(46) Escape - She - Harold's Old Time Radio

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[00:00]
A
Every early morning run, every walk across campus at dusk, every ride back after dark. That's why she's Bertie created the Birdy Disc, a clip on safety light and personal safety alarm for the students stepping into a whole new level of independence. On sale for bag to school. Buy two get one free A new campus, a new city, a whole new routine, an exciting life stage, but a vulnerable time for many women. The Birdy disc clips hands free to her backpack strap, sports bra or bike. Three LED modes make her visible to drivers in low light and unlike an ordinary running light, it has a built in 130db siren. So if something feels wrong, one press brings every eye to her. Get your college girl the Byrdy disc during the back to school sale. Buy two get one free visit. She's birdie.com that's S-H-E-S-B-I-R-I E.com
[00:56]
B
fed up with the everyday grind? Tired out from the summer heat? Want to get away from it all? We offer you escape. Escape designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure.
[01:19]
C
You are deep in a fabulous mountain cavern surrounded by a horde of menacing natives from a lost civilization held at
[01:27]
B
the mercy of the most beautiful woman in the world, the terrible queen called she. Tonight we escape to uncharted Africa and to an incredible adventure.
[01:48]
C
And as H. Rider Haggard described it
[01:50]
B
in his fantastic story, she.
[02:03]
C
In those days I was a professor of archaeology at Oxford, and though this may account for my being able to understand some of those strange events which occurred later, it was in no respect the reason for my becoming involved in them. No, the real reason was unbelievably simple. I walked through the caves of the dead in the terrible and ancient city of Kor, crossed the awful abyss and looked upon the flame of life. Only because I was one of the ugliest men in England. Because of my appearance I had made few acquaintances and only two close friends. Roger Vincey first, and following his death, his son Leo, whom he left behind. And it was that friendship which brought Leo Vincy to my chambers off the quadrangle late in the evening of the day he became 25 years old.
[02:51]
B
Today was the first I knew of Ed Harley when the attorneys called me in. Yes, they said Father instructed them the week before he died to give me the letter in this little bronze chest on my 25th birthday.
[03:02]
C
Strange. I mean, the chest designs on the lid show Egyptian influence. It must be very old.
[03:08]
B
According to Father's letter, it contains something over 2000 years old.
[03:11]
C
Really?
[03:13]
B
Must have considered it rather important. She's closed the COVID with a lead seal.
[03:17]
C
Yes, I see.
[03:19]
B
At any rate, Holly, the letter doesn't tell us much. Suppose we. Suppose we see what's inside.
[03:28]
C
All right. I have a geology hammer here somewhere, my boy. Here we are. And a chisel. You hold it in place on the table.
[03:36]
B
Uh huh. Go ahead. Ah, there. It's pulling loose. Yes. Ah, I did it. Well, here goes. What the devil is that?
[03:53]
C
Why, it's a clay tile. An old Egyptian writing tablet. Yes, it's the kind used about the time of nicktanabees, around 340 BC.
[04:01]
B
But the writing on it, it's not Egyptian, it's Greek.
[04:05]
C
Yes, and parts of it are broken away. Oh, it'll take some time to translate this, Leo.
[04:10]
B
But father apparently did it, Holly, according to this paper. Listen, here's his translation. Read it. I am Anartes, wife of Kallikrates. Say this to you, my son. Forced to escape the wrath of the great Nektanabees. Thought so your father and I fled southward across the waters and wandered for two twice twelve moons upon the coast of Libya.
[04:32]
C
That's the old name for Africa, you know.
[04:33]
B
Ah. That faces the rising sun there, by the mouth of a river where stands, facing the sea, a great mountain carved like the head of an Ethiopian.
[04:45]
C
What is it?
[04:47]
B
Nothing, Holly. It goes on following the river we soon fell among there's a row of asterisks.
[04:54]
C
That must be one of the places where the tile's broken. Go on, my boy.
[04:57]
B
To a hollow mountain where a great city once stood. And to the tower terrible caves of which no man hath seen the end. And. And to she who must be obeyed. She who must be.
[05:08]
C
What's wrong, Leo?
[05:10]
B
I don't know, Holly. There's something familiar about that name, but I've never heard it before. Strange.
[05:17]
C
Well, well, come on, get on with it.
[05:19]
B
She who must be obeyed, who did lead us by awesome ways to the place where the great pit is. Whose voice is like thunder. And she did show to us the rolling pillar of life and did stand in the flames. And she spake unto my. And there's a large fragment missing here. There isn't very much more. Picks up. Carried far away on the ships where I gave birth to thee, and came hither to Athens at last. So I say to thee, by these things which I have told, seek out this place, nor stay thy will until thou hast the secret of life for thyself. Sit then on the throne with the Pharaoh that's all, Holly. Now, what's it all about, Leo?
[06:00]
C
If your father knew, he kept it to himself. I don't know. It's all very strange.
[06:05]
B
Yes. Well, we'll know as soon as we reach the place.
[06:12]
C
I was hoping you'd say that if you decided not to. I think I should have had a try at finding it alone.
[06:18]
B
I can't do anything else, Holly. It's. It's more than curiosity. It's almost a compulsion. There's such a familiar feeling about all this. Even that mountain, Holly, shaped like the head of an Ethiopian.
[06:29]
C
Yes, what about it?
[06:30]
B
Well, off and on, ever since I was a kid, I've dreamed about a mountain like that. But why, Holly? Why should I?
[06:43]
C
That was the beginning. And some three months later, we drifted down the east coast of Africa, south of Zanzibar, searching the miles of jungle shores for the mountain carved like a head. There were four of us in the tiny sailing dhow, Leo and I, of course, along with Abdullah, the Arab boatman we'd hired in Aden. And finally, a solid north countryman named Job, my servant for many years. We'd caught no sight of our landmark as yet, but a native had told us of seeing it once years before, somewhere in the south some. So our hopes held high, and we were confident luck was with us. And so it was. Until one evening, just at dark.
[07:20]
B
That's a pretty stiff wind, Holly. Yes. You think Abdullah knows what he's doing?
[07:23]
C
We're rather close inshore, all right, Leo. I doubt if there's any danger unless a squall hits, eh? By gauzy, we're strangers here in an heathen land and all. Anything could happen. It could, Joe, but let's assume that it won't, huh? How's the dory making out back there? Oh, trailing along all right behind us. Be in a bad spot if we lost it with our guns, food, equipment and everything in it. Yes, I know Job, Leo. Perhaps we shouldn't have packed the stuff that way, Leo. I should have kept it on board with us.
[07:51]
B
No, no, Holly. We want to be ready to shove off up the river as soon as we sight that head. Would be a tough job loading that boat at sea.
[07:57]
C
We may not have had to, Leo. We've certainly found no reason to so far.
[08:00]
B
But we will. I've dreamed of it. Ah.
[08:03]
C
Hey, Master Olly.
[08:05]
B
Luke. It's the wind.
[08:06]
C
The wind driving the water ahead of it. Abdullah, lay onto that tiller and head her into it. I'll give him a hand. Holly, cut tables here. We've got a chance, sir. Hold on to the mast, Joe.
[08:15]
B
We shall all put down.
[08:22]
C
The great wave plunged over us, tore away the dory, swamped the dhow beneath our feet and hurled us headlong into the foaming sea. Half smothered, fighting to stay afloat, born shoreward by the driver of the tempest, we will toss at last, one by one, up onto the rainswift beach. The calm dawn found us huddled together on the sand at the fringe of a dark and forbidding jungle. At the south lay the mouth of a small river, and to the north the beach ended at the slope of a rocky headland. Leo and Job went to look at the wrecked dory lying at the water's edge a hundred yards away. Well, I searched the shoreline for some sign of our boatman. I found none. And we never saw Abdullah again.
[09:11]
B
Oh, Holly. Find any. Any trace of him, Holly?
[09:14]
C
No sign, Leo. The pit is gone for good.
[09:17]
B
Oh, it's too bad.
[09:19]
C
We'll change the door hinge over. Wrecked. Not a chance of fixing it. But the equipment seems to be all right, sir.
[09:25]
B
Oh, good.
[09:26]
C
It's all there, isn't it?
[09:27]
B
Yes, most of it. The lashings held in the waterproof case is still up. Very well. Only trouble is, we're afoot.
