Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Wayward River Matter 06/08/1958

Summary

Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode Summary: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Wayward River Matter
Release Date: May 19, 2025

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, hosted by Choice Classic Radio, listeners are immersed in a tense narrative set against the backdrop of severe flooding threatening the small town of Carteret. The story masterfully intertwines personal relationships, professional duty, and moral dilemmas as Johnny Dollar, a seasoned freelance insurance investigator, navigates the complexities of disaster response and ethical decision-making.

The Flood Crisis

The episode opens with Johnny Dollar reconnecting with his old friend, Lee Hawkins of the Continental Insurance and Trust Company in Columbus, Ohio. Their conversation quickly shifts from nostalgic tales of fishing to the pressing issue at hand.

Lee Hawkins (02:10):
"Look, Johnny, I need you out here. Can you come right away?"

Lee informs Johnny about the unprecedented floods impacting Carteret, emphasizing that while major cities have received attention, smaller towns like Carteret are on the brink of disaster due to inadequate flood control measures.

Lee Hawkins (04:12):
"Most of the year it's a quiet, lazy stream about 50 or 60ft wide. But when the feeder streams up in the hills start pouring water down..."

Investigation and Tension

Upon arrival, Johnny and Lee assess the dire situation from a vantage point overlooking Carteret. They witness the frantic efforts of townsfolk battling the relentless Crooked River, which poses an imminent threat of engulfing the town.

Johnny Dollar (06:14):
"I stood there appalled and almost overwhelmed by a feeling of utter helplessness."

The investigation reveals that debris has accumulated against an old railroad trestle, effectively creating a dam that exacerbates the flooding. Recognizing the urgency, Johnny devises a plan to use dynamite to breach the dam and alleviate the swelling waters.

Climactic Confrontation

The plot thickens as Johnny and Lee approach Fred Norlock, a local hardware firm owner and one of Lee's significant clients. Norlock outwardly plays his part in the communal efforts but secretly harbors selfish motives.

Johnny Dollar (13:27):
"Let me handle this. Lee."

As tensions escalate, Norlock refuses to cooperate, leading to a standoff where Johnny is forced to confront Norlock's malicious intent to let the town perish for personal gain.

Fred Norlock (23:35):
"Keep your hand away from that pocket."

In a dramatic turn, Johnny outmaneuvers Norlock, ensuring the necessary dynamite is obtained to save Carteret.

Resolution

With the dynamite in hand, Johnny and Lee execute their plan to dismantle the dam, successfully preventing the catastrophic flood from demolishing Carteret. The town breathes a collective sigh of relief as the waters subside, and normalcy begins to return.

Johnny Dollar (19:54):
"The charge of dynamite on the old railroad bridge had broken the dam... nature, defeated, gave up."

Postlude

As the town recovers, Johnny reflects on the night's events, recognizing the tragic loss of Norlock, whose actions threatened the lives and livelihoods of many. The episode concludes with Johnny filing his expense report, noting the minimal cost of $100 for the operation.

Johnny Dollar (25:09):
"Yours truly, Johnny Dol."

Notable Quotes

• Lee Hawkins (02:10):
  "Look, Johnny, I need you out here. Can you come right away?"
  (02:10)

• Johnny Dollar (06:14):
  "I stood there appalled and almost overwhelmed by a feeling of utter helplessness."
  (06:14)

• Fred Norlock (23:35):
  "Keep your hand away from that pocket."
  (23:35)

• Johnny Dollar (19:54):
  "The charge of dynamite on the old railroad bridge had broken the dam... nature, defeated, gave up."
  (19:54)

Conclusion

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar: The Wayward River Matter is a compelling tale of courage, friendship, and integrity. Through Johnny Dollar's unwavering commitment to uncovering the truth and saving a community, listeners are treated to a classic example of heroic detective work intertwined with human drama. This episode stands as a testament to the enduring appeal of old-time radio detective stories, offering both excitement and moral contemplation.

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Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[Announcer]

Hollywood it's time now for.

[Johnny Dollar]

Johnny Dollar.

[Lee Hawkins]

Johnny, this is Lee Hawkins, Continental Insurance and Trust Company.

[Johnny Dollar]

Lee, my old fishing pal, you still holding down the Ohio branch of the company there in Columbus?

