The DuPont Cavalcade of America, starring Lee Bowman. Tonight the DuPont Company brings you Mission to Cuba, starring Lee Bowman on the Cavalcade of America. Now Mission to Cuba, starring Lee Bowman as Lieutenant Rowan on the Cavalcade of America. Here you are now. In you go. Wait a minute. In you go. Wait. What now? I'd like a pen and paper. Pen and paper? Why? I want to write a letter to my wife. I want to tell her where I am. You want to tell your wife you're in jail? Please, may I have the pen and paper? My wife doesn't know if I'm dead or alive. I've got to write to her. Well, all right. You're not a bad one, is that? I'll bring them. And hurry. Please, hurry. The year 1898, Lieutenant Andrew Rowan, United States Army, finds himself in a damp prison cell on the island of New Providence in the West Indies. Paper and pen are brought to him, and he begins to write his letter. My darling, what did you think when I left you five weeks ago and without a word? Breakfast into the office. When you kissed me goodbye, you said, bring home chops for dinner. But I never came home, nor sent a reason. I couldn't. I'm in prison, alone in a squat, square cell. It's hot, and it's wet. The only sound is that of dirty water dripping from the ceiling. The dampness breeds snails, the large storybook kind with three-inch horns. Twenty-nine of them keep slowly busy climbing the damp walls. They climb, and I write to you, Kay. And that way we all keep our sanity. I know I'm rambling, but it's so hard to know where to start. Perhaps I'd better begin that spring morning when I left home, and you. Remember that day? Spring was too full for April that morning in Washington. The White House garden's too bright. I had that peculiar feeling that comes to us all, that something was about to happen. When I reached the office, there was a buzz in the hallways. Major Wagner had been in conference all night, he and the president and the secretary of war. I walked down the corridor to my door, stood there reading my name on the glass, Lieutenant Rowan, military intelligence. I had my hand on the doorknob, was ready to open the door when the chief sorority came up to me. Lieutenant Rowan, Major Wagner wants you in his office immediately. Come in, Lieutenant Rowan. Morning, Major. Captain Richards, Lieutenant Fendolent Toledano. Good morning. Gentlemen, now that you're all here, we'll get right down to business. I want one of you for a mission, but which one? I don't know. So I'll state the mission, you ask questions, then I'll decide, good enough? Certainly, sir. All right. You know the rumors that we are about to declare war on Spain. If there should be war, we must know certain things about Cuba. Here's a map. The Spanish army controls the cities and the highways, but somewhere in the mountains, in the jungles, are Cuban insurrectionists. We must know their numbers and disposition, the caliber of their offices and supplies they need. We must know the condition and morale of the Spanish troops. We must learn that from the Cubans, sir. That's right, Toledano. And there are other points of information. Roads and topography of Cuba, sanitation, problems of tropical disease, and perhaps most important, can the Cuban rebels hold out, harass the enemy until the United States forces arrive? Excuse me, sir, but well, that's a job for an entire intelligence corps. The job for one man, Captain Richards, one of you three. And I'll tell you why each of you is here. You, Captain, spent three years in Cuba. Toledano, you know Spaniards and Spanish. And Lieutenant Rowan, you wrote a book called The Island of Cuba. Well, that book, sir, was the result of a humble union between research and imagination. I've never been near Cuba. And you might say you're here for research and imagination. Now your questions. Captain Richards. Well, sir, how does one get to Cuba? Little too far to swim, isn't it? I mean, sir, the Spanish Navy controls the coast and the Army controls the roads. What arrangements have been made to meet the Cubans? None. Well, just where is this Cuban Army? No one knows. Perhaps in the jungle. Look at the map, sir. Cuba is small, yes, but the jungle, even a tiny piece of it, is huge. If a man makes five miles a day in it, he's a titan. I know, sir, I've been there. And you don't intend to go back? Well, I'll go where I'm ordered, sir, but even if we knew where the rebels were, it would still be practically impossible to reach them in the jungle. But to send a man in there blindly, well, excuse me, sir, I think we should distinguish between a mission and a wild goose chase. I speak from experience of the country, sir. I'm sure of it. Captain Toledano. One question. Are the instructions