[09:32]
C
Yes, we're going to have a lot of trouble following the coastline.
[09:34]
B
We won't follow any coastline, Holly.
[09:36]
C
What?
[09:37]
B
We're going up that river. Take a look at that headland there to the north. It shows up better from the wreck, Holly, but with the sun coming up now, you can see it from here, too.
[09:45]
C
A high goomit shaped like a human egg. That's it. That's the Lambo.
[09:49]
B
Right, Holly? And that's the river. Kallikrateus followed with his wife. The same one we are going to follow.
[09:54]
C
Oh, but Leo, with the boat gone, we shall have to break trail through that jungle and follow that r. Yes,
[09:58]
B
we'd better get started.
[09:59]
C
Look, gentlemen, why can't we just stay here and try to signal some ship?
[10:03]
B
Oh, there's not much chance of a Job. They stay pretty clear of this coast. But anyway, this is what we've been looking for.
[10:08]
C
I don't really know what we are looking for, Leo. It's been more than 2,000 years since Callicrates went up that river. And things must have changed a great deal by now.
[10:16]
B
Holly. Holly, that carved head up there in the mountain, it looks exactly the way it always did when I dreamed about.
[10:22]
C
It's incredible.
[10:23]
B
Ben got a strange feeling that whatever Kallikrates and his wife found Back there in the trouble jungle will still be waiting there today.
[10:35]
C
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[10:50]
A
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[11:37]
C
For five heart steaming days, we pushed inland through the jungle, following the banks of the muddy river. Mile by mile, the creeping undergrowth became more dense. The river shallowed and became sluggish. And the swamplands began to stretch out from the low banks. Foul pools and stagnant lagoons full of soft black mud covered over with a green scum made every step a hazard. Crocodiles slid away at our approach and bright colored snakes glided out from underfoot. Mile after mile we forced our way through those evil swamps. Each mile more difficult. Finally came the morning of the sixth day.
[12:22]
B
Oh, I don't know, Holly. If it gets any worse, we'll never make it.
[12:29]
C
Excuse me. Booting and gentlemen. Yes, Joe? I say we should turn back. Oh, no, Jove, we've spent five days getting this far. Be ashamed to waste it.
[12:39]
B
It's just the way I feel. We'll keep on as long as we can.
[12:44]
C
Oh, what, Leo.
[12:46]
B
I know, I know. I stumbled over something in the mire. Here, take a look at it. It's a rock. Look.
[12:54]
C
Yes, it's a square stone. It's been hand cut. There's another. It's a section of an old wall of some sort of a dike.
[13:04]
B
That's it, Holly. A long time ago, the river was held between stone dikes along here like a sort of canal.
[13:10]
C
It's possible that might account for the swampland. The dikes gradually fell to pieces. And the river spread out through the jungle, of course.
[13:16]
B
And Holly, there could be only one reason for building them. So that boats or barges could come in from the ocean to some kind of a city.
[13:23]
C
City? Gentlemen, why don't we turn back while we can? City. It had to be a long time ago. Centuries ago.
[13:29]
B
Now it should still be there. Hollywood. This place has never been explored. Nobody would ever try to come through these swamps.
[13:34]
C
It may include us if it keeps Job. What's the matter with you?
[13:38]
B
He must be. Oh. Oh, look.
[13:42]
C
Natives. Where the devil did they come from?
[13:47]
B
I don't know. Strange looking brutes. Look at those clothes they're wearing.
[13:53]
C
Yes, I've never seen any quite like them. Exception.
[14:03]
B
Do you recognize that dialect? No.
[14:04]
C
It's a little like Arabic. I might try that. I've never heard anything like it before.
[14:16]
B
Seem to want us to come along with them, Holly. Yes. You think we'd better chance it?
[14:20]
C
Well, they outnumber us 30 to 1, Leo.
[14:23]
B
Yes, and they're all carrying those stabbing knives. Well, hang on to your guns. They don't seem to know what they're for. Let's go.
[14:40]
C
Our strange escort moved rapidly ahead, twisting and turning as they followed some well remembered trail of their own. We rested during the night on a hummock of dry ground and struck out again at dawn. It was late afternoon when we left the swamp and climbed up a long slope to the foot of the rock walled mountain. Reaching its base we entered the mouth of a great cavern and a short way inside were led into a small side chamber carved from the living rock and lighted by a reed wick floating in a jug of oil. And then the strange natives went away and left us and we sat about on the floor trying to plan some course of action.
[15:21]
B
Oh dear. How long do you suppose we've been here, Holly?
[15:27]
C
Close to two hours, I'd say. Yeah, Must be dark outside by now.
[15:32]
B
Holly, do you have any idea what race they belong to? They're not like any other natives in this part of Africa.
[15:37]
C
Oh, I've seen people much like them in some of the villages in southern Egypt, Leo, but I don't know any more about it than that.
[15:42]
B
The way those odd tunics too. Cotton or linen, I suppose Those bronze headbands must have been out of contact with the rest of the world for centuries.
[15:52]
C
Heathens, that's what they are. And up to no good so far as we're concerned. That's what I do. You'll be right, Joe. But I still want to find out about the other things Amenartes wrote on the tile. The City of Khor and the Pillar of Fire and she who Must Be Obeyed.
[16:03]
B
They found the caves at least, though I can't see anything so terrible about them.
[16:07]
C
Perhaps we haven't seen everything at the cave. Oh, then I b.
[16:14]
B
Hope our little chum. Then I b.
[16:18]
C
He seems to want us to follow him. Well, hang on to your guns.
[16:22]
B
Right you are. Stick close together. Don't let them separate us. All right, Job. Come, let's go.
[16:32]
C
Our strange guide led us along the twisting, branching passageways, lighting our way with a flaming torch that threw weird shadows on the walls of solid rock. Now and then we passed side chambers lined with long rows of stone slabs. Then I saw that each slab held the sheeted figure of a human body. And I realized these caves were one vast crypt filled with the mummified bodies of some vanished race. Gradually, as we moved on, a most remarkable sound began to grow louder, made up of the guttural voices of a crowd, the throbbing of drums and the moan of some strange musical instrument. Suddenly, the narrow passage opened out into a great hallowed cavern where natives danced and postured in the eerie glare from a hundred huge torches placed about the walls. I stared in amazement, for the torches were flaming mummies tied upright to the posts. And the guide had lighted our way through the passages with a human arm. Nebuk. Borg, Jane.
[17:33]
B
I. I think he means for us to walk toward that platform in the center. Yes.
[17:38]
C
There's a pit of cold burning in the top of it there.
[17:41]
B
Book. Yes. Come on. Watch it, Holly. I don't like the looks of this.
[17:44]
C
All right. Keep your gun handy, Leo. Stay right with this, Job.
[17:47]
B
They look anything but friendly.
[17:49]
C
If anything starts, try to get on the platform. They've got no weapons except those stabbing knives, remember?
[17:56]
B
Here we are. Now what?
[18:01]
C
It's quite some fire they've got built up. I can't understand what they need to do.
[18:07]
B
Job, look out. Holly. They've killed Job.
[18:08]
C
The devils. Back against the wall, Neil. Ah, come on, pick up. Watch it.
[18:11]
D
Here they come.
[18:12]
B
All right.
[18:12]
C
You stab Job without a chance.
[18:15]
B
What are you? Left, Holly.
[18:16]
C
Let's try for the freight.
[18:23]
B
What the deuce is this old man in a long white robe?
[18:27]
C
Hold your gun ready, Leo. We'll see what happens.
[18:35]
B
They're scared to death of him, whoever he is.
[18:37]
C
Wait. He's coming our way.
[18:42]
B
I presume you speak English, gentlemen?
[18:45]
C
Yes. But you do?
[18:48]
B
Occasionally.
[18:49]
D
Natives from the south have come through
[18:51]
B
the swamps and we have captured them. I have learned many of the languages of the outside world. I am Billali Leo Vincey. And this is Mr. Holly. I am most sorrowful for the death of your companion. Oh, yes. Poor Joe. My children had no excuse. They know the law. From now on, you will be allowed to complete freedom. No white man is ever to be eaten.
[19:20]
C
Eaten?
[19:21]
B
That is what would have been done to you. But rest assured, her law is just, and their punishment will be swift. Whose law? That of she who must be obeyed. Holly. This is it, Holly. We're still on the right trail. She has demanded your presence. I have come to take you to the place of where she is.
