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The Shadow - "The Touch of Death" (Old Time Radio) · The Shadow | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Lucius Hawks claims to possess a lethal touch, and he
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: knows Lamont Cranston's connection to the invisible crime fighter called
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: The Shadow. That situation brings us to Mutual's May 19th,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: 1946 broadcast of The Shadow, episode 372, The Touch of Death.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Brett Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston and The Shadow, with
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Grace Matthews as Margo Lane. Don Hancock is the announcer,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: and Stedman Coles wrote the script. Sponsored by Blue Coal,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: this 1946 production revisits a script first broadcast in 1943. Now,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: back to the golden age of radio. A program transcribed
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: earlier from Mutual. Who knows what evil lurks in the
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: hearts of men? The shadow knows.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Once again, the Mutual Broadcasting System brings you the thrilling
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: adventures of The Shadow, the hard and relentless fight of
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: one man against the forces of evil. These dramatizations are
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: designed to demonstrate forcibly to old and young alike that
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: crime does not pay. Are you interested in engineering, electronics,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: ship design, travel, and a steady job? If you are
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: a young man between the ages of 17 and 22,
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: you may qualify for a four-year college education and a
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: career of public service in the United States Coast Guard.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: This oldest branch of the Seagoing Services maintains an academy
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: at New London, Connecticut, for the professional training of its
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: future officers. Applicants selected for the Coast Guard Academy by
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: nationwide examinations begin their training each year late in July.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: Applications for this year's convening class must be postmarked not
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: later than April 1st. and entrance examinations are held on
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: May 8th. For complete information, write to the superintendent, U.S.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Coast Guard Academy, New London, Connecticut, or visit your nearest
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: Coast Guard recruiting station today. And now, The Shadow. The Shadow,
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: who aids the forces of.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: Law and order, is in reality Lamont Cranston, wealthy young
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: man about town. Years ago in the Orient, Cranston learned
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: a strange and mysterious secret. the hypnotic power to cloud
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: men's minds so they cannot see him. Cranston's friend and companion,
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: the lovely Margo Lane, is the only person who knows
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: to whom the voice of the invisible shadow belongs. Today's drama,
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: The Touch of Death. The Touch of Death It is
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: early afternoon. Lamont Cranston, in his dual role of the shadow,
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: has just broken another case and is about to enter
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: his apartment to get some much-needed rest. Oh, it would
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: be good to get these clothes off. Thirty-six hours without
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: a change. Why do some people have to be criminals
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: to get what they want? Well, I'll let the philosophers
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: figure that one out.
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: Maybe put a quick shower and then... Good afternoon, Mr. Cranston.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: Oh?
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: How did you.
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: We've been waiting patiently in your kitchen.
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: Nice view of the river, I must say.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: How did you get in here? I hope you'll forgive
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: us for having raided your icebox, but you were gone
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: such a long time.
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: Who are you?
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: What do you want?
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: I'm Lucius Hawks.
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: This is my sister-in-law, Molly Hawks.
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: Hawks? Yes.
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: I see the name rings a bell in your memory.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: Why shouldn't it?
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: She sent Peter to the electric.
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: Chair just two weeks ago. My brother, Mr. Cranston. I
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: was very fond of him. Your brother was a murderer, Mr. Hawks.
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: Nobody would have known about my husband if it hadn't
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: been for you. In the shadows. Molly.
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: Put that gun away.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: Why should I? Peter is dead. Put it away. I
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: told you, no violence. I don't like the sight of blood.
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: He's got no right to live. Him first, and then
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: the shadow.
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: Molly, will you do as I say, or must I.
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: Don't, don't, don't come near me. I find you much
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: too emotional at the wrong time. Don't touch me. I'll
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: put the gun away. I'll listen to you.
• 4:19
  Speaker 4: Well, that's better.
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: We must remember to take good care of Mr. Cranston.
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: We need him.
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: What do you want?
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: The shadow.
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: What?
