World Adventurers Club 32-xx-xx ep02 The Manchurian Limited

Summary

Podcast Summary: World Adventurers Club 32-xx-xx ep02 The Manchurian Limited

Introduction

In the episode titled The Manchurian Limited, hosted by Harold's Old Time Radio, listeners are transported back to the Golden Age of Radio. The narrative centers around Lieutenant Jack Palmer, a multifaceted member of the World Adventurers Club, who shares one of his most perilous adventures in modern China. Set against the backdrop of political and military turmoil, Lieutenant Palmer's story is a gripping tale of espionage, bravery, and strategic ingenuity.

Setting the Scene

The episode opens with the Narrator welcoming guests to the World Adventurers Club, highlighting the diverse and daring members from around the globe. Lieutenant Jack Palmer is introduced as a unique figure—a white man serving in the Chinese diplomatic corps and the secret service of the Chinese Republic.

Narrator [00:31]: "Among all the members of the World Adventurers Club, there is no man more interesting than Lieutenant Jack Palmer."

Lieutenant Palmer's Background

Lieutenant Palmer elaborates on his multifaceted role in China, encompassing spying, diplomacy, military strategy, and more. He provides insight into China's potential rise as a global power, emphasizing the significance of national unity.

Lieutenant Jack Palmer [02:24]: "China has been in a frightful turmoil. Someday she's coming out of it. If she can ever become unified... she's liable to be one of the greatest powers that the world has ever seen."

The Manchurian Limited Mission

The core of Palmer's story revolves around a high-stakes mission to transport a train loaded with gunpowder and dynamite from Pekin to Mukton amidst rebel threats. The danger is palpable as rebels aim to destroy the train and halt governmental support in the region.

Lieutenant Jack Palmer [03:25]: "I had to see to it that this train load of dynamite, enough to blow up all China, was taken safely through hostile territory."

Formulating the Plan

As rebels close in, Palmer collaborates with Dick Fawcett, an assistant editor at the North China News, to devise a cunning plan involving psychological warfare. They aim to deceive the rebels by making them believe that Li Sensing's daughter, Lilly Singh, is aboard the train, preventing the rebels from attacking.

Lieutenant Jack Palmer [05:26]: "I meet Dick Fawcett again, this time at the Pekin railroad station. We had our last conference before my departure and we had with him a young girl."

The Unexpected Twist

In a critical twist, it is revealed that Lilly Singh is not actually on the train. Instead, a double agent masquerades as her to bait the rebels. This revelation exposes the precariousness of the mission and the true risk involved.

Ms. Lilly Singh [08:20]: "Oh, no. That was Mr. Fawcett's idea. I am not really Lilly Singh."

The Attack and Aftermath

Despite their elaborate scheme, the rebels attack the train at three in the morning. Palmer and his team engage in a fierce battle, sustaining significant damage and casualties but ultimately succeeding in delivering the explosives safely to Mukton.

Narrator [09:28]: "The plan hasn't worked."

Lieutenant Jack Palmer [10:14]: "We had passed through most of the rebel country before they took a crack at us."

Reflections and Conclusions

Lieutenant Palmer reflects on the mission's success and the losses incurred. He speaks highly of Lilly Singh, likening her to a "Chinese Mata Hari," and expresses his desire to return to China despite the dangers. The camaraderie among the World Adventurers Club members is evident as Palmer looks forward to future adventures and meetings.

Lieutenant Jack Palmer [10:56]: "She's just about as cool a character as I've ever met. A kind of Chinese Mata Hari."

Dick Fawcett [11:18]: "Someday Dick Buzzet will return from China. And when he does, I insist that we make him a member of this club."

Closing Remarks

The episode concludes with a poetic rendition, encapsulating the intensity and chaos of warfare, before the Narrator bids farewell to the listeners, inviting them to join future adventures.

Lilly Singh [12:02]: "Sing the thundering guns, guns, guns."

Narrator [12:52]: "And now we say goodbye to the World Adventurers Club, and we invite you to be with us again and hear one of their members tell of his strange adventures in strange land."

Conclusion

The Manchurian Limited episode masterfully combines suspense, strategic maneuvering, and personal valor, offering listeners a vivid portrayal of Lieutenant Jack Palmer's daring mission in China. Through engaging dialogue and dramatic storytelling, the episode highlights themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and the intricate dance of espionage within a tumultuous political landscape.

Transcript

[Sam]

Sam.

[Narrator]

Once again, you are welcome guests of the most thrilling organization in America, the World Adventurers Club. Here we find men from all corners of the globe, men who have braved every experience from the polar seas to the sweltering tropics. Among all the members of the World Adventurers Club, there is no man more interesting than Lieutenant Jack Palmer. You may have met secret servicemen before, but we'll wager you've never met a man's who was a member of the secret service of the Chinese Republic. A white man gambling his wits against death in a yellow man's country. At this moment, we find Lieutenant Palmer surrounded by several club members, and they've persuaded him to tell one of his adventures in the land of the Golden Dragon. And the club invites you to pull up your chair and hear this story of modern China.

