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The Whistler - "Seven Steps to Murder" (Old Time Radio, 1947) · The Whistler | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Maya Dolinsky wrote this February 3, 1947 broadcast of The Whistler,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Seven Steps to Murder, Episode 245, produced by George W.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Allen for the CBS Pacific Network and Signal Oil. Set
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: in New York's theater and publishing circles, the story brings
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: together Archer Atkins, a drama critic, and Everett Clayton, a
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: playwright and newspaper columnist whose long acquaintance is tested when
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Atkins savages Clayton's new play. Their dispute proceeds through public humiliations,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: wounded pride, and literary one-upmanship, with Atkins' damaged reputation pressing
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: him to regain control. William Johnstone portrays Atkins, John Brown
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: is Clayton, and Howard Duff appears as Captain Foss. Bill
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Foreman is the Whistler, with Marvin Miller announcing. And now,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: we return to the original broadcast.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: The Signal Oil Program, The Whistler.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Whistling That whistle is your signal for the Signal Oil program,
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: The Whistler.
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: I am The Whistler, and I know many things, for
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden
• 1:46
  Speaker 4: in the hearts of men and women who have stepped
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: which they dare not speak.
• 1:59
  Speaker 5: Yes, friends, it's time for the Signal Oil Program, The Whistler.
• 2:04
  Speaker 5: Rated by Independent Research, the most popular West Coast program.
• 2:09
  Speaker 5: In gasoline, you know, it takes extra quality to go farther.
• 2:13
  Speaker 5: And signal is the famous go farther gasoline. So look
• 2:16
  Speaker 5: for the signal circle sign in yellow and black that
• 2:20
  Speaker 5: identifies signal service stations from Canada to Mexico. And now
• 2:25
  Speaker 5: the Whistler's strange story. Seven Steps to Murder.
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: The Atkins-Clayton affair was unusual for two reasons. In the
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: first place, of course, it involved a pair of famous
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: newspaper men. Archer Atkins, the dean of New York drama critics,
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: and Everett Clayton, a syndicated columnist.
• 2:52
  Speaker 6: But more than that, it was interesting in its structure.
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: Yes, there were seven distinct steps between an apparently cordial
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: relationship between two newspaper.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: Men and a murder.
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: The opening night of Clayton's first play, The Whirlwind, was
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: step number one. Atkins had attended, of course, with the
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: rest of the critics, and shortly after the final curtain
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: had walked out to a waiting taxi with Murchison, his editor.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: I thought it was rather good. Wasn't Diana Brooks fine
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: in that? Going back to the office, Murchison?
• 3:24
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I guess I'd better. Got a couple of things
• 3:26
  Speaker 7: to finish up.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 3:27
  Speaker 6: Blow building, driver.
• 3:28
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 3:34
  Speaker 7: Well, Atkins, I must say, your friend Clayton gave me
• 3:37
  Speaker 7: quite a surprise.
• 3:37
  Speaker 6: Huh?
• 3:38
  Speaker 7: You never told me he was a dramatist.
• 3:40
  Speaker 6: Oh, full of hidden talents, the boy. When he was
• 3:43
  Speaker 6: a kid, he could stand on his head and wiggle
• 3:44
  Speaker 6: his ears at the same time.
• 3:46
  Speaker 7: You've known him for a long time, haven't you?
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: I grew up with him.
• 3:51
  Speaker 7: Seems to me I heard somebody say you were once
• 3:53
  Speaker 7: engaged to his sister.
• 3:54
  Speaker 6: Absolutely correct. I was quite fond of her at one time.
• 3:58
  Speaker 7: Where is she now?
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: In Texas.
• 4:01
  Speaker 6: Devoting her talents to some respectable school teacher or something.
• 4:04
  Speaker 7: Then you and Clayton.
• 4:06
  Speaker 6: Yes, Murchison.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: We came east to school together.
• 4:08
  Speaker 6: In college. Came to New York together after that. Anything else? Chief?
• 4:14
  Speaker 7: Yes. One other thing. Why are you annoyed?
• 4:18
  Speaker 6: Annoyed?
• 4:18
  Speaker 7: More than that. I know the signs. You're furious.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: Oh, come now, Murchison.
• 4:22
  Speaker 6: You didn't go backstage. I have a deadline to meet.
• 4:25
  Speaker 6: You know that?
• 4:26
  Speaker 7: You've been late before.