[Lee Hawkins]

Yes, John, I am.

[Johnny Dollar]

But now look here, brother. I never will forget the great fishing you and I had over on Darby Creek a couple of years back. And along about this time every year, the urge really gets to me. Hey, have the streams cleared up yet from the spring rains?

[Lee Hawkins]

No, quite the contrary, as a matter of fact.

[Johnny Dollar]

How about Little Raccoon Creek down there? Jackson boy, remember those big channel cats and the bass?

[Lee Hawkins]

Johnny, will you listen?

[Johnny Dollar]

Ah, oh, sure. I'm all ears.

[Lee Hawkins]

The big river has gone on a rampage again. Spring floods.

[Johnny Dollar]

You mean the Ohio?

[Lee Hawkins]

Yes, and every other river of any size. The rains are still coming down, I see. Whole towns are being washed away by the flood waters. Death and destruction all over.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, I. I'm sorry, Lee. I didn't mean to sound so. Well, you know. Mention fishing and I lose my head.

[Lee Hawkins]

Look, Johnny, I need you out here. Can you come right away?

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, sure.

[Lee Hawkins]

You see, any fishing we do may be for the bodies of people.

[Announcer]

Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action packed Expensive card. America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, yours truly, Johnny Doll. And now act one of yours truly, Johnny Dollar.

[Johnny Dollar]

Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar to the Continental Insurance and Trust Company, Columbus, Ohio office. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the Wayward River Matter expense account item one, $43 and a half. Transportation to New York on a flagship to Columbus, Ohio. It was 5:30pm and raining hard when the big four engine plane set down gently at Port Columbus Airport some seven miles out of town. My plan was to go into the Fort Hays Hotel and call Lee Hawkins from there. So after picking up my luggage, I headed for the door in a taxi stand. But Lee, it seems, had other ideas.

[Lee Hawkins]

Here, let me help you with the bag.

[Johnny Dollar]

It's all right, son. I'm just looking for a taxi to Lee.

[Lee Hawkins]

My car's right out here, Johnny. The sooner we get started, the better. Here, now, right through this door.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah. Well, wait. As soon as we get started. Where, where are we going?

[Lee Hawkins]

To the town of Carteret, about 100 miles or so south. Now, come on if you want to get stolen.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, hey, come on. What ya. Whatever you say.

[Lee Hawkins]

Come on, hop in.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, brother. Phew. Why didn't you tell me to bring a ring?

[Lee Hawkins]

Why don't you read the papers?

[Johnny Dollar]

Been raining like this for long?

[Lee Hawkins]

Off and on for three or four weeks. We may have a mean ride ahead of us.

[Johnny Dollar]

What's it all about, Lee?

[Lee Hawkins]

Well, the floods along the Ohio have been pretty severe this year, Johnny. Somewhat later than usual.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, that much I did read.

[Lee Hawkins]

About half a dozen of the big cities have been taking a real beating in spite of all their preparations for the big runoff.

[Johnny Dollar]

I know it's been through all over the country.

[Lee Hawkins]

Well, what you don't read about in the headlines though, is the little places like Carteret. It's my old hometown, Johnny. I've sold a lot of policies there, particularly to the local shopkeepers, you know, on their stocks and merchandise.

[Johnny Dollar]

So there's been a lot of flood damage and your company's having to pay up a lot of claims?

[Lee Hawkins]

No, not yet. So far the town's been lucky. Most of the recent bad storms have been across the state line up in Pennsylvania or over in West Virginia. Same was true last year and the year before.

[Johnny Dollar]

So.

[Lee Hawkins]

So the people down around Carteret, farmers mostly, haven't gone ahead with their flood control project the way they should have.

[Johnny Dollar]

Is Carteret right on the Ohio?

[Lee Hawkins]

No, it's in a valley a few miles north. It's on the Crooked river. And parts of the town are Actually below the riverbank. Now you see what that means?

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, I sure can.

[Lee Hawkins]

Most of the year it's a quiet, lazy stream about 50 or 60ft wide. But when the feeder streams up in the hills start pouring water down.

[Johnny Dollar]

And if it overflows, half the town.

[Lee Hawkins]

Will go with it and swept right down into the Ohio.

