(69) Escape - The Fourth Man - (Wilms Herbert)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio – Episode 69: Escape – "The Fourth Man" (Wilms Herbert)

Date: August 10, 2026
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Story: Adapted from John Russell's "The Fourth Man"

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Episode Overview

This episode features an enthralling broadcast from the classic radio series "Escape," presenting the gripping survival tale, "The Fourth Man." Set on a raft lost at sea near New Caledonia, the story follows the psychological and physical descent of three escaped convicts and a silent native companion. The episode explores themes of civilization versus savagery, racial prejudice, survival instincts, and the ultimate irony of cunning amid desperation.

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Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

Setting the Scene: A Drift on the Open Sea

• [01:18–02:13]
  The narrative opens with four men aboard a primitive raft: three escaped French convicts—Dr. Dubose (murderer and leader), Fenerou (forger), and Parrot (thief and cutthroat)—and a silent native known only as "the Fourth Man."
• Narrator Quote:
  "You are drifting on the glossy surface of a burning tropical sea, trapped with three murderous companions from whom you cannot escape." ([01:18])

False Hope and Class Tensions

• [03:01–08:01]
  Dubose exudes confidence in their escape, offering cigarettes obtained by bribery, and trying to maintain control and morale, while Parrot and Fenerou harbor doubts. The supposed ship rescue fails to appear, raising suspicion and tension.

• Notable Quotes:

  • Dr. Dubose: "Every six months there are about 75 escapes from Noumea. Not more than one succeeds. Ours would be that one, I knew." ([03:33])

Racial Prejudice and Dehumanization

• [06:15–07:07]
  The escaped convicts openly deride and dehumanize the native pilot, reinforcing colonial attitudes of the time.

  • Dr. Dubose: "You are looking at a kanak, my friends. You will see nothing superior, no line of beauty... Nature has stamped him with the mark of inferiority." ([06:15])

• Dubose insists the native is trustworthy only because of his perceived simplicity and obligation to the tribal chief’s deal.

Reunion Deferred: The Ship Never Arrives

• [08:01–13:57]
  As days drag on, dehydration and heat begin to erode the men's civility. Dubose controls the water ration, metering it out with clinical detachment, while Parrot grows increasingly aggressive.

• Dr. Dubose: "Now we have to guard our supplies like reasonable men. I don’t know how long we may be floating here." ([09:32])

• The men exclude the native from rations, dismissing his humanity.

The Native’s Stoic Endurance and Growing Paranoia

• [14:01–19:48]
  The three convicts continue to suffer, perplexed and threatened by the native’s apparent indifference to the same privations. Tensions flare, including threats and violence directed at the native. The men speculate about his secret to surviving the ordeal.

• Parrot: "He seems to be enjoying himself quite well... Has he no feelings?" ([15:25-15:33])

• Dubose: "He has a secret... Perhaps some method of breathing. Some strange posture he uses to cheat the sensations of the body..." ([18:27])

The Downward Spiral: Madness and Betrayal

• [22:28–26:52]
  Paranoia peaks as water and hope grow scarcer. Parrot kills Fenerou in a struggle over the water bottle and tries to seize all remaining life-sustaining resources.

• Dubose turns the tables with scientific cunning:

  • Dr. Dubose: "Our Parrot. You forgot I'm a doctor, didn't you? The water you would kill for has killed you. Man cannot go without water for four days and drink his fill and still live. Go on, Parrot, gasp... The best man always wins, Parrot. The best man." ([26:21])

• The violent confrontation ends with all but the native dead.

The Final Irony: The Native’s Ingenious Survival

• [29:12–30:47]
  A rescue ship arrives, its captain revealing he was contracted only to recover escaped convicts, not the native. The white men, now dead, are taken on board in brine barrels.

• Meanwhile, the native—calm and alive—reveals his hidden secret: freshwater stored in the raft’s bladders, giving him a secure means of survival that the others, for all their "civilized" cunning, never suspected.