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: Now you're being funny. I didn't laugh when I heard
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: of my brother's death in the electric chair. I could
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: have stopped it if I'd been here, Mr. Cranston, but
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: I wasn't. I've spent nearly all the last ten years
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: in the jungles of the Amazon, and it wasn't until
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: I returned yesterday that I heard about my brother.
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: It was quite a shock.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: How do you know the shadow had anything to do
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: with it?
• 4:49
  Speaker 5: Peter told me the last time I saw him, just before.
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: If it hadn't been for your meddling, Cranston... Relax, Molly.
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: But I.
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: You're wasting your time. The shadow's invisible.
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: No one can find it. I wonder. You think I
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: can do what the underworld's failed to do in years?
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: I'm going to make it your responsibility, Mr.
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: Cranston. Now, listen, Mr. Hawks. I'm tired.
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: Without your detective work, the shadow might never have been
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: given the lead to my brother. What did you expect
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: me to do? Let a professional killer go on killing? Cranston,
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: would you like to die now? Molly likes to handle
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: that gun, doesn't she?
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: No, I'm afraid you don't understand. Look at these flowers.
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: They're beautiful. Well?
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: Notice the delicate shading of the petals. The graceful stems.
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: What did you do to them? I touched them. Poor thing,
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: they withered and died.
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: I'm sorry, I hate to kill beautiful things.
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: Is that your kitten, Mr. Cranston?
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: Tommy, come here, Tommy. Tommy must have been under the
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: bed until now. Look at him stretch. Let me help you. No,
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: leave him alone. Get back, Cranston.
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: All I'm going to do is... Go, Kim.
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: There.
• 6:01
  Speaker 4: Tommy!
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: Why, you... Oh, my.
• 6:03
  Speaker 4: I've done it again, Mr. Cranston.
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: I touched him, and Tommy is dead.
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: You... You're angry, aren't you?
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: You'd like to choke the life out of me, but
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: you won't. Molly is very emotional, and she might pull
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: the trigger. Or have I convinced you that I have
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: the touch of death? Get out of here.
• 6:19
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: I'm glad you didn't force me to touch you, because
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: I need you alive. Remember your assignment. I want the shadow.
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: And I give you 12 hours to find him. Get out.
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: Get out.
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: Keys, Mr.
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: Cranston. Put them on the table. Oh, Molly, our friend
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: is very stubborn. Go behind him and take them out
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: of his pocket.
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: Do I have to get that close to him?
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: Bear in mind, the gun is not to go off.
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: It won't.
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: Not because... Drop them into my hand. Thank you. A precaution, Mr.
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: Cranston. I don't like to be followed.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: Your keys will be in the lock on the other
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: side of the door. How do you expect him to
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: find the shadow if he can't get out?
• 7:01
  Speaker 4: Well, he'll get out, my dear. The telephone is still working. Goodbye, Mr.
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: Cranston. The shadow in 12 hours or the touch of
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: death is a chance to use your skill as a
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: detective to save your own life.
• 7:26
  Speaker 5: Lamont, I'm not convinced. He must know you're the shadow
• 7:28
  Speaker 5: or he wouldn't have come here to ask you.
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: To find him.
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: If he knows Margo, why didn't he kill me?
• 7:31
  Speaker 4: Yes. Why didn't he? It would have been very simple.
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: Molly had a gun on me and Lucius had.
• 7:36
  Speaker 5: Do you really believe he has the touch of death?
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: I don't know what he has. If I saw him
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: touch those flowers, then Tommy... Poor Tommy.
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: A man can't be human to kill an innocent, harmless
• 7:47
  Speaker 5: little kitten. Darling, you must do something.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: I'd do something. I'd do plenty if I knew where
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: to find him. He knows where to find you.
• 7:55
  Speaker 5: You can't just sit here and wait.
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: Twelve hours. Ten hours, darling. Took me a long time
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: to get you on the phone.
• 8:01
  Speaker 5: Yes, I was out shopping, darn it.
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: Well, I have to call off our theater date with Weston.
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: Do you mind?
• 8:08
  Speaker 5: Shall I phone him or will you?
