(88) Escape - Command - (Elliott Reed)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: (88) Escape - Command (Elliott Reed)
Date: August 11, 2026
Theme: A dramatic presentation from the classic radio anthology "Escape," featuring James Warner Bella's tale "Command." The episode explores U.S. Cavalry life on the Great Plains, focusing on leadership, youthful ambition, and the harsh realities of frontier warfare.

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Harold's Old Time Radio presents "Command," a powerful story originally aired as part of the "Escape" radio series. Listeners are transported to the American West, following a cavalry patrol led by the seasoned Captain Brittles. The story examines tensions between experience and youthful zeal as Lieutenant Cohill grapples with command decisions in the aftermath of a massacre.

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Key Discussion Points and Story Beats

The Aftermath of Battle (03:00–08:00)

• The cavalry patrol, led by Captain Brittles, seeks out the fate of Lieutenant Gresham’s missing squad.
• Lieutenant Cohill, newly assigned to Brittles, is frustrated by what he perceives as Brittles’ caution and lack of aggression.
• Discovery of dead men on the prairie prompts a lesson in observation and the grim differences between war on the plains and military theory.

Quote [02:57]:
Captain Brittles to Lt. Cohill: "There you can fail and try again. Here, you may not have that chance."

Leadership Style & Generational Tension (04:00–07:00)

• Cohill is critical of Brittles, seeing him as a tired relic blocking the advancement of younger officers.
• Captain Brittles demonstrates keen tactical awareness, teaching Cohill that field experience and caution have a purpose.
• The troopers find Lieutenant Gresham’s patrol savagely mutilated—Brittles uses this as a lesson in the realities of command and survival.

Quote [05:39]:
Captain Brittles: "There is no shortcut to the top of the glory heap, so we'll not run all over the west tonight looking for one."

Respect for Adversaries & Plains Warfare (06:20–07:14)

• Sergeant Utterback identifies the attackers by their methods (mutilation, arrow types), showing the expertise required in this kind of war.
• The enemy is determined to be Apaches, not Sioux—a subtle but crucial distinction signaling deep knowledge of local tribes and their tactics.

Quote [06:24]:
Sergeant Utterback: "Every one of them skinned, bald headed so he can cross the Shannon waters without trouble. And whoever did it don't want to fight them again."

Orders, Restraint, and Rules of Engagement (08:16–08:54)

• Cohill pushes Brittles to pursue and avenge Gresham, but Brittles insists on following strict military orders: the cavalry is only to fight if attacked, not seek revenge.

Quote [08:47]:
Captain Brittles: "Disabuse yourself of classroom valor, Mr. Cohill. Out here, we obey orders."

The Long March and Hard Realities (09:00–13:00)

• The unit endures a night march, maintaining the health of horses and men.
• Conversation among the troopers mixes war stories, homesickness, and grumbling, revealing morale and camaraderie.

Quote [14:43]:
Sarver: "I ain't never satisfied for a fact. Tell you that. That's how you get someplace in the world, you know that. Never be satisfied."

Reflections on Glory and Service (12:28–13:37)

• Utterback shares that he and Brittles never fought in the Civil War, instead keeping the West safe as the North and South battled.
• Cohill mentally compares his father's storied career with Brittles' less glamorous but equally vital service, realizing there's "more than one kind of war."

Tactical Deception and the Baited Trap (15:29–18:44)

• At dawn, Brittles deliberately positions Cohill and a small detachment as bait to draw out Apache attackers.
• The tension builds as they prepare a realistic camp and brace for ambush; Cohill questions the plan but follows orders, marking his growth.

Quote [17:31]:
Captain Brittles: "Mr. Cohill, you're the bait on my hook."

The Apache Attack (20:33–24:30)

• Before dawn, the Apaches attack. Unsure and scared, Cohill holds the line, his men fighting valiantly through waves of assault.
• Captain Brittles times a counter-flanking attack, routing the Apaches. The toll is heavy: Sarver is mortally wounded, Coffin has a shattered leg.

