(76) Escape - Evening Primrose - (Harry Bartell)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode 76: Escape – Evening Primrose (featuring Harry Bartell)
Original Air Date: August 10, 2026

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Overview

This episode of "Harold's Old Time Radio" showcases the renowned radio drama "Evening Primrose," originally aired as part of the anthology series Escape. Adapted from a story by John Collier, this eerie narrative transports listeners to a fantastical, unsettling world hidden within a department store after hours. The story explores themes of escapism, isolation, longing, and the thin line between the mundane and the macabre, all told with vintage radio drama flair.

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Key Discussion Points and Plot Summary

1. Framing Device: Sadie's Discovery

• [02:37] The episode opens in a modern home, where Sadie returns from shopping with a new pad of writing paper from Bracey’s Department Store. Upon inspection, she finds disturbing handwritten entries inside.
  • "Sam, you gotta read it." – Sadie urges her husband to read the strange journal.

2. Charles Snell’s Secret Life

• [04:06] The narrative shifts to the journal of Charles Snell, a disillusioned poet who resolves to escape the world by secretly living in Bracey's Department Store.

  • "Today I made my decision… I am now living in Bracey's Department store." – Charles (04:06)

• Charles details his methodical plan for a comfortable, hidden existence among the store’s wares.

3. Discovery of Night Dwellers

• [07:06] After a tense night avoiding the night watchman, Charles encounters strange, ghostly inhabitants who also dwell secretly in the store.

  • "They came swarming thick around me. Pale, thin, wispy, moving silently, fluttering like gauze in the wind." – Charles (07:33)

• These secret residents, led by the ancient Mrs. Vanderpant, are a secret society of people who have "renounced the outside world" for various reasons and now exist only at night, unseen by day staff and customers.

4. The House Rules and the Threat of the Dark Men

• [12:13] Mrs. Vanderpant and the others explain the strict rules necessary for survival—especially the ever-present fear of the “dark men.”

  • "If you do not, it would be most unfortunate, Mr. Snell. Most unfortunate." – Mrs. Vanderpant (12:22)

• The dark men are enforcers summoned if anyone disobeys or threatens to expose the community.

5. Other Secret Societies and Social Hierarchies

• [16:43] Charles learns that similar societies exist in other stores—there’s even inter-store socializing, with certain stores holding more prestige.
  • "Oh, dear, yes. Didn't you know? Of course, the best people live in Bracey's and Wanamaker’s." – Mrs. Bilby (17:13)

6. Ella’s Tragic Backstory and Forbidden Longing

• [19:12] In a poignant scene in the basement, Ella reveals she’s lived captive in the store since she was a child, never knowing the outside world.

  • "I came here on a shopping tour with my mother. I got lost and fell asleep behind a counter... I’ve been here ever since." – Ella (19:41)

• She describes the terrifying fate of those who cross the group: the dark men turn them into wax dummies for the window displays.

  • "When they're gone, there's just a wax model left on the counter. Then our people put a frock on it... Nobody ever knows." – Ella (21:04)

7. Love, Betrayal, and the Night Watchman

• [22:29] Charles professes his love to Ella, and she admits her affection for the night watchman, who represents a link to the sunlight and the outside world.

  • "He smells of the sun… I love him." – Ella (22:59)

• Roscoe, another store dweller, overhears this secret, promising secrecy "as the grave."

  • "Of course. As secret as the grave." – Roscoe (25:41)

8. The Climax: Punishment and Despair

• [26:24] Tensions rise as Charles realizes Roscoe has betrayed Ella. The atmosphere turns menacing; Ella is seized and delivered by the group to the dark men.

• [28:01] Charles resolves to risk everything to save Ella, hoping to warn the night watchman.

  • "If I live, I'll recover it. If I do not… look in the windows. Look for three new wax dummies." – Charles (28:01)

9. Framing Device Returns: Chilling Revelation

• [29:00] The story returns to Sadie and Sam, who debate whether the tale is a prank. Sadie describes a window display she saw at Bracey’s, eerily matching the figures described in the journal.
  • "It was on a beautiful little wax model with blonde hair and blue eyes and a turned-up nose. And there were two men standing beside…" – Sadie (30:08)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Charles’s poetic longing:
  • "And now I am free. Really free. Yes, I am free." – Charles Snell (04:06)
• Mrs. Vanderpant’s chilling warning:
  • "If you do not, it would be most unfortunate, Mr. Snell. Most unfortunate." – Mrs. Vanderpant (12:22)
• Ella’s haunting revelation:
  • "When they're gone, there's just a wax model left on the counter." – Ella (21:04)
• The uncanny closing:
  • "It was in the window at Bracey's. And it was on a beautiful little wax model with blonde hair and blue eyes and a turned-up nose…" – Sadie (30:08)

