Latest / Suspense | Old Time Radio / Suspense - "The Night Reveals" (Old Time Radio, 1943)
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Robert Young and Margot head the cast in a Cornell
- 0:02Speaker 1: Woolrich adaptation, with Young as insurance investigator Harry Jordan and
- 0:07Speaker 1: Margot as his wife, Marie. From 1943, this is Suspense,
- 0:13Speaker 1: Episode 9, The Night Reveals, adapted for radio by Sigmund
- 0:17Speaker 1: Miller and directed by William Speer. In a community troubled
- 0:22Speaker 1: by unexplained fires, Harry begins to suspect a connection between
- 0:27Speaker 1: the cases he investigates, his own home, and the woman
- 0:31Speaker 1: closest to him. Also heard are Byron Kane, Hans Conrad,
- 0:36Speaker 1: and Joseph Kearns in a CBS presentation sponsored by Roma Wines.
- 0:41Speaker 1: And now, our story begins.
- 0:55Speaker 2: Suspense.
- 1:01Speaker 3: Presented by Roma Wines. Made in California for enjoyment throughout
- 1:07Speaker 3: the world.
- 1:07Speaker 4: Salud.
- 1:09Speaker 2: Your health, senor.
- 1:10Speaker 3: The world toasts Roma and Roma toasts the world. The
- 1:13Speaker 3: wine for your table is Roma. Made in California for
- 1:18Speaker 3: enjoyment throughout the world.
- 1:21Speaker 5: This is the man in black here for Roma Wines.
- 1:25Speaker 5: to introduce this weekly half hour of Suspense. Tonight in Hollywood,
- 1:30Speaker 5: our stars are Mr. Robert Young and Margot. The suspense
- 1:35Speaker 5: play which stars Robert Young and Margot, and which is
- 1:37Speaker 5: produced and directed by William Spear, is a tale of
- 1:41Speaker 5: ordeal by fire by Cornell Woolrich. And so, with the
- 1:45Speaker 5: night reveals and with the performances of Robert Young and Margot,
- 1:49Speaker 5: Roma again hopes to keep you in Suspense.
- 2:05Speaker 2: Go ahead, tell us the story, Mr. Jordan. Might help
- 2:08Speaker 2: to get it out of your system.
- 2:09Speaker 4: Yes, go ahead, Harry.
- 2:11Speaker 2: What, tell it here, Marie, in front of you?
- 2:13Speaker 4: Sure, I can stand it if you can.
- 2:16Speaker 2: Well, all right. I'll tell it from when I first
- 2:19Speaker 2: began to know, for sure, two weeks ago. I should
- 2:25Speaker 2: have known before that something was wrong. I should have
- 2:28Speaker 2: known by her eyes. There was a queer look in them,
- 2:32Speaker 2: staring at me one minute and avoiding me the next. Well,
- 2:36Speaker 2: I came home late one Monday night. They were asleep,
- 2:39Speaker 2: my son Johnny and my wife here, Marie. I lay
- 2:43Speaker 2: in bed reviewing my day's work. You see, I'm an
- 2:47Speaker 2: investigator for the Herkimer Fire Insurance Company. And while thinking
- 2:51Speaker 2: about the fire on Second Avenue, I fell asleep. Suddenly,
- 2:55Speaker 2: I was sitting bolt upright, wide awake, with a strange
- 2:58Speaker 2: feeling of being alone in the room. I looked towards
- 3:01Speaker 2: Marie's bed. It was too dark to see. I called... Marie. Marie!
- 3:07Speaker 2: There was no answer. I got up and walked to
- 3:10Speaker 2: her bed. The quilt was bunched up. I pulled the
- 3:13Speaker 2: covers down. The bed was empty. In the bathroom. No,
- 3:18Speaker 2: she wasn't there. And not in Johnny's room either. Johnny
- 3:21Speaker 2: was alone. Marie wasn't in the apartment. I put on
- 3:25Speaker 2: the light and looked at my watch. It was two
- 3:28Speaker 2: in the morning. Got dressed and walked out and rang
- 3:31Speaker 2: for the elevator. It was nothing. Of course, it was
- 3:34Speaker 2: nothing important, but... My heart kept hammering away. Morning, Mr. Jordan.
- 3:40Speaker 2: Kind of late for the... Yes, good morning, Steve. Uh,
- 3:45Speaker 2: did you see my wife go down?
- 3:47Speaker 4: Yes, Mr.
- 3:47Speaker 2: Jordan. About half an hour ago, I'd say. Yes, yes,
- 3:50Speaker 2: of course. Uh, did you see which way she went? Yes,
- 3:54Speaker 2: she went towards 3rd Avenue. Said she was going to...
- 3:57Speaker 2: Went to the drugstore, I guess. Yes, that's right. There's
- 3:59Speaker 2: one over on 96th Street.
- 4:01Speaker 4: Open all night.
- 4:02Speaker 2: Thanks.
- 4:02Speaker 6: Thanks.
- 4:05Speaker 2: That was it. She went to the drugstore. I was
- 4:08Speaker 2: worried over nothing at all. I didn't know what to
- 4:12Speaker 2: do quite. I didn't want to follow her, but the
- 4:15Speaker 2: elevator boy was watching me, so I strolled easily along
- 4:18Speaker 2: towards Third Avenue. I stood on the deserted dark corner
- 4:21Speaker 2: and looked up and down the street. Then I saw
- 4:24Speaker 2: her coming. She was walking towards me briskly.
