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The Whistler - "Death Marks the Double Cross - Mystery Theater Version" (Old Time Radio, 1945) · The Whistler | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: On Christmas Eve in New York City, an honest policeman
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: finds his own family drawn into a jewelry store robbery investigation.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: His ex-convict brother is the leading suspect, and as the
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: police close in, loyalty between the two men is put
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: under severe strain. From March 12, 1945, this is episode
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: 146 of The Whistler, Death Marks the Double Cross, Mystery
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Theater Version. The story brings its conflict to a modest apartment,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: where a small Christmas tree stands amid the pressure facing
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: two brothers whose lives have taken very different turns. Bill
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Foreman is heard as the Whistler, with Joseph Kearns in
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: the cast. Here is the original broadcast.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: The public telephone in the all-night drugstore kept ringing. One
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: man called about a jewel robbery. Another spoke of murder.
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: And the third man planned to double-cross them both. His
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: timetable of crime was perfect. His own alibi, airtight. Yet,
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: three men would die.
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: Hello, creeps.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: This is Sergeant X opening the doors of the Mystery Playhouse. Well,
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: tonight we have another story of the perfect crime as
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: told by the whistler. That is, it's almost perfect. The
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: motive is furnished by a fortune in jewels and three
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: slick gunmen try to outsmart the others. The tale is
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: called Death Marks the Double Cross, and fast action and
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: unexpected murder marks just about every step. So let's join
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: the whistler as he leads us down the pathway of
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: crime and violence.
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: I am the Whistler.
• 2:34
  Speaker 5: And I know many things, for I walk by night.
• 2:38
  Speaker 5: I know many strange tales, hidden.
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: In the hearts of men and women who have.
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: Stepped into the shadows.
• 2:44
  Speaker 5: Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare
• 2:48
  Speaker 5: not speak. To this day, the police records and newspapers
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: of Portland attribute the robbery of the swank Wellington jewelry
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: store to a lone wolf. Perhaps it's because they refuse
• 3:06
  Speaker 5: to admit the possibility that guilty accomplices still remain at large.
• 3:11
  Speaker 5: As a matter of fact, it wasn't a lone wolf. True,
• 3:14
  Speaker 5: Joe Strickland was alone, standing in the shadows at the
• 3:17
  Speaker 5: back of the store when he saw the watchman turn
• 3:19
  Speaker 5: the corner on his 11-15 round, then slunk down the
• 3:24
  Speaker 5: alley to the back window. But at that same time,
• 3:27
  Speaker 5: two other members of the corporation were waiting for him
• 3:30
  Speaker 5: in a little black coupe parked near the highway in Tigard,
• 3:34
  Speaker 5: a little town just out of Portland. They'd been there
• 3:38
  Speaker 5: for almost two hours when Terry looked at his watch.
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: Two minutes to one.
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: An hour late. I'm getting uneasy.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: I don't want to say I told you so, Mike.
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: What do you mean? He ain't coming?
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: You're beginning to get the idea, huh? After all, why
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: should he? He's taking all the risk.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Ah, no.
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: He wouldn't cross me. He knows better.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: You're pretty sure of yourself.
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: Maybe he had to wait till the watchman's next round.
• 4:06
  Speaker 6: Maybe a patrol car decided to park across the street.
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: There could be a million things happening to make a
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: guy late.
• 4:12
  Speaker 7: The watchman hasn't changed his schedule for two weeks now. 11.15
• 4:16
  Speaker 7: and 11.45. Now what? So maybe he wasn't detained. He
• 4:20
  Speaker 7: said he could pull up in five minutes.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: Remember?
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: Ah, he was bragging. Punk kid shooting off his mouth.
• 4:25
  Speaker 7: Well, have it your way. There ought to be 10
• 4:29
  Speaker 7: or 15,000 in this, Mike. Almost enough to make a
• 4:32
  Speaker 7: punk kid forget to come home. Hey, I'd kill him.
• 4:37
  Speaker 7: And he knows it. Remember what he was saying just
• 4:39
  Speaker 7: the other day? Tired of Portland. Going south when the
• 4:43
  Speaker 7: right time came. Maybe this is the right time. With
• 4:48
  Speaker 7: 15 grand in his jeans.
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: Well? Well, what?
