Counterspy: Explosive Dog (A0074)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Episode: Counterspy: Explosive Dog (A0074)
Date: March 28, 2026
Host: Adam Graham
Original Air Date of Drama: July 25, 1945

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Episode Overview

This episode features a broadcast of the classic radio mystery "Counterspy: Explosive Dog," part of the long-running Counterspy series. The central mystery revolves around a plot by enemy agents to destroy a government research laboratory by using a dog as an unwitting bomb carrier. After the audio drama, host Adam Graham provides insightful commentary, breaking down both the historical plausibility and the narrative mechanics of the episode, and responds to listener feedback about previous episodes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Enemy Plot: Espionage Against U.S. Research (02:28–15:08)

• Enemy agents (Charles Pierce, Dora Lester, Mr. Burley) meet and discuss a daring plan to infiltrate a heavily guarded government laboratory in Baltimore.
• The laboratory houses insect specimens vital for developing anti-disease sprays, with each bug potentially worth thousands for the war effort.
• Mr. Burley explains:
  “They have bugs in there worth as much as $5,000 each.” (06:53)
• The plan leverages the only accessible point—the scientific library adjacent to the lab, guarded by Connors, a dog-loving security guard.

2. Social Engineering: Gaining the Guard’s Confidence (09:05–15:08)

• Charles befriends Connors by exploiting his affinity for dogs, eventually bringing a sick, blanket-wrapped Belgian shepherd into the library.
• The blanket is the guard’s own suggestion, unwittingly enabling the enemy plot.
• Mr. Burley reveals the plan to Pierce:

  “We’ll sew the explosive and the time watch right into the underside of the dog’s blanket. ... The guard ... will never think to feel under the dog’s heavy blanket. Because he himself suggested the blanket.” (13:41)

3. Botched Sabotage: The Accidental Explosion (17:10–19:06)

• On execution day, a mishap (a fight between the bomb-carrying dog and a police dog) leads to a premature detonation, killing both handlers and a taxi driver, and failing to damage the laboratory.
• Emergency response initiated; Harding, the lead Counterspy, is assigned to investigate.

4. Investigation & Deduction (19:10–26:31)

• Harding pieces together the plot from the explosion site evidence, the dog’s purchase, and the absence of a second dog.
• The agents interrogate Mr. Burley and Dora and insist on seeing the grave of the supposedly “natural death” dog.
• Initially, they find a buried dog, seemingly exonerating Burley.

5. Resolution: The Villain’s Downfall (28:14–30:05)

• Returning to the apartment, Harding tricks Burley into exposing the truth. Harding had uncovered that Burley substituted another dog’s corpse, having stolen and killed a dog after the first exploded.
• Harding:

  "What I’d like to do, Burley, is throw you to a whole kennel of dogs. ... But instead, you’re going to go to the electric chair." (29:51)

• Both Mr. Burley and Dora are placed under arrest for espionage and murder.

6. Host Adam Graham’s Commentary & Analysis (32:38–38:07)

• Adam explores the plausibility of the plot and the weaknesses in the villain’s plan:
  • The narrative stakes are heightened for drama: in reality, such research would be distributed across multiple sites, not one vulnerable lab.
  • The plan relied too heavily on perfect obedience and conditioning of the dog, overlooking practical and emotional complications.
• Points out the effectiveness of social engineering:

  “The plan’s strength was through manipulating the guard and getting him to be their unwitting accomplice...a very good illustration of how that works even in modern security.” (36:43–37:20)

• Praises the show’s narrative for focusing on villains while still allowing the protagonist (David Harding) space to shine through deduction.

7. Listener Feedback Segment (38:07–40:37)

• Comments on previous episodes are shared, including technical corrections (e.g., about submarines running on gasoline vs. diesel).
• Adam values historical accuracy but notes dramatic choices are sometimes geared towards audience relatability.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "They have bugs in there worth as much as $5,000 each."
  — Mr. Burley describes the importance of the laboratory’s contents. (06:53)

• "We'll sew the explosive and the time watch right into the underside of the dog's blanket."
  — Mr. Burley outlines the sabotage plan. (13:41)

• "You tie the dog to the chair...the time watch will set the charge off at exactly 11."
  — The timing detail of the operation. (14:09)

• "The way it's played, the henchman's not emotionally prepared for it..."
  — Adam Graham's critique of the plan's realism. (34:50)

• "The plan’s strength was through manipulating the guard..."
  — Adam Graham explains the social engineering aspect. (36:43)