- 4:27Speaker 4: Harry, what are you doing here?
- 4:29Speaker 2: Well, I got up and saw you were gone, and I.
- 4:31Speaker 4: I couldn't sleep. I had a dreadful headache, so I
- 4:34Speaker 4: decided to go down for some aspirin.
- 4:35Speaker 2: Yes. Yes, of course. The drugstore on 96th Street. But
- 4:42Speaker 2: you were coming from 98th Street.
- 4:43Speaker 4: I took a little walk. I thought some fresh air
- 4:45Speaker 4: would do me some good.
- 4:47Speaker 2: Yes. It is a nice night.
- 4:49Speaker 4: I've only been gone about ten minutes.
- 4:52Speaker 2: Steve says you were gone about a half hour.
- 4:53Speaker 4: It was only ten minutes. What time is it now?
- 4:56Speaker 2: 2.35.
- 4:58Speaker 4: Been out for almost 15 minutes.
- 5:01Speaker 2: Oh, it's more than.
- 5:01Speaker 4: It was 15 minutes, no more than that.
- 5:04Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. Everything seemed all right. Still,
- 5:11Speaker 2: I felt something was wrong. We got into our apartment
- 5:14Speaker 2: and we both went to bed. For a minute or so,
- 5:18Speaker 2: we said nothing.
- 5:19Speaker 6: You've been working hard, Harry. Don't you think you ought
- 5:22Speaker 6: to take a week off and sort of rest up?
- 5:25Speaker 2: Oh, I feel perfectly all right, dear. There's nothing wrong
- 5:27Speaker 2: with me.
- 5:28Speaker 4: Listen. A fire. A fire.
- 5:31Speaker 2: Yes, not far. Over east a couple of blocks. By
- 5:35Speaker 2: the river, I'd say. That's my district.
- 5:37Speaker 4: A fire.
- 5:38Speaker 2: Oh, what the.
- 5:41Speaker 2: Hello.
- 5:41Speaker 5: Hello, Harry.
- 5:42Speaker 7: I'm sorry to wake you in the middle of the night.
- 5:44Speaker 7: There's a bad one over near you between 2nd and 3rd.
- 5:48Speaker 7: Maybe a total loss.
- 5:49Speaker 2: Between 2nd and 3rd, Mr.
- 5:50Speaker 4: Parmeter?
- 5:51Speaker 2: An apartment building? Yeah, 98th Street. 340 East 98th.
- 5:56Speaker 7: I called you because I'd like you to go there
- 5:57Speaker 7: direct first thing in the morning instead of come at
- 5:59Speaker 7: the office, okay?
- 6:00Speaker 2: I'll meet you there.
- 6:01Speaker 4: Okay, Mr.
- 6:02Speaker 2: Parmiter. Good night.
- 6:04Speaker 4: A fire? On 98th Street?
- 6:08Speaker 2: Yeah. I couldn't see Marie in the dark. I knew
- 6:13Speaker 2: she was staring at me. I was very tired. Good night, Marie.
- 6:19Speaker 4: Good night, Harry.
- 6:31Speaker 5: This is a story of a husband and a wife.
- 6:35Speaker 5: In a moment, as the story continues, we shall learn
- 6:39Speaker 5: how they came to know that death was living with them. Tonight,
- 6:51Speaker 5: the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California brings you Robert
- 6:54Speaker 5: Young and Margot as stars of suspense, radio's outstanding theater
- 6:59Speaker 5: of thrills.
- 7:02Speaker 3: Somewhere tonight, perhaps in Havana, Cuba, a man and a
- 7:06Speaker 3: girl sit at a table in a gay cafe. Music,
- 7:09Speaker 3: laughter fill the big room. A tropic breeze stirs the
- 7:11Speaker 3: palms in the terrace. As we watch, the young man
- 7:14Speaker 3: pours wine into their glasses. They raise them in a
- 7:17Speaker 3: toast to each other.
- 7:18Speaker 1: Salud.
- 7:19Speaker 2: Salud. Salud.
- 7:21Speaker 8: Ah, an excellent wine, Verda. As pleasant to the taste
- 7:24Speaker 8: as your beauty is to the eye. Do you know
- 7:27Speaker 8: where this fine wine comes from? It comes from our
- 7:30Speaker 8: good neighbor to the north, Los Estados Unidos. From America.
- 7:34Speaker 8: His name is Roma.
- 7:35Speaker 3: Yes, from our own America. From our own sunny California
- 7:38Speaker 3: come Roma wines. Made in California for the enjoyment of
- 7:43Speaker 3: the world. Doesn't that tell you all you need to
- 7:46Speaker 3: know to make you want to choose Roma wines for
- 7:48Speaker 3: your own use? Whether your particular preference is for a
- 7:51Speaker 3: nut-brown sherry, a delicious red claret, a full-bodied burgundy, when
- 7:56Speaker 3: you choose Roma, you know you are getting the world's
- 7:59Speaker 3: best wine value, for Roma wines are America's largest selling wines.
- 8:05Speaker 3: Only through such tremendous popularity can Roma afford to sell
- 8:09Speaker 3: so reasonably wines into which have gone all the care
- 8:12Speaker 3: and wine knowledge that produce wine masterpieces. There is a
- 8:16Speaker 3: Roma wine for every taste. Simply choose the one you
- 8:20Speaker 3: like best. Roma wine, made in California for enjoyment throughout
- 8:26Speaker 3: the world.