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Important Timestamps (MM:SS)

• 01:22 – Show introduction and premise.
• 02:37–04:06 – Sadie and Sam discover the journal; Charles Snell’s narrative begins.
• 07:06–09:08 – Charles discovers the night dwellers and Mrs. Vanderpant.
• 12:13–12:22 – Mrs. Vanderpant’s chilling rules for survival.
• 16:43–17:25 – Social hierarchy and inter-store relations revealed.
• 19:12–21:26 – Ella’s backstory and secret of the wax dummies.
• 22:29–25:41 – Charles’s love, Ella’s confession, and Roscoe’s betrayal.
• 26:24–28:01 – Climax: Ella’s fate and Charles’s desperate last entry.
• 29:00–30:08 – Modern-day revelation parallels the story’s chilling conclusion.

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Tone, Style, and Atmosphere

"Evening Primrose" is imbued with a surreal, gothic atmosphere, blending mundane modernity with supernatural horror. The dialogue is lyrical and heightened, befitting its poetic protagonist, but laced with suspense, dread, and underlying tenderness—especially in interactions between Charles and Ella.

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Final Thoughts

This classic radio drama stands as a testament to the storytelling power of Old Time Radio, creating a vivid world of horror and fantasy out of a simple department store. The episode is a haunting journey into the secret lives possible in the shadows of familiar places, leaving listeners with a memorable chill—and a lingering wariness about mannequins in store windows.

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Transcript

[Narrator/Announcer]

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suspense, which is usually heard at this hour on Thursday nights, is taking its customary summer holiday. Suspense returns to the air next week on Thursday, September 1st.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

You are groping through the midnight darkness of a gigantic department store. A hundred eyes are staring at you, A hundred hands are reaching for you, and your most urgent desire is to 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 escape to a fantastic world of night dwellers as John Collier imagines it in his eerie story, Evening Primrose.

[Sam]

Sadie. Sadie, what's the matter? It's me.

[Sadie]

Oh, you nearly scared me to death. What do you mean? Coming in so quiet.

[Sam]

I don't mean to scare you. I thought you'd be asleep. I didn't want to wake you.

[Sadie]

Oh, Sam, I'm glad you're home.

[Sam]

Hey, what's the matter?

[Ella]

Oh, it's terrible.

[Sadie]

You gotta do something, Sam.

[Sam]

What's terrible?

[Sadie]

It's this. Just look at this.

[Sam]

What's terrible about that? Looks like an ordinary pad of paper to me.

[Sadie]

That's just it. That's what I thought too. But it's got writin in it. It's awful.

[Sam]

Now wait a minute. Maybe you better tell me what this is all about.

[Sadie]

Well, today I went shopping at Bracey's department store. I needed some writin paper so I picked this up. It was on top of the pile and I bought it and I brought it home.

[Sam]

So.

[Sadie]

But tonight when I opened it, I found it's got writin in it.

[Sam]

That's nothing so terrible. Just take it back tomorrow, make them give you a new one.

[Sadie]

No, you don't understand. It's what's written in it that's so terrible.

[Sam]

What do you mean, what's written in it?

[Sadie]

Here, you gotta read it.

[Sam]

Aw, Sadie.

[Sadie]

No. Right now. Now read it.

[Sam]

Look, Sadie, I'm tired. I've been bowling all evening.

[Sadie]

Please, Sam. Please, just read it.

[Sam]

All right. For Pete's sake, Sam. October 13th. Today I made my decision. I decided to say goodbye to the world. To get out, leave, break away. And I have Sadie this damn. And now I am free. Really free. Yes, I am free.

