BONUS - Best of Ray Bradbury

Summary

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Stars on Suspense (Old Time Radio)

BONUS: Best of Ray Bradbury

Host: Mean Streets Podcasts
Date: April 29, 2026

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Episode Overview

This special bonus episode shifts the focus from screen legends to the pen of Ray Bradbury, one of the 20th century's greatest genre writers, as his chilling short stories are brought to life by radio’s “Suspense.” The host presents and briefly introduces four classic radio adaptations—"The Crowd," "Zero Hour," "The Whole Town Sleeping," and "Kaleidoscope"—each exploring different shades of fear, human nature, and the uncanny, all reimagined for audio drama.

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Episode Structure & Featured Adaptations

• Introduction & Bradbury Overview (00:54–03:23)
• Segment 1: The Crowd (03:23–32:49)
• Segment 2: Zero Hour (33:10–56:11)
• Segment 3: The Whole Town Sleeping (57:04–80:33)
• Segment 4: Kaleidoscope (81:57–104:25)
• Host’s Closing Remarks (105:42–106:35)
• (Skipped: Ads, music credits, bumpers)

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Detailed Breakdown

Introduction & Bradbury Spotlight

(00:54–03:23)

• Host reflects on how Bradbury's stories, usually labeled as sci-fi, are equally at home in mystery and horror, providing rich material for “Suspense.”
• The four stories introduced are:
  1. The Crowd (1950) — Dana Andrews as a detective haunted by murder scenes and the recurring faces in the crowds.
  2. Zero Hour (1955) — Isa Ashdown and cast, children’s playtime disguises a chilling invasion.
  3. The Whole Town Sleeping (1950) — Jeanette Nolan in a tense small-town thriller.
  4. Kaleidoscope (1955) — William Conrad and others as doomed spacemen contemplate life and mortality.
• The host notes, "From the page to the airwaves, here are my favorite suspense episodes adapted from the stories of Ray Bradbury." (03:18)

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The Crowd

(03:23–32:49)

Main Themes & Plot Points

• Lieutenant Johnny Stilano investigates street murders; finds the same mysterious man stands at the center of crowds at every crime scene over the years.
• The first murder scene draws a crowd instantly, prompting the famous Bradbury question: Who is drawn to witness tragedy, and why?
• A chilling, anonymous phone caller taunts the police, promising more public murders.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "It had taken me maybe five minutes to get there and already the crowd was there. The crowd—a ring of shifting, compressing, changing faces looking down at the dead man..."
  – Lt. Stilano (06:14)
• "Why do people always hang around other people’s hurt?"
  – Lt. Stilano (20:00)
• The police identify the same individual in years’ worth of crowd photos.
  – "They're all the same man." – Reardon (25:10)
• The crowd, eager to witness, never disperses:
  – "Would you like to see him, mister? Would you like to see him up close? The photographers will be here in a few minutes. Why don’t you stick around and have your picture taken?"
  – Lt. Stilano (29:40)

Atmosphere

• The tone is noir, sardonic, and unsettling: everyone’s complicit in morbid curiosity.
• Bradbury’s signature cynicism about the voyeuristic "crowd" is palpable.

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Zero Hour

(33:10–56:11)

Main Themes & Plot Points

• Children across the country play a mysterious game called "Invasion," guided by imaginary friend “Drill”—soon revealed to be real.
• Parents ignore their children’s curious talk of “zero hour” and Martian invasions.
• At 5:00 PM, the invasion happens: adults realize too late their doom is at hand.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "Zero hour’s by five o’clock. We haven’t got all..."
  – Mink (36:09)
• "Drill says you’re dangerous because you don’t believe in Martians."
  – Mink (38:14)
• As the children’s game becomes deadly:
  – "Mom, when the invasion comes, we’ll have to get rid of you and Daddy. But I’ll be sure it won’t hurt very much."
  – Mink (38:35)
• The chilling, ambiguous end:
  – "Mommy, Daddy, where are you?"
  – Mink, as otherworldly light seeps under the attic door (55:04)

Atmosphere

• Disquieting blend of suburban normalcy and impending horror; innocence blurred with menace.

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The Whole Town Sleeping

(57:04–80:33)

Main Themes & Plot Points

• Lavinia Nebs, steadfast and “logical,” walks home alone at night in a town terrorized by the serial-killing “Lonely One.”
• Friends warn her repeatedly, and the paranoia (real and imagined) builds as she faces the dark ravine.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "I won't walk in the ravine with any man. How do I know who the lonely one is? No, thank you."
  – Lavinia (73:27)
• Her mental narration:
  – "Remember that old ghost story you told each other when you were children? About the dark man coming into your house and you upstairs in bed? Now he's at the first step..."
  – Lavinia (74:31)
• Heart-stopping uncertainty:
  – "There was no one following me at all. Nobody running after me. How silly. If a man had been following me, he'd have caught me...”
  – Lavinia (79:19)
• The denouement is ambiguous—after reaching "safety" in her house, the terror is unresolved.

Atmosphere

• Classic small-town dread; the sense that evil is everywhere—and that it lives in the shadows you can’t see.

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Kaleidoscope

(81:57–104:25)

Main Themes & Plot Points

• After their spaceship explodes, six spacemen drift apart, unable to save themselves. Radio contact is their only link.
• As they fall, each confronts regret, anger, jealousy, and the meaning of their lives—while facing death alone in the void.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "We were hurtling in space and every direction. And now, instead of men, there were only voices."
  – Narrator (85:44)
• "I wanted to make something of my life. To be liked, to do good for people, to make them happy... Now it's all gone."
  – Hollis (102:41)
• The existential beat:
  – "When anything’s over, it’s just like it never happened. Why? Is your life any better than mine now? ... Now is what counts. Is it any better? Is it?"
  – Hollis (95:01)
• The final, haunting moment:
  – A child, seeing Hollis’s burning reentry:
  "Hey. Look up there. Moth. A falling star... Make a wish, dear. Make a w..."
  – (103:59)

Atmosphere

• Bleak, philosophical, yet beautiful: isolation, hope and acceptance at the edge of oblivion.

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Host's Closing Remarks

(105:42–106:35)

• The host recaps the Bradbury stories presented, thanks listeners, and invites them to check out the regular “Stars on Suspense” and the related “Down These Mean Streets” podcast.

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Memorable Moments & Overall Tone

• The episode is saturated with Bradbury’s characteristic mixture of nostalgia, eeriness, and the quiet terror beneath the everyday.
• The adaptations, while faithful in spirit, emphasize radio’s strengths—letting the listener’s imagination bear the heavy lifting.
• Multiple segments highlight how easily horror invades ordinary spaces: city crowds, suburban lawns, quiet towns, the infinite loneliness of space.

"It's all over. Just as if it never happened, isn't it?"
– Captain Hollis, "Kaleidoscope" (95:01)

"Mommy, Daddy, where are you?"
– Mink, "Zero Hour" (55:04)

"There was no one following me at all. Nobody running after me. How silly."
– Lavinia, "The Whole Town Sleeping" (79:19)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bradbury Introduction — (00:54–03:23)
• The Crowd — (03:23–32:49)
• Zero Hour — (33:10–56:11)
• The Whole Town Sleeping — (57:04–80:33)
• Kaleidoscope — (81:57–104:25)
• Final Summary & Host Goodbye — (105:42–106:35)

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Final Thoughts

This Ray Bradbury tribute collection demonstrates why his work is so enduring and adaptable—each tale exploring fear, mortality, and the unknown from a distinct angle. The episode serves both as a stellar introduction for newcomers to Bradbury and as a nostalgic journey for longtime fans, all while celebrating the power of radio suspense.

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[End of summary]

Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

The hushed voice, the prowling step in the dead of night.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

The crime that is almost committed. The stir of nerves at the ticking of the clock.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

The rescue that might be too late.

[Narrator/Host]

Or the murderer who might get away.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Mystery and intrigue and dangerous adventure.

[Narrator/Host]

We invite you to enjoy stories that keep you in

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

suspense.

[Host/Announcer (Memory)]

Hello and welcome to a bonus episode of Stars on Suspense. All this month I've shared some of my favorite movies with their stars appearing in suspense shows. But for this bonus episode, I'm shifting gears to another favorite. But this time it's not a movie. He's an author, Ray Bradbury, one of the great writers of the 20th century. Bradbury's A master of science fiction whose works include genre landmarks like the Martian chronicles and Fahrenheit 451. But he also worked in horror and mystery, and stories from all parts of his canon proved to be great fodder for suspense. Today we'll hear four of Bradbury's stories adapted for the series, beginning with an all time favorite episode of mine, the crowd, from September 21, 1950. Now, if you're a purist, you may be disappointed. It's a very loose adaptation of Bradbury's short story, but it keeps the author's central image of the crowd of onlookers who always pop up to leer at someone else's tragedy. It stars Dana Andrews as a tough police detective on the trail portrayal of a killer. Then Paula Winslow, John Dana Parley Bear and Isa Ashdown star in zero hour from April 5, 1955, another all time suspense favorite of mine. Next we have Jeanette Nolan in the terrifying tale of a small town at night and the long walk a woman takes to get back home in the whole town sleeping. From June 14, 1950. And finally, we've got a murderer's row of radioactors. William Conrad, Stacey Harris, Howard McNear, Parley Baer and John Dana, five guys who made up most of the population of Dodge City. On Gunsmoke, they play a team of astronauts on their final voyage in Kaleidoscope from July 12, 1955. From the page to the airwaves, here are my favorite suspense episodes adapted from the stories of Ray Bradbury.

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

Autolight and its 96,000 dealers. Present suspense. Tonight, Autolent Auto Light brings you the Crowd, a suspense play starring Mr. Dana Andrews.

[Officer directing crowd]

All right, stand back. Keep moving. You got other places to go, go to them.

[Crowd Member]

What's the matter, officer? Somebody die? Somebody get killed?

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Yeah, yeah. Now you know.

[Officer directing crowd]

So keep moving. Oh, Lieutenant. You. Lieutenant, I didn't see you. Didn't mean to poke you in the tummy with my billy.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What happened, Officer?

[Officer directing crowd]

Yeah, Lieutenant, the way it happened, we

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

got a right to know what it's all about.

[Crowd Member]

What's going on up there? I can't see.

[Officer directing crowd]

Get somebody to hoist you up on their shoulders, citizen. Then you'll see. Sometimes I don't understand this kind of thing, Lieutenant. Couple of minutes ago this was an empty street. Now this crowd.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

You still haven't told me what happened.

[Officer directing crowd]

Well, I was directing traffic up the street. A woman screamed and I thought it was just. Well, you know. But no, it was this guy laying on the sidewalk with a knife in him. Dead. Murdered. The people running around him. This crowd.

[Crowd Member]

Is he dead?

[Lavinia Nebs]

Let me look.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Let me look.

[Crowd Member]

Get out of my way. I want to see. I want to see.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Dead, huh?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Dang.

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

In just a moment, Mr. Dana Andrews in the first act of the crowd. Hi. A Hap. New suit?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Yeah, Wilcox. You like it?

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

Love it. Reminds me of Auto light ignition engineered spark plugs. Custom made and a perfect fit for your car.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

It's real hand tailoring too.