- 8:29Speaker 5: And now it is with pleasure that we bring back
- 8:32Speaker 5: to our soundstage Mr. Robert Young as Harry Jordan and
- 8:36Speaker 5: Margot as Marie, his wife, in The Night Reveals, a
- 8:40Speaker 5: story well calculated to keep you in suspense.
- 8:54Speaker 2: Go on, Mr.
- 8:55Speaker 5: Jordan.
- 8:56Speaker 2: Well, gentlemen, the next morning I went over to 98th
- 8:59Speaker 2: Street to inspect the remains of number 340 and to
- 9:02Speaker 2: see if there was evidence of anything suspicious about the
- 9:06Speaker 2: origin of the fire. Mr. Parminder was there. Well, there
- 9:09Speaker 2: it is.
- 9:10Speaker 4: Got it.
- 9:11Speaker 2: I guess we'll be paying off on this one, all right. Yeah.
- 9:14Speaker 2: Completely burned out.
- 9:16Speaker 4: Uh.
- 9:17Speaker 2: Anyone hurt? A few, but no one dead.
- 9:19Speaker 4: Lucky they just installed the new fire escapes.
- 9:22Speaker 2: Just the walls left. That fire must have been quite
- 9:25Speaker 2: a sight in the height of its glory. Yeah, quite
- 9:27Speaker 2: a sight. Man, those walls look pretty bad.
- 9:29Speaker 4: They might collapse almost any time.
- 9:31Speaker 2: Yeah, the building will have to be razed. That fire
- 9:33Speaker 2: did a good job. Oh, here's the commissioner. Hello, Babbitt.
- 9:37Speaker 2: How are you, Mr.
- 9:38Speaker 5: Morales?
- 9:39Speaker 2: You know anything about the fire commission?
- 9:40Speaker 5: No, not a thing.
- 9:41Speaker 2: Well, we'll take a look. I wouldn't go in there, Jordan.
- 9:43Speaker 2: Those walls are pretty bad. I can take care of myself.
- 9:45Speaker 2: Maybe you better not go inside. Don't worry about me.
- 9:47Speaker 2: I know fires as well as anyone. You stay outside, Mr. Parmenter.
- 9:50Speaker 2: I'm going in. I walked gingerly into the blackened, ruined
- 9:54Speaker 2: hallway in ashes up to my ankles until I reached
- 9:57Speaker 2: the remains of the stairway underneath where several baby carriages.
- 10:01Speaker 2: Just twisted pieces of metal. A burned fragment of something
- 10:05Speaker 2: fell nearby. Come on back, John. I'm all right. I
- 10:09Speaker 2: poked around the carriages, sifting through the clean, fine ashes.
- 10:13Speaker 2: Something caught my eye. A glob of yellow metal. I
- 10:17Speaker 2: picked it up. Then I worked my way out.
- 10:21Speaker 1: She's going through, isn't she?
- 10:22Speaker 4: Yep.
- 10:23Speaker 2: Lean through. Nothing left of her.
- 10:25Speaker 4: Did you find anything, Harry?
- 10:26Speaker 2: Nothing much. The fire started in the hallway, all right.
- 10:28Speaker 2: Cellar's untouched. Fireworks, it's way up. What's that in your hand? Well,
- 10:32Speaker 2: that is just a piece of metal I found. Here.
- 10:35Speaker 2: I just picked it up for my kid. He likes
- 10:37Speaker 2: shiny things. What do you think, Commissioner? Probably one of
- 10:40Speaker 2: those gadgets they have on baby carriages. I guess you're right.
- 10:43Speaker 2: It isn't anything. But it was something. I had run
- 10:47Speaker 2: my fingernail across this glob of metal. It looked like gold.
- 10:51Speaker 2: I decided to examine it in detail at home.
- 10:53Speaker 8: Hello, Daddy.
- 10:58Speaker 4: How are you, Johnny? Mama says I was bad today. Harry!
- 11:03Speaker 4: You're home early.
- 11:04Speaker 2: Yes, I got through sooner than I expected, and I.
- 11:08Speaker 4: What is it, Harry?
- 11:09Speaker 2: Your locket. You're not wearing it. You never had it
- 11:13Speaker 2: off before.
- 11:14Speaker 4: My locket?
- 11:15Speaker 2: Well, I.
- 11:16Speaker 4: Don't you remember? Daddy, can I go over to see
- 11:18Speaker 4: Davy Taylor for a minute?
- 11:19Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, go ahead, Johnny.
- 11:20Speaker 5: All right.
- 11:21Speaker 2: Gee, thanks, Daddy.
- 11:23Speaker 4: You shouldn't have done that. I didn't want him to go.
- 11:25Speaker 4: He hasn't had his dinner.
- 11:26Speaker 2: Never mind, Johnny. What did you say happened to the locket?
- 11:32Speaker 4: Well, I gave it to you.
- 11:34Speaker 2: To me?
- 11:35Speaker 4: Yes, I put it in your pocket to have it fixed.
- 11:38Speaker 4: The catch was loose.
- 11:39Speaker 2: I don't remember.
- 11:40Speaker 4: You've been very forgetful lately. Very forgetful.
- 11:44Speaker 2: Maybe you thought you gave it to me. No, no.
- 11:46Speaker 6: I put it in your pocket, Harry. I forgot to
- 11:49Speaker 6: mention it to you. I wanted you to take it
- 11:51Speaker 6: to the jewelers and get the catch fixed. I just
- 11:54Speaker 6: put it in your coat pocket while you were shaving.