• "What I'd like to do, Burley, is throw you to a whole kennel of dogs. ... Instead you’re going to go to the electric chair."
  — David Harding’s climactic line, underscoring justice. (29:51)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:05 — Host Adam Graham’s brief intro and transition to drama.
• 02:02 — Start of Counterspy: Explosive Dog.
• 05:57 — Introduction to the government laboratory (“A person could very easily fall to his death...”).
• 09:05 — Plot to exploit the dog-loving guard.
• 13:34 — Sabotage plan revealed: explosive in the dog’s blanket.
• 17:10 — Execution of the plan and resulting accident.
• 19:10 — Emergency response and investigation begins.
• 22:19 — Harding’s interrogation of suspects.
• 26:15 — The "dog’s grave" scene.
• 28:14 — Resolution: The truth uncovered and arrests made.
• 32:38 — Adam Graham's commentary begins.
• 38:07 — Listener feedback and additional insights.

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Observations & Takeaways

• The episode is a textbook example of WWII-era radio suspense, combining espionage, sabotage, and counterintelligence.
• The drama highlights how criminal plots often fail due to human error, unforeseen animal behavior, and overconfidence.
• Modern lessons about "social engineering" in security are foreshadowed by the manipulation of the guard.
• Host Adam Graham’s commentary increases appreciation for the historical context and illuminates both narrative execution and real-world parallels.
• Listener engagement is strong, with feedback demonstrating an active and knowledgeable audience.

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Summary Conclusion

"Explosive Dog" is a standout episode blending outlandish espionage, tension, and a surprisingly modern lesson in social engineering. Adam Graham’s post-show analysis bridges mid-century fiction and contemporary security practice, fostering both nostalgic enjoyment and critical appreciation of old-time radio mysteries.

Transcript

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[Adam Graham]

Welcome to the great adventurers of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment we're going to bring you this week's episode of Counterspot. But first I do want to encourage you if you are enjoying the podcast to please follow us using your favorite podcast software and today's program is brought to you in part by the financial support of our listeners. You can support the show on a one time basis by mailing a donation to Adam Graham, P.O. box 15913. That's P.O. box 15913, Boise, ID 83715. But now, from July 25, 1945, here is the explosive Dog

[Narrator]

Fresh, the new cream deodorant presents David Harding counterspy. Washington calling David Harding, counterspy Washington calling David Harding, counterspy

[David Harding]

Harding counterspy calling Washington.

[Narrator]

David Harding counterspy is brought to you by Fresh Fresh. The new cream deodorant that stands stops perspiration worries safely switch to Fresh to be sure. Two weeks ago, Charles Pierce, a man in his early 30s, immaculately dressed, slight, with piercing eyes, stood in the hallway of a large graystone apartment building in Baltimore. With him was a young woman, Dora Lester.

[Dora Lester]

I do not feel this is good, Charles.

[Mr. Burley]

The biggest opportunity we ever had.

[Dora Lester]

Dora, you have never met this man.

[Charles Pierce]

Oh, I know all about him, though. He is in command.

[Dora Lester]

Feel very strange in my stomach. A woman's intuition.

[Mr. Burley]

That's enough.

[Charles Pierce]

Were paid well to take chances.

[Dora Lester]

You do not think this is a trick you have your gun?

[Charles Pierce]

Always. But I won't need it. Dora, it's a great honor to meet him. His espionage work is known all over the world. For two years, he was in command of all Gestapo agents in Spain. Yes, Mr. Burley. Yes. We received your message to come here.

[Mr. Burley]

When?

[Charles Pierce]

Day before yesterday. We were in Boston. Come in.

[Mr. Burley]

Come over to the table. Just sit down, please. Now, you will establish your identity.

[Charles Pierce]

Now, this is my lady friend, Dora Lester. She worked with me under Hans.

[Mr. Burley]

Just a moment. Remove your hand, Dora.

[Dora Lester]

Why, yes. Yes.

[Mr. Burley]

This picture is a very good likeness of you.

[Dora Lester]

You've got a picture of me? When was it taken?

[Mr. Burley]

The important part is that it was taken for identification. So you used the name Charles Pierce.

[Charles Pierce]

You Wish Some identification, Mr. Burley?

[Mr. Burley]

Unnecessary. I was standing unobserved right at the desk of the hotel when you signed in last night. I wanted to see your handwriting.

[Charles Pierce]

Well, no wonder, Mr. Burley. You're famous for your precautions.

[Mr. Burley]

From now on, you two will take orders from me. Come along.