Quote [23:31]:
Sergeant Utterback: "They are Apaches."

Reflection, Honor, and Lessons Learned (26:21–28:11)

• As dawn breaks, Cohill reflects on the cost of command, pride mixing with grief after sending men into action.
• In debrief, Brittles reviews Cohill's performance, pointing out mistakes but offering respect and a path forward.
• The episode closes on a theme of humility, growth, and the hard-earned wisdom of a professional soldier.

Quote [27:09]:
Captain Brittles: "Mr. Cohill, accuracy and observation is a military virtue. Had you pushed forward to that slope yesterday afternoon, you would have found Mr. Gresham not sleeping buffalo. And had your eyes been sharp, you would have found this between the slope and last night's bivouac."

Quote [28:11]:
Captain Brittles: "Never apologize. It is a mark of weakness. [...] Mr. Cohill, I'm going to make a soldier out of you."

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "There is no shortcut to the top of the glory heap." – Captain Brittles (05:39)
• "Every one of them skinned, bald headed so he can cross the Shannon waters without trouble." – Sergeant Utterback (06:24)
• "Out here, we obey orders." – Captain Brittles (08:47)
• "Never be satisfied. That's how you get someplace in the world." – Sarver (14:43)
• "You're the bait on my hook." – Captain Brittles (17:31)
• "Never apologize. It is a mark of weakness." – Captain Brittles (28:11)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:00 – Discovery of Gresham’s patrol; lessons on field reality.
• 06:24 – Sergeant Utterback's insight on enemy tactics.
• 08:47 – Brittles refuses to seek vengeance, follows military orders.
• 14:43 – Troopers’ banter reflects hopes and frustrations.
• 17:31 – Cohill receives orders for the baited trap.
• 23:03–24:30 – The major Apache assault and defense.
• 26:21–28:11 – Aftermath, Brittles critiques Cohill, ending on mentorship.

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Tone and Language

The episode maintains an authentic, rugged tone characteristic of classic Western radio drama, with a mix of dry wit, soldierly banter, and hard-nosed military pragmatism. The dialogue is rich in period detail and character insight, capturing the tension between tradition and youthful drive.

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Summary for New Listeners

"Command" is a compelling exploration of duty, mentorship, and the painful lessons of command on the American frontier. Through the eyes of Lieutenant Cohill, listeners experience the clash between theory and reality, bravery and wisdom, ambition and humility. The story uses vivid dialogue, authentic details, and emotional depth to bring the world of the U.S. Cavalry to life, offering timeless insights into leadership under fire.

Transcript

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Now at McDonald's, everyone can get more of what they want when they want it.

[Sergeant Utterback]

With McVowey, you can choose your wake up call.

[Captain Brittles]

You can choose your study meal or

[Lieutenant Cohill]

even your drive thru dinner. 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.

[Sarver]

Tired of the everyday routine? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all?

[Narrator]

We offer you escape. Escape designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure.

[Sarver]

Tonight we escape to the prairie west of the Platte river and to the fighting US Cavalry of the Old West. As James Warner Bella describes it in his exciting tale. Command.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Captain Brittles.

[Captain Brittles]

Yes, Sergeant.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Here comes Lieutenant Cole back with the patrol.

[Captain Brittles]

Yes, I see him. Call to column.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, sir.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Column.

[Captain Brittles]

Hand me my field glasses, Sergeant.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Here. Answer.

[Captain Brittles]

Thank you,

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Captain Reynolds.

[Captain Brittles]

Well, Mr. Cohen.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Here's the best body of grass, sir. This slope, with a small run below for water. This is the best bivouac for tonight.

[Captain Brittles]

Mr. Coelhel, you see the rise there to the left behind you across the valley?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

What are those shapes lying on that slope?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

A small herd of buffalo, sleeping, it seems. We didn't go that far. We turned back when we saw them.

