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The Shadow - "The House That Death Built" (Old Time Radio) · The Shadow | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Brett Morrison and Grace Matthews are heard as Lamont Cranston
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: and Margot Lane, with Andre Baruch announcing. On January 25th, 1948,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Mutual Broadcasting System presented The Shadow, The House That Death Built,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: episode 432, written by Alfred Bester and sponsored by Blue Coal.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Caught in a blizzard, Cranston and Lane seek refuge in
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: an isolated, grotesquely designed house whose past is tied to
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: a former state executioner. Inside, several suspicious strangers are pursuing
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: a hidden fortune, and the mansion conceals deadly mechanisms modeled
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: on methods of execution. With escape and communication cut off
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: by the storm, Cranston becomes the shadow to learn who
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: controls the house. We now take you back to the
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: original broadcast.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: The shadow knows.
• 1:28
  Speaker 4: Once again, your neighborhood blue coal dealer brings you the
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: thrilling adventures of the shadow. The hard and relentless fight
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: of one man against the forces of evil. These dramatizations
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: are designed to demonstrate forcefully to old.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: And young alike.
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: That crime does not pay. The lucky householders whose homes
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: are heated with hard coal are enjoying steady, uninterrupted, healthful
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: warmth in every room. Even when winter winds blow and
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: the temperature dives to zero, there's no need to cut
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: down heat or close off rooms in homes heated with
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: dependable hard coal.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. When you have a supply of hard coal.
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: In your basement, you're the boss of heating your house.
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: You are absolutely independent of any outside service. Be glad
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: you heat with anthracite, the home heating fuel that never fails.
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: And remember, blue coal is the finest anthracite money can buy.
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: The Shadow, who aids the forces of law and order,
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: is in reality Lamont Cranston, wealthy young man of our town.
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: Years ago in the Orient, Cranston learned a strange and
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: mysterious secret. The hypnotic power to cloud men's minds so
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: they cannot see him. Cranston's friend and companion, the lovely
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: Margo Lane, is the only person who knows to whom
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: the voice of the invisible shadow belongs.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: Today's drama... The house that death built.
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: In a lonely cemetery in New England, three men work
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: furiously in a swirling blizzard, opening a new grave. The
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: headstone lies on one side and reads, Ben Falkenberg. Born 1878.
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: Died 1948.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: The grave is a.
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: Black pit in the white snow and reveals a cheap,
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: shabby coffin.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Come on, come on.
• 3:53
  Speaker 4: What are you stalling for?
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: Get that coffin clear. Well, well... All set, Lafferty. Well,
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: get it open, Rusty. Yeah. Give him a hand, Winther. Right.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: It's got to be in there. It's got to. We've
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: got to make sure. Will you hurry up?
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: Do you want to freeze out here?
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Get it open.
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: Get it open.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: It's open. Well? He's in here, all right. Let me see.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: Let me see him.
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: Go ahead and look.
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Yes. The old Ben Forkenberg finally died. Good. Splendid. All right,
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: let's go. But you hurry, Lattery. Don't be a fool, Windsor.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: We've got to get to Forkenberg's house before dark. There's $ 100, 000
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: waiting in there, and nothing can stop us now.
• 5:05
  Speaker 6: Lamar? Don't tell me I speak to it way out
• 5:09
  Speaker 6: that much, darling.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: You haven't said a thing for the last ten minutes.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: I was just wondering, Margo.
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: Would it be smart to stop somewhere along here for
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: a while till this.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: Storm lands up?
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: This is pretty lonely, can't it? There's a house at
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: the top of this hill. They make out the entrance
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: to the driveway now. Yes. Look, there's someone standing out
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: there by the entrance. Oh, hey there. I beg your pardon.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: Could you give us a hand, please?
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: What do you want?
• 5:34
  Speaker 7: We don't want to get.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: Stuck on the road. Do you think the people in
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: the house could put us up for a few hours?
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: No.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: What? You know what's good for you? Stay away from
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: that house.
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: But.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: Keep on driving. Get as far away as you can.
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: Even if it means getting lost on the road. Get
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: out of here. Get out. Don't ever come back. What
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: the devil you say? That's exactly what I do say.