to be written or oral? Oral. And if the man should be captured with no written instructions, how would he identify himself to the Cubans? That would be up to him. I see, sir. It is a wild goose chase. Major Wagner, may we think it over for, say, two days? The train for New York leaves in two hours, Captain Richards. And the boat out of New York tonight for Jamaica. Whoever goes will be on that boat, without a word to anyone, even his family. Rowan, you've asked no questions. I have none, sir. No qualms, no reservations, no hedging for help? Very well. Captain Richards, Captain Toledano, I should like to speak to Lieutenant Rowan. Yes, sir. Very good, sir. Rowan, you're very young, aren't you? No, sir. I'm forty. What's your wife's name? Kay. We were married recently. You married late. It took me a long time to find her. I hope it won't take you as long to get back to her, because you're going, Rowan. Yes, sir. Here's money, reservation on the ship at Arandaq, Atlas Line. We believe there are Cuban patriots in Jamaica. Find them. This card will identify you to them. Once you've identified yourself, destroy your identification. Yes, sir. Rowan, this is the dirtiest assignment I've ever handed out. I'll try to get there, sir. Lieutenant, if you're discovered in Jamaica, you'll be arrested, compromising a neutral power, Great Britain. There'd be nothing on earth we could do for you. As far as we're concerned, you'd be a stranger. Understand? I think I do, Major. You're on your own, strictly on your own. And let me give you a word of advice. I've done a lot of mountain climbing, and experience has taught me most accidents happen not on the way up, but on the way back. So Rowan, get there and then get back. The Arandaq was a good ship. We skirted Cuba, then south to the southern shore of Jamaica, docking at Kingston. Somewhere here were Cuban patriots whom I was to find. How? I didn't know. I was dressed now as an English hunter. Went to the Hotel Europa, registered. After lunch, I sat on the terrace. A waiter brought the local English paper. There was a headline. It read, United States gives Spain until April 23rd to surrender Cuba to the Cubans. I looked around. There were three men at a nearby table, somber men, dark-eyed. They read the headline also, and they did something. They shook hands silently. But that simple act made me take my first gamble. I got up, walked across to the men. They looked up suspicious. The largest man spoke. Si, señor. There is something you wish? May I sit down? If you wish. Thank you. You seem to be pleased with the headline. Not pleased, señor. Interested. Oh. I'm looking for a guide, a good one. I think the hotel furnishes the tourists with everything. Excuse me, señor. Wait. I want to go hunting. Yes, señor. There is good hunting in Jamaica. Si. They say it's better in Cuba. Cuba? Yes. In the jungle. I do not know. Well, I'm hunting for something different. So? Mm-hmm. And I hear there are many others who hunt what I'm looking for in the jungles. I do not know. Now, please, excuse us, señor. Oh, no. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Don't go. I'm from the United States. I would like to find the Cuban rebels. And so would the others who hunt. Now excuse us, señor. Was I wrong? Had I given myself away to clever agents of Spain who would turn me over to the British authorities? Hell, I didn't know. Then, 20 minutes later... You are the señor who hunts? Yes. Pleased to come with me? Come with you? Where? If you would hunt, come with me. All right. We left the terrace and walked a waiting carriage. We drove swiftly through Kingston, raced along the Spanish town road. Once, we changed horses, then we went on into the night, into the tropical forest. Fireflies shot by like stars. I felt an extreme exhilaration as we rode. All the boyhood notions of daring secret agents lifted my mind to a soaring pitch. I didn't know then what a fool I was. Then the carriage stopped. For a moment, we stood silently, out of sound. Just the blackness of the forest, and the blanket of silence. Then... That is señor A. You meet him. Come, señor A. Don't be alarmed by my accent, Roan. You're English? Yes. A bit of something tossed off by the Empire years ago, wandering ever since, fighting for a fee. Soldier of fortune, eh? No, soldier, yes. Fortune, no. But there's a British patrol quite near. Oh? How near? I'm telling right now. Perhaps a mile, perhaps closer. Well, then I'd better get out of here. Yes. Will you tell me where I am and where I'm to go? Well, you're at the end of your first lap, Roan. You cross the island, you're about half a mile from the northern shore, St. Anne's Bay. There's a sailboat waiting for