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Suspense - "The Moonstone - Part One" (Old Time Radio, 1953) · Suspense | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: On November 1st, 1953, Suspense presented Episode 6, The Moonstone,
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Part 1. Adapted for radio by Richard Chandley from Wilkie
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Collins' novel, It Takes Us to England in 1848, where
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Franklin Blake returns from Italy to fulfill the will of
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: his estranged uncle, Colonel John Herncastle. His charge is a
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: remarkable yellow diamond intended for Rachel Verinder's birthday at her
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: family's Yorkshire home. But stories of the jewel's Indian origins
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: and the arrival of strangers leave Franklin watchful. Peter Lawford
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: stars as Franklin Blake, with Ellen Morgan as Rachel Verinder
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: in this first half of a two-part suspense adaptation produced
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: and directed by Elliot Lewis. And now, our story begins.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Autolite and its 98,000 dealers bring you Mr. Peter Lawford
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: in tonight's presentation of Suspense.
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: Tonight, Autolite presents part one of the first detective novel
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: ever written. A tale considered by many to be the
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: greatest ever written. Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone. Our star, Mr.
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: Peter Lawford.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Last call. Last call. Last call for what, Harlow? Why,
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: last call for that winter car check, Hap. Not much
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: more time to get the oil and grease changed, put
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: in antifreeze.
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: And check those important spark.
• 1:41
  Speaker 5: Plugs, too.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: You said it, Johnny Plug Check. The spark plugs are
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: the very heart of a car's ignition system. They've got
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: to be right for quick cold weather starts. So have
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: them checked by your nearest Autolite spark plug dealer. He's
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: an expert on cleaning and adjustment.
• 1:55
  Speaker 6: But suppose those spark plugs are worn out, Harlow.
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: Why then, Hap, your Autolite spark plug dealer will heartily
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: and happily suggest a set of world-famous Autolite spark plugs.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: like the amazing double-life resistor spark plug.
• 2:08
  Speaker 5: So get those spark plugs checked tomorrow, and you'll avoid
• 2:12
  Speaker 5: cold-weather sorrow.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: And do it at your Autolite spark plug dealer. To
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: quickly locate him, phone Western Union by number and ask
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: for Operator 25. And remember, from bumper to tail light,
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: you're always right with Autolite. And now, Autolite presents part
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: one of Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, starring Mr. Peter Lawford,
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: hoping once again to keep you in suspense.
• 2:55
  Speaker 5: Look, my lord. There's the house.
• 2:57
  Speaker 7: Silence, boy. My eyes behold. Have you chosen the place,
• 3:01
  Speaker 7: my brother?
• 3:02
  Speaker 8: Beneath these trees, my brother. Are we observed?
• 3:07
  Speaker 7: No. Begin it. Boy, look to my eyes.
• 3:13
  Speaker 5: Please, not again. Please don't leave me.
• 3:16
  Speaker 7: Look to my eyes.
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: Yes, my lord.
• 3:23
  Speaker 8: In the name of the regent of the night, lord
• 3:26
  Speaker 8: of the world, whose arms embrace the four corners of earth.
• 3:32
  Speaker 9: Your servants, oh lord, dedicated to end the vile sacrilege
• 3:37
  Speaker 9: of unbelievers. Dedicated to restore what is rightfully yours. Use
• 3:44
  Speaker 9: this body we offer you. Give us the power of
• 3:50
  Speaker 9: your sight. See the Englishman who has returned from foreign parts.
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: I see him.
• 4:04
  Speaker 7: Is it to this house and no other he will
• 4:07
  Speaker 7: travel today?
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: To this house and no other.
• 4:12
  Speaker 7: And he brings it with him?
• 4:17
  Speaker 5: Yes, he brings it.
• 4:20
  Speaker 7: And as the sun sets... He will enter the house.
• 4:26
  Speaker 6: I can't see.
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: See?
• 4:28
  Speaker 7: Tell us.
• 4:29
  Speaker 10: I can't.
• 4:31
  Speaker 5: The illness rises in my head.
• 4:35
  Speaker 7: I can't see. This is enough, my brother. He will come.
• 4:42
  Speaker 7: And he will bring the moonstone.
• 4:57
  Speaker 11: It was in May of 1848 that I received news
• 5:00
  Speaker 11: of the death of my uncle, Colonel John Herncastle. The
• 5:04
  Speaker 11: letter caught up to me in Italy with instructions that
• 5:06
  Speaker 11: I return to England and perform my duties as executor
• 5:09
  Speaker 11: of my uncle's will.
