← Stars on Suspense (Old Time Radio)
Stars on Suspense (Old Time Radio)
Episode 416 - Favorites from 1945
03:01:29
It's a mix of two-handers, adaptations, comedy, mystery, and horror with my favorite Suspense shows from 1945! Joseph Cotten is hunted by J. Carrol Naish in "The Most Dangerous Game" (originally aired on CBS on February 1, 1945), and William...
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Would you hand me that, please? Thank you. Now, let's see. Survey. Survive. Susanna. Suspect. Ah, here we are. Suspense. Meaning held in doubt, expressing doubt. The state of being uncertain, undecided or insecure. State of anxious expectation or waiting for information such as to keep one in suspense. Therefore delay acquainting him with what he is eager to know. Suspense. Hello and welcome to Stars on Suspense. And today we continue our journey through the years of suspense with my favorite episodes of the show from 1945. First up is a production of Richard Connell's classic short story the Most Dangerous Game, starring Joseph Cotton and J. Carol Nash. This one originally aired on CBS on February 1, 1945. Now, we heard a version of this story in my 1943 favorite show. That one starred Cotton's frequent co star Orson Welles. And while I still love that production, this version with Cotton and Nash is my favorite of the two. Cotton plays the shipwreck survivor who has the misfortune of washing up on the private island of Nash's deranged general Zaroff, who takes perverse pleasure in hunting his fellow man for sport. Then we'll hear Pearls Are a Nuisance, a comedic mystery from the pen of Raymond Chandler. This one originally aired on April 19, 1945, and it's another two hander with Alan Jocelyn and William Bendix. They play a mismatched pair who reluctantly join forces to track down a missing necklace. It retains much of Chandler's dialogue from the story and Bendix in particular is very funny as the more rough and tumble of the detective detective duo up. Third is another tale from a master of mystery. This time it's Dashiell Hammett and his story Two Sharp Knives originally aired on June 7, 1945. John Payne stars as a small town police chief who nabs a wanted fugitive only for the man to mysteriously die in his jail cell. Like Pearls Are a Nuisance, this adaptation of Two Sharp Knives maintains a good bit of Hammett's dialogue. And Payne is great as the cop who isn't sure who he can trust in his small town. J. Carol Nash is back at the microphone in our fourth show from July 12, 1945. It's Footfalls. Nash plays a blind cobbler whose ne' er do well son is blamed for arson and murder. Only Nash knows his son is innocent because he heard the footsteps of the guilty man as he fled the crime scene. And Nash has been waiting years to hear those footsteps. Once again. It's a showcase for J. Carroll Nash, who was always wonderful on suspense. You can Compare his performance in Footfalls to his villainous turn in the Most Dangerous Game, and you can really hear how versatile he was as an actor. Now, our fifth show doesn't feature a big star. Instead, it stars a pair of great radioactors. Joseph Kearns, who is frequently heard as the man in black on suspense, and Gerald Moore Radio's Philip Marlowe. They star together in short order. Originally aired on August 16, 1945. Kearns runs a small diner, but when a hideously scarred and surly man starts eating all of his meals there, it may drive Kearns out of business. Gerald Moore is the customer from hell in this story with a great suspense ending. And finally, we'll hear Ronald Coleman in an eerie adaptation of H.P. lovecraft's the Dunwich Horror. It's an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of a show from November 1, 1945. It's a rare turn into the world of the supernatural for suspense. A story of the Necronomicon, the Book of the Dead, and of a strange, otherworldly monster of a man who wants to get his hands on the book. It's a great adaptation of a classic story, and Ronald Coleman, like J. Carol Nash, was always good at the suspense microphone. So now let's take a trip back in time with my favorite suspense episodes from 1940 45. Now Roma Wines present Suspense Tonight Most Dangerous Game starring Joseph Cotton with J. Carol Nash. The Spence is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R O M a Roma Wines, those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live. A most interesting woman who extracts all the simple pleasure and happiness possible from living is Elsa Maxwell, international authority on hospitality. She offers you some friendly counsel. I am always telling people to take it easy, as they say, to be moderate and natural and at ease. And so obviously I suggest the enjoyment of a glass of Roma California Port after dinner or during the evening. It is also very smart to serve when friends drop in for this is one of the most glorious of all wines. Richly fruity in flavor with wonderful deep red color. Utterly delicious. This is simple enjoyment, easy and restful enjoyment, moderate pleasure that helps you feel calmly at ease and so happier. Don't bother about special glasses, just use whatever glasses are convenient and enjoy your wine. You really should act on Ms. Maxwell's suggestion. Roma Port, as all Roma wines, is the best that California's magnificent sun ripened grapes can can provide in glorious flavor. Color and aroma is unvaryingly good, always enjoyable, protected for you by the ancient skill of the noted Roma wineries located in the choicest vineyard areas of California. Yet all this delight costs you only pennies a glass. Remember, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine. Roma R O M A Roma Wines. Yes, Right now a glassful would be very pleasant as Roma Wines bring you Mr. Joseph Cotton as Sang A Rainford. With J. Carroll Nash as General Zaroff in the greatest manhunt story written in our time. The Most Dangerous Game. A supreme adventure in suspense. I haven't much time. Any moment now I may come in. When he does, I'm going to kill him. It's him or me, and I'm going to do my best to make it him. Maybe it sounds crazy to you. I guess it does. Would have sounded crazy to me a few days ago when I was laughing and joking with Whitney on the yacht. I was on a pleasure trip. A pleasure trip. How could I or anyone realize then the horror and torment I was to go through? How was I to know of Ivan and the Death swamp and the hounds? How was I to know of Zaroff? Think of was only four nights ago that the ship went down. We'd been talking about the island. Ship Trap Island, Whitney said it was called on the charts. He was sleepy and started on down below to turn in. I was fixing myself a nightcap when I looked up and saw it. A tremendous reef racing at us out of the f fog. They screamed out a warning, but it was too late. We were right upon it. Ship exploded right on top of Whitney and the members of the crew. The course of the explosion hurled me into the blood warm water. Terrified at this suddenness and surprised, my stomach weak and sick at the thought of the others. The sea was eddying furiously around sinking remnants of the ship. And a certain cool headedness came to me, making me swim desperately away. Or I might not have lived to go through the horror which was soon to come. I struck out to the right in the direction of the island Whitney had been telling me about. I have no recollection of how long I swam. But all at once I heard the muttering and growling of the sea breaking on a rocky shore. With my remaining, I dragged myself from the swirling waters. Jagged crags appeared to jut up endlessly into the night. All in gasping, my hands raw, I at last reached a flat place at the top. Flung myself down at the jungle edge. Tumbled headlong into the deepest sleep of my life. When I awoke, I was in a strange place, having no idea how I got there. Our friend seems to be awakening. Hmm? What? Where is this. Where am I? Where's Whitney? Oh, do not be alarmed, my friend. My man Ivan found you on the cliff. He brought you here to be taken care of. Oh, there's life on this island. I hardly believe the hope. Well, few people do. Yes, you are quite safe here in my castle, Mr. Rainsford. I'm Sanga Rainsford of New York. My yacht. Oh. Sanger Rainsford. Well, it is indeed a very great pleasure and an honor. To welcome Mr. Sangerns. For the celebrated hunter to my home. You know me. My reputation only. I've read your book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet. You. You see, my name is General Zaro. Well, I can't tell you how happy I am to meet you, General. And I cannot tell you how happy I am to meet you, Mr. Rainsford. But come, we shouldn't be chatting here. We can talk later. You must be hungry. I am rather. Well, Ivan, he thought you would like a robe. He's drying your clothes for you. Oh, thank you. Ivan is an incredibly strong fellow. But you must not mind his look. His ears were cut off in battle. And he has the misfortune to be deaf and dumb. He is sensitive about his appearance. A simple fellow, really, but I am afraid, a bit savage. Oh, he has been in our family for years. Follow Ivan, if you please, Mr. Hod. I was about to have lunch just before you woke up. But we can have it together now. Does the robe fit you all right? Oh, yes, yes. Traffic. Thanks. You have quite a collection of heads here. Lions, tigers, elephants, moose, bears. I don't believe I've ever seen more terrific specimens. They are nice. I take great pride in them. You have good cards. Well, coming from you, Mr. Rainsford, that is a great compliment. Well, here we are. If you will sit over there, please. Thank you. All right, Ivan. Well, Mr. Flock's delicious. Thank you. Perhaps you were surprised that I recognized your name, Mr. Ainsworth. Well, you see, I read all books on hunting. I have but one passion in my life, and it is the hunt. Your heads are really remarkable. General, that. That cape buffalo is the largest I've ever seen. You know, I. I've always thought the Cape buffalo the most dangerous of all games. No, you are wrong, sir. The cape buffalo is not the most dangerous game. He won. He won. How does he understand you? He reads my lip. I think you will like the champagne. Strange fault you want children. Expertly. No, the cape buffalo is not the most dangerous game here in my preserve. On this island, I hunt more dangerous game. Is there a big game on this Island? The biggest, really. Oh, it isn't here. Naturally. Of course, I have to start the island. Oh, well, what have you imported, General? Jaguars? No, nothing. Jaguars ceased to interest me some years ago. I exhausted their possibilities. You see, only I. Pour you another glass of champagne, Mr. Lynch? No, thank you, General. Well, that's good. You know, God makes some in poets. Some he makes kings, some beggars. Me made a hunter. My hand was made for the trigger, My father once said. My whole life has been one prolonged hunt. I have hunted every kind of game in every land. Grizzlies in the Iraqis, crocodiles in the Ganges, rhinoceroses in East Africa, jaguars in the Amazon. I hunted jaguars. I heard they were unusually cunning. There weren't. There was not much at all for a hunter with his wits about him and a high powered rifle. I was bitterly disappointed. I was lying in my tent with a spitting headache one night when a terrible thought pushed its way into my mind. Hunting was beginning to bore me. And hunting, remember, had been my life. Well, this was a tragic moment, was it not, Mr. Ranger? Must have been indeed, General Zara. Fortunately, that never happened to. You are much younger than I am, Mr. Rainford, and you have not hunted much. But you perhaps can guess why the hunt no longer fascinated me. You'll have to tell me, General. Well, hunting had ceased to be what you call a sporting proposition. It had become too easy. I always got my quarry. Always. No animal had a chance with me anymore. The animal had nothing but his legs and his instinct. Instinct. He was no match for reason. I see. It came to me as an inspiration what I must do. And that was? Well, I had to invent a new animal to hunt. A new animal? Are you kidding? Not at all. I never joke about hunting. I needed a new animal. I found one. So I bought this island, built this castle. And here I do my hunting. The island is perfect for my purposes. There are jungles with. With maze of trails in them, hills, swamps. But the animal, General Zara. Well, I wanted the ideal animal to hunt. So I said, what are the attributes of an ideal quarry? And the answer was, of course, it must have courage, cunning. And above all, it must be able to reason. But no animal can reason, my dear fellow. There is one, but gun one. One? You can't mean. And why not? I can't believe you're serious, General Zarath. You're just joking. Joking? I'm quite serious. I'm speaking about hunting. Hunting? You're speaking of murder. Dear me, that unpleasant word. But I think I can show you that your scruples are quite ill founded. I doubt that. I hunt the scum of the earth. Sailors on tramp ships, Laskas, Mongols. Because they are men. Precisely. That is why I use them. They can reason after a fashion. Oh, they are dangerous. But where do you get them? Well, we will visit my training school. It is in the cellar. I have about a dozen pupils locked down there. Now, they're from the Spanish barque San La Car. But I'd be bad luck to go on the rocks out there. What a very inferior lot, I regret to say. Another glass? No. You see, it is a game. I suggest to one of them that we go hunting. I give him a supply of food and an excellent hunting knife. I give him two hours start. If my quarry eludes me for three whole days, he wins the game. If I find him, will he lose? Suppose he refused to be hunted? Well, I give him his choice. Of. Of course, he need not play that game if he does not wish to. If he does not wish to hunt, I turn him over to Ivan. Ivan used to be official knouter to my old king and he has his own ideas of sport. Invariably, Mr. Ends fold. Invariably, they choose to hunt. And if they win? Well, to date I have not lost. Oh, I. I do not wish you to think me a braggart, Mr. Renfro. Many of them afford only the most elementary sort of problem. Occasionally I strike a tartal. One almost did win. I eventually had to use the hounds. The hounds? This way, please. Come, I will show you. Wait a minute. I'll open the window. Nice boy. Hello, boys. They are a rather good lot, I think, eh? They are let out at seven every night. If anyone should try to get into my castle or out of it, something extremely regrettable would occur to him. But enough of this. Come. I want to show you a collection of heads I'm quite sure you've never seen before. Will you join me in the library for fun? Look here. General Zaroff, I appreciate your hostile fatality and you're rescuing me more than I can say. But I. Well, I'm not bored with hunting, my. Good, good. Excellent. Tonight we will hunt. Then a rainfall. General, I wish to leave this island at once. Tonight we will hunt, you and I. You're wrong, General. I won't hunt. I won't murder. That is too bad. Well, as you wish, my friend. The choice rests entirely with you. But may I not venture to suggest to you that you will find my idea of sport more diverting than Ivan? Now, wait a minute, my dear fellow. You don't. You. You don't mean you plan to hunt me? My dear fellow, have I not told you I always mean what I say about hunting. This is really an inspiration. I drink to a foreman worthy of my steel. At last. I sent a can for licks. This must be some sort of a dream. Your brain against mine. Your woodcraft against mine. Your strength. Your stamina against mine. Outdoor chess. And the stake is not without value. Huh? And if I win? Oh, then I will cheerfully acknowledge myself defeated. And if I do not find you by midnight of the third day. My sloop will place you on the mainland near the town. Or you can trust me. I will give you my word as a gentleman. My. And a sportsman, of course. You, in turn, must agree. To say nothing of your visit here. I'll agree to nothing of the kind. Oh, well, in that case. Well, but why discuss that now? Three days hence? We can discuss it. Unless. Well, what is your choice, Mr. Rancho? I'm a hunter, you know. My choice. Good. Ivan Hero will supply you with hunting clothes, food and knives. I. I suggest you wear moccasins. They leave a poorer trail. I suggest, too, that you avoid the big swamp in the northeast corner of the island. We call it Death Swamp. There's quicksand there. Well, I must beg you to excuse me now. I always take siesta after lunch. You will want to start, no doubt. Well, Oliver. Mr. Rainsford. Order. And look here. Isn't there any way I could. I fought my way through the bush for two hours. Repeating to myself over and over again, I must keep my nerve. I must keep my nerve. My whole idea at first was to put distance between myself and General Zaroff. And to this end, I had plunged along through the thicket. Spurred on by the sharp rows of something very much like panic. Now I had got a grip on myself. It stopped and was taking stock of the situation. I saw that straight flight was futile. Inevitably, it would bring me