[Dora Lester]

May I ask where we are going?

[Mr. Burley]

To the 8th floor balcony of a certain building. You'll be very surprised at what you see.

[Dora Lester]

A person could very easily fall to his death from this balcony, couldn't he, Mr. Burley?

[Mr. Burley]

Very easily, Dora. Now, Charles, see that long, low building over there?

[Charles Pierce]

The one fenced in with the barbed wire?

[Mr. Burley]

Yes. That building is the United States government laboratory.

[Charles Pierce]

Covers these two acres. And the guards who are patrolling there.

[Mr. Burley]

Just a moment till I close the fire door. There are 12 guards there, night and day. There's a beam of an electric eye which goes all around the building. Automatic protective devices of every description.

[Charles Pierce]

So they protect in gold.

[Mr. Burley]

Something even more valuable. Bugs.

[Charles Pierce]

Bugs? You're fooling.

[Mr. Burley]

No. They have bugs in there worth as much as $5,000 each.

[Charles Pierce]

I hate bugs. I couldn't hate any bug worth $5,000.

[Dora Lester]

What is the mystery of them, Mr. Burley?

[Mr. Burley]

One of the greatest allies of the Japanese. Disease caused by jungle bugs. Disease Americans have never experienced. Well, the United States government has had hundreds of specialists. Capturing these odd bugs in the Pacific. These bugs are brought to this country and placed in that building. Each species especially. Heated rooms, tropical conditions, their own special food. They're bred there. Millions of them.

[Charles Pierce]

You mean they keep all of the bugs there. So the United States can experiment on them. To develop poison sprays to kill each different kind?

[Mr. Burley]

Exactly. New poisonous sprays could not be developed to kill these bugs. If there were not thousands of those different species to experiment on. The breeding of some of these bugs is a very complicated process.

[Charles Pierce]

For instance, Mr. Burley, United States Marines land on an island. Yes.

[Mr. Burley]

And possibly in 24 hours. A certain percentage of the marine invaders will be suffering from sickness caused by some kind of a bite from these little known bugs. Each island, each jungle has hundreds of different kinds.

[Dora Lester]

But suppose the Marines do know about the bugs before they land. What can they do about it?

[Mr. Burley]

If a certain poisonous spray has been developed effective against the type of bugs they know they will encounter. American planes fly over the island. Thousands of gallons of the spray spray the jungles. Many of the bugs were destroyed.

[Dora Lester]

No wonder those bugs in that laboratory are valuable.

[Charles Pierce]

But the way that laboratory is guarded, it would be impossible to get near it or destroy the bugs.

[Mr. Burley]

Impossible for anyone but me. See that building just at the end of the laboratory?

[Charles Pierce]

Yeah.

[Mr. Burley]

That is a scientific library. And it is open to medical students who wish to do research there on insecticides.

[Charles Pierce]

Is it guarded?

[Mr. Burley]

Certainly. A guard at the door. He searches everyone when they enter or leave. The guard's name is Connors.

[Charles Pierce]

Connors.

[Mr. Burley]

In the evening when he's off duty, Connors often drinks beer down the street over at that restaurant with a sign.

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Yeah.

[Mr. Burley]

You're to meet him. Find out what his hobbies are, what

[Charles Pierce]

he eats, what he likes. Then report to me by telephone.

[Mr. Burley]

Hello?

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Mr. Burley?

[Mr. Burley]

Yes.

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That gentleman you asked me to meet.

[Charles Pierce]

What?

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I've become quite friendly with him. His hobby is dogs.

[Mr. Burley]

Dogs?

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Yes, he talks about them by the hour.

[Mr. Burley]

Very interesting.

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What shall I do?

[Mr. Burley]

Come to my apartment 11 tonight and you visit the scientific library again tomorrow. I will have had something planned.

[Charles Pierce]

Hello, Connors.

[Mr. Burley]

Hi, Charlie. Well, of all the times you've come to library here.

[David Harding]

You didn't tell me you owned a dog.

[Charles Pierce]

How do you like him?

[Mr. Burley]

Come here boy.

[Charles Pierce]

Come here. Hey, that's a peach of a dog. Belgian shepherd boy. Let's see your ma. You liking dogs so much, Connors, you sold me the idea. So I bought this one. About two years old, huh? Uh huh. Now you got something. Yeah, and he's highly trained. I don't want to lose out on my reading at the library here. So can't I take him in with me and tie him to the leg of a chair? Well, I don't know as I should let you, but that dog's almost human, ain't he? How about it? Okay, take him in with you. Hey Charlie, wait a minute. Yeah, I gotta set you. You know, you still have to after knowing me so well. This library section's right next to the scientific laboratory.

