Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Glacier Ghost Matter (EP4865)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Episode: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Glacier Ghost Matter (EP4865)
Date: December 12, 2025
Host: Adam Graham
Starring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar

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Episode Overview

In this unearthed 1957 episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ("The Glacier Ghost Matter"), freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar is called to Los Angeles to solve a mystery both chilling and personal—a $100,000 life insurance claim that can’t be paid until a missing policyholder’s body is found, lost somewhere amid the icy chasms of the High Sierras. As Johnny probes into the disappearance of Ray Sheldon, an outdoorsman and business partner, he finds himself navigating not just glacial crevasses but a minefield of motives, romantic entanglements, and the possibility of murder in an environment where nature—and perhaps something more sinister—can cover the truth.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Call to Adventure (03:12–05:50)

• Johnny Dollar is recruited by Walter Bascom of Tri Western Life and Casualty, who wants desperately to pay out on a large life policy—but can’t, as the insured’s body hasn’t been recovered.
• Bascom’s motivation: He’s in love with the widow, Gloria Sheldon, and knows she’s in financial need.
• "I hope you can find the body." —Bascom (03:09)
• The missing: Ray Sheldon, outdoorsman, plastics business co-owner. Disappeared during a trip to the High Sierras with partner Al Rykoff. Fell into a crevasse during a blizzard (05:00–07:30).

2. Motive & Suspicion (07:45–14:13)

• Business stakes: Rykoff’s business position would improve after Sheldon's death; Sheldon’s wife Gloria appears to have been distant from her late husband, and Bascom’s own romantic interest further clouds the matter.
• Johnny interviews Gloria Sheldon (widow), who hints at the coldness of her marriage.
  • Notable: "Ray was 13 years older than me. I guess I married him because I respected and admired him so for the way he studied and worked his way up from nothing." —Gloria Sheldon (12:02)
• Tensions boil over when Johnny suggests anyone might have motive to kill Ray—including Gloria, Rykoff, and Bascom. Rykoff bursts in defensively, even brandishing a weapon.
  • "I won't stand still while some stupid insurance dick makes her tear her heart out of her." —Al Rykoff (13:21)

3. The Expedition & The Glacier (16:10–19:30)

• Johnny and Al Rykoff fly to the Sierras, retracing the fateful journey to "Lone Horse Glacier." The crevasse where Ray Sheldon vanished appears utterly inaccessible; even a helicopter can’t reach it (19:10).
• Forrest Lewis, local pack station operator, confirms no recovery is possible and paints the scene as Sheldon's "fitting tomb."

4. Johnny’s Ingenious (and Explosive) Solution (20:50–28:30)

• Johnny concocts an outlandish plan inspired by his arson squad days: using dynamite, he blasts the glacier from a small plane to dislodge the ice containing Ray’s body (24:50–27:10).
  • "Be prepared for the surprise of your life." —Johnny Dollar (23:15)
• The body floats free on the lake and is recovered. But not before Johnny discovers the real cause of death: Sheldon's body is riddled with bullets.
  • "Before Sheldon fell into that crevasse, he was carefully, repeatedly shot in the back." —Johnny Dollar (27:55)
• Rykoff, realizing the jig is up, attempts to ram Johnny’s plane with his own in a desperate attempt to escape justice, but crashes to his own doom (28:38–29:40).
  • "Not Rykoff. Look back. He crashed within a couple of hundred yards of where he thought he'd buried his pal." —Johnny Dollar (29:31)

5. Resolution & Reflection (after 29:50)

• Justice is served, albeit "in one of its own strange ways."
• Johnny is left with musings on the wildness of both human motives and his own methods.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "So why drag the whole thing out?" —Johnny Dollar, on Bascom's anxiety (06:25)
• "Let that one pass. Although I was sure Walt knew exactly what I must be thinking." —Johnny's dry internal monologue after Bascom admits to loving the widow (06:41)
• "All three of us have plenty to gain with Ray Sheldon out of the way. Especially me..." —Al Rykoff (13:15)
• "If I had killed Ray Sheldon, neither you nor anybody else would ever be able to prove it. Remember that." —Al Rykoff’s bravado and possible confession (13:19)
• "Dynamite. That'll blow these two ridges clear to the lake." —Johnny Dollar, launching his plan (26:05)
• "Sheldon's body, full of bullet holes, is enough to pin it on this guy Rykoff." —Joe Gracie, pilot (28:10)
• "Yeah, I guess maybe you'd call that justice, wouldn't you?" —Johnny Dollar, at the natural justice of Rykoff’s demise (29:31)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |:-------------:|:------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:12–05:50 | Dollar gets the assignment, stakes are set, Bascom’s interest revealed | | 07:45–14:13 | Interviews with Al Rykoff and Gloria Sheldon, motives and tensions | | 16:10–19:30 | Journey to Sierras, local color, and failed recovery attempts | | 20:50–24:50 | Johnny’s “fishing” with dynamite plan comes together | | 24:50–27:10 | Dynamite in action—body recovered from the glacier | | 27:55–29:40 | The twist: the body reveals murder, aerial pursuit and Rykoff’s end | | 29:50–32:00 | Adam Graham’s enthusiastic commentary |