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: The devil's loose in that heap of rotten wood. Now
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: get out of here.
• 5:56
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: What are we going to do tomorrow? Drive to the house, Margo.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: I don't think it could be quite as dangerous as
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: our young friend thinks.
• 6:08
  Speaker 4: It certainly can't be worse than.
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: A night in a blizzard.
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: Well, it isn't a very pleasant-looking place, is it?
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: No, it isn't. It looks like a heap of rotten wood.
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: It's all twisty and.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: Well, it looks like an insane architect's building. Well, it'll
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: give us shelter for a while. That's the main thing, Margo.
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: There's a garage. There must be a side entrance somewhere.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: Good afternoon. I suppose you know your trespassing. Who are you?
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: My name is Lafferty. I'm the butler.
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: Do you want shelter in this house?
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: The answer is no. Most decidedly, no. Get back in your.
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: Car and leave.
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: That's impossible, Mr. Lafferty.
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: This house has been closed.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: It will remain closed until it's burned. Until it's burned? Yes, madam.
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: I've been instructed by the owner to burn it.
• 6:56
  Speaker 6: Because fire is the only thing that will destroy the
• 6:59
  Speaker 6: death and horror in it.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Will you please leave? Do you have a telephone? My
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: dear sir, will you be trivial in the face of death?
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: Of course you have. I see the wires. Come on, Margo. Stop.
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: If I'm going to get out of here, I've got
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: to get a tow car to home.
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: I'm going to fall. Now, don't be a fool. Don't
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: go into that house. If you value your life, don't
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: go in there. Rusty.
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: Rusty.
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: Coming right up, Lafferty.
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: What are you doing with that gun, you fool? Put
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: that away. I'm just covering that Cranston guy in case
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: I was holed up in the garage. You know him?
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Who don't? Lamont Cranston, playboy. Pal of the police commission.
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: Dangerous girl, Margo Lane. And look, Lafferty, we've got to
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: get him out of here. But not with a gun,
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: you idiot. How? The way we decided to get rid
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: of intruders before we came here. Frightened. Like that line
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: you handed Cranston? Yes. He almost had me believe it.
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: Well, they will believe before we're finished.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: Now go get Windsor from the gate. I'll have a
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: few bitter words to say to him. He was stationed
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: there to keep people out. Now I'll have to work
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: overtime to get rid of Francis. But how, Lafferty, how?
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: Leave that to me, Rusty. Leave that to me.
• 8:14
  Speaker 8: I think these stairs are the lead to the main floor, Martha.
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: Watch your step.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: What is going on in there? Not very much in
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: the looks of it. Butler, Lassiter, and the young man
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: at the gate. What are they trying to warn us about?
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: I don't know, Margo.
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: Wait a minute.
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: Let's try that door there. The house is twistier inside
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: than it is outside.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: That zigzag labyrinth. Who are you? I beg your pardon?
• 8:49
  Speaker 9: Get your hands up and don't move.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: Do you mind putting a light on? I asked you
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: what you were doing in my house. Speak up. Your house? Why,
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: the butler said it was empty. The butler? He said
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: his name was Lafferty. Who else is outside? Quick. My dear, Miss...
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: The name doesn't matter. I think it does, my dear.
• 9:04
  Speaker 5: Who's that?
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: Who? Hey. Wake up.
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: Who is it?
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: Don't try to shoot again, my dear.
• 9:07
  Speaker 4: You can't see in the dark.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: I can. You raise that revolver, I'll blast your hand off.
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: Well, if you don't mind, I think I'll light a match.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: I'd like to know who's murdering who.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: This is a charming situation.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: Margaret, there's a candle on the table. Right. We're all strangers,
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: aren't we?
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: The Lafferty claims to be butler of this crazy house,
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: but he's unacquainted with this young lady who claims to
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: own it.
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: Mr. Cranston.
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: How do you know my name?
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: Now, look, mister, I want you... I'm going into the gate.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: What's your name? Windsor. And you, young lady? Jane Archer.
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: Well, we have a spook house and three lying strangers.
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: I suppose you all cover each other with your guns
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: while I phone for a tow car and the local police.
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: Must be a phony.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: Don't look for it, Mr. Cranston! Don't move! Look out!