[Mr. Burley]

You know, I wouldn't let my own

[Charles Pierce]

mother in without Searching her. Okay, arms up.

[Mr. Burley]

Turn around.

[Charles Pierce]

Okay. Guess you're a thorough guard. Gunnies. I got two kids in the Pacific. You bet I'm thorough.

[David Harding]

Okay, Charlie, if you keep them quiet,

[Charles Pierce]

you can take them in. You know, Dora, this dog doesn't like Mr. Burley's apartment here.

[Dora Lester]

I can see from the way he looks, Charlie,

[Charles Pierce]

Now Charles gets it.

[Mr. Burley]

For three weeks now, you've been taking this dog into the library next to the laboratory. You sure the guard likes the dog, Carney?

[Charles Pierce]

Crazy about him.

[Mr. Burley]

That ammo potassium I gave for the

[Dora Lester]

dog really made him look good and sick.

[Charles Pierce]

Oh, yeah, yeah. His nose was hot and dry, his. His eyes glassy.

[Mr. Burley]

And you did not bring the dog's apparent sickness to the attention of Connor? Oh, no, no, no.

[Charles Pierce]

I was just going into the scientific library with a dog. When he looked at him and he said, your dog's sick, Charlie. Give him sulfathiazole. And if I was you, I'd put a blanket on him for a couple of days.

[Mr. Burley]

Keep him bundled up. So the guard himself suggested the blank.

[Charles Pierce]

Sure did.

[Mr. Burley]

Wonderful.

[Charles Pierce]

Easy, boy, easy. Come here.

[Mr. Burley]

It's our big moment, Charlie. A climax.

[Charles Pierce]

Now, this pantalite panelite. What's that?

[Mr. Burley]

It's an explosive more powerful than pnt.

[Charles Pierce]

Explosive? That's right.

[Mr. Burley]

And a little time watch that'll set it off.

[Charles Pierce]

You, You're.

[Mr. Burley]

We'll sew the explosive and the time watch right into the underside of the dog's blanket.

[Charles Pierce]

Well, you'll walk into the library with

[Mr. Burley]

a sick dog that the guard Connors has got a weakness for. He'll search you, but with his type of mind. He'll never think to feel under the dog's heavy blanket. Because he himself suggested the blanket.

[Charles Pierce]

Yeah, yeah, but what about me?

[Mr. Burley]

You'll tie the dog to a leg of a chair in the library. The time watch will set the charge off at exactly 11. At five minutes of 11, make an

[Charles Pierce]

excuse, walk out, disappear. I dream there's such a thing.

[Mr. Burley]

I'll blow the library and the laboratory. With all its expensive bugs.

[Charles Pierce]

Off the face of the earth.

[Mr. Burley]

Will take them years to collect and breed new ones.

[Dora Lester]

It seems like the dog knows what's going on.

[Mr. Burley]

Tomorrow morning, Charles, take the dog in

[Charles Pierce]

a taxi cab, drive right to the laboratory.

[Mr. Burley]

He'll have enough explosive wrapped around him to blow a city to kingdom come.

[Narrator]

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[Charles Pierce]

First question, why do you refer to

[Dora Lester]

4 o' clock in the working day as a time when you're apt to come up against the deodorant deadline?

[Narrator]

And the answer?

[Dora Lester]

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[Narrator]

Second, a man's question, is using Fresh a sissy thing to do?

[Dora Lester]

And the answer?

[Narrator]

Well, Fresh is a big seller among GIs in post exchanges all around the world.

[Dora Lester]

That's plenty answered.

[Narrator]

Which brings us to a question frequently asked.

[Dora Lester]

I get conflicting advice from people I know on how to be sure of personal daintiness. I'm confused.

[Narrator]

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[Charles Pierce]

Driver, pull up right in front of the scientific library.

[Mr. Burley]

Right next to the laboratories, eh?

[Taxi Driver]

Okay, buddy. What's the matter with your dog? Got the pip.

[Charles Pierce]

Not feeling good?

[Taxi Driver]

I was wondering why you had a blanket on him in this hot weather. 55, mister.

[Charles Pierce]

Let me get my dog out first. Come on, boy. Get out. Get out.

[Taxi Driver]

He seems to like staying in my cab, huh?

[Charles Pierce]

Get out. Come on. Come on. Come on.