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Host Adam Graham’s Post-Episode Commentary (29:53+)

• Graham delights in the episode’s over-the-top, action-hero approach—calling Johnny Dollar’s explosive glacier plan “one of the most glorious unhinged bits of derring-do during Johnny Dollar’s entire run” (30:00).
• He draws a playful parallel to 1980s TV hero MacGyver, noting, “this story is probably as close to a golden age of radio ancestor of MacGyver as you will find.”
• Graham also gives context on show traditions, realism, and listener feedback, particularly how insurance company motivations differ for Johnny’s typical cases.

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Tone & Style

• The episode uses classic hardboiled detective language, with Dollar’s voiceover deadpan and incisive, seasoned with dry humor and occasional introspection.
• The drama blends plausible investigation with wild, pulp-inspired solutions—culminating in action worthy of both golden age radio and Hollywood.
• Host Adam Graham’s commentary is warm, humorous, and appreciative, steeped in radio fandom.

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Who Should Listen?

Fans of classic detective drama, lovers of radio nostalgia, mystery aficionados, and anyone who enjoys resourceful sleuths facing off against both the elements and human cunning will find this episode a high-caliber listen—equal parts tense, inventive, and just a bit audacious.

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Transcript

[Johnny Dollar]

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[Gloria Sheldon]

Why subject yourself to the cold?

[Johnny Dollar]

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[Doug Limu]

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[Al Rykoff]

Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Doug Limu]

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[Adam Graham]

Welcome to the Great Detectives 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 yours truly, Johnny Dollar. But first, I do want to encourage you as you're making your travel plans, remember johnnydoller.com johnnydoller.com is a Priceline affiliate link so part of your purchase price benefits the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio at no additional cost to you. So remember, when making your travel plans, think johnnydoller air.com first. Well, now we've got something really special for you and it is a recently unearthed Johnny Dollar episode. This was discovered by the Old Time Radio researchers as part of their Florida reels. And this was uncovered in the collection of collectors who were active between the 1960s and the 1990s. This is one of three yours truly, Johnny Dollar episodes that were uncovered. The other two we're going to hear much later since they feature Mandel. I've known about these episodes for a few months, but I decided to wait until after the run of episodes without any gap. So we're going to go back now to May 12, 1957. Here now is the Glacier Ghost matter from Hollywood.

[Johnny Dollar]