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: No, I'll do it.
• 8:12
  Speaker 5: Uh, are you going to tell him why?
• 8:14
  Speaker 4: I can't, Margo.
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: Weston might think as you did that Lucius Hawks came
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: here tonight because he thought that.
• 8:19
  Speaker 4: I was the shadow.
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: Hello, Commissioner Weston talking. What do you want?
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: This is Lamont Cranston, Commissioner.
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: Oh, Cranston. I'm glad you called. Our date for tonight,
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: it's off.
• 8:29
  Speaker 4: Oh, good. I... What's good about it?
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: An epidemic of murders has broken out all over the city. Murders?
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: Well, thanks for calling, Cranston. Give my best to Margo.
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: Commissioner. Hello. Hello? An epidemic of murders.
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: What are you talking about, darling?
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: Margo, we're going down to police headquarters to see Weston.
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: I want to know more about those murders.
• 8:50
  Speaker 5: Would you mind telling me what murders?
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: Oh, not at all. After Weston has told me.
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: Well, all right, but I.
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: Come on, look, a snake! Close the door, quick!
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: Darling, darling, since when are you afraid of dead reptiles? Oh! Oh, gee,
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: is he really... Completely. But still useful.
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: What?
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: A piece of paper in his mouth.
• 9:10
  Speaker 5: Well, I can think of nicer ways to read messages,
• 9:12
  Speaker 5: even if they aren't quite so novel.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: Hmm.
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: Lucius Hawks.
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: Oh? Nothing can resist the touch of death, my friend.
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: Not even the venomous serpent. Good luck, Mr. Cranston.
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: And good hunting.
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: That man is a monster.
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: Yes, a monster with a plan. He thinks he's using
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: the strategy of terror on me.
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: Keep your eyes on the road, Molly. And on that
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: car ahead. Letting Cranston live. I tell you, Lucius, he's
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: not going to find the Shadow Forest. He's not even
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: going to try. How certain you are. You know why?
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: It's because he's not afraid of you. He will be
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: when he knows as much about me as you do.
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: He'd have gone for you if I didn't have the
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: gun on him when he killed his kitten. Well, that
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: would have been a pity.
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: I'm sorry I didn't let him.
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: I should have forced you to kill him. Molly, will
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: you please understand? Mr. Cranston must be kept alive until
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: I'm ready to make my own disposition. And it's your
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: duty to see that he is. You're not to do
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: anything foolish when my back is turned. But, Lucius, I
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: promised Peter before he died. That's not important. Peter was
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: my husband. And he was my brother. Now do as
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: I say.
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: Yes, Lucius. You play chess, Molly.
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: Chess?
• 10:32
  Speaker 4: You should learn.
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: You'd see the value of planning ahead. Look where Mr.
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: Cranston stopped his car.
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: But, Lucius, right outside police headquarters.
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: Yes, my strategy is beginning to work.
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: Mr.
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: Cranston will lead me to the shadow in spite of himself. Oh,
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: nobody's going home. I'm putting every man on 24-hour duty.
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: See that the order goes out right away. I want
• 11:03
  Speaker 3: that maniac picked up today. What maniac, Commissioner? Oh, Cranston,
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: you and Miss Lane picked a bad time to make
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: a social call. I'm up to my ears and work.
• 11:12
  Speaker 5: Oh, Commissioner, hello is such a small word.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: Margo.
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: What maniac, Commissioner? Roy Jackson. He broke out of the
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: institution yesterday. Three murders in the last two hours, and
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: the same pattern he used six years ago before the.
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: Shadow caught him for it. You mean girls?
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: Blonde, beautiful, and all under 25. If I could only
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: get my hands on the shadow.
• 11:34
  Speaker 5: Why the shadow?
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: Well, I need him.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: Roy Jackson's got the cunning of every homicidal maniac. And
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: I've got to stop these killings.
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: Commissioner. What is it? How were those girls killed? I
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: said Roy Jackson, Cranston.
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: That can mean only one thing. They were strangled.