[Taxi Driver]

Hey, I guess he sees the big dog the woman's got over there.

[Charles Pierce]

Got changed for dollar. Oh, sure.

[Taxi Driver]

I guess the big police dog over there don't like your dog. Stop it. Stop it.

[Mr. Burley]

Hey there.

[Taxi Driver]

Hey, that woman's having trouble holding her dog. Hey, hold on to your dog.

[David Harding]

Stop.

[Taxi Driver]

Bring him over here.

[Dora Lester]

I can't hold him. He's stronger than I am.

[Taxi Driver]

There's gonna be some action. Hey, hold on to that dog, boy. Come here.

[Charles Pierce]

Come here.

[Taxi Driver]

Now you're too late, mister. Now you gotta hold that dog.

[Dora Lester]

Keep your dog away. I can't.

[Taxi Driver]

Come on. Come here. She's lost him.

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[David Harding]

All roving Washington counterspy.

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Investigators leave for Baltimore immediately.

[David Harding]

Emergency. Explosion in front of government laboratories. Everett, I want you to leave for Baltimore with me at once.

[Charles Pierce]

This is the craziest case I ever heard of, Mr. Harding.

[Narrator]

Why would anybody want to blow up the street in front of the government experimental Laboratory?

[Charles Pierce]

You think it was an attempt to

[Narrator]

blow up the laboratory and it went wrong?

[David Harding]

Definitely. The guard in the research laboratory saw it happen. And the explosion resulted from a dog fight.

[Mr. Burley]

A dog fight?

[David Harding]

The most fantastic thing. We're up against a very unusual mind, Everett.

[Narrator]

Anything left from the explosion to examine?

[David Harding]

Nothing. The man who had one of the dogs, the woman who had the other dog, the taxicab, the taxi cab driver, all were blown to bits. It was a terrific explosion. As soon as we reach Baltimore, we'll set up a thorough investigation. Baltimore field office, Harding speaking.

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We located the kennels, Mr. Harding, where the dog was bought. Man came in. He bought the dog without leaving his name or address.

[David Harding]

What do our agents report from the scene of the explosion?

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Another thing. It must have been a terrific explosion.

[David Harding]

What about the man who drove the taxi?

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He's a discharged veteran. Good American.

[David Harding]

Everett, this is one of the most uniquely conceived plots.

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There just isn't any starting point.

[David Harding]

Let me think a minute. We've got to find the starting point. These agents will make another attempt to destroy that laboratory.

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What are your orders, sir?

[David Harding]

Enemy agents had a dog.

[Mr. Burley]

They now don't have a dog.

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We could start a house to house canvas.

[David Harding]

Well, that'll take us months. Come back to the field office, Everett. I've got an idea. We'll work out of here.

[Dora Lester]

I'm feeling Very nervous, Mr. Burley. Can't we leave this apartment and go someplace?

[Mr. Burley]

What time is it, Dora?

[Dora Lester]

Almost midnight.

[Charles Pierce]

All right, we'll go out to eat.

[Dora Lester]

Seems funny not having Charlie around.

[Mr. Burley]

Don't mention that fool. He bungled my whole plan.

[Dora Lester]

Have the newspapers said anything about the explosion?

[Mr. Burley]

Just one little item. The government must have clamped down at censorship.

[Dora Lester]

You are going to try some other way to destroy the laboratory?

[Charles Pierce]

Of course.

[Mr. Burley]

But this time I'll do it myself. You're. You're rather pretty, Dora.

[Dora Lester]

I like you, too.

[Charles Pierce]

Who's.

[Dora Lester]

Who's that? You don't suppose Charlie really wasn't killed?

[Mr. Burley]

Strange, this time of night.

[Dora Lester]

I'm frightened.

[Mr. Burley]

Stop it. I didn't leave one possible clue. Yes?

[David Harding]

Are you Mr. Burley who lives here?

[Mr. Burley]

Yes.

[David Harding]

I'm David Harding of the United States Counter spy. This is one of my agents, Mr. Everett.

[Narrator]

May we come in, Mr. Burley?

[Mr. Burley]

Why, yes, yes, come in. This is Ms. Dora Lester, a friend of mine.

[David Harding]

How do you do, Miss Lester? This is Mr. Everett.

[Charles Pierce]

How do you do, Miss Lester?

[Mr. Burley]

May I ask why you have called Mr. Harding?

[David Harding]

Well, three days ago, Mr. Burley, there was a dog which caused an explosion in front of the Baltimore Scientific Laboratory.