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: Very interesting.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: United Front against the police, eh? What are you people
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: up to in this madhouse?
• 9:56
  Speaker 5: The green ghost! Where is it?
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: Laughery!
• 9:59
  Speaker 5: The green ghost! That was Rusty.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: Rusty?
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: I came from the hall. Put away your guns and
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: come out, all of you.
• 10:06
  Speaker 5: Hold the.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: Line a little closer, Martha.
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: Oh, good Lord.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: This isn't it. This man, Ruster, you called him? Yeah.
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: Shot three times in the chest.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: Oh, I see. But by what? Who shot him? I
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: don't know. Anyway, look at this.
• 10:35
  Speaker 7: There's a trap on the side of the hall. Three
• 10:39
  Speaker 7: guns set there like a firing line. There's a treadle
• 10:42
  Speaker 7: attachment to the trigger. He roughly stepped on it, the
• 10:46
  Speaker 7: trap swung open, and the guns in the wall blasted
• 10:48
  Speaker 7: a life out of him.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: But what was he screaming? Something about the green ghost.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: I don't know, Margo.
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: Now listen, all of you, and get this straight. We're
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: all of us trapped in this twisted house, and some
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: of you have declared war.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: My dear Mr. Cranston.
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: Margo and I are going back to the living room
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: and call the police. I wouldn't try any gunpowder persuasion, Lafferty.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: Really, Mr.
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: Cranston?
• 11:10
  Speaker 4: Really. I took the liberty of borrowing Rusty's gun while
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: I was examining it. You wouldn't like to trade shots
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: with me, would you, Lafferty?
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: You wouldn't.
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: All right, Margo, let's go.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: Hello. Hello, hello.
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: It's no use, Margo. The line's dead.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: Blizzard must have knocked the wires down.
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: Then we're stuck here.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: In a house without light, without a phone, and with
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: three maniacs who apparently dislike each other as much as us.
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: I want to get out of here, Lamar.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: I don't know if.
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: We can find our way out now, Margo. And even
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: if we could, there's been a murder committed. We've got
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: to find out who's responsible.
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: What can we do? You can sit tight and wait
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: here for me, darling. The shadow is going to pay
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: a visit.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: Windsor. Yes? Step into this alcove a moment. Well? Congratulations,
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: my dear boy. For what? Oh, don't be modest. You
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: were magnificent. How did you manage to make Rusty scream
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: that gibberish about ghosts before you killed him? Before I...
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: That was a two-edged sword. With one blow, you eliminated
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: that little man and... You created an air of supernatural
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: menace that will certainly frighten the others away. You're crazy.
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: You killed Rusty. My dear boy. You killed Rusty for
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: his share of the money.
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: You want to split two ways instead of three.
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: Maybe you only want to split one way after you
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: kill me. Windsor, that's ridiculous.
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: I swear that I never killed....
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: Who's that?
• 13:02
  Speaker 4: Someone who laughs at two modest killers with poison in
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: their hearts and doubt in their minds.
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: But... There isn't anybody I can see.
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: This is the shadow.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: Shadow.
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: What money brought you to this house, Lafferty? Answer with
• 13:18
  Speaker 4: the truth.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: Well, I.
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: $ 100, 000.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: Whose money is it? It belonged to Jerry Crane.
• 13:23
  Speaker 5: You lied.
• 13:24
  Speaker 4: Jerry Crane was the thief executed for murder ten years ago.
• 13:26
  Speaker 4: Jerry Crane tried to bribe the state's executioner with that
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: money to fix.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: The execution so he'd live.
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: No man can live through an execution, Windsor.
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: Well, Jerry thought he could.
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: He bribed the executioner, a man named Ben Falkenberg. Falkenberg
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: was caught and dismissed. He built this house and lived
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: here with the money for ten years. He died about
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: a month ago.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: No one found the money, Shadow. No one. It must
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: be here.
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: It's got to be here.
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: Now, look. Look, Shadow. If you know where it is,
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: we'll split with him. Three ways.
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: Fair and square.
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: The fair and square way you split with Rusty?
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: I didn't kill him, I swear it. You're a liar. Now,
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: if you'll help us find the shadow... You cannot.