[Captain Brittles]

The wind has shifted a bit. Take a deep breath, Mr. Cohill.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Smell anything?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

No, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Take another deep breath, Mr. Cohill. Get it into your nostrils. Tell me if that thing you smell is sleeping buffalo.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

No, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Smells like dead men and not freshly killed.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Lt. Gresham and his squad, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

I imagine so. The men we've come to find, we'll make sure after midnight. Mr. Coyel, there are several fairly obvious differences between the Great Plains and a classroom at West Point. There you can fail and try again. Here, you may not have that chance.

[Coffin]

There.

[Captain Brittles]

They taught you, I'm sure, that accuracy in observation is a military virtue. I suggest that you cultivate it here.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Sergeant, out of back.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

This is the bivouac. Dismount and unsaddle. Night grazing area between the crest of this hill and the creek bottom. Use the picket rope. No individual pins.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, sir.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Dismount.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir. Captain Brittles. No, sir. Captain Brittles. Of all the officers in the United States Cavalry, why did they have to assign me to him? A handbook. Soldier over age in grade A gray. Bitter failure of a soldier. Marking time out here on the plains until he retires. Taking up space in the table of organization standing in the way of younger and more aggressive. Yes, more capable officers. My father wouldn't be guessing. My father would be over yonder right now to see if those corpses are really Gresham and his men. Father would have made sure instead of losing time making camp. The broken rattle Sergeant Utterback had found at noon showed clearly, Sir. That broken rattle a sergeant found?

[Captain Brittles]

Yes, Mr. Coil.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

When we crossed the trace of that Sioux war party at noon today.

[Captain Brittles]

That could have been the trail of a Cheyenne war party. Or Comanches or Apaches. They all make rattles like that from the ends of buffalo toes.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

But if they were Sioux, they couldn't be more than 30 miles to the north in the deadlands. They're afraid of ambush, so they'd be camping away from timber and near water. Two hours rest and we can be at the upper reaches of the river by dawn, sir. Ahead of them.

[Captain Brittles]

Mr. Cohel, I have no orders to be anywhere by dawn or any other time. My orders are to find Mr. Gresham's patrol. Having found it, return to Fort Stark and report it. I think I found him. I'll know as soon as the moon rises and I go over and take a look. Water the mounts in half an hour. Saddle blankets to be left on until they're watered. Remember always, Mr. Cohill, cavalry is a very delicate arm of the service, depending as it does on the health of a dumb beast.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Mr. Cohill. Reading minds is an uncomfortable habit, but one I have never been able to lose.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Look at the other side of it, Mr. Cohill. Suppose that war party was Cheyenne, which they might be instead of Sioux. They wouldn't be in the Deadlands. Cheyennes would head for timber along the lower Mesaroja. So would Arapahoes, Kiowas or Comanches. They'd all be for whack in open timber. And Mr. Cohill, they all make rattles out of buffalo toes.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Pass the word to Sergeant Utter back that dinner will be at 6:30, but the bugler will not sound called.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

And Mr. Cohill?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Sir?

[Captain Brittles]

There is no shortcut to the top of the glory heap, so we'll not run all over the west tonight looking for one.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

But if death in battle is a soldier's path to glory, Mr. Gresham and his patrol had found a shortcut. Yet what we looked upon that night on yonder slope was not glorious. 10 bodies stripped naked, pin cushioned to the prairie with arrows. Their feet and their right hands hacked off. They sold their lives dearly the empty cartridge cases said that at least they

[Sergeant Utterback]

respected them as fighting men.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

How's that, Sergeant?

[Sergeant Utterback]

Every one of them skinned, bald headed so he can cross the Shannon waters without trouble. And whoever did it don't want to fight them again.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Why?

[Sergeant Utterback]

Hands and feet cut off, that's why. To cripple them in case they meet them in the hereafter.

[Captain Brittles]

Sergeant.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, Captain?

[Captain Brittles]

Do you still think the Sioux did this?

[Sergeant Utterback]

No, sir. Not now, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Why not?

[Sergeant Utterback]

I made the march from Bent's fort to Santa Fe with Steve Carney. I know an Apache arrow when I see one, sir. Even a thousand miles from where they're made.

