Escape! You were groping in the dark of the African jungle night, trapped on a wharf above a crocodile-infested river, fighting for your life against a ruthless giant from whom you must escape. Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure. Tonight we escape to the dank jungles of the Segwanga Valley in Africa, and to the heart of a courageous man, as Robert Simpson told it in his story, John Jock Todd. No doubt you may presume my Scotch ancestry from a wee bit of the old speech still clings to my voice. Though it's been some years now since I last walked in the heather of the hillings of Abergauri. My name is John Todd, the same as my father's, though to be sure he's more often called Jock Todd. Jock being the fighter's equivalent to John, and a name which in no wise applies to me. I am a peace-loving man, not a fighter, and no man can deny it, even today. However, in other respects, I was a raw lad for certain when I sailed out from Alaska and came here to this heathen land of Africa, and that's a thing which cannot be said of me at present. If a man lives at all in this steaming hot jungle of the Niger River, then he must learn very quickly, and most especially so if he lands at that dirty little trading post on Segwanga Creek. Upside, boy. Landing coming up. Here you are, Mr. Dart. Segwanga Landing, and you can have it as far as Aiden Consultant. Well, I might say the parlour company had somewhat more elaborate offices in Glasgow, Mr. Simpson. Hey, no doubt about that. And how long did you sign up for? Four years. Four years. Lucky for them, they catch you fellas in Glasgow before they ever seen the place. Oh, it can't be so bad. There's a fair-looking building there on the bank. Fair-looking building? Hey, watch that help. He's in the river. You want to tear out the wharf? I don't suppose you've heard anything about Brock. Well, they told me I should report to the agent in charge here, a man named Captain Brock. Captain Brock. Every agent in this stinking jungle calls themselves a captain. That's him there in the wharf. Easy, boy. Get a line ready now. All right. Cut the motors. He's a fair-sized man for certain. He's big enough, all right, in some ways. So is a gorilla. Watch out for him. Can I say I understand you? You will, Mr. Todd, if you live long enough. Up there, topside. Throw us a line, boy. Yes, sir. Me coach, quick. That little fellow with him is named Ganson. You've got nothing to fear from him till after Brock's made a move. He's a sneakin' little jackal, but he never makes his own kill. I still can't understand what you're talking about, Mr. Simpson. You'll find out soon enough. It wouldn't help you to know now to go ahead of time. I dock here once a week on the river run, but you're still on your own. You'd better know it right now. Mr. Simpson, you will have to explain. OK, hope not, Mr. Simpson. All the same, plenty fast. All right, boy. Come on, Mr. Todd. You may as well meet your new boss. Good blimey. Look what the young wharfers sent out to us this time. Shut up, Ganson. Well, Simpson, you are half a day late. When I start running my boat on a schedule, I'll send you a copy of it, Brock. If there was another boat on this river I could ship my stuff on. You know what I would do then, don't you? No, you wouldn't, Brock. Not as long as you know I carry a gun. You there. You there, you the new junior assistant. That's right, sir. My name is John Todd, and I assume you're... I'll take the time to find out your name later. And I do not give two cents for what you assume. That's telling the folks. I did not. I tell you to shut up. Yes, sir. And get out. Clear those natives off the wharf. All right, your captain. All right, move along now, you ready peggers. Come on, move now. You there. Oh, gee, Judas. Step down and get him off. Get up. I'll say no more. I have some brandy over the bungalow, Simpson, if you would like a drink while the boys are loading. I just had a drink on board. You there, whatever your name is. John Todd, sir. So it is John Todd, is it? And I suppose you call yourself Jock, like the rest of your blasted countrymen. No, sir. Jock is the name for a fighting man, such as my father. Can I say it fits me? So you are not a fighting man, eh? It makes things a lot easier, don't it, Brock? As soon as your boat is loaded, you can bring the lading bills up to the office. Well, Todd, are you going to stand here on the wharf the rest of the day? No, sir, but I thought you'd be... You, stop! You are not paid to think. Get your stuff up to the bungalow and be quick about it. Whatever you say, Captain Brock. Four years of it, Mr. Todd. Welcome to Sagwanker. I didn't understand it at all. The reason for Captain Brock having acted in such a strange way. I'd never met the man, nor could I think that he'd ever heard of me before. And I couldn't be certain of the extent of the man's authority here in the jungle. The Home Office in Glasgow, having been a wee bit unclear about the matter, they had said only that the agent was very much like the captain aboard a ship, and that he carried full responsibility in his own two hands. But about the attitude of Captain Brock himself, I very soon had few doubts left in my head. I didn't see the man again the afternoon I arrived, but a houseboy came and waken me in the middle of the night and said the captain wished to see me in the main room of the bungalow. Immediately. Captain Brock, the boy said you'd sent for me, sir. You do not have to tell me that. It took you long enough to get here, too. Well, it took no more time than to put on a pair of pants. Oh, so it makes you argumentative to wake you up in the middle of the night. I was not intended to be so. I am not interested in your intentions, Mr. Todd. You will learn to keep a simple tongue in your head. Well, I was not mean. Shut up! That's better. And I suppose you're wondering why I had you waked up like this in the middle of the night. I presume you had a reason. Oh, you presume, do you? Oh, yes. And what do you presume the reason is? I'm afraid I couldn't say. Then I will tell you. I sent for you, Mr. Todd, simply to show you I can have you waked up any time I pleased to. You had no other reason than that. None at all, Mr. Todd. A fighting man might resent it. But then you are not one, are you? Too bad. If that's all you've got to say to me, then I'll go back to my bed. That is all. Now get out of my office. Just as you say, Captain Brock. The attitude of the man didn't change none of the next few weeks. And I couldn't find in my head any reason for his hatred. And it was hatred. It was in his eyes every time he spoke to me. I took care of my duties and stayed clear of them otherwise. And for the most part, we came to no head-on clash. That with the two exceptions, however. The first one happened about a week after I arrived. I was supervising a group of natives at the time, working on the breakwater at the end of the wharf. Mr. Todd, what the devil are those boys supposed to be doing? They're repairing the breakwater. I can see that without being told. Now where did you get the authority to buy the timber? Why, you ordered it last week yourself from Chief Elorey. I told you to accept delivery without having me look at it first. Well, you told me to receive it when it came in, and that's what I did. It's good timber. I checked it myself. Ah, how would you know if it is good timber? My father happens to be a forester back in Scotland. The devil takes you and your father both. I'd advise you never to say that in my father's hearing. Are you threatening me? No, I'm nothing like that. But I'm sort of suggesting it isn't always wise to insult a man you've never seen. Ah, I see. Now that I come to think of it, he is the one that is a fighter, isn't he? That's correct. The one they call Jack Todd, huh? Well, it is too bad he is not around here, Mr. John Todd. Boy, you there. Throw out that piece of timber you're using. Any fool could see it is too short. I said throw it out. I will teach you to argue. Get back on your feet. I said get up. Get on your feet before I kick your head off. I'd seen him knock Ganson down the same way and then kick him like he did the natives. And Ganson took it and saved his courses until Brock was not around. I wondered what I might do if he ever tried it on me. And the next week I saw that he would try it, sooner or later. Chief Joanna and his boys had come in from back country with a dozen canoes full of palm nuts. And I was out in the warehouse checking in the load. We used a big wicker basket for measuring called a cooler for some reason or other. And the one us boys would fill this and then we'd dump it on the pile at the end of the building. Ganson was boshing the load and I'd check off each cooler in the tally book as it was dumped. It was late in the afternoon when we finally finished. All right, all right. Step lovely now ye then. Lighters ye. Right, no more trouble about after this one. All right, Todd, here's the last one. You got it marked, have you? Right, Ganson. All right now, you ruddy beggars, let's take it back and dump it. Come on, put your backs to it now. Eve, Eve, in and out. Keep her up, let's go. Come on, shake them out, shake them out every film and ass one of them. Come on, shake them out. All right, now that does it. All right. How many coolers did we have, Todd? Eight, ten, twelve, fourteen. How many you count? How many cooler you get? Same, me maybe. Nineteen, the one, huh? Nineteen. Me count all same, twenty. Well, look, it's not you miss one, Todd. Give me twenty. I didn't miss one, Mr. Ganson. The tally is nineteen. Turn around. You pay me twenty, make what trouble? Sorry, the one up, the count stands at nineteen. Don't be a crazy fool, Todd. Give it to him. What's one cooler more or less? Me tell Captain Brock, he fix good. That will not be necessary, the one up. What is the trouble here, Todd? Haven't you got sense enough to take in a few palm nuts without getting your feet twisted? I'm afraid I have nothing to do with it, Captain Brock. He claims twenty coolers and I counted nineteen. Then you missed one. Give him twenty. How can I do that, sir? You what? I can assign my name to help cheat the company. Oh, blimey, if it ain't downright new. Shut up, Ganson. Mr. Todd, out here I am the company. Now write out that credit check. Whatever you say, Captain Brock. Let's take in your orders like a good chap, Mr. Todd. I thought you'd change your... I told you to shut up, Ganson. Well, have you got it written, Mr. Todd? There you are, Captain Brock. It is lucky you decided. Mr. Todd, you have made this out for nineteen. Which is according to my count. Boy, you blusted little rascal. I'll advise you to stop and think before you move. Well, now, you wouldn't be picking up that shovel with any hostile intent, would you? No, man. No more than you'd be advancing toward me with a hostile intent. Like that. Duana, I am tearing up this check. I will give you one myself for twenty. You always come to me. I will make it right with you. Yes, Captain. All same like you say. And Mr. Todd, I will make it right with you too. You can depend on that. Brock stayed clear of me for a few weeks and outside of the job of work I was hired to do, I had no words with him. I recall Mr. Simpson saying to watch out for him. When I was here, certainly he was only waiting for the chance to make his move. He outweighed me by fifty pounds and I knew beyond doubt that I couldn't stand up to him. But what really worried me was not knowing of any reason for the man's attitude. It made no sense that a man should go looking for a fight without no reason at all. At any rate, the weeks passed. The jungle steamed and the muddy river rolled past the wharf. And then one day it happened. Sunday was my one free day in the week. So I'd hired the canoe and paddled upstream for a visit with a fellow countryman at another trading post some few miles away. It was just getting dark when I came back to the wharf and when I got in close, I saw Brock standing there, smoking and leaning on a pylon at the far side. The watch boy squatted near the edge, waiting to take the line from my canoe. He caught it and pulled the boat in and made it fast. And I climbed out onto the wharf. Have a good trip, Mr. Todd. Not so bad. A bit hot, that was all. You savvy which place canoe man live? Yes, sir. Live on breakwater side. Then go tell him come get canoe. Tell him two day pass. I give him check for pay. Oh, yes, sir. May go now. Tell man plenty soon. Boy, you there. Yes, sir. Captain Brock. Did I give you permission to leave the wharf? No, sir. But master Todd... Did I tell you you could leave? No, sir. All right. Then go get the head man. Tell him I want him here right away and you come back with him. But... but Captain Brock, sir... Move, boy. Yes, sir. All right, Todd, get up to your quarters. I think he'll be staying right here, Captain Brock. If you're planning to tie that boy to a post and flog him, as I've no doubt you've decided to do, then you'll be having a word with me first. Go on, boy. Genson, is that you? All right, young captain. I heard what he said. If it's a witness, you want it. I will tell you when I want anything. All right, captain. No arm, that's all. Take Mr. Todd up to his room and keep him there. I will attend to him later. If either of you lay a hand on me, it'll be a most unfortunate day in your lives. Oh, you don't say so, Mr. Todd. Mr. John Todd. I've told you what you may expect. So you have. I am not to lay a hand on you. Not even like this. Oh, Bill, the proper captain, hit him again. Come on, Mr. Todd, get up. My feathers are smashing to my side. I tried to get up onto my knees and I couldn't. I told you to get up. Again, I knew it wouldn't take many to finish me off. My head hung over the side of the wharf. I made one effort and rolled off into the water. Please, call it to the water, captain. Maybe he can't swim. That is his hard luck. But suppose he drowns. The resident commissioner will be down on us for certain. I don't want to... Shut up, Janssen. Yes, sir. He can't swim all right. There he is now, climbing out on the bank. Climb if he ain't. What's the matter, Mr. Todd? You are not leaving us, are you? You have not changed your mind about having a word with me, have you? Mr. John Todd. Back in my own quarters, I changed into dry clothes, hurrying as fast as I could. I couldn't have find it in my heart to be angry with a man. He had struck me without warning and kicked me while I was down. And he was planning out to flog a native boy without the lad having committed a fault. It was not a thing to become angry about. Captain Brock had to be punished, that was all. And though it would mean my own life, most likely, it had to be done. It was no more than a matter of simple justice. Within five minutes, I was back at the wharf. The watch boy had come back with the headman, and a group of natives had gathered around the circle of light thrown out by a hurricane lantern. They didn't see me at first. All right, Gunson, pull his hands up over his head and tie them there. Stretch him out. Right you are, Captain. The watch boy stood there trembling with fear while Gunson bound his hands to the heavy pole. Hurry up, you clumsy fool, and make it tight. I want you to hang there after I'm through with him. Oh, we'll do that all right. Captain is Todd. Well, Mr. Todd, you are just in time to see the boy again when he's coming to him. Brock, I told you before, you'll not be doing this without having a word with me. I was under the impression that you had already had your word, Mr. Todd. You've been laying into me ever since I came here, for reasons of your own, whatever they might be. But what do you plan to do about it, Mr. Todd? You may be somewhat within your rights in that respect, but you're not so when you hit a man without warning and kick him while he's lying on the ground. Come on, Captain, give him what for. I take it then, Mr. Todd, you have objections to hitting a man without warning. Perhaps it is a thing your father would not think of doing. No objections, Mr. Brock. Now that I know you do it, for it's a thing that one can do as well as the other. Well, I'm here to hear you, Captain. I don't mind now that I know it. I cuffed him along one side of the head and then again at the other. And while he rocked back from the blows, I clenched my hands around his stick neck and shaked my fingers into his throat. Stop him, Captain. Poor Terzard, your bloody throat, stop. The person struggled and twisted, but I held on and kept choking him, clenching my hands tighter and tighter. He struck at me and I let go with one hand and cuffed him again on the side of the head. Blast it, Luke. That was somewhat of a mistake on my part. For the blow enraged him so he tore himself loose and smashed his fist into my face. You got him now, Captain. Give it to him. Give it to him. I will show you if you can. Kill him, Captain. Go on, kill him. Get up, Tot. Get up. Go on, Captain. Kick his bloody head in for him. Give him a good... Look out, Captain. Look out, he's got your ankles. Go, you dirty little... Kick your man when he's done, Brock. Now, hey, you're running cool. You're breaking his leg. That's right, Ganson. Get up, Brock. On your feet, man. I hear through, but only pretended. Come on. Get up on your feet. I can't get up. Kill him. Cool. Blimey of you, I broke his blue leg. I doubt it. I'm thinking it's only twisted. Ganson. Yes, sir? Have the boys give him a hand to his room if he needs it. I'm going to my quarters and clean up a bit. All right, you're Mr. Todd. And Captain Brock, you have no reason to be calling me a killer. I'm a peace loving man and I have no good opinion of such things as killing and fighting. You tried to do me in, Todd. You were going to pay for it. I'm going to kill you for it, maybe today or maybe next month, but I'm going to kill you. You can count on it. I went to my quarters then and I didn't know what happened just after that. I didn't know about Brock kicking Ganson off the stairs while the little man was trying to help him, nor about Ganson going to the captain's room a few minutes after. How are you feeling, Captain? Oh, shut your mouth, Ganson, or I will shut it for you. You've got no call to be treating me like that. I'd have helped you if I could, but they just want no chance. They'd have done for me the same as you, Captain. Shut up! I cannot even move my leg. There was no call to kick me a while ago, neither. I could get out of this chair. I'd do the same again. You can't get up, Captain Brock. How could I hope to? What is in your mind, you little beggar? You've been booting me around for nearly two years now, haven't you? They opt on me the first minute I landed, like you got an habit of doing when a bloke is new. And I will break your dirty little neck as soon as I can walk. You've been treating me like a ruddy dog, Captain, and I've been taking it too. Until now. Oh, what are you up to, Ganson? I sat there in my room for a long time, holding the pistol I'd taken from a drawer of the desk. I couldn't see any way out of it. Sooner or later, at the first chance he could find, Brock was going to kill me. And aside from murdering the man in cold blood, I didn't see any way of preventing him. I couldn't leave the draven post, and for certain, I couldn't stay on my guard for 24 hours a day. I couldn't say how long it was I sat there, holding the pistol in my hand, and trying to think how I might keep from dying, and not even knowing why the man hated me enough to wish to kill me. Then I heard somebody coming down the hall outside my door. I thought for a moment they might be going past, but then I raised the gun and pointed it at the door. Ganson! Ganson! Man, what have you done to your hands? Wants? Oh, you ought to see him, Mr. Todd. You ought to come take a look at him. Oh, blimey if I ain't marked him up all right. I marked him good. What are you saying, man? What have you done? Him has always thought he was so much, just because he was bigger than me. Oh, I showed him all right. What have you done? Oh, and you can't take a look for yourself, Mr. Todd. Come and see what used to be so high and mighty, calling itself Captain Brock. Take a look at him, Mr. Todd. He ain't quite so tough now as he was before. What have you done to him? Please, please do not let him hit me again. With my own two hands, I've done it, Mr. Todd. I beat his face to a pulp, I dare you. No, man, Wally's helpless. Get as bad as he is, Ganson. Please do not let him hit me again, Mr. Todd. He's not going to hit you, Brock. Get to your room, Ganson. Come on. All right, Mr. Todd. Anyway, I marked him. I've marked his face up good so it'll show for a long time. Don't let him hit you. I'm not going to hit you, Brock. I'm not going to hit you. I'm not going to hit you, Brock. I'm not going to hit you, Brock. I'm not going to hit you, Brock. I'm not going to hit you, Brock. Shut up, you great blubbering baby. Most likely you'll live through it all right. Though you may never look the same again. Hell, I heard you've been having a bit of excitement. Oh, Mr. Simpson. I talked to the watch 10 minutes ago. The boys told me what had happened. Good Lord, you did all that? Not to his face. Ganson has been setting up an old score. I'm afraid the little man has a vicious disposition. I never thought I'd see it. Brock, crying like a baby. Aye, and the sound of it fairly sickened me. Suppose we step outside and let him be? Dulland, let me please him. Mr. Simpson, I've found out why Captain Brock hated me the way he did. Why he threatened to kill me. Who do you think it is? Among the coward, that's all. You saw him in there just now. He knew he was a coward and he was afraid I'd find it out. You may be right. There's no doubt of it. And I'm thinking you'll have him for a passenger when you go back downriver. You'll not be able to stay here now that we understand him. And I'll see to it that Ganson goes along with him. Well, I can't say that I'll mind the change. I mean doing business here from now on with a gent by the name of Jock Todd. Jock? Oh, no. You're taking me all wrong. I'm a peace loving man and my name is John. It's no wise proper to call a man Jock unless he's a fighter. Now you take my father for instance. There's a man who can hold his own in any kind of company. But I don't know... Escape, produced and directed by Norman MacDonald. Tonight brought you John Jock Todd by Robert Simpson. Adapted for radio by Les Crutchfield featuring Wilms Herbert as John Todd, Jack Crouchon as Captain Brock and Tony Barrett as Ganson with Don Diamond and Paul McVeigh. The musical score was conducted by Wilbur Hatch. Next week. You are rushing forward through time, far into the future, trying desperately to flee the clutching fingers of a band of night creatures. A dream like horror from whom there seems no escape. Next week we escape with H.G. Wells' awesome story, The Time Machine. Good night then until the same time next week when once again we offer you Escape. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