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: Are those girls at the morgue?
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: Cranston, sometimes you ask... No, I'd like to see them.
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: Would you mind? No, I don't mind. But don't stick
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: your two cents in. I don't want any amateurs cluttering.
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: Up this case.
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: I'll bear that in mind, Commissioner.
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: Now, let's go, darling.
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: Goodbye, Commissioner.
• 12:06
  Speaker 5: Sometimes that's so much nicer than saying hello.
• 12:08
  Speaker 4: Nass.
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: Hey, what did you mean by that? What a mood.
• 12:13
  Speaker 4: No, he doesn't mean it.
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: Next time he sees this, he'll be apologizing all over
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: the place.
• 12:16
  Speaker 4: He certainly should be.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: Come on, why are we going to the morgue?
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: Playing a hunch, darling.
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: Is it secret? No. I want to see if there's
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: any evidence on those girls that might have been concealed
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: by strangling. What?
• 12:28
  Speaker 5: I don't understand.
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: Well, simply this. Were those girls killed by Jackson or
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: by someone else?
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: I'm coming, I'm coming. What are you folks trying to do?
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: Wake the dead? Hello, McCab.
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: Oh, Mr. Cranston. Come in, come in.
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: Thanks.
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: Is this lady with you?
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: Mm-hmm. I'm leaving with him, too. Huh?
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: Oh, Miss Lane, I didn't recognize you behind them green blinkers. Okay,
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: I'll take them off. Well, what can I show you today? Uh,
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: those three girls who were strangled. Yeah, sure. Over this way.
• 13:13
  Speaker 4: Commissioner's sure making a fuss over them gals, Mr. Cranston.
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: Been here twice since they got brung in. Checking and
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: rechecking like there was some mystery.
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: Well, he wanted to make sure that.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: He did.
• 13:24
  Speaker 4: Second time he come, he says, Roy Jackson done it.
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: Then he walks out of here madder and... Oh, excuse me,
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: Miss Lane. I got evil thoughts. Now, here's the first one. Lamarcus.
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: I'm all right, Lamarcus.
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: Here's the second one. And here's number three. I don't
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: know what you're looking for, Mr. Cranston, but you ain't
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: gonna find it. Maybe I won't, McCab. The coroner says
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: they got strangled. That's a fact, Miss Lane. Yes, yes,
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: I guess so. Official verdict. Hey, Miss Lane, you crying? Well,
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: it just makes me so furious. It's so awful.
• 14:06
  Speaker 5: Only a maniac could.
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: Have done this to them. Well, that's what Commissioner Weston says.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: But I.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: I'll bet you a ghost that's him now, coming back
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: for another look.
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: I'd better go let him in.
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: Well, Lamont?
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: Oh, nothing so far. Everything points to Jackson, his pattern.
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: Rope around the neck from behind. Litton doesn't have a chance.
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: Shall we go now?
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: No, in just a minute.
• 14:30
  Speaker 5: But, uh, what are you looking to risk for?
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: I'm still playing my hunch.
• 14:34
  Speaker 5: I hope that hunch is wrong, darling.
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: What's that?
• 14:37
  Speaker 4: Oh, it's my cab.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: Macabre! What's the matter? Oh, my, look, he's on the floor.
• 14:42
  Speaker 4: Macabre! Macabre!
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: Darling, look, I was scratching at his heart.
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: I'll phone for a doctor.
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: Yes, quickly.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: Margo.
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: Better phone for the coroner.
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: What?
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: Oh, Lamont.
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: Yes, darling. Poor Macabre.
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: Heart failure.
• 15:06
  Speaker 5: And we couldn't do a thing to help him.
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: This may have been another warning, Margo.
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: What? Not at all sure that McCab's heart failure might
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: not have been induced by murder. During the war, 85
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: million Americans bought war bonds.
• 15:29
  Speaker 6: Today, those same Americans are not only holding on to
• 15:32
  Speaker 6: their war bonds, but are buying United States savings bonds.
