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The Shadow - "A Gift of Murder" (Old Time Radio) · The Shadow | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Brett Morrison and Grace Matthews star as Lamont Cranston and
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Margo Lane in this Christmas season broadcast of The Shadow.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: First heard over the mutual broadcasting system on December 21st, 1947,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: it is episode 427, A Gift of Murder. On a
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: snowy Christmas Eve, Cranston and Margo attend a family gathering
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: at a country estate where an elderly aunt receives unusual
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: attention following word of a possible inheritance. As the holiday
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: party turns deadly, Cranston faces a house full of rivalries,
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: suspicious clues, and conflicting accounts. From the Shadows' 1947-48 season,
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: sponsored by Blue Coal, this is A Gift of Murder.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: And now, our story begins.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Who knows what evil.
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: Lurks in the hearts of men....
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: The Shadow Knows. The shadow who aids the forces of
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: law and order is in reality Lamont Cranston, wealthy young
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: man about town. Years ago in the Orient, Cranston learned
• 1:43
  Speaker 4: a strange and mysterious secret. The hypnotic power to cloud
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: men's minds so they cannot see him. Cranston's friend and companion,
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: the lovely Margo Lane, is the only person who knows
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: to whom the voice of the invisible shadow belongs. Today's drama,
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: A Gift of Murder.
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 2:25
  Speaker 4: It is an evening in late December. A fine flurry
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: of snow is just beginning to fall from the darkening
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: sky as a smartly dressed young woman knocks on the
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: heavy door of Gerald Covington's country estate.
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: Miss Eva.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: Surprised to see me, doctor?
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: Delighted to see you, miss, and I know your brother
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: will be overjoyed. Come in, come in, come in. Mr.
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: Gerald was saying only last week that he hoped to
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: get back from Europe in time for the party tonight. Party?
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Did you say party?
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: Yes, miss.
• 2:53
  Speaker 5: A party here?
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: A little gathering in keeping with this glad season.
• 2:57
  Speaker 5: As I remember Gerald, he considers all seasons equally glum. I, uh, no.
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: Miss, but this, you see, is in honor of your
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: Aunt Frances.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: In honor of Aunt Frances?
• 3:07
  Speaker 5: Do you mean to tell me that Gerald is giving
• 3:08
  Speaker 5: a party for Aunt Frances?
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: Indeed, miss. the drawing room, trimming the Christmas tree.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Trimming the.
• 3:16
  Speaker 5: This I've got to see.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: Charles!
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: Eva! What a happy surprise, I can't tell you.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: A Christmas tree.
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: Yes, I did it all myself.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: And presents.
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: For your Aunt Frances. It is so strange, Eva, that
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: I should want our aunt to have a lovely tree.
• 3:32
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: My dear Aunt Frances is 72 years old. We may
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: not have her with us long.
• 3:38
  Speaker 5: Darling, last year she was 71, which isn't precisely adolescent.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: And all she got for Christmas was a dozen handkerchiefs
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: and a cold in the head.
• 3:46
  Speaker 4: Well, this year, things are somewhat different.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: So I noticed. Last time I was.
• 3:51
  Speaker 5: In touch with this little family circle, you and Clyde
• 3:54
  Speaker 5: hated Aunt Frances like death and taxes.
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: You may speak for our brother, Clyde, but as for me,
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: I've always adored the dear old soul.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: Really?
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: Really. Shall I show you what I have for her?
• 4:03
  Speaker 5: Do.
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: An antique music box, the sort of thing she loves,
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: and in solid gold. Isn't it charming? Listen. God rest
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: ye merry gentlemen.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: Expensive item, I'd say.
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: I paid $ 500 for it, but nothing's too good for
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: dear old Aunt Frances.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: It isn't possible, is.
• 4:20
  Speaker 6: It, that Aunt Frances has come into money?
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: Well, that is.
• 4:24
  Speaker 6: She has?
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: Well, the truth is an old admirer of hers, a Mr.
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: Onslow Fraser, remembered her in his will.
• 4:30
  Speaker 6: How distinctly did he remember her, Gerald?
