The DuPont Company welcomes back to the entertainment world former Lieutenant Senior Grade Henry Fonda, United States Naval Reserve, in his first acting role after his three years service. Tonight Henry Fonda stars in the now what can be told drama, Spy on the Killer Cycles, on the cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Before our play, here is Gain Whitman. Mark Twain once said that everybody complained about the weather, but no one did anything about it. Here's something you can do. Tomorrow, you can get that car of yours fully protected against the freeze up that's sure to strike many sections of the country in the next few weeks, maybe days. Stop at your favorite dealers tomorrow. Ask him to clean the cooling system of clogging, rust, and scale with DuPont Cooling System Cleanser. Have leaks stopped with Cooling System Sealer. Have your car protected against freezing, rust, and corrosion by adding a dependable DuPont Anti-Freeze. All of these car protection products are examples of DuPont's better things for better living through chemistry. Now, for the first time, the story can be told of how government agents checkmated an enemy spy invasion. The DuPont Company presents Henry Fonda in the role of government agent Seldon Kramer in Spy on the Killer Cycles, on the cavalcade of America. Our story opens in wartime America. At Dorchester, Massachusetts, government agents are attempting to track down an illegal radio transmitter. There it is. Did you get a fix that time? Somewhere between 90 and 94 degrees. Gosh, Kramer, he doesn't send long enough for me to line him in accurately on this direction fire. It's like trying to get a fix on a will of the wisp. But we're getting closer. I'll chart it down. But this turns out to be some high school kid. It is Johnson now. Let's see what he got. Hello? Kramer? Johnson, did you pick him up that time? Yes, I did. On still another frequency. Just like before. If it is a spy, he can't be sending much information. In some codes he could be sending plenty, even in 10 second flashes. What fix did you get? Somewhere between 45 and 50 degrees. 45 to 50, huh? He doesn't give me time to line him up exactly. Yeah, I know. But somebody is operating a radio transmitter illegally. And we're going to track him down if it takes all year. Stick with it. If it turns out to be a high school kid, I'll knock his block off. Now, let's check our readings on the map. 45 to 50 and 90 to 94 degrees. That should put our mysterious transmitter someplace in this half mile rectangle. I better run back to Boston and report to the chief. Sit down, Kramer. Thanks, chief. What about that illegal radio transmitter? Well, it's tough putting a finger right on it. Whoever does the sending is pretty cagey, his messages are short and snappy. Doesn't give us enough time to pinpoint the location of his transmitter. Got the approximate fix? Here, take a look at this. This is a block map of one section of Dorchester. Now, we've got it down this far. The transmitter is located here, right here in this half mile area. Uh-huh. But you can't get a pinpoint on it. No, not so far. We've combed that neighborhood for hours. We know every foot of it. This cookie goes on, sends a couple of words in code, and then he's off before we get the chance to nail him. So, what's next? Well, we've got a list of every pre-war amateur radio operator in the district. Willard and Johnson are checking on them now. Good. And while they're doing that legwork, I can use you on another little job. But, chief, we've got to run down that transmitter. The other men can handle that for the time being. Here, look at this, Kramer. I want you to run down this gadget. What is it, chief? That's what I want to know. Looks like aluminum. No, it's some kind of valoy, I think. Huh. Funny looking thing. Where'd you get it? Oh, sent in by some vacationist. Says she found it on the beach. Another crank? Hmm, could be. Well, so far we've had packages from subways, unopened boxes containing everything from fruitcake to Limburger cheese. And now we've got a metal tube with hinges that open up. And I want to know what it is. Looks like some new kind of beer can. Don't need an opener. Just press the button and there it is. All right, chief, I'll run it down and report to you. How about letting Willard keep in touch with me on the other things? All right, if it'll keep you happy. Maybe not happy, but I'll feel more satisfied. I just don't like to quit in the middle of a case. Summers, I wish you'd take this gadget and check with Army and Navy. See if they use these things in any of their operations. Ah, funny looking thing. Oh, can opener go with it? Seeds to be some sort of a built-in release. Probably some screwball inventor's idea of the new boon to the modern kitchenette bride, self-opening tin can. What's the word, Summers? Well, nothing doing as far as Army and Navy is concerned. It's not a flareshell tube. It's not a die marker tube. And they had no idea what it might