[19:44]
C
Tell me, Billali, who or what is this she who must be obeyed? A goddess? A queen? A white woman?
[19:51]
B
I could not say, my son. I have never seen she come along.
[20:06]
C
Again through those tortuous passages. Two of us now, with kindly old Billali leading the way. Until he left us, alone at last, in a large chamber hung with brilliant colored silks, fitted with soft divans and lighted by crystal lamps. We stood there several minutes, not speaking, wondering, when suddenly the curtains across the doorway parted and a most amazing figure stood before us. It was swathed in folds of filmy white draperies, with soft, gauzy veils covering even the face and hands.
[20:44]
D
I bid you welcome to the city of Kr. Kallikrates. And friend of Kallikrates.
[20:50]
B
I, I, I, I'm not Kallikrates. I. I'm Leo Vincy, and. And this is my friend, Mr. Holly.
[20:56]
D
Leo Vincy. Vengeance. No matter. You will understand.
[21:02]
C
Are you.
[21:03]
D
I am she.
[21:06]
C
You must forgive us if we find it difficult to understand this. What is all this? These caves. The natives. What is kr?
[21:15]
D
KR is a great city that rose up and then died many thousand years ago. These are the caves of Kr. The city itself stands farther on in a huge crater at the heart of the mountain.
[21:26]
B
Are you a descendant of Kor?
[21:29]
D
I came from another place, far away. And Cor was dead long before I found it. The natives know me as a fearsome figure in white, and they obey me.
[21:39]
C
They have never seen you?
[21:41]
D
No, Holly. Not one of them has ever seen behind these veils.
[21:45]
B
It's amazing to think that Kallikrates must have been here in this same place over 2,000 years ago.
[21:52]
D
2,287 years ago, Kallikrates died in this very chamber.
[21:58]
C
You. You speak as though you saw it happen.
[22:01]
D
I did see it happen.
[22:03]
B
I killed him. But you couldn't. That was over 2,000 years ago.
[22:11]
D
Yes, and at that time, I had been here in Kor for more than 500 years.
[22:16]
C
Impossible.
[22:17]
D
How do you know? You haven't seen me.
[22:20]
B
But then you claim to be immortal.
[22:23]
D
Yes. As he could have been, had he stepped with me into the flames of life. As you can be my callicrates if you so choose.
[22:31]
C
I. I hope you'll forgive me, but I. I can't believe anything so fantastic.
[22:36]
D
Is it proof? You need proof that I once did an evil act in anger and paid for it by waiting alone through all these centuries. Proof that my waiting is ended. Now then, look upon it behind this curtain.
[22:52]
B
A mummy. A mummy like those out in the caves.
[22:57]
D
But look at the face, Leo.
[23:01]
B
It's you.
[23:03]
C
That's you lying there.
[23:05]
D
That is the body of Kallikrates, whom I loved and whom I killed in anger. When he refused to leave her and stay with me to become immortal, his wife, Amenartes fled across the mountains and later gave birth to his son, your ancestor.
[23:20]
C
Then, Leo, that clay tile has been handed down in your family. For over 20 centuries.
[23:26]
D
I have paid for my sin. And I have waited knowing that someday my Kallikrates would be born to me again, would come back to Cor and find me.
[23:34]
B
It was as though I had to. I dreamed of that carved mountain before I'd ever seen it. And your name? She who Must Be Obeyed. It struck some chord in my memory the first time I heard it.
[23:47]
D
It is your heart that must be obeyed. Now, my beloved, the decision is yours. Whether to leave me once again now that you have found me, or to walk with me into the pillar of Life, to love me and to become immortal.
[24:01]
B
Yes. I feel somehow that this is the ending of something I've been moving toward all my life, Leo. Oh, but. But it isn't possible. Immortality. And how can you love someone you've never seen?
[24:18]
D
Then you shall see, my beloved. I've worn these veils for you. And for you. I.
[24:26]
B
Look.
[24:28]
D
Oh.
[24:34]
C
The soft veil slid off from her shoulders and she stood revealed before us, the most beautiful woman the world has ever seen.
[24:46]
D
Will you leave me now, my Kallikrates, or come with me to the flame of life?
[24:51]
B
I'll go with you anywhere. Anywhere.
[25:03]
C
We talked the night away in the chamber, Leo and I, fascinated by every word that fell from those lovely lips. She talked of the hidden knowledge of ancient lands, sang softly of her thoughts in rhyme and spoke once again the words of long dead poets forgotten by the world. She made us believe in her own immortality and in ours to come. And before dawn, Belali with us. We followed her madly and joyously through the dim and dusty passage that led to the flame of life. We came to a great abyss with a narrow ledge crossing over it like a rainbow rock. There Billali waited, and we three went on alone. At the Sight of the awful depths beneath us. Leo and I shuddered in spite of ourselves and moved carefully, step by step. She never hesitated, but swayed along gaily before us like a feather borne on a breeze. Finally, we stood in a vast circular chamber, a great bubble in the earth's crust, whose walls were shining black basalt.
[26:12]
B
Holly. Yes? I see. There by the wall looks like the body of a man.
[26:17]
D
An old philosopher, my beloved, who came here many centuries ago. He sat and watched the flame and could not decide whether he should become immortal. Finally, he died.
[26:28]
C
And you? Have you never regretted becoming immortal?
[26:33]
D
I could not have waited for Kallikrates, Holly, had I not been immortal. But you, Leo, perhaps you have doubts.
[26:42]
B
Immortality will not even be long enough with you. Where is the listen?
[26:49]
D
Even now it approaches, it advances and then retreats. A never ending cycle of life. It has moved along its path through this cavern since the beginning of time.
[26:57]
B
Holly, look.
[26:59]
D
Do not fear it, beloved. See, this time I will step into the flame alone. And when it comes again, you may join me.
[27:05]
B
It's like the fire of the sun and the dust of a million diamonds.
[27:11]
C
As the great and terrible pillar of flame approached, she threw off her veils and opened her arms to it. And the eternal fire flowed over her. It passed and left her there, standing with her head bowed.
[27:35]
B
You. I. Are you alright? It didn't harm you?
[27:38]
D
No, my beloved. Can one find harm in the flame that created life itself? Do you believe that?
[27:47]
B
What?
[27:47]
D
That.
[27:48]
B
What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong?
[27:51]
D
The flame was different somehow. Now that Kallikrates has returned, the curse of everlasting life is lifted.
[28:02]
C
Leo. She's aging. Growing old.
[28:05]
B
No, I. Oh, no.
[28:07]
D
I do not. If I.
[28:09]
B
Go.
[28:10]
D
Search for me.
[28:12]
B
Search.
[28:13]
C
Merciful heavens.
[28:14]
B
Oh, no. No.
[28:18]
C
Even as Leo's hands reached out to touch her, they closed on a dry heap of soft gray dust. I knew now that neither of us would step into the flame. And I knew we would spend our lives searching through the world. For she. I seemed to hear in my mind once again words she had spoken in those glorious hours the night before. I knew that Leo was hearing them too. And that neither of us, so long as we lived, could ever forget that lovely voice.
[29:15]
D
Nay, not in core, but in whatever spot in town or field or by the insatiate sea, men brood on buried loves, or unforgot, or break themselves on some divine decree, or would o' erleap the limits of their lot. There in the tombs and deathless dwelleth she.
[30:02]
B
Escape. Produced and Directed by Norman MacDonald Tonight brought to you she by H. Rider Haggard. Adapted for radio by Les Crutchfield with editorial supervision by John Dunkle. Featured in tonight's cast were Barry Kroger, Larry Dobkin, Kay Brinker, Ben Wright, and Wilms Herbert. Special music by Ivan Ditmars. Next week you are clinging precariously to
[30:30]
C
a diving, pitching longboat lashed by mountainous
[30:34]
B
seas in the center of a hurricane,
[30:36]
C
and at the helm driving you on
[30:39]
B
is a man bent on revenge and willing to kill for it. Next week we escape with FR Buckley's exciting story Habit. Good night, then, until this same time next week when once again we offer you escape. This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
[31:25]
C
With the American Express Platinum card, you can access over $3,500 in annual value with benefits and eligible purchases across travel, entertainment and more. There's nothing like Platinum. Learn more@americanexpress.com Explore Platinum enrollment requirements, monthly and other limits in terms of Apply.