face to face with the sea. I'll give him a trail to follow, I muttered. And I struck off from the rude path I had been following. And into the trackless wilderness. I made a series of intricate loops. I doubled on my trail again and again. Recalling all the lore of the fox hunt and all the dodges of the fox. Night found me exhausted. My hands and face lashed by the branches on a thickly wooded ridge. My need for rest was imperative. And I thought I played the fox. Now I must play the cat of the fable. A big tree with a thick trunk with outspread branches. Was Nearby, and taking care to leave not the slightest mark, I climbed up and stretched out on one of the broad limbs. Rest brought me new confidence and almost a feeling of security. Even so, expert a hunter as General Sarov could not travel. Trace me here, I assured myself. An apprehensive night crawled slowly by my mind keenly alert for any sound, any warning. And towards the dawn, an instinct I never knew existed like. Like an animal must possess impel me to look far in the distance, in a westerly direction. Sure enough, following the trail with the sureness of a bloodhound, came General Barof. Nothing, state those searching black eyes. No crushed blade of grass, no bent twig, no mark, no matter how faint in the moss. My heart pounding furiously, I slid down quickly from the tree and struck off again in the woods. I knew I had to do something desperate. I knew I had little time in which to do it. 300 yards, my hiding place, I stopped where a huge dead tree leaned precariously on a smaller living one. Throwing off my sack of food, I took my knife from the sheet and began to work with all my energy. The job was finished at last, and I threw myself down behind a fallen log 100ft away. I did not have to wait long. Race forward. Race forward. Race what? Hey? Ranch war. If you are within sound of my voice, as I suppose you are, let me congratulate you. Not many men know how to make a Malay man catcher. Luckily for me, I too have hunted in Malacca. You are proving interesting, Mr. Rainford. You are proving interesting. The tree brush my shoulder as I jump back. I am going to have the wound rest. It is only slight, but I shall be back, Mr. Ransford. I shall be back. It was flight now, a desperate, hopeless flight to carried me on for hours. I don't know where I got the strength. I kept telling myself over and over again that I must keep my nerve, that I was competing with a monster, a super huntsman. Dusk came, then darkness, and still I managed to press on. The ground grew softer under my moccasins. The vegetation grew ranker, denser. Insects bit. Bit at me savagely. Suddenly, as I stepped forward, my foot back into the ooze. I tried to wrench it. Mud sucked viciously at my foot like a giant leech. I tore my foot loose. I knew where I was then. Death Swamp and its quicksand. But the softness of the earth had given me an idea. I stepped back from the quicksand a dozen feet or so, and began to dig. The pit was above my shoulders. I climbed out and from some hard saplings cut stakes and sharpened them to a fine point. These stakes I planted in the bottom of the pit with a point sticking up. As fast as I could, I wove a rough carpet of weeds and branches with it covered the mouth of the pit. Then, wet with sweat and aching with tiredness, I crouched behind this dump of a lightning charred tree. I knew Zaroff was coming. I could hear the paddling sound of feet on the soft earth. He was not feeling his way along foot by foot he was coming and coming fast. Crouching there, I couldn't see him, nor the pit. I lived a year and a minute frozen, every muscle tensed. Excellent ranch, for. Yes, excellent. You have done well. Your Burmese tiger pit has climbed one of my finest town again. You, I think, Mr. Renford, I will see what you can do against my whole pack. I am going back to get them now. Thank you for a most amusing evening. At daybreak, lying near the swamp, I was awakened by a cliff that made me know that I had new things to learn about fear. It was a distant sound, faint and wavering, but I knew it. It was the baying of a pack of hounds. I could do one of two things. I could stay where I was and wait. That was suicide. I could flee. That was postponing the inevitable. I put my every last hope into that tiger pit. For the moment I stood there thinking. All at once an idea that held a wild chance came to me and tightening my belt, I headed away from the the being of the hounds grew nearer. It would be on me any minute now. My mind worked frantically. I thought of a native trick I had learned in Gandhi. I caught hold of a springy young sapling and to it fastened my hunting knife with a blade pointing down the trail, a bit of wild grapevine. I tied back the sapling when I ran for my life. The hounds raised their terrifying voices as they hit the fresh set. I knew then how an animal at bay feels lanced. I had to start to get my breath. The baying of the hounds stopped just as suddenly. With it, my heart stopped too. They must have reached the night. Excitedly, I chained it up a tree and looked back. My pursuers had stopped all right, but the hope that had been in my brain when I climbed died. For in the shallow valley I saw that General Zaroff was still on his feet. But Ivan was not. Apparently he had come along to hold the hounds. The knife, driven by the recoil of the springing tree, splintered through his chest. I hardly tumbled to the ground when the pack Took up the cry again. Nerf nerve. Nerf. I panted as I dashed along. A blue gap showed between the trees, dead ahead. The hounds were almost on top of me. I forced myself toward the gap. I reached it. It was the shore of the sea. Across the COVID I could see the gloomy gray stone of Zarath's castle. 20ft below me, the sea rumbled and hiss. I hesitated. I heard the hound and I leaped far out into the sea. All the sea was good to me. And I am here, sweet, safe in the General's bedroom, waiting for him. The three days are up and I have eluded him. But now I know I must go further. In a moment, we'll. We will meet, he and I. Only one of us is going to live. You understand that now. General Rensworth. How on earth did you get here? Swam. I found it easier and quicker than walking through your jungle. Well, well. I congratulate you. You have won the game. No, no, General. I'm still a beast of b here. Get ready. General Zara. Oh, yes. Two of them. Well, I see. Splendid. One of us, then, is to furnish a repast for the hounds. The other will sleep in this. This very excellent bed. Vanguard. Drink forth. Watch now, Rainbow. Enough. Big Good. That ain't good. It's just as my late host said it would be. A very excellent bed. And so closes the most dangerous game. By Richard Connell. Starring Joseph Cotton as Rainsford. With J. Carol Nash as General Zaroff. Tonight's study in suspense. Suspense is produced, edited and directed by William Speer. Probably no woman alive has been hostess to so many famous and distinguished people. As Ms. Elsa Maxwell. This is what she says about Roma. When you entertain friends, you do everything you can think of to add to their enjoyment. And that is why I say, when you serve your guests Roma wines, you not only delight them, you also smartly and genuinely flatter them. These delicious wines add so much to hospitality and to enjoyment of everyday meals. Yet it's such a simple, easy addition to the joy of living. So wholesomely moderate and so inexpensive. Ms. Maxwell gives you good advice. Enjoy Roma wine regularly. It's California's finest, always good, unvaryingly fine in flavor and quality. Remember, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine. Roma R O M A Roma Waynes Joseph Cotton appeared through the courtesy of David O. Selznick and is currently being seen in the Selznick production. Since you went away, J. Carol Nash is soon to be seen in the Paramount picture. A medal for Benny. Our thanks also to rko, who began production today. On the Most Dangerous Game and through whose cooperation this story was presented tonight on Suspense. Ladies and gentlemen, next week you will hear Claire Trevor and Nancy Kelly as co stars of Suspense presented by Roma Wines. R O M a made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. Sam. This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System. Now the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California presents Suspense. Tonight, Roma Wines bring you a play of suspense and smiles starring William Bendix and Alan Jocelyn. Suspense is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R O M a Roma Wines, those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live, to your happiness and entertaining guests, to your enjoyment of everyday meals. Yes, right now a glassful would be very pleasant as Roma Wines bring you a remarkable tale of suspense. And with Raymond Chandler's satirical suspense tale Pearls are a Nuisance. And with the performances of William Bendix and Alan Jocelyn, Roma Wines hope indeed to keep you in suspense. It's quite true. I wasn't doing anything that morning except looking at a blank sheet of paper in my typewriter and thinking about writing a letter. It's also quite true that I don't have a great deal to do any morning. But I like not doing anything. It gives me something to do. And I don't like telephone calls that interfere with it. That's why I have two telephones. One a public phone that I can ignore and the other a private phone which I better answer if I know what's good for me. And I do. What did you say, darling? I said, good morning, dear. How are you, darling? Busy? Yes and no. Mostly no. Why? Somebody has stolen Mrs. Penruddock's pearls and I want you to find them. Possibly you think you have the police department on the line. This is the residence of Walter Gage. Walter Gage speaking. If you aren't out here in less than half an hour, you'll receive a small parcel by registered mail containing a diamond engagement ring. I'll tell Mr. Gage when he comes in. No, I went. Naturally. I even hurried. Ellen's voice has that effect on me. I think it's the way she says. Walter, darling. Yes, Ellen? Mrs. Pen Ruddock's pearl necklace has been stolen. So you said on the telephone. My blood pressure remains normal. It's a string of 49 matched pink pearls that Mr. Pen Ruddock gave his wife on their golden wedding anniversary. Only 49 pearls for 50 years of marriage. I wonder which was the bad year. Oh, shut up, darling. Yes, dear. The worst part of it is the pearls are false. False? Evidently, they're all bad Years? Don't be silly, Walter. The pearls were real enough when Mr. Penrotta gave them to us. The fact is she sold them and had copies made. Those copies have been stolen. We've got to get them back, Walter. What does it matter if they're false? Well, she's terrified that the Faith will blackmail her when he finds out their own imitation. If Mr. Penroddit ever hears that she sold originally, I begin to see what might be described as daylight. But where do I start looking for these baubles from which your elderly employer is so loath to be separated? Because I know who stole them. The chauffeur we had here a few months, Walter. A horrid big bruiser named Henry Eichelberger. He left suddenly the day before yesterday for no reason at all, without a word. I'm sure he stole the pearls. How big did you say he is? About six feet. Well, in that case, three. Three. Six foot three, three. I'm sure he didn't take them, dear. Couldn't have. He tried to kiss me once, Walter. Oh, he did? Tried to kiss you? Where is this big slab of meat, darling? Here's the address he gave me when he first came here to work. Sounds like an unpleasant neighborhood. Not half as unpleasant as it'll be for Reichelberger when I arrived. Tried to kiss you, did he? The pearls are the important thing, Walter. And be careful. He's six foot three, remember? I find it difficult to forget. Eichelberger's address proved to be a seedy looking hotel. Upstairs, over a Chinese laundry at the head of the stairs. But the door marked Manager. I rang the bell. Pull up Bud Road. I'm not inquiring for a room. I'm looking for one Henry Eichelberger whom I'm informed lives here. If he does, he ain't registered. That as of course you know, is contrary to the law. A wise guy, Hank down the hall, Jack to 18. Have the kindness to show me the way. What do you know? A duke's no less. Okay, your lordship, pick up your feet, eh? This is it. He's out. Have the goodness to unlock the door. I wish to go in and wait for this Eichelberger in a pig's valise. Who do you think you are, Jake boy? I wouldn't call me names if I were you. You wouldn't? Hey. Well, that just shows the difference between you and me. Cause I would. You want to make something out of it? Hey. Yes. What? Hey, that wasn't fair. You got 20 years on me. Hey. Well, Open the door. Hey, I have no time to argue with you. A buck, two bucks and I won't even tell Eichel boy get when he comes in. Hey, that is a deal, brother. You can head. I'll take that for you. Hey, thanks. Hey, here's your money. If you hear any noises later on, ignore them. If there's any damage, it'll be paid for generously. I hope you know what you're doing. Hey. I searched all the likely places where he might have hidden the necklace. And then I searched all the unlikely places. No necklace. Then I heard approaching footsteps. How did you get in here, sonny? The explanation of that can wait. I'm looking for one Henry Eichelberger. Are you he get you a real comedian? Wait till I loosen my belt before you make me laugh. My name's Gage. Walter Gage. Are you Eichelberger? Give me a nickel and I'll tell you. I'm the fiance of Ms. Ellen McIntosh. I'm informed that you tried to kiss her. What do you mean, tried? I hit him rather severely on the left eye, then the right. Then I gave him a crushing uppercut to the J looked at me with an air of patient resignation and then hit me. I bent over and took hold of the room with both hands and spun it. When I had it nicely spinning, I gave it a full swing and hit myself on the back of the head with the floor. I believe I lost consciousness at about this point. At any rate, I was no longer aware of the time of day. For suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you as stars Mr. Allan Joslin and Mr. William Bendix, whom you are hearing in Pearls Are a Nuisance by Raymond Chandler, which is Roma Wine's presentation tonight of suspense. Between the acts of suspense, this is Truman Bradley for Roma Wayne. We quote now a brief word from the famous hostess Elsa Maxwell. The delicious flavor of tender broiled chicken, the succulents of spring lamb garnished with mint leaves deserves the matchless flavor complement of Roma California Sauternes. This delicate wine, pale gold in color, delightful in bouquet, is a delicious flavor mate with fish or fowl. Yes, Just as the musical conductor blends the tones of different instruments, so the knowing hostess can combine the flavors of food with wine. Each glass full of Roma Saturn is alight with Roma's rich heritage in winemaking. Here is a masterpiece of the wine growers. Age old skill and all Roma wines, you'll find, are always unvaryingly good. The result of carefully selected grapes picked at the peak of perfection in sunny California's Choicest vineyards and gently pressed. Then the natural juices are stored and guided with the ancient skill of Roma wineries to full goodness. Roma wines do not vary, are always high in quality, yet cost only pennies a glass. More Americans enjoy Roma than any other wines. R O M A Roma wines and now, Roma wines bring back to our Hollywood sound stage William Bendix as J. Henry Eichelberger and Alan Joselyn as Walter Gage in Pearls Are a Nuisance. A muscular drama replete with situations well calculated to keep you in suspense. While I was thinking about the possibility of getting back to my feet in the very near future, a wet towel began to slap at my face and I opened my eyes. The face of one Henry Eichelberger was close to mine and bore a certain appearance of tender solicitude. All right, but I thought maybe you was killed, Jack. You got a stomach as weak as Chinese tea. What happened? As if I didn't know you tripped on a itty bitty tear in a carpet. You feel like getting up? Here, I'll give you. Come on. Thank you, Henry. May I call you Henry? No tax on it. You look okay. Why'd you tell me you were sick? Eichelberger, you swine. That does it. Cut it out. You'll mus my hair. I wish you'd fall down when I hit you, Henry. Just once. It would do wonders for my morale. Ah. You know, you and me could get along, Jack. I never kiss your girl, even if I ain't saying I wouldn't like to. Is that all the cheating on you? Well, no. There's another matter. Sit down and tell me the score. Only no more haymakers. They give me a headache. Promise? I promise, sir. Tell me, why did you leave the employ of Mrs. Penradoc? You tell me. Am I what you might call a good looker? Well, Henry, don't soak me. No. Then I wouldn't call you handsome exactly, but unquestionably, you ate your spinach as a child. That's a consolation. Get you a real comedian. Wait till I loosen my belt. Look, suppose you fell for a doll