• 5:11
  Speaker 6: Not having seen my uncle since childhood, I felt neither.
• 5:15
  Speaker 11: One way or the other about his death. But I
• 5:18
  Speaker 11: remembered the story... A black sheep with a strong dash
• 5:22
  Speaker 11: of savage. He had fought in India and come home
• 5:25
  Speaker 11: with a vile reputation which had closed the doors of
• 5:28
  Speaker 11: all his relations against him. His sister, Lady Julia Verinda,
• 5:32
  Speaker 11: had taken the lead in this respect. Colonel John never.
• 5:36
  Speaker 6: Set foot in her great Yorkshire house.
• 5:40
  Speaker 11: Naturally, this all went through my mind as I entered
• 5:42
  Speaker 11: the office of our family lawyer, Mr.
• 5:45
  Speaker 6: Matthew Brown.
• 5:47
  Speaker 7: Well, very well, Mr. Franklin Blake. You're looking fit.
• 5:51
  Speaker 6: Quite fit. Thank you, sir. You're looking well yourself.
• 5:53
  Speaker 7: Let's see now. How many years has it been?
• 5:56
  Speaker 6: Oh, five at least, sir.
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: Five. My, my, my.
• 5:59
  Speaker 7: How fine fly. Yes, sir. Now, this letter of Colonel
• 6:03
  Speaker 7: Hearncastle's with. You're acquainted with your duties?
• 6:06
  Speaker 6: Yes, sir.
• 6:07
  Speaker 11: I've signed papers. And there's a birthday gift left to
• 6:10
  Speaker 11: my cousin, Rachel Brimber. I'm to take it to her.
• 6:13
  Speaker 7: Very good, sir. Now to work. First clause provides for
• 6:16
  Speaker 7: support and safekeeping for his animals. Cats and dogs and
• 6:20
  Speaker 7: horses he seemed to prefer to human company. This paper
• 6:24
  Speaker 7: covers that. You sign here.
• 6:26
  Speaker 6: All right, sir.
• 6:27
  Speaker 7: Second clause directs his fortune to be used wholly for
• 6:30
  Speaker 7: the establishment of a professorship of chemistry at Cameron University.
• 6:34
  Speaker 7: Rumors were the colonel was addicted to opium. I suppose
• 6:39
  Speaker 7: that explains the chemistry. Sign here. Yes, I've heard he
• 6:44
  Speaker 7: took drugs. The third clause you might as well read yourself.
• 6:48
  Speaker 7: Read from here. Right.
• 6:52
  Speaker 11: Thirdly and lastly, I give him bequeath to my niece,
• 6:54
  Speaker 11: Rachel Verinder, only child of my sister, Lady.
• 6:57
  Speaker 6: Julia Verinder, a yellow diamond belonging to me and known
• 7:04
  Speaker 6: in the East as the Moonstone. Mr. Brough, a diamond?
• 7:10
  Speaker 7: Oh, yes, there's a diamond all right. Read on.
• 7:15
  Speaker 11: That said diamond should be given to my niece, Rachel,
• 7:17
  Speaker 11: on her first birthday after my death, subject to the
• 7:20
  Speaker 11: condition that her mother, Lady Verinda, be living at the time,
• 7:23
  Speaker 11: and that my.
• 7:24
  Speaker 6: Diamond be given into the hands of my niece, by my.
• 7:27
  Speaker 11: Nephew, Franklin Blake, in the presence of my sister, the
• 7:30
  Speaker 11: said Julia Verinda. This I do in free forgiveness of
• 7:34
  Speaker 11: my sister's conduct in closing her doors to me, and
• 7:37
  Speaker 11: publicly injuring my reputation as an officer and a gentleman.
• 7:40
  Speaker 6: During my lifetime.
• 7:41
  Speaker 7: And the most generous forgiveness, it turns out to be.
• 7:45
  Speaker 6: The wicked Colonel's diamond. Do you have it here?
• 7:47
  Speaker 7: No, no, no. The bank. Been in the bank vault
• 7:50
  Speaker 7: for years. At one time, the Colonel hinted of a
• 7:53
  Speaker 7: conspiracy against him, claimed the stone was some sort of
• 7:56
  Speaker 7: sacred Indian jewel, I guess. part of a four-handed moon god,
• 8:01
  Speaker 7: which to any serious person sounds like drug addiction.
• 8:05
  Speaker 11: Is this Moonstown really worth it?