• 4:26
  Speaker 6: Not tonight. It's Clayton's first play, you know. It's only
• 4:30
  Speaker 6: right that I give him a real send-off. He deserves it.
• 4:34
  Speaker 6: He certainly does. All right, let's see now. Everett Clayton's
• 4:51
  Speaker 6: new play, The Whirlwind, opened last night at the Brighton
• 4:54
  Speaker 6: Theatre with Diana Brooks and Paul Strand.
• 4:57
  Speaker 7: Finish it, Atkins.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: Oh, oh, Murchison.
• 5:00
  Speaker 7: You've been banging away there for an hour, I bet you.
• 5:02
  Speaker 6: It is.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: Take a look.
• 5:04
  Speaker 7: All right, thanks. Let's see here. Everett Clayton's new play,
• 5:09
  Speaker 7: The Whirlwind, opened at the... Huh? Wait a minute. Obviously,
• 5:16
  Speaker 7: a sophomoric attempt at a drama in the manner of O'Neill,
• 5:20
  Speaker 7: the whirlwind is not only afflicted with a deadly brand
• 5:23
  Speaker 7: of dullness, but is utterly lacking in originality, imagination, or
• 5:28
  Speaker 7: even ordinary playability. The death rattle was audible before the
• 5:32
  Speaker 7: first act was five minutes old. Listen, Atkins, you can't
• 5:35
  Speaker 7: get away.
• 5:36
  Speaker 6: Why can't I? It was a bad play, and I
• 5:38
  Speaker 6: owe it to my readers.
• 5:39
  Speaker 7: Who says it was a bad play?
• 5:40
  Speaker 6: You?
• 5:41
  Speaker 7: Is it up to you?
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: Right. It's up to me. That's what I'm paid for.
• 5:45
  Speaker 7: You know what you're doing, don't you? This review will
• 5:47
  Speaker 7: kill Clayton's play before it even gets a start. You
• 5:49
  Speaker 7: have no right to take that kind of responsibility.
• 5:52
  Speaker 6: Then why don't you fire me?
• 5:54
  Speaker 7: You know, Atkins, one of these days you'll stick your
• 5:57
  Speaker 7: neck out too far and I'll chop it off.
• 5:59
  Speaker 6: But at the moment, I'm money in the bag, huh? Well,
• 6:03
  Speaker 6: suppose you trot back to your glass-walled sanctum and let
• 6:06
  Speaker 6: me get this to the copy boy. Our deadline, you know.
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: And that was step number two, Archer. Your review of
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: Everett Clayton's play. You wait now in the coffee shop
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: of the Stratford Club where both of you live. It's
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: 20 minutes since the morning papers hit the streets, and
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: you know exactly what will happen. Then, just as you expected,
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: Clayton walks into the coffee shop.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: Over to your booth.
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: His face tense and expressionless. The paper folded in his pocket. Well, Everett,
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: good to see you.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Sit down. Thank you. Waiter. Yes, sir.
• 6:47
  Speaker 6: Coffee, please.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. Two, sir. No coffee for me.
• 6:50
  Speaker 8: Milk.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 6:52
  Speaker 9: Your stomach again. It's getting worse, I'm afraid. That's not
• 6:56
  Speaker 9: why I came.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: Is it, Archer?
• 6:59
  Speaker 6: I suppose not.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: That review, Archer.
• 7:02
  Speaker 9: Nice of you.
• 7:03
  Speaker 6: You're not a playwright, Everett. You, uh, at least saw
• 7:07
  Speaker 6: the play, I presume.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: Oh, of course.
• 7:09
  Speaker 6: Hmm.
• 7:10
  Speaker 9: A sophomoric attempt at a drama in the manner of O'Neill.
• 7:15
  Speaker 9: An author spends a year writing a play, and that's
• 7:17
  Speaker 9: the consideration he gets.
• 7:18
  Speaker 6: Any of your money in it?
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: Everything I've got.
• 7:20
  Speaker 7: Too bad.
• 7:21
  Speaker 6: Why didn't you consult me before? Let me read it.
• 7:23
  Speaker 9: Because I thought and still think it's a good play.
• 7:27
  Speaker 9: I didn't take it to you, Archie, because I knew
• 7:28
  Speaker 9: what I'd get.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Sarcasm. Smartcracks. Not one bit of constructive criticism. There's a
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: small item you've forgotten. And what's that? Talent. No one
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: has yet succeeded in drawing milk from an elephant. Nor
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: kindness from a critic. If you wanted charity, you should
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: have said so. Honesty is not charity.
