Latest / Suspense | Old Time Radio / Suspense - "Wet Saturday" (Old Time Radio, 1942)

Transcript

Suspense - "Wet Saturday" (Old Time Radio, 1942) · Suspense | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: On June 2, 1942, Suspense presented Episode 4, Wet Saturday.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Harold Medford adapted John Collier's short story for radio, with
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Charles Vanda directing and producing. Clarence Derwent stars as Frederick Princey,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: head of a family gathered in their rain-bound English country
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: house as a serious household crisis puts pressure on the Princeys.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Joan Loring is Millicent Princey, and Barry Kroger is heard
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: as Sergeant Yancey and Constable Mountain. The arrival of Captain
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Smollett adds another presence to the troubled house and its
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: village surroundings. From the CBS radio network, this early suspense
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: broadcast brings us a country house setting and a family
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: in conflict. We now take you back to the original broadcast.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: The Columbia Network takes pleasure in bringing you.
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: Suspense. Suspense.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: A new series of programs with one strict purpose in view.
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: Your entertainment.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: Each week at this time, CBS sets aside 30 minutes
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: to excite you, to mystify you, and on occasion to
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: horrify you with a catalog of the world's great thrillers.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: Dramas from the stage and screen, from fiction and radio.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: Dramas that bring you.
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: Suspense.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: This, the second offering of a new series, is a
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: unique one. Certainly, it is one of the very few
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: pieces of suspense literature that somehow manages to tickle your
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: funny bone while busily engaged in tingling your spine. Make
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: no mistake, though, nobody's kidding. CBS presents its adaptation of
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: John Collier's well-known short story.
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: Wet Saturday. Yes, it's a wet Saturday. Never saw it
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: rain harder. I'm Princey, Frederick Princey, just an ordinary family man.
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: I have a son, a daughter, and a wife. I
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: might be out golfing now if it hadn't been for
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: the rain. I'm Mrs. Princey.
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: I plan to drive over to the nurseries this afternoon
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: for some arbutus.
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: The borders, you know, but.
• 2:47
  Speaker 5: Oh, the whole lot of them make me sick. Yes,
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: I'm George, son of an heir. I had a date
• 2:53
  Speaker 5: to go punting.
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: Punting.
• 2:56
  Speaker 5: Couldn't find the blasted punting as well, so... I'm home, too. I.
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: I'm Millicent. I was going to play croquet.
• 3:07
  Speaker 6: That's how I happened to have a mallet.
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: Yes, that's the Princey family. We find them at home. Mrs.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: Princey, Millicent, George sprawled on a couch, Mr. Princey biting
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: on a dry pipe. Their living room is dull and overstuffed.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: Rain beats at the windows. They are any middle-class family
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: at home on a wet day, except for one small item.
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: As you sit with them in the living room, you
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: can see through the door to the sun porch a
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: pair of men's feet encased in black boots.
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: They look like the feet of a curate. There's a
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: tenseness in the room.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: The air is charged with excitement, but the feet are
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: very still.
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: Don't keep staring at them. Listen to me, all of you.
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: Don't you see? They'd hang her. That's what they'd do.
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: They'd hang her. Oh, Fred, it's too awful. Awful? It's catastrophic.
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: A supposedly sweet, gentle, intelligent girl, respected, loved by the
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: whole village, doing a thing like this. Think of the publicity,
• 4:19
  Speaker 4: the disgrace. You think I'm going to resign from the bench,
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: the vestry? Sell out and live in some foggy hotel abroad? Oh, no, no. No.
• 4:29
  Speaker 6: No, I'll kill myself.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: I will.
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: I will. Don't be a fool. Any more than you
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: have been, the governor of Ames. Be quiet. Wouldn't be
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: so bad if it were you. Everybody in the village
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: knows you're not responsible. George. Yes? Get off that couch.
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: Sit up on your spine. You might be of a
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: little use here if you could think. Listen, Governor, this
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: isn't my funeral. Oh, shut up. As long as I
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: can remember, George, you've been a trial and a tribulation
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: to me. Oh, I can't stand it. I can't stand it.