[Captain Brittles]

Yes, but that Sioux trail we crossed this morning. That war party could have brushed with an Apache war party and come by Apache arrows that way.

[Sergeant Utterback]

I don't think so, sir. This job is two days old. It wasn't that Sioux war party. This is Apache work.

[Captain Brittles]

How do you figure that?

[Sergeant Utterback]

Well, mostly because the Captain knows it's Apache work, too.

[Captain Brittles]

Lieutenant Cohill.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Take the grave detail.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Sergeant.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

We shall move the company out ten to night.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

We will return to Fort Stark to report this massacre as fast as we can.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, sir.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

So he's showing me. Makes his lieutenant first grave digger and confides his plans to the sergeant in exchange for flattery. He's an old woman in blue fatigues. Can't hide his bad temper. And worse, he's a frightened old woman. Instead of striking when he has the advantage, he's going to cut and run in a stiff action. I'd probably have to shoot him and take over the command. A grave doesn't take long to dig in the soft black earth of the plains and the rocks were nearby to pile upon the still mounds against the hungry muzzles of coyotes. And after the air was sweeter in the cold moonlight and the job done in plenty of time for Captain Brittle's scheduled retreat.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Command is ready to mount, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Very good, sir.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Captain Brittles.

[Captain Brittles]

Yes, Mr. Coyhill?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Excuse me, sir, but can't we go after the Indians who did this? Can't we try?

[Captain Brittles]

Mr. Cohill, the United States Cavalry is not out here to fight Indians. We had to watch them and report on them for the Indian Bureau. We fight only if they attack us. I refer you to the standing orders of the Department of the Flat. They are most explicit on this point.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, I know, sir, but Mr. Gresham was attacked.

[Captain Brittles]

How do you know that?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Well, I don't for sure.

[Captain Brittles]

Of course you don't.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

But he's dead. And his command Dead and mutilated. And we ought to.

[Captain Brittles]

Ought to what? Avenge him? Disabuse yourself of classroom valor, Mr. Coelhill. Out here, we obey orders. Sergeant.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Pass the word to mount.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, sir. I'm tank.

[Coffin]

Yo.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Pass the word.

[Sarver]

Mount.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Pass the word. Mount.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Pass the word.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

30 miles already today. And who knows how many miles ahead of us tonight. The men are tired. The horses are tired. Cavalry is a delicate arm of the service, Captain Brittle. Hour after hour, as the moon threw our lengthening shadows ahead of us. Hour after hour. Walk 30 minutes, trot 5 minutes, dismount and lead 10 minutes. Unbidden graze 15 minutes every hour. Hour after hour.

[Announcer]

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[Lieutenant Cohill]

you got a choy eating tobacco, Mittendo?

[Coffin]

I ain't got much.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Well, give me a loan of some, huh? You can get some more at the fort tomorrow.

[Sergeant Utterback]

All right.

[Coffin]

Here. Why don't you ever have any of your own?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Don't approve of Chawin tobacco. My ma don't. That is nice,

[Sarver]

Godfrey. Mighty Gettysburg wasn't like this.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Well, do tell.

[Sarver]

No, sir. We rode up to Gettysburg on the steam cars.

[Coffin]

Hey, Mittendorf, Sarver's back on Cemetery Ridge again. Yeah. Pity he didn't stay there.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

About the only mistake Robert E. Lee ever made not to leave Sarver where he found him.

[Sarver]

Yeah, just the same, the army was the army in them days. Slept in tents and you got a furlough. There was girls, not squaws. Girls.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yeah, well, if you like it so much, why don't you go backwards, girl?

[Sarver]

Cause I was gold bricked that's why I joined up again, because they said there'd be fighting out here. Yeah, fighting. Only fighting I seen west of the Missouri is on Saturday nights in the barracks. Yeah, sure ain't like the old Army, I'll tell you that. I remember a girl in Richmond, the time when I was with Grant, when we took Richmond. Prettiest little Virginia creeper you ever did see. She fried me.

