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The Horror! (Old Time Radio)
Yarrow by Beyond Midnight
The Horror features a story from Beyond Midnight this week. We'll hear Yarrow, originally broadcast on May 2, 1969. Listen to more from Beyond Midnight https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/e55e1c7a-e213-4a20-8701-21862bdf1f8a/TheHorror1201.mp3 Download TheHorror1201 | Subscribe | Spotify | Support The Horror
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- [00:06]
Narrator
Oh, stories. Weird stories that murdered do turn out your lights. Turn them out. Good evening. Come in, won't you? What's the matter? Surely you're not nervous. Perhaps if you can't. If I tell you the story we.
- [00:30]
Dr. Peters
Are meant to call from out of the past. Stories strange and weird Tales of mystery and terror by radio's masters of the macabre.
- [00:41]
Narrator
Story of the supernatural, the supernormal dramatized by fact faith the mystery of the unknown. We tell you this, Franklin. So if you wish to avoid the excitement tension of these magnets we purge our way theory we turn all your.
- [01:02]
Host
This is the horror old fashioned fear. Every Saturday@ RelicRadio.com we're gonna hear from beyond midnight this week. A South African series that aired from November 1, 1968 to April 24, 1978 episodes in all. Our story today is from May 2, 1969. It's titled Yarrow.
- [01:25]
Dr. Peters
I did really quite difficult to tell you about this thing. Well, take that horrible murder for instance. Nothing anyone can do about the beggar.
- [01:32]
Nelly Tor
Jimmy, if the police know who's done it, why on earth can't they arrest you?
- [01:36]
Narrator
Because, darling, the evidence is inconclusive.
- [01:38]
Dr. Peters
You see, Mrs. Clinton, a man can only be tried once for any murder. And the police are reasonably certain that sooner or later he'll give himself away. Or the missing link in the chain will be filled in.
- [01:49]
Narrator
More soda, Sir Henry?
- [01:50]
Dr. Peters
No, no, that's perfect. Thank you.
- [01:52]
Nelly Tor
No, I'm sure that chauffeur did it. And I think it scandalous he should get off. Scott. I wish I had the power of deciding the sentence.
- [02:01]
Dr. Peters
And they say women are the gentler sex.
- [02:03]
Nelly Tor
But it is a ghastly crime. That poor girl was only 16. You know men like that mellow creature. They should be killed in some terrible way. Nothing would be too bad for them.
- [02:27]
Narrator
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- [02:59]
Dr. Peters
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- [04:03]
Nelly Tor
I mean. Certainly too good.
- [04:05]
Dr. Peters
As it happens, I have known Dr. Peters for many years.
- [04:09]
Nelly Tor
Did you know him well?
- [04:10]
Narrator
And girl Naomi. Clinton's face was flushed with excitement. It's a strange thing. Women will often profess disgust or horror with a certain topic. And yet they cannot bring themselves to allow that topic to drop. Amazing. However, not very well, mind.
- [04:32]
Dr. Peters
She was one of the loveliest little things I ever saw.
- [04:35]
Narrator
I could hardly believe it when I.
- [04:37]
Dr. Peters
Opened the papers and learned such a dreadful thing that happened to her.
- [04:40]
Nelly Tor
And don't you think that chauffeur Yarrow did it?
- [04:43]
Dr. Peters
Undoubtedly. That's it. Proof isn't conclusive. I'm afraid there's nothing anyone can do.
- [04:48]
Narrator
Don't worry.
- [04:49]
Dr. Peters
He'll do it again.
- [04:50]
Narrator
And next time they'll get him.
- [04:52]
Dr. Peters
But by then, one more human life would have been sacrificed needlessly.
- [04:59]
Nelly Tor
Something should be done. Either the girl's father or the brother. Something, definitely.
- [05:07]
Narrator
This fellow pinches her father. He isn't ding, Peter. Really. He is. Huh. The fellow who's done all these marvelous.
- [05:17]
Dr. Peters
Things with these thyroid experiments.
- [05:21]
Narrator
True. Why did you choose to live in London?
- [05:26]
Dr. Peters
When you get older, a little peace and quiet are wonderful things.
- [05:30]
Nelly Tor
If he hadn't lived so close to the common, his daughter might be alive today.
- [05:34]
Narrator
So what will happen to this man Yarrow now for him to get a job, huh?
- [05:38]
Dr. Peters
Probably start for a foreign country. About the only thing left for him.
- [05:43]
Narrator
But if he really did do it.
- [05:45]
Dr. Peters
He won't get off in the long run. He'll make us lift the arrow.
- [05:50]
Narrator
Something horrible about that name, Tamar, isn't there? Yarrow.
