(30) Magic Island - Message To Johnson

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: Magic Island - Message To Johnson

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: (30) Magic Island - Message To Johnson
Date: June 7, 2026

---

Overview

This episode of “Magic Island” plunges listeners into a tense underwater adventure as Jerry and Joan, along with a stoic Euclidean commander, set off in a high-tech submarine to capture Johnson’s boat. The episode revolves around the urgent attempt to send a covert message to Johnson, risking capture and betrayal on a remote island, and the escalating battle of wits among captives and captors. Tension, ingenuity, and radio intrigue define this Golden Age radio drama segment.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Aboard the Euclidean Submarine (00:30 – 04:30)

• Setting the Scene: The story opens 90 feet below the ocean, with Jerry and Joan leaving Magic Island in a Euclidean submarine commanded by a steely woman (00:30).
• Technological Marvels: Dialogue highlights the incredible abilities of the Euclidean submarine, including its explosive gas-powered engines and the ability to travel 8,000 miles without refueling (01:41–02:14).
  • Jerry: “8,000 miles on the water at what speed?” (02:08)
  • Joan: “The regular cruising speed does not exceed 30 knots per hour.” (02:21)
• Invisible Threat: Joan warns Jerry about the strict, unsympathetic commander and the ever-present surveillance (03:20–04:15).

The Stakes: Communication and Subterfuge (04:30–07:49)

• The Mission: The commander’s intent is to use Jerry to lure Johnson into a trap by sending a misleading message (06:16–07:49).
  • Commander: “You will call J12C exactly as you would from the Gregory yacht… Tell him you are all safely on the island, but the yacht is wrecked. You cannot leave and he must come to you.” (06:32–06:46)
• High Risk: Jerry faces the threat of a “ray gun” if he attempts to warn Johnson or raise suspicion (07:24, 07:37–07:49).
  • Commander: “Remember, one mistake and I will use this ray gun. Then I will proceed to Johnson's boat and sink it with all on board.” (07:37–07:49)

The Desperate Radio Message (08:22–10:30)

• Switch in Perspective: The viewpoint shifts to Tex and Pat, listening anxiously on the radio (08:22).
• Jerry Sends the Message: Under duress, Jerry relays the false distress message to Johnson on his private wavelength as the commander listens (09:02–10:11).
  • Jerry (over radio): “We are safe on the island at position as given you before...Yacht is completely wrecked. Cannot leave island. You must come to rescue.” (09:29–10:11)
• Johnson Responds: Johnson acknowledges and plans to head to the island, setting the trap in motion (10:11).

Counterplay and Secret Codes (10:30–11:54)

• Fear and Hope: Tex and Pat grapple with the realization that the pigeon with the secret formula may reach Johnson too late (10:46–10:57).
  • Pat: “But the pigeon with the message to Johnson, Texas will get to Johnson's boat just too late to do any good.” (10:46)
• Cryptic Safeguard: A pivotal twist—Tex reveals that the actual formula was not sent, only the number of a safety deposit box, cryptically protected (11:44–11:54).
  • Tex: “But I did send the number of the safety deposit box where the formula may be found in Los Angeles. Only Johnson would understand what that number meant.” (11:44–11:54)

Cliffhanger: Rising Peril (11:54–12:20)

• Escalating Danger: The episode builds to a crisis as the lock gate in the submarine’s underwater chamber fails, threatening Tex, Pat, and others with a flood (12:13–12:20).
  • Jerry: “Hurry, Pat. Come on. Run. Go ahead. Run.” (12:20)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jerry’s Humor and Anxiety:
  • “Oh, I don't think I'll ever be. Oh, Joan, when I saw the sides of this boat going past me like a moving picture. Oh, boy.” (01:05)
• Commander’s Authority:
  • “It would not be wise to try it.” (04:59)
  • “You will sit here and do as I tell you. Sit down there.” (06:16)
• Tex’s Confidence in Codes:
  • “But I did send the number of the safety deposit box where the formula may be found in Los Angeles. Only Johnson would understand what that number meant.” (11:44)
• Suspenseful Cliffhanger:
  • “The lock gate's breaking. The ocean's coming in here and we're 50ft below the water level!” (12:16–12:19)

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:30–01:41: Submarine launch and Jerry’s seasickness
• 01:41–02:26: Discussion of submarine’s advanced technology
• 03:20–04:30: Joan warns Jerry about commander and surveillance
• 06:16–07:49: Commander orders Jerry to send a deceptive message
• 08:22–10:11: Radio exchange, Jerry delivers message under duress
• 10:46–11:54: Discussions of pigeon message and the real hiding place of the formula
• 12:13–12:20: The flooding crisis begins; suspenseful end

---

Tone & Style

True to the classic radio drama spirit, the episode is packed with quick, witty exchanges, suspenseful build-up, and earnest dialogue reflecting the high-stakes peril and resourcefulness of its characters. The Euclidean commander is cold and menacing, while the camaraderie and concern among Jerry, Joan, Tex, and Pat ground the story in friendship and ingenuity amidst danger.

