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The White Elephant – Tales of the Texas Rangers (10-28-51)
00:31:13
Original Air Date: October 28, 1951Host: Andrew RhynesShow: Tales of the Texas RangersPhone: (707) 98 OTRDW (6-8739) Star:• Joel McCrea (Ranger Jayce Pearson) Special Guests:• Tony Barrett• Paul McVeigh• Lou Krugman• Jeff Corey• Byron Kane• Bob Bruce• ...
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Andrew Rines
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To find your next pair of glasses, sunglasses or contact lenses, or to find the Warby Parker store nearest you, head over to warbyparker.com that's warbyparker.com welcome to the Old Time Radio Westerns. I'm your host, Andrew Rines, and let's get into this episode. This episode is going to be Tales of the Texas Rangers Original air date it is October 28, 1951 and the title is the White Elephant. Hope you enjoy and again, thanks for listening. Read about your favorite NBC entertainers. Yes, in the November NBC Silver Jubilee issue of Radio TV Mirror magazine, you can enjoy reading about such NBC stars as FIBA McGee and Molly, Bob Hope and Groucho Marx. The National Broadcasting company presents Joel McCray in Tales of the Texas Rangers from Hollywood, Another authentic reenactment of a case transcribed from the Files of the Texas Rangers. Tales of the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCray as Ranger Jace Pearson. Texas. More than 260,000 square miles and 50 men who make up the most famous and oldest law enforcement body in North America. Now, from the files of the Texas Rangers come these stories based on fact only. Names, dates and places are fictitious for obvious reasons. The events themselves are a matter of record. Case for tonight. The white elephant. It is January 16, 1950. The time, 6:28pm A freight train just outside of a west Texas town gains speed and rolls through the gathering dusk. Inside a gondola car, a hobo crouches in a corner as the brakeman comes toward him. All right, Paul, this is where you get up. Now listen, now just let me get to the next town. Just, just. I said this is where you get up. But we're moving. Now you get on while we was moving. You can get off now. Come on around. Just the top of your head. Now listen. Don't. Don't. Don't do it. I Go. Leave me alone me, will you? Yeah, kid me. I'm coming. At 2:55am of the morning following the freight train incident, a rancher named Banker noticed a small coupe parked on the shoulder of the road. It bore Oklahoma license plates. Banker turned his spotlight on the car, saw a man slumped down in the driver's seat. A half hour later, Sheriff Caldwell, notified by Banker, began investigation of the murder and called in the Texas Rangers. Ranger Jace Pearson was assigned to the case. And a few hours later, Pearson, Banker and Sheriff Caldwell stood at the scene. Pearson listened to Banker. It was just about three this morning when I saw it. Ranger, how come you were driving along this road that late? I've been to a Rangers meeting in Almerers. I was going to spend the night there and change my mind. Did you take this road when you left for Almeras? Yes, sir. What time Yesterday morning? About 7. 7:30. Then this car came here sometime between 7:30 yesterday morning and 3 this morning? I guess so. You never saw the dead man before, huh? Was the first time I laid eyes on him. All right, Mr. Banker, you can go. Hey, you need me, I'll be home. No identification on the body at all, huh, Sheriff? Nothing in the pockets. Pick? Clean as a whistle. Anybody else been around the car? Nope. Deputy kept his eyes on it. Car is facing west, going west when it was stopped. Tire tracks on the shoulder tell that. Blood on the seat? Yep. 38. Bullet on it. 38? Might be a police special. Banker got one Banker, but just ask him for now. You see, I. You see something? Look here, Sheriff. Set of tracks leading up to the car. Ordinary shoes, not boots. Heel marks are too broad for boots. Yeah, looks like it. Look at this one. Sole print with a hole in it. Now look. The prints lead from that way north up to the car. Little scuffle, then the prince turned back north. In other words, Sheriff, somebody walked up to the car, stood there, then turned and went back north. Oh, and here's something else. Grease. Looks like grease smeared on a car door. Same side footprints are on grease. Might be from the car. Looks too stiff and heavy for that. What about it Coming from a freight train, Jase. Why? Well, there's tracks about a mile north of here. Freight. You use a siding to pull on when passengers got a pass. Maybe it all ties in, Sheriff. A shoe with a hole in it. Grease, freight siding. Yeah. Might be worth going After. Where do we start? Here at the car first. I'm gonna check it over inch by inch. Meantime, you get hold of a freight schedule. I'll meet you at your office. When I checked the car inside and out, I found a few things that were interesting and a little puzzling. I sent a sample of grease to the laboratory for