- [05:58]
Dr. Peters
Yarrow. What have you thought of doing? Well. Well, it's going to be a bit nasty and I want me to get work. Dr. Peters. I thought of Canada or Australia. You can still have your job with me, Yarrow. You mean that, sir?
- [06:15]
Narrator
Well, stay on.
- [06:16]
Dr. Peters
Oh, it's marvelous to be sharp. I never.
- [06:19]
Narrator
Oh, thank you.
- [06:20]
Dr. Peters
Saint. Afraid we're Christian after what's happened. And to think they for what they accuse me of. Oh, thank you, Sacha. It's the weight of my mind, I can tell you.
- [06:30]
Narrator
The trial and the crowd afterwards. George Yellow sat on the edge of his bed in the little room he rented at number 77 Elderton Road, Wimbledon. Yes, the court had been hostile. And the crowd outside the court had been worse. You see, the murdered girl was young Beautiful, popular. Strange the way that girl, that one girl in the angry crowd had called out, bravo, George. But there's a certain kind of woman who is attracted by a man like Yarrow. Fantastic. Well, Peters has taken me back as his chauffeur. It's fantastic. Yes, fantastic indeed. Yarrow had murdered Angela Peters. Oh yes. And the father knew he had. But the evidence inconclusive. George Yarrow was the sort of man the religious painters of old consigned happily to their fiery Hades. But people don't always get what they deserve. And now after the trial, after everything, Dr. Peters had taken his chauffeur back into his employ. A Christian gentleman. After it had happened, his brain had cleared and his one thought had been to get away. He had killed the Peter's girl. His big red hand had done it. And his one thought had been to escape fast. He had made for the nearest road where buses ran. It was ironical, you see, that as he reached the bus stop, a certain Nelly saw him. A young woman to whom he'd promised many things. A young woman who had showered him with her favors in the belief that he would marry her. Yarrow did not want meet her because he knew that he might want to pretend he had been far away that night.
- [08:49]
Dr. Peters
George, wait.
- [08:50]
Nelly Tor
I won't talk to you.
- [08:52]
Dr. Peters
What?
- [08:52]
Nelly Tor
Why are you so cruel to me? You got another girl, sister. George, I've got the last of a new test.
- [08:58]
Dr. Peters
George, I have. I can't stop the bus. I got to catch. George, don't.
- [09:04]
Nelly Tor
Wait.
- [09:05]
Dr. Peters
I got to know why you stopped.
- [09:22]
Narrator
One moment, George. On the bus, not looking back. Nelly, the deserted one, middle of road, gesticulating. The shout, screech of brakes. And Nelly knew no more. Those were the facts. Yarrow, Peter, chauffeur murdered his employer's daughter. Murdered her horribly. Nelly met him soon after the event and was run down by a car as she tried to run after George Yarrow's bus. George Yarrow did not look back. He had no idea of the accident. Court trial. Yarrow acquitted. And the case discussed over the entire country. Just as Sir Henry and the Kintums discussed it earlier. Yes, things had gone very well for the chauffeur with the big red hands. Very well indeed. And the Christian gentleman, his employer, despite everything of taking him back. Pity Nelly had seen him that night after it had happened. But no matter. Yarrow wasn't able to listen to a certain conversation though that took place in Dr. Peter's study the evening of the same day that good doctor had offered to keep his chauffeur on.
- [10:51]
Dr. Peters
Bring me a whiskey and soda, Smith, will you?
- [10:54]
Narrator
Yes, sir.
- [10:55]
Dr. Peters
And Smith, Sister Yarrow is returning to my service tomorrow. Yes, sir. But the verdict of the trial was not guilty. That being the case, Yarrow is innocent. That is all. Yes?
- [11:12]
Narrator
I need Yarrow in my service, Smith.
- [11:16]
Dr. Peters
You hear me?
- [11:17]
Narrator
I need him. Yes, sir. Angela Yarrow is guilty. I know he is guilty. Only someone could be found who saw him. Never seen her. But reliable witnesses are wary, wary of swearing away the life of a man. I can only wait. Sometime on the scene length the missing piece of evidence will turn up. Meanwhile, I will have him close by. Nelly Tor opened her eyes. She had always hated hospitals, but they were very kind to her in this one.
- [12:16]
Nelly Tor
Don't worry, dear, it was enough. But you're going to be all right. Don't worry. Don't worry. You're mending nicely. Here, I bought you a paper. Ah, what's the news? Nothing very much. A new Chevalier film coming on this week. There's some trouble in Bulgaria. Oh, and a horrible murder in Wimbledon. That's where I come from. One poor little girl. Horrible. And I don't know anything about who did it. Makes you wonder what kind of a world we live in, doesn't it?
- [13:02]
Narrator
Time passed. Nelly Tor grew stronger. It was in another paper, another set of headlines, another week. But Nelly read.