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: Buy truth, Lafferty. You cannot buy justice. And you cannot
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: buy the shadow. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: Oh, oh, my.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: I've been sitting here in this creepy room getting the safe.
• 14:30
  Speaker 6: Well?
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Windsor and Lafferty accuse each.
• 14:32
  Speaker 3: Other of murdering Rusty.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: What are they after? Money. Fortune hidden somewhere in this
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: house by a former executioner named Ben Forkenberg.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: What's Jane Archer at? Maybe she killed him.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: Maybe.
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: That's going to be the shadow's next visit.
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: Do you know where she is? Well, I thought she was.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: That's Jane. She's coming down that hall. Come on.
• 14:55
  Speaker 5: What's the matter?
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: I don't know. She's in trouble. This is another phony bootlap.
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: She must be further.
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: Down the hall. Yes, that same long winding hall where
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: Rusty was killed.
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: Come on, I wonder.
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: Look up. Now, look up ahead, Margaret. See that tiny window?
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: In the door.
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: Jane, I'm behind you. She's caught in there.
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: Don't let her get me out.
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: Get me out.
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: Come on, that roof.
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: Looks like a gas chamber.
• 15:15
  Speaker 9: Like an executioner's gas chamber.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: Hold your breath, Jane. Get away from the door. I'll
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: have to shoot the lock. Get back from the door
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: and hold your breath.
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: We'll return to the shadow in just a moment. Friends,
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: during the recent severe weather.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: Homes, apartment houses, schools.
• 15:45
  Speaker 4: Have enjoyed healthful, uninterrupted warmth. Regardless of snowstorms, faulting highway traffic,
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: homes and other buildings heated with hard coal have been
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: sure of continued heat. That's because enough coal can be
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: stored to carry you right through the severe part of
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: the heating season. Yes, when you have a supply of
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: hard coal in your basement, you have the assurance of
• 16:05
  Speaker 4: a warm and snug home at all times. Now here
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: is something else. Coal is convenient to burn when modern
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: equipment is used. With a blue coal temp master on
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: your furnace, all trips to the basement to adjust furnace
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: dampers are eliminated. The temp master automatically adjusts them for you,
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: keeping your home constantly at the healthful temperature you set
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: on the upstairs aisles. You'll be delighted when you discover
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: how little attention your furnace requires with a Temp Master regulator.
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: A Temp Master can be installed on any furnace without
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: interrupting the heat in your home.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: Yes, it will pay you to.
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: Call the nearest blue coal dealer tomorrow and ask him
• 16:41
  Speaker 4: to demonstrate the Temp Master.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: In your home.
• 16:45
  Speaker 4: Now, back to the shadows. Marooned in the twisted house
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: of Ben Falkenberg, who has died and left a fortune
• 17:03
  Speaker 4: concealed in the rotting room, Vermont Cranston and Margo Lane
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: find Jane Archer, one of the four mysterious people who
• 17:10
  Speaker 4: are searching for the money, trapped in the replica of
• 17:12
  Speaker 4: an executioner's gas chamber. Cranston has just fired the sixth
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: shot into the heavy steel lock.
• 17:18
  Speaker 9: Look out now, Margo.
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: I've got to use my shoulder. What's that? Who's doing
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: the shoot?
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: Give me a hand, Windsor, quick. Get this door knocked in.
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: Right. Together now.
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: Once more, does it? Hold your breath.
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: What's that?
• 17:31
  Speaker 9: The gas chamber.
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: Help me get the girl out.
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: Jane Archie. She's almost killed. Take her arm. Steady.
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: Get that door closed, Margo. Right. Get her down the
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: hall here.
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: Jane. How do you feel, Miss Archer? She's all right.
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: A touch of methane. Lucky it wasn't cyanide. That feels
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: like a thunderbolt. What happened, Miss Archer? I was looking...
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: He walked into the room.
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: He jerked out of the clothes.
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: Automatic.
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: Couldn't stop it.
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: He just got here in time. Searching for what, Miss Archer?
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: What?
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: He said you were looking. Looking for what? What were
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: you looking for? I don't know.