- 11:57Speaker 2: When?
- 11:58Speaker 4: Yesterday.
- 11:59Speaker 5: Yes.
- 12:00Speaker 4: Yesterday morning.
- 12:01Speaker 2: Then it should be in my pocket now. I wore
- 12:03Speaker 2: this suit yesterday, too. Nothing in my pockets, Marie.
- 12:08Speaker 1: Well?
- 12:10Speaker 2: Marie.
- 12:10Speaker 4: Yes, Harry?
- 12:12Speaker 2: Is anything... wrong with you? Don't you feel... With me?
- 12:16Speaker 4: No, no, of course not. I'm all right. I'm perfectly
- 12:19Speaker 4: all right. There's not a thing wrong with me.
- 12:21Speaker 2: You look worried, as if you've got something on your mind.
- 12:24Speaker 4: Oh, it's nothing. I've just been having a headache.
- 12:27Speaker 2: Maybe you ought to see a doctor.
- 12:28Speaker 4: Oh, no, it really doesn't amount to much.
- 12:32Speaker 2: Well, I think I'll take another look for the locket.
- 12:35Speaker 2: Which suit did you say you put it in?
- 12:38Speaker 4: Your blue suit, I think. Oh, maybe it was the gray, though.
- 12:41Speaker 2: I don't... I couldn't make it out. What had she
- 12:45Speaker 2: done with the locket? Had she pawned it? Had she
- 12:47Speaker 2: given it away? Then I remembered something. I went into
- 12:51Speaker 2: the bathroom and locked the door. I looked at this
- 12:55Speaker 2: shapeless little glob of yellow metal. I rubbed the blackened
- 12:58Speaker 2: spots away, all of it, until it was gleaming. I
- 13:02Speaker 2: studied it, turning it over and over. I noticed a
- 13:05Speaker 2: thin crack. It was small, so I took a nail
- 13:07Speaker 2: file out of the medicine chest and began to file it.
- 13:09Speaker 2: I kept filing until I had enlarged the crack to
- 13:11Speaker 2: the full length of the piece of gold. Then I
- 13:13Speaker 2: slipped the nail file inside and pried it open. Tiny
- 13:17Speaker 2: fragments of glass and then... Then I saw a piece
- 13:20Speaker 2: of scorched paper. It was a photograph. A picture of
- 13:26Speaker 2: my son, Johnny. This glob of metal was my wife's locket.
- 13:31Speaker 2: I put the locket and the picture in my pocket
- 13:33Speaker 2: and walked out. The next hour, I sat trying to
- 13:42Speaker 2: read a book while Marie busied herself, first feeding Johnny
- 13:45Speaker 2: and then helping him with his homework.
- 13:48Speaker 4: What's the largest continent in the world?
- 13:50Speaker 7: Oh, I know.
- 13:51Speaker 4: It's, uh, it's Asia. And the next largest?
- 13:55Speaker 2: Oh, that's easy.
- 13:56Speaker 7: Africa.
- 13:56Speaker 4: It's full of jungles. That's where Tarzan lives.
- 13:59Speaker 2: Isn't it time for Johnny to be in bed? Oh, yes.
- 14:02Speaker 4: I had no idea it was so late. Run along
- 14:04Speaker 4: to your room, Johnny. I'll be in in a minute.
- 14:06Speaker 4: All right, Mother.
- 14:07Speaker 3: Good night, Dad.
- 14:08Speaker 2: Good night, Johnny. Sleep well.
- 14:10Speaker 6: He's getting along very well in school, except for arithmetic.
- 14:14Speaker 6: He seems to be having a little trouble.
- 14:16Speaker 2: Oh, Johnny will be all right.
- 14:17Speaker 4: Yes. Johnny will be all right. I know he'll be
- 14:21Speaker 4: all right.
- 14:23Speaker 2: I watched her. She seemed very uneasy. I walked over
- 14:27Speaker 2: to my pipe rack where I kept several books of
- 14:29Speaker 2: matches in a jar. There weren't any there. All this time,
- 14:34Speaker 2: I knew she was watching me, watching me closely. I
- 14:37Speaker 2: looked behind the rack. There wasn't a match around. What
- 14:42Speaker 2: the devil happened to all my matches?
- 14:44Speaker 4: I have a match here. Let me light it for you.
- 14:46Speaker 2: Did you take the matches out of the jar, Marie?
- 14:48Speaker 4: Well, I.
- 14:49Speaker 2: Did you?
- 14:50Speaker 4: Yes, I needed them in the kitchen. Shall I light
- 14:53Speaker 4: your pipe for you?
- 14:54Speaker 2: No, I'll light it myself. I picked a match out
- 14:59Speaker 2: of the booklet. It was a clean white match with
- 15:01Speaker 2: a green head. I struck it against the side. The
- 15:04Speaker 2: match sputtered up into a yellow flame, fringed on the
- 15:06Speaker 2: bottom with glue. Marie stared at it until I felt
- 15:10Speaker 2: the sharp bite of the flame on my thumb.
- 15:13Speaker 4: Would you like a cup of tea, Harry?
- 15:15Speaker 2: No, dear, I don't think so. I watched her. Her
- 15:19Speaker 2: hand casually brushed along the table and picked up the matches.
- 15:22Speaker 3: Marie!