[Charles Snell]

At least the world is an intolerable place for a poet. I was broke, starving at my wit's end. And then I had the brilliant idea I'd escaped to a place where I had no need to earn a living, where I could write to my heart's content in peace and security, and where everything was free. And where is this place? Right under your nose. So close you'd never think of it. I am now living in Bracey's Department store. I arrived this afternoon. I had spent three days looking over all of the department stores in town. I decided on Braces because of the completeness of their food department. Therefore, this afternoon I entered the store and went immediately to the fourth floor to the rug department and hid myself in this dusty out of the way corner behind a pile of carpets. After the store closed, I tiptoed as far as the station Reconda and got this paper. The the writer's primary need. And now, after making my first entry, I'll stroll around the store and get food, wine, the pillows for my bed, perhaps a fancy dressing gown. Oh, this is perfect. Here I'll be able to write. Dawn, October 14th. I am almost too unnerved to write this. The whole thing is unbelievable. After the store was dark and completely quiet, I crept out and started for the food department. One's steps echo hollowly in an empty department store at night, and I found myself gliding along the floor on tiptoe, moving as silently as possible. But the sound of footsteps persisted and suddenly I realized they were not my own. The night watchman. I was in the cell on Modern. And quickly I seized a mink coat from my hanger, draped it about my shoulders and stood stock still. I could have reached out and touched him, but he without so much as a glance. I started to smile, but the smile froze on my lips. I was looking straight into a pair of eyes. Large, flat, luminous and human eyes a dozen feet away. They Belonged to a creature dressed as a man. But he was as pale as something found underneath a stone. His hands, hanging motionless at his sides. Looked more like the fins on a fish than human hands.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Not bad for a beginner.

[Charles Snell]

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know anybody else lived here.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Oh, yes, we live here.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

It's delightful.

[Commercial Voice]

We?

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Yes, all of us.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Don't you see? Look around you.

[Charles Snell]

I looked around and saw nothing. I looked again and saw an old one come clambering out from behind a clock. There were three elderly ingenues, incredibly emaciated, pale as lace, almost transparent, simpering before a perfume counter. A chintzy lady swam out from the curtains and drapes, and they. They came swarming thick around me. Pale, thin, wispy, moving silently, fluttering like gauze in the wind, whispering, a detective.

[Mrs. Bilby]

Send for the dark man.

[Charles Snell]

They were pressing around me, clawing, holding me, Their pale faces contorted with venomous, inhuman hatred. I was paralyzed. All I could do was repeat over and over again, I'm not a detective. I'm not. I'm not a detective or a burglar. I'm a poet.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Then what are you doing here?

[Charles Snell]

I've renounced the world. I came here to live where I could be alone, away from the world.

[Sadie]

Why, then he's come over to us.

[Mrs. Bilby]

He's just like us.

[Ella]

Come over to our support.

[Sadie]

He must meet Mrs. Vanderpant.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Mrs. Vanderpant.

[Ella]

She's coming now.

[Charles Snell]

I followed their eyes toward the balcony, and the hair on my neck rose again. There, coming down the wall like an ancient spider, clambered an old lady, wrinkled and cracked and emaciated. She must have been at least 80, a shadowy matriarch. And the things around me bowed and scraped as she reached the floor and floated toward us.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

What's going on here? Where is that stupid girl? What's keeping her?

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Oh, Mrs. Vanderpant.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Well, what is it? Who's this? Mr. Rascoe.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Mrs. Vanderpant, may I present Mr. Snell?

[Charles Snell]

Charles Snell?

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Yes. Mr. Snell is a poet. He has come here to live.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Oh, he has, has he?

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

That's what he says, and I believe him.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Well, I.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

He avoided the night watchman quite neatly for a beginner.

[Charles Snell]

Thank you.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Very well. We shall see. A poet should find inspiration here, Mr. Snell.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Mrs. Vanderpant is our grand old lady.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

I am quite the oldest inhabitant here, Mr. Snell. Three mergers and a complete rebuilding. But they didn't get rid of me. Where is Ella? Where is my broth?

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

She is bringing it, Mrs. Vanderpant. It will come.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Terrible little creature. She's our foundling, Mr. Snell. She's not quite our sort.

[Charles Snell]

Is that. Is that so?

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

I have been here, Mr. Snell, ever since the terrible times of the 80s. I was a young girl then. A beauty, they said. And poor papa lost his money. Races meant a lot to a young girl in those days. So when I wasn't able to have a charge account, I came here to live. That's better than a charge account. I was quite alarmed when others began to come after the crash of 1907. But it was the Dear John I know. The Colonel, Mrs. Bilby.

[Mrs. Bilby]

How do you do?

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Mrs. Bilby writes plays. Oh, and comes of an old Philadelphia family. Oh, you will find us quite nice here, Mr. Snell.