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: I've got an idea what they're thinking. What is it?
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: Just what I said. They're something else. I, uh.
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: I can't tell you. I promised them I wouldn't.
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: What do you mean?
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: Spill it. That's it.
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: I said spill it.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: All right. Strickland tried to make a deal with me yesterday.
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: What?
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 5:08
  Speaker 7: Seems he felt you weren't necessary to the corporation. And
• 5:10
  Speaker 7: it might be a good idea to eliminate... You lie.
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: Let go of it.
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: I didn't ask for it.
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: What do you intend to tell me for, huh?
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: I promised the kid.
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: Told him he was crazy. Told him he'd kill him
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: if you even knew he was thinking about it.
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: Okay, okay, go on, go on.
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: Well, he said he couldn't see why. He was taking
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: all the chances for a third of the payoff. A
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: lot of things like that.
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: A little rat.
• 5:37
  Speaker 7: And he said he knew a fence named Bush downtown
• 5:38
  Speaker 7: in the Grady Hotel where he could get rid of
• 5:40
  Speaker 7: the jewels. I was supposed to ditch you out here
• 5:42
  Speaker 7: somewhere and meet him tomorrow in Astoria.
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: And when he saw I wouldn't go for it, he
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: got scared. And I hit him a couple of times
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: and he broke down.
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah.
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: That's all. He said he'd stay in line and made
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: me promise not to tell you.
• 5:55
  Speaker 7: I wasn't going to, but... I see. The Grady Hotel, huh? Yes,
• 6:00
  Speaker 7: room 108.
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: I think I'll take a look.
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: You might be wrong. What if he comes out here
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: and we're gone?
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: I guess Mr. Strickland's got to learn the hard way.
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: What are you going to do?
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: I'll call you at the drugstore around the corner if
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: he doesn't show up at the Grady.
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: Okay. And if he does?
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: I won't have to call you. Just look at the headlines.
• 6:48
  Speaker 5: No, the robbery of Wellington's jewelry store in Portland wasn't
• 6:52
  Speaker 5: the work of a lone wolf. Joe Strickland did it
• 6:55
  Speaker 5: all by himself, it's true. But there were two silent partners,
• 6:59
  Speaker 5: both of them wondering why Joe was late. One of
• 7:02
  Speaker 5: them determined to kill him if he shows up at Bush's,
• 7:05
  Speaker 5: the fencer's room at the Grady Hotel at.
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: The wrong time.
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: Terry Dexter waits on the street corner until Mike's car
• 7:12
  Speaker 5: has disappeared. Then he saunters toward the all-night drugstore on
• 7:16
  Speaker 5: the highway, smiling quietly.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir?
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, make me a ham sandwich and a cup of coffee,
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: will you? You bet.
• 7:28
  Speaker 8: When's the next bus to Portland? Oh, I'm afraid you've
• 7:30
  Speaker 8: got a long wait, brother. Let's see, you just missed
• 7:33
  Speaker 8: the 115. Next one's 315. Don't run so often this
• 7:37
  Speaker 8: time of night.
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: Two hours, huh? Well, nothing much I can do about it.
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: I'll be right back. Got a couple of phone calls. Hello? Hello, Joe.
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: How did it come out?
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: Who's this?
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: Terry.
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: Where you been?
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: I'm in Syguard at an all-night drugstore.
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: What's the idea of sending me up to your apartment?
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: said you'd be here at 12.
• 8:10
  Speaker 8: I gotta get out of here, I tell you.
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: Don't worry about it.
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: What do you mean, don't worry?
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: I'm going nuts. Take it easy. How did the job go?
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: I can't tell you now.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: I gotta get out of this apartment right away.
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: You weren't followed. You wasn't sloppy.
• 8:25
  Speaker 5: No. No, I wasn't followed.
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: Okay. Okay. Take the West Highway out of town and
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: I'll meet you across from the drugstore.
• 8:32
  Speaker 9: Yeah.
• 8:33
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I'll be right out.
• 8:33
  Speaker 7: And listen, lock my apartment and leave by the back way.
• 8:36
  Speaker 7: I don't want anyone to know you've been there, you understand?
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: But But what? Oh, nothing.
• 8:43
  Speaker 9: I'll see you in 20 minutes.
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: I see, Terry.