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: Quite distinctly, Eva. She's inheriting a million dollars. Oh.
• 4:37
  Speaker 5: And when did you hear of this?
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: Only yesterday. A Mr. Elkhart, attorney, member of the firm
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: of Elkhart, Elkhart & Duveen in Boston, brought us the news.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: Now I see it all. The tree, the presents, the party.
• 4:49
  Speaker 6: You're competing with Clyde for Aunt Frances' affection.
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: I am only trying to brighten the end of her life.
• 4:54
  Speaker 5: You are only trying to become the chief beneficiary of
• 4:56
  Speaker 5: her will.
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: Nonsense. I'm quite sure I will be a beneficiary, as
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: you will either. Though I doubt that Clyde will benefit
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: very much. Is that all?
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: Why not?
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: I'll tell you why not. It's amusing, really. Quite amusing.
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: The day before yesterday, before Mr. Elkhart appeared, of course,
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: Clyde was unfortunate enough to have written me a certain letter.
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: A letter? A letter, my dear, suggesting that we put
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: Aunt Frances in an old woman's home.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: No.
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: I have the fatal bit of correspondence. Keeping it carefully.
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: And when Aunt Frances lays eyes on it, I shouldn't
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: be surprised if she cuts Clyde out altogether.
• 5:32
  Speaker 5: And you're going to let her lay eyes on it,
• 5:34
  Speaker 5: of course.
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: What do you think?
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: Does Clyde know you do?
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: Oh, my, yes. He's been on the phone for the
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: past two days, begging and threatening my life by turns.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: Clyde is not a man to let himself be pushed
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: too far, Joe.
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: I'll risk his life. I must go upstairs and wrap
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: the music box for Aunt Frances. If the guests arrive,
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: you'll greet them for me, won't you?
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: Who's coming?
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: The principal of the family. Clyde, you know, dear. And
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: possibly the lawyer, Mr. Elkhart.
• 5:58
  Speaker 6: Anyone else?
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: Don't that young couple Aunt Frances is so fond of? Mr.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: Cranston and Margo Lynn.
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: Yes, she likes them. And it's my desire to please her,
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: you know.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: You bet I know.
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: I'll be down in a moment. This white piece of
• 6:22
  Speaker 4: paper I think will be sitting. And the white red
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: ribbon for the holiday touch. Who's that? Oh, come in.
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: I'll be finished with this wrapping in a moment. Now,
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: I think this makes a very charming little gift, don't you?
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: I said, don't you?
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: I said....
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: When are you early, are we, Lamont?
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: My aunt Frances said seven. It's a quarter after nine.
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: Oh.
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: The perfect night for a holiday party.
• 7:03
  Speaker 6: Perfect.
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: Perfect.
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: Well, it's no place by special arrangement with the weatherman.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: Just for Aunt Frances' sake.
• 7:20
  Speaker 6: Of course.
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: Would you say we'll end the scene with a crowning
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: touch of a Christmas carol before we make an entrance?
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: Oh, I'd be glad to try.
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: Very good, my lady. We shall fill the night with music.
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: A sort. Me, me, me, me. Me, me. But rest
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay.
• 7:38
  Speaker 6: What was that?
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: It sounds as if something has someone very much dismayed.
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: Ring the bell. Doctor. It's late, Mr.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: Cranston.
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: What's the matter? You ought to have seen a ghost.
• 7:49
  Speaker 4: Not a ghost, sir.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: A corpse.
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: Mr. Gerald has been murdered.
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: Gerald.
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: When did this happen? Not five minutes ago, sir.
• 8:08
  Speaker 6: Mr.
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: Gerald came up here to a study to wrap this
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: music box. And the next thing we knew, the shot
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: was fired. Anyone else in the house beside you and
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: Miss Evo?
• 8:15
  Speaker 6: No.
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 8:18
  Speaker 6: What?
• 8:19
  Speaker 4: Mr. Clyde was here, miss. He rang the bell just
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: after Mr. Gerald went upstairs. Where did he go? He
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: pushed me aside and followed Mr. Gerald to the study.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: Look at this in the ashtray. The cigars.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: Still warm, too. One of Mr. Clyde's brand.
