Theatre Royal 53-10-18 03 The Tale

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: Theatre Royal 53-10-18 03 "The Tale"

Host: Laurence Olivier (with Ralph Richardson)
Date: October 5, 2025
Source: [Transcript Provided]

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Episode Overview

This episode of "Theatre Royal," introduced by Laurence Olivier, features a dramatic performance of Joseph Conrad’s World War I story "The Tale," adapted for radio and starring Ralph Richardson. Set against the uncertainty and suspicion of wartime, it explores themes of duty, morality, suspicion, and the ambiguity of truth through a suspenseful naval encounter. The episode’s dramatic tone is reflective, somber, and tense, drawing listeners into the psychological turmoil of its characters.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting & Framing Device (00:38–03:00)

• Laurence Olivier’s Introduction (00:38):

  • Olivier welcomes listeners, introduces Ralph Richardson, and highlights their past collaborations.
  • Presents the play as a “dramatization of a story by Joseph Conrad,” calling it “one of the best he ever wrote.”

• Opening Scene / Framing Conversation (01:33–03:00):

  • The story opens in the near-darkness of a long room, where a couple engages in an emotional discussion, suggesting hopeless love in the shadow of war.
  • The female character urges the male (implied to be a naval officer) to “tell me a tale,” prompting the main story as a recollection.

  “Oh, we loved each other, yes. But there was little hope in that love.” — Narrator/Ralph Richardson (01:33)

2. Wartime Atmosphere & Psychological Tension (03:00–06:15)

• Introduction to the Naval Tale:

  • The narrator sets the scene: a naval officer is on patrol during WWI.
  • The uneasy normalcy of the sea contrasts with the invisible dangers of war.

  “It’s impossible to believe that that same horizon has now become one great circular ambush.” — Narrator/Ralph Richardson (04:57)

• Discovery of Wreckage (05:44–06:18):

  • A mysterious object (a barrel) is spotted, likely evidence of clandestine activity by a supposedly neutral vessel aiding enemy submarines.

3. Encounter with the Mystery Ship (06:18–13:13)

• Fog and Tension (07:37–10:49):

  • As fog closes in, the crew seeks shelter and almost collides with another ship at anchor—discovered only as the mist briefly clears.

  “Quite what you might call a close shave.” — Narrator/Ralph Richardson (10:36)

• Suspicion & Boarding Party (11:03–13:13):

  • The boarding party returns; the ship is “in perfect order,” engine trouble cited, but doubts linger.

  “From what I could see of her, sir, she’s quite in the clear.” — Officer (12:18)

4. Interrogation & Moral Quandaries (15:02–26:05)

• Ongoing Suspicion (15:02–16:29):

  • The officer remains skeptical, questioning the ship master’s story and the credibility of the crew.

  “Yes, a little bit too plausible to my mind.” — Narrator/Ralph Richardson (15:19)

• Onboard Investigation (17:03–21:50):

  • The protagonist boards the vessel to “sniff out” an atmosphere of treachery, interrogating the Scandinavian captain and crew.

  • The shipmaster’s story is plausible but laden with subtle admissions and denials, reflecting both desperation and possible duplicity.

• Explicit Discussion of Temptation & Neutrality (23:09–25:13):

  • The Scandinavian captain rationalizes moral choices during war for those desperate for money, drawing a distinction between himself and others who might trade with the enemy.

  “We know that you English are gentlemen, but let us speak the truth. Why should we love you so very much?... When a fellow comes along with a bag of gold…” — Scandinavian Ship Master (23:24)

• The Deadly Decision (25:13–26:43):

  • The narrator orders the Scandinavian to depart immediately, knowing the course will lead the ship onto rocks in the fog—a harsh, fateful test of the captain’s truthfulness and innocence.

  “That course would lead the ship straight onto the rocks beyond the mouth of the fjord. He steamed out. He ran into them and went down.” — Narrator/Ralph Richardson (26:43)

5. Aftermath and Moral Uncertainty (26:43–28:06)

• Retrospective and Guilt:

  • The narrator confesses to his wife that he intentionally gave a deadly course, yet is ambivalent about whether justice or murder was done.