• 8:52
  Speaker 5: You and Mike aren't both wondering what happened to Joe Strickland.
• 8:56
  Speaker 5: Now one more call to prepare for Mike's arrival at
• 8:59
  Speaker 5: the Grady Hotel.
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: Room 108, please.
• 9:09
  Speaker 9: One moment.
• 9:14
  Speaker 4: Hello?
• 9:15
  Speaker 9: Mr.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: Burson? Yes, sir. This is Joe Strickland. I called you yesterday.
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: Oh, yes, Mr. Strickland.
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: I'll be in to see you in about an hour.
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: What is it, please?
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: A jewelry. Fifteen grand at least.
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: Oh, very well. I'll have it for you.
• 9:27
  Speaker 6: Goodbye, sir.
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: Goodbye. Here's your sandwich, sir. Ah, that's great. I'm a
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: little hungry. Thank you. You can have more cream if
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: you want. That's all right. It's really a tough break.
• 9:43
  Speaker 8: Missing that 115 bus. A two-hour wait is no joke.
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: Oh, I don't mind. I'd assume to you and anywhere
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: else the next two hours. Yes, Terry.
• 10:02
  Speaker 5: The little drugstore in Tigard is a good place for
• 10:05
  Speaker 5: you during the.
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: Next two hours.
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: A place to sit at the control board and pull switches.
• 10:10
  Speaker 5: Or perhaps you're more like a man with an intricate
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: jigsaw puzzle fitting the pieces together carefully. each one adding
• 10:18
  Speaker 5: a little to a picture of $ 15, 000. The next piece
• 10:23
  Speaker 5: moved slowly into place as Mike entered the Grady Hotel a.
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: Few minutes later and walked down the corridor to room 108.
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 10:30
  Speaker 4: Open up. What do you want? You know what I want.
• 10:40
  Speaker 5: Just a moment, please.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: Oh, I I thought you were.
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: Who do you think I was? I don't know. You
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: were expecting someone? Not to hear.
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: I haven't time for this.
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: I'll get your hair, Mr.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: Bush.
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: We've got plenty of time. Mind if I make myself
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: at home? Well, I was about to retire, Mr. Fleagle.
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: Mike Fleagle. You usually up this late, Mr. Bush? It's
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: two o'clock.
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: Yes, Mr. Fleagle.
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: I generally stay up. Stay up?
• 11:11
  Speaker 6: That bed over there looks like you just got up.
• 11:15
  Speaker 6: Maybe someone might have telephoned, huh? Someone with a little
• 11:19
  Speaker 6: business for you.
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: That doesn't concern you, Mr.
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: Flegel.
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: I'll have to ask you... Oh, but it does. Fill it,
• 11:24
  Speaker 4: will you? I didn't come here to play games. Who's
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: coming here?
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: Nobody.
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: Mr.
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: Flegel, no.
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: Wait a minute. Get away from that phone. Give me
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: that note. That's better. Here.
• 11:38
  Speaker 9: Secret.
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: Sure.
• 11:39
  Speaker 9: $ 15, 000.
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: Well, ain't that a coincidence, Mr.
• 11:43
  Speaker 9: Bush?
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: He's just a boy I'm interested in.
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: See right where you are, Flegel.
• 11:49
  Speaker 10: Oh.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: Playing a little rough, ain't you?
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: Huh?
• 11:53
  Speaker 6: That kind of artillery wasn't made for little jokers like you.
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: Stop, I can't... Better put it down, Mr.
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: Bush.
• 11:59
  Speaker 4: Now, you wouldn't want a flock of cops up here
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: any more.
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: Than I would. Now, look out!
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: Like I was saying, Mr. Bush, punks like you shouldn't
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: play with 45.
• 12:11
  Speaker 6: They're liable to kick right back in your face, eh?
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: Get out of here.
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: Not really, Mr.
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: Bush.
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: You're in no position to be asking things. Now, when's
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: he coming here?
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: Well, I... I don't know. Okay.
• 12:26
  Speaker 6: I won't press the coin. Now, just sit back and relax, hmm?
• 12:30
  Speaker 6: Be nice and fresh to greet him when he comes.
• 12:39
  Speaker 6: Outside line.
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: Hello?