[Johnny Dollar]

We don't they know enough to prepare for this sort of thing, Johnny.

[Lee Hawkins]

Like I say, they've been lucky. So far, this present storm has been bigger and longer than anything they've ever had.

[Johnny Dollar]

What about the State Flood Control Commission or whatever it's called? Can't they do anything?

[Lee Hawkins]

Let's face it, watch a little bird like Carteret when there are a hundred bigger and more important towns in the same fix.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, I see what you mean.

[Lee Hawkins]

Before the lines went down, I got a call from Fred Norloch. One of my big accounts down there, big hardware firm. Unless the river goes down, he's going to lose the whole place. That means over a hundred thousand dollar insurance claim.

[Johnny Dollar]

But what can I possibly do, Lee?

[Lee Hawkins]

I don't know, Johnny. I just don't know.

[Johnny Dollar]

We were heading south on Route 23 and by the time we reached Chillicothe, the rain had led up to a drizzle. By the time we reached Jackson, where we left the main highway, it had let up entirely. But I noticed that every little stream we passed was overflowing its banks. Finally. It must have been after midnight. We pulled up on a low hill overlooking the town of Carteret and it started to rain again. To rain hard. Below us, the crooked river was a terrible, terrifying thing to watch. Power lines were out, but maybe hundreds of kerosene and gasoline lanterns, flashlights and lights from cars showed only too plainly the perils of the the brown, rushing, raging torrent that threatened the town. Men stripped of the waste, the banker and the ditch digger, side by side, the farmer and the merchant toiled frantically to reinforce the levee with bags of sand, stone, cement, anything they could find. While the river laughed hungrily at their feet, trying to undermine the embankment as quickly as it was built up. Back in them were others filling the sandbags, bulldozing additional strength to the levee, hauling truckloads of sand and rock and gravel, digging, shoveling, filling, anything they could do. I'd never seen a more dedicated group of people. Men, women, children, all working in a common cause, not just for themselves, but for the survival of their neighbors. Their town and the ugly river was like a thing, alive, clawing at them, seeking to destroy them. Huge floating masses of debris Flew by at express train speed, whirling now and then to strike out at the embankment, fighting to break it down. Thousands of tons of wreckage. Parts of houses, chicken coops, trees and brush. Anything that would float. I stood there appalled and almost overwhelmed by a feeling of utter helplessness.

[Lee Hawkins]

Can't they see? If they were up here on this hill, they could see that. They're losing ground, Johnny. The river's rising faster than they can build up the levee.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, Lee. Yeah, it looks that way. What's the matter with you guys?

[Lee Hawkins]

Can't you see they need help down there?

[Johnny Dollar]

Anybody doesn't help, I'll be shot.

[Lee Hawkins]

He's right, Johnny. We ought to go down there and help.

[Johnny Dollar]

For whatever's worth weight at one section where they're all working.

[Lee Hawkins]

It's right above the cut into Perry Street. If the levee goes there, it'll sweep the whole section down the valley into the Ohio River.

[Johnny Dollar]

But look, Lee. Look back there behind us. The reason why the water's piling up. Don't you see that old railroad bridge? The trees, the mud, the ruffle. It's piled up against it. That railroad trestle has become a regular dam.

[Lee Hawkins]

You're right.

[Johnny Dollar]

The more of that debris piling up there, the stronger it gets.

[Lee Hawkins]

And the higher it gets too, with the water mounting up behind it. That way, the levee over Perry street will go in a matter of minutes.

[Johnny Dollar]

Right. But break that dam somehow, and the water will get through down the Crooked river into the Ohio.

[Lee Hawkins]

Yeah. Break that dam and it'll save the time.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes.

[Lee Hawkins]

Oh, but how, Johnny?

[Johnny Dollar]

How? Yeah, how?

[Announcer]

Act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. In a moment.

[Reba]

And now for another episode in the life of Sergeant Donald Bellwether. My husband.

[Johnny Dollar]

Reba. When are you going to serve dinner?

[Reba]

Oh, in a few minutes, dear.

[Johnny Dollar]

Okay, I'll see you later.

[Reba]

Wait a minute, Donald. I want you to hear my speech.