analysis and took plaster casts of the footprints, then went on to sheriff Caldwell's office. He had the information I'd requested. Here it is, Jay. Schedule of freights went through yesterday. How many? Three of them. You can check those all right. Of course, we might be sending dogs up the wrong tree. Looks like a hobo to me. Yeah. Let me see the dead man's fingerprints. Sure. Ar these match with some of the prints in the car. See? Closed delta. Yeah. How about those others you got? Picked these up on the door that had the grease on it smeared all over. Couple clear enough to use only. Only what, Jace? You know there wasn't a single print on the steering wheel. Seems like the dead man's prints ought to be on it. Gloves? I didn't find any gloves on him, nor in the car. Yeah. By the way, I got a call out for any hobo picked up or seen on those trains. Good. Now, I found these tucked under the sun visor in front of the driver's seat. Gasoline receipts made out to Carl Thompson. Oh, that'll save a lot of checking. Move forward. The dead man's prints anyway. That steering wheel bothers me. Excuse me, Jace. Sheriff Paul won't. Oh, yeah. Good. Hold him. We'll be there as soon as we can make it. Something else, Jace. Brakeman in one of those freights we've been checking has a story. Some hobos slugged him and jumped. Okay, let's go. The brakeman took us to the approximate spot. The hobo jumped off the freight. Sheriff Caldwell and I picked up the trail and followed it by horse. We hope to apprehend the suspect before he could reach a town and lose himself. And us. After six hours, we stop. What's the matter, Jace? Tracks are different. Come here and take a look. Different? Yeah, look right, Prince. A little deeper, favoring his left. A little hurt himself, huh? Must have twisted his leg when he took the jump off the freight. Kept getting worse. Sat down here, smoked a cigarette. Here's the butt. He ain't going to make such a good time with a bum leg. We've been traveling at a steady trot. Uh huh. Okay, let's get going. The suspect's trail showed increased favoring of his left leg. His progress became slower. More and more often he stopped to rest and the trail became fresher and fresher. Evidence in a deserted shack showed Suspected rested there for quite a while. We picked up the trail again. We're getting close, sheriff. How do you know? Noticed something just now. Take a look at these prints. Same as the ones we've been following. Not quite. Hole in the right shoe. Not that. I'm talking about this ant hill he crushed. Well, what about it? Quite a few of the prints had ant hills in them. Crushed and rebuilt. So ants start working on a new hill when the old one's been trapped down. This one's so fresh they haven't had time to rebuild. Hey, that's right. He can't be far off. So we better leave the horses tied up here, sheriff, and start moving on Foot. At 8:15 that evening, we found the man we were hunting. He was asleep. He gave us no trouble and he denied anything and everything about the crime. We took him back and I kept questioning him, but he stuck to his story. I never was there. I didn't do it. Ever own a gun? 38 police special. I told you 100 times, I never owned no kind of gun. How'd you take all that skin off your arm? I don't know. Fair. Maybe. You got that while you were running away when you jumped off the freight. After you slugged the brake. No. No grease on your jacket. How'd it get there? Yeah, maybe. Maybe off in the freight. Sure. That car we showed you, the one you said you'd never seen before. Well, it's the truth. Is it? Hold up your right foot. Hold it up. Hole in the right shoe. What else? Here's a plaster cast. Cast at the print of the scene of the murder. Take a good look. But I wasn't there, I tell you. Ever hear a fingerprint? Here are yours. And here's a set found at the crime. They match. You still say you weren't there? I didn't kill nobody. Let me see your hands. When did you wash them last? I don't know. Maybe a couple days ago. You know, we can tell if you fired a gun. I never had no gun. Did you rob the man in the car? No. No. Look at me. You were there, weren't you? We can prove it. All right. All right, it was there. But it didn't kill him. Why'd you lie? Well, I was scared. If you're innocent, you don't have to be. Look, Grinch, I got a couple of wraps. Bag wraps. That all? Sure sure, we can check that too. All right. Later. Got a couple of rap pinching stuff. Nothing big. Now look, tell me exactly what you did. Well, I come in off afraid I was walking across when I seen the car. Figured it was funny. Something funny? Why? Well, kind of park like that. Then I walked over, seen the fella in there was dead. I beat it, hopped the fresh. Is that all you know what else up to now. Did you get in the car? No, sir. No, sir. Did you touch the body or take anything from it? I swear. Strange I didn't. Did you touch the steering wheel and then wipe it off? Wiping? No, no. What for? Look, I tell you. Jake. Yeah, Sheriff. Come here, will