[Lilly Singh]

You man, of course you can ride.

[Sam]

If a man a horse can sail and rank and wealth his strength and.

[Lilly Singh]

Hell, sea or sore shall fail if.

[Sam]

A man of heart can ride if a man of boat can sail and his rank and wealth his strength and.

[Lilly Singh]

Health On a sea nor shore shall fail if a man a girl he.

[Sam]

Can love and I, O my love.

[Lilly Singh]

Love thee and his heart is great with the pulse of faith and whole on land unseen Give a man a girl he can love As I my love love thee and his heart is great with the false of faith at.

[Narrator]

Home.

[Sam]

On land.

[Lilly Singh]

On sea.

[Dick Fawcett]

I say, Jack, old man, they tell me you've been having a lot of fun over in China.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Yes. I was there for three years. I was the only white man who belonged to the Chinese diplomatic corps. I learned a great deal about the Oriental mines.

[Dick Fawcett]

What was your business? Chiefly Spying.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

I believe I could say that. Spy and diplomat and soldier, propagandist and quartermaster and field general and a little bit of everything else. China has been in a frightful turmoil. Someday she's coming out of it. If she can ever become unified, that is, become nationally conscious, she's liable to be one of the greatest powers that the world has ever seen. Look out for the old dragon when that day arrives.

[Dick Fawcett]

You must have had some wild adventures in the three years of Chinese political and military strife. I suppose at least a half a dozen times you beat death by a nose.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Just about one of the narrowest escapes I ever had was the time I had to get the Manchurian Limited from Pekin to Mukton with a load of gunpowder and dynamite.

[Dick Fawcett]

Great Scott.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

And what made it really a tough job was the fact that an army of rebels was waiting for that train. Oh, they knew it carried high explosives and their one desire was to blow it to atoms and me with it. Oh, I had to see to it that this train load of dynamite, enough to blow up all China, was taken safely through a hostile territory. Yeah, I didn't know what minute the rebel artillery would plant a shell right in the middle of my carload of tnt. Or I didn't know but what they had wrecked the train. And if we crashed with a load like that, well, you'd have heard the roar in New York City. It was a sweet job.

[Dick Fawcett]

It's a wonder you ever went through with it.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Well, orders were orders.

[Dick Fawcett]

Yeah.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

You see, the rebels were winning victories in Manchuria. They were closing in on Mukton. Now, if the government troops lost Mukton, they lost the key city of the whole province of Manchuria. We had to save that garrison at Mukton. And to save it, we had to resupply their ammunition. It was my job to see that the train got there. I can tell you, I used everything from prayers to psychology.

[Dick Fawcett]

Well, I've had some rough assignment, but that's the limit. What did you do about it, Jack?

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Well, frankly, I didn't think I had a chance in the world. I told Dick Fawcett the trouble I was in. You know Dick, don't you?

[Dick Fawcett]

Yes. He's on the North China News.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

That's the boy?

[Dick Fawcett]

Yes.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

He's an assistant editor now. The paper prints both English and Chinese. Yeah, he handles the diplomatic news in English.

[Dick Fawcett]

Well, tell me, Jack, did that fellow Fawcett have an idea that he could really outwit the rebels?

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Yes, he had an idea. We sat up all night discussing it. I didn't think it was practical, but, well, I was willing to try anything. My train was ready and I planned to leave with it from Pekin at midnight. That day, I met Dick Fawcett again, this time at the Pekin railroad station. We had our last conference before my departure and we had with him a young girl.

[Li Sensing]

Jack, Let me present Ms. Lilly Singh. Ms. Singh, Lt. Jack Palmer of New York, China and Kingdom come.

[Ms. Lilly Singh]

How do you do, Lieutenant?

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

I am Very happy, Ms. Singh.

[Li Sensing]

We've no time to waste with introduct. Remember this, Ms. Lilly Singh is the daughter of Li Sensing, who plans to blow up the Manchurian Limited at King Chow. Her father is one of the big men of China, but unfortunately, he's on the opposite side of the military fence from you, Jack.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

So I understand.

[Li Sensing]

Now, Li Sensing has sent his daughter to an American university. He wants her to learn the inside stuff.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

About our civilization.

[Li Sensing]

And Ms. Singh has returned to China, unbeknown to Papa. Isn't that the case, Lily?

[Ms. Lilly Singh]

I have been to America. And just a few days ago I land in China. My father does not know I have returned. I go to join him in Manchuria.

[Li Sensing]

And she leaves on the Manchurian Limited at midnight.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Isn't that very, very brilliant of me?

[Dick Fawcett]

Well.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

But this girl can't go on that train. We may be blown to bit.

[Li Sensing]

Ah, that's where we outguess old Li San Singh. With his own daughter on the Manchurian Limited.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

He won't dare blow it up.

[Li Sensing]

We've got him, Jack. Lilly Singh is your safe passport to Mukton dynamite and what have you.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

By gad, it ought to work.

[Ms. Lilly Singh]

I think it will work, gentlemen. At least I am willing to try.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Very good, Ms. Singh. That train will leave at midnight. We shall arrive in.