[Johnny Dollar]

You mean the safety speech for the PTA meeting? Oh, come on. Do I have to?

[Reba]

Do you want dinner?

[Johnny Dollar]

Blackmailer? Okay. Where do you want me to sit? On the sofa?

[Reba]

No, no, no. In the dining room. I've got to practice projecting my voice.

[Johnny Dollar]

Projecting your voice? Are you kidding? How's this?

[Reba]

Oh, that's fine. Okay, now, after the president introduces me, I'll say, Madam Chairlady. Parents, visitors. According to the National Safety Council, last year in the United States. 4450 youngsters under 15 years were killed in traffic accidents.

[Donald Bellwether]

How many?

[Reba]

Oh, please, Donald. Don't interrupt. 4450.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, that's an awful lot.

[Reba]

Yes, dear. It is? Well, then I go on to say, ladies and gentlemen, how can we help prevent traffic accidents from killing and maiming our youngsters? We must remember that children will act like children. Therefore, when we drive by schools, playgrounds and the neighborhoods where children are playing, we must act like mature adults and be on the sharp lookout for that sudden ball bouncing across the street with a little child running after.

[Johnny Dollar]

That's very good, honey.

[Reba]

As soon as children are old enough to understand, it is up to us, the parents, to instill in their minds the dangers of playing near traffic. Children must be taught to obey all safety rules and safety patrols to board and alight from the school bus without horseplay. And above all, we adults should obey all safety rules because children mimic their parents.

[Johnny Dollar]

Honey, you act and talk just like a professional speaker.

[Reba]

Well, thanks.

[Johnny Dollar]

You know, you're really good. I'm proud of you.

[Reba]

Oh, that's my Donald. That's my dol.

[Announcer]

And now, act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Wayward river matter.

[Johnny Dollar]

From our vantage point on the hill above the little town of Carteret, we could see why the Crooked river was rising so fast, threatening to engulf the town.

[Lee Hawkins]

You're right, Johnny. The debris against the old railroad trestle has made a dam.

[Johnny Dollar]

And somehow we've got to break that dam. But how? We.

[Lee Hawkins]

Yeah.

[Johnny Dollar]

Any stores down there? Any of them carry dynamite?

[Lee Hawkins]

Yeah, down there on Perry Street. Norlock Supply Company and.

[Johnny Dollar]

Come on.

[Lee Hawkins]

Norlock's one of my biggest clients. If the levee breaks, his place will take the brunt of the flood. There, you see down there? He has men putting sandbags around him.

[Johnny Dollar]

They won't mean a thing if the levy goes. Why doesn't he send those men back on up to the river's edge where they can do some good?

[Lee Hawkins]

Johnny, he's. He's the only man in town looking after his personal property. I'm only one selfish enough to say, listen. He's also the man who's always opposed doing something about this river.

[Johnny Dollar]

Save your breath, Lee. We've got to get down there and get some dynamite. The groups we passed still vainly trying to chink up holes in the levee all but spat on us as we passed because we weren't working with them, trying to save their town from the raging Crooked River. Or so they thought. Finally, we slogged our way to the Norloch Supply Company on Very street.

[Lee Hawkins]

You're Santa. Fill those bags and get them around my place. The way they go, it'll all come down here. More sandbags.

[Johnny Dollar]

More.

[Lee Hawkins]

You're crazy, Mr. Norlock. You're wasting your time, Mr. Harkins. Why, if that levy goes, nothing will save this place of yours.

[Johnny Dollar]

He's right, Norlock. Get your men on up to the levee where they'll do some good.

[Lee Hawkins]

Sure, but then you'll pay the insurance.

[Johnny Dollar]

And my place is swept away. It won't be if we save the town. We need dynamite. Who are you?

[Lee Hawkins]

Oh, this is Johnny Dollar, insurance investigator. What are you doing here?

[Johnny Dollar]

Look, look, there's no time to stand around and talk. We need dynamite, a lot of it.

[Lee Hawkins]

For the wreckage from up the river. It's jammed against the old railroad trestle south of town and it's made a regular dam. That's what's backing up the water.

[Johnny Dollar]

I know. I've seen. You're gonna blow that up? That's right. Now, where's the dynamite?