• 8:07
  Speaker 7: We've had three appraisals. Of course, quite a stir of
• 8:10
  Speaker 7: size and color. There's a flaw. But the least value
• 8:13
  Speaker 7: put on the stone is 30,000 pounds. 30,000? Well, the
• 8:18
  Speaker 7: old dog.
• 8:18
  Speaker 12: There was also a paper instructing that if he died mysteriously,
• 8:24
  Speaker 12: which he did not, The jewel was to be sent
• 8:27
  Speaker 12: secretly to a diamond cutter in Amsterdam and cut up.
• 8:30
  Speaker 7: Into several smaller stones. That way he thought to destroy
• 8:34
  Speaker 7: its identity. Strange.
• 8:36
  Speaker 6: The Colonel knew its worth.
• 8:38
  Speaker 7: Why? Nothing strange, sir, when it comes to drugs. When
• 8:42
  Speaker 7: will you be leaving for Yorkshire, Mr.
• 8:44
  Speaker 9: Blake?
• 8:45
  Speaker 6: Tomorrow afternoon. Lady Julia's inviting me down to stay for
• 8:48
  Speaker 6: two weeks before the birthday.
• 8:50
  Speaker 7: You'll carry 30,000 pounds. Take care, my boy. I shall, Mr.
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: Browning.
• 8:55
  Speaker 6: You know, somehow I wish that I'd seen more of
• 8:58
  Speaker 6: the Count.
• 8:58
  Speaker 7: Heaven knows. God bless his soul. But he was truly
• 9:03
  Speaker 7: a wretched man. Goodbye, Mr. Blake. My regards to Lady
• 9:07
  Speaker 7: Belinda and Miss Rachel.
• 9:16
  Speaker 11: Only the next morning, I went to the bank, presented
• 9:19
  Speaker 11: my authorization, and was led to the stronghold.
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  Speaker 6: I unlocked the family vault... I saw a little wooden box.
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  Speaker 6: I slid open the cover and nestled in cotton with
• 9:31
  Speaker 6: the stone.
• 9:34
  Speaker 11: Even in that dim light, there streamed a burst like
• 9:36
  Speaker 11: the harvest moon. It drew my eyes into a yellow
• 9:40
  Speaker 11: deep as unfathomable as the heavens themselves. A strange, eerie
• 9:46
  Speaker 11: feeling began to grip me.
• 9:49
  Speaker 6: Almost hypnotic. I had to force myself to close the lid. Ah!
• 9:55
  Speaker 11: I put the box carefully in an inside pocket, left
• 9:57
  Speaker 11: the bank, and plunged into the street crowd, reaching the
• 9:59
  Speaker 11: station just in time. Towards noon, I arrived at the
• 10:20
  Speaker 11: quiet country town of Frizzingle, feeling almost my natural self.
• 10:24
  Speaker 11: For two weeks, the Moonstone was going to be my responsibility,
• 10:28
  Speaker 11: and I prudently decided to place it in the local bank.
• 10:33
  Speaker 11: I then hired a carriage and was driven out to
• 10:35
  Speaker 11: the great Verinder House, sitting high on the Yorkshire coast
• 10:37
  Speaker 11: near the sea.
• 10:40
  Speaker 6: The place had practically.
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  Speaker 11: Been a second home in my youth, and I felt
• 10:44
  Speaker 11: a warm, comfortable sense of return.
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: Mr.
• 10:48
  Speaker 7: Franklin, sir.
• 10:50
  Speaker 5: Won't you come in, please? My lady and Miss Rachel
• 10:53
  Speaker 5: are out, sir. We weren't expecting you till this evening.
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  Speaker 6: I had a sudden change in plans. I hope it's
• 10:57
  Speaker 6: no bother.
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: Oh, no bother, sir.
• 11:00
  Speaker 5: Only my father, he was so looking forward to meeting
• 11:02
  Speaker 5: you at the station.
• 11:04
  Speaker 6: Your father?
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: Betridge, sir.
• 11:06
  Speaker 5: The family steward.
• 11:07
  Speaker 6: Oh, good old Betridge, of course. So you're his daughter. Well,
• 11:12
  Speaker 6: you were just a bet... Where is he?
• 11:14
  Speaker 5: Down the beach walk, sir. The place they call Shivering Sand.
• 11:18
  Speaker 5: He went to fetch one of the mace's lunch.
• 11:20
  Speaker 6: That ugly place? I'll surprise him. Mr.
• 11:24
  Speaker 7: Franklin.
• 11:25
  Speaker 5: Pardon, sir, but do you know any traveling jugglers?