be? No, everybody fell in line with your notion. It might be a self-opening tin can. Well, we'll have to try something else. Yes, Mr. Kramer? Miss Oaks, will you get me Professor Roy Matthews at MIT? Yes, Mr. Kramer. Sorry, we couldn't help you out, Kramer. I wouldn't hazard a guess as to what that thing might be. Okay, Summers, thanks for trying. Glad to help you out any time. See you again, Kramer. All right. Bye, Mr. Summers. Goodbye. Mr. Kramer, Mr. Willard is here. Send him right in. Come right in, Willard. Hi, Kramer. Here's the stuff, reams of reports. After all that leg work, rest your feet. Thanks, my dogs are worn down at the ankles. Tell me about it. I don't like to read reports. Well, Johnson and I scarred that half mile till we knew everybody by his first name. There's no transmitter operating, at least none that we could see. Whatever ham sets their word before the war, either dismantled or tucked away. Sure none of them's been used? Positive. There are only three, one owned by a kid named Schaff, another by a guy named Collins, the third's owned by a Walder Nedless. Schaff? In the Navy. Collins? In the Army. Nedless? Also Army. Anyone likely to have been using those transmitters? Nedless and Collins' dismantled layers, everything's locked away. Schaff's is in working order, but his mother and sister swear that no one's been near it. Keep your eye on the place? Night and day. No one went in or out or didn't belong. Who belonged? A mother and sister on a border named Marquette. What's she like? Want to read the report? Nope, you read it. All right, Jack Marquette, works in Keller Shipyard, welder. What else, Willard? That's all. You think Marquette could get in to operate that transmitter? It's in Schaff's room. Mother and sister keep the door locked, waiting for the kid to come home. Uh-huh. Okay, Willard, good work. Stay with it. Right, looks like a dead end. Maybe. See you later. We need help on this job. Hello. Hello. Hello, Kramer, this is Roy Matthews. How are you, Professor? Feeling fine, thanks. What's on your mind? Well, some girl found a gadget out on the beach, so today our problem isn't who done it, it's what is it? What does it look like? That's sort of a sport model tin can made of some kind of alloy that looks and feels about like aluminum. Send it over. I'll run it through the lab. Thanks, Professor. We can always depend on MIT. Good day, Kramer. Well, that ought to take care of that. What is it, Kramer? Chief, I, uh, I'm going to the lab. What's the matter? What is it, Kramer? I'd like to take another run down to Dorchester. Now look, Kramer, have you got a girlfriend down there or don't you think Willard is doing the job? Well, you're wrong on both counts. You see, our spy on the killer cycles is still at large and I'd like to do a little check. I appreciate all that, but what about our metal tube? Summers reports it has nothing to do with Army or Navy, so I'm sending it over to MIT. They're going to run it through the lab. Good. Maybe if you're a good boy and settle the gadget matter, I'll put you back on that little spy chase. Huh. I was never off of it. Miss Oaks. Yes, Mr. Kramer? On my desk, you'll find a metal container. I want you to pack it up and send it to Professor Roy Matthews at MIT and close a note for me saying, um, this is it. What is it? Sincerely yours, et cetera, et cetera. Is that all? I don't like long letters and, um, oh yes, if Mr. Berman should call, tell him I've gone fishing. Fishing? You are, Mr. Kramer? Where? At Dorchester. I hope you catch something. Yes, yes indeed. I hope so too. Well, Mr. Kramer, ever since Danny's been away in the Navy, you know, Marcel and I have had to take in boarders. Would you like to see the room? Yes, I'd like to very much. Right this way, please. We have only one boarder, a Mr. Marquette, oh, a lovely gentleman. Not a bit of bother neat as a pin. Sounds like a wonderful guy to have around, Mrs. Shaft. Oh, he is. Of course, Marcel and I said we'd never take more than one boarder, but Mr. Marquette's been so wonderful. He's really been no trouble at all. I do hope you're not fussy, Mr. Kramer. Easiest person in the world, if please, Mrs. Shaft. Here we are then, right next to Mr. Marquette. Good. Of course, it's a little smaller than Mr. Marquette's, but he's been with us and he needs a little more room for his hobby. Hobby? Yes, oh, he's so lonely, the poor man. But he does have fun with his photography. Oh, wonderful hobby. He passes so much of the time with it. Will $15 be all right, Mr. Kramer? $15? Oh, that's expensive for just a room, isn't it? I thought something like that. Oh, that's with board, Mr. Kramer. Oh, you see, the price of food has risen sky high. But if you want to eat out, the price will be $7 a week. Is that all right? Fine, fine, just fine. I'll pay two weeks in advance now. Oh, that's wonderful. And here's your key, Mr. Kramer. Thank you. Mrs. Shaft, did you say Marquette works in the day? Yes. Why? I have a night shift, and I was thinking about