• 15:35
  Speaker 6: These bonds are identical except for name to the war
• 15:38
  Speaker 6: bonds you purchased during the war years. There were many
• 15:41
  Speaker 6: good reasons for buying bonds during the war. We had
• 15:44
  Speaker 6: to have the planes and the tanks and the equipment.
• 15:47
  Speaker 6: With victory, your victory bonds helped bring the boys home,
• 15:50
  Speaker 6: helped to provide needed hospitalization and care for the wounded.
• 15:53
  Speaker 6: And yet while your war bonds and victory bonds were
• 15:55
  Speaker 6: doing all that, they were working for you, providing a
• 15:58
  Speaker 6: bulwark for your own future. United States savings bonds can
• 16:02
  Speaker 6: do that same job. They give you the opportunity to
• 16:05
  Speaker 6: lay aside a financial.
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: Nest egg for yourself.
• 16:07
  Speaker 6: They make it possible for you to save the money
• 16:09
  Speaker 6: that will buy you a home, that will pay for
• 16:12
  Speaker 6: education for your children, that may be the means to
• 16:14
  Speaker 6: start out in business. Whatever your objective, U.S. savings bonds
• 16:19
  Speaker 6: can help to make those dreams come true. You can
• 16:22
  Speaker 6: buy U.S. savings bonds through the payroll savings plan or
• 16:25
  Speaker 6: at any bank or post office. For your own future,
• 16:29
  Speaker 6: buy them and hold them. And now, back to the shadow.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: It is several hours later, and in Lamont Cranston's apartment...
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: Cranston and Margo Lane are listening while Commissioner Weston gloats.
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: I take back everything I said about the shadow that
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: was good. He doesn't hold a candle to the policeman
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: and never will.
• 16:55
  Speaker 5: Oh, Commissioner, he's done some good, you know.
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: Here and there, but who captured Roy Jackson, eh? My boy.
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: Caught him flat on his back to sleep in a barn.
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: Are you satisfied that he strangled those girls? Aren't you, Cranston?
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: Jackson denied it. So what?
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: He didn't deny the murders he committed six years ago.
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: What's that got to do with now? Well, it breaks
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: the pattern. Cranston, you ought to read a book on criminology.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: I have, Commissioner.
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: And on page one it says, don't believe everything you see.
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: Are you leading into the subject of macabre again?
• 17:24
  Speaker 4: I'm in it, Commissioner. Now look.
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: You kids are not going to tie me up for
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: the night. The coroner says McCab had a heart attack.
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: That makes it official. Couldn't he have been wrong?
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: No, he couldn't.
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: He checked that poor old guy from head to foot.
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: There wasn't a mark on him to prove your suspicion
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: of murder. But, Commissioner, I told you, McCab got an
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: insurance policy on his life only a month ago. He
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: was examined by a doctor and found to be okay. Well,
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: what does that prove? A lot of things can change
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: in a month. Look, Cranston, it's getting late and I've
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: got a big day ahead of me. And I've had
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: enough murder for the time being. Good night. Good night, Commissioner.
• 17:56
  Speaker 5: He's a hard man to convince, isn't he?
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 17:59
  Speaker 5: Why didn't you tell him about Lucius Hawks?
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: I couldn't, darling. I don't know enough about him myself.
• 18:03
  Speaker 5: But you're sure he killed McCab?
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: Not only McCab, darling. I'm sure he killed those girls. Well,
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: why then? He wants the shadow. Margo, he'll keep killing
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: until he gets the shadow.
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: Excuse me. Hello? Hello, Mr.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: Cranston.
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: Lucius.
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: Well, my friend, have you good news to report? What?
• 18:22
  Speaker 4: Not yet. Oh, what a pity. Your time is nearly up,
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: you know. I'll need more, Lucius.
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: More time? But I gave you 12 hours. I'm sorry.
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: I'm not a miracle man.
• 18:30
  Speaker 4: And I thought you were.
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: How we misjudge people. Well, have you at least a lead? I.
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: I might have. Would you like to tell me about it?