- [13:14]
Nelly Tor
The man. The police questioned George Yarrow.
- [13:35]
Narrator
And laboriously she read of the man's explanation. How he had been in Hyde park at the time of the crime. His fat denial that he had been anywhere near the common. Nelly's mouth tightened into a thin line. Yarrow. The man who had jilted her. Yarrow. That was the day she had met him. The day the car had very nearly taken her life. The day. Oh, yellow. Beware of an injured woman.
- [14:03]
Nelly Tor
What must I do? The police. No, not getting it stopped with a law. Dr. Peters.
- [14:34]
Narrator
I feel like a new man. It's the lovely day today.
- [14:39]
Dr. Peters
I took a grandpa headache powder and I world better when colds and flu are about. Grandpa headache powders are what you need. Grandpa headache powders work fast because they dissolve almost immediately. Grandpa makes all those dreadful flu symptoms disappear quickly. So whenever you're in pain, get fast relief. Get Grandpa headache powder. Ah, Grandpa. Just soak, just soak in biotech stains, grass stains, collar and cusp stains ingrain dirt, soil and grime. Out they come and you don't stir a finger, just soap. Just soak from biotech. Biotech with natural enzymes is the pre wash powder with the most enzymes to Give you extra free wash power. Absolutely. No rubbing, no color loss, no fabric wear. Soaking in biotechs removes the stains and dirt that washing won't just soak, just soak in biotape.
- [15:49]
Narrator
A week after leaving hospital, Nelly Tour, who had not yet contacted her former lover, George Yellow, was passing the Town Cinema. The Chevalier film had come and gone and now in its place was a fiery, tempestuous love story. Nelly stopped and examined the posters and watched the crowds coming out. Mostly couples. Young couples. Oh, there had been hijinks in the back few stalls of the Three and Sixes at night, she noticed a man and a girl who, arms still entwined, stood out from the rest. The girl was blonde and curvaceous. She was impressive, but loud. The man was tall and burly and dressed to kill, as it were. His soft hat was tipped rakishly, his purple tie boasted a splendid pin and his shoes were extravagantly pointed. It was, of course, Georgie Arrow.
- [16:41]
Dr. Peters
Are you quite certain, Ms. Tor, that it was Yarrow you saw that night? You could not have been mistaken.
- [16:47]
Nelly Tor
No. If anybody ought to know George Yarrow, I should. I mean, most intimate at one time.
- [16:55]
Dr. Peters
And you'd be prepared to sign a sworn statement to this effect?
- [16:57]
Nelly Tor
If you say so. But I'm not wanting any police trouble, if you don't mind.
- [17:03]
Dr. Peters
You won't have any, I can promise you that. For the present, you must tell nobody. The matter is perfectly safe in my hands. I have your word?
- [17:11]
Nelly Tor
Yes. Remember you promised that George shan't know.
- [17:15]
Narrator
As I've told you, I've already given you my word.
- [17:18]
Dr. Peters
Thank you very much for what you've told me tonight, Miss Tor. Thank you very much indeed. You ran. Shut the door, Smith. Is there anything I can get. No, thank you. Just shut the door. I want to talk to you. How long is it you've been with me? Fifteen years. Sixteen, sir. You were fond of Miss Angela, were you not? I know how I felt. It should be my own. Very well. Listen to me. My hand. My hand, sir. Ring Mr. Carter and say that I would be pleased if he were dying with me tomorrow. Say that it is very important. That is all, Smith. Good night. Good night, Doctor. Peter.
- [18:24]
Narrator
Here. Tony Carter must be in on this. Tony Carter? Heavyweight champion, Oxford University.
- [18:31]
Dr. Peters
He should manage it all right. Together with Smith and myself. An eye for an eye.
- [18:53]
Narrator
I don't know what's the matter with.
- [18:54]
Dr. Peters
The light, G. The doctor nearly said he wanted you to look absent. That's all I know. I do everything you need. It's a bit much in it. 11:00 at night, fixing flaming lights high at a gate. What is it? Yellow is the chief of light. Good evening. Yeah, good evening, sir. You've got right trouble, Smith said. Put up your hands.
- [19:20]
Narrator
And the chauffeur turned and faced a gentleman by the name of Carter. Oxford Blue gentleman of leisure and of letters. A gentleman who held a leveled, lethal looking revolver. It was pointed at Yarrow's stomach. What's the guide?
- [19:34]
Dr. Peters
We know you for a murderer. Some days ago, the missing piece of evidence came into my hands. If I felt so inclined, I could hand you over to the police to hang by the neck until you were dead. But hanging is too good for a swine like you. Take it easy. The handcuffs, miss. What you doing to me?