with stars in her hair. A guy like me that looks like a taxi going down the street with both doors open. Then suppose you get a job where you see this doll all the time and every day. What would you do, Jack? Me? I just quit the job. Ellen? Yeah, Henry? I'd like to shake your hand. Go ahead. Now, there's one more thing, one rather insignificant detail. I'm empowered to arrange for the return of Mrs. Penroddock's. Pearls. $50 reward and no embarrassing questions. You got nerve. Check. So you think I stole some marbles and I'm sitting around here waiting for a flock of dicks to swarm me. The police have not been told, Henry, and you may not be aware, but the pearls are false. False? You mean they're false? Exactly. You think I'd bother myself to hook some phonies? You mean you didn't steal the necklace, Henry? Now look, if they was ringers, I wouldn't be bothered. And if they was real, I wouldn't be holed up in no cheap flop in LA waiting for a couple of carloads of johns to put the sneeze on me, would I? That's exactly what I thought, Henry. Well, as long as you didn't steal them, how'd you like the job of helping. Helping me recover them? Are you kidding? No, Henry. It's obvious that if you didn't snatch these marbles, I believe that's the expression, someone else did. And you can help me find him. How about it? Why not? Why not indeed? Well, you got any ideas of where to start? Yes, I have. I feel that we must, as they say, tap the grapevine. When a string of pearls is stolen, all the underworld must be seething. Maybe you got right. But this underworld that's doing all this seasoning going to seize much over a string of glass beads or I might punch you. I am thinking, Henry, that the underworld probably has a sense of humor. And a thief who went to the trouble of stealing some worthless trinkets would be the butt of considerable coarse jest. The nucleus of an idea. Nat, I would say something like that could get around the pool rooms and start a little wholesome chuckling. All right. Yes. All we need to do is to locate a reliable crook. Oh, there's a key named Lou Scandisi that runs the Blue Lagoon downtown might be interested in some marbles. But he don't like being asked questions. He sounds dangerous. Yeah. We'll turn him inside out and take a look at his liver. Very well. Let us go and beard this Scandizi character in his malodorous den. Yeah, let us go and leave us do what you said. Mr. Scandizi's Blue Lagoon wasn't difficult to find. It was a rather soiled establishment, bathed in an unpleasant blue light. Henry and I went through a small, dim dining room to a door marked private. You Scandizy? Ah, who wanted to know? Me and my friend here want to talk to you. Oh, talk. I'm listening. It's about some pearl 49. Is that right, Walter White. A pearl necklace that somebody hoisted. Oh, I'm. Get out before I have you thrown out. You do what I'll do. I'll do nothing. That's better, dough face. What about them pearl? Well, I don't think I heard about it. That's right. I remember. Maybe if I pulled off one of your ears, it might help. Henry, you seem to be doing all the work. Do you think that's quite fair? Okay, you work them over. These fat guys grew something lovely. Oh, take it easy. I ain't heard nothing, you guys. Insurance are men, huh? Now you're cooking with helium, doe face. What insurance company you boys work for? Give my card, Walter. This is my personal card. Has my phone number on it. Okay? Okay. You. You may be surprised, you. You may get a cough. What do you think, Walter? You think this muzzler is leveling with us? I dare say he wouldn't be above telling us an untruth. Get you a real comedian. Wait till I loosen my belt. You've given us the straight goods, Scandizzy. Great goods. Absolute. We'll cooperate. I bet you got a call. Okay. So long, Scandizi. And keep your schnozzle clean if you don't want to be looking for it under your desk case. And that goes for your cat too. Scandisi. Hey. Well, what now? I think we've done adequate day's work, Henry. The procedure would seem to be for me to go home and wait for the telephone to ring, bearing glad tidings from the under world. What about me? I would suggest that you wend your way homeward also. Here's my private number. Call me in the morning. Okay. See you tomorrow. I went home and waited for the phone to ring. I must have fallen asleep after a while. It was quite dark when the call came through. Well, here goes. Walter Gage speaking. Acme Insurance Company. When did you become an insurance company? Oh, hello. It's you, Ellen. Why didn't you call on the private phone? I didn't have the number handy. You haven't found the pearls yet? How'd you know? We just got a telephone call. From whom? He wouldn't say. All he said was he heard from somebody named San something Scandizy. And that's it. That we were looking for the pearls. Has he found out the pearls are false? No, I didn't tell him. All right, don't worry. We have an idea how to get the back. We? Who's we? Henry and me. Henry? Henry who? Michael Burger. I've hired him to help me find the pearl. Are you out of your mind? Didn't Henry take the pearl? Of course not. He only left because he was in love with you. Oh, Walter, that'd be rude. How could you say such a thing, Ellen? I thought you'd be flattered. Flattered? I never want to speak to you again, Walter Gage. Goodbye, Ellen. Oh, women. I sometimes wonder. Hello, honey. I'm so glad you called back. Listen, darling, who you calling honey? Sweetheart, who's this? Never mind your name. Gage. Yes. A guy named Scandi says you're looking for some oyster fruit. A frail named McIntosh says you're the guy to talk to. Possibly. Well, I got 49 of them, pal. Pink 1.5grand is the price. Well, that's absurd. Those pearls happen to be false. Quit your kid. And you heard me. Five GS. I'll give you tomorrow afternoon to scrape it together. Then I'll call you and let you know where to meet me. Hello, Ellen, this is Walter. I told you I never wanted to speak to you again. All right, I won't speak to you. Just tell me the name of the man who sold Mrs. Penrodic's pearls for her. Gallimore. Roger Gallimore. He has a jewelry company downtown. Thank you, Walter. How do you like it, darling? I was beginning to see the light. The next morning I went to see this Mr. Gallimore. He was a tall, pink man of about 70. And he listened to my narrative of events with considerable interest. 5,000 seems like a good deal for a string of false pearls. Yes, indeed, Ian. You know what I think, Mr. Gallimore? What, Mr. Gage? I believe that the pearls are in fact, real. You're a very old friend of Mrs. Penroddick, perhaps even a childhood sweetheart. When she gave you the pearls to sell, you didn't sell them, Mr. Gallimore. Instead, you gave her $20,000 of your own money and returned the pearls to her, pretending they were imitations of the original necklace. Son, you think a lot smarter than you talk. I try very hard, Mr. Gallimore. And I'm correct. Embarrassingly so, Mr. Gage. Pearls are real. Now, what would you like me to do? Give me $5,000 with which to get them back. Mr. Gallimore felt much better after he'd had a glass of water. And some hours later I managed to convince him that I knew approximately what I was doing. He gave me a check for $5,000. This check, Henry. You mean he gave it to you? 5,000 fish, just like that. You have said it. Well, I'll Be a Mickey Finn at a woman's club Lunch, kids. You get something with that daisy chain chatter of yours. Thank you, Henry. At any rate, all that remains now is for the phone to ring. He can say that again. Very well. Aha. Hello, Gage? Yes. Who's this? Guess. You got the dough? It's in my pocket at this exact moment. If I have any assurance of honorable treatment, I'm prepared to go through with it. Oh. You get the marbles. Okay. We're in this business a long time and we can't afford the Welsh. If we did it, it'd get around and nobody would play with us. I understand. What are your instructions? Tonight at 8 sharp you'll be a Pacific Palisade. You got that? At the end of the Dyke Road corner Sunset and Corona del Mar. Be there at 8 sharp and come alone. And no gun, no funny business, no smart work and no slip up. Nobody get hurt. That's the way we do business. Very well. One last thing. Where did you get my phone number? From Scandisi. Who else? Eight o' clock, then. And no tricks. That is very interesting. What? What? Telephone. Yeah, yeah. Hooray for Alexander Graham. What's his name? But what did the guy say? Oh. Oh, yeah. It's all arranged, Henry. I'm to meet them tonight all by myself and give them the money. All by yourself, huh? Get you a real comedian. Wait till I loosen my belt. They'll take the dough and leave you laying there bleeding all over yourself. And they'll still have the marble. I ought to go with you, Henry. It's my duty. And I must brave these monsters in human guise. Alone and unattended, of course. I do have a big car. And you could hide on the floor under a rug, it's a cinch. But maybe. Walter, the only thing wrong with you as far as I can see, is you got holes in your head. All I'm trying to do is keep you from getting another one. I'm going with you. Thought was settled, Henry was to go with me. That afternoon I stopped at the bank where I cashed Mr. Gallimore's check and changed it into $100. Bill. Five hundred. You counted as though it were your own. Five thousand. Five thousand. Five thousand. And now a roll of quarters, please. Roll of quarters, please. There seems to be an echo in here. Leave them in the wrapper. Ooh. Quite heavy, aren't they? Yes, aren. And so late that evening I found myself out on the Pacific Palisades with Henry Eichelberger Boy in the back of the car. I was very nervous. I think Henry was also. Neither of us were any too sure of what was going to happen that night. Oh, me back. What's the matter, Henry? Aren't you comfy back there? Oh, I'm comfy, all right. Only my heater keeps digging into me. Ain't we there yet? Well, we're getting close. Stay down. This is business. This is the end of the line. Henry, be careful. They're probably watching me. Okay. What's that? It hits me, Walter. My. My gun is breaking my back. Well, stop sitting on it. I did. Anything stirring? No. Keep quiet. I'll make like a little mousey. Don't you think we've waited? I mean, don't you think we've waited long enough? Henry, we only been waiting 15 minutes. You sure this is the place? Yes, of course. Let's get out of the car and see if anybody shoots at us. Then we'll know if somebody's around. Well, that seems to be the difficult way of finding out. But let's try it. I personally feel sure that there's no one here but you and I. Suck it, you know what happened, Walter? What do you think, Henry? It was just a tryout, that's all. Tomorrow, this guy calls you again on the phone and he says, sorry, but they had to be careful. And they'll try again tonight. Maybe. Maybe out in San Fernando Valley. And the price is now 10 grand on account of their extra trouble. I ought to go back and twist that Scandisi. So he spends the rest of his life looking up his left pants leg. Well, Henry, what's the next move? Feed it home, I guess. Anyhow, I won't need this gun anymore. My back is sore enough from it. We stood there and looked at one another, Henry and I. He doubled his hands into fists and shook them slowly. In his sadness, I, too was melancholy. In the brief time I'd known Henry, I'd grown very fond of him. Yeah. Yeah, that's it, all right. Nothing else to do but beat it on home. That's all is left to us. I took my right hand out of my pocket. I have large hands. In my right hand nestled the roll of quarters I'd gotten from the bank that morning. My hand made a large and heavy fist around them. Henry didn't notice. What are you looking at me so funny for, Walter? I just wanted to say goodnight. Henry, you had two strikes on me. This is the big one. I don't get it. He got it. Then my fist with nearly a pound of metal in it caught him squarely on the jaw. For a moment, he wavered back and forth on his feet. And then Henry Eichelberger lay motionless on the ground, as limp as a rubber glove. I found the pearls twined around his ankle inside his left sock. Well, Henry, I said, although he couldn't hear me, you're a gentleman, even if you are a thief. You could have taken the money a dozen times. You could have taken it a little while ago when you still had the gun. But even that repelled you. You threw the gun away and we were man to man. But still you hesitated. In fact, Henry, I said, for a successful thief, you hesitated just a little too long. But as a sporting man, I can only think more highly of you. Goodbye, Henry, and good luck, I said. I put a hundred dollar bill in his chubby little fist and withdrew. End of story. But how did you know it was Henry, Darling? You told me so. Little lemon cookie. You were quite sure of it, I know. But you must have had proof of some kind. Well, there was one other minor detail that convinced me. Henry was the guilty party. I gave Scandisi my phone number. But I have two telephones. One's a private line. Only two people had that number. You were one of them. Henry was the other. When Henry's accomplice got in touch with me, he used the phone number I'd given Henry, not the one I gave Scandisi. You see? Oh, darling, you're so clever. Of course, you may kiss me if you like. A few months after Ellen and I were married, we received a letter postmarked Honolulu. It was from Henry. My dear, dear Walter, I have only just received the joyous tidings that you and Eleanor embarked upon the happy tide of holy matrimony. I am so glad for you. I often think of you, Walter, particularly with an overwhelming curiosity as to what it was you struck me with that night. Ah, well, I dare say it can only be conjecture on my part. Now, a hammer, perhaps? That I allowed my jaw to be exposed to your weapon while I stood there meditating as to whether to take your 5000 then or wait for 10 the following evening was a human error of judgment. At any rate, I entertain no feelings of ill will towards you. On the contrary, I am indebted to you greatly. The ease with which you talked Mr. Gallimore out of $5,000 has changed my life. I have been taking English lessons myself and I'm now practicing on a wealthy widow woman. Not without financial success. Ah, Toujour le sport. Devotedly, Henry P S Was it perchance an anvil? I wonder. You know, Henry wasn't such a bad fellow. All I really disliked him for was his barbaric English. Now he's changed that. Maybe I should have married him. What do you think gets you a real comedian? Wait till I loosen my belt. And so closes. Pearls are a Nuisance in which Roma Wines have brought you William Bendix and Alan Joselyn as co stars of tonight's study in suspense. Suspense is produced, edited and directed by William Speer. Before our stars return to the microphone, let me say a word for Roma Wines. The sponsor of suspense. Elsa Maxwell's hospitality is always simple and unaffected. The other day she said. A few old friends, some comfortable chairs, a glass or two of good Roma California sherry. And there you have the perfect combination for a pleasant evening at home. In fact, you'll find the light nut like flavor of this glorious amber, golden Roma sherry is delightful anytime. A delicious prelude to dinner. A gracious note of hospitality whenever friends drop in. Best of all, Roma wines are so reasonably priced any family can afford to serve them regularly. The goodness of Roma wines can add a lot to the joy of your daily living. Always delightful, always unvaryingly high in quality, yet cost only pennies a glass. And the next time you use vermouth, sweet or dry, use Roma vermouth. Zestful herb flavored Roma vermouth is blended, mellowed, developed and bottled in California. With all the traditional winemaking skill of Roma wineries. Try Roma vermouth soon, won't you? This is Alan Jocelyn. I trust that you died in the wool suspense pans who are accustomed to somewhat heavier meat on these Thursdays dramas weren't displeased with our efforts in the interests of gaiety and insouciance. Do you concur, Mr. Bendix? Get you a real comedian. Wait till I loosen my galluses. Courtesy impels me to tell you that Mr. Bendix here is being heard weekly on his own radio show. The Life of Riley and Paramount impels me to say that he'll soon be seen in their production two years before the match. Permit me to return the favor. Hey, Alan Johnson is soon going to be seen in the 20th Century Fox 30th anniversary production Colonel Effingham's race. Thanks, Bill. Next Thursday you will hear John Payne and Stuart Irwin as stars of suspense presented by Roma Wines. R O M A made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System. Now the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California presents Suspense. Tonight, Roma Wines bring You a suspenseful play by dashiell Hammett called Two Sharp Knives and starring John Payne and Frank McHugh. Suspense is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R O M a Roma Wines, those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live, to your happiness and entertaining guests to your enjoyment of