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: Clyde, my dear Gerald.
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: He looked angry. But when I tried to stop it,
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: he said he had to see Mr. Gerald on a
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: matter of great urgency. What sort of matter? Something about
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: a letter. A letter?
• 8:44
  Speaker 6: Yes, there was a letter. Gerald told me about it
• 8:47
  Speaker 6: just before I came upstairs. It must have been somewhere
• 8:50
  Speaker 6: in the.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: Study, probably the desk.
• 8:52
  Speaker 6: He said he was keeping it to hold over Clyde's head.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: Yes, here it is.
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: I'm afraid I'm a little baffled.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: It's only too simple.
• 9:00
  Speaker 6: In this letter, Clyde suggested putting Aunt Frances in an
• 9:03
  Speaker 6: old woman's home.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: But Aunt Frances just inherited a fortune.
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: This letter was written the day before yesterday. It wasn't
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: until the next day that Mr. Elkhart appeared with the
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: news about Ansel Frazier's will.
• 9:14
  Speaker 4: But it's perfectly obvious what happened, isn't it?
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: Clyde killed Mr. Gerald to get the letter back.
• 9:20
  Speaker 5: But if he did, why didn't he take the letter
• 9:21
  Speaker 5: with him?
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: It was probably because you two came running too quickly. Yes.
• 9:25
  Speaker 6: And not having gotten the letter, don't you think Clyde
• 9:28
  Speaker 6: may still be somewhere in this house, waiting in his chair?
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: If he is, I suggest Bax to be very careful. Why, sir?
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: Because you know too much, and he knows you do.
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: You think he just killed one man, hasn't he?
• 9:39
  Speaker 5: Listen, there's someone moving about downstairs. Clyde!
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: What are you going to do, Lamont?
• 9:43
  Speaker 4: Don't worry, darling. Who's down there? Who is it? Answer
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: me or I'll shoot.
• 9:51
  Speaker 6: You wouldn't shoot a defenceless old woman, would you?
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: And so near Christmas Eve. Aunt Frances.
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: Thank heavens.
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: Let's go down before she comes up and sees you.
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: You go ahead, darling. I'll join you in a moment.
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: Hello, Aunt Frances.
• 10:09
  Speaker 6: Margo and Eva. Dear little Eva, when did you get back, child?
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: Just today, Aunt Frances. Surprised to see me?
• 10:16
  Speaker 6: Surprised and happy. But then all the surprises I've gotten.
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: Lately have been happy ones.
• 10:21
  Speaker 6: Which reminds me, Miss Lane, Miss Covington, this is Miss
• 10:24
  Speaker 6: Elkhart of Elkhart, Elkhart and DeVine.
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: How do you do, child, Miss Lane?
• 10:29
  Speaker 5: You're the lawyer who brought the news about Onslow Frazier's will,
• 10:32
  Speaker 5: aren't you?
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: One and the same, Miss Covington. And after I want
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: to bear such tidings, just as this joyful season?
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: I should say.
• 10:39
  Speaker 6: Speaking of this joyful season, isn't there something in the
• 10:42
  Speaker 6: drawing room that Aunt Frances could see, Eva?
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: There certainly is.
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: What?
• 10:46
  Speaker 5: Now, you're not to ask questions.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: Just stand where you are. Making me. Now then, Margo,
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: open the door. Merry Christmas, Aunt Frances.
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: For me.
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: All for you.
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: A lovely tree. Indeed, a very lovely tree.
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: It's so beautiful.
• 11:02
  Speaker 5: It's really so beautiful.
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: How then, my dear?
• 11:05
  Speaker 6: It's been so long since I had a real Christmas.
• 11:11
  Speaker 6: I've forgotten how wonderful it can be.
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: Yes, one does forget how wonderful things can be. You
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: rang for me, Miss Eva?
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: Yes, Francis.
• 11:20
  Speaker 6: Merry Christmas, Baxter.
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: The same to you, Aunt Frances. You have to have
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: the eggnog now, Miss Eva.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: I can't think of a better time. Shouldn't we wait
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: for Gerald? I don't think so, Aunt Frances.
