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Dream Farm | Tales of the Texas Rangers (03-09-52)
00:32:56
An Iowa farm family stops in Texas to help a stranger, who then kills the man and woman and wounds their twelve year old boy. Original Air Date: March 09, 1952Host: Andrew RhynesShow: Tales of the Texas RangersPhone: (707) 98 OTRDW (6-8739) Stars:• Joe...
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Andrew Rines
Foreign welcome to the Old Time Radio Westerns. I'm your host, Andrew Rines and I'm excited to bring you another episode absolutely free. This is one of over 80 episodes released monthly for your enjoyment. Now, let's get into this episode. Tales of the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCray as Ranger Jace Pearson. Another authentic reenactment of a case transcribed from the files of the Texas Rangers. Names, dates and places in the following story are fictitious for obvious reasons. The events themselves are a matter of record. Before we bring you today's Tales of the Texas Rangers, let's turn on our microphones down the hall in Studio A here at at NBC's Hollywood Radio City, where rehearsal for the Phil Harris Alice Fay show is in progress. Yeah, yeah. Now that's the way we'll do it on the show. It sounded great, fellas. Bill, would you like to talk to the listeners during this break and rehearsal? Yeah, Bill, I'd love to. Folks, I'd just like to take a few seconds here to remind you about part of the fine lineup of entertainment for the rest of the evening right here on NBC, right after Tales of the Texas Rangers. Listen to the big show with Tallulah Bankhead and and all of her darling guest stars. I know you'll want to hear the music and comedy. The big show is lined up for you today. And then we come on to keep you entertained with our show starring Alice Fay, Frankie Remley, Julius Abruzio and some band leader, Phil what's his name? Please, will you slow up a minute? It's the Phil Harris Alice Fay show right after the big show today. And I hope you'll listen, folks. And now let's return to Tales of the Texas Rangers. And now from the files of the Texas Rangers, the case called Dream farm. It is 7:40pm June 12, 1941. On a deserted stretch of highway through a thinly populated area of Texas, a sedan pushes to the southwest, towing behind it a small, heavily loaded two wheeled trailer. In the front seat of the car there are three people. A man, his wife and their 12 year old son. Don't seem to be much in the way of people out here. Wide open country. All right. I think we're going to like it here, Ethel. I hope so. You just wait and see. Why, last month when I was out here to close the deal, I swear I just wanted to start plowing right off. I got a feeling this farm's going to be lucky for us. Well, I just hope we can make a go of it, that's all. Now Ethel, we've been all through that. I know, John. You can't blame me for being a little worried. After all, we spent our lives in Iowa. Here we are moving to a strange place where we don't know a soul. Well, we'll make friends soon enough. Texans are nice people. Real friendly. You'll see. Pa, I'm hungry. Well, that's one thing that ain't changed much from Iowa to Texas. We ought to be coming to a town soon, don't you think? Yeah. Yeah, a town called Coronaville, not too far from here. We'll find a restroom pretty soon, Bobby. Just hold on a while longer. We gonna keep driving all night, Pa? Well, I figure it might be best. Rather get to the farm in the morning so as we can move in by daylight. Can I sleep on the back seat tonight? Sure you can. Hey, what's that? What? There's some fella signaling up ahead. Why, yes, there is someone. Now, what do you suppose? Looks like he's having car trouble. You're not gonna stop? Well, sure. Why not? Will you look at that rear wheel? Gee, that must have been some blowout. You need some help? Yeah, John, I just assumed you kept going. Now, Ethel, where's your Texas hospitality? Sure, it's all right, Ma. How about a ride in the next gas station? Sure glad to take you. Get in the bag. Never mind that. What? Yeah, what'd you say? You heard me. Get out of the car, Holly. Hey, that a real gun. Bobby, be quiet. Yeah, Bobby, be quiet. You won't get hurt. All right, out you go. No, no, no. Get out on this side, you. Well, we're getting out. Be careful with that thing. Yeah, yeah, I'll be real careful. What are you gonna do? Shut up, you. Empty out your pockets. Me? I