everyday meals. Yes, right now a glassful would be very pleasant as Roma Wines bring you a remarkable tale of suspense. And with the drama called Two Sharp Knives and with the performances of Mr. John Payne as Scott Anderson and Mr. Frank McHugh as Wally Shane, Roma Wines hope indeed to keep you in suspense. Shortly after 2am A poker game was breaking up at Ben Kamsley's. The doctor coroner of Deerwood City, Scott Anderson, Deerwood's efficient chief of police and Wally Shane, his easygoing assistant, were just about to leave. Talk about thieves. Our own chief of police committed nothing less than larceny the way he won that last part. Yeah, and having won it, I noticed he's losing no time in making up with the swag. Why don't you boys just break down and admit you don't know how to play like old Professor St. Scott here? You couldn't win a poker hand if it was on a punch board. It's a good thing he's chief of police. Ah, come on, Wally. Let's get out of here before these amateurs break my heart. Okay, Scott, anything you say. Where are we heading for, chief? Just across the street, Wally. Railroad station. Oh, shucks. Aren't you afraid of the excitement? Don't you think that watching the 211 come in does have to be too much for your blood pressure? Well, if it is, Wally, you can always carry on. You've been a fair imitation of an assistant to me for some time now. Yeah, yeah, if anything happens to me, you'd be chief. Don't worry. It won't be any harder for you to fool the public as chief. Hi, Elmer. Oh, howdy, Scotty. Well, hi, old Wally boy. Hi, Elmer. Say, it's kind of late for you bees to be around, isn't it? Oh, I don't know. We sort of figured we'd put the town abed tonight. How's it? 2:11 on time. Right on the nose, Wally. Right on the nose. She ought to be blowing for the bend in just about three seconds now. By golly, she fooled Mrs. Early. That's her now. Why? Are you expecting anyone on it, Scotty? No, Elmer, I'm not expecting anyone. Wally and I just thought we'd Mosey over and watch her come in. That's all. You know, Elmer, you can never tell who might get off. Jesse James or Jack the Ripper, or even your Aunt Gussie. Yeah, I guess you're right, Wally. Wherever he should be. Pardon me just. But I gotta be roaring the wagon out to the bay. Elmer, how's it going? Oh, I can't complain. I can't complain, Captain. Well, maybe you can, Elmer, but I sure can. You hold us up with that freight there. How much more? No, no, this. This is the last piece now. Well, there you are, Cap. It's all done. Okay. See you tomorrow, Elmer. Hey, Scott, you see what I see? You mean, do I see the man who just got off that train? The answer is. Well, he's a ringer for the guy we got that circular about. That is the guy. Well, then, what do we do now? We take him. Wally. Let's go. Whatever you say, Scott. Here he comes over toward the taxi stand. Driver, I. I want to go to the Deerwood Hotel. I. Oh, never mind. I see the hotel sign just a few blocks down the street. Sorry, I'll. Hello, Furman? Hmm? Oh, I. I don't believe I. You're Lester Fuhrman, aren't you? Yes, I am. Philadelphia. Uh, yes. I'm Scott Anderson, Chief of Police here in Deerwood, Iowa. What. What's happened to her? Happened to who? Oh, no, you don't. You think you can pull that sort of stuff with me, you're very much mistaken. Ah, look. Okay, Scott, you silly. Let me get a crack at that mug. Wait a minute. Wait a minute, gentlemen. Hold it, Wally. Hold it up. Well, Furman, I. I'm sorry. For a moment there, I thought that you weren't really a policeman. Thanks. Guess I look almost human in civvies until. Until I saw the other gentleman's uniform. I thought you were a hold up man, Mr. Scott. Never mind the thanks. It was silly of me. I'm sorry. Well, let's get going before anything else happens. Are. Are you taking me to police headquarters? Mm. What for? Philadelphia? I. I don't think I understand you. You understand you wanted in Philadelphia, don't you? I'm wanted in Philadelphia? Yeah. Got a cigarette? Oh, yes, of course you are. What am I wanted for? Here we are. Here's the circular on Lester Fuhrman. It was sent out by the Trans American Detective Agency in Philadelphia. Fifteen hundred dollars reward for the arrest and conviction of Lester Furman, alias Lloyd Fields, alias J.D. carpenter, for the murder of Paul Frank Dunlap in Philadelphia on December 8, 1942. Oh, no. Take a look at it. Well, it's a lie. You're Furman, aren't you? Yes. The photograph reproduced in the circular is a picture of you, isn't it? Yes. Yes, it is. But I can't understand you. Better sit down. What we got here? I got Lester Furman. Oh, that fellow. Duck. You lucky stiffs. Now, you and Wally spent a grand and a half reward, though, chief. I've never seen nothing like it. If it ain't vacations in New York at the city's expense, it's reward Mueller. George, someday if you don't remember you're the jailer around here and not the D.A. you're gonna be wearing your teeth on the outside of your lip. And I'll be the guy who arranged it that way, you understand? Oh, just cause you caught a guy who's hot in Philadelphia. It's a lie. I never killed anybody. I won't be framed. I won't be framed. Oh, shucks. Take it easy, Furman. Save it for the Philadelphia police. We're just holding you for them. If anything wrong, it's the there, not here. But. But it's not the police. It's the Trans American. Detect. Mr. Anderson, I. I suppose you're sure there's nothing I can do. There's nothing anyone can do till morning. All right, George, you take Furman now and lock him up. Come along, darling. We ain't had nobody in our little hooscar for three days running. You'll have it all to yourself, just like a Swede at the Ritz. Well, good night and thank you. Make him as comfortable as you can, George. If he wants anything set in okay, he's valuable, huh? Now, if some bum didn't mean a nickel to you, maybe I ought to take a pillar off my own bed for him. And nuts. He's just like the rest of them to me. Shut up. Perhaps you forgot my remark about your teeth a while back. George, any day now I'm gonna forget your uncle's county chairman and throw you back in the gutter just to see how high you'll bounce. Remember that. Do all the talking you want, but do what I tell you. Oh, shuck, Scott. George don't mean nothing. He's just money mad. Okay, okay. I'm going home now. If it's anything urgent, I can be reached there. But I don't want to be disturbed unless it's urgent. Hello? Hello, Scott? This is Wally. Yeah, Wally. Oh, what time is it? It's five after six in the morning. And you'd better come right down. Scott. That fella Furman's hung himself. What? Hung himself Gap by his belt from a window bar. Deader than a mackerel. I'll be right in. Wally. Phone Ben Kamsley. Tell him I'll pick him up on the way down. Oh, shucks. No doctor's gonna do Furman any good now. Well, it won't have him hurt to have him looked at. You better phone the county court at Douglasville too, and file a routine report. Already did that. And what's more, hold on to your seat. The DA is on the way over in person. The da? I'll be there before you hang up. For suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you with stars Mr. John Payne and Mr. Frank McHugh whom you've heard in the first act of two Sharp Knives by Dashiell Hammett. Which is Roma Wines presentation tonight of suspense between the acts of suspense. This is Truman Bradley for Roma Wayne. Elsa Maxwell, famed hostess, makes this suggestion for added mealtime enjoyment. It's smart, yet simple to dress up ordinary meals for a festive note. Spread your table with a brightly colored cloth, a centerpiece heaped with fresh fruits and nuts, a basket of crispy brown hot rolls and at each plate, a glistening glassful of golden Roma Sauternes, well chilled. A most welcome suggestion from Ms. Maxwell. And as you enjoy Roma California Sauterne, you'll be delighted with the flavorful delicacy of this truly distinguished table wine. Like all Roma wines, Roma Saturn is always unvaryingly good. The goodness of selected grapes picked at the peak of perfection in sunny California's choicest vineyards. Carefully pressed, the rich natural juices guided to perfection unhurriedly by the ancient wine skill of Roma's famed wineries. Good Roma wines never vary, are always enjoyable, yet cost only pennies a glass. Remember, because of uniformly fine quality at reasonable cost, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine. R O M A Roma wine and now, Roma Wines. Bring back to our soundstage John Payne as Scott Anderson, Deerwood City chief of Police and Frank McHugh as Assistant Chief Wally Shane in Two Sharp Knives, a play well calculated to keep you in suspense. Come on in, chief. Good old ted Carroll. The DA's here and he's plenty hot under the collar. Yeah. What's he burning about? Oh, he's just mad. He's run up quite a phone bill for us too. Been calling Philadelphia every couple of minutes since he got here. What kept you so long? I couldn't get my car started. Well, let's go in. Hello, Ted. Listen, Scott, what is all this? Oh, what this. This fiddley d. This hanky panky. I suppose you mean Furman. Wasn't it suicide? Sure it was suicide. I just telephoned Transamerica and dug a guy out of bed there. They phoned me just a few minutes ago and said they'd never sent out any circulars on Furman. They didn't want him for murder or anything else. All they knew about him was he used to be a client of theirs. I don't know what to say, Ted. I don't either. What on earth kept you so long, Scott? Car stall came as quick as I could. Well, what makes you so edgy, Ted? Oh, nothing, I guess. It's just the district attorney in me. Oh, shucks, gents. If you're not careful, you're liable to give the impression that you two don't like each other. Okay, okay, Wally. I'll quit if he will tell me what's wrong, Ted. Well, that's plenty wrong, Scott. Everything's wrong. First, that Transamerican thing. They never sent out any circulars about Furman. And I'll get this. I talked to the Philly police just before you came in. There wasn't any Paul Frank Dunlap murder down there that they know about. They've got no unexplained murder for December 8, 1942. What did you get out of Furman before you let him hang himself? Only, well, that he was innocent. Well, didn't you grill him? Didn't you find out what he was doing in town, Wally? Didn't you? Oh, shucks, what for? He admitted his name was Furman. The circular description fitted him. The photograph was him. Trans American Detective Agency. Supposed to be on the level. Philadelphia wanted Furman. We didn't. But, Scott. Oh, sure, Ted, sure. If I'd known he was gonna hang himself. But then if your aunt wore pants, you'd be your uncle. You said Furman had been a client of Transamerican. Then tell me what kind of a job they were doing for him. His wife left him a couple of years ago and he had them hunting for. For five or six months, but they never found her. They're sending a man up here tonight to look things over. Yeah? Yes, and I might as well tell you, Scott, they're going to raise plenty of trouble over this. Yeah, yeah, I know that, Ted. There usually is trouble when somebody dies in a jail cell. Chief Anderson. Yeah. Yeah, come in. They told me I'd find you here. I'm Carl Rising, assistant manager of Transamerica Detective Agency in Philadelphia. This is Mr. Wheelock, who was Lester Furman's personal attorney. How do you do? Glad to know you, Mr. Rising. Mr. Wheelock. This is Wally Shane, my assistant. How are you? How do you do? I know you gentlemen are already in possession of most of the details concerning Mr. Furman from the time he arrived in Deerwood until the time of his death, but perhaps you don't know that the police of most towns in our corner of the state have also received copies of this reward circular. Hmm? Get it for him, will you, Wally? Here you are. Why, this. This circular is a forgery. Wow. You're sure It's a forgery, Mr. Rising? Oh, yes, yes, there's no doubt about it. And it's an excellent forgery. The papers, style and type are almost exactly like those we use at Transamerica. Almost, but not quite. Well, what do you know? A forgery. Tell me, Mr. Wheelock, was Mr. Furman a native Philadelphian? Oh, my, yes. He was well known, respectable, prosperous citizen of Philadelphia. Married, wasn't he? In 1934, he married a 22 year old girl named Ethel Bryan, daughter of a Philadelphia family. And the Furmans had a child. Isn't that right, Mr. Wheeler? Yes. Born in 1936, but the child lived only a few months. Mrs. Furman's wife disappeared after the child's death. What year was it she disappeared? Mr. Rising should remember that his agency worked on that matter. Yes, I remember it very well. Mrs. Furman disappeared in 1937. We never heard anything of her again, although Furman spent quite a lot of money trying to locate her. Furman never divorced her, huh? No, sir. Should say not. He was very much in love with her, and he seemed to think that the kids dying made her a little screwy so that she didn't know what she was doing. That's right, isn't it, Mr. Wheelock? Well, that is my belief, Mr. Rising. You said Furman had money, Mr. Wheelock. How much did he have? And who gets it? I should say his estate will amount to perhaps a half a million dollars left in its entirety to his wife. His wife, huh? That's quite a handy sum for anyone to have, huh, Wally? Yeah. Tell me, do either of you know why Furman came to Deerwood? No, I. No. Oh, shucks. You were his attorney, Mr. Wheelock. Don't you know if he told his servants or his office, employers or someone why he came here? I know of no one of whom he told, and I can't See that? These questions of yours are getting us anywhere. Why do you persist in asking them? Because, Mr. Wheelock, everything shows that somebody framed Furman into the Deerwood jail and that frame up drove him to suicide. Nothing shows anything else. And there has to be something else. A lot else. Well, Chief, what do we do now? I'm going across the street to Fritz undertaking parlor. Maybe I'll find something else there. You find anything at the undertaking parlor, Scott? No, not much. Well, I was over there myself just after you left and I did. You did what? Well, I saw it. Save it, Wally. I'm in. Hello. Am I butting into anything here? Oh, shucks, no. You know the coroner's report is always welcome at a time like this, Doc. What's on your mind, Doc? Well, is it all right to talk here? I mean, can anyone hear us? No, no, go ahead, talk. Listen, Scott, two of those bruises showed. What bruises? Furman up under the hair. There were two bruises. But why didn't you tell me? I am telling you, Scott. You weren't here when I made my examination. You were off chasing some stick up hoodlums. This is the first time I've seen you since then. But why didn't you spill the stuff about Furman's bruises when you were testifying at the inquest? Ben, I'm a friend of yours. Do I want to put you in a spot where people say you drove this fellow to suicide by third degreeing him? Too rough. Oh, shucks, Doc, you're nuts. How bad was Furman's head? Well, that didn't kill him, if that's what you mean. There's nothing the matter with his skull. Just a couple of bruises that nobody would notice unless they parted the hair. It killed him just the same. You and your friendship. That. Hello? Yeah, Fritz. Couple of ladies. Who are they? Oh, okay, I'll wait. I've got to run along now, Scott. Okay, I'll see you later. Right. It's Fritz at the undertaking parlor. Couple of ladies want to see Furman's body. He's going to ask why. That's what I was going to tell you, Scott. When I was over there, I saw. Hello? Hello. Oh, are you one of the ladies who wants to see. You're Furman's wife, Mrs. Furman. Hmm? Oh, then by all means, Ms. Furman. Only when you're through over there, I want you to come over to my office. I've got some things I want to ask you. Right. What do you know about that? Furman's wife? That's What I've been trying to tell you. I saw him. And one of them's Hotshot Randall, a babe with a record as long as your arm. She's one of that mob you had me working on in New York last summer. She know you? Sure, but not by my right name. She thinks I'm a Detroit rum runner. No, no. I mean, does she recognize you just now? I don't think she saw me. Anyway, she didn't give me a tumble. Okay, Wally, stick around a while. But stay out of sight. Maybe I'll be bringing these dolls back with me. Whatever you say, Chief. Come in. Chief Anderson? That's right. Mrs. Furman? Yes. This is my friend, Mrs. Crowder. Mrs. Crowder thought your name was Randall. What do you care, Chief? I'm not hurting your town any. Okay. Now, before anybody says anything, I want to tell you something. Furman didn't commit suicide. He was murdered. Murder? My husband, murdered? We got alibis. We were in New York. We can prove it. You're likely to get a chance. How'd your people happen to come down here murdered? Who's got a better right to come down here? She was still his wife, wasn't she? She's got a right to look out for her own interest, hasn't she? Yeah, that. That reminds me of something. Excuse me just a second. I gotta make a phone call in the next room. Take