• 11:30
  Speaker 6: And Clyde, where's Clyde?
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: Right here, Aunt Frances. Oh, right. You don't think I'd
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: miss your party, do you? Merry Christmas, Aunt Frances. And
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: may you wear these for many, many happy years to come.
• 11:45
  Speaker 6: For me, Clyde?
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: For you.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: Oh, pearls.
• 11:50
  Speaker 6: A choker of perfectly matched pearls.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: The sale card looks... Exquisite. Really exquisite.
• 11:57
  Speaker 6: You must have spent a fortune on these, Clyde. And
• 12:00
  Speaker 6: I haven't a thing for you.
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: That doesn't matter, Anne Francis.
• 12:03
  Speaker 6: Oh, but it does. I'm rich now, you know, and
• 12:06
  Speaker 6: I insist that you tell me exactly what you like
• 12:09
  Speaker 6: for Christmas.
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: I'd like you to be well and happy.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: Oh, that's very sweet.
• 12:13
  Speaker 6: But isn't there something you'd really like to have?
• 12:16
  Speaker 5: I think I can tell you what Clyde would really
• 12:18
  Speaker 5: like to have, Aunt Frances.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: What's that, Eva? A letter.
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: Eva, just what are you talking about, Eva?
• 12:22
  Speaker 5: A letter, Clyde.
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: A letter that you wrote Gerald day before yesterday.
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: I never wrote Gerald a letter.
• 12:27
  Speaker 6: Oh, no?
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: How peculiar.
• 12:29
  Speaker 5: And I have it right here, signed by you.
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: May I see that?
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: No, you may not.
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: May I see that, Eva?
• 12:34
  Speaker 5: You may not, Clyde.
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: May I see it now, Eva? Oh, Mr. Covington.
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: He's got a gun.
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: No. Hand it over. Come on. Give it to me.
• 12:41
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: Clyde, what's the meaning of this?
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: There's no time to explain just now, Infante. I must go. However,
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: I beg you not to believe any of the poisonous
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: lies these people may tell you about me behind my back.
• 12:52
  Speaker 4: I want you to know that I do wish you
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: the very merriest... Drop that gun!
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: Don't go on me!
• 12:56
  Speaker 5: Drop it! Drop it!
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: Pick up that gun, Baxter.
• 13:01
  Speaker 6: Yes, sir.
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: What do I do now? Take Mr. Clyde up to
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: the study and hold him there until the police arrive. Yes,
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: that's right. There's been a murder and we're holding the
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: culprit under guard. Yes, I suggest you get here as
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: fast as you can. Are the police coming, Mr. Cranston? Immediately, Mr. Elkhart.
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: I'm sorry I had to spoil your Christmas party like this,
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: Aunt Frances.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: Oh, Lamont, my dear, you had no choice. Aunt Frances.
• 13:34
  Speaker 5: Yes, my dear? We found this upstairs.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: Little remembrance that Gerald bought for you. Oh, nearly, sir.
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: And a very lovely one.
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: Listen....
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: Oh, how charming. And most with gold.
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: What a gift for a golden-haired lady.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: What did you say, Mr. Alcott?
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: Mr. Johnson! Mr.
• 13:55
  Speaker 6: Johnson!
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: Come on.
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: What came from the back of the house? He's killed Baxter.
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: Come on, Margot. Baxter!
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: Baxter!
• 14:04
  Speaker 6: Baxter!
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: I'm all right, Miss Lane. Though I can't say as
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: much for my prisoner. Cry. He tried to escape, sir.
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: So I was forced to shoot. Try to escape? How
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: could he try to escape with you standing over him
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: with a gun? I don't know, sir. But he did.
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: And since the two of us were all alone here,
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: I'm afraid, Mr. Cranston, you will just have to take
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: my word for it. When Margot and Lamont heard the
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: shot from the rear of the Covington mansion, they found
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: Baxter standing over Clyde Covington, a smoking revolver in his hand.
• 14:59
  Speaker 4: A few moments later, in the massive entrance foyer.