ain't talking to no one else. Well, I. I don't get you, mister. What are you gonna do with us? Ain't you figured it out yet? Come on, lady, give me a purse. Now, you throw everything you got in your pockets on the front seat. Hurry it up, John. Do what he tells you. Well, I. Yeah, it's more like it. All right, now, back away in the car. You're just leaving us out here? What do you think? You ain't going nowhere with my car. John, be quiet. I won't. Everything we got in the world's in there. Be quiet, John, please. Yeah, yeah. Do what the lady tells you. I'll show you what I'll do. You can't get away with you this crazy. I'm taking our car with you. You should have listened to him. You shot my pa. You shouldn't have shot him. You didn't have to kill him. You didn't have to kill him. I said he should have listened. I gotta kill you too. No. Please. At 1:20 the following morning, the three bodies were discovered by a state highway patrolman. The two adults were dead, but the boy, although unconscious, was still alive. He was rushed to the hospital in Coronaville and Sheriff King of Corona county was notified. The sheriff requested aid from the Texas Rangers. Ranger Jace Pearson was assigned. That you, Jase? Yes, Sheriff. Oh, I don't mind telling you, I'm glad to see you. It's a bad one. Yeah, I heard. Where are they? Oh, come on, I'll show you. J.P. been out yet? Yeah, he ought to be along soon. Well, there they are, Jase. Not very pretty. No, never is. You been over the area yet? Yeah, didn't find much. Went over the car for Prince. Looks like there might be a couple of good ones there. Well, our lab crew will be out pretty soon. They'll check them. Hold your flash on the body, Sheriff. I want to have a look. How's that? Okay. Hmm. Powder burns on the clothing. He was shot from pretty close up. Yeah, same with a woman. Jace. The boy, too. You talked to him yet? The boy? Last I heard, he was still unconscious. Is he gonna be all right? It's hard to tell yet. Doc says he may come through okay. It's a tough break for the kid. These his folks? Yeah, I reckon they are. Aren't you sure? Not exactly. Hospital found this wallet in the boy's pocket. But these two had nothing on them. No papers, driver's license. Nothing. No money either, I suppose. Yeah, that's right. And see what you got from the kid. A library card from Clinton, Iowa, made out to Robert Elwood. And here's a card from the boy scouts. Troop 47, Clinton, Iowa, made out to Robert Elwood. I already notified the Clinton police, Jays. They're trying to find out if the boy was traveling with his folks. What about this car, Sheriff? I noticed it's got Texas plates. Yeah, it's on the hot car list. Stolen night before last. Rhineville. Killer could have taken their car when this one broke down. Rhineville, you said? Up north. Figured the killer's heading south, Jase. Up to this point, he was. I think I'll go into town. Sheriff. The boy's conscious. I want to talk to him. Make to talk to him myself. I'll go along. On the way to the hospital, Austin radioed that the murder victims were probably the Elwoods. The Clinton police had learned from a former neighbor that the family was moving to Texas. The Iowa Division of Motor Vehicle Registration supplied the make and license number of the Elwood car and trailer. We relayed this information to all Texas law enforcement agencies. It was 3:40am when the sheriff and I arrived at the hospital. Robert Elwood was out of his coma but was still very weak. Robert, we want to ask you some questions. This is Sheriff King and I'm Ranger Pearson. Texas Ranger? That's right. Tell me, son, you remember what happened last night? Yeah. Man killed my pa. Where's Ma? I want to see her. Well, you can't right now, Robert. Why? I want to talk to her. Can you. Can you tell us what happened, son? He had a gun. He made Pa take everything out of his pocket. And he was going to take the car. Pa tried to stop him. Was it just one man? Uh huh. You think you'd know him if you ever saw him again? I think so. Was he a tall man? Oh, he bought as tall as pa. He'd be about 5, 8 Jake. How about his hair, Robert? What color was. Was dark. Kept falling in front of his eyes. Did you notice anything different about him? Any scars or anything like that? No, I don't remember any. Do you remember what he was wearing? Well, there's just one more thing, Robert. What about his voice? Was it high or low? I don't know. Kind in between. He