[Charles Snell]

I'm sure I will.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

And of course, all our dear young people came in 1929. Their poor papas jumped from skyscrapers. They couldn't bear to be without charge accounts either.

[Charles Snell]

All these nice people live here?

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Oh, and many more.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Oh, here comes Edna with my broth. Come, you stupid thing.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Yes, Carmella, come.

[Ella]

Yes, sir. I'm coming as fast as I can.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Here, on the table over there. Edna, be careful. Don't spill it.

[Charles Snell]

Oh, but she is young.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Well, of course, she is a little younger than most of us.

[Charles Snell]

She's different. She's beautiful.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

That's right. She's really not our sort.

[Charles Snell]

Well, you shouldn't say such things. She can hear you.

[Mrs. Bilby]

Oh, that doesn't matter.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Mrs. Bilby, please. You'll understand these things better after you've been here a while, Mr. Snell.

[Charles Snell]

But it seems to me, Mr. Snell,

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

we have certain rules here. They are necessary for our survival. I am sure you won't find it hard to observe them.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Yes.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

But I should advise that you try. If you do not, it would be Most unfortunate, Mr. Snell. Most unfortunate.

[Narrator/Announcer]

This episode sponsored by She's Birdie. You lock the hotel room door, then check it again. And maybe one more time. Because even the nicest room can feel unfamiliar at night. That's why She's Birdie created byrdiebox. With She's Birdie. You can bring peace of mind with you. BirdieBox is a portable travel door alarm for hotels, dorms, Airbnbs, and anywhere you stay away from home. Just attach it to the door frame, switch it on, and if someone opens the door, birdiebox blasts a loud siren and flashing alarm to alert you and everyone nearby. Because the best part of travel isn't worrying. It's sleeping soundly. Birdie box from she's locking in peace of mind wherever you stay. For safer, more confident travel, visit she'sbirdie.com that's S H E S B I-R--I-E.com

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Commercial Voice]

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[Narrator/Announcer]

In just a moment, we will return to the second act of Escape. But first, if you want lots of stars, you won't have to look through a telescope or be hit over the head. All you have to do is tune in over most of these same CBS network stations next Monday night and every Monday night thereafter, and you will find all the stars. They'll be on the Lux Radio Theater playing in radio adaptations of your favorite motion pictures. Don't forget the Lux Radio Theater, one of five great shows on CBS every Monday night. And now we return to the second act of Escape and tonight's story. Evening primrose.

[Charles Snell]

October 15th. I planned to quit my hiding place, mingle with the crowds and leave braces forever. But just at dawn, Mr. Roscoe brought me a cup of coffee, which must have been drugged, for I fell asleep. And when I awoke, night was closing over the store once more. Later, I have spent my second night here. I saw Ella again. Ella, the pearl of this remote, fantastic cave. She's not like the others, trifle pale, but otherwise normal and human and beautiful. A child of perhaps 18. She's the only thing that makes this nightmare bearable. October 20th. Escape is impossible because of the dark men. Who are the dark men? I don't know. But the inhabitants threaten any transgressor with these dark men. Speaking to the night watchman would be suicide. I'm convinced that neither Ella nor I could get out of here alive. She and the night watchman are the only real people here. And how the others hate the night watchman.

[Mrs. Bilby]

Odious, vulgar creature. He reeks of the coarse sun.

[Charles Snell]

Oh, come now, Mrs. Bilby. He's really a personable young man. He's very young for a night watchman.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Mr. Snell, sometimes I wonder about your tears.

[Mrs. Bilby]

You must not stay so much to yourself. You must become better acquainted with our ways.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

That's quite true. You must come to the play tonight. We're going to be entertained with one of Mrs. Bilby's tragic comedies, Love in Shadowland. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

[Charles Snell]

I'm sure I will.

[Mrs. Bilby]

It's really a festive occasion. You know Wanamakers is coming over.

[Charles Snell]

Wanamaker?

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Yes.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

The entire colony over at Wanamaker's is coming here en masse to attend the play.

[Charles Snell]

You mean there are people living in other stores?

[Mrs. Bilby]

Oh, dear, yes. Didn't you know? Of course, the best people live in Bracey's and Wanamakers.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Oh, come now, Mrs. Bilby. There are some very nice people at Altman's.

[Ella]

I Beg your pardon, Ms. Bilby.

[Charles Snell]

Oh, hello, Ella.

[Mrs. Bilby]

Good evening, Mr. Well, what is it?

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Ella?