you? Sure. You stay put. I got no place to go. Here's all the dope in the murdered man Thompson come in just now. Carl Thompson, resident, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Traveling salesman for Prince Extract Company. This check Double Kelly's with a gasoline receipt. What about him? A hobo? Yeah. I think the only crime he committed was failure to report what he saw. His fingerprints were all over the outside of the one door of that car and none inside. Seems to me if he thought of cleaning up the inside, he'd have done the same outside. Yeah, looks like it. We'll give him the paraffin test anyway and see if he's fired a gun lately. And if he didn't, start all over. And start with that clean steering wheel. In just a moment we will continue with Tales of the Texas Rangers. Starring Joel McCray as Ranger Jace Pearson. It's the Silver jubilee on NBC this evening. Be sure to hear Douglas Fairbanks in the Silent Men. Based on the authentic adventures of your government security agents. Monday, Herbert Marshall assumes the mysterious identity of the man called X. Tuesday night here Big Town with another hard hitting adventure by Steve Wilson of the Illustrated Press. Yes, there's always pulse quickening action on Big Town. Tonight hear the silent Men. Monday, it's the Man. We continue now with tales of the Texas Rangers and tonight's case, the White Elephant. An authentic story from the files of the Texas Rangers. The result of the paraffin test was negative. But we held the hobo pending further investigation. I reported back to my Captain Stinson at company headquarters. I told him I was pretty sure that the hobo story checked out. Yeah, it looks like it. But somebody killed Thompson. Killed him and then drove him in his own car to where that rancher spotted it. There wasn't anything on Thompson, huh? No money, no papers. Only these gasoline charge account receipts. Somebody went to an awful lot of trouble to clean him but they overlooked these on top. This looks like a plain case of murder with robbery as the motive. But if that was it, why go to all the risk of being spotted in a car with Oklahoma plates? Why not just kill him and leave him? I don't know, Jace. What's your thinking? Well, Thompson was a traveling salesman. Traveled a lot in a few days. Now, suppose the killer realized that with Thompson far enough away from the scene of the crime, we'd have a pretty tough time finding out just where the murder was committed. Yeah, that could be. But why? Well, maybe the killer couldn't leave the spot, so he did the next best thing. Took Thompson's body away. And maybe it wasn't just robbery or what else? I don't know yet. But I got some more checking to do. It'll take maybe a couple of hours, and then I might have some answers. Well, a couple hours on the nose, Jase. You get anything new? More dope on Thompson, Captain. Never carried much money, never was known to have picked up a hitchhiker. And I got a pretty good idea of where he was killed. Gasoline receipts tell a fair story. Yeah? How? Well, this one, for example, dated the 15th day before he was killed. Made out in Bannon. He got 16 gallons of gas there. Oh. Did you ever think somebody else might have been using his credit card? Yeah, but Thompson traveled that route pretty often. Chances are he was well known at the service stations. Yeah, that's right. Okay, go on. I ran a mileage test on his car. He got about 17 miles a gallon. Now his tank holds 16. I did a little figuring. Just about enough gas was used to get him from Bannon to where his body was found. But he could have been killed anywhere between Bannon and where he was found dead. Sure, I know that. But it still looks like my next stop is Bannon. Howdy, Ranger. Howdy. How many? Whatever she'll take. That's your thing. You the owner here? Yes, sir. How long? Oh, a couple of years. You work alone nights? Yeah. Take a look at this, will you? One of my receipts. Credit card stuff. You know this Carl Thompson? Yeah, I'll see him ever. Oh, four or five months. When did you see Thompson last? The evening he bought that gas. Why? Anything wrong, Ranger? Was Thompson alone that evening? Yeah. I never remember him ever having anybody along. What else do you remember about that evening? Oh, one of the worst sleet storms we ever had hit. Like it'd be tough for him to drive then. Oh, sure. Hey, he was asking about some place to stay. You never stayed in Bannon before? I don't know. Leastways, he didn't know much about the places. I told him to try the hotel. He said it was full up. He said the motels were jam packed. Lousy work. Nowhere he went. I said he was going to try and find a place along the highway. Why? Anything wrong? Plenty. Here's for the gas. I might come back and ask you some more questions. Thanks. I began a check of every possible place Thompson might have stayed that night. But I drew one blank after another. Then I got a lead at a motel on the outskirts of Bannon. Sure, Ranger, I remember that night. Sleep was an inch thick. We