you. Bad boat, good skipper, though. I'm to go to Cuba by that boat. Yes, you're 100 miles north to Cuba. That's your second map. If you make that, then there's the jungle. Well, just where in the jungle are the rebels? Do you know? We don't know. They keep moving. Chances are they're way in or they've been wiped out. Señor A. That means the patrol. Oh, closer than I thought. I'm sorry, Roan. No time to eat now. You'd better be off. Canefield just to the north and cut through to the coconut grove. Then the bay. I'm sorry. We'll have to scatter. Keep up to the north star, Roan. You can't go wrong. Thank you, Shark. Thanks. Oh, I say, I forgot. The boat can't come in, so you know, you'll have to swim for it. Can you swim? Yes. Good. What is lovely this time of year. Warm, clear, almost new sharks. You are listening to Mission to Cuba, starring Lee Borman as Lieutenant Andrew Rowan on the cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Commissioned to find the Cuban insurrectionists somewhere in the jungles of Cuba, Lieutenant Rowan crosses Jamaica. From Jamaica, a boat is to take him to the Cuban shore. But first he must get to the boat, swim to it through shark-infested waters. As the second part of our story opens, Rowan is continuing his letter to his wife, written from a prison cell. I swam on my back, one hand trying to keep a bundle of clothes and my revolver dry. The water was warm and the stars were winking me on. I reached the boat and was taken aboard. Skipper and winds were jovial. Three hundred miles to Cuba sailed thinging by. The sea was heavy, the sky was clear. But ahead there was something else, the jungle. That jungle waited, monstrous and shadow, for what the sea might throw up. But I had no time to think about it. A Spanish patrol boat sighted us. I had to take the small boat and row to shore. I reached the jungle and waited until it was light before I started into it. Light? The sun can't be seen in the jungle, but it's always there, fiendishly steaming the green lidded cauldron. There were a million kinds of insects, all voracious and venomous. They swarmed after me as though I were the pied piper of Hamelin. And through my torn clothing had their fill. There were snakes in the trees and fantastic, hysterical birds. Jungle hours make a jungle day. But the jungle nights are eternity. Black, silent, watching and waiting. The days grew in heat. I was swollen, raw and festered. I was a hunk of hashed up animal crawling for life. Then my mind went softly off somewhere where it was cooler. I don't remember more. Not until I awoke and saw five dark faces looking down at me. Who, who, who are you? Gee whiz, you talk English, senor. Who, who are you? Oh, see, gee whiz, you're American, see? American. You know where General Garcia is? Maybe yes, maybe no. Why you ask me that, senor? Who are you? Lieutenant Andrew Rowan, United States Army. So, gee whiz, I've been in your country, Boston. Please, please, we're wasting time. General Garcia, take me to him. We see, senor. Gee whiz, maybe you're senor Rowan, maybe you're not. Anyway, we go to Bayamo. Then we see for sure, eh? Five days later, I stood in the square at Bayamo. It had just been taken by the Cuban insurrectionists. Across the square sat the general and his officers, all in neat white uniforms. The scout who'd spoken to me in the jungle spoke to an officer. The officer spoke to the general. Then the scout came running back to me. Gee whiz, gee whiz, you must wait, senor. Wait? What for? General Garcia say maybe you're not the man. Look, look, I'm Lieutenant Rowan, United States Army. Senor, you must be careful. Gee whiz, you bet. There are men who say they are what they are not. But I tell you I've got to see General Garcia now. I can't wait, not even a minute. You must, senor. Get out of my way. Senor. Let go of me. Senor, come back. You want to, general? They shoot you. Senor. General Garcia. Senor. I have a message for you, a message for General Garcia. General. General. One momento. One momento. Senor, you are pleased to come here. You might have been shot that way, senor. I had to see you, General Garcia. Si? Many men say that. Many men do not see me. Oh, please. I'm Lieutenant Rowan, United States Army. How do we know you are the Senor Rowan? Well, I have no identification. I had to destroy it once I contacted your men in Jamaica. That is a very easy story to think of. Oh, look at me. Can't you see? I've come hundreds of miles. I know. I think maybe a spy would not have run across the square. Maybe a spy would have waited to keep from being shot by my men. Yes, I think you are Lieutenant Rowan. Thank God. Now, now, sir, there's very little time. We've got to