It's time now for. Johnny Dollar. This is Walter Bascom. Mr. Dollar, Bascom Tri Western Life and Casualty in Los Angeles. Oh yeah, sure. How Are you? Just fine, Just fine. But I have a problem with a hundred thousand dollar claim. A big one. Huh? Who's the villain this time? Well, that's just it. This is a claim I want to pay but can't. Well, that's a switch. But how can I help, Dar? I. I hope that you can find the body. Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action packed expense account, America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, yours truly, Johnny Dollar. And now act one of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Expense accounts submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Dollar to the Tri Western Life and Casualty Insurance Company, Los Angeles office. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the glacier Ghost matter. Expense account, item one, $198.25. Air transportation, Hartford to Los Angeles, California. It was late when the big four engine plane circled slowly to land in the clear night air. The myriad multicolored lights of the City of Angels made it sparkle like some tremendous field of precious storms. Item 2480, taxi into the Ambassador Hotel, which is just a stone's throw from Weston's offices on Wilshire Boulevard. I immediately hit the sack. Item 3, $2 even for breakfast the following morning, after which I walked over to Walter Bascom's office. Well, you got here a lot sooner than I expected, darling. Thanks, Walter. Now, whose body am I supposed to dig up? Where? I'll give it to you In a nutshell, the policy is straight light, $100,000, no double indemnity or special clauses. And the insurance? Raymond R. Sheldon, partner in R.F. sheldon Plastics Co. Here in LA. Beneficiary, his wife, Gloria. She lives in Westwood. That's the section of town just out beyond Beverly Hills. Yeah, I know. I've handled every bit of Sheldon's insurance for some 15 years on his plant, as well as household, personal property, automobile, everything. It's been a very profitable account. I've handled it myself. Uh huh. So what happened? Both Sheldon and his business partner, Albert Rykoff, were inveterate hunters and fishermen. Real normal fellow. Spent all the time they could poking around up in the High Sierras. Great trout country, I hear. Yes. Three weeks ago, one Friday afternoon, they took off to do some exploring to locate, if they could, a little lake somewhere north of the Palisade. Glacier. Glacier? In California? The Palisade is the southernmost glacier in the country. So what happened? Well, so they packed in from a station near the town of Big Pine, that's a couple of hundred miles north of here in the Mount Whitney area. Whitney, huh? Highest mountain in the United States, isn't it? No. There are a lot of high peaks in that area. No wonder there's a lot of ice up there. Yeah, some that never melts. At any rate, they found their lake, only it was a big one. Just below another glacier the other side of Palisade. A glacier they had to scrape Kurt, in order to get back to the pack station. That's where it happened. Lone Horse Glacier. Blizzard came up, they had trouble finding their route and foolishly drifted apart. Big ice ledge broke off and plunged Sheldon down into a tremendous deep crevasse. What about his partner, Reicho? Two days later, half starved and barely alive, he crawled into the pack station. You say both of them knew their country pretty well. Now, what was this prank on the phone about finding a body? Sheldon's to establish legal proof of his death. It's still somewhere up in that glacier ice. Well, didn't search parties go on? Oh, yes. As soon as the storm cleared. And they found where the break in the ice shelf occurred, but could see no sign of the body at the bottom. Well, that's easily understandable. But if a bunch of natives to that part of the country couldn't find anything, how do you expect me to? I don't know, but I hope you'll try. Otherwise the provision for a 52 week wait will have to apply. I got away. Seven years when somebody can't be found. No, I'm talking about the standard disappearance following accident clause we use in our policies. Why are you so anxious to pay off this claim in such a hurry? Well, we know what happened to Ray Sheldon. According to his partner, right? Yes. Even if Sheldon had survived the avalanche, or whatever you want to call it, he couldn't have lived more than a few hours up in that cold and much less ever get back alone. So why drag the whole thing out? His wife need the money? Yes, yes, very badly. And I. I take it you know, sir. Yes, yes, very well, Donna. You see, I'm in love with her. I let that one pass. Although I was sure Walt knew exactly what I must be thinking. Item four, A couple of bucks for a taxi out to the RYKOFF Sheldon Plastics Co. On Washington Boulevard. Al Rykoff turned out to be a tall, good looking, well built fellow in his late 30s, and except for going into a bit more detail, gave me virtually the same story Walt Bastin had. I wondered out loud just how much the loss of his partner meant to him. Are you kidding? Dollar Ray was like a brother to me, but we were closer than brothers. It was a perfect partnership. If it hadn't been for Ray Sheldon, I wouldn't be at the head of this business. You mean because of his death? Dollar Before I came in here with him five years ago, he built this plant upstairs single handed. He was the one who struggled through all of its growing pains. Financing, developing the dying and catching machines that have finally got us the fat government contracts that. Now wait a minute. Yeah, you said I'm on top now because of his death. Now if you are thinking what I think you are. Let's lay our cards on the table. To whom does this business go? Albert Sheldon is there to me on the basis of our partnership agreement. Now look here, Donald. Take it easy, Rex. Yes, but if you're trying to imply. I'm not trying to imply anything. I was just trying to get the whole picture, that's all. I've been sent out here to see if I can find Sheldon's body so that a life insurance claim can be paid. I came to see you in the hope you might be able to help me find this body. I'm sorry, I. I guess this whole thing has me. I'm sorry. I'll help you any way I can. Do you intend going up to the Sierras? Yes. I'd like you to come along with me. I will, gladly. All right. But I don't see how I can possibly get away from here for a couple of days at least. If you can wait, we can fly up there in my own plane. Well, no, I. I don't want to just sit around here doing nothing for two days. So I'll go ahead. You meet me up there as soon as you can get away. Do you know where to go? Give me directions and I'll leave now. Item 5, a $70 taxi to the home of Ray Sheldon's widow on Pandora Avenue out in Westwood. It was a small but attractive place and a middling to good neighborhood. Mrs. Sheldon barely turned 40, I'd say was also small and attractive.