was full up here. But I sent him to a place down the highway. The Star Motel. Been closing up the sale for quite a spell. But I heard it was opened up again. I went to the Star Motel. It was closed tight. Every cabin was locked, the windows boarded. There wasn't a soul around. I was just about to leave when I noticed something. The electricity must have been on somewhere in the place because the little wheel under the dial of the meter was spinning. It was enough to send me back into town to ask a few more questions. Now, let me see, Ranger. Storm all closed? Yes, sir. Here's what we want right here. Are these all electricity bills? Yes, sir. Let me see. Up to three months ago, the bills were just for meter installations. Minimum service charge. That's right, Ranger. But for the last three months. 475, 389, 560. Kind of funny, isn't it? The place is closed, but for the last three months, the bills have averaged over $4 a month. That seem peculiar to you? Well, Ranger, we just. Sure, sure, I know. Now, can you give me the name of the person to whom these bills were sent? Get it for you right away. Why, yes, Ranger, Mr. Clouser's here. I believe he's on the phone right now. But if you come in. Thank you, ma'am. You Mrs. Cowper? Deal. I hope I'm not bothering you any, Ms. Galton. Not at all, reindeer. My husband is here. Oh, yeah, I see. I think that would be arranged, yes. Sure. Tell you what. I'll come out a little later. I'll bring the client with me. Sure. Thanks for calling. Goodbye. Andy, this is Ranger Pearson. Oh, hello. Sorry to barge in like this, Mr. Cowson, but I got a few questions. Questions? Sure. What a birth. You own the Star Motel, don't you? Yes, I do. Star Motel? That white elephant. White elephant? I've been trying to get rid of it for two years. Why? Well, Like Betsy said, it ain't been worth a hoot since the new highway went in two years ago. Only half the traffic that used to pass it. It hasn't been used for two years? Well, I guess I didn't mean. Exactly what did you mean? I tried to keep it going for a year after the highway went through, but couldn't rent enough rooms. Wasn't worth trying to save. You got the keys to it? Keys? Sure. Is something wrong, Ranger? Might be, ma'am. Can you take me through the motel, Mr. Calton? Anytime. Right now, Suji. Couldn't be better. Let's go. I ain't been out here for close on three or four weeks. Did you go through the cabins then? Oh, just take a look. See, kids sometimes fool around. That's why I boarded up the windows. Want to take a look in the office? Yeah, go ahead, Mr. Cal. Sure. Nothing in here, Ranger? Nope. There's not anything in particular you're looking for? Yeah. You have this floor washed lately? Oh, heck no. Ain't no use paying for something like that. It's been washed recently, huh? But why? How do you know? Scrubbing wood with hot water always raises the grain. And hot water isn't as good as cold to wash out blood stains. Blood? Blood. Beach Ranger. Oh, yeah. Head on. Go on. Come on. What the devil is this? Who are you fellas? My guess is a couple of men I want for murder, Mr. Cal. Everything okay? Yeah. Push that guy. Me? Why? I never carry a gun. Well, we just make sure. Yeah, he's clean. All right, now slip the ranger's gun belt. Wait a minute. You got the drop on me. Maybe I'd have to be a fool to draw. But if you don't want me to be a fool, don't touch these guns. You try and take them off me and I'll go down using them. And I might get lucky. All right, Locke. Let him alone. He's too smart to start anything. Go get the panel truck out and start loading our stuff fast. But what about them? We can lock them in, fix their car so they can't get out of here for a while after we leave. If they try to come out while we're still here, we'll blast whatever door or window they try to come through. Get that Ranger. I get it. Okay. I'll be outside, Chuck. So your name's Chuck, huh? What is any. What are you and that other fellow doing in my place? Go ahead, Chuck, tell him. Some other time, friend. Now you two listen. Cause I ain't gonna say this twice. Try to bust out before you hear us drive off and you'll get it good. Now stay put. That gut is locked in. Yeah. Don't go near that window. You heard what he said. Little crack in the morning. I'm just taking a look. What are they doing? Come here and take a look for yourself. I should have watched the place more. I never knew anyone who'd use it. Can use plenty. Look what they're taking out first. All kinds of stuff. It's beginning to make sense. Closed down motel made a nice storage bin for stolen unsmuggled goods till I could run it to the market. Oh, they'll get away. You. You said there was a murder. Take it easy, Mr. Calton. We'll get them. Well, they'll be across the border in a half an hour before we could even reach a phone. Maybe you better take a chance. And get shot down in cold blood? No, but we'll get them all right. Know why, Mr. Calson? Right. Because you. Help. I pinned Calton with a quick headlock and then got one arm up