sleeping during the day. Hello, Chief, over here at the bar. And what's the idea of having me meet you in this beer joint? Well, I don't want to attract too much attention over at the rooming house. It's safer here. And what's this routine your girl gives me about going fishing? Chief, I think I'm on something pretty hot. Over at this rooming house where I'm staying, there's a guy named Marquette, see? Kramer, you're the best man I've got in this department. But the most obstinate. I thought I told you to stick to that tin gadget. I've got Willard on this case. Just a minute, Chief. This is interesting. Listen. Here's a guy named Marquette. A nice, steady, dependable boarder. Never goes anywhere, never does anything. At the shipyard, he's considered a good worker. So? So, this is my problem, Mr. Anthony. I was wondering about a guy who has photography for a hobby, buys all sorts of developers, fixing baths, but he never buys any film. How'd you learn that? I checked at the photographic store where he buys his stuff. And furthermore, why would a guy like that keep bags of grain in his room? Grain? You mean, well, wheat, stuff like that? That's it. Now, why? You think you've got something? I know I have. And another thing, his room adjoins Danny Shaft's room, connecting door between. He could slip in, use a transmitter for a few seconds, then out. Mrs. Shaft and the daughter never would suspect. I see. Well, I'll get Willard to Jimmy the transmitter so he can't use it. Oh, no, not yet, Chief, because I got a rough idea that we might like to know whom he contacts and why. Hmm. Well, I guess you're right. Yeah, I guess you've got something there, Kramer. Thanks, Chief. Oh, by the way, some Professor Powell of yours at the Institute has been calling you. Oh, Professor Matthews. It's about that metal gadget, I guess. Oh, good. I certainly hope he knows what it is. Yeah. Now, about this Marquette, I think... Now, look, Kramer, this is not your assignment, remember? That tin can gadget is spraying on my mind, and I've got to know what it is. Right, Chief. Okay, I'll run right down to the Institute and find out. Professor Roy Matthews, please. He's expecting me. Oh, yes, yes. Yeah, in the laboratory, sir. Thank you. Hello, Roy. What's cooking? Hmm? Oh, hello, Kramer. I didn't hear you come in. The Chief tells me you called. Yes. Where'd you say you got that gadget you sent in? Oh, some vacationist sent it to us. Found it on a beach. You mean your stump, too? Not exactly. Come over here by the light. Ah, don't keep me in suspense. Well, it's an alloy. German-made. German? Yeah, they use it in place of aluminum. Now, take a look at it through the microscope. See anything? Hmm. Are those powder burns on the bottom? They are. So? Notice anything different about it? Ah, yeah, you added something, didn't you? Yeah, just a couple of catches to hold the tube shut. These are spring hinges. The tube closes, and the catches keep the tube from opening. But if a cartridge is fixed to go off under range so that the force of the explosion, maybe just a tiny one, pushes a plunger like this, and the tube flies open and releases whatever's inside. And what's inside? Incendiary bomb? Oh, nothing that exciting. Here, we'll put some light inside the tube. Now, look through the microscope. Oh, I don't see anything. Along the side, those little threads are what look like threads. Oh, yeah, I see them. An ornithologist would tell you those were fragments of feathers. Feathers? Hey, feathers! Grain, wheat! What's the matter with you? You did it, Professor, you did it. I'll thank you later. Right now, I gotta get to the office. You're listening to Henry Fonda as government agent Seldon Kramer in the dramatic adventure of The Spy on the Killer Cycles on the cavalcade of America sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Government agent Seldon Kramer has pieced together several widely separated bits of information, all pointing to activities of the German espionage. He reports his findings to his chief. And I'm telling you, this is it, chief. That metal can is a pigeon carrier shot off a German sub. The can flies into the air, the cartridge releases the springs, and the bird takes off. I get it. I get it. Sure, and it ties right in with Marquette. Marquette? How do you figure that? That's why he has grain in his room for a homing pigeon. A pigeon carrying film, film! That's why he needs developers fixing solutions. Okay, pull them in, Kramer. No, not yet. Willard and Gilmore are watching his place night and day. They'll pick up any pigeon that comes in, bring it here. Once Marquette gets the message, he'll contact the senders by Schaff's transmitter. Then we'll nail the whole gang. Kramer speaking. This is Willard. We just snared a pigeon. Good. Bring him right in and don't spare the horsepower. Yes? Chief. What is it, Kramer? Willard's on his way in with a pigeon. Get the cryptography man ready to code any message this bird might be carrying. I'll call Kramer. Tell him Willard