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: I can't.
• 18:41
  Speaker 4: You will.
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: Come to my apartment, 972 Park Drive.
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: And come alone. Very well.
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: I'll be there in half an hour. Margot, this is
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: the break I've been waiting for. Come on, darling, I'll
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: take you home.
• 18:54
  Speaker 5: Lamont, you are not going there alone.
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: Of course.
• 18:56
  Speaker 5: But suppose it's a trap. If he as much as
• 18:58
  Speaker 5: suspects that you're the shadow.
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: Don't worry, darling, he won't kill me.
• 19:01
  Speaker 5: Well, I'm going with you.
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: Now, Margot.
• 19:03
  Speaker 5: Don't try to talk me out of it, Lamont, because
• 19:04
  Speaker 5: you can't get.
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: Rid of him.
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: All right. Well, I hope you know what you're doing. Well, the.
• 19:09
  Speaker 4: He's coming, my dear.
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: He's your sandwich. Thank you, Molly. Thank you.
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: Did you say you wanted coffee or milk? I didn't say.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: But milk, of course. Warm.
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: I'll heat some up.
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: No, wait. Don't hurry.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: I can do that myself.
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: Later.
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: I don't mind. Molly, it's too bad that I won't
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: be here to greet Mr.
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: Cranston.
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: Why, are you going away? Yes, I must. But you'll stay,
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: won't you? Sure.
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: Of course you will.
• 19:46
  Speaker 6: What are you doing?
• 19:47
  Speaker 4: I'm going to kill you, my dear. No. I can't
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: tell you how sorry I am, but it's part of
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: my plan.
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: But why?
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: Why? Conclusive proof of the touch of death. It should
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: convince Mr. Cranston that I mean business. No. No, don't
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: let me. Please.
• 20:01
  Speaker 6: Let me live.
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: Don't run away, Molly. There's no pain in death. Please.
• 20:04
  Speaker 6: Please.
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: Please, I don't want to die.
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: Who does?
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: But it comes to all of us sooner or later. No, no, no.
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: And for you, it must come sooner. You've no place
• 20:12
  Speaker 4: to go now, Molly.
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: You're in a corner. Goodbye, my dear.
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: Poor Molly.
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: Just a line in a blueprint.
• 20:34
  Speaker 5: He's not going to open it, Lamont.
• 20:36
  Speaker 4: Then I will.
• 20:37
  Speaker 5: No, no, please don't go in there.
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: What's the matter?
• 20:39
  Speaker 5: Can't you see it's a trap, dear? He didn't answer
• 20:41
  Speaker 5: the buzzer. He left the door unlocked for you to
• 20:43
  Speaker 5: open and he's waiting somewhere in there.
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: To kill you.
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: Let's not keep him waiting. But.
• 20:46
  Speaker 4: Just a minute, Molly.
• 20:49
  Speaker 6: Why did you stop?
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: Oh. Molly.
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: Is she dead?
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: I'll know in a minute.
• 21:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah, she's dead.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: Is she?
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: Touch, I guess.
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: Maybe. No mark on it.
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: Oh, Lamont.
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: It shoots down, doesn't it?
• 21:11
  Speaker 5: Why, Molly, your sister-in-law, his own brother's wife.
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: I don't know, but I've got to find... Wait a minute,
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: look at this.
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: What? On her wrist, a tiny mark.
• 21:21
  Speaker 5: I don't see any.
• 21:22
  Speaker 4: The crease. Did you see it now?
• 21:23
  Speaker 5: Nothing that looks like a mark to me.
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: No, look closely right here.
• 21:26
  Speaker 5: No, no, but I see something.
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: Else, Lamont. What?
• 21:29
  Speaker 5: A note on that typewriter on the table.
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: Believes in messages, doesn't he? What does it say?
• 21:35
  Speaker 5: It says, one by one, the evidence mouth. You next, Mr. Cranston.
• 21:40
  Speaker 5: If the shadow isn't in your apartment before morning, don't
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: keep me waiting. Lamont knows.