[Captain Brittles]

43.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Sergeant Otterback.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, sir?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

I'd like to ask you a question.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Yes, sir.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

How did you know the captain thought they were apaches that killed Mr. Gresham's detail?

[Sergeant Utterback]

I've been his first sergeant for a long time, sir. You get to know.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

I see. Do I get to know.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Well, sir, this is a different kind of service out here. Like Sarver up there was saying a minute ago, this ain't Gettysburg. It ain't full dress war. But it's the only kind the Captain and I ever served in, sir. Well, you get to know it. Just like you get to know siege operations. A saber charge by company front after you've had enough of it.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

But during the War between the States didn't.

[Sergeant Utterback]

No, sir. Neither Captain Brittles nor I saw service in the States, sir. While the north and the south were fighting each other, the west still had to be held and, well, somebody had to do it.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

I see. Yes, I see a lot. Now, that would explain Captain Brittle's contempt for what he calls heroics. He's jealous. He never had his chance at glory. And if he had our wager, he would have muffed it. In a way, I feel sorry for the old boy. Sitting a sweaty horse on these endless prairies while the great words exploded across the country. Vicksburg, Chancellorsville, Antietam, Appomattox. The policeman on the corner. While history rolled across Georgia to the sea. Five hours on the way. Now less than three hours till dawn and we're at the north fork of the Platte. And a full 25 minutes for watering call. Some of the men lie sleeping where they've dismounted. Others huddled together in the moon shadow of the high bank, quietly talking.

[Coffin]

Only one.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Then she just left me standing there like a bound boy at a huskin.

[Coffin]

Hey, what'd you do then?

[Narrator]

One Nothing to do.

[Coffin]

Sup.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Join the Army.

[Sarver]

A little girl in Richmond time. I was with Grant when we took Richmond. She wasn't at all like that. Not at all.

[Coffin]

Any of you boys ever had a lobster?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

No, not me. I never even seen one when I

[Sarver]

was in the breastworks in front of Vicksburg. I ate A catfish didn't like it.

[Coffin]

I could sure put away a lobster right now. Fresh out of the lobster pot and into the cooking pot. Alive. Sure. That's the only way to cook a lobster. Sure wished I was back in Wiscasset. Get you back in a state of Maine and you'll be pining away for buffalo steak.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

No true word was never spoken. Some people just ain't never satisfied.

[Sarver]

I ain't never satisfied for a fact. Tell you that. That's how you get someplace in the world, you know that. Never be satisfied.

[Coffin]

Sure got you a long way, didn't it?

[Sarver]

Got me a stripe.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yeah, well, looks like you can plan on getting even further. Cyber Captain's getting fidgety again.

[Sarver]

Oh, well. Another day, another dollar.

[Sergeant Utterback]

All right, men, fall in.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Here we go.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Prepare to mount. Pass the word.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Prepare them out. Pass the word.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Mount.

[Coffin]

Mount.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Round step. Four. Round step.

[Coffin]

Forward.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Step hands.

[Sergeant Utterback]

He's heading north.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

How's that, Sergeant?

[Sergeant Utterback]

North. Captain's heading north.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

You're right, Sergeant. Red Mesa should be to our left. Instead, it's dead ahead. That doesn't make any sense. My father would have done things differently. In the cold, dying moonlight, I could imagine him, young Major Cohill, riding out of St. Joe to convoy the wagon trains bound west on the Oregon Trail. What a figure he must have been on the old frontier when the Missouri river itself was the jumping off place. Killer CO Hill, his men had called him. But the wide roaming Arapahoes had another name for him. Blue Devil with eyes in the back of his head. By this time, Father would have cut those Apaches into coyote meat as they lay sleeping around their smoldering campfire.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Mr. Kyle? Mr. Kyle.

[Narrator]

Sir?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, Sergeant?

[Sergeant Utterback]

Were you dozing, sir?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

No, no, of course not. I was just thinking.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Captain Brittles wants you, sir, at the head of the cop.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Thank you, Sergeant. Sergeant Utterback said you wanted me, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Yes, Mr. Cohill, I do. This is officer's call. Listen carefully. I have Sergeant Sutro ahead of me with a point. You will relieve him with eight men and push forward fast.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

You recall the fort across Red Mesa Wash?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir. We crossed it yesterday.