- 15:24Speaker 2: Leave the matches on the table.
- 15:25Speaker 4: I need them. I'm rather short of matches and the
- 15:28Speaker 4: pilot light isn't working.
- 15:30Speaker 2: Is this the only book of matches in the house?
- 15:32Speaker 4: I'll have to get them tomorrow. Where are you going, Harry?
- 15:35Speaker 2: Get a drink of water.
- 15:36Speaker 4: No, no, I'll get it for you, Harry.
- 15:38Speaker 2: Never mind, Marie, I'll get it myself. I went into
- 15:41Speaker 2: the kitchen. There was a paper bag alongside the gas range. Matches.
- 15:46Speaker 2: All thrown in, helter-skelter. Books of matches and safety matches
- 15:50Speaker 2: all mixed together. I walked back and sat down in
- 15:54Speaker 2: my chair. She sat a few feet away, torturing a handkerchief.
- 15:59Speaker 2: She looked so helpless and terrified that my anger passed away. Marie,
- 16:05Speaker 2: you've been having headaches lately. Perhaps you ought to see
- 16:09Speaker 2: a doctor.
- 16:12Speaker 4: It's nothing serious.
- 16:14Speaker 2: Look, how would you like to go away for a
- 16:16Speaker 2: few days? Take a vacation. I'll get a maid to
- 16:19Speaker 2: take care of Johnny and me. It'll do you a
- 16:20Speaker 2: lot of good.
- 16:21Speaker 4: No, no, I don't need a vacation. There's nothing wrong
- 16:23Speaker 4: with me. But, Harry, there is.
- 16:26Speaker 2: Yes?
- 16:28Speaker 4: There's nothing the matter with.
- 16:30Speaker 2: You were about to say something else.
- 16:32Speaker 4: I've got to go into Johnny's room and see that
- 16:34Speaker 4: he's covered. He always throws the covers off.
- 16:37Speaker 2: I sat there looking at the door. Then I glanced
- 16:40Speaker 2: about the room. There was the pack of matches lying
- 16:43Speaker 2: open on the table. I closed the cover and my
- 16:46Speaker 2: eye caught a purse lying nearby. It was bulging.
- 16:49Speaker 5: Harry!
- 16:50Speaker 2: Well, what's the matter?
- 16:51Speaker 4: My purse!
- 16:51Speaker 2: Yes. That's your purse. Here, look. See, the handle's loose.
- 16:57Speaker 2: And it's full of matches. A dozen books of them.
- 17:00Speaker 2: And these newspaper clippings.
- 17:01Speaker 4: Give it back to me!
- 17:02Speaker 2: Why are you saving these clippings? Why do you carry
- 17:04Speaker 2: matches with you?
- 17:05Speaker 4: I bought the matches in a store. They were a
- 17:07Speaker 4: dozen for five cents.
- 17:08Speaker 2: These clippings. Look here. Fire on 112th Street causes severe damage.
- 17:12Speaker 2: And these others. Why are you saving these clippings, Marie?
- 17:15Speaker 4: There's nothing wrong in that. I'm interested, interested in your work.
- 17:19Speaker 4: I intend to keep a file on fires. It'll help
- 17:21Speaker 4: you in your work.
- 17:22Speaker 2: Well, that's very considerate, Marie.
- 17:24Speaker 4: Oh, Harry. You're so good. Why should this have to
- 17:29Speaker 4: happen to us?
- 17:37Speaker 2: Towards midnight, I went to bed. Marie didn't follow me.
- 17:41Speaker 2: I lay in the semi-darkness, wide awake, trying to think
- 17:44Speaker 2: what I should do. I couldn't collect my thoughts. Every
- 17:47Speaker 2: time I closed my eyes, I could see the flame
- 17:49Speaker 2: of the match, yellow and blue, crawling along the matchstick.
- 17:53Speaker 2: Then Marie came in with a cup of steaming liquid.
- 17:56Speaker 4: Drink this, Harry. It'll help you sleep.
- 17:59Speaker 2: What is it?
- 17:59Speaker 4: It's cocoa. It's very good for you.
- 18:02Speaker 2: I'm not the one that's having trouble falling asleep.
- 18:04Speaker 6: We both couldn't sleep last night. I'm taking some of
- 18:07Speaker 6: this myself as soon as I.
- 18:08Speaker 4: Go to bed.
- 18:09Speaker 2: All right, leave it on the nightstand.
- 18:12Speaker 4: Be sure to drink it while it's hot.
- 18:13Speaker 2: Yes, Marie, I will.
- 18:14Speaker 4: Good night, darling.
- 18:15Speaker 2: Good night, Marie. Cocoa. Then suddenly I knew. I looked
- 18:23Speaker 2: around quickly for something to pour it in. There was
- 18:26Speaker 2: a radiator pan. It was empty. I poured the cup
- 18:27Speaker 2: of liquid into it. Then I lay back and waited.
- 18:31Speaker 2: Waited for her next move. About a half hour later,
- 18:34Speaker 2: I heard the door open softly and Marie tiptoed towards
- 18:36Speaker 2: my bed. Harry.
- 18:40Speaker 4: Harry. Are you asleep?
- 18:46Speaker 2: I didn't answer, but breathed evenly. She hovered for a
- 18:49Speaker 2: moment over me, then she tiptoed out, carefully closing the
- 18:51Speaker 2: door behind her. I dashed out of bed and hurried
- 18:54Speaker 2: into my clothes. Quickly, I poured the liquid from the
- 18:56Speaker 2: pan into a bottle and put it into my pocket.