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: Hello. I want to put a call through to the
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: pay phone in.
• 12:45
  Speaker 6: The all-night drug store in Target.
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: Yes, in Target.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, hello.
• 12:58
  Speaker 10: Who is it?
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: Terry. Oh, okay. Look, I met the lady.
• 13:03
  Speaker 9: Bush is expecting our friend in a minute.
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: I was right, huh?
• 13:06
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: We're going to do it then. Listen, Mike, I don't
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: want any part of this.
• 13:11
  Speaker 10: Don't worry.
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: You'll take them out the other way, huh? The East Highway?
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: Yeah, the East Highway. But look, stick around that store
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: another hour.
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: I might want to call you again.
• 13:22
  Speaker 9: Okay.
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: For you, huh? Yes.
• 13:26
  Speaker 7: People out of Spain would have wanted to know if
• 13:28
  Speaker 7: I'd caught the bus yet. It's funny they called you
• 13:30
  Speaker 7: on the pay phone.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Now I guess I'll take a walk for a
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: few minutes.
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: 3.15, remember?
• 13:35
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: Well, Terry, it's all working out beautifully, isn't it?
• 13:47
  Speaker 5: You figured everything down to the last detail. And the
• 13:50
  Speaker 5: next piece slides into place within a few minutes. You
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: pace up and down in front of the drugstore a
• 13:57
  Speaker 5: few times. And then a cab pulls up to the curb.
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: Terry? Terry? Terry, listen. Take it easy, Jones. What's the matter?
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: Look, here it is.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: All of it.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: Now, you take your cut, and I'll take mine, and
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: we'll separate now, huh?
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: Right away.
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: Nothing went wrong, did it, though?
• 14:17
  Speaker 5: No.
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: No, Terry.
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: Everything's fine, see? I just want to.
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: Give it to.
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: Me.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: Hmm. Not bad. The bracelet ought to bring a thousand,
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: isn't it?
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: I want to get going, Terry, right now.
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: You're sure nothing happened? No, Terry. Honest. What about the watchman?
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: What do you mean, the watchman? It was 1115, 1145,
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: wasn't it?
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: Oh, yeah.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: Just like you said, Terry. I was out of the
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: store by 11.30. It's just sitting in your apartment and... What, Terry?
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: And thinking of Mike. Oh, why did we do it, Terry?
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: I told you it's suicide to cross that guy.
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: He'll kill himself. Oh, that's it. Oh, don't worry about Mike, Terry.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: I just carry him. He's meeting up with me. I
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: told you. I told you.
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: He believed you?
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: Hook, line, and sinker. We'll be out of the state
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: before he wakes up.
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: Oh, I still don't like crossing in, Terry.
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: Just like I told you. We all agreed that.
• 15:13
  Speaker 7: Don't be a jerk all your life. You've been a
• 15:15
  Speaker 7: leak in my throat long enough. I did the casework,
• 15:18
  Speaker 7: you did the job. You're just looking for a free cut.
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: Okay, Terry, anything you say.
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: Just give me my cut and let me.
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: Hey, not so fast.
• 15:26
  Speaker 7: We're going to fence it tonight. It'll be too hot
• 15:28
  Speaker 7: to handle tomorrow. There's a man named Bush in the
• 15:31
  Speaker 7: Grady Hotel downtown. Here's the address.
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: I want you to go there alone. Alone? Well, what
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: do you mean?
• 15:40
  Speaker 7: I don't trust him. He says he has the 15
• 15:43
  Speaker 7: grand ready, but I want you to check first. Keep
• 15:46
  Speaker 7: the stuff to be called.
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: I can't go back to town, Terry.
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: You're going.
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: Listen, you don't know. You don't know why I.
• 15:52
  Speaker 7: I tell you, Mike is an Astoria. Now beat it
• 15:55
  Speaker 7: before someone wonders what we're doing here.
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: Terry, can't we do like I said?
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: Don't argue.
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: You're all set. We'll be waiting for you. All you
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: have to do is make the check and call me
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: at the drugstore. All right, Terry, I'll do it. Would you... Oh,
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: another thing. Give me a gun.
• 16:14
  Speaker 5: Huh?
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: This fence doesn't like his customers to come in healed.
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: I'll keep it and give it back to you later.