• 7:43
  Speaker 6: Do you want me to go over it scene by
• 7:45
  Speaker 6: scene and show you how bad it is?
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: No, because you couldn't. That's the trouble, you know.
• 7:51
  Speaker 9: The people don't decide what's good or bad anymore. They
• 7:53
  Speaker 9: wait for the critics to tell them.
• 7:55
  Speaker 6: You're a fake, Atkins.
• 7:57
  Speaker 9: You've been a pony all your life. Why, if the
• 7:59
  Speaker 9: rover boys in Switzerland had Edgar Allan Poe's name on it, you'd.
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: Call it great. That's easy, old boy. You're getting carried away.
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: You picked on the wrong guy, Archer. I've got 20
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: million readers, too.
• 8:07
  Speaker 9: Before this thing is over, I'm going to make you
• 8:09
  Speaker 9: look like the village idiot.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: Just do me a favor, Atkins.
• 8:14
  Speaker 6: Check my column tomorrow.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: It'll interest you.
• 8:27
  Speaker 5: With the prologue of Seven Steps to Murder, the Signal
• 8:31
  Speaker 5: Oil Company brings you another strange tale by the Whistler.
• 8:36
  Speaker 5: But now, let's suppose this were a quiz program.
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: You ready? I have a man in a signal station, Dr.
• 8:41
  Speaker 8: Miller.
• 8:41
  Speaker 5: A great place to be. And now for the first question.
• 8:44
  Speaker 5: In gasoline, what does it take to go farther?
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Oh, that's easy. In gasoline, it takes extra quality to
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: go farther.
• 8:51
  Speaker 5: Right you are. In gasoline, it does take extra quality
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: to go farther. And now for your second question. What
• 8:57
  Speaker 5: is the famous go-farther gasoline? Why, signal is the famous
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: go-farther gasoline.
• 9:02
  Speaker 6: Right again.
• 9:03
  Speaker 5: Signal is the famous go-farther gasoline. And you win the
• 9:06
  Speaker 5: signal prize. Extra mileage plus extra driving pleasure. And now
• 9:12
  Speaker 5: may we close our little quiz program with this tip
• 9:14
  Speaker 5: for drivers. To get more mileage, a gasoline must naturally
• 9:18
  Speaker 5: get more efficiency from your motor. And motor efficiency means
• 9:22
  Speaker 5: quicker starts, faster pickup, and smoother, knock-free power. That's why
• 9:27
  Speaker 5: Signal says your speedometer is the best yardstick of gasoline quality.
• 9:32
  Speaker 5: Just you switch to Signal for a few tankfuls, you'll
• 9:35
  Speaker 5: find it's true. In gasoline, it does take extra quality
• 9:39
  Speaker 5: to go farther. And Signal is the famous go-farther gasoline.
• 9:45
  Speaker 5: And now, back to the whistler.
• 9:49
  Speaker 10: Whistling Yes, Archer.
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: Although you didn't know it at the time, the case
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: that was soon to become famous as the Atkins-Clayton affair
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: fell neatly into seven parts. Seven steps to murder. Clayton's play,
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: of course, was the first step. And the scathing review
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: that appeared in the Globe the next day over your
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: signature was the second. You chuckle over Clayton's stupid threat
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: to discredit you as you go up to your suite
• 10:30
  Speaker 4: just across the hall from Clayton's in the Stratford Club.
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: But when you arrive at your office at the Globe
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: the next day, Murchison, the editor, is sitting on your
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: desk waiting for you.
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: The afternoon edition of The Ledger in his hand. Oh, hello, Murchison.
• 10:44
  Speaker 7: Did you read Clayton's column?
• 10:46
  Speaker 6: I don't read The Ledger.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: Read paragraph. Listen.
• 10:50
  Speaker 7: I am now reconciled to the fact that my play,
• 10:52
  Speaker 7: The Whirlwind, will close in a matter of days as
• 10:54
  Speaker 7: a result of the efforts of a group of critics
• 10:56
  Speaker 7: headed by Archer Atkins. As a matter of fact, Atkins
• 11:00
  Speaker 7: is not equipped to set himself up as a critic
• 11:03
  Speaker 7: or even a writer. He has no conception of values
• 11:07
  Speaker 7: in literature, dramatic, poetic, or otherwise. And I intend to
• 11:13
  Speaker 7: prove it in music.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: The ranting of a wounded beast.