[Gloria Sheldon]

I didn't realize it would be necessary for. For an investigator to come all the way out to the market.

[Johnny Dollar]

Well, it's only because of Walter Bascom's request to settle your insurance claim so quickly.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Walter knows how much I need the money, Johnny. Please call me Gloria, won't you?

[Johnny Dollar]

Why, sure, if you like.

[Gloria Sheldon]

You see, Ray kept putting all his money back in the business. There was something about having to expand the plant to handle some important government work.

[Johnny Dollar]

Yes, I understand the contracts for it.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Have come through only a month or so ago. Now he isn't here to see his labors bear fruit 15 long years depriving himself, working so hard all for nothing, only to end up buried in the snow and ice in the country he loved so much. When carried jolly well.

[Johnny Dollar]

He seems to have provided pretty well for you. This nice home, the insurance kind of.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Kind of a reward, I guess you'd call it.

[Johnny Dollar]

Reward?

[Gloria Sheldon]

For standing by him during the difficult times. You see, we were never really very close together with husband and wife. Ray was 13 years older than me. I guess I married him because I respected and admired him so for the way he studied and worked his way up from nothing. No family, no formal education. And you see, it was my social contact that enabled him to finance the plastics business. Even Albert, his partner, met him. So.

[Johnny Dollar]

How.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Gloria, to be perfectly honest about it, Al was. Well, he was in love with me. I'd met him in Florida where Ray had sent me one winter. They've done wonderfully together. Al has almost become a member of the family.

[Johnny Dollar]

Is he still in love with you?

[Gloria Sheldon]

I don't know, he. Well, he's too nice to show it if he is.

[Johnny Dollar]

You're sure of that?

[Gloria Sheldon]

What? Well, of course I am. You seem to forget that he and Ray were very close. What kind of a person would he be to make love to his best friend's wife?

[Johnny Dollar]

It's happened.

[Gloria Sheldon]

I don't think. Tell me this.

[Johnny Dollar]

Are you in love with now, Rykoff, Mr.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Dollars?

[Johnny Dollar]

Or is it Wolfex?

[Gloria Sheldon]

What?

[Johnny Dollar]

After all, he's in love with you as me, Mr.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Dollars?

[Johnny Dollar]

Well.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Yes, yes, but what are you going to say? Whatever it is, I don't think I like it. Not a bit. It's almost as though you suspected somebody of murdering Ray.

[Johnny Dollar]

It is a possibility, isn't it?

[Gloria Sheldon]

Of course not.

[Johnny Dollar]

Who several people might benefit. Like you, for instance. This is the after years of a half baked marriage and struggling along. How you can call wintering in Florida a struggle, I don't know.

[Gloria Sheldon]

I told you. He tried to make up for me.

[Johnny Dollar]

For all who now owns the business now that it's suddenly begun to prosper.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Are you trying to say that Al.

[Johnny Dollar]

And the fact that Al might still care for you could look pretty suspicious, couldn't it?

[Gloria Sheldon]

You don't know what you're talking about.

[Johnny Dollar]

What about Walt Bascom? It's pretty unusual when an insurance man is so anxious to spend the company's money. But then if he has intentions toward the beneficiary of the policy.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Allie, this is awful. This is terrible, these things you're saying. I won't let you. I won't stand for this.

[Johnny Dollar]

You. You don't have to. Gloria.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Al.

[Johnny Dollar]