[Ella]

Please, ma'. Am, I'd so love to see you play tonight. May I have your permission?

[Mrs. Bilby]

Certainly not. You know better than that, you stupid creature. You know where you belong. In the basement by the garbage can.

[Charles Snell]

But, Mrs. Bilby.

[Mrs. Bilby]

Hush, Mr. Snell.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Ella, you're becoming entirely too forward of late. I'd advise you to watch your step. Remember the dark man.

[Ella]

No, please, Mr. Roscoe. I'm sorry, Mrs. Bilby.

[Sadie]

Excuse me.

[Ella]

Excuse me.

[Charles Snell]

How can you treat her like that? Why do you always frighten her? What is all this about the darkness?

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Well, you see.

[Mrs. Bilby]

Oh, please, Mr. Roscoe, not now. You'll spoil our whole evening. I do so want Mr. Snell to enjoy my play.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Very well, Mrs. Bilby. Later, Mr. Snell.

[Charles Snell]

But I want to know about the dark man.

[Mrs. Bilby]

Later.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Later.

[Charles Snell]

October 21st. I found an opportunity to speak to Ella alone. Last night at the play, I induced a fit of hiccups. As I anticipated, I was sternly reprimanded and told to go and secrete myself in the basement where the night watchman wouldn't hear me. This was exactly what I had planned. I went to the basement, and there in the darkness, among the garbage cans and the rats, I heard sobbing. Ella. Ella. Ella, is that you?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yes.

[Charles Snell]

Why are you crying? What is it? Ella?

[Ella]

They.

[Sadie]

They wouldn't even let me see the play.

[Charles Snell]

Oh, is that all?

[Ella]

Oh, Mr. Stella, I'm so unhappy.

[Charles Snell]

You mustn't cry.

[Sadie]

You're the only one.

[Ella]

The only one who's kind.

[Charles Snell]

Ella. Ella, why do they treat you so differently?

[Ella]

Because I'm not like them. I didn't choose to come Here?

[Charles Snell]

You mean you're held prisoner?

[Ella]

Yes. You see, I was only six. I came here on a shopping tour with my mother. I got lost and fell asleep behind a counter. It was dark, and when I awoke, they found me. Some of them wanted to send for the dark man because they were afraid I would tell on. But Mrs. Van der Pant said no. I could stay and be her maid. I've been here ever since.

[Charles Snell]

Since you were six? But haven't you ever tried to get away?

[Ella]

No. I don't know anything about out there. I wouldn't know what to do. Besides, I'm afraid to take the chance. If anyone tries to get out, they send for the dark men.

[Charles Snell]

Ella. Ella, who are the dark men?

[Ella]

It's horrible.

[Sam]

Tell me.

[Ella]

You know how people live in all the stores at Gimbals and Bloomingdale? Well, the dark men live at the. The undertaker's.

[Charles Snell]

Good heavens.

[Ella]

And whenever someone dies or breaks the rules, or when a burglar gets in and sees these people and might tell, they send for the dark men.

[Charles Snell]

Well, that's horrible.

[Ella]

They put the body in the butcher shop, in the food department. And then the dark men come. I saw them once. It was terrible.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

What.

[Charles Snell]

What do they do?

[Ella]

They go in where the dead person is. They have wax with them and all sorts of things. And when they're gone, there's just a wax model left on the counter. Then our people put a frock on it or a bathing suit and mix it up with the other wax models in the window. And nobody ever knows Ella as you.

[Charles Snell]

You mean all these dummies around us?

[Ella]

Oh, not all of them. But if you displease these people, the same thing will happen to you.

[Charles Snell]

October 30th. Once more I'm frozen with terror. Not for myself now, but for Ella. They hate her. Anytime they might turn against her and send for them. The dark men. My mind is filled with her. I dream of her every day. I live to see her at night. We've managed it several times. They trust me now and let me roam about without interference. Finally, tonight I met her again and said it. Ella, I love you, Charles. I love you, Ella. Let's get married or whatever they do here. And then we can live together in my home, in the carpet department. They wouldn't dare hurt you, Charles. No, don't look so dismayed. If you like, we'll go away from here. Maybe we can get transferred to Bergdorf Goodman's overlooking Central Park.

[Ella]

Don't, Charles. Don't you. You mustn't.

[Charles Snell]

But I Love you?

[Ella]

Please, Charles. Ella.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Ella.

[Charles Snell]

You're not in love with someone else, Charles.