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

You said it.

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

Auto light engineers tailor spark plugs. Just as they tailor the complete ignition system used as original factory equipment on many leading makes of America's finest cars. That's why Ignition engineered auto light spark plugs are world famous for quality and dependability.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

How to give me a lot of

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

wear thousands of miles. Why, when you replace worn out spark plugs with ignition engineered Auto light spark plugs, you get smoother performance, quick starts, gas savings.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Hey, Wilcox, everybody knows about Auto Light spark plugs. How about my full suit?

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

Ignition engineered Auto light spark plugs will suit your car in every season, Hap. So friends, see your friendly Autolite spark plug dealer and have him replace worn out spark plugs with world famous Ignition engineered Autolite spark plugs. Whether you choose the resistor type or the standard type, you can be sure money can't buy better spark plugs. Because you're always right.

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

With Autolight and now with the crowd and the performance of Mr. Dana Andrews, autolight hopes once again to keep you in suspense.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

The call had come in from the police call box 12 minutes before had come to headquarters, been transferred to me. Johnny Stilano. Because I'm a lieutenant, New York police. Things like this are my job. It had taken me maybe five minutes to get there and already the crowd was there. The crowd a ring of shifting, compressing, changing faces looking down at the dead man, watching the shape of death in his face and back. Stand back, Officer have you gone through this man's pockets? Do you know who he is?

[Officer directing crowd]

No, sir, I haven't had time.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

I'll do it.

[Officer directing crowd]

Here comes the ambulance, Lieutenant. All right, you people, why don't you move on? Give them room. Give them room.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Hello, Doc.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

You through them?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

All right, let him through.

[Officer directing crowd]

Come on through. Out of the way, you.

[Captain Hollis]

I was in the army, you know.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Uniforms don't mean anything to me.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Here and there on the fringes of the crowd, a man detached himself from it, bit his lip and left. Even the spectacle of death can't compete with the time clock. Get back to work and tell your friends about it. Then the sound of death fading away. And then the crowd. And in a little while, the only thing left of it was an unconvinced passerby who looked over his shoulder at the spot and hurried on. Then the leavings of the crowd. A dead man, identified from a worn leather wallet as Edgar Dale. West 32nd Street. Name and address. Go there. Dig into a life that was done. Ask why at Edgar Dale's rooming house, a woman opened the door only halfway. Clutched her cotton wraparound high on her throat, shook her head. To most of my questions, Edgar Dale had no family, lived alone and a shrug. To what friends he worked, that's all. At the Becker Sign Painting Company on First Avenue. Maybe there, mister, I went.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Something I can do for you?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

I'm a police officer. Johnny Stelano. Oh, how do you do?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

My name is Becker.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Elliot Becker. A man worked for you. Edgar Dale. Edgar Dale.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I just put the phone down on the police a minute ago. They called, told me what happened.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Then you know why I'm here?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I believe so.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

You'll want to know all about Edgar.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I'll help. All I can.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Tell me about him. Edgar.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Edgar was like anybody. Looked like anybody, talked like anybody. Kept to himself.

[Officer Kennedy]

He did his job.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

A man who sat in the supply room and back and read science fiction magazines when he didn't go outside to have lunch.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What else? I don't know.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Can only judge a solitary man by the things he did to give you that impression. He listened to jokes but never told one. He clipped pictures of movie stars in bathing suits and pasted them over his workbench. Crossword puzzles, contests. The newspapers ran those things.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Friends, girlfriends.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I don't know, Mr. Stellano. I wondered sometimes who might enjoy Edgar as a friend, but I don't know. Where was he killed?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Two blocks from here.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

This morning. I saw the people running. I couldn't get away.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

That's too bad.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

How Was he killed, Lieutenant?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What did he look like?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Hello, Johnny. Been waiting for you.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What's up, Reardon?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Even your phone calls. Five altogether.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

From home?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I don't know. I tried to wheedle it out of him, but the man just wouldn't say. He said he'd keep trying, though. He has to talk to you personally.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What else?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

This envelope came addressed to your special delivery. It's marked Personal.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Open it.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Says, Personal.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Open it.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Hmm.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What is it?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

A picture, Johnny. Clip from this afternoon's Extra in the News. I saw it there myself. A picture of the man who was stabbed to death on the street with the crowd around him.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

I see it.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Look what's written under it, Johnny.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Yeah, I did. Well, didn't I? Police. Next time it will be even better. Johnny Celano speaking.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Oh, I. I finally got you in, Lieutenant. I read in the papers you were assigned to the case. The man found dead on the sidewalk.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Yes.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

I just called to ask you if you got the clipping I sent you. The one of the dead man lying on the street. I sent it special.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Oh, I just got in. I haven't had a chance to look at the mail. Will you hold on just a minute while I check? Face this call, quick.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Ready, Johnny?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

I. Oh, yes, I have it here. The words written underneath. Did you write them?

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Oh, yes, and I meant them. Every word. There will be a next time, Lieutenant. There will be another murder.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

I. I believe you. I won't be so foolish as to think you're some kind of a crank.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

I can see you're a very intelligent man.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

It was very clever how you committed the murder. Broad daylight on the street.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Oh, the next one will be even more spectacular. Far more.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Well, tell me about it.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

There's no need. There'll be a crowd. You read about it. I'll send you a picture.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Brandon.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I got it, Johnny. Gilbert Shoe Repair. It's right around the corner from here. I got the blotter on my desk. Gilbert Shoe Repair.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Gilbert. Hey, Gilbert, turn off that machine. I want to talk to you.

[Crowd Member]

Huh?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Turn off that machine.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Oh, sure, Johnny. Oh, he wants your shoes, Johnny. He ain't been in here so long, I was going to put him in the window with a For Sale under him.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

I don't want to talk to you about shoes.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Not about shoes. There's something else we can talk about.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

About a man. He just made a phone call from here.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

What man?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Listen to me, Gilbert. Just a couple of minutes ago, a man came in here. I don't know what man. He made a phone Call from here.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Use my phone. Yeah, maybe he did. All right, so he did.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

You don't understand, do you? This man was a murderer. Two minutes ago, he was in here using your phone.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

So what am I supposed to do about it? I'm a shoemaker. Look out through the window, Johnny. See all those people? Every now and then one of them breaks off, comes in. Once his shoes fixed. Once he used the phone. A few minutes ago, one of them did come in and he asked to use my phone. Well, I didn't notice anything about it. I never noticed anything about any of them. They're all alike. Some are men, some are women. This one was a man.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Then back into the street again and into the swarm of crowd, into the wash of anonymous faces. The blob. And somewhere in it, a murderer. Then back into the office. Sit down again, Stare at Reardon again. Reardon stares back. And then get up. Walk to the window. Stare at the crowd.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Phone's ringing, Johnny.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Uh huh. Donna Stilano speaking.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

You don't run so fast, Lieutenant. You know. You know you almost knocked me down when you ran across the street into that shoemaker's shop.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Really?

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

I'm close by, Lieutenant. In the payphone on the subway. 34th Street. Right fast, Lieutenant.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Hello? Hello? Never mind, Reardon.

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

Him again.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Him again. He even told me where he was. So I'd go there and close my eyes and point a finger at the five o' clock subway crowd and say, you. You're a killer. I almost knock him down. I talk to him. We chat on the phone. I can give you a category for this murderer. These phone calls are boasting of his killing.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I'm not a doctor and I know he's crazy.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Sure, sure, sure you do, Reardon. I don't know where to start. Where do I start, Reardon?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Take it easy, John.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

A lonely little man is stabbed to death on a street in New York City. For all I know, this killer is standing right beside me, looking down at the dead man. The killer sends me a picture. Killer calls me on the phone. The killer tells me he's in a subway at 34th Street Station. The killer. Lieutenant.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Yeah?

[Officer Kennedy]

Call box report just came in. Man was pushed in front of a

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

subway, 34th Street Station. And the pattern repeated itself, but with variation. Now the body of a man, broken, crushed without form, like a child's drawing of death, lay on a bier of railroad ties, of glistening steel rails. Over him, the shroud of a subway car. And deep in the cavern, the lament of hurtling steel. The crowd the crowd watching on the platform. No variation here. Same crowd that gathers and watches at all death's public performances.

[Captain Hollis]

Let me look.

[Crowd Member]

Let me look. Get out of my way. I want to see.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Dead.

[Crowd Member]

Huh? Dead.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Let me see, will you? Hey, is he really dead?

[Crowd Member]

Hi. Here.

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

Autolight is bringing you Mr. Dana Andrews in the crowd. Tonight's production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, suspense.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Say, Wilcox, you have a good tailor.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Sure.

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

Sam is a suit stitcher supreme now. He never makes the pants too long since his car worries stopped.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

And what was his trouble?

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

Why, Sam's sedan used a tank of gas just to get out of the garage.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

That's ridiculous.

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

That's what I said. I told him to stop blowing his top and have his spark plugs checked by his friendly Autolite spark plug dealer.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Did he do it?

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

Yep.

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

Now this pleased pantaloon producer is getting a real run for his money. He replaced the spark plugs that were not functioning properly with ignition engineered auto light spark plugs. And now he gets smoother performance, quick starts, gas savings.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

I'll bet he thanked you, Wilcox.

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

He did, Hap, he did. And he couldn't have bought better spark plugs for his car than ignition engineered Autolite spark plugs. So, friends, see your friendly Autolite spark plug dealer and have him replace worn out spark plugs with ignition engineered Autolite spark plugs. Whether you choose the resistor type or the standard type, you'll know why you're always right with Autolite.

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

And now, Autolight brings back to our Hollywood soundstage, Mr. Dana Andrews in Elliot Lewis's production of the Crowd. A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.

[Crowd Member]

Come on, Johnny.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

I'll push him away for you.

[Crowd Member]

One side here, one side. Out of the way, Police. Out of the way. I guess we'll have to go through the car, Johnny, and out through the

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

end to get to him.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Yeah.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Come on.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Hey, is there a Stalano here? A Lieutenant Johnny Stalano?

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

Wait, R. Yeah, Stelano.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Somebody on a farm. Booth Here wants a Lt. Stelano. Lt. Stelano on a farm. He's wanted.

[Crowd Member]

Sure, he's wanted by the draft war. Yeah, I'm here. Don't hang up. I'm here.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

What's the matter, Lieutenant? You're on a uniform. Former PFC presents you with a form.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Daniel Star. No speaking.