is here with the pigeon. He's expecting you, Mr. Willard. Take it right into the darkroom next to his office. Kramer? Yeah, good work, Willard. Give me that pigeon. Here it is. Easy. Ah-ha. I thought so. Eight millimeter film in the tube on the pigeon's foot. Now, the first thing we do is develop this film, but fast. Then we make an exact duplicate negative on that optical printing machine. Once we have that duplicate, we put it back on the pigeon and then Marquette won't know anybody tampered with his messenger or the message. Let's see what time is it now. 2.30. Marquette gets home at five. That gives us two and a half hours to get set. The film's probably in code. And we've got to break it before Marquette gets the duplicate. The cryptography men are here, Kramer. Okay, Chief, here's the film. Smithson, put it in a projector. All right, turn out the lights. There we are. Think you can break it? Hmm. Five letter groups. All right, boys, let's get to work. A, X, B, X, A. First group. Second group, C, Q, F, T, Y. 12th group, Y, M, A, C, B. Y, M, A, C, B. It's tough, Kramer. Now look, you've got to break it before five. It's 4.15 now. Substitute Y for E gets C. Second group under first. Substitute C for Q gets A. That gives us C, A, L, L. Call. Next letter's a no. Now, next group. Get it fast, boys. It's 4.40. That's got it, Kramer. Message reads, call eight. Meet coast landing Saturday. Radio, time and place. Coast landing Saturday? Kramer here. This is Willard. Marquette's on his way home. Okay, Willard, the job's done. Thanks. Marquette's on his way. Open that window. Okay, Mr. Pigeon, if you ever flew fast, you got to do it now. You're working for Uncle Sam. Did you get it, Willard? Right. Is it the same code? Same code. Hello, Chief. You still there? Still with you. We intercepted this message. The boys are decoding. Good. We'll have them ready for the transmission within an hour after the pigeon arrives. Here's the decoded message. Here's the message, Chief. Rendezvous Saturday, your sector. Good going. And we've got the time and location, Chief. Good work, Kramer. Better pick up Marquette. Well, Chief, they sure picked a good black night. Yeah. I just contacted Navy. They have two lighter than air patrols covering the sector awaiting our signal. Blimps, huh? Yeah. That sub won't get back to Germany if the Navy can help it. Got your sector covered? Yeah, we've got 40 men spotted up and down the beach. If those heinies try to land anywhere within five miles of this place, they're going to be a minor surprise. Johnson calling. Chief. Radio call. This is Johnson. Marquette left his house at 320 this morning. We picked him up. No struggle. A German Luger 38 and a half mile flashlight. What should we do with him? Johnson, bring him down here. Yeah, don't let him miss the party. Okay, Willard, check the sector. The time is 422. Everybody on guard. It should come in the next 30 minutes. I'll take the Navy wavelength. Sector one. Time is 0422. Eyes open. Next 30 minutes. Navy. Sector two. This is Berman. Government. Time is 0422. What should happen in the next 30 minutes? Can you glide your blimps over the sector without motor sound? Government, this is Navy. Sector will be blanketed. We'll cut motors and spot sub with radar. Any report, Willard? Nothing so far, Chief. Hey. What's up, Kramer? Look, a light. One long flash, two short ones. Quick, give me Marquette's flashlight. Willard, notify the entire sector on blanket wavelength. Okay, Kramer, give them the flash in return. This ought to bring him in for their little rendezvous. Give me that mic, Willard. Navy. Navy. This is Government. Start your glide and happy hunting on that radar. Here they come, Chief, into the beach. Come by. All right, Kramer, give the signal. Get that search light on. That's good. There they are in rubber boats. Radio the patrol boat to close in. I'm going down and join the reception committee. Patrol boat, close in. Down here, Chief. We nabbed the whole boatload. Good boy, Kramer. Well, well. Welcome to the United States, gentlemen. We're glad to be here to receive you. Put the cuffs on them, Jordan. One of them got hit, Chief. Willard, patch him up and have his chums carry him to the ambulance. Hey, what's this? Another rubber boat? Yeah, they were towing it. Well, now, let's take a look and see what kind of presents these Nazis were bringing us. Well, will you look at this, Kramer? What is it, Chief? Oh, coal, of all things. Boxes of coal. Coal? Let me see. Well, how do you like that? Hmm. Break these lumps open and I'll bet you'll find dynamite. Dynamite? Oh, boy, why else would they have brought this stuff? A few lumps in the coal supply of a defense plant and then wham, we got another unaccountable disaster on our hands. Well, how about that? Boy, that's a new one. Look, Kramer. Look, they brought us the fountain pens. Fountain pens? Mm-hmm. Give me one, Chief. Yeah. Well, how do you like this for a poison pen? Watch, Chief. Unscrew the cap like this. Toss it in