- [19:56]
Narrator
And Peters came towards him, a pad in his hands. Yarrow smelt a sweet, sickly odor. He was stifling, choking. He could hear low grunts, curses from the other men, but the sounds seemed very faint, far away. When he came to Yellow found himself lying on a long white table. He tried to move his arm, but something held it like a vice. His legs were confined in a similar manner by a thick leather strap. He was naked and above him burned a powerful light. He realized that he lay upon an operating table. He turned his head and saw on his right his clothes in a huddled heap on the floor.
- [21:13]
Dr. Peters
Mustn't be scary.
- [21:15]
Narrator
The old Bras is just trying to bluff me. Reckon he'll panic me into confessing my guilt? He hasn't got any stake in the door. I'll get him with this.
- [21:36]
Dr. Peters
Say something, Yarrow. You can't. Listen to me. Oh, there's a cop something. I don't think you will, my friend. I'm not going to kill you. And if you go to the police, they will assuredly hang you. As certain as the month is March in the year 1932, they will hang you. But I didn't do it. I thought.
- [21:58]
Nelly Tor
I.
- [22:02]
Narrator
And once more, the great doctor. A man envied and admired by his colleagues. The doctor referred to by one James Clinton as the fellow who's done all these marvelous things with thyroid experiments. The doctor once more pressed the sickening pad over Yarrow's mouth. During the hours that followed, Yarrow suffered the agonies of a burning afterlife. At intervals he fainted, only to recover and endure once more agony. He never really knew what was happening to him. He lost all sense of time. The world had become for him a place of unbelievable torture. Peter's work does one possess all his vast knowledge of the human body was Called upon to play a part. No one was permitted to come near the laboratory, save Smith. The servants were told that Dr. Peters was engaged in important experiments and must not be disturbed. Months passed, and even the butler who was forbidden access to the room only came occasionally to bring his employer kneels upon a tray. He also brought a tray for one other. It was March when Yarrow had disappeared, and now December held London in its frigid grip. The door into the room was open just a few inches and through the aperture Smith saw an almost unbelievable sight. Dr. Peter stood, whip in hand over a creature which crouched on the floor, held by a chain and staple driven into the wall. The legs of the thing were bent and calloused. The arms hung ape like with simian looseness from the wasted body. The face was the face of an old, old man, wrinkled with age and fear, but with a sly cunning lurking behind the roomy eyes. A thing of horror. A thing. Jimmy and Naomi Clinton sat impatiently in their motor car, a long low in Victor. They were late for lunch. The block of traffic in the Tottenham Court Road was exasperating. Their splendid motor car was overheating. 1932. Motor cars did tend to do things like overheat, even in December. In 1932, it was Naomi who saw the creature first. What, for heaven's sake, what a disgusting start.
- [25:51]
Nelly Tor
What are you going to do?
- [25:53]
Narrator
Oh, from the show de Limpia, perhaps. He looked at the grotesque figure ambling along the pavement, the jostling lunch hour crowds giving it as wide a berth as the pavement permitted. Isn't it pathetic?
- [26:07]
Nelly Tor
Why are things like that alive to me?
- [26:10]
Dr. Peters
I don't know. Oh, we're going to be terribly late, darling.
- [26:15]
Narrator
And then the traffic block broke and the invictor slid forward. Naomi turned to look at the bizarre ape like figure alone in the crowd, an outcast forever from its fellow creatures. She thought how terrible it was that it would never know human relationships. At best, only pity and commiseration or laughter and curiosity. Inconsequentially, she thought of the murder still unsolved at Wimbledon.
- [26:52]
Nelly Tor
Darling, did Oliver find the Wimbledon murderer?
- [26:55]
Dr. Peters
Oh, he got off scot free and no one knows what happened to him. Probably found it difficult to get a job there.
- [27:01]
Narrator
But apart from that, he got off scot free.
- [27:03]
Dr. Peters
Yes.
- [27:04]
Narrator
Look, when we get there, we're very late.
- [27:07]
Dr. Peters
Don't take too long to do your case.
- [27:21]
Narrator
Their life went on and Yarrow, stumbling down the Tottenham Court Road, did not really understand the looks of the passersby Arrow, stumbling down the Tottenham Court Road. He did not really understand anything anymore. Beyond Midnight is presented every Friday night at half past nine by Biotech the New Soak and Pre Wash Powder. The program is adapted for broadcasting and Produced by Michael McCabe.
- [28:24]
Host
There's more from Beyond Midnight, the Horror, the Relic Radio podcast, our shoutcast Stream all@ Relicradio.com Lots to listen to there, all made possible by your support. If you'd like to help out, visit donate. Relicradio.com or click on one of the links on the website. Thanks to those who have helped out. Thanks for joining me this week. Be back tomorrow with Strange Tales and next Saturday with our next episode of the Horror.