[Crowd Member]

Oh.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Oh, I'm glad they reached you, Lieutenant. You see, there was another dead man crowd much better than the first. Much, don't you think?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Much better, the man said much better. How good does death have to Be this time the murderer had chosen to push a man under a subway train. The crowd seemed to like this one better, too. They stayed longer after we got the body out from under the train. Legwork. Questions. The dead man, Adam Trepple, the Bronx. Inquiries. He's married, three children. Managed a supermarket. More inquiry. No motive for his murder. No one wanted him dead. Everybody said so.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Johnny. Brought you a thermos of coffee.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Thanks.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

And this envelope just came for you.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Special delivery. Marked personal.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Mm.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Give it to me.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Like the last time.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Like the last time. Newspaper picture. This is a treble under the subway train with the crowd around.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Uh huh.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Look at him. And look at this one. The first one I got when Edgar Dale was stabbed. Crowd. Why do people always hang around other people's hurt?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I'll pour you some coffee. You want coffee, Johnny?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Yeah, yeah.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Here. Here you are, Johnny. Johnny what?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

This man standing here in the picture, right up front of the crowd around Edgar Dale. This man here.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Not very clear.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

So the other picture, the one on the subway. This man, also in the front row

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

of the crowd, also not very clear.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

So look at him, will you?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I'm looking.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Hey. The same man, Reardon. The same man in both pictures.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I won't say no.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Me neither. Because it's the same. It could have been a coincidence. It could have just happened that way. One chance at 50,000, then 100,000. A thousand thousand. But it could have happened. One man, a part of a crowd, having his picture taken as a spectator of violent death on a crowded street in a subway. One man pushing his way to the front of the crowd to have his picture taken. Just because it happened to him twice in the same day. By some sly smile of fortune, it was arranged for two people to die just where he happened to be. Just where there was a man with a camera to take a picture, too. A picture that would give him a. In his neighborhood, make people look up to him. Don't tell me how it was. He was there twice. Then there was the other chance that he was the murderer. That's the one a policeman had to put his money on. He could do that by talking to a man he knew in a newspaper office. Man in charge of the morgue. Man named Marty Powell.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

You slumming, Lieutenant?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Don't you ever open a window in here, Marty?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Who wants fresh air? Fresh air is for the bird. You don't like it here?

[Narrator/Host]

Go away.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Still sour, Marty?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

You come from out there? Anything happen to it out there just before you came in? No, I didn't think so. When it does, when it dries up and blows away out there, I might sweeten up if I feel like it. What can I do for you, Lieutenant?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

I want to look at some pictures.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Don't we all?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Pictures where people were killed.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Look, Lieutenant, I got files and files of those to the ceiling, see? Be more explicit. How were they killed?

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

Accident.

[Narrator/Host]

War.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

By a wife, a jealous lover? Suicide. Stop me anytime you like. I tire easy. Unloaded revolver.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Well, it's hard to explain, Marty, but pictures like these local.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Let me see. Mm. Pictures like unsolved murders, huh, Lieutenant? Where the killing was violent. Too violent for you boys to solve. I'll get some for you.

[Captain Hollis]

I know.

[Narrator/Host]

He explained.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

How far back was that?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Two, three years maybe.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I was afraid of that. Here you are. I made a selection for you. The most artistic, the most captivating. Several of these won prizes.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

We are very proud of.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

This one, for example. To your taste?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Mm.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Mm.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Let's see some more.

[Officer directing crowd]

This one.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Hold that one out, Marty.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Not the one with the guy who fell out of the window or the other one?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

The window. I'll see some more.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

You've been here for two hours, Lieutenant. I told you I couldn't tire. Easy.

[Narrator/Host]

More.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Okay, that one. I'll take these. These two. Goodbye, Marty. You ready on that protector, Reardon?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Huh?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Pull the screen down. Okay. Turn out the lights. That's how. The first one. This is a picture of a man pulled out of the river. He was shot. This picture was taken in December 1948. Notice the crowd. Notice this spectator, the one in the front row, not wearing a hat. Let's have number two. A picture of a man who was pushed or fell out of a window from a 10 story building. June this year. Again, notice the crowd and the man in the right hand corner of the crowd being pushed back by a policeman. Our on the slides are the ones we had made from the newspaper clippings. The crowd around Edgar Dale. Notice that man up front on the end. Okay. The crowd around Adam Trepel. Notice the fourth man down in the front row. What do you think, Reardon?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

They're all the same man.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

You sure?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

The same man.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

It took an hour for the newspapers to hit the streets with a front page picture of a man wanted for murder. A man in the crowd who for two or three years had quietly committed murder. Four killings to our knowledge. Now we knew what he looked like, what went on inside his mind. He liked to kill. He liked to stand with a crowd over his. Killed with the crowd. Like to see death up close.

[Lavinia Nebs]

That man is my Husband?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Where's your husband now?

[Crowd Member]

He's in bed. He pretends he's an invalid. Been lying there for five years. But I know he sneaks out at night when I'm asleep. Been waiting on him hand and foot for five years. And I know he's only pretending.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

We checked it. The man was an invalid. Paralyzed.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Then I'm the man. I'm the man you want.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I did all those killings.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

This picture of you we have. You don't look the same. You've changed.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

That's right, I've changed. I change all the time.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Don't you think that's clever of me?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Yes, it is. Will you wait here a moment? Riordan?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

What is it, Johnny?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

There's a man in my office. Take him to the psycho ward for observation. Johnny Stilano speaking.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Please, can you come here quickly?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Who is this?

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

I'm Mrs. James Shirley. I. I have a rooming house at 1216 East 38.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What is it you want, Mrs. Shirley?

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

The man whose picture's in the paper, the man you're looking for. He has a room in my house.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Is he there now?

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

No, but I expect him home any minute. Please, will you come quickly?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Right.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

His name is Charles Turner, Mr. Solano. At least that's what he told me it was. He's been living here for the past seven years. I don't know much more about him than that. He comes and he goes.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Take me to his room, Mrs. Shirley.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Yeah, right down the hall. Turn on the light. This is his room.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

These pictures on the wall. A man in a subway, on a street corner. A man who fell out of a building.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Yes. They all belong to Mr. Turner. He hung them on the wall. I never asked him what'll happen now.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Do you have a room near the front of the house?

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

My room.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

We'll wait for Mr.

[Lavinia Nebs]

It's just a llano.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Don't worry about a thing. I'll get it.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Johnny. What are you looking at me like that for?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

I told you to wait in a squad car.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Well, call just come through. A guy's holding our killer.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Yeah, a greasy spoon lunchroom down the corner.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Mr. Turner always eats right down the corner.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

The guy who runs the joint phoned in that our man is eating his supper there right now.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Let's go.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Hey, there's a crowd. That's funny. The street was deserted less than a minute ago.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Let's go.

[Crowd Member]

All right, let us through here.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Police officers. Let us through.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What happened to you? You. You police? That's right.

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

I own this place.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

He saw me making the phone call ran out.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

I ran after him.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

He had a knife and. He's dead, Reardon. Huh?

[Narrator/Host]

Johnny.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

He's not.

[Crowd Member]

He just fainted.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

I said he's dead. Will one of you people in the crowd go in this store and call an ambulance? This man's dead.

[Crowd Member]

Let me through. Let me through.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

That's him, Johnny.

[Crowd Member]

This man, is he dead?

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

What happened to him? Anybody know what happened?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Would you like to see him, mister? Would you like to see him up close?

[Mrs. Morris]

Play. Why, I.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

The photographers will be here in a few minutes. Why don't you stick around and have your picture taken, Mr. Turner?

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Well, you're wrong. My name is not Turner.

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

I just wanted to know whether the

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

man was dead, that's all. I. I want to get out of here.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Come back here, Turner.

[Narrator/Host]

Come back here, Johnny.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Yep.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Let's go. Dead. Johnny. Look at him. Look at him.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Yeah. Here comes the crowd.

[Crowd Member]

Is he dead? Get out of my way.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

I want to see.

[Crowd Member]

I want to see. Did he really die? Huh?

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

I want to see him.

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

Suspense presented by Autolight. Tonight's star, Dana Andrews.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Say, Will Cracks, your tailor has a lot of satisfied customers, huh?

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

Yes, Hap. But nowhere near the hundreds of thousands Autolite satisfies each year. Because AutoLight makes over 400 products for cars, trucks, planes and boats in its 28 plants from coast to coast. These include complete electrical systems used as original equipment on many of America's finest cars. Generators, coils, distributors, voltage regulators, wire and cable, starting motors and electric windshield wipers. All engineered to work together perfectly as part of the Autolite team. All engineered to give you unexcelled auto light service. Don't accept electrical parts supposed to be as good. Ask for and insist on Autolite original factory parts at your neighborhood service station, car dealer, garage or repair shop. Remember, you're always right with Autolight.

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

Next week on suspense, Mr. Joseph Cotton as star of Fly by Night. And in the weeks to come, you will hear such famous stars as Miriam Hopkins, Milton Berle and Howard Duff, all appearing in tales well calculated. To keep you in suspense,

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

tonight's suspense play was produced and directed by Elliot Lewis with music composed by Lucian Morowek and conducted by Lud Bluskin. Parts of this program were transcribed. The Crowd by Ray Bradbury was adapted for suspense by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. Dana Andrews appeared through the courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn. He may currently be seen in the Goldwyn production Edge of Doom.

[Announcer (Autolite Sponsor)]

And remember, next week on suspense, Mr. Joseph Cotton in Fly by Night.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

You can buy world famous Autolite resistor or standard Spark plugs, Autolite staple batteries. Autolite electrical parts at your neighborhood Autolite dealers. Switch to Autolite. Good night.

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

[Announcer (Zero Hour introduction)]

And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. Tonight, suspense brings you a repeat process performance of one of the most controversial plays ever presented over your radio. It is called Zero Hour by Ray Bradbury. After the initial performance, a great number of letters were received. Some comments were highly complimentary, and an almost equal number were not. However, because so many of you did write asking to hear this provocative work of fiction again, we present it and hope that those of you who have not heard it before will write us your opinion. So now, starring Ms. Isa Ashdown, here is tonight's suspense play, Zero Hour.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

What a game. Such excitement. They hadn't known in years. Mink talked earnestly to someone near the rose bush, though no one was there. Then the two little girls shouting, laughing at each other. Such fun, such tremulous joy. Mink ran into the house, all dirt and sweat. For her few years, she was loud and strong and definitely. And her mother, Mrs. Morris, peeling vegetables at the sink, watched with amusement as her daughter threw into a sack old pots and tools and things which were relegated to child play.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, my goodness. Mink, what's going on?

[Mink]

Oh, the most exciting game ever. Just ever. Oh, it's all right. I take these things, Mom.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, just don't dent them and it's all right.

[Mink]

Thanks, Mom. We won't. Bye.

[Mrs. Morris]

All right, dear. Oh, what's the name of the game, dear?

[Crowd Member]

Invasion.

[Mrs. Morris]

Invasion.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

Invasion. And in the garden now, a serious concentration. Mink with an assortment of pots, pans and wrenches, forks, spoons. And her friend Anna, a little younger, tongue in teeth, taking notes on a pad.

[Mink]

This, this and this. What's it say? Next.

[Crowd Member]

Wait a minute, Mink.

[Mink]

Well, hurry up. 4, 9, 7, A&B and X. 4, 9, 7, a&b and X. A fork and a string and a hex.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Hex.

[Mink]

Hexagonal. A fork and a string and a hexagonal. What do we do next, Mr. Drill?

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

And then Mink talking to the rose bush again. And to her own satisfaction at least, receiving some kind of answer, which she relayed to Anna.

[Mink]

Triangle. How do you spell it? Oh, any old way. Doesn't matter. Now write beam. I haven't got triangle yet. Well, hurry. Zero hours by 5:00'. Clock. We haven't got all.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

Then timeout from Invasion. For lunch, Mink bolted down the soup and coincidentally crammed a sandwich into her mouth.

