for some legal action on behalf of your client, the late Mr. Darryl Harcourt. What? I'm gonna play a hunch, Mr. Bancroft. Maybe it's all wrong, maybe it's crazy, but I'm gonna play it to the hilt.

[Mrs. Haskell]

No, Mr. Dolly, you can't do this. You have no right.

[Johnny Dollar]

Now we'll see about that.

[Mrs. Haskell]

These are my own personal things. I don't believe you're an insurance investigator at all.

[Johnny Dollar]

Whatever you like.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Have you a warrant to search my room this way? No, no, you're just some thief. Some.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, yeah, yeah. This bank book in your name.

[Mrs. Haskell]

No, you give me that.

[Johnny Dollar]

Some 20 years of a balance that never got above 6 or $700.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Give me that. Here, here.

[Johnny Dollar]

Two months ago, a single deposit of 21,000.

[Mrs. Haskell]

That was money that I.

[Johnny Dollar]

That was the money you got from some crook. Police run him down. Some crook who smuggled the mailing Buddha over to Paris after you stole it out of the study.

[Mrs. Haskell]

That's impossible and you know it. That study hasn't been open for nearly two years. You saw the layer of dust in there yourself.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, yes, you pointed it out to me half a dozen times. I should have caught on then. Come on, we're going into that study. Give me the key.

[Mrs. Haskell]

No, I won't.

[Johnny Dollar]

And I'll have to rip it off that chain around your neck.

[Mrs. Haskell]

All right. Here. You saw all for yourself.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes, I saw it, all right. And I didn't have sense enough to realize what kind of dust that was. You know, look at it. Full as earth.

[Mrs. Haskell]

What are you talking about?

[Johnny Dollar]

About the old fashioned method of cleaning fine tapestries with full as earth. That's the way Mr. Harcourt cleaned them, isn't it?

[Mrs. Haskell]

What difference does that make?

[Johnny Dollar]

And there's probably a supply of it down in the cellar somewhere that he always kept on hand.

[Mrs. Haskell]

What if there is? That doesn't prove anything.

[Johnny Dollar]

I was blind, blind as a bat when I knocked over this electric fan that didn't have any dust on it. Because it's what you use to spread the dust, the fine particles of fuller's earth, all over this room. A little sackful, maybe, held in front of the fan. And it left proof, apparently, that nobody'd been in here for a couple of years. Yeah, it had me fooled. But not anymore. Better get your coat, Mrs. Haskell.

[Mrs. Haskell]

No, no, Mr. Darva. I deserved far more for Mr. Harcourt for my years of service and of watching him squander his money on the idol tapestries and on that nephew who had money of his own. Now I have money.

[Johnny Dollar]

Plenty.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Plenty, Matthew. More than I need. I'm an old woman. But you, you're young. Perhaps you could use some of it. Perhaps 10 or $12,000.

[Johnny Dollar]

You'll have to think of a better way out than that, Mrs. Hascombe.

[Mrs. Haskell]

Please.

[Johnny Dollar]

And you know something? I have a notion you're going to have time to think about a lot of things. Plenty of time. Yeah, I know. The mailing Buddha still has to be brought back from Paris. Maybe I'll get the assignment. Maybe it'll go to one of our regular foreign investigators. As for Mrs. Haskell, well, I'm sure Mr. Bancroft will lose no time in taking whatever steps are necessary. So, expense account total, including mileage on my rental car and a few incidentals. Well, call it 300 bucks even. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.

[Narrator]

Now, here is our star to tell you about next week's story.

[Johnny Dollar]

Next week? Well, far be it for me to get up on a soapbox, but I hope you'll make a point of listening to it. It concerns a lot of money in the wrong hands. In the hands of a bunch of kids too young to meet responsibility. Too young to realize that cutting loose from family before they're ready can lead to trouble. In this case, murder. Yeah, I think you'd better hear it. So join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dol.

[Narrator]

Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey, originates in Hollywood and is written, produced and directed by Jack Johnstone. Heard in our cast were Virginia Greg, Paul Duboff, Will Wright and Forest Lewis.

[Johnny Dollar]

Be sure to join us next week.

[Narrator]

Same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar.