lights out for the devil and Mr. O. it is later than you think turn out your lights now we bring you stories of the supernatural and the supernormal dramatizing the fantasies and the mysteries of the unknown we tell you this frankly so that if you wish to avoid the excitement and tension of these imaginative ways we urge you calmly but sincerely to turn off your radio now this is mr. O. Archoville who among us and you're included has not had the dream at one time or another of being superior to his or her fellow beings to jump higher to run faster to dance better to be more beautiful we've all run the gamut all of us at various ages of standing out from the crowd of humanity that's what our story is about today being different in a very special manner we begin after a short pause see the leaf right here in my hand oh yeah isn't that a new leaf yes it is a new leaf here I'm going to turn over a new leaf get it leaf new what does that mean to turn over a new leaf well in Syria means that you're gonna have a little change from what to what from that to good oh really yeah well suppose somebody was crying they could switch from tears to a smile suppose they were lonely they could go from loneliness to having somebody play with well suppose somebody wasn't loved could they turn over a new leaf they could go from not loving somebody to loving somebody how do they do that all they have to do is try to love somebody just try yeah you see to love people when you try love makes all things new again hey what was that another sound of love from the Franciscans and now if you haven't already done so turn off your lights now and listen to speed but my dear mr. Finn $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 what do you think you're doing bidding at an auction sale I am bidding for your service and if a $5,000 retainer isn't enough why name your own price I'm not here as an individual I'm the representative of a group of casualty insurance companies who handle practically all of the burglary insurance in this entire area now if you're that important talk important money ten thousand dollars cash very well I'll write you a check then detective agency if the end end yes yes yes half a million dollars stolen and broad daylight no witnesses very clever criminal whoever he is but surely you don't believe only one man has committed all these crimes whenever there was greatness even in crime the answer is a man one man 25 places robbed both sides of State Street 25 stores robbed in the space of 30 minutes and you talk of one man he's very clever no one man could rob 25 places spreading over a distance of three blocks in the space of 30 minutes no of course not thanks and department stores and loan companies cash registers cleaned out and not a clue not a witness the devil alone knows what this is all about devil alone City Morgue oh hello chief yeah he's been here two days in a row yeah all he looks at is the bodies of the hit-and-run listen chief here he comes now yeah okay I'll try to find out yeah hi you mr. Finn early today ain't you quickly show me the new ones yeah sure why not the same kind yes okay this one's name is a song a tag here Mars and something relative ain't claimed him yet look at him smashed up pretty Amy he never knew what struck him yeah I'll say he didn't the way that's go well I bet you he went out just like that I'm no longer interested in this one was the next coming up well I put this fella back on ice where'd I put the dame oh yeah here she is yeah whoever the rat was in here must have bust up on the end of his crate look at it yeah ain't much of her left to tell who she was is it only identification on it was her first name in a book let me see you Libby yeah that's what it was Libby gosh if this was my girlfriend and any hit-and-run rat did this I'd find him even if I had to defend what's the matter what are you laughing about the girl's face it's nice what are you laughing about I know now I know hey buddy all about a hit-and-run driver kill people we all about a hit-and-run driver kill paper Mr. which one is decent no no I don't want a paper I want to talk to you here Oh thanks mr. Santa what you want to know there was a little accident on this corner yesterday wasn't it yeah yeah sure some damn got a head almost cut off I want them to hit and run guys so you should have seen a maintenance of sick I couldn't yes yes but that doesn't concern me what I want to know is did you see the accident you mean the crowd was done it yes well no not what you could really say you seen it no make up speak up don't get so I'm telling you I was just closing up my stand ready to go home seeing I have my back kind of to the streets he all at once I hear the wooshing a team screams and then a whoosh again like one of them there is cars at the speedway like she sees in the news really when I turned around there's a team dying out there and honest mr. the hacks out of sight ready or ready I don't see nothing no sir you don't see nothing no sir why that guy must have been going a hundred miles and now he ain't even got a life now you hold on there I want to talk to you are you talking to me copper oh ways guy yeah listen you what's the idea cross examine and everybody in this neighborhood now just a minute before you start using that nightstick you better have a look at this boy who your private detective and brilliant well no how was I supposed to know that I do not know tell me this what do you know about the hit-and-run cases in this district yeah that's bad sir but what can I do drunken rats driving without lights and giving no warning we'll get him tonight sir believe me we will what do you mean he's going to be ten squad cars touring this district just a moment one question have you been hearing any peculiar noises on your beat noises like like an airplane motor when there wasn't anything in the sky go on now you're kidding me hey look at the time I better get moving on me Peter the sergeant will be shooting his mouth off anything else I could tell you yes this restaurant we're in front of is a good place to eat yeah Bill Lewis's place is okay he's off in Washington but his wife's running it nothing like the ribs but it's okay well I'll be seeing you you're mistaken what do you have sir nice dinner coffee piece of nice fresh pie apple peach cherry apple yes sir right away I beg your pardon where did you come from I followed you in I wish to speak with you I don't want to buy anything I am NOT selling just like you I am asking questions hey I've been watching you all afternoon you have been asking many questions that you I'm a Bellini dr. Bellini I live in this neighborhood I am interested in whatever goes on in it I'm glad to meet you doctor maybe you can tell me you heard any unusual noises during the late afternoon evening hours and always you couldn't quite locate or explain noises what noises you are a detective why do you ask that as a physician I pride myself on my powers of observation you are a detective a my friend yes then come with me to not raise your voice now this gun in my pocket will kill you walk slowly toward the door make no noise now open the door and step outside I advise discretion I will be close behind you now walk beside me down the street I've been looking for you dr. Bellini yeah why I must know your secret I must very well but there is a price to pay price what is your price there we leave our the devil and mr. O's story of speed for a short message when you've got a family to feed there are ways to cut high food costs and we'd like to tell you an economical tasty way to serve top quality meat dishes today's answer is high protein ham H a m Crackus and at a lot of imported Polish ham when you buy crackers or at a lot of Polish ham there's no waste no gristle or bone to throw away and no water at it it's all lean flavorful ham right down to the last tasty bit you can even use a small amount of jelly broth to make soups more nourishing or to create delicious gravies and ham is also perfect for breakfast lunch snacks and parties it's the easiest food you can prepare because Polish ham is fully cooked when you buy it so if you wish you just zip open the tin slice serve and enjoy and from end to end in these days of high food prices ham is understandably in great demand by economical housewives so you may find that your favorite market is temporarily out of certain sizes a fine imported Polish ham shipments around the way though and we thank you for your patience and now back to our the devil and mr. O story so now we will not be disturbed mr. in mark friend mark said the man who is willing to die to learn my secret I'll take my chances just tell me how did you do it but first I will ask you questions you are either a very clever man mr. Fenn or a very lucky one how did you suspect it was only one man I knew it had to be one man but how did you co-relate the missing money in the dead in the street 30 minutes to collect half a million and cover 25 stores I knew you'd have to move fast I figured someone would get hurt you are very clever you did do it didn't you come I will show you you will be the first to know and the last here sit here yes yes now what do you see in my hand mark Fenn I a bottle it's a full of oil not oil you blind fool power the key to the world listen to me mark Fenn one drop of this in the world is mine you believe mark Fenn you believe what I tell you but but what does that stuff do you've got to tell me speed that's what it gives speed faster faster faster every atom in me faster you do believe my friend you've got to believe but but what I don't understand is what does that stuff do to you fool why don't you listen but speed that's what it gives me speed every physical process every mental activity it speeds them up 10 20 times the normal rate faster faster every molecule the average man walked three miles an hour one drop of this and I walked 60 miles an hour now you know my secret a chemical which speeds up my activities until I am a god among men a drop of this one drop and I walk and I run and I talk and I think 20 times faster than any other man in the world no no that that can't be no then watch I drink good doctor dr. Bellini where are you doctor where are you believe me Bellini you went away where what happened to you why do you talk like like that. I told you our physical mental processes been up. Wait a second, chemical effect will wear off completely. That stuff, it makes you talk fast, that is. There, the effect is worn off. I'm back to normal rate again. Where did you go? Where? To prove to you that what I say is true. Look what I have in my hand. Diamonds. Diamond necklace. Where did you... From the window of that jewelry store three blocks away. You, you were there and back in these few seconds? 20 times faster than any man can run, I ran in those few seconds. 20 times faster than any man can think I thought in those few seconds. Now, now do you believe my... It was you moving at a hundred miles an hour that knocked down those people and killed them. Was you moving so fast? They were not hurt. They were hurt, but not you. Yes, yes, it was I. It was you moving so fast they couldn't see you who took that half million in cash from those stores. Yes, I. Me too. You? Yes, me. All my life I've wanted that. Believe me, the power you've got now, Bellini, I want it too. But why? Why should I share it with you? Because I can help you. Yes, that's it, I can help you. There's so much to do. You can rule the world, but you cannot conquer it alone. You will need help and I'll need help. You hear me, Bellini, I'll help you. I'll do anything you say, but you must let me join you. With the dream of all my life coming true, power like... like God. Let me join you, Bellini. Let me. Yes, I need a man like you. Together we will help the world. And I say to you that this great and unprecedented crime wave which is sweeping our city is due entirely to the unholy alliance of crime and politics. Waste the culprits out of office. And I tell you that our students are paid for. I say to the Mayor I'm doing everything I can do. I've sworn in a thousand extra deputies. I've got the force. And I tell you fellow citizens, this alliance of the underworld and their masters can never be broken until we the people take matters into our own hands. Like the vigilantes of old, we must ride in our wrath and drive these vampires out of our fair city. We have done well in these ten days, eh Mark Fan? Oh, say we have, Bellini. Ten million dollars. Nobody in the world ever collected money that fast. It was good letting you join me. I told you. Only places where money is, you know. But it's not money alone we want, Bellini. Oh, I know, I know. We have been just, how do you say it, testing our wings. And now we're ready to go. Yes. New concentrate of my chemical is ready. Today we have taken the city, tomorrow the world. The world. But now, while the city we have left behind us boils in the madness we have brought to it, you and I, we will arrest, eh Fan? You laugh again. Why? I was thinking of the fun I had this morning. Oh, you mean when we liquidated your enemy. Dead. Every mother's son of them. Every one that ever laughed at me. Yes, dead, every one of them. And you go on to new triumphs. They never knew what hit them. That's the only trouble with moving so fast, Bellini. You mean when you struck them at fifty times the normal rate. Yes, it was like hitting them with a six-inch shell, skull smashed in like empty eggs. And you are disappointed because your revenge was over too quickly, eh Mark Fan? Yes. What if I were to tell you that my new concentrate, the one we will use tomorrow when we arrive at the seat of your government in Washington, what if I were to tell you that this new concentrate is infinitely more powerful than the one we have been using? More powerful? How can that be? Listen, the one we have been using increases the physical and mental rate twenty times, is that not so? Yes, talk, walk, run and think. Fifty times faster. So there you have it. With the new concentrate, talk, walk, think and run an infinite number of times faster than normal. You, you mean there's no limit? No limit. We move faster. As fast as we like. Say. Two hundred, three hundred, five hundred. The limit will be our desires. A blur of light here, there, the next place. Masters of men. Because compared to us, men are snails who crawl while we run. Masters of men. Look, I brought the bottle. The new concentrate. It looks the same. Yes. Shall we try some Mark Fan? I don't know. We must try it sometime. Yes. It is the same basic formula as the other. Sure. I do not ask you to do what I will not do myself. We will take equal amounts and compare reactions. How much will it? Two drops each. I have two medicine droppers ready. Yes. The moment we swallow the drops, we will move toward the, you see that barn across the field? Yes. We meet there and see how fast we can move. Here are your drops, Mark Fan. I, I surely are not afraid, my friend. Afraid? Me? Well, no, of course not. Give me those drops. We'll bring together. Yes. Mark, Mark Fan. What? Mark Fan. Bellini. What? What happened? I, I am not quite sure. The barn. We're lying by the barn. We, we did get here. Mark Fan, your clothes. My clothes? Well, I'll be. I'm naked. I too. Mark Fan, listen. We moved so quickly through the air, our clothes were torn off. And you concentrate infinitely more powerful. We moved through the air at a tremendous rate, hundreds of miles. Bellini. What? Your lips, they're not moving and yet I hear you. Your lips, they do not move either and yet I hear you too. That cannot be. What is it, Bellini? Our reactions. The concentrate has speeded them up so intensely, we read each other's thoughts. No, no, do not move. Why not? The concentrate, it was too powerful. We must lie quietly until its effects wear off. Yes, but Bellini. Fan, why are you looking at me like that? Your face. My, my face? Something's happening to it. What? Speak up what is wrong with my face? What? Yours. What? Your face. Creases in it. Lines. And yours. That's what's happening to yours, Bellini. I feel, Bellini, what's happening? Tell me. Age. That is it. Age. Age? Age. We are aging. We are aging. Aging? What are you talking about? The concentrate. Our physical reactions, they have been speeded up too much. Tell me, what's that got to do with... Listen to me. The concentrate, it has speeded up our life processes to infinity. Every second is aging us a year. Every second. No, no, I'm a young man, Bellini. You're lying. I'm not getting older. I'm not. I'm not. We are dying, Mark Fan. Dying. Dying. No, no, you lie, Bellini. I won't die. I won't die. I'm dead. And yet the solution works on in his flesh. Decay. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I cannot die. Master of men, I cannot die. Master of... men. This is Mr. O. Archobler. About that novel I recently wrote, its title is House on Fire, and if you twist your book seller's arm enough, you might get one. It's all about the devil taking over our world. You doubt that's possible? Well, stop and think. Aren't some of the things that are happening in the world impossible to answer rationally unless one considers that perhaps God disgusted with what we've done with our world has left us for a while and Satan and his cohorts have taken over? And speaking of Satan, he's personified in our next play. More of that after a message. In the middle of a sun-parched desert. In a humid, tangled jungle. Beneath the stars of a tropical seaport, these are the places that Hopis are found. The people of Project Hope sail to distant ports on a white hospital ship or take up residence in our own southwest with this common goal, to help others become medically self-sufficient. Project Hope's mission is not treat and run, it's treat and teach. Hopis teach medical skills to professional counterparts who are eager to learn new methods. And they teach willing workers with limited education, the skills that help them contribute to the well-being of their own communities. Help Hope Live On. Contribute to Project Hope, Room A, Washington, D.C. This is Mr. O. once more. Next week's play is titled, The Shrinking People. It's a play about a husband, a wife, a lover, and a man who plays God or the devil. Next time then, The Shrinking People. It is later than you think. Thank you.