Oh, now, come on, put that thing down. Rykoff. I thought you'd come here instead of going up to the mountain. You know, everything you said was possible. $aldi, please. Possible but not true. And I won't stand for you or anyone else tormenting this girl this way. She's been through more than she deserves as it is. And I'm not gonna stand still while some stupid insurance dick makes her tear her heart out of her. Settle down, Rykoff. And put that thing away. Now you get out of here. Just put yourself in my place. I have. That's why I said all those wild theories of yours are possible. All of them. All three of us have plenty to gain with Ray Sheldon out of the way. Especially me. Because in the long run, I stand to benefit most. And I'd be number one suspect, wouldn't I? Because I was the last one to see Ray. The only one who was with him when he died. The only one who could have murdered him. But, and this is a big butt dollar Even if I had killed Ray Sheldon, neither you nor anybody else would ever be able to prove it. Remember that. Now get out. It took some fast thinking and a lot of careful, deliberate talking to calm down Al Rykoff partner, Raymond Sheldon, who had allegedly died in a mountain climbing accident. If Sheldon had been murdered, Rykov was a natural suspect. One of three, that is. But unless I could find Sheldon's body buried somewhere in the ageless ice and snows of a glacier high in the Sierra country. Al was right. There couldn't possibly be proof that Sheldon's death wasn't accidental. Al finally became convinced that an attack on me would only add to any suspicions that he might have murdered Sheldon. That his only defense would be to help me all he could. He freely admitted still being in love with Gloria Sheldon. And he repeated that his reason for bursting in on us was to protect her from further heartache over all that had happened. And who knows? Maybe he was telling the truth. In any event, we took off about an hour later in his two engine plane headed almost due north. And by 3pm we're cruising along through the high, thin air over the tall peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Over there to the right little town, you see is Big Pine at your base of operations when you and Sheldon came up here looking for the mountain lake. No, that's Forest Lewis's backstation. Directly ahead there, where you see that long clear space? That's where we'll spend the night. Looks like he has a landing field. Yeah, he has some of the lakes up here. Dozens of them have to be flown into unless you want to pack in on horseback for several days. There's Palisade Glacier over there to your left. That's not the one where Shella was trapped. No, that was Lone Horse Glacier. Other side of that next peak. The small plane labored in the high altitude, but managed to carry us clear of the 12,000 foot peak. And then below us, we saw the lake being found. Lone Horse Lake, clear and blue and all but surrounded by snow covered rocks. Al, it took a lot of guts to pack up here. No, we were just crazy to do it so early. Early, like other fishing pools, we were determined to have a place all to ourselves. Now look ahead there, due north on the far rim of the lake. Lone Horse Glacier. Yeah, Lone Horse Glacier. That's the big crevasse just above the edge of the lake. But. Well, that's where the ice ledge broke off. Yeah, and I can see how the bottom of that crevasse would be impossible to get to. Yeah. Yeah. Take these glasses while I make a turn. Oh, she got warm enough to rain up here one day last week. Wash away some of the fresh snow at the spot where he fell. So I came up and flew over it like we're doing now. So. So look down. Directly down. You see? It's a body. But it's a body down there. It's Ray's body. But positive identification from up here is impossible. Just as impossible as ever recovering. Yeah, yeah, I can see that. And you two were absolutely alone. I doubt if anyone else has ever been crazy enough to climb this spot. Yeah, well, Al, what I see is proof enough for me, so. A dollar. I'm sorry if I acted like a fool. There. Glorious house. Look, I. I swear all I was trying to do was. I think I understand now. Let's go back to the pack station. Yeah. And thanks. $. There was nothing fancy about Forest Lewis's pack station. And he was full up with early season fishermen. Some who chose to go up into their favorite spots by pack train. Others who could afford to be flown into their pet camping spots. Over a plain but hearty evening meal on the log building that forrest called his lodge, an idea slowly began to form in the back of my head. One of my flyboys spotted Sheldon's body there too. Right after that rain we had last week. That's all. Before that, we'd hunted around on the trails up there for days, but we couldn't find nothing.

[Adam Graham]

You.

[Johnny Dollar]