- 18:58Speaker 2: Then I grabbed my coat and followed her. I rang
- 19:00Speaker 2: for the elevator. She had only a few minutes headway.
- 19:02Speaker 2: I would catch up to her easily and then we'd
- 19:05Speaker 2: have a showdown. Steve looked at me with controlled amazement. Uh, hello, Steve. Hello, Mr.
- 19:14Speaker 5: Jordan.
- 19:15Speaker 2: Uh, my wife went down a moment ago, didn't she? Yes, Mr. Jordan.
- 19:20Speaker 2: Just took her down. She went towards Third Avenue, didn't she? Uh,
- 19:24Speaker 2: I think so. She sort of stopped me for a
- 19:27Speaker 2: minute and then turned towards Third. Had to get back
- 19:29Speaker 2: to the elevator because you were ringing. When I reached
- 19:35Speaker 2: the corner, I looked up and down 3rd Avenue, and
- 19:37Speaker 2: I saw her. She was walking north. I crossed to
- 19:40Speaker 2: the other side of the street and followed her, keeping
- 19:41Speaker 2: at a distance. At 98th Street, she turned east. Down
- 19:44Speaker 2: the middle of the block was the remains of last
- 19:46Speaker 2: night's fire. She paused in front of the gutted buildings.
- 19:50Speaker 2: a long time just stood there looking at it and
- 19:53Speaker 2: she walked inside I waited for a few seconds and
- 19:56Speaker 2: then followed her it was pitch dark in the burnt-out
- 19:58Speaker 2: hallway ahead of me I could see the glow of
- 20:01Speaker 2: a match then I saw what she was doing she
- 20:05Speaker 2: was collecting the charred debris near the baby carriages how
- 20:09Speaker 2: foolish There wasn't anything that could burn there now. She
- 20:12Speaker 2: lit another match. I watched the flame light up her face.
- 20:15Speaker 2: A face so intent upon her work that she didn't
- 20:17Speaker 2: hear me approach.
- 20:18Speaker 1: Marie?
- 20:21Speaker 2: Who's there? It's me, Harry. Harry, why did you... Come along, Marie.
- 20:25Speaker 2: We'd better get out of here. The police. I took
- 20:29Speaker 2: her hand and without a word she came along. We
- 20:32Speaker 2: walked home in complete silence. We both knew. When we
- 20:37Speaker 2: came to our apartment house, I stopped and rang for
- 20:39Speaker 2: the elevator... In the light of the hallway, I could
- 20:41Speaker 2: see her face. My wife's face. Ashy gray. Her eyes
- 20:46Speaker 2: bright and painful. You run upstairs, Marie. I'll be along
- 20:50Speaker 2: in a minute.
- 20:51Speaker 4: Harry, where are you going?
- 20:52Speaker 2: I'll be right back.
- 20:53Speaker 4: Please, Harry, don't do anything.
- 20:54Speaker 2: You run along, Marie.
- 20:55Speaker 4: You're not going to.
- 20:56Speaker 2: No, I'm only going to the drugstore to get something.
- 20:59Speaker 2: I'll be back in a few minutes. I came home
- 21:12Speaker 2: a half hour later. She was waiting for me.
- 21:14Speaker 4: Did you? Did you do it, Harry? Harry, please, please
- 21:18Speaker 4: tell me. I've got to know.
- 21:19Speaker 2: I had the cocoa you gave me analyzed. I'm sorry.
- 21:22Speaker 4: I had to do it. Don't you see? I couldn't
- 21:24Speaker 4: help it.
- 21:25Speaker 2: It was very easy for the druggist, especially when I
- 21:27Speaker 2: told him what I thought was in it. Sodium amytol.
- 21:31Speaker 2: That's the stuff that makes you sleep through an earthquake.
- 21:33Speaker 4: Please try to understand, Harry. You must understand.
- 21:35Speaker 2: Is the kid asleep?
- 21:37Speaker 4: Yes, Johnny's all right.
- 21:39Speaker 2: I was sorry for Marie. She looked so haggard and worn.
- 21:42Speaker 2: It wasn't her fault. I'm sorry for myself. My head
- 21:46Speaker 2: was roaring. I wasn't feeling too well. I kept seeing
- 21:50Speaker 2: sparks in front of my eyes. I closed my eyes
- 21:53Speaker 2: for a moment.
- 21:54Speaker 4: Let's go to bed, Harry.
- 21:55Speaker 2: Marie, we can do something. Let's burn up every match.
- 21:59Speaker 2: Every match in the house. We'll never bring another match
- 22:01Speaker 2: in here.
- 22:01Speaker 4: No, no, Harry. We can't do that.
- 22:03Speaker 2: You don't want to?
- 22:03Speaker 7: No, Harry.
- 22:04Speaker 4: Not now.
- 22:05Speaker 5: See?
- 22:05Speaker 2: This is the first book. It's turning black. We'll do
- 22:07Speaker 2: it with every book of matches.
- 22:08Speaker 4: It's no use. It's no use, Harry.
- 22:10Speaker 2: Strange, isn't it, that this should happen to me? Me,
- 22:12Speaker 2: a fire inspector. That's funny. Give me the matches, Marie.
- 22:16Speaker 4: All the matches. No, I can't do it.
- 22:17Speaker 5: I won't.
- 22:18Speaker 2: Give them to me.