Summary5 min read

Podcast Episode Summary

Harold’s Old Time Radio

Episode 46: Escape - "She"
Original Air Date: August 9, 2026
Adapted from: H. Rider Haggard’s novel She

Episode Theme & Purpose

In this episode, the host presents a rebroadcast of an episode of Escape, a classic radio drama from the Golden Age of Radio. The featured story, “She,” is an adventure tale based on H. Rider Haggard’s celebrated novel. The narrative follows Professor Holly and Leo Vincey as they journey into the depths of uncharted Africa, spurred by an ancient family secret and the promise of immortality. The episode explores themes of obsession, fate, undying love, and the costs of seeking eternal life.

Key Discussion Points & Story Highlights

1. The Mysterious Legacy (02:03 – 06:28)

Professor Holly recounts his friendship with Roger Vincey and, after his death, becomes a mentor to Leo Vincey.
On Leo’s 25th birthday, he receives an ancient chest left by his father, containing a clay tablet marked by Egyptian and Greek inscriptions and a cryptic letter.
- Quote (03:01, Leo): “According to Father’s letter, it contains something over 2000 years old.”
The tablet instructs Leo to seek out a secret in Africa: a mountain carved like an Ethiopian’s head, and the mysterious “she who must be obeyed.”

2. The Journey to Africa & The Jungle Trek (06:43 – 14:15)

The expedition: Leo, Holly, their servant Job, and the Arab boatman Abdullah sail along the African coast, searching for the landmark.
Disaster strikes as a storm hits, marooning them on a remote shore. Abdullah is lost; the survivors decide to journey upriver.
- Quote (09:36, Leo): “We’re going up that river… That’s the river Kallikrateus followed with his wife. The same one we are going to follow.”
The jungle is perilous—swamps, reptiles, and ancient ruins suggest a lost civilization.

3. Contact with the Lost Civilization (14:15 – 20:43)

The explorers, exhausted, are taken captive by strange natives in unusual dress and led through underground passages filled with mummified bodies.
- Quote (16:32, Holly): “These caves were one vast crypt filled with the mummified bodies of some vanished race.”
Ritual violence: The servant Job is killed during a tribal ceremony (18:06).
The sudden intervention of an elderly leader, Billali, who speaks English, saves the others:
- Quote (18:42, Billali): “I have learned many of the languages of the outside world. I am Billali… I am most sorrowful for the death of your companion.”
Billali explains they are guests under the protection of “She Who Must Be Obeyed.”

4. Meeting 'She Who Must Be Obeyed' (20:43 – 24:45)

Holly and Leo are brought to a lavish chamber, where the veiled queen “She” greets them:
- Quote (20:43, She): “I bid you welcome to the city of Kôr. Kallikrates. And friend of Kallikrates.”
She reveals she has lived for millennia, and was present at Kallikrates’ death, having killed him herself in a jealous rage. She claims to be immortal, awaiting Kallikrates' return through reincarnation.
- Quote (22:02, She): “I did see it happen. I killed him… At that time, I had been here in Kor for more than 500 years.”
The body of Kallikrates, Leo’s ancestor, has been preserved for centuries.
- Quote (23:02, Holly): “That is the body of Kallikrates, whom I loved and whom I killed in anger.”