• Narrator Quote:
  "He thrust the reed down into one of the bladders underneath the raft and drank his fill of sweet water. He had a dozen such storage bladders remaining... quite enough to last him safely home." ([30:32])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | | --------- | ------- | ----- | | 01:18 | Narrator | "You are drifting on the glossy surface of a burning tropical sea, trapped aboard a flimsy raft with three murderous companions from whom you cannot escape." | | 06:15 | Dr. Dubose | "You are looking at a kanak, my friends... Nature has stamped him with the mark of inferiority..." | | 09:32 | Dr. Dubose | "Now we have to guard our supplies like reasonable men. I don’t know how long we may be floating here." | | 15:25 | Parrot | "The cannibal, the savage... He seems to be enjoying himself quite well." | | 18:27 | Dr. Dubose | "He has a secret... Perhaps some method of breathing. Some strange posture he uses to cheat the sensations of the body..." | | 26:21 | Dr. Dubose | "You forgot I'm a doctor, didn't you? ... Man cannot go without water for four days and drink his fill and still live." | | 29:13 | Captain | "There's no word in my contract about any Kanak. Leave him there. He's only a savage." | | 30:32 | Narrator | "He thrust the reed down into one of the bladders underneath the raft and drank his fill of sweet water..." |

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Key Takeaways

• Civilization vs. Savagery: The story sharply critiques colonial arrogance and challenges notions of superiority, as the "civilized" men succumb to madness and death, while the "savage" outwits them with resourcefulness.
• Irony and Hubris: The greatest irony is that the "primitive" Kanak survives through ingenuity, exposing the fatal hubris of his companions.
• Classic Radio Drama: With tense performances, sweeping narration, and superb use of sound, it's a quintessential example of Golden Age radio storytelling.

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Segment Timestamps

• [01:18] – Opening predicament and introduction of the four men
• [03:01–08:01] – Dubose’s optimism and plans unravel
• [13:57–15:33] – Discussion of the native’s uncanny resilience
• [18:27–19:48] – The secret of survival and racial prejudice
• [22:28–26:21] – Betrayal and lethal conflict over water
• [29:12–30:47] – The twist: native's ingenuity and rescue ship
• [30:47–31:34] – Credits and next episode preview

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Tone and Style

The episode retains a suspenseful, atmospheric tone, layered with existential musings and a bleak sense of irony. The dialogue oscillates between clipped exchanges and monologues, with terse, cynical humor and tense, staccato pacing.

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The episode stands as a dramatic parable of human nature, desperation, and the ultimate triumph of practical ingenuity over arrogance—marvelously told through the immersive style of classic radio theatre.

Transcript

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

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[Narrator / Announcer]

Suspense, which is usually heard at this hour on Thursday nights, is taking its customary summer holiday. Suspense returns to the air. Eight weeks from tonight. On Thursday, September 1st,

[Dr. Dubose]

You are drifting on the glossy surface of a burning tropical sea, trapped aboard a flimsy raft with three murderous companions from whom you cannot escape.

[Narrator / Announcer]

We offer you escape designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure. Tonight we take you to New Caledonia in the South Pacific, not far from the town of Noumea, a French penal colony as notorious as Devil's island and a trip that staggers the imagination. As John Russell told it in his gripping tale the Fourth man,

[Narrator / Storyteller]

The raft stood to open sea. A mat of pandanus leaves served for its sail and a paddle of wood for its helm. Its flooring was woven of reeds and bamboo sticks and rested on triple rows of bladders. It was light elastic, fit to ride any weather, and it carried four men. Three of them sat huddled together at the far end. Their bodies were blackened with dried blood. The hair upon them was long and matted. They wore only the rags of convicts, blue canvas uniforms on wrist and ankle. They carried their mark, the dark, wrinkled stain of the manacle. There was Dubose, Doctor, leader. Man of the world. Murderer.

[Dr. Dubose]

Friends, the thing is done.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

And Fenaru. Forger. Ladies.

[Dr. Dubose]

Man.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

Weakling. Coward.

[Dr. Dubose]

Yes, we got away all right.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

And the one known as the parrot thief and cutthroat.

[Parrot (Convict)]

So far, so good.

[Dr. Dubose]

And by way of celebration, gentlemen, may I offer you cigarettes? Cigarettes. Doctor, you are a marvel. A magician. Oh, look at Them white and precious, though they had just come from the package.

[Parrot (Convict)]

How did you do it?

[Dr. Dubose]

Every six months there are about 75 escapes from Noumea. Not more than one succeeds. Ours would be that one I knew. So three weeks ago I bribed the night guard for these very cigarettes so that we might sit here, my friends, as we are doing, and celebrate.

[Parrot (Convict)]

I want a light.

[Dr. Dubose]

Ah, a light for the parrot. Our doctor's a wonder. He thinks of everything. He gives us cigarettes, matches and our freedom.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Wait till you've got your two feet on the pavement again. That will be the time to talk about freedom.