was real. Me. I love my mom. I love my mom. I reported Robert Elwood's description of the killer to headquarters and then turned in for some sleep. Two hours later, a phone call from Austin woke me up. The Elwood car had been found abandoned on Highway 346 near Burton, Texas, about 100 miles away. Sheriff and I were there by 8:45. Patrolman Hartnett reported that when he'd found the car at about 7, it was out of gas. The trailer was missing. We started checking. I think I'll take a look through the glove compartment. What do you suppose he did with that trailer? Jason must have been slowing him down so he unhitched it. I expect it'll turn up in the brush somewhere between here and Coronaville. Yeah, I reckon so. That patrolman said when he found the car, the motor was still warm. Yeah. Killer must have left it around 6:30, maybe a little later. Yeah. He's only a couple hours ahead of us then. Hmm. Find something? Yeah, a bank book from the State bank in Clinton. Count was closed just four days ago on the 9th. $608.40 figure Elwood had the money with him. I know he had it with him. The killers probably got it. Look at this slip. It was stuck in the bank book. List of numbers, serial numbers, record of travelers checks. It's supposed to be filled out and kept in a safe place in case any of the checks are lost. Hey, he had ten 50s. $500. Yeah, but you can see where he's checked off the top two numbers. Al would probably cash those checks himself. Yeah, and the killer still got $400 worth. Jace, you don't think he'd take a chance and try to cash him? He might. $400. It's enough to tempt a man who'd shoot three people in cold blood. But he'd have to sign Elwood's name when he cashed him. Match the signatures already on the checks. Oh my God. Even need identification. He's got identification. Don't forget the killer took Elwood's wallet. As for the signatures, well, a lot of people can be fooled. Yeah. One thing's certain. If he's going to cash him at all, he'll try to do it in a hurry. Not going to hang on to him any longer than he has to. Then you reckon he's already got rid of him? I don't think so. He hasn't had much of a chance. Why not? He could have cashed him anywhere between here and Coronaville. He'd have a hard time cashing $400 worth of checks in an all night restaurant. Banks his best bet. Yeah, but what bank? There'll be 50 of them in this county opening in five minutes. He left here at about 6:30 and got into Burton around 7. He might just wait for the banks to open there. We better get to Burton fast. There were two banks in Burton at approximately 9:10. I dropped the sheriff at the Burton national and headed for the the Burton Loan and Savings Bank a block away. Cashier there told me the checks hadn't come in. So I left instructions for him to contact me if any turned up. And I went back to the Burton national for the sheriff. Sheriff. Hey Chase. Come here. Find anything? I sure did. That was a mighty good hunch you had. Checks turn up. Cashier's getting them for me now. She says a fella came in at 9 o' clock. As soon as of Dorothy. He had the checks all right. All $400 worth. Could she give you a description of the man? Description? She knows him. Fella named Al Walker. Says we can find him at the sales barn a couple of blocks away in just a moment. We will continue with Tales of the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCray as Ranger Jace Pearson. Every minute of every day, someone somewhere calls on the Red Cross for help. Last July, the nation's most devastating flood since 1937 smashed through four Midwestern states. Property damage in Kansas and Missouri alone exceeded $1 billion. Tens of thousands were made homeless. When the floods came, the Red Cross was ready with rescue teams and first aid stations for the homeless. The Red Cross set up shelters and feeding points. But the biggest job came when the waters receded. Then began the rebuilding and repairing of homes, the rehabilitation of broken lives. The total cost of relief in this operation was almost $14 million. This was only one of the 300 domestic disasters in which the Red Cross gave aid last year to answer the call when help is needed again this year, the Red Cross needs your support. Give and give generously to the 1952 Red Cross Fund campaign. And now back to tonight's adventure with the Texas Rangers. We continue now with tales of the Texas Rangers and our authentic story dream. We