5. The Temptation of Immortality (24:45 – 27:34)

She offers Leo the chance to become immortal by stepping into the ‘pillar of life’ with her.
- Quote (24:45, She): “Will you leave me now, my Kallikrates, or come with me to the flame of life?”
Leo is torn but compelled by his own sense of fate and love for She.
- Quote (24:50, Leo): “I’ll go with you anywhere. Anywhere.”

6. The Flame of Life & The Tragic Climax (27:34 – 28:17)

In the volcanic cavern, She steps into the pillar of fire to demonstrate her power:
- Quote (27:05, She): “See, this time I will step into the flame alone.”
Suddenly, immortality deserts her; she rapidly ages and dies before Leo and Holly’s eyes, becoming only dust.
- Quote (28:01, Holly): “Leo. She’s aging. Growing old.”
- Quote (28:10, She): “Search for me.”
- Quote (28:17, Holly): “Even as Leo’s hands reached out to touch her, they closed on a dry heap of soft gray dust…”

7. The Aftermath: Longing and Memory (29:14 – 30:01)

The episode ends with a poetic reflection on love, fate, and the eternal search for lost ideals.
- Quote (29:14, She, reciting):
  “Nay, not in core, but in whatever spot in town or field or by the insatiate sea,
  men brood on buried loves, or unforgot…
  There in the tombs and deathless dwelleth she.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Family Legacy & Destiny:
- Leo (04:46): “There’s something familiar about that name, but I’ve never heard it before. Strange.”
On First Seeing ‘She’:
- Holly (24:34): “She stood revealed before us, the most beautiful woman the world has ever seen.”
On the Cost of Immortality:
- She (22:22): “As he could have been, had he stepped with me into the flames of life. As you can be, my Kallikrates, if you so choose.”
- She (27:47): “Now that Kallikrates has returned, the curse of everlasting life is lifted.”
On Loss & Eternal Search:
- Holly (28:17): “Even as Leo’s hands reached out to touch her, they closed on a dry heap of soft gray dust.”
- She (29:14, poetic narration): "There in the tombs and deathless dwelleth she."

Timestamps for Key Segments

[02:03] – Discovery of the chest and the ancient letter
[06:43] – The expedition begins in earnest, with the wreck and decision to head upriver
[14:15] – First contact with the lost civilization and descent into their domain
[18:42] – Billali saves the protagonists and explains ‘She’s’ law
[20:43] – First encounter with the veiled queen, ‘She’
[24:45] – The unveiling and along-awaited choice
[27:34] – The flame of life, and the tragic consequence
[29:14] – The poetic coda and emotional reflection

Tone & Style

The episode is told in a classic, dramatic radio style, rich in suspense, emotion, and vivid adventure. The dialogue is earnest, at times poetic, capturing the weight of legend and the allure of the unknown.

For listeners new to old-time radio, this episode delivers a masterclass in narrative tension, mythical themes, and the golden-age performance style—anchored by a tale that resonates with longing and the dangers of seeking forbidden knowledge.