• 11:29
  Speaker 6: What?
• 11:30
  Speaker 5: Indian jugglers, sir. They came to the house to show
• 11:33
  Speaker 5: us their tricks. I overheard them talking about a gentleman
• 11:36
  Speaker 5: from foreign parts coming here. And you're just back from
• 11:38
  Speaker 5: the continent. His father drove them off because he thought
• 11:41
  Speaker 5: they had snakes.
• 11:43
  Speaker 6: No. No, I don't know any jugglers.
• 11:46
  Speaker 12: Excuse me, sir.
• 11:48
  Speaker 5: Father said it was silly.
• 12:00
  Speaker 11: The beach walk led to one of the ugliest little
• 12:02
  Speaker 11: bays on the Yorkshire coast.
• 12:04
  Speaker 6: It was quicksand.
• 12:06
  Speaker 11: At the turn of the tide, the whole face shivered
• 12:09
  Speaker 11: and trembled in a most gruesome manner. Rounding the dunes,
• 12:13
  Speaker 11: I saw two figures watching the tide. A woman and
• 12:17
  Speaker 11: the plump, friendly form of old Betridge.
• 12:20
  Speaker 6: Why do you visit this horrid place?
• 12:23
  Speaker 5: I'm drawn to it, Mr.
• 12:24
  Speaker 7: Betridge.
• 12:25
  Speaker 5: Something draws me.
• 12:28
  Speaker 7: Sand.
• 12:29
  Speaker 5: The rain shivers.
• 12:31
  Speaker 6: Betridge! What?
• 12:33
  Speaker 8: Who is it?
• 12:34
  Speaker 6: Don't you recognize me? My lord, this is Mr. Franklin.
• 12:39
  Speaker 6: How are you, Betridge? Oh, fine boy, all grown to
• 12:42
  Speaker 6: a man. Rosanna, this is our Mr.
• 12:45
  Speaker 7: Franklin.
• 12:46
  Speaker 5: Yes, I know Mr.
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: Franklin.
• 12:48
  Speaker 6: You know me?
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: From your pictures in the house.
• 12:52
  Speaker 7: Excuse me. Please excuse me.
• 12:56
  Speaker 13: Well, that's an odd girl. Rosanna's our newest maid, sir.
• 12:59
  Speaker 13: She's a bit strange.
• 13:00
  Speaker 7: Mark it down for them. I must say, you're looking
• 13:03
  Speaker 7: the faint, sir.
• 13:05
  Speaker 6: Thank you. Tell me something, Betridge.
• 13:08
  Speaker 7: Anything, sir.
• 13:09
  Speaker 6: What?
• 13:11
  Speaker 11: About the Indian jugglers we have. I met your daughter... Edgar,
• 13:15
  Speaker 11: if Penelope's bothered you, sir, I'll.
• 13:17
  Speaker 6: No, no, not at all. Just tell me, what did
• 13:21
  Speaker 6: they do? Nothing, sir.
• 13:22
  Speaker 7: You know how women are.
• 13:24
  Speaker 13: She was down by our front trees and heard some
• 13:27
  Speaker 13: of their rigmarole. Asking a boy they had about a
• 13:31
  Speaker 13: gentleman from foreign parts and did he have it about him.
• 13:35
  Speaker 7: That's all, sir. I see. Something wrong, sir?
• 13:40
  Speaker 14: No.
• 13:41
  Speaker 6: No, not really, I'm sure. Come along. Perhaps it was silly.
• 13:54
  Speaker 6: A conjure trick.
• 13:56
  Speaker 11: But I felt rather clever for having put the diamond
• 13:58
  Speaker 11: back in a bank. Still, it had to be coincidence.
• 14:02
  Speaker 11: Reaching the house, I resolved to keep my imaginings to myself...
• 14:06
  Speaker 11: Lady Julia and Rachel weren't expected home till sundown, so
• 14:09
  Speaker 11: I went to my room to unpack. I lay down
• 14:12
  Speaker 11: on the bed to rest, and I must have dozed off.
• 14:16
  Speaker 11: When I opened my eyes, it was dark. Who's there?
• 14:22
  Speaker 5: It's me, sir.
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: Rosanna.
• 14:25
  Speaker 6: What are you doing?
• 14:26
  Speaker 5: Just coming to wake you, sir.
• 14:28
  Speaker 7: It's near dinner.
• 14:30
  Speaker 6: Good Lord, and I haven't even unpacked.
• 14:31
  Speaker 5: I did it while you slept, sir.