  “I don't know whether I've done retribution or murder. I don't know. I shall never know. Oh, my poor, poor. I shall never know.” — Narrator/Ralph Richardson (27:28)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Duty and Infinite Responsibility:

  “Duty... It contains infinities. And so what is this jargon? An infinity of absolution, for instance.” — Narrator/Ralph Richardson (03:16)

• On the Shifting Nature of War:

  “Just the same expanse of water, neither more friendly nor more hostile. It's impossible to believe that that same horizon has now become one great circular ambush.” — Narrator/Ralph Richardson (04:57)

• On the Reality of Temptation:

  “Have you ever seen a poor man on one side and a bag of gold on the other hand?... I suffer from an internal disease. I would go crazy with anxiety. Or take the drink or something.” — Scandinavian Ship Master (24:04-24:20)

• On Moral Ambiguity and Guilt:

  “I don't know whether I've done retribution or murder. I don't know. I shall never know.” — Narrator/Ralph Richardson (27:28)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:38–01:33 – Laurence Olivier introduces the episode and the story
• 01:33–03:00 – Framing conversation: wife requests a story
• 03:00–06:15 – Opening of the naval tale, atmosphere, discovery at sea
• 06:15–13:13 – Encounter with the mysterious neutral ship, suspicions arise
• 15:02–17:03 – Officer’s suspicions deepen, leadership dilemmas
• 17:03–26:05 – Boarding and interrogation—a psychological duel
• 26:43–28:06 – Aftermath: truth, uncertainty, confession of guilt

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Tone & Style

• The episode is introspective, tense, and atmospheric, with a suspenseful buildup and haunting resolution.
• Dialogue is literary, laced with formal and philosophical musings characteristic of both Conrad and the wartime era.
• Richardson’s and Olivier’s performances imbue it with gravity and emotion, especially in moral debates and confessions.

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Closing Notes

Laurence Olivier concludes by thanking Ralph Richardson and the production team, and teases the next episode’s guest. The episode is a masterful blend of psychological suspense and moral ambiguity, capturing the postwar anxiety and existential uncertainty of Conrad's writing, made vivid through classic radio drama.

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Transcript

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Now transcribe.

[Announcer]

Theatre Royal.

[Narrator / Lawrence Olivier]

The National Broadcasting Company presents Sir Laurence Olivier, your host in Theater Royal.

[Lawrence Olivier]

This is Laurence Olivier. In a few weeks time, when the new stage play in which I'm appearing with my wife comes to London's West End, I shall have the pleasure of appearing each week in a different play on this program. But until then, I'm very happy to have the opportunity of introducing as my guests some of my own friends from the theater. Today's guest is an exceptionally good companion of mine and we have had many very happy associations together on the stage. You may perhaps recall our visit to the United States some years ago with the Old Vic Theatre Company. I'm speaking, of course, of Ralph Richardson. Ralph has chosen for you a dramatization of a story by Joseph Conrad. It is, in my opinion, one of the best he ever wrote and I think you will enjoy. Has perhaps the simplest title of any story I know. Here then is Ralph Richardson in Joseph Conrad's story of the First World War.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

The tale Outside the large single window the late evening light was dying out slowly in the long room. The irresistible tide of the night had run into the most distant parts of it with a whispering of our voices, passionately interrupted and passionately renewed, died away with the dying light. Now I could see only the faint oval of her upturned face, the pale immobility of her hands against the dark of her dress. Oh, we loved each other, yes. But there was little hope in that love. At last she turned her head away. Please.

[Female Character / Wife]

We can only hurt ourselves going on like this. You know that.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

But, my darling, tell me something. What am I to tell you?

[Female Character / Wife]

Why not tell me a tale?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

A tale?

[Female Character / Wife]

Yes, why not?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Why not?

[Female Character / Wife]

You used to tell your simple and professional tales very well. At one time you had a sort of art that summer, 1914, the days before the war.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Oh, really? But now, you see, the war is going on.

[Female Character / Wife]

It could be a tale. Not of this world.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

You want a tale of the other, the better world, you must call back someone who's already gone there.