found Al Walker at the sales barn a couple of blocks away. Sign over the entrance read, Al Walker, Proprietor. There was no loft and all the feed was neatly stacked at one end of the building. A small glassed in office was at the other end. Walker was watering a couple of horses in the corral at the rear. Howdy, gents. Be right with you. All right. Blond hair. Sheriff, he doesn't fit the description Robert Elwood gave us. Nobody had the checks and he was in an all fired hurry to cash him. Might be best not to mention the killing, Sheriff. Well, that's what I was thinking. Now then, gents, you're Al Walker. It's me. All right. Can I help you? You can answer some questions. All right. This is Sheriff King. I'm Ranger Pearson. Oh, right. Pleased to meet you. Come on in the office, gents. What kind of questions? You cashed some travelers checks at the Burton National Bank a little while ago. Yeah, that's right. $400 worth. Something wrong? Where'd you get him? Oh, fellow brought him in this morning. He come in about 8 o' clock just as I was opening up. Have a seat, Ranger. Sheriff? No, thanks. Did he say his name was John Elwood? Well, that's what he said. Can you describe the man, Mr. Walker? I reckon so. Big fella. Big. About your height anyway. He's kind of heavy too. What color was his hair? Oh, he had. Let me see now, he had light hair. Would you say it was as light as yours? Yeah, come to think of it, it was. Huh. What time did you say he came in, Mr. Walker? Just about eight. You always open that early? Oh, I generally open at 6. Sell a lot of feed to the farmers around here and they do business pretty early. Went to a large meeting last night. The wife's out of town. Stayed out late so I kind of overslept this morning. What time did he leave here? Oh, it was 8:30 or so. Closed up about 20 minutes later so's I could go down to the bank and cash the checks. He was here about a half an hour then? That's right. It take you that long to cash the checks for him? Uh huh. Well he bought something. He come in here to buy a horse, keep a little stock, you know. Sold him a saddle and bridle too. What'd his bill come to was $150. You got a record of the sale, Mr. Walker by. No, no. As a matter of fact I didn't have time to enter it in my book. What about the rest of the checks? Well, after he paid me for the stuff he bought, he asked me to cash them other checks. I give him 250 in cash. You had that much cash at 8 o' clock in the morning? I always keep a few hundred dollars overnight on account opening up before the bank does. Mr. Walker, did he sign those checks in front of you? Well sure he signed them in front of me. Let me see the check, Sheriff. Yeah. Here you are, Jace. See the two signatures on this check, Mr. Walker? Yeah. They don't match very well. They don't? What's wrong with them? Well, take a look. You see the difference? Here and here. Well, it looked all right to me. I couldn't tell the difference. You made it easy. It ain't his right signature. The checks were stolen, Mr. Walker. This isn't John Elwood's signature at all. Stolen? How tall did you say that fella was? What? Oh, he was a big fella. How big? I don't know. He was six feet maybe taller. You mean these checks are no good? I ain't gonna lose my $400am I reckon you will unless we catch up to the fellow who's got it. What color hair did you say he had was? Light colored, blonde. I was. I didn't know they were stolen. You should have checked the signatures. He did sign them in front of you you said. Well, yeah, yeah, sure he did. Oh, excuse me, Ranger. Hello, Walkers. What? Oh yeah, yeah, he's here. Just a minute. It's for you. Ranger Pearson. Speaking. What time they come in? All right, we'll be right over. Thanks, Mr. Walker. We'll have to pick up our conversation a little later. You stick around. Sure. I ain't going nowhere. Come on, Sheriff. What's up, Jace? It's a highway patrol. Austin identified a fingerprint from the car found at the scene of the killing. Yeah? Whose was it? Fellow named Sam Bradley. I got his mug shots at the patrol office. Bradley's description fit the one given us by Robert Elwood. Set of photographs had already been sent to the sheriff's office in Coronaville, and a deputy took them to young Elwood at the hospital for positive identification. Short time later at the highway patrol office, I telephoned the boy. Yeah, Ranger, I got the picture right here. Right in front of me. All right, Robert. You