---

Summary

Episode 30 of “Magic Island” is a tense, pivotal installment where Jerry and Joan are caught as pawns in a larger scheme to seize a secret formula via subterfuge and coded messages. Their fates, along with Johnson’s, intertwine through misdirection, bravery, and secret codes. The episode leaves listeners on the edge, with the threat of disaster looming and hope resting on clandestine communication and quick thinking.

---

Transcript

[SpinQuest Advertiser]

Hanging out at the pool is great. Relaxing and playing Vegas style games on my phone at the same time. Drink in one hand and a blackjack in the other. It's all at spinquest. Over a thousand games, including your favorite slots and table games. Be cool with this summer special. New players get 30 coin packs for

[SpinQuest Disclaimer Announcer]

[e-mail] Spin Quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.

[Narrator]

Over 90ft below the surface of the ocean, Jerry and Joan are shoving off the magic island in a Euclidean submarine. This immense cigar shaped boat, 100ft long, capable of a speed of 40 miles an hour underwater, has a crew of only one man and is commanded by a beautiful Euclidean woman. All this is almost too much for Jerry. And when the boat is spun rapidly over and over to clear it from the lock in the island wall, Jerry has a feeling that perhaps he wasn't cut out for a sailor's life after all. The submarine is just pulling away from the island.

[Joan]

Are you all right now, Jerry?

[Jerry]

Oh, I don't think I'll ever be. Oh, Joan, when I saw the sides of this boat going past me like a moving picture. Oh, boy.

[Joan]

Have you ever been in a submarine before?

[Jerry]

No, and never again. It's not so bad now though. But what's making us go through the water? Why doesn't that she skipper up there turn on the engines?

[Joan]

The engines, as you call them, are on. The motive power is active now, although very little of it is being used.

[Jerry]

I don't hear anything or see anything running. Can't even hear the water going past the outside, but I can see it all right.

[Joan]

The motive power is a gas. A very powerful explosive gas generated in those tanks and blown out through exhaust pipes.

[Jerry]

But they couldn't carry much gas in those tanks. How far can this boat cruise on the gas they've got aboard?

[Joan]

Now, I do not know how many cubes of the solidified gas the commander is carrying, but I have known one of these boats to run from Euclidea

[Jerry]

to your California and return, what, 8,000 miles without refueling?

[Joan]

Yes, Jerry, is that so much more than your boats will do?

[Jerry]

I wouldn't even tell you what's the best our boats will do after that. 8,000 miles on the water at what speed?

[Joan]

I think the regular cruising speed does not exceed 30 knots per hour.

[Jerry]

Oh, that's too bad. The regular cruising speed of a boat in 15 fathoms of water is only 30 miles an hour. What holds it back?

[Joan]

Is that not good, Jerry?

[Jerry]

Look, Joan, I Wouldn't kid you. It's so good that nobody in our world even dreams about such things. We put them in nice, big, strong houses and take care of them if they talk like that. Hey, look at the shadow coming down through the water. Is that a whale?

[Joan]

Of course not. That is the shadow of one of the battleships overhead. Had you forgotten? We are under a fleet of ships maneuvering.

[Jerry]

Oh, yeah, I forgot a lot of things when I got into this boat. Gee, right over our heads is a fleet of battleships. Maybe from the United States, though any other country would do just as well. And here we are. No way in the world to get word to him. And this woman commander has taken us out to capture your mother's other boat.

[Joan]

Yes, Jerry, and you must be very careful what you say and do. The commander is a very hard woman. And SE1, the submarine engineer is nothing but a human machine. You will find no sympathy or kindness if you cross either of them.

[Jerry]

Your mother felt pretty bad when Captain Bradford ordered me to go on the submarine, but, well, I guess Tex knew what he was doing.

[Joan]

Captain Bradford has great faith in you, Jerry. And he knows you will find a way to warn Johnson of our coming. If there is a way.