[Ella]

Yes. Yes, I am.

[Sam]

But who?

[Charles Snell]

I thought you hated them all. It must be Roscoe. He's the only one that's young enough.

[Ella]

Oh, no, Charles. Not Roscoe. Especially not him. I do hate the moldy. They make me shudder.

[Charles Snell]

Well, who is it, then?

[Ella]

It's he.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Who?

[Ella]

The night watchman.

[Charles Snell]

No, no, that's impossible.

[Ella]

I love him. He smells of the sun.

[Charles Snell]

Elva.

[Ella]

Oh, it was wonderful the way it happened. Don't tell on me, Charles, or they'll punish me. I was careless. And there he was, coming around the corner in the ladies lingerie department. I was caught. There were only some wax models in their under things. And there was nothing else to do. I slipped off my dress and stood still.

[Charles Snell]

I see.

[Ella]

He stopped near me. He looked at me and. Oh, Charles. He spoke to me. He said, say, honey, I wish they made him like you on 8th Avenue. Charles, wasn't that a lovely thing to say?

[Charles Snell]

Personally, I should have said Park Avenue.

[Ella]

Charles, don't get like these people here. It doesn't matter what avenue. It was a lovely thing to say.

[Charles Snell]

What can you do about it? Ella, he belongs to another world.

[Ella]

Yes, to 8th Avenue. And I want to go there. Charles, are you really my friend?

[Sam]

Yes.

[Charles Snell]

Yes, of course I am.

[Ella]

Then I'll tell you. I'm going to stand there again in the lingerie department, so he'll see me, and then perhaps he'll speak to me again.

[Charles Snell]

Ella. Ella, you're only torturing yourself. You only think that you love him because you think he'll take you out of here. But you don't know that he will. And I will. Ella, I've made up my mind.

[Ella]

No charter. I couldn't let you do it even if I loved you. You couldn't do it, Charles.

[Charles Snell]

Why not?

[Ella]

Because you really belong here. You've become one of them now.

[Charles Snell]

Oh, Ella, Ella, you mustn't say that.

[Ella]

It's true. And Charles, I got to go. There's someone watching us. I feel it.

[Charles Snell]

Oh, no.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Wait.

[Ella]

Ella. Goodbye, Charles.

[Charles Snell]

No. Ella, come back.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Ella, please. Mr. Snell.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

You'll arouse the night watchman.

[Charles Snell]

Rascal.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Yes, love can be very upsetting, can't it?

[Charles Snell]

You. You heard.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Just the last moment or so. Very touching. So she loves another. Too bad.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Who could it be? Could it be that I am the

[Narrator/Storyteller]

cause of your heartbreak?

[Charles Snell]

Oh, you flatter yourself too much, Roscoe.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

In who? Your judge? Certainly not the colonel?

[Charles Snell]

Hardly none of those.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Not one of the customers, the staff?

[Charles Snell]

No, she loves the night watchman. Can you imagine that? She loves the night. Oh, Roscoe, look, I shouldn't have said that. It's not true. You wouldn't do anything, tell anybody. This is a secret between us, Roscoe. Between friends, isn't it?

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Of course. As secret as the grave.

[Charles Snell]

Look, look, she's young. Perhaps he'll leave and she'll forget him. And in time, who knows? Perhaps she'll learn to love you.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Me? Of course, in time.

[Charles Snell]

And we'll figure a way to keep her safe here.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Absolutely safe. Now, don't you worry about it. It's almost dawn. Time for bed. Good morning, Mr. Snell.

[Charles Snell]

Early evening, November 4th. I was a fool. I should have known he couldn't be trusted. He must have gone straight to Mrs. Vanderpant. This evening the atmosphere has changed. People flicker to and fro, smiling nervously, horribly, with a sort of frightened, sadistic exaltation. An informal dance in the record department has been called off. I cannot find Ella. I'm going out again now to look for her. Roscoe, what have you done with her?

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Quiet, quiet. The night watchman.

[Charles Snell]

I don't care. What have you done?

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Whatever I did, I did for your own good as well as the good of us all.

[Charles Snell]

Wait a minute. What's that? What are those people carrying? Why, you. Tell her she's tied up. They're carrying her.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Ella.

[Charles Snell]

Ella.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Stop it, Mr. Sam.

[Sadie]

Stop it.

[Charles Snell]

Let me go. Let me go.

[Sam]

No.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Stop.