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: You've got to stand it, my dear. And keep that
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: hysterical note out of your voice. You hear?
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: We, uh... We are talking about the weather. Now, George. Yeah? George,
• 5:23
  Speaker 4: if he fell down the old well, say, striking his
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: head several times, what about it, eh? I really don't know, Governor.
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: What about it? Don't be an ass. I'm asking you
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: to think. He'd have had to hit the side several
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: times in 30 or 40 feet and at all the
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: correct angles. Now... No, I'm afraid not. I'm afraid not.
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: We'll have to go over it all again, Millicent. Oh, no, Father. No, no.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: I couldn't. I couldn't. Millicent, we must go over it
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: all again. Oh, Fred, you're torturing her.
• 6:07
  Speaker 5: Oh, face facts, Mater. With him lying there, there's no
• 6:11
  Speaker 5: use pretending it's a picnic.
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: They might hang you, Millicent.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: Oh.
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: Oh, stop that shaking. Stop it here. You must stop it.
• 6:20
  Speaker 6: Just keep your voice quiet.
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: Listen. We are talking of the weather. Now, we will proceed.
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: I can't. I can't. Not without boots. Oh, should have
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: thought of those boots, Millie. I'm not moving them. Oh,
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: sit up, George. Stop shuffling your feet. Now, Millicent, look
• 6:49
  Speaker 4: at me. Answer me truthfully, you hear? Answer me. You
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: were in the croquet court. Who knew you were in
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: love with this wretched curate? Who? The whole village. They've
• 7:05
  Speaker 4: been sniggering about it at the pub for three years past. Ah,
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: what a filthy mess. Millicent, we continue. You were on
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: the croquet court?
• 7:15
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: You were putting the croquet set into its box? Yes.
• 7:22
  Speaker 6: It was starting to rain. I was carrying the balls
• 7:26
  Speaker 6: and mallets into the sun porch.
• 7:28
  Speaker 4: The box was there. You heard someone enter the garden
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: gate and come across the yard?
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: Could you see who it was? Oh, not at first.
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: I was going into the sun porch.
• 7:43
  Speaker 6: I threw down all the mallets but the red one
• 7:46
  Speaker 6: and turned around.
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: It was Withers?
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: So you called him? Yes. Loudly? Did you call him loudly?
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: Could anyone have heard?
• 7:59
  Speaker 6: No, Father, I'm sure not. I didn't really call him.
• 8:02
  Speaker 6: I just spoke his name. He saw me as I
• 8:06
  Speaker 6: went to the door. He just waved his hand and
• 8:09
  Speaker 6: came over.
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: How can I find out from you whether there was
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: anywhere about... whether he could have been seen? I'm sure not, Father. I'm...
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: I'm quite sure. So, you both went into the sun porch. Yes.
• 8:24
  Speaker 4: It was raining hard then. What did he say? He said, hello, Millie.
• 8:30
  Speaker 6: And excuse his coming in the back way, but he
• 8:33
  Speaker 6: set out to walk over to Liston.
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 8:36
  Speaker 6: And he said, passing the park, he'd.
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: Seen the house.
• 8:40
  Speaker 6: suddenly thought of me. And he thought he'd just look
• 8:44
  Speaker 6: in for a moment.
• 8:46
  Speaker 5: He.
• 8:48
  Speaker 6: He had something to tell me.
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: Go on. He said he was so happy, he wanted
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: me to share it.
• 8:56
  Speaker 6: He'd heard from the bishop he was to have a vicarage.
• 8:59
  Speaker 6: And it wasn't only that. It meant he could marry.
• 9:03
  Speaker 6: And then he began to stutter and get all confused.
• 9:09
  Speaker 6: And of course, I thought he meant me.
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: Don't tell me what you thought. Tell me exactly what
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: he said. Nothing else. Well... Well... Oh, dear. Oh, stop crying.
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: It's a luxury you can no longer afford. Tell me
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: what happened. He said no. He said it... It wasn't me.
• 9:36
  Speaker 6: It's Ella Brackton Davis.
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: And... And he was sorry and... And all that.
• 9:45
  Speaker 6: Then he went to go.