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: This isn't time for secrets, Miss Archer. Let her alone. Well,
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: I thought you two were enemies. You were pointing guns
• 18:21
  Speaker 4: at each other half an hour ago. I wasn't pointing
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: any gun.
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: Lafferty was doing all this. Lafferty? That's me.
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: Where is he?
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: You heard the shots and came running, Winter. Why didn't Lafferty?
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: Maybe because he set this trap, too.
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: Where did you leave him? Wandering around this rotten honeycomb
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: of a heart. What's the matter?
• 18:42
  Speaker 5: Funny.
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: Sounds almost like drop. Yes, it does.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: Come on. Look at those pounds of wine. Where's it
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: coming from? It's 20 miles away, stuck in the snow, depending.
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: On the moon.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: Wait, Martin. It's coming from this room.
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: Lamar!
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: Wait, there's a massager in here quickly.
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: What is it? I found Lafferty.
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: Swinging in the air, his heels banging on the walls.
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: He's been hacked.
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: The End.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: Better get another candle lit, Margo.
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: All right. He's dead, huh? Another murder. Very much dead.
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: Lafferty wandered in at this room, stepped on that trap,
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: and a spring noose caught him at the neck and
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: whipped him into the air.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: What's the matter, Miss Archer? What? Don't like murder?
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: Come on.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: Who are you, Miss Archer? Why are you in this house?
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: I can't tell you.
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: Can't you understand, Miss Archer, that Lafferty was right? This
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: house is filled with death and terror. This is the
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: time for the truth.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: All right. Who are you? Jane Crane. Crane?
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: Jerry Crane's daughter? Yes. Jerry Crane?
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: The man who bribed Ben Falkenberg? The man who was executed?
• 20:12
  Speaker 9: Yes.
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: I'm his daughter.
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: I came here to see if I could find that money.
• 20:20
  Speaker 4: The money he stole from the Chase Bond Company the
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: night he murdered the guard. I had a crazy idea.
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: It might help clear the name.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: What's the matter with you, Winslow? You're right, Cranston.
• 20:32
  Speaker 4: It is time for the truth. You'll get a kick
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: out of this confession. I work for the Chase Bond Company.
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: Detective assigned to recover that money. Yeah, I was playing
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: along with Lafferty and his stooge to find the money.
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: Of course, I figured this house would be harmless after
• 20:46
  Speaker 4: Ben Falkenberg died.
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: He's not dead.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: What? Ben isn't dead. He's somewhere in this house. He
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: was the green ghost Rusty saw before he was killed.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: Wait a second. Lafferty and I saw the body. You
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: didn't see Ben's body. He's still alive. Wait a minute.
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: He's still alive and in this house, sitting dead.
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: None of us is going to be safe until he's caught. Yeah,
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: that's right. Well, I think I'd better start looking for him. Now,
• 21:11
  Speaker 4: wait a second, Winston.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: Now, look, Cranston, it's my job to... Your job was
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: the money. I'll forget that. The big thing now is
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: to find the killer. That's my job.
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: You're going to stay with Jake.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: Am I?
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: Am I, darling?
• 21:22
  Speaker 4: Now, look, Cranston, you might run into another one of
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: those death traps two feet from here. I'm afraid we'll
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: just have to take out Jake.
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: Jake. Good luck.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: Thanks.
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: It may need it.
• 21:39
  Speaker 5: Careful now, Margo. This is our last candle.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: It's been burning.
• 21:46
  Speaker 5: It's been burning.
• 21:50
  Speaker 8: For a.
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: Long time.
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: Noah, we're going?
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: Well, every time someone went down this hall, they were
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: stopped by an executioner's trap.
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: Rusty walked down a little way and he was killed
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: by a firing.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: Line of guns.
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: Jean Archer went further and was trapped in a gas chamber.
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: Lafferty went even further.
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: And was hung in a noose.
• 22:23
  Speaker 9: The money's at the end of this hall?
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: Must be.
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: We're going to follow every twist and turn until we
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: reach the end. How many more traps will it be?
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: Wish I knew that. It's like... Like running the gauntlet.
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: Around this corner.
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: And shield the flames.
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: Stay close to me, darling. That looks like a flight
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: of steps ahead.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Bill, let me go first. All right.