behind him and applied pressure so I could keep him still while I had a free hand. I reached into his jacket and found what I was looking for under his shoulder. Then I pushed him. Are you crazy? He almost broke my arm. Shut up, Calton. Don't you think I saw this gun bulging under your coat? They deliberately missed it when they frisked you. You played it real smart, almost. I don't know what you're talking about. This gun and the electric bills you paid him. Paid bills that were being run up in a place that was supposed to be shut down. Seems kind of funny. You never complained to the power company. So what? Well, you got a phone call from your friends out there. They tipped you because they saw me nosing around here earlier, right? No. Okay, okay. Take a look out there. They're almost finished. In a couple of minutes, they'll be gone. In half an hour, they'll be over the border. How about you? You want to stick back here and face a murder charge? There's nothing you can prove. There's plenty we can prove, Calvin, and you're holding the bag. You'll have a tough time explaining those electric bills and then missing your gun. I didn't kill that man. Did this Chuck do it? Yeah. Yeah, that sale can come in. So was going on. Chuck killed him, then drove him away. All right, now listen real careful to me. I'm gonna fire this gun of yours, then you hammer on the door and holler for him. Get it what do you want to do? Just listen. When they come up, tell him you had to kill me. Tell them to open the door then, Mr. Kelson, step back and out of the way fast. They'll be gone in a minute. Make up your mind. All right. Go ahead. I'll do it. Any funny tricks, and you get it first. Now. Ready? Open the door. Now. When it's open, get back. What's the matter, Calvin? Open the door. I had to kill him. He was making a break for it. Reach. Hey, what's the big idea? We'll come back for him later, Calson. Meantime, let you and me get back to town. I got you a deal for this White Elephant Motel. You can trade it for a jail cell. Andrew Calton was convicted for his part in the murder. His sentence life imprison. And now, here again is the star of our show, Joel McCray. Almost a year ago, a faithful listener wrote to us and said she'd heard of an official Texas Ranger prayer and inquired if such a prayer actually existed. We assured her it did. And in response to her letter, we read the Texas Rangers prayer over the air. Folks, I wish you could have seen the hundreds of letters we received after that broadcast. Since that first reading of the Texas Ranger Prayer as hardly a week goes by that we haven't had a request to repeat it. And we're mighty pleased to read it for you again tonight. Because we know now how many of you, like the men it was written for, realize the importance of a power outside ourselves to whom we may turn. The Texas Ranger Prayer by Captain Pierre Bernard Hill, chaplain of the Texas Rangers. Oh, God, whose end is justice Whose strength is all our stay Be near and bless my mission As I go forth today Let wisdom guide my actions Let courage fill my heart and help me, Lord, in every hour to arrangers time Protect when danger threatens Sustain when trails are rough Help me to keep my standard high and smile at each rebuff when night comes down upon me, I pray thee, Lord, deny Whether on lonely scout or camped under the Texas sky. Keep me, O God, in life and when my days shall end Forgive my sins and take me in for Jesus sake. Amen. Good night, folks. Good night. Next week, Joel McCray. In another authentic reenactment of a case from the files of the Texas Rangers, Joel McCrae is currently seen starring in the Universal International Technicolor production Cattle Drive. The cast included Tony Barrett, Paul McVeigh, Lou Krugman, Jeff Corey, Byron Kane, Robert Bruce and Janet Nolan. Technical advisor was Captain MT Lone Wolf Gonzalez of The Texas Rangers. This story was transcribed and adapted by Russell Hughes, and the program was produced and directed by Stacy Kel Gibney Speaking it's the Silver Jubilee on NBC today. The Big show presents stage and screen stars James and Pamela Mason, Jimmy Durante, Dorothy Sarnoff, Jack Carson, the Ink Spots and Tallulah Bankhead. Then there's Mirtha Music with Phil Harris and Alice Bail. Later, Theater Guild on the Air brings you Rosalind Russell and McDonald cherry in Skylark. And for pictures of your favorite NBC stars, buy the current Silver Jubilee issue of Radio TV Mirror magazine. Next, it's the big show on NBC. This has been a presentation of OTRWesterns.com and we hope you enjoyed. Please take some time to like and rate our shows in your favorite podcast application. Follow us on Facebook by going to otrwesterns.com Facebook join in the conversation by going to otrwesterns.Com Discord and don't forget to send us an email podcasttrwesterns.com this episode is copyright under the Attribution Non Commercial Share Like Copyright. For more information go to otrwesterns.com copyright have a great day and again, thanks for listening.