[Captain Brittles]

Exactly. There's a knoll on the east side of the wash. A knoll that is crossed by the trail from the top of the mesa.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

I remember, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Beyond that knoll, before dawn. Build a bivouac fire as soon as you arrive.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Do what, sir?

[Captain Brittles]

Build a fire. I want to know when you get

[Lieutenant Cohill]

there, but I can send a scout back to tell you when I arrive.

[Captain Brittles]

I want everyone else for miles around to know it too. Build a bivouac. Fire. Squad, fire. No larger.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Brittles]

Should you happen to be attacked, you're to hold that gnoll fighting on foot. And remember, the dawn light works for you, but it can fool you in this country. So don't shoot till the last possible moment.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

I don't understand.

[Captain Brittles]

You don't have to. You have your orders.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, Sir.

[Narrator]

Move out.

[Captain Brittles]

Mr. Cohill, you're the bait on my hook. Wrig.

[Narrator]

In just a moment, we will return to the second act of Escape. But first, look what's cooking on CBS tomorrow night. George Burns will, for the first time unveil his sugar throat voice when the Andrews Sisters come to call on him and Gracie. Bing Crosby will Go west, young man, go west. For William Boyd, alias Hopalong Cassidy, will be Bing's special guest. And Bing will become Sagalong to team up with Hopalong for a hilarious western sketch. You'll also hear the antics of top comedian Groucho Marx and another doctor Christian drama tomorrow night. So make Wednesday nights a. Stay tuned to CBS night for these great shows are heard on most of these same CBS stations. And now back to Escape.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

You knew Red Mesa was there only because the star stopped where it stood. The moon was a honey colored ladle spilling blackness over the edge of the plains. Then the jagged teeth of the Rockies broke it into ragged potsherds and it was gone. It was dark, black, dark, cold dark. The squad fire sputtered and took and pushed the knight back a little. This was different. This was command. This was the final moment of the soldier's heritage. To stand ready to fire and be fired upon. To kill and be killed. And it wasn't at all like you expected. It just plum scared you. Hey, don't stand still, Mittendorf. Keep moving a little all the time. And slap those mounts. Keep them moving, too.

[Narrator]

Yes.

[Sarver]

Hey, Lieutenant. Sir.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yes, sire?

[Sarver]

How come that captain sent us up here to sashay around the top of this little hill?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

He said we're the bait on his hook.

[Coffin]

Huh?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

The decoy. If there's an Indian war party, we're to draw them out. Better put on some bacon to fry, Lusk. Make it look natural.

[Sarver]

Meaning we uns may end up like Mr. Gresham and his patrol.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

There's always that possibility.

[Sarver]

Taint a prospect that pleases, sir.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

That's what a soldier lives for, Sarver.

[Narrator]

To die, it is.

[Sarver]

I mean. Yes, sir.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

It was a good performance to any watching Sioux or Apache. Here was a small white soldier war party like the two Yesterday's party they had left lying scalpless in the buffalo grass 30 miles up the valley. Fire lighted, bacon cooking, horses unsaddled, and warriors sleeping from a long night march soft for the killing. Only the warriors weren't sleeping. Beyond the yellow carpet of firelight, they lay fanned out behind their saddles, waiting, sorting the night sounds with straining ears, pushing at the soft wall of darkness with widened eyes. Sure wish those dad burned coyotes didn't sound so much like human beings.

[Coffin]

Well, you can be sure of one thing. No Indians running around in the middle of the night yelling like a coyote.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Yeah, but it sure makes me nervous.

[Coffin]

Sound like hoot owls back home in Maine.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

What's that behind you?

[Sarver]

Don't get in a fret, boys. It's only me.

[Coffin]

Oh. General Grant's chief estate.

[Captain Brittles]

You know, you're lucky I didn't put

[Lieutenant Cohill]

a bullet through you.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Nah.