[Mrs. Morris]

Now you slow Down, Mink. Whatever's waiting will wait a few minutes longer.

[Mink]

But I can't. Drill's waiting for me.

[Mrs. Morris]

Drill? That's a peculiar name. Is he a new boy in the neighborhood, dear?

[Mink]

He's new all right.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, I don't think I've ever seen him. Which one is Drill?

[Mink]

Oh, he's just around. You'll make fun. Everybody makes fun. All the kids do.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, I don't think that's very nice. Is Drill shy?

[Mink]

Yes, in a way. I don't know. I gotta go now, Mama, if we're gonna have the invasion.

[Mrs. Morris]

Now you finish your milk, miss. Who's invading? What?

[Mink]

Martians. Invading Earth from up there.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, I see. And Drilled a Martian?

[Mink]

I think so. He's had a very hard time getting here.

[Mrs. Morris]

I should imagine they couldn't figure out

[Mink]

a way to attack Earth, how to get in or something. And Drill says they have to do it by surprise. And even get help from your enemy.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, a fifth column, huh?

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Uh huh.

[Mink]

In all this time, they haven't been able to figure out how to attack. Until one day they thought of children.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, that was bright of them.

[Mink]

And they thought of how grown ups are so busy they never look under rose bushes or on lawns.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, that's where Drill is now. Under the rose bush.

[Narrator/Host]

Uh huh.

[Mink]

With all his friends, too. And there's something about kids under 11 with imagination. It's real funny to hear Drill talk now.

[Mrs. Morris]

It must be. You better run along out if you want to have your invasion before dark. Oh, and bath tonight, school tomorrow.

[Mink]

You know, Drill says I won't have to take any more baths.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, he does, does he?

[Mink]

And we can stay up till 10 o'.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Clock.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, your friend, Mr. Drill had better mind his P's and Q's or I'm going to call up his mother.

[Mink]

That's just it. Drill says you're dangerous because you don't believe in Martians. Just like you think. Drill's a kid. Well, he's not. And they're gonna let us run the world when they get in. All of us kids. And I might even be queen.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, that's nice, dear. Now run along.

[Crowd Member]

Mom.

[Mrs. Morris]

What is it, dear?

[Mink]

Mom, when the invasion comes, we'll have to get rid of you and Daddy. But I'll be sure it won't hurt very much.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, thanks. Thanks a lot. Hello?

[Crowd Member]

Hello, Mary.

[Helen]

How are things in New York?

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, Helen, how nice. Are you in town?

[Helen]

Oh, no, I've been Danbury. I was just thinking of you and thought I'd call.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, it's long distance, though. You shouldn't.

[Helen]

Oh, I can afford three minutes.

[Mink]

How's Henry?

[Mrs. Morris]

Fine. And Bill?

[Helen]

Oh, just fine.

[Lavinia Nebs]

What about Mink?

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, wonderful. Noisier than ever. Oh, she's got a new game now. It's taken the place of Hopscotch invasion.

[Helen]

Is she playing that too?

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, yes. Are yours?

[Helen]

Same thing. Some kind of geometric jacks, I suppose. Isn't it a scream?

[Mrs. Morris]

You know, all the kids their age

[Helen]

are playing it up here. Timmy's got a crush on some guy named Drill. I think that's what it is.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, it must be a new password. Mink likes him too.

[Helen]

I didn't know it got to New York. Word of mouth, I suppose. You know kids.

[Mrs. Morris]

Funniest thing.

[Helen]

I got a letter from my sister in Boston. She says her kids are playing it too. It's just sweeping the country.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, I. I wonder where they learned it.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Hmm.

[Helen]

Don't ask me. All I know is what Timmy told me at lunch. Zero hours at five o'.

[Narrator/Host]

Clock.

[Mrs. Morris]

When? Today.

[Helen]

That's when the invasion's gonna be. Oh, these kids and their imagination.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

And they talked a little more. Schoolgirl friends, casual woman talk. Mrs. Morris was thoughtful. She was thinking of other things. Of adults, of children with imagination, rose bushes, dimensions. She thought of how much she had forgotten about being a child. And she wondered about Mink and all the kids who were at that moment playing invasion.

[Helen]

Kiss from Mink.

[Mrs. Morris]

I will. And to Bill and the kids.

[Helen]

Thanks.

[Mink]

Bye.

[Mrs. Morris]

Goodbye.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

An hour drowsed by. It was 3 o'. Clock. There was an occasional hum inside the coolness of the house as a car passed outside. The street was lined with good green and peaceful trees. And all across the city, in other gardens, in other places, children under 11 were excitedly playing a game, talking to rose bushes and grass, lawns, trees and shrubs. Even children in apartment houses, high in the air, conferring with potted plants, cactus and ivy. Mrs. Morris finished her housework and went to the kitchen.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, hello, dear.

[Mink]

Hi, Mom.

[Crowd Member]

Can I have a glass of water?

[Mrs. Morris]

Course. I'll get it.

[Mink]

PI r squared 27a over 56 to the 7th degree XT 7. What, dear? Oh, nothing, Mom.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, here you are.

[Mink]

Thanks.

[Mrs. Morris]

How are things going? Huh? The invasion.

[Mink]

Oh, that.

[Mrs. Morris]

Yes, that.

[Mink]

Almost finished. When everything's right, Drill said we should be ready on time.

[Mrs. Morris]

Five o'?

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Clock?

[Crowd Member]

That's right.

[Mink]

How'd you know?

[Mrs. Morris]

Helen called me from Danbury. She says that Timmy's playing it too.

[Mink]

Hey, that's keen.

[Mrs. Morris]

I guess all the kids are, aren't they?

[Mink]

No, not all of Them, not guys like Jimmy Wood and Bob Wilson. They're growing up and they make fun of us. They're worse than parents. They just won't believe in Drill. They're so smart. Just because they're growing up, you'd think they'd know better. They were little only a couple years ago. Well, we'll get rid of them first. Drill says it's okay to kill them first.

[Mrs. Morris]

Minka, I don't like that kind of talk. Do you hear me? I don't like it at all.

[Mink]

No, I mean it.

[Mrs. Morris]

You keep on that way, and there'll be no more playing. You'll have to tell Anna to go home. And you'll stay inside until bedtime.

[Mink]

I'm sorry.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, I should think so.

[Mink]

Thanks for the water, Mom.

[Mrs. Morris]

Mink.

[Mink]

Yes, Ma?

[Mrs. Morris]

What did those. Those numbers mean?

[Mink]

What numbers?

[Mrs. Morris]

Those numbers you were saying to yourself before.

[Mink]

Oh, that. The other things we have to do to get Grill and his friends out. That's all.

[Mrs. Morris]

Look, dear, why don't you and Anna go down to the drugstore and get some ice cream? You don't even have to use your allowance. I'll pay for it.

[Mink]

Haven't got time, Mom. Thanks.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, I. I'd never believe I'd hear you say that.

[Mink]

I gotta go now, Mom.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, wait a minute, Mink. I want you to tell me the truth. What is this invasion silliness?

[Mink]

It isn't silly. It's just a game, that's all. Mom. We're just playing an invasion. Excuse me. I gotta get back now. I'll see you later.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

It was a game called Invasion. Mrs. Morris, little girl Mink was playing it. So was Mink's friend Anna and all the other children under 11. It was called Invasion. And zero hour was to be at five o'.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Clock.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

Mrs. Morris was disturbed. She wasn't sure why, but there was something. Something about parents shutting ears and eyes to what was happening. And because she was disturbed, she did something she didn't usually do. She called her husband at the office.

[Mr. Morris]

Hello, dear.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, hello, Henry. I'm sorry to bother you, but Ms. Maxson said you weren't busy.

[Mr. Morris]

Oh, not to. I should be able to get home early today. Everything all right?

[Mrs. Morris]

Yes.

[Narrator/Host]

You all right?

[Mrs. Morris]

I'm fine.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Mink?

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, she's. Henry.

[Narrator/Host]

What?

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, nothing. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute, that's all.

[Mr. Morris]

Listen, are you sure you're all right?

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, yes.

[Mr. Morris]

Mink been getting on your nerves?

[Mrs. Morris]

Not really.

[Mr. Morris]

You tell her to behave, or when I come home, she and I are going to Have a talk. As a matter of fact, she's been a little fresh lately, and I don't think it's good.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, she's playing outside. She's fine.

[Mr. Morris]

Honey, is something wrong?

[Mrs. Morris]

Why, Noah, I told you. I was just thinking about you and wanted to talk, that's all. Nothing wrong with that.

[Mr. Morris]

Not a thing.

[Mrs. Morris]

You go back to your work, dear. I'll see you soon.

[Narrator/Host]

All right.

[Mrs. Morris]

What time do you think you'll be home?

[Narrator/Host]

Oh, about five.

[Mr. Morris]

Maybe a little earlier.

[Mrs. Morris]

Five? Oh.

[Mr. Briggs]

Hey.

[Narrator/Host]

What?

[Mr. Morris]

Come on.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What?

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, I. I was just thinking. Nothing really. Just Mink and you and me. Goodbye, dear.

[Mr. Morris]

You are okay, aren't you?

[Mrs. Morris]

Yes, I'm fine. Goodbye.

[Mr. Morris]

Goodbye.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

Another hour passed and it was half past four. The day began to wane. The sun lowered in the peaceful blue sky. Shadows lengthened on the green lawn. Outside, it was quiet, the two little girls more intent than ever upon their endless movement of design and pattern with the implements before them. Mrs. Morris watched from the window, and she had never known Mink to have such powers of concentration. She had turned on the radio and sat drinking a couple of of coffee and turned over her thoughts.

[Mrs. Morris]

Children, children, children love and hate side by side sometimes. Children love you, hate you all in half a second. Strange children. Do they ever forget or forgive the whippings and the harsh, strict words of command? I wonder, I wonder how can you forget or forgive those over and above you, Those tall, silly dictators, those parents.

[Crowd Member]

Mom.

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, what is it, dear?

[Mink]

Have we got a piece of lead pipe and a hammer?

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, I don't know. They might be in the garage. What do you want them for?

[Mink]

We just need them.

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, if you tell me what for, dear, maybe I can.

[Mink]

Thanks, Mom.

[Mrs. Morris]

Is something wrong?

[Mink]

Grill stuck halfway. If we get him all the way through, it'd be easier and all the others could come through after him.

[Mrs. Morris]

But can I help?

[Mink]

Thanks, Mom. I can fix it.

[Mrs. Morris]

You better get through, Mink. I want you to take your bath before your father comes home.

[Mink]

All right?

[Mrs. Morris]

Now he's coming home early. And Mink.

[Crowd Member]

Mink.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

Mink had disappeared behind the shrubs. And Mrs. Morris knew it was ridiculous to make an issue of it. Besides, what was the issue? Invasion drill, Zero hour. Unaccountably, a cool breeze came up and although normally for that time of year would have been relief, Mrs. Morris felt a chill. She closed the window. Time passed. A curious waiting silence came upon the street, deepening. Then, from the living room, Mrs. Morris heard. Five o'. Clock. Zero hour. Zero hour. It had come and now it had gone. But was the clock right. And Mrs. Morris, knowing how foolish it was, knowing it, went to the phone and dialed.