• 14:34
  Speaker 6: It's the dinner bell.
• 14:35
  Speaker 11: Blast.
• 14:35
  Speaker 6: I haven't got time to change. How do I look?
• 14:38
  Speaker 5: Oh, ever so elegant, Mr.
• 14:40
  Speaker 6: Franklin. Thank you, Rosanna.
• 14:48
  Speaker 10: Franklin?
• 14:49
  Speaker 6: Yes, Lady Julia.
• 14:51
  Speaker 10: Franklin, dear boy, so good to have you back.
• 14:54
  Speaker 6: Oh, it's good to be back, Lady Julia. You look
• 14:56
  Speaker 6: exactly the same.
• 14:57
  Speaker 10: Oh, you're kind, Franklin. But you, I don't think I'd
• 15:01
  Speaker 10: have recognized you.
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: I would.
• 15:03
  Speaker 4: I would have recognized you, President Franklin.
• 15:05
  Speaker 10: Rachel, dear.
• 15:07
  Speaker 6: This is Rachel.
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: This is Rachel. The little girl whose hair you so
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: delighted in pulling and put frogs down her back.
• 15:14
  Speaker 6: And got kicked in the shins for it. I can't
• 15:17
  Speaker 6: believe it.
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: That you did those things? Why, President Franklin.
• 15:20
  Speaker 6: Well, no, I mean you....
• 15:23
  Speaker 7: Well, you're beautiful.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: Really, sir?
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: Thank you, sir.
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: And you've grown handsome. Now we're even.
• 15:30
  Speaker 10: Rachel, now come to dinner, you two. Franklin, you must
• 15:34
  Speaker 10: tell us all about the continent.
• 15:40
  Speaker 6: And there it began.
• 15:42
  Speaker 11: Rachel was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen.
• 15:46
  Speaker 10: I couldn't take my eyes off her.
• 15:49
  Speaker 11: In the days that followed, I found myself trying to
• 15:51
  Speaker 11: spend every waking moment with her.
• 15:54
  Speaker 6: Recalling our days as children. Walking, riding... I even thought
• 16:00
  Speaker 6: of bird watching. By the second week, I was very
• 16:06
  Speaker 6: deeply in love.
• 16:08
  Speaker 7: Franklin!
• 16:09
  Speaker 6: Where are you?
• 16:10
  Speaker 4: In here, my sitting room.
• 16:12
  Speaker 6: What on earth is.
• 16:13
  Speaker 4: I'm painting. This door needed doing, so I'm doing it.
• 16:17
  Speaker 6: I know, but cupids and birds... There, all done.
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: Now don't smudge it, it's wet. This one's supposed to
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: be you. What do you think?
• 16:27
  Speaker 6: Well, it's not quite my nose. Who's this fancy one here?
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: Oh, that's Godfrey Abelwhite. Cousin Godfrey. Don't you remember him?
• 16:36
  Speaker 6: Dashing Godfrey. Oh, yes. The ladies' man. Works with women's
• 16:40
  Speaker 6: committees or something, doesn't he?
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: He'll be here for the party tonight. All the Abelwhites.
• 16:45
  Speaker 6: Party?
• 16:46
  Speaker 4: Franklin, today's my birthday.
• 16:49
  Speaker 6: Oh, good Lord, Rachel.
• 16:51
  Speaker 7: Stupid.
• 16:53
  Speaker 6: Happy birthday.
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: Thank you, sir. I'm dying to know what it is. What?
• 16:59
  Speaker 4: The black sheep colonel's gift. Mother said it wouldn't be
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: anything nice. Well, you did bring it.
• 17:05
  Speaker 6: Yes, yes. Rachel, what time is it?
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: Almost four.
• 17:09
  Speaker 6: I've got to do something. There's just time.
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: Oh.
• 17:17
  Speaker 11: Not having mind for anything but Rachel, I'd even forgotten
• 17:19
  Speaker 11: the day. I rode full speed to Frinzingal, took the
• 17:22
  Speaker 11: diamond from the bank and returned all dust and lather.
• 17:25
  Speaker 11: I bathed, hopped into my party clothes and made it
• 17:27
  Speaker 11: downstairs just as the first guest arrived.
• 17:32
  Speaker 6: The able-winers. Mr. and Mrs., twin daughters, and ladies' committee man, Godfrey.
• 17:39
  Speaker 4: Cousin Franklin, lovely to see you. Oh, pardon me, cousin,
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: there's Rachel.
• 17:44
  Speaker 6: Lovely to see you.