• 11:16
  Speaker 7: You wouldn't be whistling in the dark, would you, Atkins?
• 11:19
  Speaker 6: I'm sorry, my good man.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: I'm going to be quite busy.
• 11:21
  Speaker 6: Aren't there a few juicy obituaries that require your keen intelligence?
• 11:26
  Speaker 7: I hope Clayton gives you a sock on the jaw.
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: Number three, Archer.
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: Clayton's reply the next day. A public challenge that went
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: out to 20 million readers. You decide it's ridiculous, of course,
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: and during the weeks that follow, you forget about it.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: The play lasts five days and closes.
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: You and Everett Clayton only nod coolly now as you
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: meet from time to time in the lobby and corridors
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: of the Stratford Club. Then one evening some weeks later,
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: Barbara Ross, the fashion editor on the ledger, walks up
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: to you in the lobby and taps you on the shoulder.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: Archer, darling. Good evening, my dear.
• 12:10
  Speaker 8: Archer, I found something I thought you'd want to glance at.
• 12:12
  Speaker 6: Oh, did Clayton put me in print again?
• 12:15
  Speaker 8: Oh, nothing like that. Somebody handed me this book of poetry.
• 12:19
  Speaker 8: It was printed privately. Only 50 copies.
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: Oh, now, wait a minute, Barbara.
• 12:23
  Speaker 6: I've read a million of those things, and really I don't... Please, Archer. Look,
• 12:26
  Speaker 6: I've got six hours of reading a day.
• 12:27
  Speaker 8: As it is. You've got to, Archer. For me. It'll
• 12:30
  Speaker 8: only take a few minutes. You can look at it
• 12:32
  Speaker 8: tonight after you get home and.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: All right, Barbara, let's see it.
• 12:35
  Speaker 8: Hmm.
• 12:35
  Speaker 6: 14 by Jafar Ahmed.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: Never heard of him. What's it about?
• 12:41
  Speaker 8: I think it's lovely. Written by an immigrant boy about
• 12:44
  Speaker 8: his love for a little girl.
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: Oh, no, thank you.
• 12:46
  Speaker 8: But, Archer.
• 12:47
  Speaker 6: Poetry, darling, is as much a part of adolescence as
• 12:50
  Speaker 6: the first chase.
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: Just about as important.
• 12:53
  Speaker 8: Archer, you know so much more about poetry than anyone
• 12:56
  Speaker 8: else I know.
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: All right, dear, all right. I'll look it over.
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: Step number four, the book of poetry. Nothing to it,
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: of course, is there, Archer? But you take it home,
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: toss it on the nightstand, and just before you decide
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: to turn out the light, you pick it up and
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: glance at the first page.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: It holds you from the start.
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: There's something about the poems that haunts you, almost as
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: if you'd read them before. Memories.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: Things you'd forgotten completely spring to life.
• 13:38
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: This boy has managed to capture something out of every
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: man's youth. Something that gets under your skin and stays there.
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: You finish the book. Get out of bed hurriedly and
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: sit down at your typewriter. You can't wait until tomorrow,
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: can you, Archer? You've got to get it on paper now.
• 13:54
  Speaker 10: Yes.
• 14:00
  Speaker 6: Although the poems are immature, there's something great and universal
• 14:03
  Speaker 6: about this work. The volume has been printed privately, but
• 14:07
  Speaker 6: in my opinion, it would be a wise investment for
• 14:09
  Speaker 6: any publisher to issue it in quantity. Fourteen by Jafar
• 14:12
  Speaker 6: Ahmed should never be forgotten.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: Well, that ought to do it. It'll be on the
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: bestseller list in a month.
• 14:26
  Speaker 4: In the morning, you hand your article to a copy boy. Unaware,
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: of course, that you've just completed step number five.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: And that's the vicious part of it, Archer.
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: Although you don't know it, the minute you turned in
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: that review, you moved nearer to murder than you've ever
• 14:42
  Speaker 4: been in your life.
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: It's just 24 hours later when the.
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: Same copy boy walks into your office, places a newspaper
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: on your desk.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: Step number six. Here's your copy of the ledger, Mr.
• 14:54
  Speaker 6: Atkins.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: Please, boy, you know better.
• 14:56
  Speaker 6: I never read the ledger.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: Everybody on the staff's reading it today, sir.
• 15:00
  Speaker 7: Especially Everett Clayton's column.