[Dr. Dubose]

Oh, to wear starched collars again. To stroll with a girl, clean and fresh from her bath down the Place de la Concorde, the Rue de Roux.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Suppose we get a storm.

[Dr. Dubose]

It's not the season of storms.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Just the same, suppose we get a storm.

[Dr. Dubose]

Barricade. My friend, you must not be so impatient. We were convicts back there, festering in oblivion. Now we stand on the rosy threshold of the big round world again. We are men raised from the dead.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Suppose we get a storm. You've got the gift for speech, Doctor. But where is the ship that was going to meet us here?

[Dr. Dubose]

This is the day. As agreed, it will meet us.

[Parrot (Convict)]

This wind will blow us to China if we keep on.

[Dr. Dubose]

We can't lie any closer to shore. Don't forget there's a government launch at Torre Ann. I doubt if the native trackers have given us up. Careful, parrot. They'll eat you yet.

[Parrot (Convict)]

I. I have heard about that. Is it true, Doctor, that the natives keep all the runaways they can capture to fatten on?

[Dr. Dubose]

They prefer the reward. Still, I doubt if they've entirely lost the habit of cannibalism. Piece by piece, Barret, first they'll sample you, and then they'll make a skew of your brains. Did they want to miss a. Shut up.

[Parrot (Convict)]

And the filthy brutes.

[Dr. Dubose]

Ah, I almost forgot. We have one of them with us.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

The fourth man was steering the raft. He sat crouched in the stern, his huge, dark hands holding the steering paddle. He was motionless, like an idol, his eyes on the empty sea. The fourth man on the raft.

[Dr. Dubose]

You are looking at a kanak, my friends. You will see nothing superior, no line of beauty to redeem the low angle of the forehead, the knobby joints of the body. Nature has stamped him with the mark of inferiority. He set the final seal himself with that twist of bark about his middle and that prong of pig ivory through his nose. Nonetheless, he is a man, and there's a price on our heads. He could be taking us where he liked. Arm yourself, Fenerou. This is a very simple animal. An infant, really.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Does that mean he couldn't double cross us?

[Dr. Dubose]

It does. He's bound by his duty. I made my bargain with his chief up the river and this one is sent to deliver us on board our ship. That's the only interest he has in us. And he'll do it.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

He will.

[Dr. Dubose]

That is the nature of the native. I don't trust him, not for a minute.

[Parrot (Convict)]

The brute. The animal. You. It's you I'm talking about, you filthy brute.

[Dr. Dubose]

Save your breath, parrot. He speaks no language. Only a few noises, A few signs.

[Parrot (Convict)]

I. I don't feel right on the same raft with that.

[Dr. Dubose]

Me. Me. I'll just stretch out a little under these mats. Yes, we should all sleep a little, conserve ourselves. When we awake, she'll be there. The ship. Our saucy little topsail schooner. Her master standing out against the sky. We'll be on our way to France. Sleep, my friends.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

The two younger convicts dozed under the heat of the day. But not Dr. Dubose. He stood once again to sweep the skyline under his shaded hand. His plan had been so careful, so precise, he had counted absolutely on meeting the ship, the small schooner, one of those flitting half piratical traders of the Copra islands that can be hired like cabs in a dark street for any sinister enterprise. But there was no ship. And there was no crossroads where one might sit and wait.

[Dr. Dubose]

Good morning, Doctor. It's afternoon.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

Yes, it is.

[Dr. Dubose]

I slept like a corpse.

[Parrot (Convict)]

And where is the ship, Doctor? It was going to be there when we woke.

[Dr. Dubose]

I'm thirsty. I'm dying with thirst. So are we all. Fenerou, where's the flask? I am roasted in the sun. We'll have to roast some more. This crew has put on rations.

[Parrot (Convict)]

What are you talking about? Where is that water?

[Dr. Dubose]

I have it here.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Yes, sir, you have. You think it is yours?

[Dr. Dubose]

It is ours, Parrot.

[Parrot (Convict)]

I want a drink.

[Dr. Dubose]

Doctor, think a little, parrot. Now we have to guard our supplies like reasonable men. I don't know how long we may be floating here.

[Parrot (Convict)]

So that's how you talk now. You don't know how long, but you were sure enough when we started.