[Jerry]

But there isn't. And I can tell you from the looks of this thing here, there isn't going to be. And even if I could warn Johnson, what could I tell him?

[Joan]

If he could only get away from here, his boat will travel faster on the surface than this one under it.

[Jerry]

Yeah, but if I scare him away, even if I could, it might be the worst thing in the world to do.

[Joan]

I do not see why, Jerry.

[Jerry]

Because it'll take that pigeon three or four hours more to get to his boat. And if the pigeon is lost, we can't do a thing. Our only chance is to find Johnson and have him stay as close as he is and hope the pigeon gets to him before we do.

[Joan]

The pigeon had over an hour's start ahead of us, Jerry.

[Jerry]

Yeah, and that pigeon can fly as fast as this boat will go. But when Johnson won't have time to do anything before the boat catches him.

[Joan]

It all seems very hopeless, Jerry, but something may give us a chance to aid Mr. Johnson.

[Jerry]

I'm getting tired of G47 and all his men never making a mistake. I bet if we could use our heads a little, we could figure some way to outsmart that girl up there in the control seat.

[Commander]

It would not be wise to try it.

[Jerry]

Gee, she heard me.

[Joan]

Of course, Jerry, these submarines are covered by a system of microphones. And amplifiers. When will you learn that there is no privacy among the Euclideans?

[Jerry]

Well, well, can we come up and talk to you, Commander?

[Commander]

You may speak to me from there if you have anything to say.

[Jerry]

I got plenty to say.

[Commander]

Proceed.

[Jerry]

Well, I. That is. Oh, forget it.

[Commander]

It would be as well for you to forget it.

[Joan]

Please, Jerry, do not try to say anything more.

[Johnson]

J12C to J24Y.

[Jerry]

Johnson.

[Joan]

Yes.

[Jerry]

On the radio in this subject. Hello.

[Johnson]

J24. Hello? Must have report from you. J24Y. We'll stop sending and change course if no answer to this call. J12C to J24Y.

[Jerry]

What can I do now?

[Commander]

Joan, you will come up here to the control section at once.

[Joan]

Do as she asks, Jerry. I will stay here for Joan. I know best, Jerry. I would have been asked to come up if I had been wanted.

[Commander]

Hurray.

[Joan]

You fool.

[Jerry]

Ah, I'm coming. Sit tight, Joan, and don't worry.

[Joan]

Be careful, Jerry. Do exactly as the commander tells you. Be very careful, Jerry.

[Commander]

You will sit here and do as I tell you. Sit down there.

[Jerry]

Now what?

[Commander]

My microphone is before you. And you will send this message to J12C. I have been waiting for his call. To get his wavelength, you will send the following message.

[Jerry]

Send it to whom?

[Commander]

You know perfectly well. This is the message. You will call J12C exactly as you would from the Gregory yacht. You will call him in a natural manner. Tell him you are all safely on the island, but the yacht is wrecked. You cannot leave and he must come to you. Answer any questions he asks, but answer them carefully. Make it plain that he must hurry to the island.

[Jerry]

And then what happens to Johnson when he gets to the island?

[Commander]

Do not act stupid. You know as well as I that Johnson has the material aboard for compounding Captain Bradford's formula. And that a pigeon left your yacht with instructions to Johnson as to how to use the formula to attack Euclidea. The pigeon may arrive at the boat, but Johnson will never use that formula. Now send the message.

[Jerry]

Yeah? And what if I don't?

[Commander]

You have seen these ray guns before, I think.

[Joan]

Jerry, do as you are ordered. You can gain nothing by refusing.

[Jerry]

This is the funniest place. People talk to you from all over the boat.

[Commander]

You may gape at the wonder of this boat later. Now send a message. And remember, one mistake and I will use this ray gun. Then I will proceed to Johnson's boat and sink it with all on board.

[Jerry]

All right, I'm ready. Tell me when to go.

[Commander]

At this depth and distance, I will need the generators. When I start them. Watch the filament in that tube. When it glows, speak. And remember to say nothing to arouse suspicion. Now, silence until you see that tube glow.

[Tex]

Now, you just take it easy, Pat. There's nothing we can do to help those kids out there in the submarine and no way to get word to Johnson.

[Pat]

Oh, but, Tex, just a secret in this useless radio cabin.

[Tex]

Hold it, Pat. Listen.

[Pat]

Is that coming out of the radio text?