[Female Character / Wife]

No, I don't mean that. I mean other. Some other world in the universe, not in heaven.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Well, I'm relieved. But you forget that I've only five days leave.

[Female Character / Wife]

Yes, and I've also taken five days leave from my duties.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I like that word.

[Female Character / Wife]

What word?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Duty.

[Female Character / Wife]

It is horrible sometimes.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

That's because you think it's narrow, but it isn't. It contains infinities. And so what is this jargon? An infinity of absolution, for instance. But as to this other world, who's going to look for it and the tale that's in it. You, huh? As you will. In that world. Then there was once upon a time a naval commanding officer and a Scandinavian. It was a world of seas and continents and islands like the earth. Yes, a war was going on in that world. And many young men in it, mostly in wardrobes and messes, used to say to each other in it's a bad war, but it's better than no war at all. That sounds flippant, doesn't it?

[Female Character / Wife]

Yes.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Let's get back to our commanding officer, who, of course, commanded a ship, a warship. He was to be sent out with her along certain coasts to see what he could see. Just that. Sometimes he had some preliminary information to help him. And sometimes he hadn't. It was in the early days of the war. The ship was sailing in northern waters and steaming along her beat in sight of a rocky, dangerous coast. That stood out intensely black like an Indian ink drawing on gray paper. Well, anything to report?

[Crew Member / Officer]

No, sir. Not so much as a fishing boat. Nothing stoning on shore there. The coast's absolutely deserted.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I never mind about the coast. It's the sea we are interested in. You know, what used to amaze me was the way that the war never seemed to change it. Just the same expanse of water, neither more friendly nor more hostile. It's impossible to believe that that same horizon has now become one great circular ambush.

[Crew Member / Officer]

It is until you see a ship blow up all of a sudden and plop under almost before you know what's happened to her.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Then you believe it all right. After that, you keep your eyes on her to see what you can see. You begin to wonder whether one day you may not die from something you haven't seen. You know, in some ways, one almost envies the soldiers at the end.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Look, sir, out there. Ahead on the starboard bow.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Quick, man. Hard a port. It may be a mine. Ahead of the ship, something was floating and rolling lazily on the sea. Something, but what? A ship's course was altered. To pass the object close, it was necessary to have a good look at it and to see what one could see close, but without touching it. It was not advisable to come in contact with objects of any form floating carelessly about.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Small wreckage perhaps, but there shouldn't be.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Any wreckage here now. The last reported torpedoings were a long way westward, but one never knows. There may have been others that weren't reported. Gone with all hands.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Seems to be a battle. Have a look through the glasses, sir.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Pretty obvious proof of what we've suspected all along. But certain neutrals around here haven't been quite so neutral as they should have been. U boats. Yes, replenishing the stores of U boats somewhere not so very far off either.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Why leave the evidence lying about like this?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Why indeed.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Almost looks as though it had been done on purpose. But what on earth for?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

More probably it was an oversight. Or maybe somebody had to get away quickly before they were spotted.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Well, it's proof of what we were pretty certain of before.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

And plain too much good it'll do us. The parties are miles away for you both, the devil only knows where. But ready to kill the noble neutral slipping away to the eastward. Ready with a pack of lies.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Sure, they won't have to lie very much. Fellows like that, unless caught in the act, are pretty safe.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Yes, I suppose they can afford to chuckle. They probably don't even care a rap for the bit of evidence left behind. It's a game where practice makes you bold. And successful, too.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Yes, well, perhaps this will be once too often. May not have been all that long ago.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

It doesn't have to have been, by the look of things. But in this kind of weather. You see, the fog's coming up again. A solid white wall of it. Well, here we go again. In five minutes we were in the thick of it. Great convolutions of vapor flew over, swirling about our masts and funnel, which looked as if they were beginning to melt. Then they vanished. The ship was stopped. All sounds ceased. The very fog became motionless, growing denser, as if solid in its amazing dumb immobility. Men at their stations lost sight of each other. Footsteps sounded stealthily rare. Voices impersonal and remote, died away. Without reservoir, a blind white stillness took possession of the world.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Well, what do we do now? Here, wait a minute.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

The fog's lifting only in patches. Look, there's the shoreline again. Ah, that's a bit better.