• 16:28
  Speaker 5: Well, the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to make
• 16:30
  Speaker 5: a picture, aren't they, Terry? $ 15, 000 pretty clearly. Right in
• 16:35
  Speaker 5: the center of it. All it needs is a little
• 16:38
  Speaker 5: routine work around the edges. There ought to be a
• 16:40
  Speaker 5: warm reception for poor Joe Strickland when he walks into
• 16:43
  Speaker 5: that room at the Grady. Mike is a pretty hard
• 16:46
  Speaker 5: man to explain.
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: Things to and gets in the wrong frame of mind.
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: He has a careless habit of shooting first and thinking afterwards. Yes,
• 16:56
  Speaker 5: it's quarter of three now and things are probably beginning
• 16:59
  Speaker 5: to happen down in Mr.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: Bush's room.
• 17:04
  Speaker 4: Hello, Joe. No, you don't. Stay right there, Joe.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: How did you get.
• 17:10
  Speaker 4: You ought to know me better than that, Joe. I
• 17:12
  Speaker 4: play for Keith. Right, Mr. Bush? I'm dreadfully sorry, Mr.
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: Strickland.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: Ah, you two know each other, I see. Only by telephone,
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: I'm afraid. What do you mean? I never talk to you. Oh,
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: it's no use, Mr.
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: Strickland.
• 17:24
  Speaker 9: He knows everything. But I.
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: Okay, okay.
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: Come on.
• 17:28
  Speaker 4: Let's go.
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: Well, what do you mean? What do you expect?
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: A bronze medal. Weston, there's something wrong.
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: Shut up.
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: You don't have to tell me there's something wrong. Come on,
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: come on, we're going. And give me the stuff. I
• 17:41
  Speaker 4: haven't got it. You what? Terry's got it. I left
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: it with him. Don't give me that. Put up your hands.
• 17:49
  Speaker 4: You haven't got it. Where are you hiding it? I
• 17:51
  Speaker 4: tell you, Terry. You're lying, Rand. I ought to let
• 17:53
  Speaker 4: you have it right here.
• 17:54
  Speaker 9: Come on.
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: Come on, we're going.
• 17:56
  Speaker 7: Come on.
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: You put hands on the wheel, Joe. You got me
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: all wrong, Mike. Honest, it wasn't my idea. I want
• 18:11
  Speaker 4: to know what you did with the stuff. You going
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: to tell me or ain't you? Mike, believe me, it's
• 18:14
  Speaker 4: like I told you. I left it with Terry. He
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: told me to meet him at his apartment. And what
• 18:17
  Speaker 4: was he doing with me and Tiger? I don't know.
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: He said you were in Astoria or something.
• 18:22
  Speaker 8: I didn't want to, Mike.
• 18:23
  Speaker 3: You got to believe me. I don't.
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: And talking ain't going to do you much good, Joe.
• 18:27
  Speaker 4: This is your last trip.
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: Look, there's an oil station.
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: Why don't you call the drugstore? Yeah, that's it. Terry's
• 18:34
  Speaker 4: gone by now, I'm sure. You said you told him
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: to stay.
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: There another hour.
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: Well, if he's gone, would you believe me?
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: He'll be there. Give me a chance, Mike.
• 18:40
  Speaker 10: Call him.
• 18:41
  Speaker 4: I tell you, it's a double-cross. He's gone with the stuff.
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: Okay. Pull in.
• 18:46
  Speaker 4: Now, remember, I'll be right behind you.
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir?
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: How many?
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: I just want to use the phone. Okay, right over there.
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: Come on, Joe. Stay in front of me. One false move.
• 19:00
  Speaker 5: Yeah, Mike.
• 19:01
  Speaker 9: Keep your hands down.
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: I will.
• 19:12
  Speaker 4: Shut up.
• 19:13
  Speaker 9: The attendant's watching us.
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: All night drugstore.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: I'm looking for a party by the name of Dexter.
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: He's expecting a call. I don't... Oh, you must mean
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: the man who's been waiting for the bus.
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, just a minute.
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: Looks like you're wrong, Joe.
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: You mean he's there? What'd you expect?
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: Hello. Hello, uh, Terry?
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: Yes, Mike. Uh, Mr.