[Sarver]

Now, you wouldn't do that. Lieutenant said not to fire till commanded.

[Coffin]

Any of you fellas ever at engine pudding? What? No.

[Sarver]

I ate sweet potato pudding when I was with Sherman at Atlanta, but I didn't like it much.

[Captain Brittles]

Was you with Napoleon at Waterloo?

[Coffin]

Nope.

[Sarver]

But I've been talking to Lieutenant, naturally.

[Coffin]

What's a word from headquarters? He's made of cornmeal and molasses. Why? Engine pudding. Oh.

[Sarver]

Seen any savages yet?

[Coffin]

No, and don't expect to yet. Why, there ain't an Indian in the west of the Missouri that'll come out and fight at night if he can help it.

[Sarver]

That's right.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

They're afraid to take a chance of being killed at night. They believe if a warrior's killed at night, he'll be blind when he gets to the happy hunting grounds.

[Sarver]

Well, then what are we worrying about?

[Coffin]

Who's worrying?

[Sarver]

Not me.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Oh, then you can start worrying. Storm's coming. Can make out the mesa.

[Coffin]

Planer sure would like some Indian pudding for breakfast.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Slowly. The light came first. You could see the outline of the mesa. Then down below, the silver of the water in the wash. Then the shapes of the men. And out across the plain, the feathers of mist in the draws. If it was to come, it would come now. Hold your firemen.

[Sarver]

Arrows. They're shooting arrows.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

What you expect, they're Indians. Yet hit one of the horses.

[Sarver]

Here they come.

[Coffin]

My leg.

[Captain Brittles]

Po.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Fire.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

I pulled it.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Fire. They are Apaches.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

I got one of the heathen.

[Sergeant Utterback]

I got two.

[Sarver]

Look at them lying yonder.

[Coffin]

Yeah, One of them's still wriggling.

[Sarver]

I'll fix that.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Hold your fire.

[Sarver]

Well, I was just.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

They'll be back that was only the beginning.

[Sarver]

Yes, sir.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

You all right, Coffin? My leg, sir. Bone shattered. Hurt much? A little, sir.

[Coffin]

Those arrows.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

You're wicked. Go right through a man if they don't hit Boone.

[Sarver]

Do tell.

[Coffin]

No action in the new army, huh, Sarver?

[Sarver]

Well, it ain't exactly like Gettysburg.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Here they come again. Hold fire.

[Coffin]

Yeah, Light's better this time.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Makes no difference. Hold your fire. They're the ones you did, Mr. Grisham.

[Captain Brittles]

And look, that one's wearing Corporal S.

[Coffin]

And his one with the U.S. cavalry.

[Sergeant Utterback]

Safe.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

That's Captain Gretel. That's what I want to know.

[Sarver]

Most likely having breakfast at the fort decoy. We're just.

[Coffin]

That.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Took care of almost half of them.

[Coffin]

Yeah. They'll be back. No.

[Captain Brittles]

No, they won't.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

That's Captain Brittle's now.

[Coffin]

Yeah. Attacking from the flank.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Hey, sir. Captain Brittle got him on the run.

[Sarver]

Say, can you pull this tarnation arrow out of me?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Down below the knoll, the remains of the Apaches were streaking for the open plains with Captain Brittle's men overtaking them, cutting them down with thirsty sabers and pistoling the ponies as they ran. And then it was quiet, and not an Indian or his pony was left alive. Coffin sat propped up against a saddle lighting his pipe, his shattered leg stretched naked and useless before him. And Sarver lay where he had fallen, eyes closed, face blue, his hands around the shaft sunk deep in his left side below the ribs, the feathered tip waving idly with each shallow breath.

[Coffin]

Can't we do something for him, sir?

[Captain Brittles]

What?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Look how deep that arrow is. Right under the heart. Can't cut it out. Can't pull it through.

[Coffin]

Poor Sarver. He finally saw action.

[Sarver]

Yeah.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

I can hear him now telling St. Peter about the time he beat the Apaches on the coal hill.