[Tex]

Yeah. Funny too. It's on Johnson's private wavelength. He hasn't got any power on board that you could hear building up like that.

[Pat]

Perhaps something's happened to his boat.

[Tex]

I don't know. Since that last message of his saying he would change his course, I don't know what to expect.

[Radio Operator]

Call to J12C. J24Y calling J12C. Hello, J12. Hello, J12.

[Pat]

Tex, it's Jerry calling Johnson.

[Tex]

Yes, and I don't like it. Jerry's in that submarine. I'll bet they're making him call Johnson.

[Radio Operator]

J12C. Hello, J12. Jerry hall on J24Y. Calling J12C.

[Pat]

Johnson doesn't answer.

[Tex]

He may be out of the cabin for a minute. Remember, he's been trying to get us for days without an answer.

[Pat]

Yes, of course. What can be going on in that submarine? Joan? Oh, if Joan's all right, I won't mind so much.

[Johnson]

Hello, Jerry. J12C to J24Y. Go ahead, J24Y.

[Radio Operator]

Go ahead. Have a message for you. J12C from Captain Bradford. We are safe on the island at position as given you before. Our transmitter has been out of order. Could not talk to you, but have heard all your messages. Yacht is completely wrecked. Cannot leave island. You must come to rescue island. Position latitude 29 degrees south, longitude 124 degrees, 30 minutes west. Hurry to the island. All standing at fine except Bosun. He seems nervous. Will be glad to see you. Come at once.

[Johnson]

Okay, J24. Yes. Okay. Jerry hall coming at once. My Position now is 25 degrees south, 124 west. Should raise you in less than six hours. 73s to all on board Johnson.

[Pat]

Oh, Tex. Jerry is bringing Johnson right into all this.

[Tex]

I know it, Pat, but there is nothing else he can do. I can imagine every move they're making on board that submarine. Jerry's sitting there with one of those ray guns in his back while he sends a message. His G47 or one of his assistants directs.

[Pat]

But the pigeon with the message to Johnson, Texas will get to Johnson's boat just too late to do any good.

[Tex]

That's the part of it that's going to come out all right. I don't know just how, but it will.

[Pat]

How can you say that? You know the pigeon will get to Johnson's boat only an hour or two before he meets the submarine. And Johnson doesn't even know the pigeon is why, Tex? Jerry's message.

[Tex]

Right, Pat? Jerry said the Bozen was nervous. That's enough for Johnson. He'll know the Bozen's flying out there somewhere with a message for him. He'll know there was something wrong with the message Jerry sent.

[Pat]

I wonder if Joan is all right on that submarine.

[Tex]

Joan's all right. As long as Jerry is, he'll take care of her.

[Pat]

But how much could either of them do against the power of G47 if he wanted to do something to them?

[Tex]

Not much. Of course, the G47 won't do anything to one of us until he gets his hands on my formula. We're safe until then.

[Pat]

He'll have the formula as soon as he gets Johnson's boat and the message off the pigeon.

[Narrator]

No, he won't.

[Joan]

You.

[Pat]

You didn't send the formula with Bozen?

[Johnson]

No.

[Tex]

But I did send the number of the safety deposit box where the formula may be found in Los Angeles. Only Johnson would understand what that number meant. So even if Johnson is captured, they still haven't the formula.

[Pat]

Then Johnson will simply be another prisoner on this island. And all of his crew and our other boat will be tied up here. We're only getting in deeper and deeper, Tex.

[Tex]

Yes, but we'll have quite an organization on this island. Then that won't be so one sided. And a lot of things can happen.

[Pat]

Tex.

[Commander]

Listen.

[Pat]

Something's happened.

[Tex]

I'll see.

[Jerry]

Pax. Get out of here quick.

[Tex]

Run for that ramp up the side of the lock.

[Pat]

What's happened, Tex?

[Tex]

The lock gate's breaking. The ocean's coming in here and we're

[Narrator]

50ft below the water level.

[Jerry]

Hurry, Pat. Come on. Run. Go ahead. Run.

[SpinQuest Advertiser]

Forget whatever plans you have this weekend because you're staying at home and playing on spinquest. And there's never been a better time to sign up than right now. New users get $30 coin packs for just $10. All the table games you love. With hundreds of slot games and real cash Prizes. That's at spinquest.com S P I N

[SpinQuest Disclaimer Announcer]

Q U-E S-T.com Spinquest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.

[Grainger Advertiser]

Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, Filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.