[Mrs. Morris]

Silly. It's silly.

[Helen]

When you hear the tone, the time will be exactly 4:50.4 and 20 seconds.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

04:54 and 20 seconds. And Mrs. Morris knew that it wasn't as silly as she had thought. Because it wasn't five o' clock yet, not zero hour yet. Then the car drove up into the driveway.

[Narrator/Host]

Hi.

[Autolite Salesman (Wilcox)]

Me.

[Mr. Morris]

How's it going?

[Narrator/Host]

Hi, Anna.

[Mink]

Hi, Daddy. Hi, Mr. Morris.

[Mr. Morris]

Got a kiss for your old man?

[Mink]

Haven't got time now, Daddy.

[Mr. Morris]

Well, that's a nice thing. What are you doing?

[Mink]

We're playing invasion.

[Mr. Morris]

Your mother in the house?

[Captain Hollis]

Uh huh. Okay.

[Narrator/Host]

Be good.

[Mink]

I will. There are in a few minutes, Daddy.

[Officer Kennedy]

All right. I'll be ready.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

Misses Morris heard him chuckle. Then he stepped up the walk to the front door.

[Narrator/Host]

Mary?

[Mrs. Morris]

I'm. I'm in the living room, dear.

[Mr. Morris]

Oh, hi. Our daughter didn't have time for a kiss.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

How about you?

[Mrs. Morris]

A hard day?

[Mr. Morris]

Not particularly.

[Mrs. Morris]

Would you like a cocktail?

[Mr. Morris]

Oh, you read my mind.

[Mrs. Morris]

Martini?

[Narrator/Host]

Perfect.

[Mr. Morris]

Anything exciting happen today?

[Mrs. Morris]

No. Oh, Helen called from Danbury. I told her she was crazy, but she just felt like calling.

[Mr. Morris]

Like you calling me this afternoon. Crazy, huh?

[Narrator/Host]

What was that all about?

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, I told you, I. I just wanted to.

[Mr. Morris]

Hey, incidentally, what's this new game the kids are playing? Invasion. That's a nice, depressing thought.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Is she all right?

[Mr. Morris]

Come to think of it, she looked kind of funny.

[Mrs. Morris]

She's all right. What's the time, Henry?

[Mr. Morris]

A couple of minutes after five. Why?

[Mrs. Morris]

No, no, the clock's wrong by your watch.

[Mr. Morris]

Oh, I've got two minutes too. I'm probably slow. You got something on the stove?

[Mrs. Morris]

No, I just wondered.

[Mr. Morris]

Honey. Hey, look at me.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

What's the matter?

[Crowd Member]

Nothing.

[Mrs. Morris]

Really. No, really.

[Mr. Morris]

Mink's been up to something.

[Lavinia Nebs]

No, of course not.

[Mrs. Morris]

I guess I'm a little tired. Upset, that's all.

[Mr. Morris]

You want to go out for dinner?

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, no, I. I've got a steak here.

[Mr. Morris]

I'll tell you what, I'll barbecue it. How'll that be?

[Mrs. Morris]

Oh, fine. What? What was that?

[Mr. Morris]

What?

[Mrs. Morris]

Well, I. I thought I heard something.

[Mr. Morris]

Well, I didn't.

[Mrs. Morris]

I. I must have been imagining it.

[Mr. Morris]

Hey, you are jumpy. Why don't you have a drink?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

It'll do you good.

[Mrs. Morris]

No, I don't want one.

[Crowd Member]

What's the time, Mary?

[Mr. Morris]

What is this now?

[Crowd Member]

I mean it.

[Mr. Morris]

Something's wrong and I want to know.

[Mrs. Morris]

It's silly. It's so silly. I'm on edge, that's all.

[Narrator/Host]

Mary, I am.

[Mr. Morris]

I Don't like this. That kid's done something, hasn't she? I'm gonna get her in.

[Mrs. Morris]

No, no, Henry, please don't.

[Crowd Member]

She. She hasn't. It's nothing at all.

[Mrs. Morris]

I just.

[Narrator/Host]

What's that?

[Mrs. Morris]

I. I don't know.

[Mr. Morris]

Those kids haven't got anything dangerous out there, have they? I noticed a lot of junk lying around.

[Mrs. Morris]

I thought it was a game. She wouldn't have done it herself. They made her do it.

[Narrator/Host]

What the devil.

[Mrs. Morris]

Maybe you better go out and tell them to stop playing now.

[Crowd Member]

It's after five. You tell Mink to put off the invasion until tomorrow.

[Mr. Morris]

Tell her it is coming from outside. What are they up to?

[Crowd Member]

I better take a look. Mink. Mink.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Good luck.

[Crowd Member]

Bombs. Bombs. They're falling. No, it's upstairs. I know it is. In the attic, that's where it is. Mary, Marion is not up there. Mary.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

He ran after her, confused. Not a little frightened. She seemed to know something.

[Mrs. Morris]

In the attic. That's where it is.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

Her mind had worked that quickly. Any excuse to get him away from the outside, to get him upstairs to the attic in time. And outside there were more explosions and they could hear the children screaming with delight.

[Narrator/Host]

It is not in the attic.

[Mr. Morris]

It's outside.

[Crowd Member]

Minks.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Out there.

[Crowd Member]

What's the matter with you? No, no. I'll show you. Hurry.

[Mrs. Morris]

Get inside.

[Crowd Member]

Quick.

[Mrs. Morris]

Now we're safe until tonight.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

Are you crazy?

[Crowd Member]

Why did you throw that key away?

[Mrs. Morris]

Maybe we can sneak out later. Maybe we can escape.

[Crowd Member]

For heaven's sake, the kid's out there. Do you want her to get.

[Helen]

I don't know.

[Crowd Member]

You don't? We've got to stay here. We've got to.

[Captain Hollis]

It's horrible.

[Crowd Member]

We've got to. You've got to stay here with me. At this point, I don't know how the devil I can get out. Where is that light? Oh, be quiet. Please be quiet. They'll hear us still. Find us. Henry, please.

[Narrator/Host]

Well, who's going to answer the telephone?

[Mr. Morris]

There's that noise again.

[Crowd Member]

It's in this house. Mary, what is this? Mary, what's happening? You know now. Answer me. Stop it, Mary. Stop it. Somebody's downstairs. Who's down there? Who?

[Captain Hollis]

Oh, no.

[Crowd Member]

No, no, no, no, no. Oh, hush, please. Please be quiet. They might go away. Please.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Please.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

And between his wife's terror and the electric humming from below, Mr. Morris felt a great fear. They trembled together in silence in the attic. Mr. And Mrs. Morris Par. Then they heard steps coming up the stairs and a voice.

[Mink]

Mommy, Daddy, where are you?

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

And a queer, cold light became visible under the door crack. The strange odor and the alien sound of eagerness in Mink's voice was almost more than they could bear. Each wanted to scream,

[Crowd Member]

mommy. Daddy.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

And another sound, and the attic lock melted.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Mink.

[Narrator (Zero Hour segment)]

Mink, with bright little eyes and tousled hair, peered inside and behind her tall, wavering blue shadows, frightful shadows.

[Announcer (Zero Hour introduction)]

Suspense, in which Ms. Eza Ashdown starred in tonight's presentation of Zero Hour. Next week, Suspense will bring you the story of a bomb and the man who carried it to its ultimate destination. We call it the Lunch Kit. Be sure to listen to Lunch Kit next week on Suspense. Suspense is produced and directed by Anthony Ellis. Tonight's script was written by Ray Bradbury and adapted by Mr. Ellis. The music was composed by Leif Stevens and Lucian Morowic and conducted by Wilbur Hatch. Featured in the cast were Parley Bear, Paula Winslow, Eve McVeigh, John Dana and Beverly Hanley. Sound patterns were by Bill James and Ray Kay Kemper.

[Officer Kennedy]

This is the CBS Radio Network. And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. Tonight, the story of terror in the streets. We call it the Whole Town Sleeping. So now, starring Ms. Jeanette Nolan, here is tonight's suspense play, written by Ray Bradbury. The Whole Town Sleeping.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

It was a warm spring. It was a summer night in the middle of Illinois country. The little town was deep, far away from everything, kept to itself by a river and a forest and a ravine. In the town, the sidewalks were still scorched. The stores were closing and the streets were turning dark. Screen doors whined their springs and banged. And there was the sound of Grandma Hanlon's swing hammock. Across the street, on her solitary porch, lavinia nebs, age 37, very straight and slim, sat with a tinkling lemonade in her white fingers, tapping it to her lips, waiting.

[Crowd Member]

Here I am, Lavinia.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

Lavinia turned. There was Francine at the bottom porch step. She was was all in snow white and didn't look 35.

[Lavinia Nebs]

I won't be a minute, Francine. I'll just lock the door.

[Mink]

All right.

[Crowd Member]

Oh, I do like your dress, dear.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Why, thank you, dear.

[Crowd Member]

You look so well in that color. I'm afraid I could never wear it. It makes me look sallow. No, it doesn't.

[Lavinia Nebs]

I'm sure not. Of course, I've always loved you in white.

[Crowd Member]

Evening, ladies.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Good evening, Mrs. Hanlon.

[Crowd Member]

Good evening. Where are you ladies going all dressed up so pretty?

[Lavinia Nebs]

To the Majestic Theater, Mrs. Hanlon.

[Crowd Member]

Robert Mitchum's playing and not as a stranger. Won't catch me out on a night like this. Not with the lonely ones strangling women. Lock myself in with my gun. That's what I'm going to do.

[Lavinia Nebs]

I wouldn't worry, Mrs. Hanlon.

[Crowd Member]

What about Eliza Ramsel? You think she's not worrying? Lock myself in with my gum. That's what you ladies and gentlemen should do.

[Lavinia Nebs]

So silly. Silly old woman.

[Crowd Member]

Lavinia, you. You don't believe all that gossip about

[Lavinia Nebs]

the lonely one, do you? A lot of silly old women who haven't got anything better to do than talk.

[Crowd Member]

Well, just the same. Hattie McDull was killed a month ago.

[Lavinia Nebs]

And Roberta Fairy the month before. And now Eliza Ramsel disappearing. Eliza Ramsel walked off of the. The traveling man, I bet.

[Crowd Member]

But the others.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Strangle. Oh, Francine.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

They reached the edge of the ravine that cut the town in two. Stood there. Behind them were the lighted houses ahead. Deepness, moistness, fireflies and dark. The ravine had to be crossed to reach the movies. Deep and black as it cut into the hills. Then a creaking bridge to cross over the stream. Then 113 steps up the steep and bramble bank to the other side. The ladies stood there looking down.

[Crowd Member]

It won't be me coming back tonight, Lavinia. It'll be you. Oh, I'd never, never walk there alone at night. Never.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Bosh.

[Crowd Member]

Well, you can say bosh, but it'll be you alone on the path, not me. Oh, Lavinia, I do wish you didn't live on this side. Don't you get lonely living by yourself in that house?

[Lavinia Nebs]

Old maid love to live alone. Come on. We'll take the shortcut.