[Crew Member / Officer]

38 pounds.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Right, now I know where I am again. We're going inshore.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Yes, but.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Ah, it's all right. I know this stretch of coast like the back of my hand. That peak there's the southern shore of a fjord. We're going to ease round into it and sit tight till the weather men there's plenty of sea room and we can drop anchor. Keep the leadsmen singing out.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

40 Fathom.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Slowly, with infinite caution and patience, they crept in closer and closer, Seeing no more of the cliffs than the effervescent dark loom with a narrow border of angry foam at its foot. At the moment of anchoring the fog was so thick all they could see. They might have been a thousand miles out in the open sea. Yet the shelter of the land could be felt. There was a peculiar quality in the stillness of the air. Very faint, very elusive. The wash of the ripple against the encircling land. Reached their ears with mysterious sudden pause. Well, that's that. There's about half a mile between us on the other side of the fjord. We can stay here till the fog lifts. We get a chance to see what we're doing again.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Well, it seems to be lifting already, sir. Back there towards the open sea.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

By Jove, it does. Quite a bright patch here.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Wait a minute.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

What's that? Give me the glasses.

[Crew Member / Officer]

I could almost swear.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Well? Well, you'd be right then. There's another ship out there lying at anchor.

[Crew Member / Officer]

But hang it. It's a wonder we didn't run slap into her when we came in.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Yes, it certainly is.

[Crew Member / Officer]

But why didn't she make herself known?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Rung her bell?

[Crew Member / Officer]

She must have heard us coming in. We came in pretty quietly, admittedly, but they must have heard our leadsman, at least. We couldn't have passed her more than 50 yards off.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Quite what you might call a close shave.

[Crew Member / Officer]

We never heard a sound from her. Fellows on board. Must have been holding their breaths.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I rather think that's what they were doing.

[Crew Member / Officer]

But we'd better take a look at them, sir.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I think we better had. At first, I supposed she was just a coaster standing, too. I'm not so sure. The more I think about it. In fact, I'm not at all sure. Laura Bolton sent a boarding party across to her. I want to know a little more about that ship.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Aye, aye, sir.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

The boat was lowered and moved away into the fog. The white swirl of vapor that lay on the water spotted it up as though it had been sunk. Only the shadowy outline of the mystery ship remained afloat above the drifting whiteness. For a quarter of an hour. There was utter silence. And then the boarding party returned, appearing suddenly alongside. The officer in charge came up to make his report. Well, what is she, A coaster?

[Crew Member / Officer]

No, sir. A stranger? A neutral?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

No, really. Well, tell us a little bit more about her, then. What's she doing here anyway?

[Crew Member / Officer]

They said they've had engine trouble. So they stood in here to keep.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Out of the weather, did you, eh? Well, how did they get in here if they had engine trouble?

[Crew Member / Officer]

I asked them that, sir. They said they were drifting about in the fog for three days. Then the wind got up and they simply ran before it. When they saw where it was taking them.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Well, I suppose that's just possible. The wind's in the right quarter, such as it is. Hardly enough of it, I'd have thought. This was four days ago.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Apparently there was quite a stiffish breeze blew up. They were even afraid of a gale.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Ah, well, that checks too, is there? Talking about last Friday. Quite a plausible story, isn't it? What about the ship's papers?

[Crew Member / Officer]

Papers? In perfect order, sir. I checked them carefully. She sailed from Gothenburg last Monday, eight days ago with a cargo for Newcastle, General Merchandise. All checking with the manifest. From what I could see of her, sir, she's quite in the clear.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

She is, eh?

[Crew Member / Officer]

Well, the master said he didn't know where they were. Said they'd been drifting about so long in the fog he didn't have any good idea of his position. He asked me for a bearing, but I didn't give him one till I checked with you, sir.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Good. Just one thing. What about her engines now? Are they still disabled?

[Crew Member / Officer]

No, sir. She has steam on them.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

She has number one. You know, I think you were right after all. They were holding their breath as we passed. They certainly were.

[Narrator / Lawrence Olivier]

In a moment we continue with Theater Royal.