[Mr. Burley]

Why, that's strange.

[Narrator]

Yes, very strange, Mr. Burley.

[Charles Pierce]

In fact, peculiar.

[Narrator]

These are government orders. Neither of you is to move.

[Mr. Burley]

Just a minute.

[David Harding]

No minute at all. I'm frisking you. No gun ever. Check, Miss Lester.

[Narrator]

No gun either, Mr. Harding.

[David Harding]

Your attitude is uncalled for, Mr. Burley. My men have been covering Baltimore restaurants, meat markets, pet shops, formulas, everything. Well, we found a restaurant right across the street where a man had been buying food for a dog every day. He hasn't bought any such food for the last three days.

[Mr. Burley]

I suppose you're referring to me.

[Charles Pierce]

Yes. Well, what am I supposed to say?

[David Harding]

You're supposed to do some pretty tall explaining. Where is your dog, Mr. Burley?

[Mr. Burley]

He died.

[David Harding]

Oh, he didn't die by being blown

[Narrator]

to bits, did he, Mr. Burley?

[Mr. Burley]

No, my dog died a natural death.

[David Harding]

I see. Well, when a dog does die a natural death, of course there's always the body, isn't there?

[Charles Pierce]

Why, yes.

[Narrator]

Where is your dog's body, Mr. Burley?

[Mr. Burley]

Well, I was very attached to him. I took him and buried him in the country.

[David Harding]

Suppose you show us where.

[Mr. Burley]

At this time of night?

[Charles Pierce]

Yes, all right.

[Dora Lester]

Must I drive out too?

[David Harding]

I'm afraid, Miss Lester, you must.

[Narrator]

David Harding will be back in a moment. But meanwhile, what do you think is the best advice to give to a young lady who says, you know, when

[Dora Lester]

my lipstick has gone back on me, when it's worn off, or. Or maybe kissed off? My little mirror is a good friend. It always warns me. But when my deodorant has gone back on me, Nothing or no one will warn me. What's a girl to do?

[Narrator]

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[Charles Pierce]

Yes.

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[Dora Lester]

That's F R, E, S, F H, fresh.

[Narrator]

Now back to David Harding, counter spy.

[Mr. Burley]

Would you like me to help your ravens in the digging, Mr. Harding?

[David Harding]

They're doing all right, thank you, Mr. Burley. I'll just switch the beam of the searchlight. Everett.

[Dora Lester]

I feel like I'm going to faint.

[Charles Pierce]

Keep still.

[Mr. Burley]

To him. You evidently don't believe me about burying my dog here, Mr. Hanning.

[David Harding]

I'm afraid I don't, Mr. Burling.

[Charles Pierce]

Look, Mr. Harding, there is something down there. Whatever.

[David Harding]

Dig a little more.

[Charles Pierce]

Right there.

[Mr. Burley]

Right.

[Charles Pierce]

Can you beat that? What do you think, chief?

[Mr. Burley]

Let me focus the flashlight,

[David Harding]

Mr. Burley. I apologize.

[Charles Pierce]

Well, let's forget him.

[David Harding]

I thought your whole story of burying

[Charles Pierce]

your dog here was preposterous.

[Mr. Burley]

Well, I've had a dog for quite a while.

[Charles Pierce]

Three days ago he got taken with cramps.

[Mr. Burley]

Died before I could get a doctor. I felt so badly I brought him here and buried him in this field.

[David Harding]

Ms. Lester, we owe you an apology also.

[Dora Lester]

I'm so nervous and upset. Frightened me so, the way you came into the apartment.

[David Harding]

We do make mistakes sometimes, and this is one. Well, we'll just have to start from the beginning again. Look for another clue. I'll arrange immediately, Mr. Burley, for one of my agents to drive you and Ms. Lester back to your apartment.

[Dora Lester]

Seems so good to be back in the apartment again.

[Mr. Burley]

Poor driver running out of gas all over. Being upset. From your experience tonight, Doris?

[Dora Lester]

Yes, Mr. Burley, I guess so.

[Mr. Burley]

Everyone makes mistakes, you know. You, Mr. Harding, used to be a very charming man.

[Dora Lester]

I don't see how you ever found in that darkness where you buried that dog.

[Mr. Burley]

Oh, that was simple.

[Dora Lester]

That was a dirty trick you pulled on me, Burley.

[Mr. Burley]

I'm not in the habit of telling everyone everything.

[Dora Lester]

You could have told me that you killed another dog and buried him out there. How do you think I felt all that time when you were claiming you did? I thinking as soon as we got out there, there wouldn't be any dog's grave and we'd be caught.