[Crowd Member]

I'm afraid. Oh, come on.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Don't be so silly. I'll hold your hand.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

Lavinia, cool as mint ice cream, took the other woman's arm and led her down the dark, winding path into cricket warmth and frog sound and mosquito. Delicate silence.

[Crowd Member]

Let's run, Lavinia. Please.

[Shoemaker Gilbert]

No.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Why should we?

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

If Lavinia hadn't turned her head just then, she wouldn't have seen it. But she did turn her head. And it was there. Back among a clump of bushes half hidden but laid out as if she had put herself there to enjoy the soft stars. Lay Eliza Ramsel, her face moon freckled her eyes like white marble. Then Francine saw it too. And the women stood on the path for a frozen second not believing what they saw. Lavinia held Francine and the policemen were all around in the ravine grass. Flashlights darted about. Voices Mingled. And the night grew on toward 8:30.

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

You didn't move her ladies, of course?

[Crowd Member]

Oh, no. We couldn't touch her. How could we?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

And there was nobody. You didn't hear anything?

[Captain Hollis]

Sounds?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Anything unusual?

[Lavinia Nebs]

No, nothing.

[Crowd Member]

It's. It's the lonely one, isn't it? He did it, didn't he?

[Elliot Becker / Marty Powell]

Couldn't say, ma'.

[Mrs. James Shirley / Female Caller]

Am.

[Crowd Member]

We. We knew her, you know. She was a friend of ours.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

I'm sorry.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Well, I'll have one of my men walk across the ravine.

[Lavinia Nebs]

That won't be necessary. Thank you very much. We'll be all right.

[Crowd Member]

Oh, Lavinia.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Come along, dear.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

And they crossed the ravine, each with her own thoughts, fears and the creek waters under the bridge whispered, I'm the lonely one. I'm the lonely one. I kill people. Then they were at the top of the stairs and bathed in safe light from the street lamp.

[Crowd Member]

I've never seen a dead person before.

[Lavinia Nebs]

It's only a little after 8:30. We'll pick up Helen and get on to the show.

[Crowd Member]

The show? Oh, Lavinia, you don't mean it.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Of course I do. We've got to forget this. It's not good to remember.

[Crowd Member]

But Eliza's back there.

[Lavinia Nebs]

We need to laugh. We've got to pretend that nothing happened Happened.

[Crowd Member]

But she was our friend.

[Lavinia Nebs]

We can't help her. There's no good brooding about it. I'm going to get it out of my mind, and you should too. Now, if we hurry, we won't miss too much.

[Crowd Member]

I thought you'd never come.

[Lavinia Nebs]

You're an hour late.

[Crowd Member]

Well, we.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Someone found Eliza Ramsel dead in the ravine.

[Crowd Member]

Oh, no. Eliza? Who found her?

[Lavinia Nebs]

We don't know.

[Crowd Member]

How awful. Did you see her? Was it terrible?

[Lavinia Nebs]

Let's not talk about it.

[Crowd Member]

Oh, I really think I should lock myself in my house.

[Lavinia Nebs]

I don't think we better go tonight. Of course we will. It's the last showing today. Besides, the lonely one can't kill three ladies. There's safety in numbers. Anyway, it's.

[Crowd Member]

It's too soon.

[Lavinia Nebs]

The murders come a month separated. Come along, Helen.

[Crowd Member]

Well, I'll get a sweater. You wait for me. Why didn't you tell her about us finding Eliza?

[Lavinia Nebs]

Why upset her? Time enough. Tomorrow, I told you.

[Crowd Member]

Tonight.

[Lavinia Nebs]

We've got to forget. We're going to the show and let's not talk about it anymore. Enough. Enough.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

The ladies walked downtown and stopped at the drugstore which was a few doors from the theater. Lavinia bought a quarter's worth of green mint chews and the druggist dropped the Mints into a sack with a silver shovel.

[Mr. Briggs]

You looked mighty cool this noon, Miss Lavinia, when you was in. So cool and nice. Someone asked after you. Oh, yeah. Man sitting at the counter. He watched you walk out, and he says to me, who's that? Just like that, he says it. Why, that's Lavinia, Neb's prettiest maiden lady in town. I says, beautiful. He says, beautiful. Where she live?

[Crowd Member]

You did? You didn't give him her address? I hope you didn't.

[Mr. Briggs]

Well, maybe I shouldn't have. I didn't give him the exact address. I said over on Park Street. You know, near the ravine. Kind of casual. I'm sorry.

[Crowd Member]

What did he look like?

[Mr. Briggs]

Oh, not much, I guess. Wore a dark suit, tail kind of thin. Probably nothing but a stranger passing through. I'm sorry, Ms. Lavinia. There's no charge for the peppermint.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Don't be silly, Mr. Briggs.

[Crowd Member]

Well, I know what we're going to do right now. We're going straight home. That man asking after you. You're next, Lavinia. You want to be dead in that ravine?

[Lavinia Nebs]

It was just a man, that's all.

[Crowd Member]

It doesn't mean a thing.

[Mr. Briggs]

That's what I figure. Nothing to worry about.

[Crowd Member]

Nothing to worry about.

[Lavinia Nebs]

I'm not going to miss the movie. You two can do what you want. I'm going.

[Crowd Member]

Well, I think we should all go home.

[Mrs. Morris]

So do I.

[Crowd Member]

She's right, Lavinia.

[Lavinia Nebs]

No, she's not.

[Crowd Member]

Yes, she is.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

They argued for five minutes. Then the three of them went to the theater. Francine and Helen, reluctantly. Lavinia, head high, self possessed, cool. In the auditorium, they sat in the odor of ancient brass polish, waiting for the second show to begin. And the lights began to f.

[Crowd Member]

As we came in, a man in a dark suit followed us. He was thin. I think he had a pale face. He just came in and he's sitting behind us. What? What?

[Lavinia Nebs]

Oh, Helen.

[Crowd Member]

What man? Behind us. It's the one Mr. Briggs said was in the drug store behind. Find us now. Oh, I'm calling the manager. It's him. Oh, stop the movie. Stop it. Put on a light. It's the murderer. The lonely one. He's here. Put on the light.

[Narrator/Host]

Light.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

The drugstore clocks at 11:25. They'd come out of the theater feeling new. And now they were laughing at Francine. And Francine was laughing at herself.

[Lavinia Nebs]

You see how silly it was? All that riot for nothing.

[Crowd Member]

When you went running up the aisles, grieving lights. Honestly, I thought I'd die. Oh, that Poor man. The theater manager's brother from Racine. Oh, Francie. Well, I did apologize. No.

[Lavinia Nebs]

You see what a panic can do, and all for nothing.

[Crowd Member]

We shouldn't have stopped for sodas, though.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Wasn't that a wonderful picture?

[Crowd Member]

Will you ever forget?

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

The streets were clean and empty. Not a car or a truck or a person was in sight. The ladies walked under a flickering neon sign, buzzing like a dust, the sounds of their heels sharp on the baked pavement.

[Lavinia Nebs]

First we'll walk you home, Francine.

[Crowd Member]

Oh, no. I'll walk you home.

[Lavinia Nebs]

If you walked me home, you'd have to come back across the ravine alone. I know you. If a leaf even fell on you, you'd drop dead.

[Crowd Member]

Well, I. I could stay the night at your house.

[Lavinia Nebs]

No, it's all settled. First, I'll take you home, and then Helen.

[Crowd Member]

Lavinia. Helen, stay here with me tonight. It's late, and Mrs. Murdoch has an extra room.

[Lavinia Nebs]

No, thanks. I don't sleep well away from my own bed.

[Crowd Member]

Oh, please, Lavinia. Please. I don't want you dead.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Now, you've got to stop this. I mean it. I promise I'll call you the very minute I get home.

[Crowd Member]

Now, will you? Will you really?

[Lavinia Nebs]

I promise.

[Crowd Member]

And Helen, you make her promise you to call. I will. Well, good night. Be careful

[Lavinia Nebs]

now. I'll walk you home.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

The courthouse clock struck the hour. The sounds went across a town that was empty, emptier than it had ever been before. Over empty streets and empty lots and empty lawns.

[Lavinia Nebs]

The sound went 10, 11, 12. I don't suppose it's any use asking

[Crowd Member]

you to stay, Lavinia.

[Lavinia Nebs]

There's no reason for me to. You've acted so strangely tonight. I'm just not afraid, that all. And I'm curious, I suppose. Of course, I'm using my head. I mean, logically. The lonely one can't be around. Not now with the police and all. Did you ever think that maybe your subconscious doesn't want you to live anymore? You and Francine honestly help?

[Crowd Member]

Well, I feel so guilty, I'll be drinking a cup of coffee just about the time you get to the ravine

[Lavinia Nebs]

and, ooh, that awful bridge in the dark. You will call us the minute you

[Crowd Member]

get home, won't you? I won't sleep a wink if you don't.

[Lavinia Nebs]

I'll call. Now, good night,

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

Lavinia Nebs walked down the midnight street down the late summer silence. She saw the houses with their dark windows, and far away she heard a dog barking. She thought to herself, in five minutes,

[Lavinia Nebs]

I'll be safe at Home in five minutes. I'll be phoning Francine and Helen. They are so silly, like old hens. Oh, I'm older than either of them.

[Crowd Member]

I'm.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

She heard a man's voice singing away among the trees, and she walked a little faster. And then coming down the street toward her in the dimming moonlight was a man.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Well, look who it is.

[Officer Kennedy]

What a time of night for you to be out.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Miss Nebbs.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Officer Kennedy. Oh, I'm so glad it's you.

[Officer Kennedy]

Is something wrong, Miss Nebbs?

[Lavinia Nebs]

No, nothing at all. I'm just glad it's you.

[Officer Kennedy]

You know, you shouldn't be out now.

[Lavinia Nebs]

I know. I've been to the movies. It is late.

[Officer Kennedy]

Come on. I better see you home.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Oh, no, I can make it. Fine.

[Officer Kennedy]

Moon's going behind the trees. Be pretty dark.

[Lavinia Nebs]

I'm not afraid of the dark, Mr. Kennedy.

[Officer Kennedy]

You sure you'll be all right?

[Lavinia Nebs]

Quite sure.

[Officer Kennedy]

All right. Tell you what. I'll wait here till you cross. If you need help, just give a yell and I'll come running. I'll check by your house later on my way back.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Thank you. Good night.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

As she walked away, she thought, I

[Lavinia Nebs]

won't walk in the ravine with any man. How do I know who the lonely one is? No, thank you.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

Then, the ravine. She stood on top of the 113 steps, down the steep bramble bank that led across the creaking bridge a hundred yards and up through the Black Hills to Park Street.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Three minutes from now, I'll be putting my key in the house door. Nothing can happen. Nothing.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

She started down the dark green steps into the deep ravine.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Night.

[Lavinia Nebs]

5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

The ravine was deep and the world was gone. The world of safe people and bed. The locked doors, the town, the drugstore, theater lights. Everything was gone. Only the ravine existed, black and huge, around her.