the ocean. Right. Clever people, these Nazis. And the sendery pens ready to write plenty of trouble. Well, we've spared ourselves plenty of trouble catching these saboteurs before they had a chance to put this stuff to work. Hey, Chief, Navy reports their blimps have spotted the sub. Good. I hope they don't miss. Look, the blimps have their searchlights on. There's the sub. Caught in the light. They're trying for a crash dive. Right on the button. Good. Well, that's the end of that sub. So, Johnson, tell Navy we picked up a boatload of Nazi ambassadors of ill will. Right. Willard, have your men bring in the stuff and see that our guests are made comfortable. Yes, sir. All right, boys. Let's get busy. Well, that's that, Kramer. I think we can call it a night, Chief. Yeah, yeah. Not a bad night at that. Well, let's get back to the car. You know, I was just thinking what a wonderful thing a vacation is. Mm-hmm. A vacation. Now, wait a minute, Kramer. Ah, take it easy. I didn't mean for me. I was just thinking of that vacationer who picked up that metal tube and sent it in. Hmm? What about her? Well, one fine day when this war's over, we can walk up to her and say, now it can be told. We caught a boatload of saboteurs, sank a sub, and trapped a spy on the killer cycles. Thanks to you. Henry Fonda, star of tonight's DuPont cavalcade, will return in just a moment. Now, here is Gain Whitman. Can you imagine a show being a surprise to the folks who put it on? The DuPont Company put on an exhibit in Wilmington recently that surprised a good many of us who worked for the DuPont Company. It was a collection of about 2,000 things used by the armed forces during the war made of or made with DuPont products. Here's why it surprised some of us. The DuPont Company has plants in several parts of the country, and under military secrecy during the war, the people at one plant often had no idea how materials made at another plant were used. Here they were at last. Hundreds upon hundreds of them, out where everyone could see them. Take just one DuPont product, nylon for instance. At one end of the room were tiny electrical coil forms no bigger than your thumbnail of nylon plastic. At the other stood a gigantic military tire, nine feet tall and weighing 1,500 pounds, containing enough nylon tire cord to make 11,000 pairs of stockings. There was gleaming nylon rope used to tow gliders behind a mother plane. And we got another surprise when we saw a glider tow rope with a loose braid of white, black and red wires inside it, a telephone line. The pilots of the plane and glider could chat over the phone, and when the cable stretched, the wire stretched with it. We learned the jungle fighters were dressed almost from top to toe in nylon. Nylon head nets to protect them against mosquitoes. Nylon ponchos to keep them dry. Nylon jungle boots and shoelaces. We saw nylon cot covers and nylon mosquito tents and hammocks. We saw nylon stretchers for wounded men. We saw armor vests of heavy nylon cloth in layers, cloth so unbelievably strong that it took the place of metal armor. And dozens and dozens of other things made of just this one DuPont product, nylon. Well, the war is over and nylon is on its way back to you now. The DuPont company is making more nylon yarn than ever before, enough to supply every woman in the United States with more nylon stockings than ever before. As you know, DuPont makes the nylon yarn. Other manufacturers take the yarn and make the things you want, like stockings. It takes time for them to knit the stockings and dye them. It will take more time for the manufacturers to distribute hosiery to the stores. But nylon stockings are on the way. Made of nylon, one of DuPont's better things for better living through chemistry. And now, here is the star of tonight's DuPont cavalcade, Henry Vonder. Thank you, everyone. When you're overseas, you think about one thing, what it's going to be like to come home to America and stay home. What it's going to be like to see the family again after you've been separated by 10,000 miles of ocean and three or four years. Next week, Cavalcade will present the story of one such reunion in an original drama entitled Children, This is Your Father. Loretta Young will be the star. I think you'll all want to listen next week at this same time to this absorbing story with lovely Loretta Young as its star. The programs of particular interest to service men and women are broadcast overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. The music for tonight's DuPont cavalcade was composed and conducted by Robert Armbruster. Our cavalcade play was written by Bernard Fiennes and Russell Hughes. Henry Vonder appeared through the courtesy of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. This is Tom Collins inviting you to listen next week to Loretta Young in Children, This Is Your Father on the cavalcade of America brought to you by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This is the National Broadcasting Company.