[Dr. Dubose]

I am still sure the ship will come. She cannot stay for us in one spot. She'll be cruising to and fro until she intercepts us. We must wait.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Ah, that's good. Wait. And in the meantime, what? Fry here in this heat, our tongues hanging out while you deal us out. Drop by drop.

[Dr. Dubose]

Ah, hat.

[Parrot (Convict)]

No, the man does not live. Who can feed me with a spoon. Laugh, you scum. But you're in this troop, any room. With this captain who thinks of everything and still puts to sea without provisions. Go on, laugh again.

[Dr. Dubose]

I wasn't laughing, fella.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

True.

[Dr. Dubose]

Bad piece of work for a captain of runaway. Unless she would die very speedily. We must guard our water.

[Parrot (Convict)]

And whose fault is it?

[Dr. Dubose]

Mine, I admit it. What then? Here we are. And here we'll stay. And only do our best with what we have.

[Parrot (Convict)]

All right, doctor, do your best. Give me a drink.

[Dr. Dubose]

You may have your share, of course. Be warned, when it's gone, don't come to us. To Feneru and me. What is fair is fair.

[Parrot (Convict)]

My drink.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

Very well.

[Parrot (Convict)]

A thimbleful. One thimble.

[Dr. Dubose]

This way we should have enough for three days. With equal shares among the three of us. That's right. There are only three of us. Were you thinking of him? Fenerro? Of our pilot? He looks somewhat like us, doesn't he? But his body has never known clothes or his feet, shoes. His mind has never known a single thought. Look at us three gentlemen. You, Fenaru, a forger. You, Parrot, a thief. I, Dr. Dubose, a murderer. Yet we are civilized men. This is a savage animal. Our provisions are only for men.

[Narrator / Announcer]

What are Americans, Chinese, Italians, Arabs, Latin Americans and other citizens of the world doing today to make life better for you and your children? Next Sunday night, on most of these same stations, CBS presents an hour long dramatic account of this work in the World Today, written by Norman Cohen, Citizen of the World stars Lee J. Cobb. Be sure to hear it next Sunday night. And now we return to the second act of escape and tonight's story, the Fourth Man.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

The three men awoke to their second day on the raft. They looked and saw the far round horizon, the empty desert of the sea and their own shadows that slipped slowly before them over its smooth, slow heaving. The land had sunk away from them in the night. The trap had been sprung. As the savage sun kindled upon them with the power of a burning glass. A calm fell, an absolute calm. The air hung, weighted. The sea heaved and fell in polished undulations, and the sun shone. They crawled to the shelter of their mats, gasping, shriveling, while the fourth man, the savage, the beast, sat silent and unmoving. The water, the world of water was slack and thick as oil.

[Dr. Dubose]

How lonely it is,

[Parrot (Convict)]

Dr. Dubose. Where is your ship? Your saucy little schooner? Those were your words. Well, where is it?

[Dr. Dubose]

It will come Suppose your friends leave you to rot here, Doctor? Leave Parrot and me to rot here? That would be a joke, Doctor. To wait for a ship that will never come. If will come, my friends will not fail me.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Why?

[Dr. Dubose]

How do you know? How can you be so sure? There is a safety vault in Paris full of papers to be opened at my death. Those papers contain confessions. No, gentlemen, no. My friends will come. They will come. That savage, Kanak. What? He does not join us. He does not look at us. He sits on his heels, in the way of the native, with his arms hugging his knees. He sits at the stern, motionless under the shattering sun, gazing out into vacancy. Whenever I raise my eyes, I see nothing else. Only this Kanak. He seems to be enjoying himself quite well. Yes, I was thinking so myself.

[Parrot (Convict)]

The cannibal, the savage.

[Dr. Dubose]

He doesn't seem to suffer.

[Parrot (Convict)]

How does he do it? Has he no feelings?

[Dr. Dubose]

I've been wondering maybe that his fibers are tougher.

[Parrot (Convict)]

We have had water and he has not. And yet.

[Dr. Dubose]

See his skin, Fresh and moist in his belly.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Fat as a football. Don't tell me the savage is thirsty. Is there any way he could steal our supplies?

[Dr. Dubose]

Certainly not.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Suppose he has his own supplies hidden. What? We'll see. Search the rat.

[Dr. Dubose]

Look.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Look under the mat.

[Dr. Dubose]

No, nothing here.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Nothing.

[Dr. Dubose]

You were mistaken. He has nothing hidden.

[Parrot (Convict)]

You. You are wrong about him, Doctor, when you say he has no understanding. There is one thing he knows and knows well.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Pain.