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: Strickland and I have taken a ride, Terry. And, uh,
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: he tells me he saw you an hour ago.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: Huh?
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: What's he talking about?
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: That's what I want to know, Terry. Uh, wait a minute, Terry.
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: What's he doing, Joe? What do you mean?
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: He's attending. He's standing over there, wasn't he?
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: Raise your hand again, and I'll plug it right here.
• 20:05
  Speaker 10: How was he?
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: Shut up.
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: Uh, go on, Terry.
• 20:08
  Speaker 5: Terry?
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: Well, he tells me he left the stuff with you.
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: Oh, he did, huh? Well, he's lying to me. I
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: haven't seen him all night.
• 20:19
  Speaker 5: Thanks.
• 20:20
  Speaker 4: That's all I want to know. Wait a minute.
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: Terry!
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: Terry, you don't know what you're doing! Terry, he's going
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: to kill me!
• 20:24
  Speaker 10: You can't do it to me! You can't! I can't
• 20:28
  Speaker 10: just see!
• 20:28
  Speaker 4: He's taking both of us for a ride!
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: Both you and me!
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: Shut up, you rat!
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: Come on! No!
• 20:32
  Speaker 10: No, you can't!
• 20:33
  Speaker 4: I won't let you!
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: No!
• 20:35
  Speaker 9: Hey! Hey!
• 20:40
  Speaker 4: Hey, you can't get away with that stuff around here.
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: Oh, no, watch me. And don't move.
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: That's it. Right there by the pump. Take care of
• 20:50
  Speaker 4: the phone. Now, don't try to pull anything, see? One
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: fancy move and you'll be down there next to.
• 21:00
  Speaker 9: Him.
• 21:00
  Speaker 5: 9S6157.
• 21:01
  Speaker 4: Got it. Smart guy, huh? Smashing my phone. Thinks this
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: is the only phone in the neighborhood.
• 21:16
  Speaker 5: Sitting in the drugstore in Tigard, you don't see that happen, Terry.
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: But don't worry.
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: You'll know about it soon enough.
• 21:23
  Speaker 5: Everything comes to him who waits.
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: And the pieces are all falling into place now. You're
• 21:30
  Speaker 4: certainly a popular man tonight, Mr.
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: Dexter.
• 21:32
  Speaker 8: Don't believe I ever saw so many incoming calls on
• 21:34
  Speaker 8: that phone.
• 21:36
  Speaker 7: My friends never give me a moment's rest, even at
• 21:38
  Speaker 7: three in the morning.
• 21:39
  Speaker 8: What kind of business are you in? Oh, a little
• 21:41
  Speaker 8: bit of everything, I guess. You know, if I was you,
• 21:44
  Speaker 8: I'd plug that phone and... What's the matter?
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: Uh, that police car outside. Oh, yeah, that's Mac, the
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: night patrolman.
• 21:53
  Speaker 4: Pulls in every night about this time for a cup
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: of coffee.
• 21:55
  Speaker 9: Oh.
• 21:56
  Speaker 4: Hello, Henry.
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: Oh, hello, Mac. How are things? Okay. A little busy tonight.
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: How about a cup of coffee, Henry? All ready for you.
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: Ah, thanks.
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: That's what I needed.
• 22:08
  Speaker 8: Haven't seen a night like this since I've been on
• 22:09
  Speaker 8: the force.
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: Pretty, uh, busy. Yeah, officer.
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: That one-armed paper hanger ain't it, brother? You got a donut, Henry?
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: Uh, sure.
• 22:16
  Speaker 9: Here you are.
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: Good. Yeah, hold up. Murder.
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: Never seen anything like it. The guy was just bumped
• 22:22
  Speaker 5: off on a service station on the other.
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: Side of town.
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah? You got anything on who did it? It ain't
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: even going to trial, brother.
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: Radio patrol picked up the guy.
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: Did he talk at all?
• 22:34
  Speaker 4: When I say picked him up, that's what I mean.
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: He was going 70 when they drilled his rear tire.
• 22:37
  Speaker 5: There ain't enough of him left to recognize him.
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: Uh-oh. There's your bus, mister.
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: 315, right on the nose.
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: Well, see you later, Henry. Thanks for the hospitality. Very
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: pleasant two hours.
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: That's funny.
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: Huh?