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: We'll soon find out.
• 21:49
  Speaker 5: Well, what are you going to do?
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: Nothing.
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: The shadow's not going to keep Lucius waiting.
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: You play well, Lucius. Ah, Shadow.
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: A compliment from one so high. Too bad you can't
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: keep those hands from killing. Yes, you see, they're not
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: as sentimental as I am. Shadow, you impress me. Do I? Yes,
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: you're all my sister-in-law and Mr. Cranston said you are. Invisible.
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: I didn't quite believe it, you know. Being secluded in
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: the jungles of the Amazon for ten years, one loses
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: touch with... Modern science. But not with death.
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: Hey, Lucius. Listen.
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: This is a native death chant that I've written into
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: a symphony. Why did you kill those three girls? There
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: was no other way to meet you.
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: And Macabre?
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: And your sister-in-law? Ah, then Mr. Cranston has told you everything?
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: The shadow doesn't have to be told. The shadow knows.
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: The shadow and Mr. Cranston? Where does one begin and
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: the other end? I wonder. I can tell you what
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: your end will be, Lucius. Mere assumption. Sit down, my friend.
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: Make yourself visible. We can talk more affably. Perhaps even
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: reach an understanding. Shadow doesn't sit with murderers. Well, then
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: perhaps Mr. Cranston will sit down with me. Mr. Cranston?
• 23:53
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: You see, I know who you are. I suspected it
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: from the beginning, but I needed the proof to convince myself.
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: You're bluffing, Lucius. Am I? Well, look at the marks
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: that your shoes are leaving on the rug. Huh? With
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: each step, you leave the mark of Lamont Cranston... Am
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: I bluffing now? It won't help you, Lucius. Oh, Shadow,
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: you're not as clever as I thought you might be.
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: I outsmarted you.
• 24:19
  Speaker 3: I phoned Lamont Cranston to come to my apartment. And
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: then I killed Molly. That was a trap that I
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: had set for you. And you walked right into it.
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: Into the paraffin that I had smeared around Molly's body.
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: And now the Shadow has brought it here. What am
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: I to think?
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: Well, what about it?
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: Well, that's a sensible question. Your power to make yourself invisible.
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: My power to kill with a touch. Combine them, and
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: we can have anything we want.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: I see.
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: As equal partners?
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: Of course. Oh, no.
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: I want more.
• 24:51
  Speaker 4: Oh, greedy, aren't you?
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: Very well, how much? I want everything. What?
• 24:57
  Speaker 4: Are you serious?
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: When I bargain with murderers, I have no sense of humor, Lucius.
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: Get on that phone.
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: Call the police. Tell them everything you did today. But
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: if I should also tell them who the shadow is.
• 25:11
  Speaker 4: Go ahead.
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: Every newspaper in the city will carry the story. What
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: do you suppose the underworld would do to Lamont Cranston then?
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: He'll take his chances with the underworld, Lucius.
• 25:20
  Speaker 4: The phone?
• 25:22
  Speaker 3: Well, I'm afraid you give me no alternative. I'll have
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: to kill you. Don't try to get away. I know
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: exactly where you are. Your shoe prints tell me. You're...
• 25:34
  Speaker 3: You're behind the table. Where, Lucius?
• 25:39
  Speaker 4: Well, you're... you're... you're still behind the table.
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: Am I? You must be.
• 25:47
  Speaker 4: I'll find you.
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: I'll find you that paraffin on your shoes.
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: And when I do.
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: What will you do, Lucius? My arm. My arm. Why
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: don't you touch me? I'm right here behind you holding
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: your wrist. Why don't you kill me?
• 25:59
  Speaker 4: I can't stand it. Let me go.
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: Didn't you know that paraffin could be wiped off? You
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: didn't think of that, did you? Shadow, please, I won't
• 26:08
  Speaker 3: betray you.
• 26:08
  Speaker 6: Let me go.