it easy. Hey, Hamill. Yeah, chief. I want you to have someone get hold of that lawyer, Wheelock, before he leaves town, and tell him I want to see him. And is Wally around? No, he's not here. He said you told him to keep out of sight. I'll find him for you, though. Right. Tell Wally I want him to go to New York tonight. Send Mason home to get some sleep. He'll have to take over Wally's night trick. Okay. Feeling better, honey? Now, Mr. Anderson, do you think I had. That I had anything to do with Lester's. With his death? I don't know, Mrs. Frehman. I know he was killed. I also know he left something like half a million does dollars. All right, Chief. Now don't be a clown. The kid here didn't have a thing to do with whatever you think happened. No, no, no. We read about Lester Freeman committing suicide in yesterday morning's paper. And about there being something funny about it. And I persuaded her she ought to come down to Deerwood. And that's all. Mr. Anderson, I wouldn't have done anything to hurt Lester. I left him because I wanted to leave him. But I Wouldn't have done anything to him for money or anything else. If I'd wanted money from him, all I had to do had been to just ask him for it. That's so. Well, he used to put ads in the paper telling me if I wanted anything to let him know, but I never did. You can ask his lawyer, Mr. Wheelock. Anybody who knew anything about it can tell you that. Yeah, that's the thing. Truth, chief. For years I've been telling Ethel she was a chump not to tap him, but she never would. I had a hard enough time getting her to come for her share. Now that he's dead and got nobody else to leave it to, I wouldn't have heard him. Why did you leave him then? Oh, after the baby died, I just. Excuse me. Oh, yeah, Hamill, you gave Wally the message? Yeah. I want him to go to New York tonight. Okay. Where is he? Home. He is home. Okay, thanks. This circular is what got your husband on the jug, Mr. Furman. Did you ever see that picture before? No. Why, that. It can't be. It's a snapshot. I had have. It's an enlargement of it. Who else has one? No, nobody that I know of. I don't think anybody else could have one. Have you still got yours? Yes. I. I don't remember whether I've seen it recently. It's with some old papers and things. But I must have it. Oh, Mrs. Furman, it's stuff like this that's got to be checked up. Neither one of us can dodge it. Now, there's two ways we can play. Yes. I can hold you here on suspicion till I've had time to check things up. Or I can send one of my men back to New York with you for the checkup. I'm willing to do that if you'll speed things up by helping them while you can. And if you'll promise me you won't try any tricks. I promise. I'm as anxious as you are to track this down. All right, all right. How'd you come down? We drove. That's my car. The big green one across the street. Fine. Then my man can ride back with you. But no funny business. Funny Shumany. What do you expect? Her, huh? Oh, send him in. Hello, Mr. Wheelock. Is this really Mrs. Furman? Yes, that's really her. All right, fine. How do you do? You wait here, Wheelock. I'll be back in a little while. Come on, girls. Where are we going? We're going to solemn murder, sister. Who lives here? Wally Shane, my assistant. He's the man who's gonna drive you to New York tonight. All right. Here we are, Wally. Who is it? Scott. Wally. Oh. Come in. Ladies first. Harry. Harry. Hello, Ethel. You two know each other, huh? Well, shucks. We just sort of. Go. Reach for that gun, Wally. I've got you covered. I guess you win, Scott. I guess I do. Why didn't you get out of town, Wally? No, it's Harry. You must have known when you saw these two women. I did. But when Hamill phoned and said you were going to send me to New York, I figured I was getting a break. You fooled me plenty on that one, Scott. Yeah. You gonna come along nice and quiet, Wally? Oh, shucks, why not? Okay. And I'm afraid I've gotta say it all. Asheyne, I arrest you for the murder of Lester Fur. You comfortable in here, Wally? Can't complain for a cell. Say, Scott. Hmm? You didn't just stumble on all this, did you? Nope. Furman had to be murdered by a copper. Only a copper with no reward circle is well enough to make a good job of forging one. Only a copper, one of my coppers would be able to walk into Furman's cell, bang him across the head and string him up. When you told me you knew the Randall woman, well, there it was. What got you like this, Wally? Oh, shucks. What gets most saps into jams? A yen for easy dough. I'm in New York, see, Scott, working on that Dutton job for you. Then I run into this Ethel Fuhrman, and she goes for me like a house afire. Like her, too. So that's dandy. But one night she tells me about how much dough her husband's got and how it would all come to her if. Well, I got to thinking. Thinking what? I think she's nuts enough about me to marry me. I still think she'd marry me if she didn't know I killed him. So anyway, I did it. I swiped that snapshot. I sent those Circlers out to a lot of places, you know, not wanting to point too much to this one. And when I was ready, I phoned Furman and I told him to come to the Deerwood Hotel that night. And sometime before the next night, he'd hear from his wife, Ethel. I knew he'd fall for any trap that was baited with her. Oh, shucks. I guess I'm not as sharp as I thought I was. Maybe you are, Wally, but that doesn't always help. Old man Camsley is Ben's father. Used to have a saying, To a sharp knife comes a tough stake. I'm. I'm sorry. You did it, Wally. I always liked you. I know you did. I was counting on that too, Scott, but. Oh, shucks. And so closes Two Sharp knives. In which Roma wines have brought you John Payne and Frank McHugh as stars of tonight's study in suspense. Suspense is produced, edited and directed by William Speer. Before our stars return to the microphone, let me say a word for Roma wines. The sponsor of suspense, Elsa Maxwell, noted authority on smart entertaining, has this suggestion. When the thermometer rises, it's time for cooling, refreshing drinks. Enjoy the taste thrill of frosty, cold, thirst quenching Roma refreshers. A Roma Sherry Cobbler is a gay and colorful drink, simple to prepare with distinguished roma California Sherry. Ms. Maxwell has an excellent idea there. And America's smartest drink, the Roma Sherry Cobbler, takes but a jiffy to prepare. Here is how in a tall glass, dissolve one half teaspoonful sugar in 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Half fill the glass with delicious Roma sherry. Add ice to fill, stir well, and you have the most delightful summer refresher you've ever tasted. You know, June is the month of weddings and anniversaries. And a most distinguished way to honor this year's and yesteryear's June bride is by serving delicious Roma California champagne. Its delightful pale gold color, distinctive dryness tell you that here is a truly fine champagne. Roma champagne. No better way to say happy days ahead than with Roma champagne. This is John Payne. I'm sure I speak for Mr. Mehtu in saying how delighted we have been to be invited to appear on suspense. Before Mr. Mayhew brings you a message from our government, I would like to pass along to you the billboard for next Thursday's half hour of Suspense. It will star that polished and sinister actor Clifton Webb in a radio play based on John Dixon Carr's novel the Burning Court. Okay, Frank, take over. The battle of the Pacific has moved into high gear. Our fighting men are doing more than their share in this big second half of our fight for victory. The current seventh war loan drive is an opportunity for you to do your share. The money you invest in war bonds now will increase in value, will be your ready cash for tomorrow. Buy those extra war bonds today. John Payne will soon be seen in the 20th Century Fox Technicolor production, the Dolly Sisters. Frank McHugh can soon be seen in state Fair from the same studio next Thursday, same time. Mr. Clifton Webb will be your star of suspense presented by Roma Wines. R O M A made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System. Now the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California presents Suspense. Tonight Roma Wines bring you the distinguished actor, Mr. J. Carol Nash, a star in Footfalls, a suspense play produced, edited and directed by William Speer. Suspense is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R O M a Roma Wines, those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live. To your happiness and entertaining guests to your enjoyment of everyday meals. Yes, right now a glassful would be very pleasant as Roma Wines bring you a remarkable tale of suspense. And with the drama called Footfalls and with the performance of Mr. J. Carol Nash, Roma Wines hope indeed to keep you in suspense. How you feeling, Bose? Good, Charlie. I feel good for a man who is going to die. Oh, don't be silly. What do you want to talk that way for? Oh, it is true. I know. But I do not feel bad. I ask you to come here only because I feel like talking a little while. You mind if I talk a little while, Charlie? Sure, sure. You talk as much as you want to. Charlie Rugg. All these years a cop. But a good cop. And a good friend. You know I'm your friend, boss. Yes, I know it. All these years I knew it. All those years when I keep silent, waiting to kill a man. There are not many people now who still remember my Manuel. But you remember even when he was a little boy. Yes, perhaps it was true. I was too fond, too easy on him after his mother died. But it was only because he was not. And he was a good boy always. Manuel was a good boy. You were like the others too, Charlie, the way you thought of him. But you. I know it was because you were afraid he would bring sorrow to all boys. I even remember the first time you were afraid. When he was just a little fellow. Papa. Yes, Manuel? What are you doing? What am I doing? What I always do. I work. I mend shoes. How do you. What kind of questions do you ask me? How do I. You see, ever since you were a little baby how I do with my knife, my hammer with. With the little nails. But how can you work when you can't see? Well, why do I have need to see when I have my hands and my ears? Papa, what is it like to be blind? Oh, it is not like anything. What I touch with my hands, what I hear with my ears. Those things I see with my mind as well as you do with your eyes. Oh, it is Nothing to be blind. Ah, good morning, Ms. Evans. Good morning, Boaz. Hello, Manuel. Hello, Papa. Is it really true that you can tell everybody by their footsteps? Of course. Didn't you see just then? And you really can't see them at all? Not even a little bit? Not even a little bit. To me, a footstep is as to you a face or a voice. Each one is different. That is how I know people and remember them, even for many years. All right, tell me who's coming down the street now, but you mustn't look. Oh, somebody is coming now. Well, well, that is the easiest of all, Manuel. That is our policeman, Mr. Rugg. Now, am I right? Mm. Oh, hello, Charlie. You come for your shoes? No, just passing by. I'll pick them up if they're ready. Well, not yet, Charlie. But you come back this afternoon and they will be ready. Papa, can I have a nickel? Always a piece for the pocket, huh? Here. Here's what they have. Now you take a nickel out, huh? Thanks, Papa. Here. Here, you young scamp. Let me go. What is it? It wasn't a nickel he took. It was half a dollar. Well. Oh, that was only a mistake. Ah, Manuel, you keep the half dollar. Now go on, run along. Thanks, Papa. I didn't mean to butt in between you and your young one, Bose. But I thought maybe you didn't. That I did not know. Oh, I knew. But Manuel, he needs things now. And he is not like other boys. Well, he's not so strong. It's none of my business, but spare the rod, you know. He is a good boy. My Manuel is always a good boy. Boy. So it was like that through the years. A quiet life. My work, my shop, my house behind the shop. A quiet life. Until that day he came, my Manuel, he was a big boy now, almost a man. Still he was not. I remember that day, it was evening and Manuel had just come into the shop. I knew what he wanted. Hello, Pop. Oh, hello, Manuel. Well, have a good day today? Sure, pretty good. Oh. Well, what were you doing today? Oh, just walking around and thinking. Thinking, uh huh. Thinking about what? Just about people and things. They pay much for that kind of work. Manuel, you want me to get a job? Oh, Manuel, no, no. You do that when you want to. To work is good, but to think is good too. You're a swell guy, Pop. Well, now, maybe a piece for the pocket, huh? Well, $5. 10 maybe, if it's all right. Sure. Here. Here you are. Huh? I see. Stranger coming down our street. You hear? Not the way you do. Pop. Why, he. He's stopping at our door, I think. Well, I think I'll be going, Pop. Yes, Manuel. Good night. Good night, Pop. Mr. Negro. Mr. Boaz Negro. Yes. I'm a stranger in town, Mr. Negro, and I. Yes, yes, I know. Well, what was that you said? Oh, nothing. I was merely thinking out loud. Please continue, Mr. Mr. Wood. Campbell Wood. Wood. Mr. Campbell Wood. Well, as I was saying, I'm a stranger in town and I was told down at the depot that you had a room to rent. Well, matter of fact, I have. Well, I'm just starting at a new job in the bank and I can't afford to pay too much, but. Well, I always like to help young fellow to get a start in life. How would $5 a week suit you, Mr. Wood? Oh, that is, if you like the room, of course. That'll be just fine, Mr. Negro. Now, if I could see the room. So you are making your start in life, eh, Mr. Wood? Well, hope so, Mr. Negro. You know, I can tell something about you, Mr. Wood, by your voice. But even more by your footsteps. I'm a footstep. Oh, that is a sort of specialty of mine. Yes, I think you will, as they say, go places, Mr. Wood. Well, I certainly try. Oh, yes, yes, you will, Mr. Wood. Very definitely you will go places. Yes, and I was right. He did go places. Maybe even a little too fast. And there was talk that fine young Mr. Wood who lived with old Boas Negro, they said. What a contrast to that son, that Manuel, who did nothing. Then that night. That night when he came home late. Oh, good evening, Mr. Wood. You are out rather late tonight. Yes, I had to attend a special board of trade meetings. And you, you're up rather late tonight yourself. Yes, I had to attend to my special shoes. Mr. Boaz, I'd like to speak to you. Well, do you need my permission? Well, this affair is none of my business. Well, go on, go on. Well, darling, I hate to see a hard working man like yourself support a lazy son. Why doesn't he get himself a job? You know my Manuel is not strong. Well, I. I've heard you tell your friends, but he doesn't appear undernourished to me. Really, Mr. Wool, my Manuel is not too strong. Couldn't he learn your trade then? Shoemaking? Well, it may be good enough for a blind man, but for Manuel. Well, I'm getting a bit tired, so I guess I'll be going upstairs. Oh, darn it. Getting as careless as a newborn baby. Now, let me see. Oh, dear. Gee whiz, oh, my. Glad it's all here. I'm responsible, you know. Responsible for what? Why, for the gold I have in this sack. It's government money for the Breakwater project. Indeed. But why have you. I know what you're thinking, Mr. Negro, but I'm keeping the money for the bank until tomorrow morning. You see, too many people in town know that we received the funds. And I don't trust that old safe we have down at the bank. Very, very clever, Mr. Wood. So you take the money home for you with safekeeping, and nobody is any wiser. Very clever. Rather think so myself. I'm glad I dropped the sack in front of you, Mr. Negro, because I know I can trust you as far as. Well, as far as I can trust myself. That is a fine compliment for an old cobbler, Mr. Wood. Well, I'm going upstairs now. Remember, I have your board. Yes, you have my word. What's that? Oh, well, a mouse. I suppose I will have to set a trap. Is Manuel home? No, no, no, Mr. Wood. He is not here. Good night. That was the first time I was frightened. That was the first time I ever thought of such a thing. Manuel was home, and he has heard every. Everything I thought Manuel has heard the tinkle of gold. The tinkle of gold. Manuel. Manuel. Yes, Pop? Did you hear, my boy? Yes, I heard, Pop. You. You won't say anything? Why should I? Ah, you are a good boy, Manuel. Are you short of money? Perhaps $10? Thanks, Pop, but I don't need it now. Are you sure, Manuel? A fiver or a tenner? Not now, Pop. Some other time, huh? Sure, Pop. Sure, some other time. Some other time. My Manuel was a good boy, yes, but I wished he did not know about the money. I tried to return to my work, but I could not. And suddenly I knew that I was listening. First I heard footsteps there in the house behind the shop. The footsteps prowling here and there, halting, advancing again. Then others, pacing back and forth, back and forth. A door opened. A voice. Hello. Casino or gin rummy? Sure, why not? The steps again. The door closing. And then silence. Oh, how I wished to know what that silence meant. And