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: He killed Clyde deliberately, Lamont.
• 15:06
  Speaker 6: I'm sure Baxter shot him in cold blood.
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: I rather agree with you, Margot.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: But why?
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: Possibly because Clyde had an alibi. An alibi Baxter didn't
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: want him to use. I mean that Clyde may have
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: not come to this house at all early in the evening.
• 15:19
  Speaker 6: Not even to get the letter?
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: He wasn't the only person who might have been interested
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: in getting that letter, Margo.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: No?
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: No. Baxter could have used it nicely to hold over
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: Clyde's head as long as Aunt Frances lived. Bleeding him
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: of a nice sermon, the process.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: I see what you mean. Then it may have been
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: Baxter who killed.
• 15:36
  Speaker 6: Gerald, too.
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: I don't know. It's only a theory. A theory is
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: worth a visit from the shadow. Hello. God bless you,
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: merry gentlemen.
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: How was that?
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: Who's that laughing? Who's in this pantry? It is I, Baxter.
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: Who's Baxter? There's nobody here. Oh, yes, there is, Baxter.
• 16:20
  Speaker 4: The shadow is here. The shadow? Standing right at your elbow.
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: You can't see me, but I'm here. Here to see
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: justice is done, Baxter. What's happening to me?
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: My mind is slipping.
• 16:30
  Speaker 4: I want the truth, Baxter.
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: Go away.
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: Go away. Not until you tell me why you killed
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: Gerald Covington.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: Leave me alone. Please, please.
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: I didn't kill Mr. Gerald. You can't lie your way
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: out of murder.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: I didn't kill him.
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: That's not what I've lied about. What have you lied about?
• 16:44
  Speaker 6: Nothing.
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: The truth? I lied about him. About the man coming
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: in before Mr. Gerald was killed. Yes? It wasn't Mr.
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: Clyde.
• 16:55
  Speaker 4: No? Then who was he? Will you let me alone
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: if I tell you?
• 16:58
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: All right, then.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: Edward.
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: Edward.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: The Lord is back today. Is everything all right?
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: The bullet grazed his skull. He's unconscious, but he'll live.
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: I left him in the library.
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: This case is getting more confusing every minute.
• 17:30
  Speaker 4: Yes, isn't it?
• 17:31
  Speaker 6: Take Mr.
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: Elkhart, for instance. I don't understand his position in this
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: little mystery at all.
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: Well, what do you mean?
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: Do you remember what he said when I gave Aunt
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: Frances the little golden music box?
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: Yes, he said a proper gift for a golden-haired lady.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: Exactly. And how does he know Aunt Frances had golden hair?
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: Her hair's been snow-white for the past 20 years.
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: An interesting question.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: And very confusing. It's all confusing. Margo?
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: Yes? Whose overcoat is this hanging in the hall tree?
• 18:06
  Speaker 6: I don't know.
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: If it isn't yours, it must be Mr. Elkhart's. Elkhart?
• 18:10
  Speaker 6: Why?
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: I just saw this sticking out of the pocket.
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: Clyde's letter. What's it doing in his overcoat?
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: Must have grabbed it in the confusion. You know, it's
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: just possible that our dignified old friend also saw the
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: value in holding it over Clyde's head. Of course.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: After all, what do we really know about him?
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: Not much. We're going to find out. I want to
• 18:39
  Speaker 4: make a long-distance call to Boston, Massachusetts. To what number, please? Oh,
• 18:43
  Speaker 4: I don't know the number. It's the law firm of Elkhart, Elkhart, and, uh.
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: Duveen.
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: And Duveen.
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: I will place a call and ring you back.
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: And make it fast, please. Yes, sir.
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: So what do you really think?
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: Time has come to stop thinking, Margo. We're on the
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: verge of the kind of discovery that cracks a case
• 18:58
  Speaker 4: wide open. Yes. Look, I want you to go into
• 19:00
  Speaker 4: the drawing room. Elkhart will be there. Yes. I'll tell
• 19:03
  Speaker 4: you exactly what I want you to do. When you
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: get in... Come in, Miss Lane.