talk. But, but the important thing, General Garcia, is that following a declaration of war on Spain, my country will prepare to assist you by carrying the war to Cuba. For this, we thank you, Lieutenant Rowan. But to tell you all the information you want would take time. So I will send three of my men back with you. They know what your country wants to know. Oh, good, good. That's, that's fine. Oh, who are they? The General Collasso, Colonel Hernandez, and Dr. Vieta, who studies tropical disease. Good. Now, when can we leave? But Senor Rowan, it has been only two hours since you arrived. I know, sir, but, but it's got to be this way. Si, si. First, we give you food and drink, then a strong horse. You think maybe you can sleep on the horse? General, I could sleep anywhere. Lieutenant Rowan, it is a great thing that you come. It is greater that you go back. Now we make the toast to Los Estados Unidos, your country. It is that I hope she has always men like you, and may it be that she always defeat tyranny and help people to freedom everywhere. I thought then, Kay, that my mission was accomplished, that the way back would be easier. But there were 150 miles in a tiny tub with gunny sack sails. And a storm, bailing all night to keep us afloat. And then, the wreck. We were picked up by a sponging schooner and turned over to the British authorities. And now, the cell in a British prison. I hear the guard coming. He's whistling. He's always whistling. I shall give him this letter to mail to you, darling. Then you'll know what has happened. Well, finished your letter? Come at all? Yes, I have. Will you mail it for me? Well, I don't know. But first, here's your soup. Now, stand back from the door while I bring it in. Here you are. Fine, tasty soup. Thanks. I wish you'd do something about the dampness in here. Oh, dear you now. Before the month is out, you'll be calling this holiday island. Look at those snails. The dampness in here breeds them. Big, aren't they? Yes. Be quiet. Be quiet. I don't want to hurt you. Easy, come at all. Easy. You're strangling me. All right, then listen to me. I want the key to my friend's cell and the key that lets us out of here. Big Bralswain, your friend cell, Loman, is back to the cellar. Good. Now, I hate to do this, but you've got to be kept quiet for a while. That may give you a headache, but now I'll be able to deliver this letter to my wife, myself. You're making out your report, Lieutenant? Yes, sir. It's very good to have you back, Rowan. Thank you, Major Wagner. The way back was hard, wasn't it? Yes, sir. I'd like to read you a little something I'm sending to General Miles for his recommendation to the Secretary of War. In carrying the message to General Garcia and in returning to Washington, First Lieutenant Andrew S. Rowan of the 19th Infantry has, in my judgment, performed an act of heroism rarely excelled in the annals of warfare. He accepted an extremely difficult assignment without qualm or question. To his own dogged and daring ingenuity, he fulfilled it. I recommend that Lieutenant Rowan be advanced to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Well, that's very good of you, sir. Now you're going over to meet the President. Well, I hope it won't take too long, Major. What's the matter? Well, my wife's waiting for me and I have to bring home chops for dinner. Thank you. Next week, the DuPont Cavalcade of America stars Ida Lupino as Panny Farmer in Kitchen Scientist. Today, many a good cook owes her success to Panny Farmer's recipes, but few people know the inspiring story of Panny Farmer's courage and resourcefulness. Next week, don't miss Ida Lupino in Kitchen Scientist on the DuPont Cavalcade of America. No matter what you're saving for, a new home, travel, or a good education for your children, there is no safer investment than U.S. savings bonds. You get $4 for every three you invest, and you can save easily and automatically at the place where you work or where you bank. Protect your future with United States savings bonds. The music for the DuPont Cavalcade is composed and conducted by Robert Armbruster. Tonight's cavalcade was written by Halstead Wells. Lee Bowman appears through the courtesy of Columbia Pictures, producers of the Technicolor Picture Down to Earth, starring Rita Hayworth. Supporting Mr. Bowman tonight were Herbert Butterfield as Major Wagner, Nestor Paiva as General Garcia. This is Frank Bingman inviting you to listen next week to Kitchen Scientist, starring Ida Lupino on the Cavalcade of America, brought to you by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. The DuPont Cavalcade of America came to you from Hollywood. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.