[Lee Hawkins]

Anybody go out on that treasure with the pressure of the river against it, he's crazy. Any part of that gold he'll go with, it'll be killed. He's right, mister.

[Johnny Dollar]

Be suicide to go up there. Come on, let's have the dynamite. And you men get up above where you can help load that truck with all the bags you can. But get up there fast.

[Lee Hawkins]

It's been my place here. What about my shoulder?

[Johnny Dollar]

Tarlock, where's that dynamite?

[Lee Hawkins]

I won't give it to you. Listen, Mr. Norton. I refuse. It'd be suicide for you to go out on that railroad pencil. But if we don't, the whole town will go. And I tell you, I. Mr. Norwich, are you threatening to shoot me? Put that away. Johnny, wait.

[Johnny Dollar]

Let me handle this. Lee.

[Lee Hawkins]

You're crazy, dog. Put that gun away.

[Johnny Dollar]

All right, Nolak, it's up to you. What do you mean? Unless you give us the dynamite, I'll blast the lock off this place of yours and get it myself. Well, all right. All right. In here. But I tell you, you're mad. Always, Nolock. Mad. A victim of the panic that all too often seizes a man when the going gets tough. But he did give us the dynamite. Then with two of his workmen, Lee Harkins and I trudged through the mud and the night loaded with cases of dynamite back to the old railroad trust. And when we got there, I wondered if maybe Norloch wasn't right after all. If it wouldn't be suicide to go out on it. The pileup of debris against it was huge. Back of it, the deadly brown water swirled and eddie throwing telegraph poles, railroad ties, huge trees pounding against it, battering at the Old framework of the crescent. If only they'd strike hard enough to break it down, break the dam. Perhaps they would. By that time, the town of Carteret would be lost. Yes, somebody had to do this job. It looked like I'd elected myself. I'm not quite clear on what happened during that next 20 or 30 minutes. They seem like 30 years of nightmare. But I edged my way out on that rickety framework, a fused case of dynamite under my arm. It was dark, and I had to feel my way along over planks and boards and trees that the force of the water had thrown up on the trestle. The wires leading back to the plunger that would set off the charge would catch and drag. But I knew I had to reach the first long span to make the explosive do its work. And all the while, the old bridge creaked and groaned and shook from the impact of the wreckage being thrown against it by the angry water. But then, finally, the job was done and I felt my way back. Okay.

[Lee Hawkins]

Hurry, Johnny, hurry.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, yeah, I. I'm coming. Everything ready here?

[Lee Hawkins]

Don't you see the levy above? It's starting to go back over the town. There's a gap. The water's rushing.

[Johnny Dollar]

Okay, Lee, the plunger here.

[Announcer]

She already all ready.

[Johnny Dollar]

All right, then. Lie down. Quick, get down. Here she go. For life with pets.

[Podcast Host]

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[Johnny Dollar]

Need for life with pets.

[Donald Bellwether]

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[Announcer]

Act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. In a moment.

[Albert Einstein]

Do you know who said my political ideal is democracy? Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized. I am convinced that degeneracy follows every autocratic system of violence, for violence inevitably attracts moral inferiors. Time has proved that illustrious tyrants are succeeded by scoundrels. Those words were written by the great scientist Albert Einstein. Einstein saw the weaknesses of a government in which too much power was centered in too few people. A government based upon violence. Einstein saw the danger of elevating a person to so high a level that he might seize power to which he was not entitled. Such a situation is not in the American tradition. Remember the words of Albert Einstein. They are part of your American heritage. Degeneracy follows every autocratic system of violence.

[Announcer]

And now, act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Wayward river matter.

[Johnny Dollar]

The charge of dynamite on the old railroad bridge had broken. The dam that the angry river had thrown up against it had released the little town from the threat of being washed down the valley and of the Ohio River. The men and women and children spent from having struggled against the raging water throughout the night and all the day before, went quietly back to their homes and farms to rest and sleep. And nature, defeated, gave up. The rain stopped and the skies cleared. Even the charging yellow waters of the Crooked river seemed to diminish in a sort of frustration. What damage had been done to the town could wait now until the people were arrested. Refreshed. As Lee Harkins and I plodded wearily over to the village inn, I noticed the streets were deserted. Yeah. Even as the long gray fingers of dawn reached up into the sky, the town, exhausted, slept unmindful of the rooster in someone's backyard who sought to rouse it. Nor did we rouse the innkeeper, but picked a couple of rooms and settled down to rest our weary bones. But I couldn't sleep. Somewhere in the back of my brain, a little worry began to form to peck away at me. In all of Carteret the night before, there'd been one man and one man only who had ignored the common good to look after his own selfish interests. I went into Lee's room and awakened him. Oh.