You think there's any chance of Recovering it? Not a chance. Impossible even with a heliocopter. That chasm where he fell in is too deep and rugged. A helicopter would ever make that altitude, Johnny, much less fight the air pockets to get close enough. Yeah, never reach it by trail either. Cause that chasm just north of it, chasm that opened up on the ice ledge, busted off watch. Even deeper than the one Sheldon's body's in. You try climbing around on the narrow ridge it's left and you and the ridge and everything else would go crashing down into Lone Horse Lake. Oh, that's that. Yeah, I see. Now that body will just have to lay there till the end of time. Preserve the cold and the ice and it'll soon surround it. And yet it's a fitting tomb for a man who loved this country so much. Yeah, mighty nice man, too. Mighty nice. Look, as long as you fellas are up here, why don't you stay a couple extra days to do some fishing? A lot of mighty fine Golden's being took out of some of the small high lakes up there. How about it, Mr. I go? I'd like to forry, but I'm afraid I'd better get back to Los Angeles. You turned down a chance to fish? Well, I can't believe it. Well, just tell you the truth, I'm afraid I've kind of lost my desire to fish up here after. Oh, yeah, sure, son, I'm sorry. I should have realized. Sure. Well, I'm going to take you up on that offer, Forrest. My crags at Golden Trout are too few and far between. What's more, come to think of it, I'm on an expense account, so why not? But I had an entirely different kind of fishing in mind. And the following morning, immediately after Al Rykoff hopped into his plane and took off for Los Angeles, I got going from Fort E. Lewis. I got hold of a couple of sticks of dynamite. Then with his help and a handful of 30, 30 cartridges, I devised a couple of impact fuses. A trick I'd learned a long time ago from a pal on the New York arson squad, just to make sure for you. And I rigged up one of them with a small charge and dropped it into a deep rock strewn crevice near the edge of his property to see if it worked. Great bottles of fire, Johnny. I'll say it works. Yeah, even with a drop of only 40 or 50ft. Oh, what are you going to do now? You still haven't told me what this is all about. Well, didn't I notice a set of Pontoons on one of the planes tied down on your landing strips. Wheels and pontoons. That's Joe Gracie's plane. That's Joe. He can drop the customers down on the lakes where they want to camp on the edge of. Then Joe's my boy. Cost you $50 a trip. That'll be okay, man. If you're going after Golden's, he'll know where to take you. Corey, how much dynamite have you got there in your workshop? Oh, a couple of cases or two. You know, in case I decide to put up another building. Need some more rock. Hey, now, wait a minute. Your idea of fishing ain't to dynamite a lake? Oh, hardly. But I'll need about a case of the stuff. Come on, let's get at it. Adam 6, 24, 50. Dynamite. And I threatened Forry Lewis with mayhem if he told the pilot. That's item seven, by the way. $50 even. Joe Gracie didn't even ask about the box I put aboard his plane. Probably thought it was a city dude's idea to tackle box. Joe could fly, all right. He seemed to know every up and down draft and every mountain pass in the area and be ready for it. And some of them are pretty wicked, Mr. Dollar. Oh, brother. I can see that, all right. Some of these jagged peaks around here look pretty wicked, too. I will stay clear of them. I hope so. Okay, now, that's Lone Horse Glacier on the left, isn't it, Jack? And the first crevasse up from the edge of the lake is the one with Sheldon's body in it.

[Al Rykoff]

That's right.

[Johnny Dollar]

I was the first one to spot it last week. All right, I want you to fly as close as possible down toward that second crevasse. The deep one. The one back of the one where the. Where the body is. That's right. Check. Now what? Be prepared for the surprise of your life. Well, now, look, with you paying the charter and giving the orders and all, I didn't want to say anything, but if you want a lake that has a lot of gold. Down lower, Joe, lower. Just as close to that second chancem as you dare. You're the boss. Easy now. Lower still and parallel it. That's what we're doing. Right rudder just a hair. Look over to the left in a couple of seconds and you'll see Sheldon's body. And at other rifts, you'll look at it Here now. Hey, shut the door. What are you doing, $? Gain altitude. Show fast. Watch you throw out. What are you up to? Dynamite. That'll blow these two ridges Clear to the lake. $, hang on. Great shock wave rocked our tiny plane. And below we could see tall plumes of shattered ice and snow reach upward into the thin cold air, form a light, glistening cloud and finally, slowly settle down toward the mountain in the lake. The two high ridges of ice had been pushed over into the lake as though by some giant hand, and they were floating. Then when the lake settled down, we landed on it. By this time, I'd given Joe some idea of my purpose or he might have thrown me out and hightailed it back to the pack station alone. Bad work, Mr. Dollar. I see it floating there, straight ahead. That's it, all right. Sheldon's body. Yeah. Now, take it easy, Joe. I'm gonna climb down on the pontoon and try to pick it up. And you better be mighty careful. Don't worry, brother. I will pour in that ice water. You wouldn't last half a minute. A little bit to the right. Just as slow as you can. Now. How's that? Easy, now. Easy does it. Easy. Here. You okay? Okay. Cut your engine and help me get him aboard. Jack and a boy. A guy who thought he's preserved perfect by the cold. Help me heist him up. I'll sure help you, Mr. Dollar. Yeah, I guess it's just about what I expected to find. Good Lord. He and Al Rykoff were alone up there the day it happened. And before Sheldon fell into that crevasse, he was carefully, repeatedly shot in the back. Good Lord. At 11,000ft and with the extra load, the takeoff from Lone Horse Lake wasn't easy. But we finally made it and started back toward the pack station. Sure is an awful thing. What some people will do sometimes, Mrs. Ella. Yeah, Joel. But sooner or later, they get caught up with. Think Sheldon's body full of bullet holes is enough to spin it on? This guy Rykov, by his own admission, he was the only one up there when Sheldon died. Man, I bet if he'd known what you were up to here, he'd never have gone home. That surprises me, too, now that we know he was the killer. Joe. Huh? Is that one of your planes coming toward us? Yeah. The same one I seen when we were landing in the lake. The sun was against us, though, so I couldn't be. That's right, Cosplay. What? I'm sure of it. He must have seen what we've been up to. Look out for him. Look out for him. He's coming at us head on. You crazy fool. Look out, Chuck. Shooting at us out of the window. Can you outrun him. This old single engine. Never. Coming around again to get on our tail. Like he's gonna try to ram us. Hold throttle, Joe. No, it's up tight. We haven't got a chance. We can't get. Yes. Yes, we can. Anchor Pass. Anchor Pass. Back toward Lone Horse, between two peaks. We'll make it, but he won't. What do you mean? Downdraft? A bad downdraft, unless you know about it, you jet. Are you sure we can make it, Mister? We've got to make it. Hold your hat. Come on, now. He's coming up on us fast. Here we go. We're. We're okay now, mister. Yeah. Oh, brother. Good flying show. Good boy. Yeah, but not right. Cops look back. He crashed within a couple of hundred yards of where he thought he'd buried his pal. Yeah, I guess maybe you'd call that justice, wouldn't you? Yeah, Joe. Yeah. Yes, it's Jewett. Said justice was done in one of its own strange ways. And I suspect Walt Bascom will hesitate the next time he gets a request for such fast action on a claim. However, I see no reason why this one should be paid in full. Expense account total, including incidentals and transportation back to Hartford. Oh, and a couple of days fishing for golden trout there at Forest Lewis's place. I needed it. Expense account total, $431.60. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Now here is our star to tell you about next week's story. Next week, a whale of a story about a whale. And if you ever started hunting for a missing whale, well, join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey. Originates in Hollywood. It is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone, who also wrote tonight's story. Heard in our cast were Virginia Greg, Herb Ellis, Horace Lewis, James McCallion and John D. Musical supervision is by Amerigo Marino. Be sure to join us next week, same time and station for another exception. Exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. This is Dan Cubberly speaking. Johnny Dollar has come to you through the worldwide facilities of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Sam.