[Announcer]

We'd like to remind you of the fine parade of good listening tomorrow night on NBC. Jerome Kern's musical drama Sunny takes the spotlight on the Railroad hour starring Gordon McRae and lovely Lucille Norman. Then Howard Barlow and the Firestone Symphony Orchestra joined with metropolitan basso Cesare Siepe, the guest artist on the Voice of Firestone. Later, George London returns to the Telephone Hour with Donald Voorhees conducting the Bell Telephone Orchestra. Top off your Monday evening of musical Entertainment When Paul LaValle conducts his city Service Band of America in a double salute to the Safety Congress and National Bible Week. And you'll want to join that lovable pair, fibber McGee and Molly as they find themselves involved in another laugh provoking misadventure the whole family will enjoy as they find themselves involved in another laugh provoking misadventure that's followed by an amusing storytelling session as jokester Senator Ed Ford and his quick witted partners Peter, Donald, Harry Hirschfeld and former governor Harold Hoffman get together to outdo one another on can you top this? Later Monday, enjoy a swashbuckling drama when McDonald Carrey stars in another thrilling episode of Jason and the Golden Fleece. And remember, tomorrow NBC joins the state of Ohio in a salute to popular funster Bob Hope, heard each morning with a quarter hour of helpful and hilarious tips to the housewife for the best in listening Entertainment. You'll want to stay tuned to your NBC radio network.

[Narrator / Lawrence Olivier]

And now we return to Theater Royal.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I tell you, number one, I don't like it. I don't like it one little bit. Somewhere around here, as we know very well, a German U boat has been restocked, probably by a neutral vessel. Here in this fjord, we find a neutral vessel hiding away in the fog.

[Crew Member / Officer]

But her story was perfectly plausible, sir.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Yes, a little bit too plausible to my mind. If she wasn't trying to avoid us, why didn't she make herself known when we came in? She must have heard us.

[Crew Member / Officer]

A fog like this does muffle small sounds, sir. And what could their object be, after.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

All, to sneak out unnoticed once we passed her by?

[Crew Member / Officer]

Well, then why didn't they, sir? They might have done, you know, not exactly unnoticed, perhaps. I don't suppose they could have slipped their cable without making some noise. Still, in a minute or two, they'd have been gone before we'd fairly made them out.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Yet they didn't. Well, I suppose that's true enough. What did you make of the crew, Johnson?

[Crew Member / Officer]

Oh, the usual lot, sir. The engineers. Quite typical, I should say. Very full of the way they repaired their engines. The mate a bit surly perhaps, not much English. The master rather an impressive sort of a fellow in his way. Typically Scandinavian. Civil enough, but appeared to have been drinking. Seemed to be recovering from a regular bout of it.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Well, he did, eh? What instructions did you give him?

[Crew Member / Officer]

I told him I couldn't give him permission to proceed, sir. He said he wouldn't dare to move his ship her own length out in a fog like this. Permission or no permission, I left a man on board all the same.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Quite right. Well, keep an eye on her as much as you can with all this fog about. And keep your ears open.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Aye, aye, sir.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I don't know. Maybe I'm a bit too suspicious, but I. I can't help feeling that this very plausible ship may very well have been the one that had a rendezvous with that you boat out there.

[Crew Member / Officer]

But you could never prove it, sir.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Well, I. I don't know. I want to have a look at it myself.

[Crew Member / Officer]

But from the report we've had, I'm afraid you couldn't even make a case for reasonable suspicion, sir, could you?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I'll go on board all the same. Muster another boarding party.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Hi Is.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

What did I expect to find? Well, I couldn't have told anybody, not even myself. I suppose what I really expected to find there was an atmosphere, the atmosphere of gratuitous treachery. Which to my mind nothing could excuse. But how could I detect it, sniff it, taste it, receive some mysterious communication which would turn my invincible suspicion into a certitude strong enough to provoke action with all its risks. I went aboard. The master. Large, robust Scandinavian led the way to the chart room.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

It is not very comfortable. But while I am at sea, this is where I live.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Aha.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Take a seat, please. What can I do for you?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Oh, it's nothing. It's merely a routine check. Your papers appear to be in order. Of course.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

If it had not been for trouble with the engines, we would have been in England, in Newcastle, instead of which, we are here.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Aha.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

What I mean is, I don't know where we are. Handed over. Three days we drift in the fog with our engines broken down. I tell you, we might be anywhere.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

So the fog's been after you for a week?