• 17:46
  Speaker 11: He went to Rachel and very neatly monopolized her attentions.
• 17:50
  Speaker 11: The rest of the guests arrived, and then, thank heaven,
• 17:53
  Speaker 11: it was time to open the presents.
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: From the late Colonel Herncastle. A box.
• 17:57
  Speaker 10: No, Rachel, not that first.
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: Oh, don't be silly, Mother, it won't bite.
• 18:01
  Speaker 6: Oh!
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: Oh, my, look. Just look.
• 18:08
  Speaker 6: Exquisite.
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: Simply exquisite. Mother, look at it. No.
• 18:13
  Speaker 6: Put it down, Rachel. It means no good. I looked
• 18:18
  Speaker 6: at Lady Julia.
• 18:19
  Speaker 11: Her eyes, set in an ash-white face, were riveted on
• 18:22
  Speaker 11: the diamond. She quickly recovered her composure, but underneath I
• 18:26
  Speaker 11: saw the same uneasiness I, too, had felt when I
• 18:29
  Speaker 11: first saw the moonstones. Then I knew why the Colonel's
• 18:34
  Speaker 11: gesture of forgiveness had left the diamond to Rachel.
• 18:38
  Speaker 6: She was fascinated. But Lady Julia was repelled. She could
• 18:43
  Speaker 6: have thrown it as far as she could.
• 18:45
  Speaker 7: Oh, look, everyone.
• 18:47
  Speaker 6: Out on the terrace. The whole party turned. Standing on
• 18:54
  Speaker 6: the terrace were two Indian jugglers. And a boy.
• 19:14
  Speaker 7: Autolite is bringing you Mr.
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: Peter Lawford in Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, tonight's presentation in
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
• 19:24
  Speaker 6: Suspense. Say, Harlow, who is this Johnny Plugcheck, anyway?
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: Well, you might call him the motorist's conscience, Hap. He's
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: here to remind us to beat winter by having the
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: oil and grease changed, putting in antifreeze... And the most
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: important thing to do is.
• 19:49
  Speaker 5: check those spark plugs, too.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: You sure should. The spark plugs are the heart of
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: a car's ignition system. When they're right, your chances of
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: starting every time are better than ever. So have your
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: spark plugs checked. If replacements are needed, your auto light
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: spark plug dealer will recommend auto light spark plugs, like
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: the double life resistor spark plug that gives you smoother performance.
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: And the resistor spark plug is only one of a
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: complete line of auto light spark plugs, ignition engineered for
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: every use. So before winter hits hard... Check.
• 20:22
  Speaker 5: Those important spark plugs. Don't delay. You should have done
• 20:27
  Speaker 5: it yesterday.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: Just see your Autolite spark plug dealer because from bumper
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: to tail light, you're always right with Autolite.
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: And now, Autolite brings back to our Hollywood soundstage Mr.
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: Peter Lauper in Elliot Lewis's production of Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone.
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
• 21:06
  Speaker 6: As if from nowhere, the Indians appeared on the terrace.
• 21:09
  Speaker 6: The party streamed out to watch them.
• 21:12
  Speaker 11: They were doing some ridiculously simple tricks and not doing
• 21:15
  Speaker 11: them too well.
• 21:16
  Speaker 6: Rachel was standing quite near them. I went to her quickly.
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: Where on earth did they come from?
• 21:22
  Speaker 6: Rachel, where's the diamond?
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: Right here in my hand, see?
• 21:24
  Speaker 6: Don't hold it up like that. Well, they've stopped. Is
• 21:28
  Speaker 6: that all? All right, you fellows. Here's money. Now be
• 21:32
  Speaker 6: off with you. Thank you, sir.
• 21:34
  Speaker 7: Minnie, thanks, though.
• 21:35
  Speaker 6: Really, there wasn't very much to it, was there?
• 21:40
  Speaker 11: They picked up the money, not at all eagerly, and
• 21:42
  Speaker 11: went off down the drive. There was only one thing
• 21:45
  Speaker 11: to draw from it. What the Colonel believed of.
• 21:48
  Speaker 6: The Moonstone was true. It was not forgiveness, but his vengeance.
• 21:54
  Speaker 6: And I had been the instrument to put it in
• 21:56
  Speaker 6: Rachel's hands.
• 22:03
  Speaker 11: The dinner was quite gay, except for Lady Julia, who
• 22:05
  Speaker 11: seemed very solemn, and myself. The talk turned around the diamond,
• 22:10
  Speaker 11: Cousin Godfrey leading the abominable joke.