yet, though I wished to know, stronger in me than that I wished not to know. It was cold, and I pulled my old coat around me, still listening. A little later, I thought I heard a little sound like the rustling of the wind outside my shop. But I could not tell. And then, perhaps, I dozed there in my chair. Smoke. Yes, there's fire in my house. Fire. Help. Fire. Fire. The rest Was like a nightmare. Because I knew. Even as they poked and searched through the ashes of my house, I knew. Hey, look here. A body. A man's body. Yeah, what's left of it. Dreadful accident. It wasn't an accident. Well, why not? A guy can fall asleep with his clothes on, but this guy's got his skull smashed in. And that makes it murder. Murder. For suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you a star, Mr. J. Carol Nash, whom you've heard in the first act of Footfall Falls by Wilbur Daniel Steele, which is Roma Wine's presentation tonight of suspense. Between the acts of suspense. This is Truman Bradley for Roma Wines. Elsa Maxwell's ideas on gracious entertaining are followed by women all over America. The other day she said this about Roma Wines. One of my favorite wines is Distinguished Roma California Sherry. A glorious golden amber wine, delightfully light and nut like in taste. Roma Sherry is ideal for any occasion before dinner, with appetizers or during the friendly evening hours. Yes, good. Roma Sherry, like all Roma wines, is always delicious. Unvaryingly good. The goodness of carefully selected grapes brought slowly to perfection in California's choicest vineyards. Gently pressed, then unhurriedly guided to flavor richness by Roma's ancient winemaking skill. Yet all this goodness is yours for only pennies a glass. Remember, because of uniformly fine quality at reasonable cost, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine. R O M A Roma Wines and now Roma Wines bring back to our Hollywood soundstage, J. Carol Nash, who in the character of Boaz Negro, the blind cobbler, continues a narrative well calculated to keep you in suspense. It is very kind of you to listen, Charlie. I feel suddenly so old. I feel that it is right for me to tell about it because sometime tonight I am going to go. Oh, but that nightmare day when the body was found in the ashes of my house, when I was forced, with my heart breaking, to a agree with you that a dreadful crime had been committed. You remember, Charlie, you came to me here and. Listen, Bose, we have identified the body every way. There is the clothes, the cufflinks, the watch they gave him at the bank. You know that. And the money's gone? Yes. All right, then for the hundredth time, where is Manuel? Where is Manuel? And for the hundredth time, I do not know. Come on, Bose, quit stalling. Where is he? I am not stalling. I. I don't know, I tell you. All right. When did you see him last? After supper. He. He was in the shop. You knew about the government money, boss? Yes. And Manuel, he knew too. Manuel knew? Yes. I See? Just as I thought. Well, you must not think those things about my Manuel, chief. He is a good boy. What happened after you saw Manuel? Nothing. He went into sleep. I stayed in the shop and worked. I see. Did you hear anything, Bose? Yes, I. I heard a man. The man moving about. What man? Mr. Wood upstairs and my son down here. Ah. Then Manuel wasn't asleep? No, he was not asleep. Go on. A while later, the. The noises stopped and. We must know everything, Bose. Well, a while later, Mr. Wood called down to Manuel and asked him if he cared to come upstairs and play cards with him. You heard him ask then? Yes. Are you sure it wasn't manuel who asked, Mr. Wood? It is as I said. I do not lie to you. All right, all right. Did Manuel go up to Mr. Wood's room? Yes, he went up. I see. How? Did you hear anything else after that? No, no, nothing. Nothing. Well, there is something else. Sometime during the night, I thought I heard something from footfalls, perhaps stealing past my shop. I see that you. You wouldn't swear in court that you heard them? No, not in court or here in my shop. I cannot swear to something I am not sure of. Bose, you're a good man. We don't want to cause any trouble. But you understand. A man has been murdered. Government funds are missing and your son is gone. What else can we think? As far as I'm concerned, it's an open and shut case. I've. I've issued a warrant for Manuel's arrest. No, no, no, you cannot. Yes. And if you know where he is, it'll go easier for him if you pass on that information. I've told you all I wish to tell. All right. Be stubborn. Stubborn? Do you wish me to dance a jig? I tell the truth and you do not believe me. What more can I do? Gosh. Put yourself in my place. Booze. This is serious business. And will you change places with me? I. I have lost everything. My house, even my honor. My only son. I'm sorry. Someday that murderer will return to the place of his crime. And when he does, I shall be waiting for him. Yes. Then. And I will show you. For I shall be waiting for him. To questions I gave no answer to, threats I gave no heed I scarcely heard them. For my ears were deaf to all sounds save one. The sound of footfalls, the footsteps of a murderer. Patiently, as the weeks, the months, then the years moved by. I listened. For three years I listened, wondering only when they would come. For three years more I wondered if they would come. Only the last three years was I troubled by the growing of a terrible doubt. Suppose the steps had come and gone and I had not heard. Suppose I were to make a mistake. Suppose my ear should fail me and I could not remember. Could not remember from that first hour of doubt. Every waking moment, yes, even in my dreams. I lived in a nightmare of echoing, jumbled footsteps. Footsteps. Slow and halting footsteps. Quick and running, Pounding, heavy footsteps. And those like as a cat's tread. More, more. Faster, faster. Footsteps. Footsteps. Footstep. It was the evening of the winter holidays. The Portuguese festival of Menuneso. Christ was born again. In a hundred mangers and a hundred tiny altars. There was cake and wine and song. And in all the houses there were lights. Even in my shop, the shop of Boise Negro. A costume. The customer had just called for his shoes and gone out again. Now I was thinking of putting out those lights. I reached up to turn the switch, then stopped. Someone had entered the shop. The newcomer stood by the closed door. I wondered why I had not heard the footfalls leading into the shop. Yes? What can I do for you? Well, I don't know. To tell the truth. You. You'll have to come nearer, please. I am a little deaf. Oh, all right. Can you hear me now? Fine. Just fine. I have a pair of expensive boots with me, and they're in need of repair. Could you fix them? I think so. If you'd care to leave them with me. Well, darn it, I haven't got them with me now. I just thought, could I look around a bit, you know. Look around? Well, you are welcome, but I assure you there is not much interest in a poor cobbler shop. Well, that may be true, but I. The lights. Put on these lights. I can't see. Why did you turn them off? I can see much better in the dark. You're crazy. You can't see at all. How did you know? Put on those lights. Stay where you are. I can hear every move. What? What are you gonna do? Keep away from me. Don't touch me. No. Murderer. Murderer. I have waited nine years. I have lived for this day. Murderer. Then, as he died, suddenly I realized this man that I had killed has a beard. A full beard. Over his face, over his throat. Where my fingers strangled him. Could have been wrong. But no. The footsteps I was certain of. Then perhaps others would not know him for who he was. If suddenly I knew what I must do. That his last cries had been heard, I knew, for I could hear the crowd gathering outside my locked door. I sit about my task as carefully as though he had been alive With a sure, unhurried touch, I continued at my work even as you battered at the door. All right, stand back, all of you. Stand back there now. Come on, Martin. Yeah, all right. Lord only knows what we were finding here. Bose. Darkest pitch. Bose, where are you? Put on the lights, Martin. I can't find. Oh, here to see. That's much better. Bose. Bose, what are you doing there on the floor? Bose, Are you all right? Chief? He. He's shaving someone. Bose, what are you doing there? It's all right, Charlie. I. I'm through. I'm through. Now, tell me, is it that murderer? This guy on the floor is dead, chief. Strangled. Tell me, is it that murderer? Manuel, Bose. You mean Manuel? Not Manuel. I told you my Manuel was a good boy. But I ask you, is it that murderer? Well, it. Good Lord. What's up, Chief? That man on the floor. It's Campbell Wood, the bank fellow we thought was burned. Burned him? Burned? No, it was my boy that was burned. That murderer killed my boy. He put his clothes on him and set fire to my house. I knew that all the time. Why didn't you tell us all this before? And have you laugh in my face? Could I tell you that I thought those footfalls moving along the side of the shop belonged to Mr. Wood? A blind man with crazy ideas. You would say, could I stop him and ask where he was going? If I were not blind, he would have killed me too. No, it was not my son that ran away. It was this mother all the time. But I told you he'd come back. And I killed him. I showed you. Now you can hang me for my crime. You remember, don't you, Charlie? And you did not even bother to arrest me. Perhaps you did not believe old boys had such strength in his hands, huh? He died of heart failure, did he? Well, so be it. But you believe now that old boys has no trouble with these years, huh? Ah, yes, I hear. I hear everything. Even a voice close in my ear. Hello, Pop. Ms. Manuel. Yes. Yes, I hear. Oh, Manuel. How are things with you, Manuel? Fine, Bob. Fine. Do you need a little money? A fiver, perhaps a tenner? No, thanks, Bob. Not now. Some other time, Bob. I'm waiting for you, Pop. Yes, I know you are waiting, and I am glad to come with you. My Manuel is a good boy and. And so closes footfalls in which Roma Wines have brought you J. Carol Nash as star of tonight's study in suspense. This is Truman Bradley with a word for Roma Wines, the sponsor of Suspense. July, one of the warmest months, calls for tall, frosty iced drinks. And famous hostess Elsa Maxwell recently said, I've discovered the perfect hot weather drink. Wonderfully cooling and refreshing. One that guests really go for. I mean Roma Wine and Soda, made with distinguished Roma, California Burgundy or Sauterne. Yes, Roma Wine and Soda is simple to prepare. Half fill tall glasses with Roma Burgundy or Sauterne. Add ice cubes, sparkling water and a bit of sugar. And for a decorative touch, garnish with cherries or fruit. And be sure to use Roma Wine always uniformly good, yet costs only pennies a glass, so you can serve it often. And the next time you use vermouth, choose Roma Vermouth, sweet or dry. Zestful, full flavored Roma Vermouth is blended and developed with all the traditional winemaking skill of Roma wineries. Is made and bottled in the heart of California's famous vineyards. Yet surprisingly low priced. Try Roma Vermouth soon, won't you? J. Carol Nash appeared through the courtesy of Paramount Pictures and is currently being seen in their production, A Medal for Benny. Next Thursday, same time, you will hear Bonita Granville as star of Suspend presented by Roma Wines. R O M a made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System of. Now, the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California presents Suspense. Tonight, Roma Wines bring you Short Order, a suspense play produced, edited and directed for Roma Wines by William Speer. Suspense Radio's outstanding theater of thrills is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R O M a Roma Wines, those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live, to your happiness in entertaining guests, to your enjoyment of everyday meals. Yes, right now a glassful would be very pleasant as Roma Wines bring you Short Order, a remarkable tale of suspense. Thank you very much. Come back. Bailey's Diner. Well, this is Mr. Bailey speaking. Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. You're just a little late on that. Well, I hired a fry cook day before yesterday. I'm sorry. I forgot to tell the newspaper to stop running that ad. And this morning I got a good man. No, no, one man's all I need. Just got a small place here. That's all. Right. Bye. You see that, Johnson? You better keep on your toes. Plenty of people after your job. You're not careful. You know something. Well, what's the matter? Don't you want to take my money? H. Oh, sure. Yes, yes, of course. 75 out of 1. 5 1. Thank you. Okay. Hey, Johnson. Johnson. Good Lord. Did you see that man's face. Yeah, you're telling me. That's enough to haunt your dreams. Kind of made you nervous, didn't he, Mr. Bailey? Well, after all, it's kind of a shock to look up and see you. Yeah. I noticed you hung kinda close to that gun you keep under the cash register. Did I? Automatic reflex, I guess. Oh, poor guy. I ought to be ashamed. Probably got that way in an explosion. Accident or something, you know. Yeah. Looks like a plastic surgery job. Only some doctor like Frankenstein must have done the surgery. Here you are. Enjoyed this. Oh, thank you. Come back. Yeah. Yes, sir. He liked your cooking, too, Johnson. Two deluxe sandwiches, two coffees. You know, that's not bad, right? Seems to me business has been picking up ever since you started working here. Just thought you'd like to know. Thanks a lot. You like this work, Johnson? Yeah, It'll do. The hours kind of get me sometimes. And when the rush hour starts in half an hour, I can't pretend I'll be liking it. But it's all right. Yeah. Well, someday you'll have a place of your own. Be your own boss. Never get anywhere working for someone else. You know. I'm doing okay now, Mr. Bailey, you'll never go hungry for lack of a job. You're too good a cook, but your own business. Now, you take me. I'm doing well, even if I do say so. People come here to eat, all right. I see that they get them. Makes you feel pretty good having your own place. Makes the saving and scraping seem sort of worthwhile. You seem to get the business. Of course, you got a terrific location. Well, this place has a name that means something. At least I think it has. As a matter of fact, there was a man in here trying to buy it just last week. That's so. That's right. Real estate agent, name of Sloan. Had a customer. Who's this customer? Oh, I don't know. I told him I didn't want to sell. Oh. Here. How about opening that refrigerator door for me, will you? Okay. Thanks. No, I'm not gonna sell. Couldn't afford to. I'm not in a position to retire. The way things are, it'd be too hard to start up somewhere else. Uh. Oh, well, here we go again. Good evening. Evening. Yes, sir. What'll it be? Special, I reckon. Right. Coffee. Oh, good evening, sir. Is it still chilly out? Oh, yeah, a little. Thought some of your chili would warm me up. Get it? I get it. Chilly coming up Bailey's place. Oh, Virginia, what's one? What? All the windows. Well, who could possibly. Well, where were you? Well, now, why would anyone want. Oh, no, no. None of those kids would do a thing like that. They're nice kids. Yeah. Hoodlums, I guess. Well, I don't know what you can do. Got no witnesses or anything. You sure was Rocks, huh? Well, I guess there's nothing you can do. Well, I. I wish I could too, but I gotta stay here. All right. Yes, all right. Goodbye. Bad news, Mr. Bailey. The darndest thing of hoodlums or something. It just broke every window in my house. I don't know what to think. Bailey, this is a new kind of bread you got here. Better than usual. Oh, you like it? Well, it costs a little more. Oh, goody. Good evening. Hello. Good Lord. Yes. Yes, sir. What'll it be? Hamburger and coffee. Right. How do you have the hamburger? Well done? Cream in the coffee? No, black. Yeah, right. Hey. Hey, Bailey, come here a minute. Oh, yes. Pardon me. What did he put. Hey, did you see the face on that fella that came in a minute ago? Yes, I did. It's pretty bad, isn't it? Bad? I'll say. Boy, I can stand a lot of things, but that gets me. Well, I've left half my meal on my plate. I was enjoying myself until that came in and sat over there. Then I didn't want anything more. That's too bad. Look, don't pay. Oh, no, no, no. It's not your fault. Maybe mine. Gee, how do you suppose he got that way? Oh, a burn, perhaps, or maybe some other kind of accident. I wouldn't know. Oh, boy, that's the worst I ever saw. It's too bad, whatever happened. Sure. Well, yeah, too bad. Yes, it is. Ketchup. Okay. Here you are. What? This little paper cup. Where's the bottle? Sorry, but ketchup's hard to get. That's all we can serve anybody. Profiteers. Will there be anything more? No. Okay, your check, and pay at the desk. Thank you. Hey, Mr. Bailey. Yes, Johnson? How's your luck? Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Why? The way I figure, somebody around here is sure gonna need plenty of luck. Why? I don't know. I just got a feeling. If that isn't bad luck for somebody sitting back there at the counter. I'll eat this grill here. And I never saw a recipe for making a steel grill tender. We better order some more pork tomorrow, Mr. Bailey. We're running low. Are we, Johnson? Yeah, a little. If they keep hitting our barbecues the way they have so far this evening I'm sure we'll be needing it all right, I'll make a note of it. Lucky we got any unspoken left after that guy was in here twice yesterday. I thought the milk had sour. Bingo. Just like that when he looked at it. Yeah, but it didn't. Ah, Johnson, you shouldn't talk like that. He can't help it. You know he can't. We should feel sorry for him, not joke about it like that. Yeah, I'm sorry. Yeah, sure. You gotta have sympathy for a guy like that. Just the same, I hate to look at it. Ah, I guess we'll have to look at it some more. I think he's coming up to the door now. Um. Uh, Good evening. Hello. Yes, sir. What'll it be? Hamburger and coffee. Make the coffee black. Right. Make that hamburger well done. Okay. Oh, good evening. Evening. Yes, sir. What for you? Why, I'll have. Holy. How's that? Huh? Nothing. Nothing at all. I. In fact, I don't think I want anything. I just remembered an appointment. Just forget it. Well, what do you know? Your hamburger, mister. And your coffee. Ketchup, please. Okay. Still no bottle? No bottle, sorry. Here you go. Buy an extra bottle. Put it back on the shelf just for me. You gonna eat here some more? Yeah. I like this place. Go on, take that and see that you get some good ketchup too. Well, it ain't that, mister. It ain't the money. You can't buy this stuff when they don't stock it. Well, you better ask Mr. Bailey. Mr. Bailey? Oh, yes, Johnson, you tell him. I just gave your man some money to buy a bottle of ketchup, but he doesn't want to take it. Well, you see, sir, it's not that we can't afford to buy ketchup. No, indeed. We want to please the customer. Something a lot of people seem to have forgotten how to do nowadays. But ketchup's very hard to get just now, and we have to ask our customers to bear with us. You. You keep your money. I like plenty of ketchup. Nothing like ketchup, I always say. There ought to be enough in that paper cup. Won't that do you? Well, not quite. Any chance of a refill? I'm afraid that's all we can allow. Gentleman says he's going to eat here regular. What? I said that? Oh, just a moment. Good evening. Hello there. Could I do something for you? Well, I sort of thought I, I. Oh, no. No, thanks. No, no. Well, we hadn't finished our discussion. Yeah. As I was saying, Mr. Bailey, looks like we got ourselves a regular customer. Three evenings now that he's been eating here, Johnson and I wish you'd take a look at the figures. Take last night. Ordinarily, there'd be 10 to $20 worth of business just between 6 to 6:30 alone. From 6 to 10. How much? $1.35. Yeah, I know. Some of them won't even order. Some of them take a few bites and quit. At least it's not the food. We can be thankful for that. Hey, tell me, Johnson, how can you stand it over there in front of him all the time? Oh, mostly I keep looking someplace else. That's why I took down the mirror. For a while I thought I'd just work along and not look at him. But I couldn't help looking in the mirror every now and then. So I think maybe the customers could stand it better without the glass too. If they get to the sitting down stage. Yeah, if they do. Well, anyway, I took it down. Might help if he didn't get up every now and then and walk over to the door to look out. People can't help seeing him then. Yeah. Takes him a long time to eat, doesn't it? Yes, it does. Hey, say, I've got an idea. What's that? Look when he comes in. Oh, evening. Hello. Yes, sir. The usual? Right. Oh, by the way, mister, what's your name? Yeah, well, as I was saying, neighbor, we. We make a practice here for our special customers. Not just anybody, mind you, but for our special customers of sending meals out. Now, I was thinking, since you become one of our regular customers, that perhaps you'd appreciate it if I'd send your evening meal over to you every day at your room. How does that strike you? No, thanks. Rather eat here. But we don't have any comfortable chairs. There's no jukebox, no radio. That's okay. Don't miss them anyway. It's not very comfortable. A lot of food odor in the air, you know, sometimes I get sick of it myself. I like it. Not too many people around. Nice place. Suits me. Then you're not interested? That's the idea. Hamburger and coffee. How about. Yeah, the ketchup here it is. Good. Nothing like ketchup, I always say. By the way. Yeah, look for me about noon tomorrow. I think I'll be taking lunch with you from. From now on. Every day for suspense. Roma Wines are bringing you a cast of Hollywood's outstanding radio actors in short order by John F. Souter. Roma Wines presentation tonight in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense between the acts of suspense. This is Ted Myers. For Roma Wines, Elsa Maxwell is an acknowledged expert on the niceties of dining and entertaining. Recently, she said, gracious little touches can do so much to make meals more enjoyable. Dine by subdued light. If possible, adjust radio or phonograph for soft, mellow music. And as the crowning touch, serve well chilled Roma California Sauterne. A most excellent idea from Ms. Maxwell. Good Roma Sauterne is pale gold, delightful in bouquet, and even more important, exquisite in taste. Created in the Roma tradition, Roma Sauterne is always unvaryingly good. The goodness of luscious grapes selected at peak of flavor richness in sunny California's choicest vineyards. Carefully pressed, then unhurriedly guided to perfection by the ancient wine skill of Roma's famed wineries. Good Roma wines are always delicious, yet cost only pennies a glass. Remember, because of uniformly fine quality at reasonable cost, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine. R O M A Roma Wines. And now, Roma Wines. Bring back to our Hollywood soundstage. Joseph Kearns as Bailey. Conrad Binion as his assistant Johnson and Gerald Moore as the Stranger. In short order, a play well calculated to keep you in suspense. Johnson. I'm at my wit's end. What are we gonna do? I don't know. I. I got no more ideas. Two weeks now. We're losing money every day. I could cook it so I wouldn't want to eat it. You've tried that, haven't you? Yeah, twice. And it didn't work. Yeah, that's right. And I don't know what. We're going. Just a minute, Johnson. Okay, I'll check on the buns. All right. Hello, Bailey's place? Oh, yeah. Yeah, dear. Oh, no. Well, you must have misplaced it, honey. Every place. Well, how much was in it? Oh, no. Well, what are we going to do for the rest of the week? But I can't, honey. I really can't. Why? About three bucks or something? I don't know. Well, you know, it's just dropped off during the last week. Oh, no, no, he's fine. Now, don't say that, honey. There's nothing the matter with Johnson. And I'm not going to get a new cook. What? Well, I haven't told you, but. Well, why don't you cut down on a few things once in a while? Oh, Johnson, is there any aspirin back there? Yeah. You want the bottle? Yeah. My head's splitting. Here it is. Oh, thanks. Here he is. Hey, now, look, I got an idea. You back me up. What is it? Well, I'll try it, and if you don't like it, don't say nothing. Hello. Like I say, Mr. Bailey, this kid was a pretty game fighter. He didn't have a thing but a hard left. Mind if I butt in? I'd like to eat. You bring your lunch with you? What's that? If you brought your lunch. Okay, lay it on the counter and eat it. It'd be funny. Johnson, bring me the usual. I got other things to do. What other things? I don't see any other customers. Want me to call the boss? Look, mister, I don't like you see, I'm tired of seeing you around. You go someplace else and eat. We'll see about that. Hey, Bailey. Yes, sir. What can I do for you? This moron you call a cook says he won't serve me. Yes, well, do something about it. What do you want me to do? Tell him to serve me or else have him fire. Johnson's a good cook. Good cooks are scarce nowadays. What is this? Are you standing up for him? Just told you good cooks are hard to get. What about customers? Well, it's too bad, but I see. Look, both of you. I came in here to get something to eat and we're gonna get it if I have to sit here all night. Suit yourself. Yes, I'll get it. Bailey's place. Yes. Yes, dear, I am. But. What? Wrecked? Where? Were you in it? Were you hurt in front of the house? Oh, I don't know what's happening, Virginia. It just seems every time. Well, I. Of course, I'm glad you were in the house. Well, how bad was it? Almost a complete wreck. Well, could they find out anything from the driver of the other car? Did he have any insurance? They never do, do they? No, I'm all right, dear. It's almost out of my mind, is all. It's getting so I'm afraid to answer the phone. Well, we'll just have to do without a car, that's all. Oh, I'm. I'm sorry, dear. Yeah. Well, I'll talk to you later. Bye. Mr. Bailey. Yes. Whoa. What's the matter, Mr. Bailey? Bad news? Oh. Wrecked my car right in front of my own house. Had no insurance, of course. No money to pay. Oh, that's tough. Yes, sir, that's tough. Him. Him. Look at him still sitting there, waiting. I have to think of something now. I can't seem to think at all. I'm stopped too. Boy, you sure get the luck, don't you? What's the matter? I never used to have luck like this. Just. Just lately, just. Just since he Started coming in here. Could be. Looked like bad news right from the start to me. There he sits. If we could get him out of here once and for all. Hey, wait a minute. You go to the door and see if Ryan's inside. If he is, call him in, will you? All right. I wouldn't. Oh, okay. Right outside. O' Ryan, would you come here a minute? Okay. Well, Mr. Bailey wants to see you. What can I do for you, Mr. Bailey? See that man sitting at the counter, Ryan? I want him either arrested or thrown out of here. I don't care which. That's so. Giving you trouble, is he? Hey, you. You talking to me? Nobody else come here. What do you want, Mr. Bailey? What's the charge? Well, the. Making a nuisance of himself. What's this? All I do is come in here to eat, I'm making a nuisance of myself. I don't get it. Look at him, Ryan. I am. Not very pretty, is he, officer? The law doesn't give you the right to criticize a man's face. I'm sorry, mister. Hello, Mr. Baby. Every day he comes in here two or three times. I can't get anybody else to come near the place While he's here, he stays and stays. He drives most of my business away. I have to eat, same as anybody else. You do anything bad, get tough, insult people, disturb the police, all I do is come in and eat. Look, we reserve the right to refuse service to any customer I don't know. Now, Mr. Bailey, it's all very well, but technically speaking. What do you mean? He means that even if you don't like it, you can't run me out. If I run, mind my own business. He means you can't run me out if I ask you to serve me. Well, how about that? Well, and if I ask for something to eat and offer you money for it, you gotta sell it to me. Oh, no, I don't. No, you'd better, or I'll have you in court before you know it. Afraid he's right about that, Mr. Bailey. Well, all right. Sorry I can't help you, Mr. Bailey. Is there anything else? No, no. Be getting on, then. All right. Well, how about it? All right, all right, all right. Go sit down. Johnson, get him whatever he wants. Okay. I'm not going to answer it. I'm not going to answer. Mr. Bailey, the phone. You. You busted. I don't care. Mr. Bailey, put my gun down. What are you gonna do? You'll see. Now, look here, you. I can be pushed just so far. Now, either you get out of this place and don't come back, or as sure as I'm standing here, I'm gonna pull this trigger. Go away. I'm hungry. Did you hear what I said? I hear you. Now go away. Now, look, I'm gonna count. Three. One. Go away. Two. Three. Coffee, black. I can't believe it. I shot you point blank. Good Lord. Don't forget the ketchup. You. Well, you got the lay of the place now, Mr. Tanner. You figure on making any changes? No, no. Bailey had a good thing here. That'll leave it just the way it was. We'll hold the trade easier if we do. How did he seem when the deal was closed? I can't say. I let the lawyers handle everything. He took a beating on the deal or. I don't know. You? Not too much. I figure he recovered about 70% of his investment. He was lucky. I felt sorry for him. You didn't talk to him at all, huh? No. No, I didn't even see him. You think he'd know you even without the makeup? Maybe. No use taking any chances, huh? Lucky I changed the bullets in that gun for blanks or you'd be a dead pigeon. Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad I foresaw that possibility. You might say I saved your life, huh? You might. Don't worry, Johnson. You'll be taken care of. I'm not worrying. I never had reason to yet, have I? No, but just for your information, Johnson, we haven't committed any crime. We didn't take this place away from Bailey by force. We didn't swindle him. I paid money right on the line for it. Just remember that. Oh, I will. Customer. Why, it's Mr. Bailey. Come right in. Hello, Johnson. Come on, have a seat. Oh, by the way, you know Mr. Tanner, don't you? He bought the place. I never met him. Glad to know you. A pleasure, Mr. Bailey. You know, there's something familiar about you. Maybe I did meet you someplace. I was in once or twice. Looked the place over before I had Sloane talk to you. Oh, that's it. Well, how are you making out? Just getting started. I'm sort of breaking Mr. Tanner in, you might say. Hope you had better luck than I did. I was doing fine until this man started coming in. Johnson knows the man, I mean. Bad looking person. If he ever comes back, you just better close up and go home. That's so. Yes, that's right. Well, it's a wonder I have any mind left. To tell the truth, I'm not even sure I do, Mr. Bailey. Would you let me fix you something while you're in here, huh? Oh, no, thanks. I'm not hungry. We got some good steak. No, thanks, Johnson. Not even steak now. Okay. You're the boss, boss. Not anymore. But I would like to step behind the counter one last time just to sort of look around. Do you mind, Mr. Tanner? Oh, come ahead. Thanks. Well, you haven't changed anything, I see. Not a thing. We intend to operate the same way you did. I think it'll pay. Thanks for the compliment, but I hope you don't draw my luck. How about some coffee, Mr. Bailey? You look tired. Coffee. That sounds like a good idea. I don't mind if I do. Yours is cream and sugar, right? No. No, thanks. Black this time. Say, this coffee is hot. Yeah, I forgot to cut the burner back. And the whole tankful is plenty hot. I have to let it cool. It's too hot for me. Just one last look. Things I won't be seeing for a while, I guess. Buns, butter. Pats, Coffee. Cream. It's funny how you miss things like these. Mustard. Ketchup. Ketchup. Where did you get all this ketchup, Johnson? Why are you. I ordered those. Ordered them? Well, so did I. But I never even got a look at a bottle of ketchup. You're lucky all in knowing how, I guess. Yeah, I guess you're right. I rather like it myself, you know. Nothing like ketchup, I always say. What was that? I. I said I'm rather fond of ketchup. Fond of ketchup? Ketchup. I think I know who you are now, Tanner. I think I know who you are. That. That face. Sure, that face. Makeup, wasn't it? That face. And Johnson had to be in on it with you too, didn't he? Johnson helped you, didn't he, Tanner? He fixed the gun, didn't he? Well, didn't he, Tanner? Bailey, wait a minute. I can explain. Now you admit it. I'm telling the truth. Isn't that so, Tanner? Isn't that so? Hey, Bailey, stop. Fall him off, Tanner. I'll get a cop. Please, Ryan. Help. Please. Coffee. You always take it black. Quick, Mr. Tanner. Good Lord. The coffee. It's the face. And then what is this? It's all right, Ryan. There's nothing wrong, Ryan. Nothing really wrong. That's not his real face, Ryan. He likes it that way. Don't let him fool you. What else do you want? Oh, yes. Ketchup. Plenty of ketchup. Nothing like ketchup, I always say. Nothing like Ketchup. Roma Wines have brought you short order with Joseph Kearns, Conrad Binion and Gerald Moore as stars of tonight's study in suspense. Suspense is produced, edited and directed by William Speer. This is Ted Meyers with a word for Roma Wines, the sponsor of suspense. During the warm weather, nothing tastes quite so good as a tall, frosty Roma wine and soda. And as Elsa Maxwell recently remarked, serving Roma Wine and Soda is smart 1945 style hospitality. You'll find this delightful iced drink as refreshing as it is delicious. Yes, and Roma Wine and Soda is so easy to prepare. Half fill tall glasses with Roma, California Burgundy or Sauterne. Add ice cubes and a bit of sugar. And for a decorative touch, garnish with cherries or fruit. And for a delightful apparatus, sip, delicious Roma sweet Vermouth. Well chilled, zestful, full flavored Roma Vermouth, both sweet and dry. Is blended and developed with all the