• 26:08
  Speaker 3: In a moment. First, I'll rip off this glove. Now
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: I've got your touch of death. Oh, you almost broke
• 26:16
  Speaker 3: my arm. Very ingenious to find a glove that fits
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: over the hand and looks exactly like a human hand.
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: And under each nail, a fine needle with poison on it.
• 26:25
  Speaker 3: The case against you is complete, Lucius.
• 26:27
  Speaker 4: Is it?
• 26:28
  Speaker 3: Oh, no, Shadow, because I still have the other glove.
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: Stop it, Lucius. Not now, Shadow.
• 26:32
  Speaker 4: Stop it.
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: Ah!
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: So, Lucius, the last victim of the touch of death.
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: Too bad you didn't think of your own death before
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: you killed others. Well, good night, darling. Better get home
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: and get some of that sleep that's long overdue me.
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: Now, wait just one minute.
• 27:01
  Speaker 5: I'm still nervous about how close the shadow came to
• 27:03
  Speaker 5: being revealed. You know that your life wouldn't have been
• 27:05
  Speaker 5: worth a pincushion?
• 27:07
  Speaker 4: I know, darling. It was the closest call the shadow
• 27:08
  Speaker 4: ever had.
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: Yes, but there's one thing I don't understand.
• 27:10
  Speaker 4: Hmm?
• 27:11
  Speaker 5: How could the coroner have said that McCab died of
• 27:13
  Speaker 5: heart failure when actually he was poisoned?
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: Well, Margo, there are some poisons that are so deadly
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: and so mysterious their presence in the blood can't be detected.
• 27:20
  Speaker 3: Natives of the Amazon jungles produce such a poison.
• 27:22
  Speaker 4: Oh, I see. I'm glad you can because I can.
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: Probably.
• 27:26
  Speaker 4: What do you mean?
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: Darling, I'm so sleepy that you and the street all
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: around you are almost invisible. Oh.
• 27:44
  Speaker 6: Millions of people are still buying bonds through the payroll
• 27:47
  Speaker 6: savings plan. The payroll savings plan is being continued by
• 27:51
  Speaker 6: your government at the request of both labor and management.
• 27:55
  Speaker 6: Here is the easy way to save, to provide that
• 27:58
  Speaker 6: substantial nest egg for the future, and to make money
• 28:01
  Speaker 6: at the same time.
• 28:02
  Speaker 4: For U.S.
• 28:03
  Speaker 6: Savings bonds, pay $ 4 at maturity 10 years from now
• 28:07
  Speaker 6: for every $ 3 invested today. Enroll on the payroll savings
• 28:12
  Speaker 6: plan and start saving so that you can own your
• 28:14
  Speaker 6: own home or provide a college education for your children
• 28:17
  Speaker 6: or have the means to go into business someday. And
• 28:20
  Speaker 6: if you don't work in a plant where the payroll
• 28:22
  Speaker 6: savings plan is in effect, make it a weekly habit
• 28:25
  Speaker 6: to visit your bank or post office. You can always
• 28:28
  Speaker 6: buy U.S. savings bonds at either place. Buy them and
• 28:32
  Speaker 6: hold them for your own future. And now The Shadow again.
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: The Shadow program is based on a story copyrighted by
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: Street and Smith Publications. The characters, names, places, and plot
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: are fictitious. Any similarity to persons living or dead is
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: purely coincidental. Again next week, The Shadow will demonstrate that
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: the weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay.
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: The Shadow now.
• 29:01
  Speaker 6: Is Next week, same time, same station, Mutual Don Lee
• 29:15
  Speaker 6: will bring you another strange and thrilling adventure in the shadows,
• 29:19
  Speaker 6: daring battle against the forces of evil.
• 29:21
  Speaker 4: Be sure to listen.
• 29:26
  Speaker 6: This program was transcribed earlier from Mutual's Eastern Network for
• 29:30
  Speaker 6: presentation to our West Coast listeners. This is the Mutual
• 29:36
  Speaker 6: Don Lee Broadcasting System.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: Our visit with the shadow and the touch of death
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: comes to a close. Follow the shadow for more classic broadcasts.