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: And then? I went mad. He turned his back.
• 9:53
  Speaker 6: I had the red mallet of the croquet fit in
• 9:54
  Speaker 6: my hand. I forgot to drop it in the box
• 9:57
  Speaker 6: when he came. I.
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: or scream? I mean, as you hit him? No.
• 10:03
  Speaker 6: No, I'm sure I didn't.
• 10:06
  Speaker 4: Did he? Come on, speak up. No, Father. And then?
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: I threw it down. I came straight in here. I
• 10:14
  Speaker 4: went to look for Mother. My poor baby. No. No,
• 10:20
  Speaker 4: I won't leave the child alone, Fred. Not such a child, Mater. Millie,
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: I had no idea you had... Keep quiet. I'm thinking.
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: You see, George, he probably told people he was going
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: to Liston. Certainly no one knows he came here, for
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: he didn't decide until he crossed the park. He might
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: have been attacked in the woods... We must consider every detail.
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: A curate with his head battered in. Don't, Father. Don't.
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: A curate, head battered in. Now, who would want to
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: kill with us? Who'd kill with us? Well, I would
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: with pleasure. How'd you do, Mrs. Princey?
• 11:06
  Speaker 6: Captain, Captain Smart.
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: Oh, sit down, pray. Mustn't get up for me, Mrs. Princey.
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: You either, Millicent. My word. Just being neighborly on a
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: bad day. I wanted to ask you about those dahlia bulbs, Princey.
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: Took a shortcut on account of the rain and walked
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: right in. Knew you wouldn't mind. Oh, he heard you, Father.
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: My dear, we can all have our little jokes. Don't
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: pretend to be shocked. This way, Smollett. This care, facing
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: the fireplace. Sit down, Mother.
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: Just straightening the curtains to the sun porch, dear. It
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: looks so gloomy out there. Might as well shut the
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: rain out.
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: Just talking about a little theoretical cure at killing, Smollett.
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: You know, young people these days like thrillers. Personicide. Justifiable personicide.
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: Have you heard about Ella Bragdon, Davis? I should be
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: most properly laughed at. Why? Why should you be laughed at, Smollett? Oh,
• 12:06
  Speaker 4: and a shot in that direction myself. They have said yes, too.
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: Haven't you heard? She told most people. Now it'll look
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: as if I got turned down for a white rat
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: in a dog collar. Oh, too bad. Oh, fortune of war. Yes,
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: fortune of war. Odd how it happens, isn't it? Sit down, Smollett. Millicent,
• 12:34
  Speaker 4: console Captain Smollett with your best light conversation. You too, Mother.
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: George and I have something to look at outside. There's
• 12:41
  Speaker 4: this rain, you know, very bad, very bad.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: Come, George.
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: Right-o, Governor. Maybe we'll need raincoats, what? Oh, I don't
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: think so. Just make yourself at home, Smollett. Make yourself
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: at home. A cigarette, Captain Smollett? Thank you, thank you. Oh,
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: nasty day to be going out. It's something about the
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: old well. Just off the Sunforge door, you know.
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: This terrible sudden weather seems to have loosened some of
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: the stones.
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: Oh, too bad. Dash too bad. Spoils the tennis and croquet,
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: I mean, a day like this. Doesn't it, Millie? Doesn't it, Millie? Oh, yes,
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: it does.
• 13:17
  Speaker 6: She was practicing out on the croquet court earlier, but... Oh,
• 13:21
  Speaker 6: do pull your chair nearer the fire, Captain.
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: It was so damp, we thought it would be cozy
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: to light it.
• 13:25
  Speaker 6: Thank you, I'm quite comfortable. I, uh, I hope you
• 13:31
  Speaker 6: don't feel too bad about Anna Davis.
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: Can't always win. Can't see, though, what you women see
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: in these bloodless clerics. Oh, I always thought Mr.
• 13:41
  Speaker 6: Withers was, uh, is a very charming man.
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: I'd agree, but why should anyone want to marry him?
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: You wouldn't want to marry him, would you, Millie? Not now.
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: That is, I... Are you... Oh... Oh, no, of course not. Smollett. Yes, yes, Princey.