- 22:18Speaker 4: Please, please, please don't take them. I'll do anything you want. Anything.
- 22:22Speaker 2: Where did you hide them?
- 22:23Speaker 5: Tell me.
- 22:23Speaker 2: Where are they?
- 22:24Speaker 4: Inside the range, behind the paper bag.
- 22:27Speaker 2: I dropped her hand and she sank to the floor
- 22:29Speaker 2: in a huddle, weeping. Then I went into the kitchen
- 22:32Speaker 2: and got all the matches. By now, my anger was
- 22:36Speaker 2: cooling off. Look, Marie, look up. See? I'll light each
- 22:39Speaker 2: book of matches, one at a time, until they're all.
- 22:41Speaker 4: Gone up in smoke.
- 22:43Speaker 2: Yellow flame licked its way down the matches. The cover
- 22:45Speaker 2: caught fire and blackened. I watched her look at the
- 22:47Speaker 2: flame with dazed eyes. Listen.
- 22:50Speaker 4: Listen, Harry, do you hear?
- 22:52Speaker 2: Just someone in the hall.
- 22:53Speaker 4: Oh, it's more than someone. Something's happened. Something has happened.
- 22:57Speaker 2: I'll take a look.
- 22:59Speaker 4: Hey, Mr.
- 22:59Speaker 2: Jordan, the house is on fire.
- 23:01Speaker 4: The house, the house is on fire.
- 23:02Speaker 2: Yes, Marie, wake up Johnny. Johnny, Johnny. We'll have to hurry.
- 23:06Speaker 2: The flames are coming up the stairs. There's an upward draft.
- 23:08Speaker 2: What's the matter, Mother?
- 23:10Speaker 4: The house is on fire. We've got to get out, Johnny.
- 23:12Speaker 5: Come on.
- 23:12Speaker 2: It's too late to go down. We'll have to go
- 23:14Speaker 2: up through the roof.
- 23:15Speaker 4: I've hurt my leg.
- 23:17Speaker 5: Come along, Johnny.
- 23:18Speaker 4: Mother, wait for Mother.
- 23:19Speaker 2: She'll come along.
- 23:20Speaker 5: No.
- 23:21Speaker 1: No, I want to wait for Mother.
- 23:22Speaker 4: It's all right, Johnny. Go along with Daddy.
- 23:24Speaker 2: I'll follow you.
- 23:25Speaker 4: No.
- 23:25Speaker 8: No, I won't go.
- 23:27Speaker 2: I won't go without you, Mother. Hold on to my armory.
- 23:30Speaker 2: Come on. Give me your hand, Johnny. Don't be scared.
- 23:32Speaker 2: The fire won't hurt you. It won't hurt you at all.
- 23:35Speaker 2: You're safe with me. We made our way upstairs very
- 23:47Speaker 2: slowly because of Marie's sprained ankle. Finally, we got to
- 23:50Speaker 2: the roof. There were some firemen on the next roof,
- 23:52Speaker 2: about ten feet separated the two buildings. Don't get panicky.
- 23:55Speaker 2: We'll get you off safely. Are we going to have
- 23:59Speaker 2: to jump across, Daddy?
- 24:01Speaker 4: Because Mother won't be able to jump. It's all right, Johnny.
- 24:05Speaker 4: Don't be scared.
- 24:06Speaker 2: They're putting a board across the two roofs. We'll just
- 24:08Speaker 2: walk across. All right, now.
- 24:10Speaker 4: One at a time.
- 24:11Speaker 1: Tie the rope around you and come across.
- 24:14Speaker 2: Johnny, you go first. Don't be afraid. Go ahead. There,
- 24:16Speaker 2: now the rope will hold you in case you slip.
- 24:18Speaker 4: Mother, you gotta go first. I'll go right after you, Johnny.
- 24:24Speaker 4: You promise?
- 24:24Speaker 2: Go ahead, Johnny, another will follow you. Don't turn around.
- 24:28Speaker 2: Keep walking.
- 24:28Speaker 8: All right.
- 24:30Speaker 2: Kid's safe. Now you, lady.
- 24:32Speaker 4: Be careful of the board.
- 24:33Speaker 2: Hey, the board slipped off.
- 24:36Speaker 8: Hurry, one of you guys.
- 24:36Speaker 4: Get another board.
- 24:37Speaker 5: Mother.
- 24:38Speaker 4: Mother.
- 24:39Speaker 2: I want my mother. Your mother's going to be all right, kid.
- 24:42Speaker 4: You pushed the board off, Harry. I saw you do it. No, no,
- 24:44Speaker 4: I didn't, Marie. I didn't. All right, lady.
- 24:47Speaker 2: Let's tie the rope around you. Don't be afraid. Don't
- 24:50Speaker 2: look down. Ready? Ready? Okay, boys. She's all right. How
- 24:57Speaker 2: are you, mister? That's right. Tie the rope around you.
- 25:00Speaker 6: Okay.
- 25:01Speaker 2: All set? Okay. On the ground we stood there, the
- 25:11Speaker 2: three of us watching the fire. Sparks were shooting up
- 25:14Speaker 2: through the hole where it had bitten through. Great flames
- 25:17Speaker 2: shot out, stabbing at the sky. The top of the
- 25:20Speaker 2: roof was burning now. A red flame crawled along, searching
- 25:22Speaker 2: out the inflammable spots. A wooden pole caught fire and
- 25:25Speaker 2: blazed up in a long, narrow, curving arc. The wind
- 25:29Speaker 2: was helping her. All this time, Marie was shaking. Shaking violently.