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: Careful. I thought he was trying to.
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: Frighten us off with his spook talks.
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: He told the truth. The house has murder and terror
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: in every corner.
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: There's death. That's all right. Stop!
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: What?
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: Three-foot guillotine knife, sharp as a razor. We'd have been
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: sliced like butter. Ma, we're not going to keep on.
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: Got to. Ma, what'll be next?
• 23:20
  Speaker 4: What'll be next?
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: I don't know, darling.
• 23:22
  Speaker 5: Ma?
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: Yes?
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: There's my candle left. My finger's getting burned.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: Try to hold out a little longer, Margo. The head
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: of the stairs. Well, if one of the traps is
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: solitary confinement for life... What? Oh! What happened to the candles?
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: That blew out.
• 23:42
  Speaker 6: There was a draft.
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: A sudden gust. Get back into the wall. What's the
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: matter now? Sudden gust could mean a door open somewhere.
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: Maybe another trap's starting. I'll have a look.
• 23:51
  Speaker 4: As much as I can, we'll get it.
• 23:54
  Speaker 6: No, Lamont, I don't want to be left behind. Please.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: Lamont.
• 23:59
  Speaker 6: Lamont, I'm getting all mixed up in the dark.
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: There's so many doors and corners and turns. Lamont. Lamont.
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: Good evening, my dear. I've been waiting for you. Come in.
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: Come in. No, I... Come in, please.
• 24:19
  Speaker 3: Come in, my dear.
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: Don't scream, please.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: It's all right. Ben's your friend.
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: Your dear friend.
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: Isn't this nice?
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: Isn't this lovely?
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: It's death hot.
• 24:41
  Speaker 6: At the electric chair.
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: That's right, my dear. That's right. Now come with Ben. Ben?
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: You're Ben Falkenberg.
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: I let them think old Ben was dead.
• 24:52
  Speaker 6: So they'd become friends looking for the money. I've had
• 24:56
  Speaker 6: three today. They died well, very well indeed. But not
• 25:02
  Speaker 6: as well as you will, my dear.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: Now come along. No, no.
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: Now touch me, my dear.
• 25:07
  Speaker 8: Many is the one that I've caught.
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: Come, I'll get you.
• 25:13
  Speaker 9: No, please, no.
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: Get down, child.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: I'm doing you a kindness.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: A great kindness. Now you're entirely ready. No, please, no.
• 25:27
  Speaker 4: Don't touch that switch, Walkenberg.
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: Who is that? Who spoke?
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: This is the Shadow.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: The Shadow? No. There's no shadow in this room. It's
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: all bright light and beautiful current.
• 25:38
  Speaker 4: Stop laughing. What a fool you are. Do you love
• 25:42
  Speaker 4: death so dearly that you want to die?
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: No, I don't want to die. I wouldn't be able
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: to continue with my execution.
• 25:48
  Speaker 4: But you will die for the murder of three people
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: in this house.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: Oh, no, not me. There'll be no one to tell.
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: No one will know.
• 25:53
  Speaker 6: After this pretty girl dies, no one will live to tell.
• 25:57
  Speaker 4: The shadow knows then. The shadow knows the truth.
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: Where are you? Come out and find me.
• 26:03
  Speaker 4: To be brought to justice, Ben.
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: I will not.
• 26:06
  Speaker 4: You'll pay for your crimes, Ben. There is no escape.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: If I could find you, I'd be safe. I would.
• 26:10
  Speaker 4: There is no escape, Ben. You'll burn for murder. You'll burn.
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: Burn.
• 26:15
  Speaker 9: Yes.
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: Yes, burn. I have my own switchboard.
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: Don't touch those wires.
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: This plant has saved me all my life. It'll save
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: me in death.
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: Ah!
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: Ah!
• 26:37
  Speaker 4: How are you two back there, cold?
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: Oh, we're fine, Cranston. Don't worry about Jane.
• 26:42
  Speaker 4: You seem to be doing all of.
• 26:43
  Speaker 8: That, Windsor.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: Too bad he hasn't got three arms.
• 26:46
  Speaker 4: Looks like he's having trouble holding on to Jane and
• 26:48
  Speaker 4: the money at the same time.