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: The look on that guy's face when I was talking
• 22:53
  Speaker 4: to him then. Almost as if he was ready to
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: bust out laughing. He surely must be happy about something.
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: No wonder Terry Dexter couldn't help grinning as he walked
• 23:25
  Speaker 5: outside and onto the bus to town, and his apartment,
• 23:28
  Speaker 5: and the bag in the closet, packed.
• 23:30
  Speaker 4: For a long trip.
• 23:32
  Speaker 5: The jigsaw puzzle was all together now, every piece in place,
• 23:36
  Speaker 5: and it made a picture of $ 15, 000, with no splits
• 23:40
  Speaker 5: to make, no silent partners with grasping hands. No, fate
• 23:47
  Speaker 5: must have been the silent partner in this.
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: He hadn't dared to hope that Mike would be eliminated
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: so easily.
• 23:53
  Speaker 5: He thought perhaps of tipping off the police about the murder.
• 23:56
  Speaker 5: Maybe planting the gun you have in your pocket. After
• 24:00
  Speaker 5: making suitable arrangements for the jewels, of course. Mike wasn't
• 24:04
  Speaker 5: much of a worry after all, with a murder rap
• 24:06
  Speaker 5: hanging over his head. Yes, Terry, you'll get the jewels.
• 24:11
  Speaker 5: And all you have to do now is pick up
• 24:12
  Speaker 5: that bag at your apartment.
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: Your double-double-cross worked beautifully.
• 24:18
  Speaker 9: Only.
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: Are you sure you didn't double-cross.
• 24:21
  Speaker 9: Yourself, too?
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: You must be Mr.
• 24:29
  Speaker 9: Dexter.
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: Who are you?
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: Keep your hands away from that pocket. Lieutenant Walker of
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: the Homicide Squad.
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: What are you doing here? You haven't got anything. Just
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: a minute. Keep those hands up.
• 24:44
  Speaker 9: Now.
• 24:45
  Speaker 5: Now. Now.
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: 38, huh? That isn't mine. The two shells fired. Not
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: very smart, Mr. Dexter.
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: An idiot would know better than to walk around with
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: a rod as hot as this. I'll keep those hands up,
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: my friend. Now, take another look. Now, let's see. Inside
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: coat pocket. Here, a walking brief for the prosecution.
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: A bag of jewelry. Now, what would you be doing
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: with that, Mr. Dexter? I didn't do it.
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: I should tell you that anything you say will be
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: held against you. But you couldn't say anything that matters now,
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: not when we add this to that dead watchman in
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: the next room.
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: What? Dead? What are you talking about? What are you
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: trying to pull, Dexter?
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: You ought to be smart enough to know when you're late.
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: You robbed the store at 11.25. Oh, we even know
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: the time. The watchman came back accidentally in time to
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: see you leaving and followed you here. You didn't know
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: it until too late. So you waited for him in
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: the doorway downstairs.
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: And plugged it. Well, that was stupid. Because you must
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: have known the shot to be heard and investigated.
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: But the prize was pulling him into your own bedroom
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: with a blood trail to lead us.
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: Right to him. Fixed on that little part. That's right.
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: And then, to top it off, you trot back now
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: with the gun that killed him and the jewels.
• 26:04
  Speaker 10: In your coat pocket.
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: Well, as I'm mistaken, Mr.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: Dexter, your trial will be one of the shortest in history.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: That was Death Marks the Double Cross, one of the
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: Whistler's better yarns. Next time, we're going to meet an
• 26:41
  Speaker 2: old friend of yours, Lamont Cranston, better known as The Shadow.
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: In this episode, he'll investigate the mysterious case of the
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: Flaming Skull. It takes all of The Shadow's old-time ingenuity
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: to crack this one, but perhaps you'll get a better
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: idea of the difficulty of the problem if we step
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: down to the green room to hear a bit of
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: the rehearsal for our next show in the Mystery Playhouse.
• 27:03
  Speaker 3: Follow me, please. Come. Come, come.
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: Well, this is a fine thing, Mr. Cranston.
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: A fine thing indeed.
• 27:12
  Speaker 10: What's eating you, Margo?
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: What's eating me?
• 27:14
  Speaker 8: The question I've been wanting to ask you.
• 27:16
  Speaker 5: You sit around like a bump on a log all day.