recognize any of the men in the pictures? Yeah. This is the man who did it is the man who killed Paul. Which one is it, Robert? This one. The name on the back, it says Sam Bradley. Thanks, Robert. You've been a big help. What do you say, Bradley? All right. The boy picked his picture out of half a dozen. The deputy brought up the hospital. Well, that settles it then. But what about Walker? The description he gave us sure doesn't fit Bradley case. You know he was lying. Yeah, but I can't figure out why. His only stake in this is $400 worth of travelers checks. He tried to cash them openly, so it's a cinch he figured they wouldn't bounce. I don't think he knew they were stolen. Maybe not, Jace, but he knew the man who gave him the checks wasn't John Elwood. Now why'd he lie about that? Just as puzzled as you are. Come on. Where you going now, J? Out to Walker's. I still want a written statement from him. Want to bring him back here? Uh huh. Well, I reckon I'll mosey around town in the meantime. Maybe I can find someone to saw Bradley go into Walker's barn. Good idea. I'll meet you back here. I want to see if Walker's gonna stick to his story. When I got to Walker's, the barn was closed up tight. I got his home address from a telephone book in a store nearby and walked back to the barn. By the time I got to my car, Walker was just driving up. Walker? Yeah. I thought I told you to stick around. Where you been? No police, Ranger. I had to make a delivery in your car. Not much room there to haul feed. Oh, it was just a sack of oats, that's all I want you to come down to the patrol office with me. What for? Get your statement about the fellow who gave you those checks. What about the barn? I mean, you know, if any customers come, they'll have to wait a while. You know where the highway patrol office is? Yeah. You can take your car. I'll follow you at the station. Walker story began to change slightly. His statement said that the man who cashed the checks was about 5ft 10 inches tall. Earlier he told us that the man was over 6ft. Was 12 noon when the stenographer completed typing the statement, I took it into Walker to sign. Here's the statement, Mr. Walker. You sure you don't want to make any changes before you sign it? No, no, I've been telling you the truth, Ranger. Oh, one more thing. Before you sign it, I want to show you some pictures. Pictures? Yeah. Look at them carefully, Mr. Walker. Here are pictures of three men. Was one of these the man who cashed the checks? No, no, it wasn't any of these fellas. How about this one? Could he be the man? No, no, no. The fellow who cashed the checks was an altogether different kind of man. This ain't him. Mr. Walker, this man's already been identified by one person as the man who killed John Elwood and his wife. What'd you say? Ranger Elwood was the man the checks belonged to. He was killed last night. Killed? First dealer, now killer. You didn't say nothing before about a murder? Two murders. This man Bradley killed two people and wounded a 12 year old boy. He stole two cars that we know of. Well I. I didn't know about all them things. Uh huh. What about the picture? Is this the man who cashed the checks? No, no, that ain't him. I'm sure it ain't. All right, Mr. Walker, sign the statement. Walker was afraid he couldn't miss it, but I didn't know what was bothering him or why. After he signed the statement, I let him go. A few minutes later the sheriff came into the office. He had a newspaper in his hand. Jace, that Walker I just saw pulling away? Yes, Sheriff. He signed a statement, so I let him go. Well, we better get him right back again. Take a look at this newspaper, Burton, Harold. What about it? But did Walker identify the picture of Bradley? No. Well, take a look at that item I mark. It'll tell you. Why didn't Mrs. Nancy Walker, wife of Al Walker, proprietor Walker Sales Barn is in Fort Worth visiting her sister. Mrs. Walker is the former Nancy Bradley. Get a Jace. I checked around as soon as I got A load of this item, and it fits. Mrs. Walker has a brother named Sam Bradley. Walker's his brother in law. We raced out to Walker's sales barn, but it was still closed. So we headed out toward his home, located in a farm section west of town. Half a mile from there, we spotted Walker's car turning into the driveway and saw him rush into the house. We parked a short distance away and covered the rest of the ground on foot, approaching the