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: Where's Aunt Frances? Lying down upstairs. She's had more excitement
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: than she can very well stand.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: Sit down, Miss Lane.
• 19:25
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: Miss Eva and I were just saying that this case
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: is becoming quite perplexing.
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: It is indeed.
• 19:30
  Speaker 5: This attack on Baxter is the most puzzling thing of all.
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: Now that Clyde is dead, who could have done it?
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: I don't know, but there's certainly no doubt that Clyde's
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: guilty of Gerald's murder. Baxter saw him run up to
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: Gerald's study just before Gerald was killed.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: I am afraid that's not true, Mr. Elkhart.
• 19:47
  Speaker 5: Baxter admitted he was lying about that just.
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: Before he was wounded.
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: Is that so? But there is that cigar, the one
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: that Miss Eva saw in the ashtray. Didn't that belong
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: to Clyde?
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: Yes, Mr. Elkhart, it did.
• 19:59
  Speaker 5: It even had his initials on the band. Do you
• 20:03
  Speaker 5: really think Clyde would have been foolish enough to leave
• 20:06
  Speaker 5: a piece of evidence like that behind, Mr.
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: Elkhart?
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: Wait, what? What are you suggesting, Miss Lane?
• 20:12
  Speaker 5: I'm suggesting that with Clyde out of the way, the
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: margin of guilt is narrowed down pretty.
• 20:17
  Speaker 6: Closely, Mr.
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: Elkhart.
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: To me, Miss Lane?
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: Yes. But to you? I've been with Aunt Frances all afternoon.
• 20:26
  Speaker 4: I was with her at the moment when Mr. Gerald
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: was murdered.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: Can you prove that?
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: Of course I can. Aunt Frances is right upstairs. You
• 20:32
  Speaker 4: have my permission to ask her.
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: Then it wasn't you?
• 20:37
  Speaker 4: Obviously not. And obviously, Miss Lane, you can now draw
• 20:42
  Speaker 4: the logical conclusion. Yes.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: I'm afraid we can. Before you do, put up your hand.
• 20:49
  Speaker 6: Either.
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: Put that gun away.
• 20:50
  Speaker 5: I'm sorry, Mr.
• 20:51
  Speaker 4: Alcott.
• 20:51
  Speaker 5: I'm really quite sorry that you two, who aren't members
• 20:54
  Speaker 5: of this greedy little family, have to stumble on the truth.
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: Do you think you'll get away with this?
• 20:59
  Speaker 5: I can try.
• 20:59
  Speaker 4: There's a very slim chance that you'll succeed.
• 21:01
  Speaker 5: For a million dollars, I'll take a very slim chance.
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: The telephone.
• 21:05
  Speaker 5: Sit right where you are. I'll answer it.
• 21:08
  Speaker 6: Hello?
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: Someone had just put in a call to the law
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: firm in Boston, Massachusetts. Yes? We checked very carefully, miss.
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: There's no such firm listed.
• 21:14
  Speaker 6: What?
• 21:15
  Speaker 4: There is no firm of Elkhart, Elkhart, and Duveen. What's
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: the matter?
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: Who are you, Elkhart?
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: I'm almost sorry for you, Miss Eva.
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: There is no firm of Elkhart, Elkhart, and Duveen.
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: I know. And there's no million dollars.
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: What?
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: But you came here about Onslow Frazier's will. And Onslow
• 21:34
  Speaker 4: Frazier never made a will. In fact, I'm sure Frasier
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: isn't even dead. Although just at this moment, he almost
• 21:41
  Speaker 4: wishes he were.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: Bill?
• 21:43
  Speaker 4: Yes, I'm Frasier.
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: Oh, I think I begin to see.
• 21:48
  Speaker 4: I fell in love with Anne Francis years ago, when
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: she was as young as you are tonight, Miss Lane.
• 21:53
  Speaker 4: And I never fell out of love with her.
• 21:55
  Speaker 5: Why did you have to pretend to us that she
• 21:56
  Speaker 5: was inheriting a million?
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: Why?