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Yes, that's no exaggeration. Eight days, believe y. Last Monday. Last week. On Tuesday, I am somewhere south of here and my engine break down. We drift into fog. I don't know where. And any wind gets up and we put in here. Since then there has been nothing but fog again.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Ah, so you've been anchored here all that time?

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Yeah, that's right. Four days now. Isn't it enough to drive a man out of his mind? And it's like this. This ship is my own. Your officer has seen the papers. She isn't much, as you can see for yourself. Just an old cargo boat. Just a bare living for my family. Those are their pictures up there.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

As you'll be making a fortune for your family with this old ship. Before you finish, please. I mean out of the war. Ah, yes.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Out of the boy. Well, what of that? You wouldn't be angry about it, would you? Oh, you are too much of a gentleman. He didn't bring this war on you.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

No, I suppose you didn't.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

And suppose we sat down and cried. What good could that be? Let those cry. Who made all the trouble? Time is money. Using in English.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Well.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Well, this time is money. Oh, yes, it is money, all right.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I'm glad you're satisfied. I suppose you've made it perfectly clear that the war is not your fault and why you're here. Your logbook confirms that very minutely, of course. A log book may be cooked.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Please.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I say a logbook may be cooked. Faked, used as an alibi, something easier.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

But you can't suspect me of anything. My cargo is made out for an English port in Newcastle.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

True.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

How can you suspect me? And what is it you suspect me of doing?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Well, I haven't said that I do suspect you. What makes you think I might?

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

But what you said about the logbook.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Well, I find you lying here with steam up, hiding in the fog.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

But my engines have been repaired, so at last I can get steam up again.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Why didn't you make yourself known when you heard us coming into the fiord?

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

I hear nothing. I do not know you were there until your boat. Come along, sir.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

But you must have heard our leadsman.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Please.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

You must have heard the shout of our leadsmen taking the depth as we came by.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

I was in this chat room, I hear, nodding at all.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I wondered what he'd do if I accused him to his face of being what I suspected he was. Supposing I did that and watched his face. Would he betray himself in some way? Oh, it was perfect if plain. The fellow had been drinking. Oh yes, he'd been drinking. He'd have had a lie already. All the same, I turned away in disgust and went up on the deck where I had the crew mustered formally for an inspection. You the chief engineer? Yeah. What's been the trouble with your engines, please? Your engines broke down, didn't they?

[Crew Member / Officer]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

The main feed became loose and the steam was not right in the cylinder.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Also the condenser chamber was wrong. Where was this ago last Tuesday?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Uhuh. You the late we are. Let me see your papers.

[Crew Member / Officer]

Oh, here.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Where did you join the ship?

[Crew Member / Officer]

Your.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

The body. When?

[Crew Member / Officer]

Oh, three months ago.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

This is your first trip to Hull?

[Crew Member / Officer]

We are not bound for Hull. We are bound for New Castle.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I could discover no flaw in the log book story, so at last I dismissed them. My impression of them was that they were a well picked lot. They'd probably been promised a fistful of money each if the trip paid off. All slightly anxious but not frightened. Not a single one of them likely to give the show away. At last I returned to the chart room. The master still lingered there. He appeared to have been drinking while I was away on deck.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

I sit down everything.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I dare say you're wondering at my proceedings, though. I'm not detaining you, am I? I mean, you wouldn't care to move in this fog?

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

I don't know where I am.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

You didn't happen to notice any unusual objects floating about while you were at sea?