• 22:15
  Speaker 7: After all, it's only carbon, you know, just carbon.
• 22:19
  Speaker 15: We should heat it over a fire, Miss Rachel, expose
• 22:23
  Speaker 15: it to a current of air, and poof! No more
• 22:26
  Speaker 15: anxiety about its safekeeping. Not funny, Mr.
• 22:33
  Speaker 6: Blake? No, Dr. Candy, it didn't strike me.
• 22:36
  Speaker 15: I suspect you haven't been sleeping well.
• 22:40
  Speaker 6: You should let me give you a course in medicine.
• 22:43
  Speaker 6: In my opinion, Dr.
• 22:44
  Speaker 11: Candy, your course in medicine and groping in the dark
• 22:46
  Speaker 11: are one and the same thing.
• 22:47
  Speaker 6: Ah, but you're groping for sleep, sir. I could help.
• 22:53
  Speaker 6: I've heard of the blind aiding the blind, doctor. Now
• 22:56
  Speaker 6: I know what it means.
• 22:57
  Speaker 7: Oh, no, really, sir.
• 22:58
  Speaker 6: If I may say. Ladies, please.
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: Shall we continue in the drawing room?
• 23:03
  Speaker 10: Betty, brandy and soda for the gentlemen.
• 23:16
  Speaker 6: We adjourn to the first note of the seasonal rainstorm.
• 23:20
  Speaker 11: I hoped to reach Rachel, but Cousin Godfrey made his
• 23:22
  Speaker 11: move quicker and was already swarming over this child. He
• 23:26
  Speaker 11: was staying the night, and since I felt a great
• 23:29
  Speaker 11: urge to kick him, I prudently kept to myself.
• 23:32
  Speaker 6: The approaching storm prodded the guests home early before the
• 23:35
  Speaker 6: roads turned to mud.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: Dr.
• 23:37
  Speaker 6: Candy was the last to leave. Yes, storms the least
• 23:41
  Speaker 6: of my worries. A doctor's skin is water from furrow. Well,
• 23:46
  Speaker 6: good night, Mr.
• 23:47
  Speaker 7: Blake.
• 23:47
  Speaker 6: Good night, Doctor.
• 23:49
  Speaker 15: If you're troubled sleeping tonight, try a brandy and soda.
• 23:53
  Speaker 6: Good night.
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: Good night. Well, that's that. I think I'll bid you
• 23:59
  Speaker 4: all good night myself.
• 24:01
  Speaker 6: No, not yet, Rachel. Oh, no, not yet.
• 24:03
  Speaker 10: Rachel, where are you going to keep the diamond?
• 24:05
  Speaker 4: The cabinet in my sitting room. My dear, but it
• 24:07
  Speaker 4: has no lock on it. Mother, is this a hotel?
• 24:10
  Speaker 4: We've no thieves.
• 24:11
  Speaker 10: I want you to come to my room, Rachel, first
• 24:13
  Speaker 10: thing in the morning.
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: Yes, mother. Good night, Godfrey.
• 24:16
  Speaker 6: Good night, cousin Rachel. See you early. Rachel, may I
• 24:20
  Speaker 6: see you up?
• 24:21
  Speaker 4: Please do, Franklin.
• 24:24
  Speaker 6: What were you and Godfrey... Talking about?
• 24:26
  Speaker 4: He proposed to me.
• 24:29
  Speaker 6: You're not going to. I love you, Rachel.
• 24:34
  Speaker 4: A little more time, Franklin, please.
• 24:37
  Speaker 6: The diamond, I've got to tell you.
• 24:38
  Speaker 4: I'll put it right in my cabinet. Good night.
• 24:50
  Speaker 6: Everything all right, sir? Yes, thank you, Betridge. There's a
• 24:54
  Speaker 6: brandy and soda nightcap at your bedside, sir. Good night.
• 24:58
  Speaker 4: Good night. Mr.
• 25:25
  Speaker 6: Franklin.
• 25:25
  Speaker 7: Mr.
• 25:25
  Speaker 6: Franklin, wake up, sir. Please wake up. What? Betches, morning already?
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 25:32
  Speaker 6: Something terrible's happened, sir. Rachel. She's all right. The diamond,
• 25:37
  Speaker 6: it's gone. Get my robe. Thanks. Come on. How did
• 25:43
  Speaker 6: they break in, Betches? Who, sir? Those blasted jugglers, of course.