traditional winemaking skill of Roma wineries. Is made and bottled in the heart of California's famous vineyards. Yet surprisingly low priced. Try Roma Vermouth soon, won't you? Next Thursday you will hear Dane Clark as star of Suspense Radio's outstanding theater of thrills. Presented by Roma Wines. R O M A made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System SA Mr. Ronald Coleman, a star of the Dunwich Horror, a suspense play produced, edited and directed by William Speer. Come in, Dunwich, Massachusetts. Come in, Dunnage. Good evening. This is Henry Armitage. I'm Speaking to you, Dr. Rice. Please close the window. I'm speaking to you from my laboratory on the slopes of Sentinel Hill near Dunwich, Massachusetts. Present with me is Dr. Warren Rice, my distinguished colleague from Miskatonic University. We are now about a hundred yards from the summit of the hill. Which is crowned by a huge table like stone set in the center of a circle of stone pillars. A place of prehistoric worship. A moment ago, you may have heard the dogs of Tonich Township barking. As we have heard them for three days and three nights. Dr. Rice and I know the horror which their barking portends. But the purpose of this broadcast is to make this unbelievable horror believable to you. I hope for your sakes and ours, we are successful tonight. It is the eve of All Hallows. Tomorrow will be too late. Our time tonight is very short. So. So I'll speak only of those more recent events which, believe me, may culminate at any moment in a climax too frightful to wholly contemplate. I will begin with the birth of Wilbur WH. It was the night of February 2, 1921, candleness toward dawn, when Lavinia Waitley, a deformed Albino woman about 35 years old, gave birth. Birth to her dark, goatish looking son in the crumbling wh farmhouse northeast of the village. No one attended her, no doctor or midwife. No one was with her except her aged, half insane father, who was known as Wizard Weightless. So Wilbur came into this world under heaven knows what incantations, what appeals to what power. A week later, Wizard Whately drove his sleigh into Dunedge Village and reported the event to a group of loungers in Osborne's general store. Hey, your grandson got yellow hair like Living Wizard? No pigs out to his father more. He's dark. Dark? You never spoke of who his father might be, now did you? Oh, you know his father. When the time comes, Lavinny's read and seed some things the most of you only talk about. Calculate her husband's as good as you can find. This side of Aylesbury. We don't be nosy, Wizard. Maybe it warn't in no church that none of you heard of. But you wouldn't ask no better church wedding than La Vinny's. Why didn't he tell? No wedding Wizard. When was that? Not a wedding you'd hear of Cory. Not a husband you'd hear of neither. But let me tell you something. Someday you folks will hear a child of Lavinia's calling its father's name on top of Sentinel Hill prophecy, or idle boasting by an insane old man. I know I ask a great deal when I ask you to believe that the arrival of an infant into that house of dire poverty and squalor could possibly constitute a horror and a threat to all our known world. Yet it has an earthly history. Perhaps through this history you will be able to give it credence. Wilbur Whateley's growth was uncanny. But even if he had been an average child, he would have become, in time, an unnatural being. For he was surrounded from the first by the most malign influences. There was his grandfather, Old Whateley, Wizard Whateley, who each Halloween climbed Sentinel Hill to the great circle of stone, and while the hills shook, stood holding a great book open on his arms and shrieking into the wind. Shriek. Y so that dreadful name first mentioned in the hideous forbidden book, the Necronomicon. And this wizard, Weley, was Wilbur's teacher. The villagers began to notice curious things that were going on at the Whateley farmhouse. Soon after Wilbur was born, Old Whateley began To remodel the house. The abandoned upper story was restored and all the windows were tightly boarded up. And then wizard began to buy cattle in the large numbers, both horses and cows. Yet the livestock on the farm didn't seem to increase. Young Lem Brown was one day curious enough to creep close to the house to count the Weightley herd. Dr. Armitage there want more than 12 cows and them sick. Looked like they had the blight and funny wounds on them, like cuts. I heard something too, in the top pack. Wizard's house. Something like water slapping inside. Only big. Big like a sea. One other person went to the Whateley farm in the years before I met Wilbur. Dr. Ken Houghton of Aylesbury, who was called by Wilbur himself, who said that his grandfather was dying. Dr. Houghton found the old man in a bedroom on the ground floor and Wilbur with him. While outside the window a legion of whippoorwill cried loudly and rhythmically. Endlessly. Wilbur spoke about the sound. Listen. They whistling time with his breathing. Now they're ready. Listen. Listen. Doctor, they know his soul's going out there waiting. Yes, Wilbur. That's a interesting superstition. Late in the air for them too. When he goes, if they catch him, they'll keep laughing till break of day. If they don't catch him, they'll quiet down. You mean you believe? Just a minute. I think he's conscious. Yes. The birds changed when his breathing changed. Like I say. Willy. Willy. I'm here. More space, Willie. Remember? More space soon. Yes, I'll build it. You grows, but that grows faster. It'll be ready to serve you soon, Willy. I know. But remember, when it's time, you open up the gates to Yog Sothoth with a long chant, the one on page seven and 51 of the book. But mind you, feed it enough. Cause if it gets out before you opens to Yog Sothoth, it's all over. It's no use. He's going now. His bedroom. The birds. They didn't catch him. Yes, he's free. He's gone. It was the winter following Wizard Whatley's death that I first met Wilbur. He came in person to the library at Miskatonic University to consult a copy of the Hideous Necronomicon, which was kept there in its Latin version, as printed in Spain in the 17th century. I tell you, when he came into my office, I was appalled at his appearance. Eight feet tall, shabby, dirty, bearded. But I was even more appalled by his voice when he spoke to me. I wrote you a letter a Month pass, Doctor. I wanted a loan of the book. Well, that's a book that's never loaned from this library. I doubt if it is from any library. Well, I have to see it, then. Very well. It's kept right here. As you know, there are only three copies of this book in existence. That's why we're careful. Here. You can look at it on this table. Wizard said it would be on page 75 1. What? What is it you're looking for? The formula. The long chant. The one that opens the gate to Yog Sothoth. I felt a wave of fright as tangible as a draft from the tomb. He seemed humble, like. Like the spawn of another dimension, like something only partly of mankind, linked to black gulfs beyond all spheres of force and matter, space and time. Presently, he raised his head and spoke again. It's here, all right, but I'll have to have a copy. That paragraph there. I don't know. You know Latin, Doctor? Doctor. Yes, suddenly. Then read it, Doctor. Let's hear how you make it out. All right. That shouldn't be difficult. Let's see. Nor is it to be thought that man is the oldest or the last of Earth's masters. The Old Ones were, and the Old Ones shall be not in the. The spaces that we know, but. But between them. But only Yog so knows the gate. Yog Soth is the gate to. To. To where the Old Ones broke through of old. Their hands are at your throats, yet ye see them not. Dr. Armitage. You see, I reckon I've got to take that book home. There's things in it I've got to try, and you can't hold me up. No, I'm sorry. I tell you, Doctor, I'll have the book sooner or later, no matter what. You see, it that's waiting for me at home won't wait much longer. It was a week later that I was awakened suddenly by the fierce yelping of the great watchdog on the campus, followed by a sound from a wholly different throat. A scream. And I knew instantly that Wilbur had come back for the Necronomicon. I hastened into my clothes and rushed across to the library, where a crowd had gathered before the smashed window of my office. Inside, there was a fearful groaning and growling, and some instinct warned me that what was taking place there was not for. For unfortified eyes to see. I brush back the crowd, motioning only to Professor Rice to come in with me. When we opened the study door, professor rice screamed, no, Dr. Armitage. No. I Come up. Come. Close the door. We can't let them see he's alive. But Lord. What. What a job that dog's done. Torn him to bit. A horrible sound that morning. First we ought to call a doctor. A doctor? A doctor for that? No doctor in the world would know what to do for that. Look, Armitage. It's not human nor animal. Where did it come from? Can you tell me? Can you tell me what it is? No, I couldn't tell what Wilbur Whateley was. A thing that lay half bent on its side in a pool of greenish yellow stickiness, was 9ft tall. The dog had torn off all the clothing and some of the skins. It was partly human beyond a doubt, with very man like hands and head. But. But the torso and lower parts of the body were fabulous. The chest had the leathery hide of a crocodile or alligator, but below the waistline the skin was covered with coarse black fur. And from the abdomen long greenish gray tentacles. The limbs terminated in ridgy veined pads that were neither hooves nor claws. And as Dr. Rice and I stood staring at this presence, the whippoorwills began to cry in unison outside the study window. And then the thing on the floor roused and mumbled. Look, Royce, Look. What's happening? He's. He's disintegrating us, of course. Fast too. Heading away. Because he isn't made of matter as we know it on Earth. I guess he took after his father, so there'll be nothing left. His father? What was his father? I daren't think. I thought then that what came into our world with Wilbur Whateley left with him. I forgot what he himself had told me me of it, which was waiting in the field house Wizard Whateley had built, where the cattle were driven to disappear. But Wilbur Whately left a diary written in a strange Alphabet resembling Sanskrit. And I worked off and on for weeks to decipher it. And finally I read the following passage, written by Wilbur when he was no more than 8 years old. That upstairs is more ahead of me than I had thought it would be and is not like to have much earth brain. I can see it a little when I make the sign or blow the powder of even gadze at it. And it is like them. I see Halloween on the hill. I wonder how I shall look when the earth is cleared and there are no earth beings maybe like that upstairs looks which has no body, even fed with all the blood. Toward morning, in a cold sweat of terror, I called Dr. Rice to my house and told him we have to Destroy what's in that farmhouse. Why can't we just leave the thing locked up there? The house is boarded tight. Yes, but you think boards will hold it. Don't you realize, man? It hasn't been fed, it hasn't had blood since the 18th of September when Wilbur Whately came here to die. We left for Dunwich that night and we've been here on Sentinel Hill ever since, working desperately to discover the formula in time. But a week ago tonight, shortly after dawn. Yeah. Hello, Dr. Armitage? This is Lem Brown. I. I was just up beyond the glen, doctor, looking for cows I lost last night. Yes, Lem? Well, doctor, something's been there. Smells like thunder. And there's prints in the rut. Great round prints. Biggest barrel heads. Like a elephant has been along. Any. Anything else, Lem? That's all I see except bushes and trees push back from the road like. Like a house was drug along. Did you hear anything? Yes. Long toward morning, I heard a sound over toward Waitlace place. A kind of ripping or tearing of wood, like a big box was being opened up. Chancy. He heard it too. Lem. Who. Who lives nearest the Whateley farm? Why, that'd be Elmer Fry's place. Oh, he's on this line too, isn't he? Hang on and I'll ring him. Yes? Dr. Armitage, this is Central. I'm trying to get Elmer Fry. Central, Doctor. He must be out somewheres and his whole family. I was ringing there an hour ago. Earl Sawyer saw Elmer's cow Stampedin in Cold Spring Glen. You didn't get him? All right, but if you hear or see anything more, let me know. I'll be here working all day. Bryce. Bryce, wake up. It's. It's loose. It's out of the house. One family gone already. We have to work. Pray God we find that formula in time. A week since it broke loose. A week of terror and panic here in Dunwich township. Each night it moves about the countryside, leaving the trees crushed in a 30 foot swathe as though by a moving mountain, leaving its monstrous tracks and a trail of tarry stickiness leaving crushed and gutted farmhouses and whole herds of cattle drained of blood. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that is the story to this moment. And tonight is Halloween. Tonight we are here to. Just one moment, please. Dr. Rice, did you hear something with the window closed? No. Well, we'll throw it open. I thought so. Listen. Sound from a thousand bending trees. Sound like the sea moving across a forest. Yes. Yes, it's coming here. Of course. All Hallows, it comes to Sentinel Hill. Dr. Rice, I'll try the formula and the powder from the altar stone. I want you to stay here at the microphone and report what you see. Very well, Dr. Armitage. Oh, wait a minute. Before I go to any scientists who may be listening to me if I fail, there is a possible alternative formula in fault. Mystical Formulae of the Middle ages on page 24. Listen. There are the whippoorwills. I better get out there. Take over, Dr. Wright. Yes, I'll do as well as I can, Armitage. Good luck. Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Armitage is climbing to the top of a hill to the altar stairs. I can see him plainly, for the moon is high and the night clear. Down the hill toward the dark village. I can see the grasses and shrubbery bending down, marking the monster's ascent. It moves quite fast, and I feel the proximity to phases of being utterly forbidden. Now, Dr. Armitage stands now on the altar stone and is holding the powder, which is, if the books are correct, will make this thing for an instant visible. It is quite close to him now, perhaps 20 yards or less. He lifts his hands. He flings the powder in a wide arc. They can see. Oh, no, no. Dr. Rice. Come in, Dunwage. Ladies and gentlemen, this is your suspense announcer. Due to conditions. Oh, just a moment, please. One moment, please. Dr. Rice, can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you. Yes, For a moment I was overcome. When I saw. Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps you can hear now the incantation of Dr. Armitage. Listen it. The whippoorwills mean death. And Dr. Armitage is walking back here now. So we know that whatever it was, it is gone. It is dead. We can be thankful indeed. You see, I saw. Dr. Armitage. Yes. Did you. Did you see it, Dr. Wright? I saw it Long. Yes. What did it. What did it look like to you? It looked here like something made of squirming ropes, but bigger than a barn and shaped, well, like an egg. And dozens of legs like barrels that half closed when it stepped. And nothing solid about it. And at least 15 or 20 mouths or trunks opening and closing. But what was it? Oh, a kind of. A kind of force. A kind of force that doesn't belong in our part of space. Did you. Did you notice the half face on top? Half face like a human face. Very large, but, yes, quite, quite human. And quite like Wilbur's. Like all the waitlists. Then it was. It was. That's right. It was Wilbur's twin brother. And you saw what three weeks growth had done. And it was the child of Lavinia's who called its father's name on Sentinel Hill as Wizard Whateley prophesied. You heard it calling Yog Sotho. Ladies and gentlemen, this night is over. It is all saints day. May heaven bless us all. The Dunnage Horror with Ronald Coleman as your star of suspense. This is the Armed Forces Radio Service. We just heard the most dangerous game, Pearls are a Nuisance, two sharp knives, Footfalls, Short Order and the Dunwich horror that will do it for this episode. Thanks for joining me and thanks for your patience as I was out of action for the last two weeks. I'm hoping to be back next next week with my favorites from 1946 as we continue our trip through the years of suspense. 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 in Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. And if you'd like to lend support to the show, you can visit buymeacoffee.com Meansts OTR now good night until next time when I'll be back with more of my favorite installments each of the matale well calculated to keep you in suspense, ladies and gentlemen. The chief hope of our enemies is to divide the United States along racial and 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.