house from the rear. Let's move up to that open window, Sheriff. Right. Chase, where's the food? Nothing in the house to eat. Sam, you fool. Where you been? I've been looking all over for you. I took a bus over to Hazelton. Bought me new suit. What's bothering you? Well, I don't care. You can take the money, but you just gotta get right out of here as fast as you can. Hey, now, wait a minute. What do you mean, spending your money? I thought you told me you got them checks from a friend of yours. My shop. What about it? You and your stories. It's just like I told you. You were playing cards last night. Place was raided. This fellow was afraid if he showed himself, he'd get caught. That's why he asked me to cast a check. I knew you wouldn't mind. So that's it. Damn. Don't you lie to me. You didn't have no friends. You signed them checks. They were stolen. Stolen? I know all about it. I lied for you at first because you told me you and your friend Elwood was ducking a gambling raid. Then I find you stole the checks. Now I find there's a couple of killings besides. And I'm mixed up in it. Now, you get out of here. Look who you've been talking. There's been a ranger out asking questions. Question, that's who. You tell him anything? Not yet. But if I didn't have the lie to save my own height, I'd have turned you in. Brother in law or no brother in law. Tell him. Cover me through this window. I'm going. I'll leave tonight when it's dark. You get out of here right now. I'm not getting myself hung for you. But you know I can't go. All right, Bradley. Don't move, ma' am. S the ranger. You turning over behind the. Drop that gun, Bradley. Throw your gun over here. All right. All right. Okay, Jace? Yeah, I'm okay, Sheriff. Ranger, it ain't my fault. I swear I didn't know nothing about the killing. I swear I didn't save it, Walker. A jury will want to know why you didn't tell us where he was. Come on, get up, Bradley. Better have some of that $400 left. For a good lawyer, you'll need one. In just a moment, we will tell you the results of the case you have just heard. This is George Hicks reporting. I'm now in New Hampshire for NBC. The names are Taft, Eisenhower, Truman, Kefauver and Stassen. We'll bring you the report soon on this first state presidential primary. This evening, NBC will present a broadcast of great interest to you in this election year. This is W.W. chaplin inviting you to follow the campaign of the next president on NBC. Yes, from Concord, New Hampshire, the scene of the important New Hampshire primary election. NBC brings you surveys, reports and comments by New Hampshire voters and party leaders. NBC is going to bring you full coverage of the New Hampshire primary, a primary which will not only decide the the delegates to the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, but also give a pretty good indication as to the strength of the leading presidential candidates. This is Leon Pearson inviting you to follow the campaign of the next president on NBC. Hear the New Hampshire primary special broadcast tonight on NBC. And now back to the Texas Rangers. And now, here are the results of the case you have just heard. For harboring a fugitive from justice, Al Walker received a five year suspended sentence. Sam Bradley was identified by Robert Elwood as the man who shot and killed John and Ethel Elwood. Ballistics confirmed that Bradley's gun was the murder weapon. He was convicted of murder in the first degree and on August 4, 1942 was electrocuted at Huntsville Penitentiary. Next week, Joel McCray and another authentic reenactment of a case from the files of the Texas Rangers. Joel McCray will soon be seen in San Francisco Story, a Warner Brothers release. The part of Robert Elwood was played by Richard Beals. Ethel and John Elwood were Barbara Luddy and Tom Tully. Tony Barrett with Sam Bradley and Barney Phillips with Al Walker. Ken Christie played the part of the sheriff. Technical advisor was Kennedy Captain MT Lone Wolf Gonzalez of the Texas Rangers. This story was transcribed and adapted by Shelby Gordon and the program was produced and directed by Stacy Keach. Hal Gibney speaking next. The Big show brings you 90 minutes of drama, comedy and music on NBC. This has been a presentation of OTRWesterns.com and we hope you enjoyed. Please take some time to like and rate this episode within your favorite podcast application. 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