[Johnny Dollar]

Limu Emu.

[Doug Limu]

And Doug. Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu.

[Al Rykoff]

Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Doug Limu]

Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Johnny Dollar]

Liberty. Liberty.

[Al Rykoff]

Liberty Savings.

[Doug Limu]

Very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts.

[Adam Graham]

Welcome back. As I mentioned, this episode has been little heard for the last 58 years. And I'm so glad this is back because this is one of the most glorious unhinged bits of derring do during Johnny Dollar's entire run, and I would venture to say most any other hero, with a few exceptions I've heard during the golden age of radio. I have to admire Johnny Shspa to call Al Rykoff a crazy fool after jury rigging, homemade impact spuses, loading up dynamite, and dropping explosives on a glacier from a moving plane in hopes of blowing apart two ridges. I've mentioned on other episodes that writer Jack Johnstone's career in radio really began back in his work on Buck Rogers and Superman. And it shows here, in those sort of worlds, you can get away with being as outlandish and improbable as possible. It's not really something you'd expect on a detective program for adults in the late 1950s. I still enjoyed it because they fully committed to the bit. And also, as a child of the 1980s, I appreciate it because it called to my mind the sort of outrageous jury rig solutions that you saw in MacGyver. Now, of course, MacGyver wouldn't have used a gun, and he probably would have stayed away from something as loud and obvious as explosives. He'd probably have gotten the body out using a pocket mirror, a piece of twine, and used chewing gum. Nevertheless, this story is probably as close to a golden age of radio ancestor of MacGyver as you will find. In a way, I feel like Johnny's solution practically blunts any other criticism you could make of the episode. Like, I would typically criticize Rykoff hanging around just in case. Like it's stealth mode just in case Johnny decides to do something other than fishing. But it's hard to complain about much when you have dynamite used on a glacier. Well, now we do turn to listener comments and feedback now. And we start out with dawn, who writes regarding the two face matter. Bob Bailey really doesn't have the same expense count game of his predecessors. They would throw in a raincoat or lavish meal just because mechanic 66 points out. True. But he got a lot of benefits from some of the people he helped, including bonuses as large as $10,000. And I think that's true. And to be fair, I think that the whole gimmick of Johnny, you know, going over the top in padding his expense account really was something that was a Charles Russell thing. A little bit of Edmund o' Brien era, but mostly Charles Russell. And it really did get dialed back. That doesn't mean that it never happens. It never indeed. You'll hear Bob Bailey say things like, and all of the incidentals I could manage, but it's just not quite as flagrant and pronounced. And I think mechanic 66 does hit on a key reason for that. When you can collect big fees and big tips for putting out an exceptional job, trying to dun the company on the expense account, that's just not a really effective approach. Mechanic 66 Comments A little bit further the insurance companies would never even bother investigating, let alone paying off, without a policing report. Insurance companies must have either directly or indirectly sponsored this show. And I can get kind of where he's coming from, because most of us, when we deal with insurance companies, we are dealing with the sort of large major companies out there. You know, you know the names Allstate and Geico and nationwide, these sort of national chains with big headquarters and big organizations. That's not really who Johnny serve for the most part. For the most part, Johnny is called in by regional companies. Even someone like Universal Adjustments is effectively a reinsurer of a lot of smaller companies. And so there would be some flexibility. And with many of these companies, a key portion of their business isn't just enforcing the rules, it is relationship building, not just necessarily with the people who are insured, but through the broader network. And you know, you think about in this small town, insuring this one factory, well, that's a key opportunity because most likely you didn't just sell them insurance on the business, you you sold them other insurance. Now, obviously because of the nature of the employees, you didn't sell them auto insurance, but you sold them homeowners insurance and life insurance and you sold them annuities because more people tended to turn to insurance companies for investments. And as this sort of regional company trying to maintain a presence in a small town, that sort of contract would be a big deal for you. So could you turn around and insist on a strictly business way of handling this? Yes. Would it be good business, particularly if it ended up costing you all those other policies you got from the plant? Probably not. Now, I'm not saying this thing happened all the time or all insurance companies were like that, but I do think that the business model of the type of insurance companies that tended to hire Johnny really did lean in that direction. Well, now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day and I want to thank old time radioman patreon supporter since September 2023 currently supporting the podcast at the Detective Sergeant level of $7.14 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support. And that will actually 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 Friday with another episode of Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. But join us back here tomorrow for the great adventures of Old Time Radio and the final episode of Cloak and Dagger, where.