[Coffin]

It's not very funny.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

No, I guess you're right.

[Captain Brittles]

Coffin.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

How's your leg? Paining you much?

[Coffin]

Can't feel anything.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Lieutenant? Yes, Coffin?

[Coffin]

You think they'll send me back home

[Lieutenant Cohill]

to get this fixed?

[Coffin]

You think maybe I'll get to see the State of Maine right soon?

[Lieutenant Cohill]

I hope so, Coffin.

[Coffin]

Land of Goshen. No. You won't get further than the base hospital or Council Bluffs. Wire you together, slap a plaster on you and send you right back to fight Indians.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

It was a strange feeling. A mixture of pride and guilt watching a man die whom I had commanded into action, looking at the shattered leg of another. And a feeling of helplessness, too. For the moment, we could only sit there and wait. Our horses were dead or stampeded by the action. We were alone on our little hilltop in the hot red glare of the rising sun. And then the company rode back in triumph. And I was reporting to Captain Brittles. And it seemed like months instead of hours since I had last looked at his tired gray face.

[Captain Brittles]

Mr. Cohill, you did that? Well, you may do in time.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Captain, you knew they were Apaches yesterday at sundown. And you knew they were camped on top of the mesa, didn't you, sir?

[Captain Brittles]

Mr. Cohill, accuracy and observation is a military virtue. Had you pushed forward to that slope yesterday afternoon, you would have found Mr. Gresham not sleeping Buffalo. And had your eyes been sharp, you would have found this between the slope and last night's bivouac.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

An Apache headband.

[Captain Brittles]

That's right. And blood stained. And had you been a plainsman and suspected Apaches, you would have looked at once for smoke at sundown from the highest ground. In this case, Red Mesa.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

You had me fooled, sir. I even thought.

[Captain Brittles]

The facts for the record are these. My patrol, temporarily bivouacked at dawn today, came under a sudden enemy attack. Fortunately, it was able to hold until I arrived with the main body.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

I understand perfectly, sir. I'm familiar with departmental orders which allow defensive actions only and expressly forbid attack.

[Captain Brittles]

And yet they are in direct violation of cavalry tactics where cavalry is extremely weak on the defensive and can only defend well by attacking. I believe that is also taught at West Point.

[Lieutenant Cohill]

Captain, I'm terribly sorry for Mr. Cohill.

[Captain Brittles]

Never apologize. It is a mark of weakness. There's a captain out here who tried at once to escape an inquiry board. He escaped it, but he will die a captain in spite of his apology. The officer who saw Tuit could have worked with him and made a soldier of him if his humanity had been large enough. Mr. Cohill, I'm going to make a soldier out of you. You may present my respects to General Cohill when next you write your father. Mr. Cohill. Take morning Stables.

[Narrator]

Escape is produced and directed by William N. Robeson. Tonight we have presented Command by James Warner Bella, adapted for radio by Mr. Robeson. Featured in the cast were Elliot Reed as Lieutenant Cohill, Bill Johnstone as Captain Brittles, and Ted Decorcia as Sergeant Utterback. Also heard were Sam Edwards, Tony Barrett, Burt Holland and Paul Freeze. Special music was arranged and conducted by Del Castillo. Next week,

[Sarver]

you are standing on an unfinished roadbed somewhere in Mexico. It is night and a drunken, murderous foreman is forcing you to dig. Till you drop the.45 in his hand means that for you there can be no escape.

[Narrator]

Gracie Allen's campaign to make George Burns a real singing rival to Bing Crosby, his Wednesday night neighbor on cbs, is reaching its climax tomorrow night, backed by the beauty and talent of not one, but all three Andrews Sisters. George Sugarthroat Burns will definitely try out his tonsils and song Bing or Sugar Throat. It's really no choice for CBS fans, for you can hear each Sugar Throat following Bing every Wednesday night on most of these same CBS stations. Now stay tuned for Hit the Jackpot, which follows immediately over most of these same stations. This is cbs, where you'll find adventure in escape. Every Tuesday night, the Columbia Broadcasting System.