• 15:01
  Speaker 6: Run along, will you?
• 15:02
  Speaker 7: Yes, sir.
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: Just thought I'd mention it. Around town with Everett Clayton. Oh,
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: here we are.
• 15:12
  Speaker 6: Three months ago, I promised to reveal Archer Atkins, the
• 15:15
  Speaker 6: so-called dean of literary critics, as a foley. Today, I
• 15:19
  Speaker 6: call attention to the raves he has been giving the
• 15:21
  Speaker 6: book of poems called 14, supposedly written by a 14-year-old
• 15:26
  Speaker 6: Iranian lad. The fact is, gentle reader, I wrote 14.
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: What is.
• 15:32
  Speaker 7: Shocking, eh, Archer?
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: Oh, hello, Murchison. I didn't see you.
• 15:36
  Speaker 7: It's all right, it's all right. You didn't hide that.
• 15:38
  Speaker 7: Some of our best people read Everett Clayton, including the
• 15:41
  Speaker 7: publishers of this paper.
• 15:42
  Speaker 6: Frasher. Just trash.
• 15:44
  Speaker 7: And lies, too, I suppose.
• 15:46
  Speaker 6: Clayton never wrote 14. He hasn't got enough sense.
• 15:48
  Speaker 7: He seems to know a lot about it, Archer. Read on.
• 15:50
  Speaker 7: He tells just how he did it. He had no
• 15:52
  Speaker 7: knowledge of poetry, he says. Just threw together the luscious
• 15:56
  Speaker 7: adjectives he could concoct, made a senseless hodgepodge, and had
• 15:59
  Speaker 7: the whole mess printed up on the quiet. And you,
• 16:05
  Speaker 7: the great Archer Atkins, gave it a bouquet. Praised it
• 16:08
  Speaker 7: to the sky.
• 16:09
  Speaker 6: Are you trying to tell me you believe this nonsense, Murchison?
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: Why, the man.
• 16:12
  Speaker 7: The man's got readers, Archer. Twenty million of them. So
• 16:15
  Speaker 7: calm down.
• 16:15
  Speaker 6: Don't tell me to calm down. As a matter of fact,
• 16:18
  Speaker 6: why don't you get out of here? I'll teach Clayton
• 16:21
  Speaker 6: his place.
• 16:22
  Speaker 7: You're through teaching anyone his place. I mentioned our publishers. Well, uh,
• 16:27
  Speaker 7: they called, Archie.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: What?
• 16:29
  Speaker 7: Your resignations to be handed in by the end of
• 16:31
  Speaker 7: the month. Until then, I'm to edit all your stuff.
• 16:36
  Speaker 6: You've been waiting for this moment for a long time,
• 16:38
  Speaker 6: haven't you, Murchison?
• 16:39
  Speaker 7: Frankly, yes.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: Poor Drudge.
• 16:43
  Speaker 6: The mediocre, untalented editor. Finally has his day.
• 16:47
  Speaker 7: That's right, Archie. I'm going to shine now. While you
• 16:51
  Speaker 7: curl up at home and read 14 by Everett Clayton.
• 16:54
  Speaker 6: Clayton did not write that book. The more I read it,
• 16:57
  Speaker 6: the more I know I've read it someplace before. If
• 16:59
  Speaker 6: it takes me years, I'm going to find the real
• 17:01
  Speaker 6: author of those verses.
• 17:02
  Speaker 7: Sensitive, Archie.
• 17:03
  Speaker 6: Oh, go ahead. Clayton's a bold-faced liar, and I'll call
• 17:06
  Speaker 6: him onto his face.
• 17:07
  Speaker 7: Not on the globe, you won't.
• 17:08
  Speaker 6: And why not?
• 17:09
  Speaker 7: I told you. I'm editing your material. Can't you get
• 17:12
  Speaker 7: used to the idea? I don't intend to have any
• 17:15
  Speaker 7: libel suits in my hands. Not even to save the
• 17:17
  Speaker 7: great name of Archer Atkins. Good day. For once, I've
• 17:24
  Speaker 7: had the last word.
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: Well, Archer, a turn you never expected.
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: Never in the world. It has you seething, hasn't it?
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: And it's even worse when you reach the Stratford Club
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: and learn that you've suddenly been turned into a laughingstock.