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: Good Lord, man, you come in all of a sudden. Yes,
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: I did. Oh, don't mind this old double-barreled shotgun. Been
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: working on it. Smollett, may I have your attention for
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: a minute? There's something on the sun porch I'd like
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: to show you. Why, yes. Yes, of course. Smollett. Smollett.
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: George and I went out to see if we could
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: shoot some rats which have been driven out of the
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: old well by the high water. Afraid they might get
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: into the house. Now you must listen to me very carefully.
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: Very carefully or you will be shot by accident. Princey,
• 14:45
  Speaker 4: what's got into you? You heard me ask as you
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: came in who would kill with us. You also heard
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: Millicent make a comment, an unguarded comment. Well, what of it?
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: Very little. Unless you were to hear that Withers had
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: met a violent end this very afternoon. And that, my
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: dear Smollett, is what you are going to hear. What? Withers? Yes.
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: Who killed him? Millicent. Yes, it's a mess. And of course,
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: you would have remembered and guessed. Maybe, yes. Yes, I
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: suppose I should. Therefore, you constitute a problem. Why did
• 15:35
  Speaker 4: she kill him? Oh, it's one of those disgusting things. Pitiable, too.
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: She deluded herself that he was in love with her.
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: Good heavens, Billy. Oh, yes, of course. I see. He
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: had told her about the Davis girl. I understand. Now,
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: I have no wish, as you will comprehend, that she
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: should be proved either a lunatic or a murderess. I
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: could hardly go on living here after that. I suppose not.
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: On the other hand, you know about it. Yes, I
• 16:05
  Speaker 4: see that makes me a problem. You're wondering if I
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: could keep my mouth shut. If I promised... I am
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: wondering if I could believe you. But if I promised...
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: If things went smoothly, yes. But not if there was
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: any sort of suspicion, any questioning. You would be afraid
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: of being an accessory. Why, I don't know. I do.
• 16:27
  Speaker 4: What are we going to do? I can't see anything else.
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: You'd never be a fool enough to do me in.
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: You can't get rid of two corpses. Oh, I regard
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: it as a better risk than the other. It could
• 16:41
  Speaker 4: be an accident. Or you and Withers could both disappear.
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: There are possibilities in that. Listen, you can't... I can,
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: but there may be a way out. There is. Smollett,
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: you gave it to me yourself. I... I did what?
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: You said you would kill Withers. You have a motive. Oh,
• 17:04
  Speaker 4: look here. I was joking. Of course you saw that.
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: You are always joking. Listen, Smollett... I can't trust you.
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: You must trust me, else I will kill you now
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: in the next minute. I mean that. You can choose
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: between dying and living. Go on. Now, there's the old
• 17:24
  Speaker 4: well just outside the Sun Porch door. That's where I'm
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: going to put Withers. No one outside knows he has
• 17:30
  Speaker 4: come up here this afternoon. No one will ever look
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: there for him unless you tell them. You must give
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: me evidence that you have murdered Withers. I murdered him?
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: Why do you want that? So that I shall be
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: dead sure that you will never open your lips on
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: the subject. I see. What evidence? George, hit him in
• 17:52
  Speaker 4: the face. Sure. George, don't. Keep out of this.
• 17:57
  Speaker 5: Captain, you should be more careful. Look what your teeth
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: did to my knuckles.
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: Again, George. Okay. Keep quiet. You women keep out of this.
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: I'm sorry, Smollett, but there must be traces of a
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: struggle between you and with us. Then it will not
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: be altogether safe for you to go to the police.
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: But can't you take my word, man? I will when
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: we are finished. George.
• 18:25
  Speaker 5: Yes?
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: Get the croquet mallet. Right, Governor. Take your handkerchief to it.
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: In there on the sun porch floor. Yeah.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 18:34
  Speaker 4: I got it, Governor. There, Captain. There's the weapon. As
• 18:39
  Speaker 4: I told you, Smollett. Now, you'll just grasp the end
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: that mashed Withers' head. I shall shoot you if you don't. But,
• 18:49
  Speaker 4: good Lord, you can't. All right. There. That's it. Now
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: deposit it out by the side of the house. Out
• 18:58
  Speaker 4: of the rain, of course. No. Wait, George. What? First,
• 19:03
  Speaker 4: you'd better pull a few hairs out of his head
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: and put them under the nails of Withers' right hand. Prince,
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: have you gone mad? Do you know what you're doing?