[Mr. Burley]

You might as well learn to trust my judgment.

[Charles Pierce]

Now.

[Mr. Burley]

Go into your room and get cleaned up. We'll go out to a restaurant and

[Charles Pierce]

get something to eat.

[Dora Lester]

Charles used to tell me everything he was doing.

[Mr. Burley]

And Charles spoiled my whole plan and got himself blown to pieces just the same.

[Dora Lester]

We had fun together.

[David Harding]

Get your hands up, both of you.

[Mr. Burley]

What's the meaning of this?

[David Harding]

Put your hands out. These cuffs are going on you.

[Charles Pierce]

Wait a minute.

[Mr. Burley]

Wait a minute. I can explain.

[David Harding]

You've already done your explosion. I hoped you wouldn't suspect anything. When my agent pretended to run out of gas. While bringing you two back to the apartment. It gave me time to go to the police station and see if anyone during the past three days. Had lost a black shepherd dog with a tooth missing from the lower right jaw.

[Mr. Burley]

What does that prove?

[David Harding]

It proves that when your other dog

[Taxi Driver]

was blown to pieces.

[David Harding]

You didn't dare go to the kennels and buy another. So you looked until you could steal one. You killed him and buried him out there. Just in case there was some slave.

[Dora Lester]

Will I be put in prison if I tell everything I know?

[Mr. Burley]

Shut up, you fool.

[David Harding]

What I'd like to do to you, Burley, is throw you to a whole kennel of dogs. They give you what you deserve. But instead you're going to go to the electric chair. And a lot of men will be

[Narrator]

coming home from the Pacific who wouldn't be if your fiendish planet worked.

[David Harding]

Burley. Consider yourself under arrest by the United States government for espionage and murder.

[Narrator]

And now, here is Mr. Harding to tell you about next week's case.

[David Harding]

I have before me a report of a German minesweeper which had just sailed into an Atlantic port and given itself up. I have here a report of a suspect living at an expensive, exclusive, exclusive summer hotel overlooking that same port. This girl has recently fallen in love. And here's a report of a body just found in the same harbor. All these things don't happen like that unless they're carefully planned. This case is an emergency. We're leaving to investigate it immediately.

[Narrator]

Hear the startling, exciting account of this case. Wednesday, August 1st. Same time, same station. David Harding, counterspy. David Harding, counter Spies brought to you by Fresh Fresh, the new cream deodorant that stops perspiration worries safely. Switch to Fresh to be sure. David Harding counterspy is a Phillips H. Lloyd production for Fresh, the new cream deodorant.

[David Harding]

This is the American Broadcasting Company.

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[Adam Graham]

Welcome back. I definitely sympathize with David Harding's instinct for what he would do with our perpetrator if it were up to him. But obviously justice and the rule of law must prevail. Now, in terms of the overall scheme, there is an element of reality to the real world in that bugs and these sort of insects were a real challenge to US forces going overseas. And again, this also has the same thought process that we would be looking at a full scale invasion of Japan. Of course, in real life, the plan would be far less impactful as there wouldn't be just one big laboratory in Baltimore that an enemy agent could hit and wipe out the US research efforts. Even then, this sort of research was conducted across multiple facilities. But of course, the riders knew nothing about this, and as such, they could set the stakes however they wanted. Of course, our villain had a brilliant plan, but it was a kind of dumb, brilliant plan. Now, of course, he blamed the failure of the plan on the henchmen. Since no one survived, nobody could tell him what went wrong with the plan. So supervillain response, it must be the henchmen. It was a perfect plan. It was a wonderful plan. Of course, it was a plan that actually depended on everything going perfectly. And of course, the big one that fails here is the dog. Or more the fact that the dog was not trained for this. Now, this sort of thing of attaching explosives to a dog and having them deliver it was done in wartime, but it requires extensive conditioning. And from what we gathered, this dog was trained on basic obedience. So he could kind of sit there and be calm and relaxed while you're reading information in a library, not trying to carry explosives. And the dog was probably upset. Now, the henchman said that he thought the dog knew what they were going to do, but probably the dog was picking up on the henchman's anxiety because this was very much out of the blue. The way it's played, the henchman's not emotionally prepared for it. And I think that one thing with this guy is that he makes himself so he knows things that nobody else knows. And he thinks that makes him smarter when his refusal to share information and to be mysterious is just a way of masking the weakness of his plans, which leads to their ultimate downfall. Now, I will say there was one thing that was brilliant and that was the aspect of social engineering in this episode. And this is used to this day I was a listener to a podcast that actually sponsored our podcast back In, I think 2017, the malicious life podcast, which stopped production about a year ago, but it was about a cybersecurity podcast and it was all all about how attackers would manipulate people into unwittingly overcoming the security measures they had in place rather than planning a direct attack. And of course you could have made all sorts of plans for direct attack about how you were going to go in with a lot of people and bombs or some sort of aerial bomb delivery, but they didn't need to do that. The plan strength was through manipulating the guard and getting him to be their unwitting accomplice. And there's so many examples of this in modern security, and this is just a very good illustration of how that works. And Malicious Life had a lot of episodes that that dealt with these sort of social engineering efforts. Now this episode was very criminal villain focused, which quite a few of the Phillips Lord productions tended to do, which is why we've not really played any of his series other than Treasury Agent on Great Detectives. But this illustrated that just because the villain takes up the majority of the airtime, it doesn't mean the hero can't shine through. And I think that David Harding made really good use of his time in the episode and deduced what had really happened with the dog in the grave. Well, listener comments and feedback now on Spotify. Dr. Whodunit comments regarding the episode the Case of the Illegal Radio Station Lady Ashton. I need someone fairly young, sophisticated and beautiful. Who did you have in mind? Not poor, old and unattractive Lady Ashton.