• 17:44
  Speaker 4: That your formerly respectful colleagues are now given to chuckling
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: and whisperings behind your back. A few like Hanley Carr
• 17:51
  Speaker 4: are more open about it.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: Oh, Archer, old boy, how could you? What was it now?
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: I still feel the music, the poignant expression of an
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: adolescent love.
• 18:03
  Speaker 5: Sweetly agonizing emotions, part of every man's youth.
• 18:07
  Speaker 6: If ever Clayton wrote 14, the earth is flat.
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: The moon is made of green cheese.
• 18:12
  Speaker 6: And you, my dear Henley, are as wise as Aristotle.
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: Then who did write the poems, Archer?
• 18:17
  Speaker 6: I'll stake my reputation that Clayton stole every verse in
• 18:20
  Speaker 6: that book. I know I've read those poems before.
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: This thing has got you, hasn't it, Archer?
• 18:32
  Speaker 4: And it hurts deep, twisting inside you, until finally the
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: seventh step begins to take shape.
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: The seventh and final step.
• 18:42
  Speaker 6: Murder.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: It's a frightening thought, isn't it, Archer?
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: Frightening, but very clear. It's all there in your mind
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: as you ride up to your luxurious suite in the elevator.
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: Everett Clayton is a man of habits. One of them
• 19:00
  Speaker 4: forced upon him by his health. You know all about that, Archer.
• 19:04
  Speaker 4: How each evening at seven, a waiter brings a large
• 19:06
  Speaker 4: glass of milk to his apartment.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: You smile as you let yourself into your room.
• 19:12
  Speaker 4: Tonight, that same waiter must bring you something as well.
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: Hello, coffee shop. This is Mr. Atkins. I wonder if
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: you would send me up something. Oh, I don't know.
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: Something light. A chicken sandwich, perhaps.
• 19:25
  Speaker 6: No, no, no hurry.
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: What's that? You have a waiter coming to Mr. Clayton's
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: rooms at seven? That's time enough. Oh, surely. Don't make
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: a special trip.
• 19:35
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: A short time later, you leave the door to your
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: suite ajar and sit just inside, pretending to read while
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: you watch for that waiter.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: He comes down the hall and starts for Clayton's room. Oh, waiter.
• 19:56
  Speaker 7: Yes, sir?
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: You have a sandwich and coffee for me? Why, yes, sir.
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: I was going to stop first.
• 20:01
  Speaker 6: Set it right down there on the desk, would you?
• 20:03
  Speaker 6: And then I wonder if you could do something for me.
• 20:05
  Speaker 6: I tried to unlock a suitcase a moment ago, but
• 20:08
  Speaker 6: I couldn't seem to turn the key.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Would you have a look at it? Why, certainly, sir.
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: Where is it? In the bedroom.
• 20:13
  Speaker 6: Of course, if it's too much trouble.
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: Not at all, sir. I've handled a lot of it.
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: You hesitate as the waiter starts across to the bedroom.
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: And then you turn quickly to the tray set down
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: on your desk. Before he comes back, you empty the
• 20:30
  Speaker 4: contents of a small envelope into the milk intended for Clayton.
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: You stir it hastily with a spoon and then return
• 20:37
  Speaker 4: to your book.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: I got it open for you, sir. The lock sprung
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: a little, dog.
• 20:43
  Speaker 10: Oh?
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: I'd have it attended to. Here you go. Thanks for
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: your trouble. Not at all, sir.
• 20:49
  Speaker 6: Thank you very much.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: You settle back in your chair now, giving the waiter
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: time to deliver the glass of milk to Clayton. A
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: few minutes later, you slip out into the corridor and
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: down the hall. Stop outside of Clayton's door and listen.
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: He's talking to someone on the telephone.
• 21:15
  Speaker 11: Yes, I got you there. Well, what did you expect
• 21:19
  Speaker 11: me to do? All right, all right, I promise. I'll
• 21:25
  Speaker 11: see them about it first thing tomorrow. Yes, yes, I promise.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: Goodbye.
• 21:30
  Speaker 10: Goodbye.
• 21:35
  Speaker 4: You wait tensely after Clayton hangs up, hoping no one
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: will come along the hall and find you standing there.
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: This business of murder isn't easy on the nerves, is it, Archer?
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: The moment's dragged by.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: What's he doing?
• 21:48
  Speaker 4: Isn't he ever going to pick up that glass? You're
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: trembling now, wondering if it's ever going to happen. And then.