[Johnny Dollar]

So you're up here blowing your million francs, huh, Slade?

[Al Rykoff]

No, not exactly. Didn't last long enough to blow. A week after I won it, the Germans marched into Paris and my money wasn't worth a thin dime. I got away and landed up here at Noirmont and been waiting ever since.

[Johnny Dollar]

Waiting for what?

[Al Rykoff]

Why, for someone to win this war, of course.

[Johnny Dollar]

Someone? Anyone, you mean.

[Al Rykoff]

Oh, I'm not too particular, Mr. Heywood. Like I say, I don't play sides. I'm what they call a neutral, I guess.

[Johnny Dollar]

A neutral American, huh?

[Al Rykoff]

Well, it's been a long time since I was in America. I just want him to get the war over with somehow so Jen and I can get out of here.

[Johnny Dollar]

Jen?

[Al Rykoff]

My girl, Mr. Haywood. She's one of the skiing instructors here at the lodge. And when I go, she's promised to go with me.

[Johnny Dollar]

I see. I'll go see if my room's ready.

[Al Rykoff]

Oh, wait a minute. How about another drink?

[Johnny Dollar]

No, thanks.

[Al Rykoff]

Well, look, if you're not doing anything tonight and you'd like a little game of stud.

[Johnny Dollar]

No, thanks. No.

[Al Rykoff]

It's as good a way as any to pass the evening up here.

[Johnny Dollar]

Maybe, but I'm rather particular about the kind of men I gamble with, Slade. Especially the kind of Americans.

[Adam Graham]

I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to box13greatdetives.net follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives and check us out on Instagram. Instagram.com Great Detectives from Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.

[Doug Limu]

And Doug, Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu.

[Al Rykoff]

Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Doug Limu]

Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com Savings very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts. Tired of juggling sales tools or spending hours on prospecting just to book a few meetings? Meet Apollo, the go to market platform for finding leads, connecting with buyers, and closing deals. All in one place. Apollo gives you access to over 210 million contacts and AI that handles all your busywork, finding leads, drafting emails, and even prioritizing your day. So stop paying for five different sales tools when one does it all. Visit Apollo I.O. and sign up free today.

[Johnny Dollar]

If Objects Could Talk takes art and artifacts out of the Getty Museum's vaults.

[Gloria Sheldon]

Oh my goodness, can it be any brighter in here?

[Johnny Dollar]

And puts them in front of the microphone. A podcast? Oh yeah. Hear from a fancy Egyptian cat, a satyr who's right at home in Malibu, dudes, and many more. Listen to if Objects Could Talk wherever you get your podcasts and on Getty Edu slash podcasts.