Loading summary

Transcript206 lines

[00:00]
A
Every early morning run, every walk across campus at dusk, every ride back after dark. That's why she's Bertie created the Birdy Disc, a clip on safety light and personal safety alarm for the students stepping into a whole new level of independence. On sale for bag to school. Buy two get one free A new campus, a new city, a whole new routine, an exciting life stage, but a vulnerable time for many women. The Birdy disc clips hands free to her backpack strap, sports bra or bike. Three LED modes make her visible to drivers in low light and unlike an ordinary running light, it has a built in 130db siren. So if something feels wrong, one press brings every eye to her. Get your college girl the Byrdy disc during the back to school sale. Buy two get one free visit. She's birdie.com that's S-H-E-S-B-I-R-I E.com
[00:56]
B
fed up with the everyday grind? Tired out from the summer heat? Want to get away from it all? We offer you escape. Escape designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure.
[01:19]
C
You are deep in a fabulous mountain cavern surrounded by a horde of menacing natives from a lost civilization held at
[01:27]
B
the mercy of the most beautiful woman in the world, the terrible queen called she. Tonight we escape to uncharted Africa and to an incredible adventure.
[01:48]
C
And as H. Rider Haggard described it
[01:50]
B
in his fantastic story, she.
[02:03]
C
In those days I was a professor of archaeology at Oxford, and though this may account for my being able to understand some of those strange events which occurred later, it was in no respect the reason for my becoming involved in them. No, the real reason was unbelievably simple. I walked through the caves of the dead in the terrible and ancient city of Kor, crossed the awful abyss and looked upon the flame of life. Only because I was one of the ugliest men in England. Because of my appearance I had made few acquaintances and only two close friends. Roger Vincey first, and following his death, his son Leo, whom he left behind. And it was that friendship which brought Leo Vincy to my chambers off the quadrangle late in the evening of the day he became 25 years old.
[02:51]
B
Today was the first I knew of Ed Harley when the attorneys called me in. Yes, they said Father instructed them the week before he died to give me the letter in this little bronze chest on my 25th birthday.
[03:02]
C
Strange. I mean, the chest designs on the lid show Egyptian influence. It must be very old.
[03:08]
B
According to Father's letter, it contains something over 2000 years old.
[03:11]
C
Really?
[03:13]
B
Must have considered it rather important. She's closed the COVID with a lead seal.
[03:17]
C
Yes, I see.
[03:19]
B
At any rate, Holly, the letter doesn't tell us much. Suppose we. Suppose we see what's inside.
[03:28]
C
All right. I have a geology hammer here somewhere, my boy. Here we are. And a chisel. You hold it in place on the table.
[03:36]
B
Uh huh. Go ahead. Ah, there. It's pulling loose. Yes. Ah, I did it. Well, here goes. What the devil is that?
[03:53]
C
Why, it's a clay tile. An old Egyptian writing tablet. Yes, it's the kind used about the time of nicktanabees, around 340 BC.
[04:01]
B
But the writing on it, it's not Egyptian, it's Greek.
[04:05]
C
Yes, and parts of it are broken away. Oh, it'll take some time to translate this, Leo.
[04:10]
B
But father apparently did it, Holly, according to this paper. Listen, here's his translation. Read it. I am Anartes, wife of Kallikrates. Say this to you, my son. Forced to escape the wrath of the great Nektanabees. Thought so your father and I fled southward across the waters and wandered for two twice twelve moons upon the coast of Libya.
[04:32]
C
That's the old name for Africa, you know.
[04:33]
B
Ah. That faces the rising sun there, by the mouth of a river where stands, facing the sea, a great mountain carved like the head of an Ethiopian.
[04:45]
C
What is it?
[04:47]
B
Nothing, Holly. It goes on following the river we soon fell among there's a row of asterisks.
[04:54]
C
That must be one of the places where the tile's broken. Go on, my boy.
[04:57]
B
To a hollow mountain where a great city once stood. And to the tower terrible caves of which no man hath seen the end. And. And to she who must be obeyed. She who must be.
[05:08]
C
What's wrong, Leo?
[05:10]
B
I don't know, Holly. There's something familiar about that name, but I've never heard it before. Strange.
[05:17]
C
Well, well, come on, get on with it.
[05:19]
B
She who must be obeyed, who did lead us by awesome ways to the place where the great pit is. Whose voice is like thunder. And she did show to us the rolling pillar of life and did stand in the flames. And she spake unto my. And there's a large fragment missing here. There isn't very much more. Picks up. Carried far away on the ships where I gave birth to thee, and came hither to Athens at last. So I say to thee, by these things which I have told, seek out this place, nor stay thy will until thou hast the secret of life for thyself. Sit then on the throne with the Pharaoh that's all, Holly. Now, what's it all about, Leo?
[06:00]
C
If your father knew, he kept it to himself. I don't know. It's all very strange.
[06:05]
B
Yes. Well, we'll know as soon as we reach the place.
[06:12]
C
I was hoping you'd say that if you decided not to. I think I should have had a try at finding it alone.
[06:18]
B
I can't do anything else, Holly. It's. It's more than curiosity. It's almost a compulsion. There's such a familiar feeling about all this. Even that mountain, Holly, shaped like the head of an Ethiopian.
[06:29]
C
Yes, what about it?
[06:30]
B
Well, off and on, ever since I was a kid, I've dreamed about a mountain like that. But why, Holly? Why should I?
[06:43]
C
That was the beginning. And some three months later, we drifted down the east coast of Africa, south of Zanzibar, searching the miles of jungle shores for the mountain carved like a head. There were four of us in the tiny sailing dhow, Leo and I, of course, along with Abdullah, the Arab boatman we'd hired in Aden. And finally, a solid north countryman named Job, my servant for many years. We'd caught no sight of our landmark as yet, but a native had told us of seeing it once years before, somewhere in the south some. So our hopes held high, and we were confident luck was with us. And so it was. Until one evening, just at dark.
[07:20]
B
That's a pretty stiff wind, Holly. Yes. You think Abdullah knows what he's doing?
[07:23]
C
We're rather close inshore, all right, Leo. I doubt if there's any danger unless a squall hits, eh? By gauzy, we're strangers here in an heathen land and all. Anything could happen. It could, Joe, but let's assume that it won't, huh? How's the dory making out back there? Oh, trailing along all right behind us. Be in a bad spot if we lost it with our guns, food, equipment and everything in it. Yes, I know Job, Leo. Perhaps we shouldn't have packed the stuff that way, Leo. I should have kept it on board with us.
[07:51]
B
No, no, Holly. We want to be ready to shove off up the river as soon as we sight that head. Would be a tough job loading that boat at sea.
[07:57]
C
We may not have had to, Leo. We've certainly found no reason to so far.
[08:00]
B
But we will. I've dreamed of it. Ah.
[08:03]
C
Hey, Master Olly.
[08:05]
B
Luke. It's the wind.
[08:06]
C
The wind driving the water ahead of it. Abdullah, lay onto that tiller and head her into it. I'll give him a hand. Holly, cut tables here. We've got a chance, sir. Hold on to the mast, Joe.
[08:15]
B
We shall all put down.
[08:22]
C
The great wave plunged over us, tore away the dory, swamped the dhow beneath our feet and hurled us headlong into the foaming sea. Half smothered, fighting to stay afloat, born shoreward by the driver of the tempest, we will toss at last, one by one, up onto the rainswift beach. The calm dawn found us huddled together on the sand at the fringe of a dark and forbidding jungle. At the south lay the mouth of a small river, and to the north the beach ended at the slope of a rocky headland. Leo and Job went to look at the wrecked dory lying at the water's edge a hundred yards away. Well, I searched the shoreline for some sign of our boatman. I found none. And we never saw Abdullah again.
[09:11]
B
Oh, Holly. Find any. Any trace of him, Holly?
[09:14]
C
No sign, Leo. The pit is gone for good.
[09:17]
B
Oh, it's too bad.
[09:19]
C
We'll change the door hinge over. Wrecked. Not a chance of fixing it. But the equipment seems to be all right, sir.
[09:25]
B
Oh, good.
[09:26]
C
It's all there, isn't it?
[09:27]
B
Yes, most of it. The lashings held in the waterproof case is still up. Very well. Only trouble is, we're afoot.
[09:32]
C
Yes, we're going to have a lot of trouble following the coastline.