[Lavinia Nebs]

9, 31. Nothing's happened, has it? No one around, is there? Remember that old ghost story you told each other when you were children? About the dark man coming into your house and you upstairs in bed? Now he's at the first step, coming up to your room. Now he's at the second step. Now he's at the third, the fourth, the fifth step. How you laughed and screamed at the story. Now the horrid man is at the 12th step. Oh, opening your door. Now he's standing by your bed.

[Crowd Member]

What?

[Captain Hollis]

What the.

[Lavinia Nebs]

There, at the bottom of the steps. Man under the light. No, he's gone. He was waiting. There's nothing.

[Crowd Member]

It's empty.

[Lavinia Nebs]

There's nothing. Nothing on the bridge.

[Crowd Member]

Fool.

[Lavinia Nebs]

It's that story I told myself.

[Narrator/Host]

How silly.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Shall I call Mr. Kennedy? Did he hear me scream or did I scream? Maybe I only thought I did.

[Crowd Member]

Then he didn't hear me at all.

[Lavinia Nebs]

I'll go back up, go to Helen's and sleep there tonight. No, it's nearer home now, don't be silly. Wait.

[Crowd Member]

Someone following me.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Someone's on the steps behind me. I don't dare turn around. Every time I take a step, he takes one.

[Crowd Member]

Officer Kennedy, is that you? Is it?

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

The crickets were suddenly still. The crickets were listening. The night was listening to her. Then there was a sound. Only a woodchuck surely, beating a hollow log. But it was Lavinia Neb's. It was most surely the heart of Lavinia Nebs. She went down the steps. Faster. Faster.

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Run.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

She heard music in a mad way, a silly way.

[Officer Kennedy]

She heard the sound search of music

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

that pounded at her rush, launching her faster and faster. Down. Down into the pit of the ravine.

[Crowd Member]

Only a little way across the bridge. Run, run. Don't turn, don't look. If you see him, you'll not be able to move.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

Just run and across the bridge, up the path, between the hills, the top of the path, the street. And even with the light, the fear swirled about her, closing in, pressing.

[Lavinia Nebs]

If I get home safe, I'll never go out alone.

[Crowd Member]

I was a fool. Never again. If you let me get home for

[Lavinia Nebs]

this, I'll never go out again alone.

[Crowd Member]

I promise. Please, please let me. Please, please, please. Give me time to get inside and lock the door. And I'll be safe.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Oh, safe at home.

[Crowd Member]

Safe. Safe at home. Listen. Not the sound. Oh, wait, wait.

[Lavinia Nebs]

A window. There's no one there at all.

[Crowd Member]

Nobody.

[Lavinia Nebs]

There was no one following me at all. Nobody running after me. How silly. If a man had been following me, he'd have caught me. I can't run as fast as a man. I wasn't running from anything except me. The ravine was safer than safe. Oh, it's nice to be home now. Home's a really good, warm, safe place. The only place.

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

She had just put her hand out to the light switch when she heard it behind her in the blackness. Just a movement.

[Crowd Member]

What? What? Who is it?

[Lieutenant Johnny Stilano]

Beautiful.

[Officer Kennedy]

Suspense in which Ms. Jeanette Nolan starred with Paula Winslow, Eve McVeigh and Bill Conrad in tonight's presentation of Ray Bradbury's the Whole Town Sleeping, adapted by Anthony Ellis. Next week, the story of a fishing cruise and bait. That was a life insurance policy, we call it over the bounding main. That's Next week on Suspense. Suspense is produced and directed by Anthony Ellis. The music was composed by Lucian Marwick and conducted by Wilbur Hatch. Featured in the cast were Tom McKee, Florence Walcott, Tom Brown and Will Wright. Thursday night, the Whistler brings Mystery on the CBS Radio Network.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of Thrills, Suspense. Tonight we depart from the usual to bring you a play from one of the greatest authors of science fiction, Mr. Ray Bradbury. It is the story of a last voyage in a spaceship and the six men who took it so. Now, starring Mr. William Conrad, here is tonight's suspense play, Kaleidoscope. She was the spaceship cargo carrier. Seven years old, with over a million and a half miles lost in her wake. Within her metallic skin was the world of the crew. An atom of life surrounded by a vast expanse of nothingness. The ship and the crew were owned by the company, A third class vessel operated by third class personnel. And each of us hoping that in our day would come promotion to second class. Or even the first and the great hush passenger liners, which were also owned by the company. The company ran everything. There wasn't anyone else to work for and who accepted what was given not gratefully, but with hope. There were 19 of us to begin with on a routine voyage. Our cargo seasoned lumber. I was at control on the second day out. Stone navigating on the nose gun.

[Narrator/Host]

Control.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Bearing mark, Captain.

[Narrator/Host]

Right, Hollis. Where's the captain?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

In this cabin.

[Narrator/Host]

On the bottle again, huh? Why didn't you ask him?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

I don't have to, Stoney.

[Narrator/Host]

I can smell him all the way out.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

You want something, Applegate?

[Narrator/Host]

Sea tubes blowing again.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

It isn't showing on the indicator.

[Narrator/Host]

I can't help that.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Wait a minute, Captain. Control. Yeah, Applegate, report seat. You're blowing, sir. Oh, it doesn't show on the indicator, sir.

[Captain Hollis]

All right, I'll be right there.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

And what was the idea of that?

[Narrator/Host]

What? Telling him it didn't show. You trying to lash me up?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

You better keep check on that tube.

[Narrator/Host]

Who's giving orders?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

I am.

[Narrator/Host]

My sash to you, friend. Oh, come on, Applegate.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

I don't want to blow up. I've got two weeks of pay coming

[Narrator/Host]

when we get back. Yeah.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Give me a power check, William.

[Narrator/Host]

Sure.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Something must be haywire with the indicator. Get it straightened out, Hollis. She's not firing in sequence, sir. Heating up too.

[Narrator/Host]

Let me see.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

I don't like this. Rockets. Who's the captain? Simpson, sir. It's sea tube, I think. Heating the others, too. Lock off's frozen Use emergency standby. Off.

[Narrator/Host]

Come on. Come on.

[Captain Hollis]

Control, Apple Gate. Emergency doesn't answer. It's getting too hot.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Maybe it'll answer from here, sir.

[Captain Hollis]

Apple Gate. Get your men out of there. Stand by to abandon.

[Narrator/Host]

Keep going.

[Captain Hollis]

Sir, shall I sound the alarm? Yes. This is the Captain. This is the Captain. Get into your suits. You got about two minutes, maybe less. Get into your suits. The ship is going to explode. Get into your suit. Get in your suit. Get in your suit.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

The concussion cut the spaceship up the side like a giant can opener. Those of us who weren't immediately killed were thrown into space like wriggling silverfish scattered into a dark sea. And the ship, in a million pieces, went on a meteor swarm seeking a lost son.

[Captain Hollis]

Captain. Captain.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

The sound of our voices calling like lost children on a cold night.

[Captain Hollis]

Captain.

[Narrator/Host]

Who called? Hollis, this is Stone.

[Captain Hollis]

Hello, D. This is Hollis. Where are you?

[Narrator/Host]

I don't know.

[Captain Hollis]

How can I? Which way is up?

[Narrator/Host]

I'm falling.

[Captain Hollis]

Oh, God, I'm falling.

[Narrator/Host]

We're going away from each other.

[Captain Hollis]

Who is that?

[Narrator/Host]

This is the Captain.

[Captain Hollis]

Who is that? Lester? Captain, where are you?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

We were hurtling in space and every direction. And now, instead of men, there were only voices. Voices communicating by radiophone. All kinds of voices. Disembodied and impassioned in varying degrees of terror and resignation, all moving away from one another. We were wearing our seal tight spacesuits with glass tubes over our faces. But there hadn't been time to lock on the propulsion units. Not time enough. And without them, we were meteors, senseless, each going to a separate and irrevocable fate.

[Narrator/Host]

This is the Captain. I want a roll call. Who is that? This is Applegate, sir.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Applegate.

[Narrator/Host]

Next. Next. There's who? Le spare. Simpson. Le spare. Simpson, Stone, Hollis. Anybody else? Anyone else? Stone to Hollis. How long can we talk of born?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Well, it depends on how fast you're

[Captain Hollis]

going your way and I'm going mine.

[Narrator/Host]

An hour. I make it. What happened?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

A rocket blew up. Didn't you feel it?

[Narrator/Host]

That's all rockets do, blow up.

[Captain Hollis]

Which way are you going?

[Narrator/Host]

It looks like I'll hit the moon.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Well, it's Earth for me.

[Narrator/Host]

That's nice.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Back to old mother Earth at 10,000 miles an hour out burning like a match when I hit the atmosphere. Well, Stone's going to the moon. I know where I'd like to see Applegate go.

[Narrator/Host]

I don't want to die.

[Captain Hollis]

I don't want to die.

[Narrator/Host]

It's a long way down. Who's that? I don't know.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Stimson. I think. Stimson, is that you? This is Hollis.

[Captain Hollis]

It's a long, long way and I don't like it. I don't like it.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Stampson.

[Captain Hollis]

This is Hollis.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Stampson.

[Captain Hollis]

Do you hear me? Samson? Yes, you take it easy now. I don't want to be here. We're all in the same fix. I don't want to be here. I'm afraid there's a chance we'll be found.

[Narrator/Host]

I heard that. Oh, what a liar you are, Hollis.

[Captain Hollis]

You shut up, Abogie. Come and make me. Come on, Alex. Come and make me. Shut up.

[Narrator/Host]

I don't believe this.

[Captain Hollis]

I don't believe any of this is happening. Not to me. It's a bad dream.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Take it easy, Simpson.

[Narrator/Host]

Hey, you know, I don't feel so bad. Who's that? It's me, Stone Le Spare. I was just thinking, I've had a pretty good time. Lots of good times. Hey, did I ever tell you about my wife? Which one? Who's that? Applegate. Oh, sure. How do you feel, Applegate? Oh, why don't you shut up? No kidding about my wife. The one on Mars. Did I ever tell you?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

That's enough.

[Narrator/Host]

This is the captain. You've got to figure a way out of this. Make a plan. I sash for you.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

What did you say?

[Narrator/Host]

Oh, you heard me. Don't try pulling rank on me. You're 10,000 miles away by now.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

You listen to me, Applegate.

[Narrator/Host]

Consider this a mutiny of one captain. Hang me.

[Captain Hollis]

Kill me.

[Narrator/Host]

Look, I want to tell you something. Your ship was a bad ship and you were a bad ship, Captain. And I hope you break wherever you're going. I'm ordering you to stop, Applegate.

[Captain Hollis]

Be my guest.

[Narrator/Host]

Order me some more. You're gonna put me in chains till we land. My sash to you, Captain.

[Captain Hollis]

Hey, fellas, let me tell you about my wife.

[Narrator/Host]

The one on Venus.

[Captain Hollis]

It doesn't matter now.

[Narrator/Host]

I guess anybody can know now. Oh, listen, I had it real good. One wife on Mars, another on Venus, one on Jupiter. Oh, boy, what a time. Hey, Stone. Yeah? Remember the time we put into Mars port for repair? I remember. Well, that's when I met the first one. You know what those Mars girls are like.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Well, Le Spare went on and on with this talk about his wives. An interplanetary bigot. His money, his wonderful time. Drunkenness, gambling on and on while we fell in space, away from each other. Le Spare reminiscing on the past, happy while he fell to his death.