- 25:34Speaker 2: Not with cold.
- 25:36Speaker 5: I pitied her.
- 25:37Speaker 2: And then she threw up her hands and shrieked. Oh!
- 25:43Speaker 4: Harry!
- 25:44Speaker 2: No, no, darling, don't. I can't.
- 25:46Speaker 4: I can't stand it. We can't go on this way. Police! Police!
- 25:49Speaker 1: Come here!
- 25:50Speaker 4: Don't do it, Marie.
- 25:50Speaker 2: There's no need to. Not the police. You don't know
- 25:52Speaker 2: what you're saying.
- 25:53Speaker 1: What is it, lady?
- 25:54Speaker 4: You'd better calm down now.
- 25:56Speaker 2: Officer, please. No, no, it's no use, Harry.
- 25:58Speaker 4: Officer, these awful fires, they're not accidental. There's a pyromaniac,
- 26:03Speaker 4: a criminal. What? And I know who it is. You've
- 26:06Speaker 4: got to arrest the person. Arrest. So there won't be
- 26:10Speaker 4: any more.
- 26:11Speaker 2: All right, lady. Now, what is this?
- 26:13Speaker 4: Who is the pyromaniac? The criminal is my husband. Hurry, Jordan.
- 26:19Speaker 4: This man here. Arrest him, officer.
- 26:40Speaker 2: Well, that's about all there is to the story, gentlemen.
- 26:44Speaker 2: Then I was brought here. Must have sounded kind of, well,
- 26:49Speaker 2: painful for you to hear it all over again, Marie.
- 26:51Speaker 4: No, it was all right, Harry.
- 26:54Speaker 2: I wonder, um, I got a cigarette.
- 26:56Speaker 4: Could I... No, I'll light it for you, Harry.
- 27:00Speaker 2: You don't have to worry. I won't try and keep
- 27:03Speaker 2: the matches here. She's been awfully good to me, gentlemen.
- 27:08Speaker 2: You'll take good care of her, won't you? She tried
- 27:10Speaker 2: everything to help. She hid the matches so as to
- 27:14Speaker 2: keep them from me. She even tried to give me
- 27:17Speaker 2: sleeping pills so I wouldn't... It's all right, Harry. I'm
- 27:23Speaker 2: sorry about the locket, dear. It must have fallen out
- 27:26Speaker 2: of my coat when I was in that building on
- 27:28Speaker 2: 98th Street. I.
- 27:31Speaker 4: It's all right, Harry. You can buy me another one sometime.
- 27:36Speaker 5: You.
- 27:38Speaker 2: You can't... blame anybody for liking fires. It's not their fault.
- 27:43Speaker 2: Fires are beautiful to watch. So bright and clean. They
- 27:49Speaker 2: burn up all the filth and dirt. And they're magnificent
- 27:52Speaker 2: to watch. Especially the big ones. The way the flames
- 27:56Speaker 2: roar and crackle, lighting up everything around you. The beautiful fire.
- 28:02Speaker 2: The beautiful fire. The beautiful fire.
- 28:22Speaker 5: And so closes The Night Reveals, starring Mr. Robert Young
- 28:26Speaker 5: and Margot. Tonight's tale of suspense.
- 28:33Speaker 3: I want you to know that the distinguished Roma California
- 28:35Speaker 3: wines include the most enjoyable types for every possible occasion.
- 28:39Speaker 3: Dry table wines, red and white, appetizer and dessert wines,
- 28:43Speaker 3: and also champagne and sparkling burgundy. Nothing can add more
- 28:47Speaker 3: downright pleasure to your meals or to your entertainment of friends...
- 28:51Speaker 3: and no enjoyment could be more economical. For not only
- 28:54Speaker 3: are they supremely delicious, Roma wines are America's largest selling wines,
- 28:59Speaker 3: and they cost only a few cents a glass. The
- 29:02Speaker 3: vast quantities regularly purchased and enjoyed by wine lovers, the
- 29:07Speaker 3: advantageous locations of the great Roma wineries in the favored
- 29:10Speaker 3: wine districts throughout California, these things permit truly modest prices
- 29:15Speaker 3: that make Roma wines the world's outstanding wine values. Roma, R-O-M-A.
- 29:23Speaker 3: Roma wines are true to type. Roma wines are faithful
- 29:26Speaker 3: in flavor. Roma wines are sound of character. Roma wines
- 29:29Speaker 3: are reasonable in cost. Made in California for enjoyment throughout
- 29:34Speaker 3: the world.
- 29:36Speaker 2: This is Robert Young. It's been a great pleasure for
- 29:39Speaker 2: me to appear tonight on... Suspense, one of my very
- 29:41Speaker 2: favorite programs. And I know you'll want to be listening
- 29:44Speaker 2: next Thursday when my friend and colleague at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Mr.
- 29:47Speaker 2: Charles Lawton, will be your star.
- 29:50Speaker 5: Then next Thursday, same time, for Charles Lawton in Suspense.
- 29:54Speaker 3: Presented by Roma Wines, R-O-M-A. Made in California for enjoyment
- 30:00Speaker 3: throughout the world. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.
- 30:16Speaker 1: The hour closes with suspense. The night reveals. Good night
- 30:20Speaker 1: and thank you for sharing this 1943 CBS broadcast.