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: A moment later, you whip the door open, step inside,
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: and lock it. A glance at Clayton's body sprawled on.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: The floor assures you that he's dead. Quickly, you cross
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: the room and sit down at his battered portable typewriter.
• 22:18
  Speaker 6: To my dear mother, my sister, and.
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: Gentle readers.
• 22:30
  Speaker 6: It isn't often that a man gets the opportunity... To
• 22:37
  Speaker 6: write his own obituary.
• 22:41
  Speaker 7: Believe me, this.
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: Isn't easy.
• 22:45
  Speaker 6: But I have been ill for some ten years now.
• 22:47
  Speaker 6: You type rapidly, Archer.
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: Because you know exactly what you want Clayton's suicide note
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: to say. It includes, above all else, a confession. One
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: in which the dead Everett Clayton will admit to the
• 23:08
  Speaker 4: world that his plan against you was just that, a plan.
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: His note tells how he lied in claiming to have
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: written the verses in the book 14. How actually, he
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: simply dug up a number of anonymous ballads and revised
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: them a bit.
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: You put it all down, Archer, your way. But in
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: Everett Clayton's style.
• 23:30
  Speaker 4: And then you add his well-known signature, just the two
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: simple typewritten letters E? C.
• 23:39
  Speaker 6: Thanks, my dear Everett. We'll see tomorrow how your 20
• 23:44
  Speaker 6: million readers like this one.
• 23:54
  Speaker 5: The Whistler will return in just a moment with a
• 23:56
  Speaker 5: strange ending of tonight's story. You regular Whistler fans have
• 24:01
  Speaker 5: all heard me speak of the more thorough, more conscientious
• 24:04
  Speaker 5: service cars get at dealer-owned signal service stations. But the
• 24:09
  Speaker 5: really important thing is what customers say about it. That's
• 24:12
  Speaker 5: why we're so happy to receive letters such as this
• 24:14
  Speaker 5: one I have with me tonight. It's from Arthur Anderson
• 24:17
  Speaker 5: of Los Angeles, who writes, After listening to the Whistler,
• 24:21
  Speaker 5: I decided to try signal go farther gasoline and test
• 24:24
  Speaker 5: its mileage for myself. But after stopping at two signal stations,
• 24:28
  Speaker 5: I was so pleased with the courteous service, I completely
• 24:32
  Speaker 5: forgot to check the mileage, as you suggested. However, thanks
• 24:35
  Speaker 5: to signal dealers and the whistler, you may be assured
• 24:38
  Speaker 5: I'll be a steady signal customer from now on.
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: Well, Mr.
• 24:43
  Speaker 5: Anderson, here's hoping that by now you've also had a
• 24:45
  Speaker 5: chance to prove in your own car that signal is
• 24:49
  Speaker 5: the famous go-farther gasoline, and that it takes extra quality
• 24:53
  Speaker 5: to go farther. Right now, however, on behalf of Signal
• 24:57
  Speaker 5: Oil Company, I do want to thank you for your
• 24:59
  Speaker 5: kindness in writing. It's letters like yours, which we're constantly receiving,
• 25:04
  Speaker 5: that make Signal dealers strive to do an ever better
• 25:07
  Speaker 5: job of making today's cars run better and last longer.
• 25:13
  Speaker 5: And now back to the whistler. Well, the seven steps
• 25:29
  Speaker 5: are passed now, Archer.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: Everett Clayton is dead.
• 25:33
  Speaker 4: But more important than that, the suicide note in his
• 25:36
  Speaker 4: typewriter will put you back at the top of the heap. Yes, Murchison,
• 25:41
  Speaker 4: your publishers, and Handley Carr, the whole literary world will
• 25:45
  Speaker 4: have to admit who has the right to wear the
• 25:48
  Speaker 4: critic's crown.
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: But you're very practical about it, aren't you? The police
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: will come, of course.
• 25:57
  Speaker 4: And you're ready for them with that vague, superior, confident
• 26:01
  Speaker 4: air that has always carried you through before.
• 26:05
  Speaker 8: And why not?
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: What can they possibly prove? You don't seem at all
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: surprised at the police calling on you, Mr. Atkins.
• 26:12
  Speaker 6: My dear Captain Foss, the moment the manager of this
• 26:14
  Speaker 6: club informed me of Clayton's unfortunate demise, I resigned myself
• 26:18
  Speaker 6: to a round of dull questions.
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: Naturally. Uh, you've known him all his life. Grew up
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: with him. Sweet on his sister at one time.