[Narrator/Host]

Space.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Thousands of miles of space. And a voice vibrating in the center of it. No one visible at all. Only the radio waves quivering and trying to quicken other men into emotion.

[Captain Hollis]

I can. When a man's had a life like

[Narrator/Host]

I've had, it's not so bad. Not much left for me to do, I guess. Men, this is the captain. I want you to know that I'm very grateful for your loyalty. You've been a good crew. Palace Stone. If you get out of this. I had you both posted for a promotion. It'll go through when you report. Applegate. I wish that. Captain.

[Captain Hollis]

Captain.

[Narrator/Host]

Endo 1 on meteorite. Got him. Any takers? Hollis.

[Captain Hollis]

Hollis, can you think of something? Something to do?

[Narrator/Host]

Why, ask him. Stinson, I'll tell you. Something to do. Make it quick. Easy. Open the valve on your soap. Finished. All of us. Who cares? Everyone's gonna cry over me.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

And we fell through space. Five of us living each in his orbit of loneliness. Moving away from the other, from this outer edge of my life. Looking back, there was one remorse, and that Only that I wish I could go on living.

[Narrator/Host]

All dying people feel that way. Hollis. What?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Oh, Stone, I. I didn't know I was thinking out loud.

[Narrator/Host]

It's funny.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

As if I'd never lived.

[Narrator/Host]

Yeah, I know. I know. Hollis. Hey, Hollis. What is it? Supplegate again?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

All right.

[Narrator/Host]

What? Let you and me talk, huh?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Go ahead.

[Narrator/Host]

You hate my guts, don't you?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

I never thought much about it.

[Narrator/Host]

Oh, don't give me that. You in that superior way of yours.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

I was. I want to tell you something.

[Narrator/Host]

I was the one who blackballed you with the rocket company five years ago. Did you hear me? I heard you. How does that make you feel?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Nothing.

[Narrator/Host]

You wanted to get to the top all your life. I know. I'll bet you always wondered what happened. Well, it was me. See, I put the black mark on you before I was tossed out myself.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

It isn't important.

[Narrator/Host]

Well, I had a good time. Yeah. It's a good thing to think about too. Had a wife. One mom, Venus, one in Jupiter. So you said. And I'm saying it again. I like to think about it. They all had money too. Oh, yes. They treated me just fine. You know, once I got drunk and gambled $20,000. $20,000 in one night, Just like that. Oh, it's been a good life.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

But you're here now. Le spare. I didn't have any of those things. I was jealous of you. Funny little man. How did you rate it? The women, the good times. Women frightened me, and I went into space always wanting them. Jealous of you for Having them and money and as much happiness as man could want. And I'm not jealous anymore, though, because it's over for you. Just the way it is for me now. It's like it never was.

[Captain Hollis]

It's all over, Lispear. It just never was. You hear me, Lazar?

[Narrator/Host]

Who's that?

[Captain Hollis]

It's Hollis. Do you hear me? You're out here.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Le spare.

[Captain Hollis]

Falling, dying. It's all over. Just as if it never happened, isn't it?

[Narrator/Host]

No. It happened.

[Captain Hollis]

When anything's over, it's just like it never happened. Why? Is your life any better than mine now? Huh? Now is what counts. Is it any better? Is it?

[Narrator/Host]

Yes, it's better.

[Captain Hollis]

How? How?

[Narrator/Host]

Because I've got my thoughts. Good thoughts. I remember thoughts.

[Captain Hollis]

What good? What good are they? You gonna be rescued? You gonna live more than a few hours?

[Narrator/Host]

I'm resting easy. I've had my turn. I'm not getting vicious at the end, not like you. Vicious? Vicious? Take it easy, Hollis. I know how you feel, Hollis. I don't take it personally. You're all right. I always thought that. Hey. What? What's the matter? I can see something.

[Captain Hollis]

Sound. Sound. Yeah. I can see lights. They look like lights. Where? What? Where? Where are you?

[Narrator/Host]

Must be a ship. Maybe they'll see it. Which way you going, Stone?

[Captain Hollis]

In its flights, I tell you, I can see them playing. Which way? Which way? Where are you, Stone? Where? Guess what? Huh?

[Narrator/Host]

What?

[Captain Hollis]

What? I got myself into a meteor swarm.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Little asteroids.

[Narrator/Host]

Meteors?

[Captain Hollis]

Yes, I think. The Myrmidon Cluster. Your unoholas. The one that goes out past Mars

[Narrator/Host]

and in toward Earth once every five years. Well, I'm right in the middle.

[Captain Hollis]

Sound down. It's like a big kaleidoscope. That's what I thought was a light. All kinds of colors and shape.

[Narrator/Host]

It beautiful. All that metal.

[Captain Hollis]

I'm going with them. They're taking me with them. I'll be down. So long, Hollis.

[Narrator/Host]

So long.

[Captain Hollis]

Good luck, Stone. Don't be funny.

[Narrator/Host]

I looked.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

There was nothing. Only the great diamonds and sapphire and emerald mists and velvet inks of space. And then, in the sudden calmness of his going. There was a kind of wonder in the thought of Stone going off in a meteor swarm out past Mars for years and coming in toward Earth every five years. Passing in and out for the next million centuries.

[Narrator/Host]

Hollis? This is Le Spare. You all right? Yes, I'm fine. I can't hear you, sir.

[Captain Hollis]

Good.

[Narrator/Host]

You there, Hollis?

[Captain Hollis]

This is Hollis. I'm okay.

[Narrator/Host]

You, Hollis? There must be something wrong with the flight phone. Hollis, can you hear me? Say something, will you?

[Captain Hollis]

Turn up the booster. Turn up your booster. Hollis, can you hear me?

[Narrator/Host]

Yeah.

[Captain Hollis]

Yes. Yes, I hear you.

[Narrator/Host]

Hey, that's fine now. Yeah. Oh. I thought you were gone. Who are you talking to? The stone. Ah. Hey, who else is around?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Applegate.

[Captain Hollis]

Applegate.

[Narrator/Host]

I'm here.

[Captain Hollis]

Simpson. Sampson.

[Narrator/Host]

Hey, Stimson. I guess he's gone. Too spare. Can you see anything? I wasn't looking. I was thinking. I figure I'll hit Mars. Mars? Wouldn't that be something if I landed in the wife's backyard? She'd get a kick out of that.

[Captain Hollis]

That's pretty funny, huh? Is that you? Oh, I thought it was you.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

No, it must be Simpson.

[Captain Hollis]

Samson. Samson, I want to wake up. Mama. Mama, I want to wake up.

[Narrator/Host]

Make him stop, will you?

[Captain Hollis]

Shut him up, Stipson. Simpson, will you listen to me now? Simpson, listen to me. Alpha Gates, right? It'll be easier. You open your valve. Open it. Listen to me. Sipster, Open your valve now. Do it now. It won't hurt. Only a sentence. Simpson, open your valve.

[Narrator/Host]

Alice Applegate? Yeah. Has he gone?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

I guess so.

[Narrator/Host]

Oh. Hey, anybody know what time it is? Oh, what do you care? What'd you say, Applegate? The boost is fading. What did you say? I don't know. Oh, Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Habit, I suppose. You mind if I keep talking? Kind of passes the time.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

The goodbyes. Voices dying, men dying. The awareness of life.

[Narrator/Host]

My own.

[Captain Hollis]

What can I do?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Is there anything I can do to make up for a terrible and empty life? If only I could do one good thing to make up for the meanness I collected all these years and didn't

[Narrator/Host]

even know was in melody. Hollis, this is Apple. Yes, Hollis, that was right. You told Stimson to do. I said it to make him feel bad. But you did it right. I murdered him. No. No, no. No, you didn't. Listen, Hollis, this isn't good, this thing between you and me. It's a bad way to die. Are you listening, Hollis?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Yes, I'm listening.

[Narrator/Host]

I lied. I didn't blackball you.

[Captain Hollis]

Can you hear me?

[Narrator/Host]

Yes. Listening to your talk. When you were saying those things to the spear about it not battering. And he said about you being vicious. Made me ashamed. I've been like that, too. It's all right. They understand.

[Captain Hollis]

Can you get le spare?

[Narrator/Host]

No. No, he was gone an hour ago. Can you hear him?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

No. Last thing I heard, he. He was singing a dirty song.

[Narrator/Host]

What a guy. Yeah. You're fading out. You too. What?

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

I. I hope everything's okay with you,

[Captain Hollis]

Applegate, I. I hope you go to heaven or wherever you want. I hope for you.

[Narrator/Host]

You're getting soft, Hollis. Better open your vows. So long.

[Captain Hollis]

Take it easy, Applegate. So long, Hollis.

[Narrator/Host]

Don't do anything I wouldn't do.

[Captain Hollis]

Appleg.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Anytime now. I'll hit the earth's atmosphere. I'll burn and be scattered in ashes all over the continental lands. And I'll be put to you just a little bit. But ashes are ashes, and they'll add to the land. I wanted to make something of my life. To be liked, to do good for people, to make them happy. Now it's all gone. I wish I could do a good thing. Just something for me to know about. When I hit the atmosphere, I'll burn like a meteor. I wonder if anyone will see me.

[Crowd Member]

Time for bed, Sonny.

[Captain Hollis]

Okay. Hey. Hey. Look up there. Moth. A falling star. Hi, star.

[Lavinia Nebs]

Make a wish, dear. Make a w.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Suspense in which Mr. William Conrad starred in tonight's presentation of Kaleidoscope, written by Ray Bradbury. Next week, the story of two people and the terror that rode with them in the city. We call it Backseat Driver. That's next week on Suspense. Suspense is produced and directed by Anthony Ellis, who adapted tonight's script. The music was composed by Radio Rennie Garaghan and conducted by Wilbur Hatch. Special technical effects by Robert Chadwick. Featured in the cast for Stacy Harris, Harley Bear, Howard McNear, John Dana, Sam Edwards, Georgia Ellis and Master Jonathan Ellis. This is the CBS Radio Network.

[Host/Announcer (Memory)]

We just Heard the Crowd, Zero Hour, the Whole Town Sleeping, and Kaleidoscope, my favorite suspense shows based on stories by Ray Bradbury. That will do it for this bonus episode. Thanks so much for joining me. I'll be back on Thursday with our next regular show. In the meantime, you can check out down these Mean Streets, my old time Radio Detective podcast. New episodes of that show are out on Sundays. If you like what you're hearing, don't be a stranger. You can rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. And if you'd like to lend support to the show, you can visit buymeacoffee.com memory I'll be back next time with more Hollywood legends, each of them appearing in tales well calculated to keep you in

[Narrator (Whole Town Sleeping segment)]

suspense.

[Narrator (Kaleidoscope segment)]

Ladies and gentlemen, the chief hope of our enemies is to divide the United States along racial and religious lines and thereby conquer us. Let's not spread prejudice. A divided America is a weak America. Through our behavior, we encourage the respect of our children and make them better neighbors. To all races and religions. Remind them that being good neighbors has helped make our country great and kept her free. Thank you.