[Dr. Dubose]

Barrot. Don't hit him, Parrot. Stop

[Parrot (Convict)]

there, scum. That will teach you. Not so, Chippenhow. Are you not so happy with your luck. That will make you feel.

[Dr. Dubose]

Come. Come back, my friends. Back under the mats. The glare of the sun is not so bad. There. Come.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

So the days dragged. The second, the third. And now it was the fourth day. And still there was no breeze. And still there was no ship. Doctor.

[Dr. Dubose]

Yes? What do you stare at, Savage? Look at him. Look at us. We are dying. Our powers are ebbing. And him naked, wild, brutish. He has yet to give the slightest sign of complaint to wings. Yes, yes, it's true. Night he stretches out and sleeps. Through those long hours when we wrestle and fight with despair, he sleeps like a child. Then in the morning, he resumes his place aft, unchanged, face fixed. A growing wonder.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Doctor, is this a man or a fiend?

[Dr. Dubose]

A man. He's a man. No.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

A miracle.

[Dr. Dubose]

No. There's a man. A very poor and wretched example of a man. You find no lower type anywhere. Look at his cranial angle. The high years, heavy bones of his skull is scarcely above an ape.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Then what?

[Dr. Dubose]

He. He has a secret.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Secret?

[Dr. Dubose]

But we see him. Every move he makes. Every minute. What chance has he for a secret?

[Parrot (Convict)]

What kind of secret?

[Dr. Dubose]

Oh, I can't say. Perhaps some method of breathing. Some strange posture he uses to cheat the sensations of the body. Such things are known among primitive peoples. Ah. Who knows? Who knows?

[Parrot (Convict)]

We can know. We can find out.

[Dr. Dubose]

Ask him. Ah. It's useless. He will not tell. Why should he? We scorn him. We give him no share with us. We abuse him. So he falls back on his own expedients. He remains silent, as he always has been. As he always will be. He never tells us secrets. They are the means by which he has survived from the depth of time and by which he yet may survive on. All our wisdom is dust.

[Parrot (Convict)]

There are number of ways of learning secrets. I know them all. Ah.

[Dr. Dubose]

Be useless. He could stand any torture you might endure. Saw how he behaved before. No, that's not the way.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Talk. I am tired of all this talk. Kill him and throw him over. Let's be rid of this thing.

[Dr. Dubose]

We gain nothing.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Then what do you want?

[Dr. Dubose]

To win. That's what I want. To win. To beat him at the game. For our own sakes, for our own racial pride. We must to outlast him. To prove to ourselves we are his masters. Be better brains by better organization and control. Watch him. Watch him, my friends, so we can trap him. So we can find out and defeat him in the end.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

Watch.

[Parrot (Convict)]

I'll watch. All right, you old windbag.

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

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[Parrot (Convict)]

sleeping anymore and leave you alone with that bottle.

[Dr. Dubose]

Bottle. Bottle. I. I've been meaning to discuss our rations with you.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Have you?

[Dr. Dubose]

We're running very short, I'm afraid. We must take a cut again.

[Parrot (Convict)]

And what are we done to now, Doctor?

[Dr. Dubose]

Half a thimbleful?

[Parrot (Convict)]

No.

[Dr. Dubose]

We must keep our wits. I say no and we'll put it to a vote. You say no, I say yes. Then a roo. Yes, yes. Anything. But. But give me mine now. Then it's a half thimbleful. Monsieur Fenerou. Your share, Fener.

[Podcast Host / Advertiser]

More.

[Dr. Dubose]

More or I'll die.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

More.

[Dr. Dubose]

No more. You must. You must die more today. Look, a sheep. A sheep. Where? Where is it? Doctor?

[Narrator / Announcer]

The bottle.

[Dr. Dubose]

Yes, the bottle. He's drinking. Look at him. You killed him with that oar.

[Parrot (Convict)]

What about the bottle?

[Dr. Dubose]

There's some left. You caught him just in time.

[Parrot (Convict)]

And you caught the bottle just in time.

[Dr. Dubose]

It seems I did.

[Parrot (Convict)]

And there is no ship. There will be no ship. We are done because of you and your dirty promises that brought us here, Doctor. Liar.

[Dr. Dubose]

Fool. Come any closer unless you want this bottle broken over your head.

[Parrot (Convict)]

No, I wouldn't want that stink.