[Charles Pierce]

Ha ha.

[Adam Graham]

I don't think she was expecting it. I think she was at the very least in touch with the fact that she was not young and also going to be too prominent to do any work on behalf of counterspy. But good thought. And then over on Facebook a comment regarding the episode Industrial Spy Ring from Wes is for those who watch the early years of as the world Turns, Dawn McLaughlin played Chris Hughes, the father, later grandfather, patriarch of the Hughes family with his wife Nancy and doctor son Bob. Here he stars as David Harding. Now I did talk about McLaughlin's career in a previous episode, but I appreciate the call out because I'm not particularly attuned to the old soaps. I appreciate any insight I get. Speaking of insight, we go over to YouTube where Saysoft has a comment regarding the episode the Case of the Gasoline Barge. Hi Adam, I enjoyed your after show commentary which brought up some interesting points, but the show itself has a major flaw that destroys the whole premise of the show. Show it's that submarines don't run on gasoline. I mean, a very few gasoline powered subs were built in the late 19th and early 20th century, but then someone figured out that gasoline was way too dangerous to use for submarines. It's partly because gasoline is too explosive and partly because burning gasoline produces carbon monoxide that could asphyxiate the crew. So in the interest of safer, everyone soon began building submarines that ran on diesel fuel. Now I know that gasoline was rationed during World War II, but I don't know if diesel fuel was rationed. My guess is that either the writers of the show decided to pick gasoline powered subs in order to make the counterfeit coupon scenario work, or that the writers were just clueless about how submarines works. By the way, I'm an ex submariner, so I do have some experience with all this. Well, I appreciate your insight and experience and you are absolutely right when I looked into it that yes, submarines were all pretty much running on diesel. Is it possible the riders didn't know this?

[Charles Pierce]

Sure.

[Adam Graham]

But it's also possible and maybe even probable that the riders knew that diesel was used, but opted to go with gasoline. Not to make the plot work from a technical standpoint because the hope because diesel was being rationed, it would just have been having to counterfeit something else. But the use of gasoline is probably to make it more relatable to the listeners, because even if you weren't a driver, you were familiar about how gasoline rationing was in place and how it was changing everyday life. The regime for the rationing of diesel, on the other hand, was a lot more opaque and obscure to the average American. So using gasoline just makes it simpler and easier to communicate the story to the average listener. Otherwise you're having to explain the regime a bit and you've got a limited amount of time and you're spending some of it explaining something to the audience they don't really need to know and will never think about again after the episode. But I do appreciate the insight. Thanks so much for the comment. As always. Say soft. Now it's time to thank our Patreon Supporter of the day and I want to thank Chris, patreon Supporter since February 2019, currently supporting the podcast at the Secret agent level of $4 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Chris. And that will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software and be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from we'll be back next Saturday with another episode of counterspy, but join us on the Great Detectives podcast on Monday with Vincent Price as the Saint and on the Great Adventurers Podcast. We'll return on Tuesday with episodes 34 through 36 of Tarzan and the diamond of Ashore. In the meantime, do send your comments to Box [e-mail] From Boise, Idaho, this is your host Adam Graham signing off.

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