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: With this gun? Yes. Go ahead, George.
• 19:17
  Speaker 5: Sorry to mush your hair up, Captain.
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: Shut up, Smollett. There. That's all we need. Now for Withers,
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: and we'll fix it right up. Be right with you, Governor. Smollett,
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: you may turn around. Withers is just there in the
• 19:34
  Speaker 4: sun porch. Draw back the curtain. Good Lord, Princey. Yes, messy.
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: But we'll get him fixed up. Now you, Smollett, you've
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: just got to drag him... through the door and dump
• 19:51
  Speaker 4: him in the old well. Just beyond the door, Captain.
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: I won't touch him. I won't.
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: Stand aside. Out of range, George. Right. Only one place
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: I want this bullet to go. Father. Father. Keep quiet.
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: My aim's none too good.
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: Wait a minute.
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: Wait a minute. That's... Better, Smollett. Much better. Go on now.
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: In here. You'll have to take him outside. By the
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: shoulders ought to do it, Captain. Keep quiet, George. Go on, Smollett.
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: Go on. You've seen dead men before. Drag him. Drag him.
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: I'll just hold the gun here to make sure that
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: everything goes all right.
• 20:45
  Speaker 6: Oh, Mother, come away from the dealing window, dear.
• 20:47
  Speaker 4: Don't look.
• 20:48
  Speaker 6: But, Captain Smollett, your father is a very resourceful man,
• 20:51
  Speaker 6: isn't he?
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: I'm sure what he's doing is right. But the captain,
• 20:54
  Speaker 4: I can't... I can't stand it. You mustn't question your
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: dear father.
• 21:00
  Speaker 5: I say, are you two still at it? There's enough
• 21:03
  Speaker 5: trouble around here without blubbering.
• 21:05
  Speaker 4: I'm not blubbering, George.
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: So you see, Smollett, everything is perfect.
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: They never look in our way. Do you see how
• 21:15
  Speaker 4: safe it is? I guess it is. Oh, good heavens, man.
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: You're dripping wet. Why didn't you slip your raincoat on?
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: Tea ready, my dear? In just a minute, dear. I'll
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: ring for Bridget. Exactly what you need, Smollett. Cup of tea.
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: Best thing in the world to ward off a cold.
• 21:34
  Speaker 4: Sit down, won't you? Don't mind getting the chair wet. Cigarette? Cigarette?
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: Help yourself. I stick to my pipe, you know. Funny how.
• 21:44
  Speaker 6: Everything's hot, ma'am.
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: Oh, Bridget, yes. Put the tray in front of me here,
• 21:48
  Speaker 4: on the table. Yes, ma'am. That's it. I say, Captain,
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: you've gone and cut your lip. I just knocked it. Oh,
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: how dreadful. Here, Bridget. Yes, ma'am. Take the captain this cup. No, no,
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: thank you. I rather think I'll be running along now,
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: if you don't mind. Why, Captain Smollett, without an inch,
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: if I could just have my raincoat. Oh, I'll get
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: it for you, Captain. Oh, this is very distressing, Smollett, very.
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: I'll be all right presently, I'm sure. Here we are now.
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: Let me help you. Thank you. Thank you, young man. There.
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: Better go out the front way, Smollett. The walk is dry. Oh,
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: let me hold the door for you, Captain. Don't worry,
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: old fellow. Don't worry at all.
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: Oh, no, I.
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: I don't know what to do. Nothing serious, I imagine.
• 22:41
  Speaker 4: A little rest and he'll be as right as rain.
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: By the way, Millicent, you're not looking any too well.
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: was that croak he caught. Being outdoors in weather like
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: this is simply foolhardy. The mate is right, Millie.
• 22:55
  Speaker 5: You saw what happened to Captain Smollett.
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: Come along, dear.