[09:34]
B
We won't follow any coastline, Holly.
[09:36]
C
What?
[09:37]
B
We're going up that river. Take a look at that headland there to the north. It shows up better from the wreck, Holly, but with the sun coming up now, you can see it from here, too.
[09:45]
C
A high goomit shaped like a human egg. That's it. That's the Lambo.
[09:49]
B
Right, Holly? And that's the river. Kallikrateus followed with his wife. The same one we are going to follow.
[09:54]
C
Oh, but Leo, with the boat gone, we shall have to break trail through that jungle and follow that r. Yes,
[09:58]
B
we'd better get started.
[09:59]
C
Look, gentlemen, why can't we just stay here and try to signal some ship?
[10:03]
B
Oh, there's not much chance of a Job. They stay pretty clear of this coast. But anyway, this is what we've been looking for.
[10:08]
C
I don't really know what we are looking for, Leo. It's been more than 2,000 years since Callicrates went up that river. And things must have changed a great deal by now.
[10:16]
B
Holly. Holly, that carved head up there in the mountain, it looks exactly the way it always did when I dreamed about.
[10:22]
C
It's incredible.
[10:23]
B
Ben got a strange feeling that whatever Kallikrates and his wife found Back there in the trouble jungle will still be waiting there today.
[10:35]
C
Now at McDonald's, everyone can get more of what they want when they want it. With McVowey, you can choose your wake up call, you can choose your study meal or even your drive through dinner.
[10:50]
A
Jump from craving to saving with McDonald's under $3 menu including a McChicken for only $2 limited time only. Price and participation may vary. Cannot be combined with any other offer. When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place. So nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-granger clickranger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
[11:37]
C
For five heart steaming days, we pushed inland through the jungle, following the banks of the muddy river. Mile by mile, the creeping undergrowth became more dense. The river shallowed and became sluggish. And the swamplands began to stretch out from the low banks. Foul pools and stagnant lagoons full of soft black mud covered over with a green scum made every step a hazard. Crocodiles slid away at our approach and bright colored snakes glided out from underfoot. Mile after mile we forced our way through those evil swamps. Each mile more difficult. Finally came the morning of the sixth day.
[12:22]
B
Oh, I don't know, Holly. If it gets any worse, we'll never make it.
[12:29]
C
Excuse me. Booting and gentlemen. Yes, Joe? I say we should turn back. Oh, no, Jove, we've spent five days getting this far. Be ashamed to waste it.
[12:39]
B
It's just the way I feel. We'll keep on as long as we can.
[12:44]
C
Oh, what, Leo.
[12:46]
B
I know, I know. I stumbled over something in the mire. Here, take a look at it. It's a rock. Look.
[12:54]
C
Yes, it's a square stone. It's been hand cut. There's another. It's a section of an old wall of some sort of a dike.
[13:04]
B
That's it, Holly. A long time ago, the river was held between stone dikes along here like a sort of canal.
[13:10]
C
It's possible that might account for the swampland. The dikes gradually fell to pieces. And the river spread out through the jungle, of course.
[13:16]
B
And Holly, there could be only one reason for building them. So that boats or barges could come in from the ocean to some kind of a city.
[13:23]
C
City? Gentlemen, why don't we turn back while we can? City. It had to be a long time ago. Centuries ago.
[13:29]
B
Now it should still be there. Hollywood. This place has never been explored. Nobody would ever try to come through these swamps.
[13:34]
C
It may include us if it keeps Job. What's the matter with you?
[13:38]
B
He must be. Oh. Oh, look.
[13:42]
C
Natives. Where the devil did they come from?
[13:47]
B
I don't know. Strange looking brutes. Look at those clothes they're wearing.
[13:53]
C
Yes, I've never seen any quite like them. Exception.
[14:03]
B
Do you recognize that dialect? No.
[14:04]
C
It's a little like Arabic. I might try that. I've never heard anything like it before.
[14:16]
B
Seem to want us to come along with them, Holly. Yes. You think we'd better chance it?
[14:20]
C
Well, they outnumber us 30 to 1, Leo.
[14:23]
B
Yes, and they're all carrying those stabbing knives. Well, hang on to your guns. They don't seem to know what they're for. Let's go.
[14:40]
C
Our strange escort moved rapidly ahead, twisting and turning as they followed some well remembered trail of their own. We rested during the night on a hummock of dry ground and struck out again at dawn. It was late afternoon when we left the swamp and climbed up a long slope to the foot of the rock walled mountain. Reaching its base we entered the mouth of a great cavern and a short way inside were led into a small side chamber carved from the living rock and lighted by a reed wick floating in a jug of oil. And then the strange natives went away and left us and we sat about on the floor trying to plan some course of action.
[15:21]
B
Oh dear. How long do you suppose we've been here, Holly?
[15:27]
C
Close to two hours, I'd say. Yeah, Must be dark outside by now.
[15:32]
B
Holly, do you have any idea what race they belong to? They're not like any other natives in this part of Africa.
[15:37]
C
Oh, I've seen people much like them in some of the villages in southern Egypt, Leo, but I don't know any more about it than that.
[15:42]
B
The way those odd tunics too. Cotton or linen, I suppose Those bronze headbands must have been out of contact with the rest of the world for centuries.
[15:52]
C
Heathens, that's what they are. And up to no good so far as we're concerned. That's what I do. You'll be right, Joe. But I still want to find out about the other things Amenartes wrote on the tile. The City of Khor and the Pillar of Fire and she who Must Be Obeyed.
[16:03]
B
They found the caves at least, though I can't see anything so terrible about them.
[16:07]
C
Perhaps we haven't seen everything at the cave. Oh, then I b.
[16:14]
B
Hope our little chum. Then I b.
[16:18]
C
He seems to want us to follow him. Well, hang on to your guns.
[16:22]
B
Right you are. Stick close together. Don't let them separate us. All right, Job. Come, let's go.
[16:32]
C
Our strange guide led us along the twisting, branching passageways, lighting our way with a flaming torch that threw weird shadows on the walls of solid rock. Now and then we passed side chambers lined with long rows of stone slabs. Then I saw that each slab held the sheeted figure of a human body. And I realized these caves were one vast crypt filled with the mummified bodies of some vanished race. Gradually, as we moved on, a most remarkable sound began to grow louder, made up of the guttural voices of a crowd, the throbbing of drums and the moan of some strange musical instrument. Suddenly, the narrow passage opened out into a great hallowed cavern where natives danced and postured in the eerie glare from a hundred huge torches placed about the walls. I stared in amazement, for the torches were flaming mummies tied upright to the posts. And the guide had lighted our way through the passages with a human arm. Nebuk. Borg, Jane.
[17:33]
B
I. I think he means for us to walk toward that platform in the center. Yes.
[17:38]
C
There's a pit of cold burning in the top of it there.
[17:41]
B
Book. Yes. Come on. Watch it, Holly. I don't like the looks of this.
[17:44]
C
All right. Keep your gun handy, Leo. Stay right with this, Job.
[17:47]
B
They look anything but friendly.
[17:49]
C
If anything starts, try to get on the platform. They've got no weapons except those stabbing knives, remember?
[17:56]
B
Here we are. Now what?
[18:01]
C
It's quite some fire they've got built up. I can't understand what they need to do.
[18:07]
B
Job, look out. Holly. They've killed Job.
[18:08]
C
The devils. Back against the wall, Neil. Ah, come on, pick up. Watch it.
[18:11]
D
Here they come.
[18:12]
B
All right.
[18:12]
C
You stab Job without a chance.
[18:15]
B
What are you? Left, Holly.
[18:16]
C
Let's try for the freight.
[18:23]
B
What the deuce is this old man in a long white robe?
[18:27]
C
Hold your gun ready, Leo. We'll see what happens.
[18:35]
B
They're scared to death of him, whoever he is.
[18:37]
C
Wait. He's coming our way.
[18:42]
B
I presume you speak English, gentlemen?
[18:45]
C
Yes. But you do?
[18:48]
B
Occasionally.
[18:49]
D
Natives from the south have come through
[18:51]
B
the swamps and we have captured them. I have learned many of the languages of the outside world. I am Billali Leo Vincey. And this is Mr. Holly. I am most sorrowful for the death of your companion. Oh, yes. Poor Joe. My children had no excuse. They know the law. From now on, you will be allowed to complete freedom. No white man is ever to be eaten.