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Objects? What objects? We were groping blind and defog for days before we put in.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

We had a few clear intervals. Earlier today I saw something out there that makes me suspect that not so very Long since a U boat was contacted and restocked, perhaps by a neutral vessel.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Oh, I see. But you only suspect that you have no proof.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Oh, well, perhaps not, but I also have my information. That's why I happen to be here at all. Shooting's too good for people. That conceive neutrality in that sort of manner.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Oh, yes, yes, perhaps.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

There's no perhaps about it.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Oh, no, no, you are right, but. But what about the tempters? We better kill off that lot. There is 4, 5, 6 million of them. I had better hold my tongue. You have some suspicions?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

No, I have no suspicions.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Oh, well, let us put it like this. We know that you English are gentlemen, but let us speak the truth. Why should we love you so very much? You haven't done anything to be love. We don't love the Germans either, of course, but they haven't done anything for that either. When a fellow comes along with a bag of gold. I haven't been in Rotterdam on my last voyage for nodding.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to tell our people something interesting when you get to Newcastle.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Why, my dear, but you keep some people in your pay at Rotterdam, so let them report. I am neutral, aren't I?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

So you say.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Well, listen, have you ever seen a poor man on one side and a bag of gold on the other hand? Of course, I couldn't be tempted. I haven't enough for it. I tell you, it is nodding to me. I just talk openly for once.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Yes, I'm listening to you.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Well, now that I know you have no suspicions, I talk. You don't know what a poor man is. I do. I'm poor myself. This old hip, she isn't much. And she's mortgaged to bare living. No more. Of course, I wouldn't have the nerve. But a man who has the nerve, see the stuff he takes about looks like other cargo. Packages, barrels, tins, copper tubes, what not. He doesn't see it working. It isn't real to him. But he sees the gold. That's real. Of course, nothing would induce me. I suffer from an internal disease. I would go crazy with anxiety. Or take the drink or something. No, the risk is too great. Anyway, it would be ruined it over death. Well, it is nothing to me. I am not one of those.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

No, no, of course not. I'm going to clear you fellas off this coast at once. All of you. Now begin with you. You must leave in half an hour. Leave?

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

In this fog?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Yes, you'll have to go in this fog.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

But I don't know where I am, I tell you. Three days I drifted, lost.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Ah, so you don't know how to get out. Don't you? Well, I'm giving you your course. You steer south by east, half east for about four miles. Really? Be clear to haul to the westward for your port. The weather will clear up before very long.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

But please, it's weather like this. I tell you, I haven't the nerve to do it.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I'm ordering you to do it, unless you want.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

No, no, no. I tell you, I have had enough on this board.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

You'll leave within the next half hour. You steam and I've given you your course.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

But please, I do not know where I am.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I've given you your course.

[Scandinavian Ship Master]

Very well, sir. I have no choice.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

I returned to my ship, leaving the master standing there as if he were rooted to the deck. Within the next 10 minutes, I heard their anchor being weighed. Then, shadowy in the fog, she steamed away out of the fjord on to her given course. Well, my dear, that's the end of the tale.

[Female Character / Wife]

In fact, you let him go.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Now listen. That course would lead the ship straight onto the rocks beyond the mouth of the fjord. He steamed out. He ran into them and went down. So he had spoken the truth. He did not know where he was. But surely I proved nothing. Nothing. Either way, it may have been the only truth in all his story. Yes, he seems to have been driven out by a menacing stare. Nothing more.

[Female Character / Wife]

And you knew?

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Oh, yes. I gave that course to him. It seemed to me the supreme test. I believe. No, no, I don't believe. I. I don't know. At the time I was seven. They all went down. I don't know whether I've done retribution or murder. I don't know. I shall never know. Oh, my poor, poor. I shall never know.

[Lawrence Olivier]

This is Lawrence Olivier again. I would like to extend my thanks to Ralph Richardson for that fine performance in Joseph Conrad's story, the Tale. Our thanks, as usual, should also go to the excellent supporting cast. I shall have with me as my guest on next week's program another good friend of the theater, John Gielgud. Until then, when I look forward to your company.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Au revoir and thanks. Thank you, sir.

[Narrator / Lawrence Olivier]

Lawrence Olivier introduced, as usual, today's transcribed program. The script was by D.T.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Bryson.

[Narrator / Lawrence Olivier]

The music was under the direction of Sydney Torch. Theodore Royal is an NBC presentation produced and directed by Harry Allen Towers.

[Narrator / Ralph Richardson]

Your last man out, next on the NBC Radio Network.