[Mrs. Vanderpant (alternate or same)]

Mr. Sam.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Stop it. You rouse the night watchman.

[Charles Snell]

But they're. They're taking her into. Into the butcher shop. Hello?

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Yes, Mr. Snell. Those are the dark men.

[Charles Snell]

Midnight. I'm scribbling this last entry hurriedly. There and there in the butcher shop with Ella, the dark man. There's only one thing to do. I'm going to find the night watchman and tell him he and I will save her if we can. And if we're overpowered. Well, I will leave this pad on the station recounter tomorrow. If I live, I'll recover it. If I do not, whoever finds this and reads it, look in the windows. Look for three new wax dummies. Two men, one rather sensitive looking, and a girl. She has blonde hair and blue eyes and her nose turns up a little. Look for us and then find them.

[Sam]

Smoke them out. Exterminate them, Avengers.

[Sadie]

Oh, Sam, isn't it horrible?

[Sam]

Wow.

[Sadie]

We gotta do something. We gotta tell somebody something. Oh, Sam, what'll we do?

[Sam]

Do nothing. Go to bed.

[Sadie]

But, Sam, whoever wrote this has sure

[Narrator/Announcer]

got a weird sense of humor.

[Sam]

Hank probably Some clerk down at Braces ought to be fired.

[Sadie]

But. You mean you think it's just a story?

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Are you kidding?

[Sam]

You don't believe this stuff, do you?

[Sadie]

Well, I don't know. I just thought.

[Sam]

Forget it, baby. Snap out of it. I shouldn't leave you alone. You get too many ideas when I go out bowling at night.

[Ella]

Oh, Sam.

[Sadie]

But don't you think maybe we oughta just take it back and show somebody nuts.

[Sam]

It's not worth the bother. They'd laugh at you, baby. They'd think you were crazy or something.

[Sadie]

Yeah, I guess you're right. I guess it was some.

[Sam]

Forget it. Come on, let's go to bed.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

I'm tired.

[Ella]

Sure, Sam.

[Sadie]

Golly. You know, there for a while I sure was scared. Well, I even forgot to tell you what I was gonna tell you, Sam. I found the cutest dress today. Only 1995.

[Sam]

Yeah, blaming.

[Sadie]

Yeah, it was in the window at Bracey's. And it was on a beautiful little wax model with blonde hair and blue eyes and a turned up nose. And there were two men standing beside

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Sam.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Escape produced and Directed by Norman MacDonald Tonight brought to you Evening Primrose by John Collier. Adapted for radio by John Dunkle and starred Ben Wright. Featured in the cast were Georgia Ellis, Harry Bartel, Vivi, Janis Wilms Herbert, Lois Corbett and Ruth Parrott. Music was conducted by Sandy Courage. Next week's suspense returns to the air with Gregory Peck in a terrifying radio play, Nightmare. Be sure to be with us at the same time next week when once again we present a story well calculated to keep you in suspense. You've got a date with a beautiful blonde Monday night. She's My Friend Irma, the comedy starring Marie Wilson. Returning to CBS for a sparkling new season of laughter. My Friend Irma is one of the exciting lineup of Monday night shows. You'll hear over CBS this fall. Marie Wilson as the comic misadventurist will delight you when her brain goes into reverse with hilarious consequences for all concerned. Remember, my Friend Irma returns Monday, August 29, the same Monday night that Lux Radio Theater comes back to CBS over most of these same stations. This is Bob Lamond speaking. Now stay tuned for Crime Photographer which follows immediately over most of these same stations.

[Narrator/Storyteller]

Foreign.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Job site with Tim, who owns his own electrical contracting business.

Three employees and two work trucks.

Tim traded up to Geico Commercial Auto Insurance. We're positively here where he needs us most.

[Charles Snell]

They sure are.

[Narrator/Announcer]

With step by step help on all his insurance needs. All for shockingly low rates.

[Charles Snell]

Shockingly low, huh?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Just a little bit of electrician humor.

[Mrs. Vanderpant]

Did you get it?

[Narrator/Announcer]

I got it.

You know, it feels like we have a real connection.

[Charles Snell]

All right, I'll stop.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Get a commercial auto insurance quote [e-mail] and see how much you could save.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It feels good. To Geico. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my base idea for the commercial. Give it a [e-mail] switch upfront payment

[Commercial Voice]

of 45 for 3 months, $90 for 6 months or $180 for 12 month plan required 15 per month equivalent taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy. See terms.