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: I've got the money. Uh-huh.
• 26:51
  Speaker 4: I can't get over old Falkenberg hiding up in that
• 26:53
  Speaker 4: execution chamber.
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: For $ 100, 000 all these years.
• 26:57
  Speaker 8: Faking his death so that people would be lured into
• 26:59
  Speaker 8: his death house.
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: Well, the scandal of the bribe and his dismissal must
• 27:02
  Speaker 4: have really.
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: Snapped his mind.
• 27:04
  Speaker 9: I think the most ironic part was the way he
• 27:06
  Speaker 9: died by electrocution himself.
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: Oh, he wasn't electrocuted, Margo. Wasn't electrocuted?
• 27:11
  Speaker 4: No.
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: He was.
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: I saw him die.
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: Not from electrocution. He was electrocuted.
• 27:16
  Speaker 9: He staggered against the control panel, grabbed the live wires,
• 27:19
  Speaker 9: and was killed instantly.
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: Not by electricity. By shock.
• 27:22
  Speaker 5: What do you mean?
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: You remember the blizzard? The phone and power lines were down.
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: There wasn't any current in the house. Those wires were dead.
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: But Lamont... He died from the shock of his own imagination, Margo.
• 27:32
  Speaker 4: Then Falkenberg was killed by his beliefs in his own death.
• 27:50
  Speaker 4: Now let me present Blue Coal's Distinguished Heating Authority, John Bartlett.
• 27:54
  Speaker 4: Thank you, Andre Bruch, and good evening, Fred.
• 27:56
  Speaker 9: Many people think we are having an abnormal winter. The
• 28:00
  Speaker 9: United States Weather Bureau, however, reports temperatures so far this
• 28:04
  Speaker 9: winter are entirely normal.
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: So you can expect this kind of.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: Weather any year.
• 28:10
  Speaker 9: And government experts tell us, too, that we can expect
• 28:13
  Speaker 9: a continued shortage for several years.
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: Of certain types of fuel.
• 28:17
  Speaker 4: So here's important news. Now you can have completely automatic
• 28:22
  Speaker 4: heat in.
• 28:22
  Speaker 9: Your home with a hard coal burner stoker and save
• 28:26
  Speaker 9: up to 50% of the cost of other fuels. Yes,
• 28:30
  Speaker 9: hard coal stokers are easy to get. Call the nearest
• 28:33
  Speaker 9: blue coal dealer tomorrow. He'll be glad to assist you
• 28:37
  Speaker 9: in making arrangements to install a dependable automatic anthracite.
• 28:41
  Speaker 4: Stoker in your home.
• 28:43
  Speaker 8: I thank you.
• 28:55
  Speaker 4: This story is copyrighted by Street and Smith Publications, Incorporated.
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: The characters, names, places, and plots are fictitious.
• 29:04
  Speaker 4: Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
• 29:09
  Speaker 4: Again next week, the shadow will demonstrate that.
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: The weed.
• 29:13
  Speaker 4: Of crime bears bitter fruit.
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: Crime does not pay.
• 29:22
  Speaker 4: The Shadow knows. Next week, same time, same station, your
• 29:34
  Speaker 4: friendly blue coal dealer brings you another strange and thrilling
• 29:37
  Speaker 4: adventure in The Shadow's Daring Battle Against.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: the Forces of Evil.
• 29:41
  Speaker 4: The Shadow is presented by the DL & W Coal Company,
• 29:44
  Speaker 4: distributors of Blue Coal. Lamont Cranston is played by Brett Mollison.
• 29:49
  Speaker 4: Margot by Grace Matthews. Your announcer is Andre Baruch. Remember,
• 29:53
  Speaker 4: it's blue coal for finest heating service. It's blue coal
• 29:56
  Speaker 4: for finest modern equipment. It's blue coal for the best
• 29:59
  Speaker 4: home heat money can buy. This week, the whole country
• 30:06
  Speaker 4: is celebrating the 33rd anniversary of the founding of the
• 30:10
  Speaker 4: modern United States Coast Guard. Congratulations, Coast Guard.
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: The curtain falls on the shadows the house that death built.
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: Follow the shadow for more classic broadcasts.