[19:20]
C
Eaten?
[19:21]
B
That is what would have been done to you. But rest assured, her law is just, and their punishment will be swift. Whose law? That of she who must be obeyed. Holly. This is it, Holly. We're still on the right trail. She has demanded your presence. I have come to take you to the place of where she is.
[19:44]
C
Tell me, Billali, who or what is this she who must be obeyed? A goddess? A queen? A white woman?
[19:51]
B
I could not say, my son. I have never seen she come along.
[20:06]
C
Again through those tortuous passages. Two of us now, with kindly old Billali leading the way. Until he left us, alone at last, in a large chamber hung with brilliant colored silks, fitted with soft divans and lighted by crystal lamps. We stood there several minutes, not speaking, wondering, when suddenly the curtains across the doorway parted and a most amazing figure stood before us. It was swathed in folds of filmy white draperies, with soft, gauzy veils covering even the face and hands.
[20:44]
D
I bid you welcome to the city of Kr. Kallikrates. And friend of Kallikrates.
[20:50]
B
I, I, I, I'm not Kallikrates. I. I'm Leo Vincy, and. And this is my friend, Mr. Holly.
[20:56]
D
Leo Vincy. Vengeance. No matter. You will understand.
[21:02]
C
Are you.
[21:03]
D
I am she.
[21:06]
C
You must forgive us if we find it difficult to understand this. What is all this? These caves. The natives. What is kr?
[21:15]
D
KR is a great city that rose up and then died many thousand years ago. These are the caves of Kr. The city itself stands farther on in a huge crater at the heart of the mountain.
[21:26]
B
Are you a descendant of Kor?
[21:29]
D
I came from another place, far away. And Cor was dead long before I found it. The natives know me as a fearsome figure in white, and they obey me.
[21:39]
C
They have never seen you?
[21:41]
D
No, Holly. Not one of them has ever seen behind these veils.
[21:45]
B
It's amazing to think that Kallikrates must have been here in this same place over 2,000 years ago.
[21:52]
D
2,287 years ago, Kallikrates died in this very chamber.
[21:58]
C
You. You speak as though you saw it happen.
[22:01]
D
I did see it happen.
[22:03]
B
I killed him. But you couldn't. That was over 2,000 years ago.
[22:11]
D
Yes, and at that time, I had been here in Kor for more than 500 years.
[22:16]
C
Impossible.
[22:17]
D
How do you know? You haven't seen me.
[22:20]
B
But then you claim to be immortal.
[22:23]
D
Yes. As he could have been, had he stepped with me into the flames of life. As you can be my callicrates if you so choose.
[22:31]
C
I. I hope you'll forgive me, but I. I can't believe anything so fantastic.
[22:36]
D
Is it proof? You need proof that I once did an evil act in anger and paid for it by waiting alone through all these centuries. Proof that my waiting is ended. Now then, look upon it behind this curtain.
[22:52]
B
A mummy. A mummy like those out in the caves.
[22:57]
D
But look at the face, Leo.
[23:01]
B
It's you.
[23:03]
C
That's you lying there.
[23:05]
D
That is the body of Kallikrates, whom I loved and whom I killed in anger. When he refused to leave her and stay with me to become immortal, his wife, Amenartes fled across the mountains and later gave birth to his son, your ancestor.
[23:20]
C
Then, Leo, that clay tile has been handed down in your family. For over 20 centuries.
[23:26]
D
I have paid for my sin. And I have waited knowing that someday my Kallikrates would be born to me again, would come back to Cor and find me.
[23:34]
B
It was as though I had to. I dreamed of that carved mountain before I'd ever seen it. And your name? She who Must Be Obeyed. It struck some chord in my memory the first time I heard it.
[23:47]
D
It is your heart that must be obeyed. Now, my beloved, the decision is yours. Whether to leave me once again now that you have found me, or to walk with me into the pillar of Life, to love me and to become immortal.
[24:01]
B
Yes. I feel somehow that this is the ending of something I've been moving toward all my life, Leo. Oh, but. But it isn't possible. Immortality. And how can you love someone you've never seen?
[24:18]
D
Then you shall see, my beloved. I've worn these veils for you. And for you. I.
[24:26]
B
Look.
[24:28]
D
Oh.
[24:34]
C
The soft veil slid off from her shoulders and she stood revealed before us, the most beautiful woman the world has ever seen.
[24:46]
D
Will you leave me now, my Kallikrates, or come with me to the flame of life?
[24:51]
B
I'll go with you anywhere. Anywhere.
[25:03]
C
We talked the night away in the chamber, Leo and I, fascinated by every word that fell from those lovely lips. She talked of the hidden knowledge of ancient lands, sang softly of her thoughts in rhyme and spoke once again the words of long dead poets forgotten by the world. She made us believe in her own immortality and in ours to come. And before dawn, Belali with us. We followed her madly and joyously through the dim and dusty passage that led to the flame of life. We came to a great abyss with a narrow ledge crossing over it like a rainbow rock. There Billali waited, and we three went on alone. At the Sight of the awful depths beneath us. Leo and I shuddered in spite of ourselves and moved carefully, step by step. She never hesitated, but swayed along gaily before us like a feather borne on a breeze. Finally, we stood in a vast circular chamber, a great bubble in the earth's crust, whose walls were shining black basalt.
[26:12]
B
Holly. Yes? I see. There by the wall looks like the body of a man.
[26:17]
D
An old philosopher, my beloved, who came here many centuries ago. He sat and watched the flame and could not decide whether he should become immortal. Finally, he died.
[26:28]
C
And you? Have you never regretted becoming immortal?
[26:33]
D
I could not have waited for Kallikrates, Holly, had I not been immortal. But you, Leo, perhaps you have doubts.
[26:42]
B
Immortality will not even be long enough with you. Where is the listen?
[26:49]
D
Even now it approaches, it advances and then retreats. A never ending cycle of life. It has moved along its path through this cavern since the beginning of time.
[26:57]
B
Holly, look.
[26:59]
D
Do not fear it, beloved. See, this time I will step into the flame alone. And when it comes again, you may join me.
[27:05]
B
It's like the fire of the sun and the dust of a million diamonds.
[27:11]
C
As the great and terrible pillar of flame approached, she threw off her veils and opened her arms to it. And the eternal fire flowed over her. It passed and left her there, standing with her head bowed.
[27:35]
B
You. I. Are you alright? It didn't harm you?
[27:38]
D
No, my beloved. Can one find harm in the flame that created life itself? Do you believe that?
[27:47]
B
What?
[27:47]
D
That.
[27:48]
B
What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong?
[27:51]
D
The flame was different somehow. Now that Kallikrates has returned, the curse of everlasting life is lifted.
[28:02]
C
Leo. She's aging. Growing old.
[28:05]
B
No, I. Oh, no.
[28:07]
D
I do not. If I.
[28:09]
B
Go.
[28:10]
D
Search for me.
[28:12]
B
Search.
[28:13]
C
Merciful heavens.
[28:14]
B
Oh, no. No.
[28:18]
C
Even as Leo's hands reached out to touch her, they closed on a dry heap of soft gray dust. I knew now that neither of us would step into the flame. And I knew we would spend our lives searching through the world. For she. I seemed to hear in my mind once again words she had spoken in those glorious hours the night before. I knew that Leo was hearing them too. And that neither of us, so long as we lived, could ever forget that lovely voice.
[29:15]
D
Nay, not in core, but in whatever spot in town or field or by the insatiate sea, men brood on buried loves, or unforgot, or break themselves on some divine decree, or would o' erleap the limits of their lot. There in the tombs and deathless dwelleth she.
[30:02]
B
Escape. Produced and Directed by Norman MacDonald Tonight brought to you she by H. Rider Haggard. Adapted for radio by Les Crutchfield with editorial supervision by John Dunkle. Featured in tonight's cast were Barry Kroger, Larry Dobkin, Kay Brinker, Ben Wright, and Wilms Herbert. Special music by Ivan Ditmars. Next week you are clinging precariously to
[30:30]
C
a diving, pitching longboat lashed by mountainous
[30:34]
B
seas in the center of a hurricane,
[30:36]
C
and at the helm driving you on
[30:39]
B
is a man bent on revenge and willing to kill for it. Next week we escape with FR Buckley's exciting story Habit. Good night, then, until this same time next week when once again we offer you escape. This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
[31:25]
C
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