• 27:19
  Speaker 10: I was thinking. No, worrying about the flaming skull.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: Suddenly, at 7 o'clock tonight, you announce we're.
• 27:24
  Speaker 4: Going for a drive.
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: Where? To visit a friend. Why? To pick up a
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: clue on this case. Who's the friend?
• 27:30
  Speaker 5: Uh, Dr.
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: Neil Harrison. I sent Steve Grant to see him yesterday afternoon.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: It's just possible that Steve might have said something to Dr.
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: Harrison that would give us a clue.
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: Then all that worrying, I mean thinking, this afternoon didn't help?
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: No inspiration?
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: It certainly did help, Margo, but right now the fire
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: of inspiration needs a little more coal.
• 27:48
  Speaker 4: To be shoveled on by Lamont Cranston's stoker.
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: No, no.
• 27:52
  Speaker 10: Lamont Cranston's shadow. Next patient, please.
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: That's odd.
• 28:08
  Speaker 10: Waiting room's empty. I could have sworn I heard a
• 28:11
  Speaker 10: patient come in.
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: Who's that?
• 28:14
  Speaker 10: Your patient, Dr.
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: Harrison. Patient? Where?
• 28:18
  Speaker 10: An invisible patient, doctor.
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: This is absurd.
• 28:21
  Speaker 4: It's some trick.
• 28:22
  Speaker 3: Who are you?
• 28:23
  Speaker 10: Men call me the Shadow.
• 28:25
  Speaker 3: The Shadow?
• 28:26
  Speaker 10: You have heard of the Shadow, Dr.
• 28:27
  Speaker 3: Harrison.
• 28:28
  Speaker 10: The Shadow seeks only one thing.
• 28:31
  Speaker 4: The truth.
• 28:31
  Speaker 3: The truth about what?
• 28:33
  Speaker 10: The truth about all things. The truth about Steve Grant.
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: Grant? Oh, yes, yes.
• 28:38
  Speaker 10: He came to you yesterday?
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir. Lamont Cranston sent him.
• 28:41
  Speaker 10: You treated him?
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: No, I did not. Why not? The truth, Dr.
• 28:46
  Speaker 10: Harrison.
• 28:46
  Speaker 4: Yes, I'll tell the truth.
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: I could not treat him.
• 28:49
  Speaker 9: He.
• 28:49
  Speaker 3: Dr.
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: Harrison!
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: He's dead.
• 28:55
  Speaker 10: Shot by somebody from outside that window.
• 29:00
  Speaker 9: Lamont!
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: Lamont! Where are you, Lamont?
• 29:07
  Speaker 4: Right here, Margo.
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: I heard shots while I was waiting in the car.
• 29:11
  Speaker 5: Shh.
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: Someone fired through the window while a shadow was questioning Dr.
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: Harrison. The doctor's dead. Now, come on.
• 29:16
  Speaker 10: We've got to locate that killer if we can.
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: But it's pitch dark, Lamont. Careful, careful. He must have
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: run off this way.
• 29:20
  Speaker 4: Do you know who killed the doctor?
• 29:22
  Speaker 10: No, I'm afraid we'll never find out now.
• 29:24
  Speaker 3: Lamont. Yes, Margo.
• 29:26
  Speaker 5: Look.
• 29:27
  Speaker 3: Look, running down the street.
• 29:28
  Speaker 4: Way up there. Oh, Lamont.
• 29:30
  Speaker 10: Yes, I see it, Margo.
• 29:31
  Speaker 4: It's a flaming skeleton.
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: A flaming skeleton is no easy thing to explain. Lamont
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: Cranston is battled. Margo Lane is puzzled. And the police
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: don't believe the story at all. But something or someone
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: did commit one of the most bizarre of all crimes. So,
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: join us next time for the surprising explanation of the
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: weird puzzler, The Case of the Flaming Skull. This is
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: Sergeant X, closing the doors of the Mystery Playhouse. Good night.
• 30:11
  Speaker 4: Sleep tight.
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: This is the Armed Forces Radio Service.
• 30:23
  Speaker 9: THE END.
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: That was The Whistler, Death Marks the Double Cross, Mystery
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: Theater Version. Thank you for sharing another evening with Classic Radio.