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: I shall give you a hot foot bath and put
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: you to bed.
• 23:02
  Speaker 6: And a couple of days in bed and you'll be
• 23:04
  Speaker 6: fine again.
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: Get plenty of rest, Millicent, and don't worry about a thing.
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: That's the best cure. Well, I guess I'll have a
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: little rest too, Governor. It's a fine afternoon for a nap.
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: Indeed it is, son. Well, enjoy yourself. I'll see you later.
• 23:24
  Speaker 4: I'll see you all later. Your number, please. Oh. Would
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: you get me the police station, please? Police station? Right away, sir.
• 23:57
  Speaker 4: Police headquarters, Sergeant Yancey speaking. Oh, hello, Sergeant. This is
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: Princey of Abbots Road. I believe you know me. Oh,
• 24:05
  Speaker 4: indeed I do, Mr. Princey. Sergeant, a horrible thing has
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: just happened. Quite extraordinary. Murder, in fact. Murder? I'm afraid
• 24:13
  Speaker 4: it looks rather bad for a close friend of ours, unfortunately.
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: We saw him do it. I think you'd better send
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: someone over right away.
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: Our man should be there right about now, Mr.
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: Princey. I beg your pardon? I say, our man should
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: be there now. Constable Martin has his post right below
• 24:32
  Speaker 4: your house there. Just rang in. Seems Captain Smollett was
• 24:36
  Speaker 4: with him. Captain Smollett? He reported some rather queer goings-on
• 24:42
  Speaker 4: at your place, but I certainly didn't understand it was murder.
• 24:46
  Speaker 4: Just don't touch anything, Mr. Princey. And don't worry. Don't
• 24:51
  Speaker 4: worry at all. No. No, no, no. I won't, Sergeant.
• 24:56
  Speaker 4: Thank you. Governor! Governor, where are you? I'm right here.
• 25:04
  Speaker 4: Stop shouting. We have some visitors, Governor.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: Oh, yes.
• 25:09
  Speaker 4: Yes, yes, I can see that. Well, Constable, good afternoon.
• 25:14
  Speaker 4: Good afternoon, Mr. Prince. And Smollett, I say, what a
• 25:19
  Speaker 4: remarkable fellow you are, coming back like this. Here to
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: reenact the crime? Only the one against me, Princey. The
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: one against the curate I'll leave to you people. Extraordinary
• 25:30
  Speaker 4: sense of humor. Mr. Princey, I just had a look
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: at what's in your well. Not a pretty sight, that.
• 25:35
  Speaker 4: Not pretty at all. Yes, Captain Smollett was thorough, if
• 25:39
  Speaker 4: nothing else. You saw him when he did it, sir,
• 25:41
  Speaker 4: out in the back?
• 25:41
  Speaker 5: No, quite.
• 25:43
  Speaker 4: We were just returning from a walk. Smollett evidently had
• 25:45
  Speaker 4: been laying for the curate, hiding out in those bushes
• 25:48
  Speaker 4: by the road, I imagine. He was never inside this house? Never. Never?
• 25:52
  Speaker 4: And you say, Captain? I say that while I was
• 25:55
  Speaker 4: inside this house, a guest of the family, I was
• 25:58
  Speaker 4: coerced into dragging the curate's body outside and dumping it
• 26:01
  Speaker 4: in the well. Well, there we are. Not entirely, Constable.
• 26:06
  Speaker 4: I'll just remove my raincoat. There. And demonstrate how damp
• 26:10
  Speaker 4: I got my clothes when I went outside without it. No.
• 26:15
  Speaker 4: That's interesting, isn't it? Quite. He undoubtedly removed his coat
• 26:20
  Speaker 4: at some point between here and your post. I might
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: as well tell you that his weapon, a red crookie mallet,
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: is out by the side of the house. I shouldn't
• 26:27
  Speaker 4: be at all surprised, but that you'd find his fingerprints
• 26:30
  Speaker 4: all over it. All over the end of the mallet, Constable.