[Dr. Dubose]

Parrot. Parrot. Why should you and I fight? We can see this trouble through and win yet. Yes. This weather can't last forever. Besides, there will be only two of us to divide the water now.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Yes, it is true, isn't it?

[Narrator / Storyteller]

Yes.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Feneru kindly leaves us his share. An inheritance.

[Dr. Dubose]

All right.

[Parrot (Convict)]

I take mine now. My share. Right now. If you please. Later we will see.

[Dr. Dubose]

So be it. Here, your share.

[Parrot (Convict)]

Many thanks. And now, Fenir, share to me, please.

[Dr. Dubose]

As you say.

[Parrot (Convict)]

And now another. Another. Good, Doctor.

[Dr. Dubose]

Three. That's enough, Parrot.

[Parrot (Convict)]

No, doctor, is not enough. Now I take the rest.

[Dr. Dubose]

Parrot, stop. My arm. Your arm?

[Parrot (Convict)]

I'll kill you if you don't. Thank you. You see, I have manners, haven't I? And I have wisdom too. Because I fooled a very wise man. I toast you, doctor. The best man. Winch. That was a bright idea. The best.

[Dr. Dubose]

So the best man wins. Our Parrot. You forgot I'm a doctor, didn't you? The water you would kill for has killed you. Man cannot go without water for four days and drink his fill and still live. Go on, Parrot. Gasp. Such a worthless life while I laugh. The best man always wins, Parrot. The best man. So the best man wins.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

Yes, Doctor.

[Dr. Dubose]

You. You forgot my knife, didn't you? My knife. Forgot me lying at your feet while you divided my share of the water. Gave me up for debt, did you? But I, Fen, will outlast the two of you. Fenaru. The best man always. You fool. The water. It's running out. Parrot. Come in, come in. Bad luck, sir. The raptors here all the time. Not 10 miles away from us that come such a misfortune. Well, where are they? The passengers? They are all dead. One is stabbed to death, another his skull crushed, the other fried by the sun. All dead. Well then, all the better. They'll cost nothing to feed. But how? Hogsheads, my friend. The hogsheads in the afterhold. Fill them nicely with brine and there we are. I do. I do not understand. You're dull, Mato, very dull. The gentleman's passage was all paid. Before we left Sydney, I contracted to bring back three escaped convicts. Well, so I'll bring them back in pickle. So if you'll go back Mato, and bring them aboard for the trip, I'll be much obliged. Very well. There is a fourth man under raft, Captain Kanak, still alive. What will we do with him?

[Narrator / Storyteller]

Kanak?

[Dr. Dubose]

There's no word in my contract about any Kanak. Leave him there. He's only a savage.

[Narrator / Storyteller]

And so Dr. Dubose and Fenerot and the Parrot went aboard for the long trip to their beloved Paris, their bodies pitching and rolling gently in the huge vats of brine. On the raft, the fourth man raised his head slightly as a wind freshened from the west. He watched until the schooner turned, shaping away for Australia. Then he spread his sail of pandanus leaves and headed the raft eastward, back toward New Caledonia, back toward home. Feeling somewhat dry after his exertion, the native plucked a hollow reed at random from the rushes on his raft. Slowly, lazily, he stretched himself at full length in his accustomed place at the stern. He thrust the reed down into one of the bladders underneath the raft and drank his fill of sweet water. He had a dozen such storage bladders remaining built into the floats at intervals above the waterline, quite enough to last him safely home.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Escape is produced and directed by Norman McDonnell. Tonight we have presented the Fourth man by John Russell, adapted for radio by Irving Ravitch and narrated by Larry Dobkin. Featured in the cast were Joseph Kearns, Ben Wright and Barney Phillips, with Jack Cruchen and Wilms Herbert. Special music arranged and conducted by Wilbur Hatch.

[Dr. Dubose]

Next week you are deep in the remote hill country of Afghan, face to face with the fierce Paithan warriors, trapped into a hopeless fight from which there seems no escape.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Next week we escape with Rudyard Kipling's famous story Drums of the Fore and Aft. Be sure to tune in at this same time next week when once again we offer you escape. Casey, Crime photographer, is another top ranking CBS sleuth who's taking no time out for vacation this summer. You can hear his adventures over most of these same CBS stations just a little later tonight. This is Tip Corning speaking over cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

[Parrot (Convict)]

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[Dr. Dubose]

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[Parrot (Convict)]

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[Dr. Dubose]

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