• 26:27
  Speaker 6: Anything else you want to know?
• 26:28
  Speaker 2: I was an incubator baby.
• 26:29
  Speaker 6: Weighed three pounds, two and a third ounces.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: I'm surprised you aren't more interested in the way Clayton died.
• 26:35
  Speaker 6: I like to believe people, Captain. When I'm told someone
• 26:38
  Speaker 6: is dead, I assume he's dead. Whether he was shot
• 26:41
  Speaker 6: through the head with a cannon, threw himself into Mount Vesuvius,
• 26:45
  Speaker 6: or was clubbed to death with the missing arm of
• 26:47
  Speaker 6: Venus de Milo doesn't concern me in the least.
• 26:50
  Speaker 8: Uh-huh.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: Uh... Poison is more to your liking, isn't it?
• 26:54
  Speaker 6: I don't know what you're trying to imply.
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: Well, let's make it clear, then. How long did it
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: take you to write that note? Note, Captain? The suicide
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: note in Clayton's typewriter. Do tell.
• 27:05
  Speaker 6: In verse, no doubt.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: It says Clayton never wrote those poems, that he stole
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: them from some anonymous ballad. Well, I insisted on that
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: all the time.
• 27:13
  Speaker 6: Wait till I get hold of that editor of mine.
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: You wrote that note, Atkins. You poisoned Clayton and then
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: ran the note off on his typewriter.
• 27:18
  Speaker 6: Nonsense. Who gave you that story? Some idiot from the legend?
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: Don't try to bluff. It's too late for that.
• 27:23
  Speaker 6: What do you mean?
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: You're going up for murder. Oh, don't be stupid.
• 27:28
  Speaker 6: You have nothing to go on.
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: Three people are going to send you up, Atkins. One
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: of them's the waiter who brought Clayton's tray into your
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: rooms last night when you had unlocked your suitcase while
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: you poisoned Clayton's milk. Another one is the druggist who
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: sold you the poison.
• 27:40
  Speaker 6: Didn't know he.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: Recognized you, did you?
• 27:43
  Speaker 6: I don't know anything about it.
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: And the third is a lady down in Texas.
• 27:45
  Speaker 10: Lady?
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: Texas? Yeah, take a look at these papers. You ever
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: seen them before?
• 27:49
  Speaker 10: They're yellow.
• 27:51
  Speaker 6: Very old.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: They're poems you wrote to Everett Clayton's sister when you
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: were 14 years old, over 40 years ago. What? The
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: book of poetry you reviewed was not written by Jafar
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: Ahmed or Everett Clayton, but by Archer Atkins. You've been
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: so busy reading other people's writing for 40 years, you
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: can't even recognize your own stuff. I was reviewing my
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: own book. That's right. And another thing. Clayton got a
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: phone call last night, just before he was killed. It's
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: too bad you couldn't have heard it. Phone call? But
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: I did hear it. He was talking to your old sweetheart, Atkins,
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: his sister down in Texas. When she read how Clayton
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: had crucified you with that book of poetry, she blew up.
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: Called to make him promise a public retraction in tomorrow's paper,
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: admitting the whole thing. He had promised that he'd see
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: you about it in the morning. The End.
• 29:06
  Speaker 5: Let that whistle be your signal for the Signal Oil program,
• 29:10
  Speaker 5: The Whistler, each Monday at 9, brought to you by
• 29:14
  Speaker 5: the Signal Oil Company, marketers of Signal gasoline and motor
• 29:18
  Speaker 5: oil and fine quality automotive accessories. Signal has asked me
• 29:22
  Speaker 5: to remind you to get the most driving pleasure, drive
• 29:26
  Speaker 5: at sensible speeds, be courteous, and obey traffic regulations. It
• 29:31
  Speaker 5: may save a life, possibly your own. Featured in tonight's
• 29:46
  Speaker 5: story were John Brown, William Johnstone, and Howard Dutt. The
• 29:51
  Speaker 5: Whistler was produced by George W. Allen, with story by
• 29:54
  Speaker 5: Meyer Dolinsky, music by Wilbur Hatch. and was transmitted to
• 29:57
  Speaker 5: our troops overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Service. This
• 30:02
  Speaker 5: is Marvin Miller speaking for the Signal Oil Company. This
• 30:09
  Speaker 5: is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: This has been The Whistler, Seven Steps to Murder. Follow
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: The Whistler for more classic broadcasts.