• 26:33
  Speaker 4: The end that mashed withers his head. and not the
• 26:36
  Speaker 4: end I'd have had to grasp in order to do
• 26:39
  Speaker 4: the mashing. Governor! That's a decent try, Smollett, but it
• 26:43
  Speaker 4: won't work. There must be other evidences, Constable. You'll undoubtedly
• 26:47
  Speaker 4: find them when you examine the body. He means my
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: hair under Withers' nails. Well, sir, if you look carefully,
• 26:53
  Speaker 4: I believe you'll find a few of my precious hairs
• 26:56
  Speaker 4: under his son's nails, too. Here, what have you tried?
• 26:59
  Speaker 4: Shut up! Constable, this is an utter waste of time.
• 27:02
  Speaker 4: So far as the violent struggle between Smollett and Withers
• 27:04
  Speaker 4: is concerned, Smollett's face speaks for itself. Quite eloquently, I believe. Oh,
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: but no more eloquently than your son's knuckles. As you see, Constable,
• 27:13
  Speaker 4: a fresh abrasion. He did that on my teeth. Or
• 27:16
  Speaker 4: did he? What? I say, or did he? He might
• 27:22
  Speaker 4: have done that on Withers' teeth.
• 27:27
  Speaker 5: Oh, I see.
• 27:29
  Speaker 4: I see what you mean. But I didn't. Governor, he
• 27:32
  Speaker 4: said I... Oh, keep still, you nitwit. Let me think.
• 27:35
  Speaker 4: Let me think. As a matter of fact, George, the
• 27:38
  Speaker 4: more I think of it, the more I'm convinced it
• 27:40
  Speaker 4: was your voice I heard. Quite a vigorous quarrel. Something
• 27:43
  Speaker 4: about the curate jilting your sister. Oh, don't be ridiculous, Smollett.
• 27:48
  Speaker 4: Very well, Princey. If your son didn't do it, who did?
• 27:52
  Speaker 4: That's what I'd like to know. How about it, Mr. Princey? Well, that...
• 27:57
  Speaker 4: that is a sticker, all right. George, my boy, it
• 28:02
  Speaker 4: looks like you're elected. Elected? What do you mean? I
• 28:06
  Speaker 4: didn't do it. I had nothing to do... Keep your
• 28:08
  Speaker 4: mouth shut, will you? I won't. I'm not going to
• 28:10
  Speaker 4: take the blame for her. Millie did it. She did
• 28:12
  Speaker 4: it with that mallet I saw. You could prove that?
• 28:15
  Speaker 4: Prove it? I... I... Yes. Her fingerprints on the mallet.
• 28:19
  Speaker 4: The handle. Why, George, don't you remember when you made
• 28:22
  Speaker 4: me touch the mallet? When you picked it up with
• 28:24
  Speaker 4: your handkerchief? No, I... George, I'm sure you wiped that
• 28:26
  Speaker 4: handle clean. Oh, well, I could hardly expect you to
• 28:29
  Speaker 4: remember that if you can't even remember killing the curate. Governor, I...
• 28:33
  Speaker 4: I told you to keep still. But, Governor, you're not
• 28:37
  Speaker 4: going to turn me over. As long as I can remember, George...
• 28:41
  Speaker 4: You've been a trial and a tribulation to me. Governor, I...
• 28:45
  Speaker 4: You shouldn't have done it, son. You really shouldn't. No, George,
• 28:50
  Speaker 4: that was definitely wrong. I say, Princey, I think I'll
• 28:54
  Speaker 4: have that cup of tea after all. Nothing like it
• 28:57
  Speaker 4: in weather like this.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: Wet Saturday, from the short story by John Collier. You
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: have just heard the second in Columbia's new series, a
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: series designed to bring you the best in thrill entertainment.
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: Outstanding dramas from the field of fiction and radio, stage
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: and screen. Dramas of pure suspense. This Columbia feature is
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: produced and directed by Charles Vanda, with script by Harold.
• 29:38
  Speaker 4: Bedford, and scored by... by Bernard Herman.
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: Be with us again next week at this same time
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: when we present Suspense. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.
• 29:50
  Speaker 4: Suspense.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: This concludes Suspense Wet Saturday. Thank you for joining us
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: for this early CBS Radio Network broadcast.