• 25:45
  Speaker 6: I've been all over the house, sir. It's still locked
• 25:48
  Speaker 6: up tight. Don't worry, cousin. Please don't be thankful.
• 25:51
  Speaker 4: Rachel, don't talk. No, I don't want to talk. I won't.
• 25:55
  Speaker 6: Lady Julia, how is Rachel? Is she... How ill? She's upset, Captain.
• 26:00
  Speaker 10: You won't talk about it, Franklin, even to me.
• 26:03
  Speaker 6: I'll go for the police. Betridge, saddle a horse, the
• 26:05
  Speaker 6: fastest you've got.
• 26:10
  Speaker 11: I dashed to my room, dressed quickly, and got outside
• 26:12
  Speaker 11: just as Betridge arrived with a horse. I rode full gallop,
• 26:15
  Speaker 11: furious with myself for not having spoken up about the Indians.
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: I was only.
• 26:19
  Speaker 6: Thankful they hadn't touched Rachel. Reaching the police at Frinsingham,
• 26:22
  Speaker 6: I rushed in. and received the shock of my life.
• 26:33
  Speaker 7: Are those your jugglers, Mr.
• 26:35
  Speaker 14: Blake?
• 26:35
  Speaker 7: Sure.
• 26:37
  Speaker 6: Yes. Yes, those are the ones, all right.
• 26:40
  Speaker 4: Ah.
• 26:41
  Speaker 7: There was a.
• 26:42
  Speaker 6: Fuss at the tavern.
• 26:43
  Speaker 14: The three of them, according to the record, have been
• 26:46
  Speaker 14: here in jail since 11 last night. From what you
• 26:49
  Speaker 14: tell me, this Moonstone was still in the owner's possession
• 26:53
  Speaker 14: at 11. These men couldn't have taken it.
• 26:58
  Speaker 6: I saw the record with my own eyes. It was impossible.
• 27:04
  Speaker 6: If not the Indians, who?
• 27:07
  Speaker 11: Almost a year was to pass before the discovery of
• 27:10
  Speaker 11: the truth.
• 27:30
  Speaker 7: Suspense.
• 27:32
  Speaker 3: Presented by Autolite. Tonight's star, Mr. Peter Lawford, in part
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: one of Wilkie Collins.
• 27:38
  Speaker 6: The Moonstone.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: This is Harlow Wilcox speaking for Autolite, the world's largest
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: independent manufacturer of automotive electrical equipment. In 28 plants from
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: coast to coast, Autolite makes over 400 products. for cars, trucks, tractors, planes, boats,
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: and industry. These products include bumpers, die castings, and batteries,
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: such as the famous Autolite Stay Full, ignition-engineered Autolite spark plugs,
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: both standard and resistor types, voltage regulators, wire and battery cable,
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: Autolite bullseye sealed beam units, and Autolite original service parts
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: for all Autolite electrical systems. Autolite is proud to serve
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: the greatest names in the industry, So, from bumper to
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: tail light, you're always right with Autolite.
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: Next week, the concluding portion of the first detective novel
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: ever written. The Discovery of the Truth, part two of
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone.
• 28:50
  Speaker 6: Our star, Mr. Peter Lawford. That's next week on Suspense.
• 28:55
  Speaker 7: Suspense.
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis, with music
• 29:11
  Speaker 3: composed by Lucian Morawick and conducted by Lud Gluskin. Wilkie
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: Collins' The Moonstone was adapted for Suspense.
• 29:19
  Speaker 6: By Richard Chandley.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: In tonight's story, Ellen Morgan was heard as Rachel. Featured
• 29:24
  Speaker 3: in the cast were Betty Harford, William Johnstone, Ben Wright,
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: Herb Butterfield, Pat Hitchcock, Norma Varden, Eric Snowden, Alistair Duncan,
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: and Dick Beals.
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: Peter Lawford will soon be seen co-starring in the Columbia Pictures.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: It Should Happen to You.
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: And remember, next week, Mr. Peter Lawford in the concluding
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: portion of Wilkie Collins.
• 29:49
  Speaker 6: The Moonstone.
• 29:59
  Speaker 7: You can buy Autolite standard or resistor-type spark plugs, Autolite
• 30:02
  Speaker 7: original service parts, and Autolite day-full batteries at your neighborhood
• 30:06
  Speaker 7: Autolite dealer.
• 30:07
  Speaker 4: Switch to Autolite.
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: Good night. This is the CBS Radio Network.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: Suspense leaves us in Victorian England with The Moonstone Part One.
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: Follow Suspense for more classic broadcasts.