[Lee Hawkins]

Oh, no, Johnny.

[Johnny Dollar]

Later.

[Lee Hawkins]

I'm so dead I can hardly go back to sleep.

[Johnny Dollar]

No, come on. Just a couple of questions. Lee, listen to me.

[Lee Hawkins]

Oh.

[Johnny Dollar]

Why don't you let me sleep over? A hundred thousand. Insurance, you said?

[Lee Hawkins]

Yeah, a hundred. And I don't Know.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, if you ask me, that's too much for a business of any kind in a town this size. Much too much.

[Lee Hawkins]

So maybe I gave him a break on his valuation. Yeah, you know, to help sign up some of the other merchants.

[Johnny Dollar]

But a hundred thousand of insurance money would give him enough to live on the rest of his life.

[Lee Hawkins]

Look, why don't you go back to bed?

[Johnny Dollar]

Johnny Lee. He knew about that dam at the railroad trestle. And so far as I could see, he was the only one who did.

[Lee Hawkins]

Well, everybody else was so busy at the levee.

[Johnny Dollar]

But did he try to do anything about it? No. Instead, he went through the motions of trying to protect his property. But he knew that if that levee broke, nothing would save it.

[Lee Hawkins]

All right, all right. Chalk it up to panic.

[Johnny Dollar]

Panic, huh? He fought to keep us from getting that dynamite, the one thing that could save the town. He kept those workmen away from where they might have done some good at the levee. He alone wanted that levy to break.

[Lee Hawkins]

But good heavens, Johnny, you what? You're right. You must be.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yeah, I'm right. I'm going out and look for Mr. Fred Norlock.

[Lee Hawkins]

Yeah, but there isn't a soul out there. Everybody.

[Johnny Dollar]

Maybe that's what I want to find out. I found Fred Norlak alone. Up on the inner bank, the riverside of the levee where anyone down below couldn't see him. And he was working with a shovel, a crowbar. Beside him was a pile of dynamite. I'd given him that idea. All right. Nolock, lay down that shovel. The river didn't do it the way you planned last night, did it?

[Lee Hawkins]

Maybe not because of you. But you're not gonna stop me now.

[Johnny Dollar]

Now put that thing down.

[Lee Hawkins]

I'll kill you. Dollar if you come any closer and nobody will know because there's nobody around. I'll throw your body in the river. Nobody will ever know.

[Johnny Dollar]

Sure. Set up a small charge. Enough to breach the levee. That's right.

[Lee Hawkins]

It's already in. You can't stop it.

[Johnny Dollar]

And the river will crash through. Destroy that feeling business of yours down there and take with it the homes in the valley, the livestock, maybe even the people.

[Lee Hawkins]

Keep your hand away from that pocket.

[Johnny Dollar]

So it's you or me, huh? And if I go, the town goes too. Yes, but if I can outdraw you.

[Lee Hawkins]

Pistol is aimed at your chest.

[Johnny Dollar]

Now, you walk straight ahead to the edge of the river.

[Lee Hawkins]

Walk.

[Johnny Dollar]

Now. Now. Oh. Y. Norloch's body was never recovered. He'd lived alone, he died alone. A crooked man in the crooked river. Nor was he mourned in the little town he tried to destroy. Expense account total including transportation back to Hartford, $100 even. Yours truly, Johnny Dol.

[Announcer]

Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey, originates in Hollywood and is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone, who also wrote today's story. Heard in our cast were Chet Stratton, Frank Gerstel, Bob Bruce and Harley Bear. Special sound patterns by Tom Hanley and Bill James. Be sure to join us next week, same time and station for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. This is Roy Rowan speaking.

[Johnny Dollar]

Sam. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar has been a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.

[Donald Bellwether]

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