[Dick Fawcett]

Phew. My, but that was checkmating Lee and single. But tell me this. How did you know his daughter was on the train?

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Oh, Fawcett spread a spearhead across the North China News. He wrote a big story about Li Sensing's daughter returning from America. He made a front page story. Then he sent those papers up to Mukton by aeroplane. He knew that Lee Sensing would see it and that he would read about his daughter leaving on the Manchurian limit. We figured we had him.

[Dick Fawcett]

And did you?

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Not quite. The scheme was great. Only it didn't work. It started out perfectly. We left Pekin an hour early. There was only one passenger car. The other six cars were loaded with TNT shells, gunpowder and dynamite. Besides the train crew, there were eight Chinese soldiers, Lilly Singh and myself. In spite of our hopes for a successful trip to Mukton, I was mighty nervous. Somehow I didn't trust Fawcett's idea any too much. All went well until three in the morning. Of course, sleep was impossible. So I sat up and talked with Liu Singh. I must have smoked 50 cigarettes as we sat and listened to the blast of the whistle and the hum of the wheels over the rail. Do you like America, Ms. Singh?

[Ms. Lilly Singh]

I think I would, Lieutenant. Someday I shall go there.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Go there? Why, I thought you just came back.

[Ms. Lilly Singh]

Oh, no. That was Mr. Fawcett's idea. I am not really Lilly Singh.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

What? You're. You're not really Lilly Singh?

[Ms. Lilly Singh]

Not at all. The real Lilly Singh is in America. But if we can make Li Sensing think his daughter is here on this train, then we get safe to Mukden.

[Dick Fawcett]

Caesar's ghost. Why?

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Why didn't you tell me that before.

[Ms. Lilly Singh]

Because Mr. Fawcett and I were afraid you might not wish to go on.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

I thought you were really Lilly. Singh Ni sensing won't swallow this lie. Why? He'll know we're trying to bluff him. He'll never fall for it.

[Ms. Lilly Singh]

He may. It is a gamble. If we doesn't work, we die. I, too, lieutenant, am a member of the Chinese Secret service. We are pitting our cunning against Li and Xing. One side must win. Perhaps it will be us. Perhaps not.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Why, I would never have let you risk it if I had known the truth. What's that? I heard shots.

[Ms. Lilly Singh]

The rebels.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

They're firing on the train.

[Narrator]

The plan hasn't worked.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

The rebels are firing on the train.

[Dick Fawcett]

Keep low.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Missing. Fire back, men.

[Narrator]

Feel pretty. Stand by your places.

[Dick Fawcett]

Here goes all.

[Sam]

Nothing.

[Dick Fawcett]

Great Scott. What an experience.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

And so we went through the thick of it. It seems at least Insing had swallowed the bait that Dick thought had prepared.

[Dick Fawcett]

Yes.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

For several hours, he believed his daughter was on the Manchurian Limited. Then the ruse dawned upon him. He had given orders to his army to let that train proceed to Mukton. Then he countermanded them and offered a reward to the battalion that stopped and destroyed our train. But his orders were just a little too late. We had passed through most of the rebel country before they took a crack at us.

[Dick Fawcett]

And you got to Mucton safely?

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

We did. I turned that load of gunpowder over to the ammunition depot at Buckton and never lost a grain for some close call. The cars were marred with bullets. Almost every window in our coach was broken. I lost four soldiers, but we made it.

[Dick Fawcett]

What became of Millie Singh?

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Oh, she's still in the diplomatic service in China. Oh, you'll hear of her someday. She's just about as cool a character as I've ever met. A kind of Chinese Mata Hari. But I had to get out of China after that exploit. I was known to the rebels and so I was of no more use to the government. But I'm going back. Someday I want to see Dick Fawcett.

[Dick Fawcett]

Do you ever hear of him?

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Oh, yes, yes. I have a cable right here. Oh, he says China is a great country. Come on back. We all like it. 50 million Chinamen can't be wrong.

[Dick Fawcett]

Someday Dick Buzzet will return from China. And when he does, I insist that we make him a member of this club.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Yes, I second it. I am sure he.

[Dick Fawcett]

And so am I.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

He'll tell us a story or two that'll leave us gasping when he tells one. I want to be here.

[Dick Fawcett]

You'd better be here the next meeting. We're going to make Anderson tell one of his experiences.

[Lieutenant Jack Palmer]

Oh, that's right. I have. I forgot.

[Li Sensing]

We're counting on you.

[Dick Fawcett]

We expect a knockout.

[Lilly Singh]

Hark to the deep and rumbling roar Shaking the earth with shouts they pour from mouth to mouth Of a changing sword Sing the fumbling guns, guns, guns Even attaint the heavens red Belching a flame of withering land Blazing a trail through the countless Sing the thundering guns, guns, guns.

[Narrator]

And now we say goodbye to the World Adventurers Club, and we invite you to be with us again and hear one of their members tell of his strange adventures in strange land.

[Sam]

Sam.