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: Because I knew how dizzily you and Clyde and Gerald
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: had treated her. I had no money to help her
• 22:03
  Speaker 4: with myself. And then the idea came to me. I
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: can make it appear that she'd become an heiress. And
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: then depend on your greed and deceit to provide her
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: with at least one really merry Christmas.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: A very sweet idea, but.
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: But a very dismal failure, I'm afraid.
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: I'm afraid so, too.
• 22:20
  Speaker 4: I'm afraid there'll still have to be two more murders
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: before the party's over. Eva!
• 22:24
  Speaker 5: There may not be a million dollars, but I still have.
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: My life to think of. Don't you realize the police
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: are on their way?
• 22:29
  Speaker 5: But they're not here yet, and I have a gun,
• 22:31
  Speaker 5: and the door is open.
• 22:32
  Speaker 6: What is that?
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: Who closed that door?
• 22:33
  Speaker 6: I did, Eva.
• 22:34
  Speaker 5: The door is.
• 22:34
  Speaker 4: No longer open.
• 22:41
  Speaker 5: Who are you?
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: I am the Shadow. What are you doing here? I've
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: come to accuse Eva Covington of the murder of her brother, Gerald.
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: It's a lie. A lie. You can't prove it.
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: I can prove you can try the neat little plot
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: to murder Gerald and convince the world that Clyde had
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: murdered him for an incriminating letter.
• 22:56
  Speaker 6: No.
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: You took Baxter in on your plan, promising him a
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: part of the million dollars you hoped to get. That's
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: why Baxter killed Clyde when he realized he could easily
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: alibi his way out of the charge.
• 23:05
  Speaker 5: How do you know all this?
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: The Shadow knows. And I can run it back soon.
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: I was about to get the truth out of him.
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: It was you who shot him to save your own skin.
• 23:12
  Speaker 5: And I still have a skin to save.
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: Either you open that door or I pull this trigger.
• 23:17
  Speaker 4: Don't be a fool.
• 23:18
  Speaker 5: I warned you.
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: Stop it. Stop it.
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: Stop it. Let me go.
• 23:23
  Speaker 4: Let me go. As you please, Miss Eva.
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: She's all right in the window.
• 23:26
  Speaker 6: Yes, Mr.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: Elkhart.
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: Straight into the arms of the police.
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: And then we found a letter in your overcoat, and
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: I thought you were the murderer, Mr.
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: Alcott.
• 23:56
  Speaker 4: I picked it up and hidden it so that Aunt
• 23:57
  Speaker 4: Frances wouldn't see it, Miss Lane. Here she comes. Frances.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: I want you to know how sorry I am.
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: Sorry? Why?
• 24:07
  Speaker 4: I've made a tragic mistake. The gift of Christmas that
• 24:10
  Speaker 4: I tried to give you turned out to be a
• 24:12
  Speaker 4: gift of murder.
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: Not really, aren't you?
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: But Clive and Gerald are dead.
• 24:17
  Speaker 6: It was their own greed and ruthlessness that brought about
• 24:19
  Speaker 6: their death.
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: And besides, the world's better off without either of them.
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: Much better.
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: Nevertheless, I'm sorry.
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: You shouldn't be. You've made me very rich.
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: But the million dollars wasn't real, Francis.
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: Oh, it isn't the million that's made me rich.
• 24:32
  Speaker 6: It's your kindness and remembrance and the love of your heart.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: That's real, isn't it? Yes. Then I'll go.
• 24:41
  Speaker 4: My dear.
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: Must you take that back? I'm serious. No, no, no.
• 24:47
  Speaker 6: I'm alone.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: And so are you.
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: My darling.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: Well, what do you know? It looks like it'll be
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: a merry Christmas after all.
• 24:58
  Speaker 4: With many more to come.
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: Ooh.
• 25:27
  Speaker 4: The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay.
• 25:34
  Speaker 4: The shadow knows.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: And that's The Shadow starring Brett Morrison in A Gift
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: of Murder as originally broadcast December 21st, 1947. Our time
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: with The Shadow and A Gift of Murder is at
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: an end. Follow The Shadow for more classic broadcasts.