Fed up with the everyday grind? Tired out from the summer heat? Want to get away from it all? We offer you Escape. Escape, designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure. You are deep in a fabulous mountain cavern, surrounded by a horde of menacing natives from a lost civilization, held at the mercy of the most beautiful woman in the world, the terrible queen called She. She. Tonight, we escape to uncharted Africa and to an incredible adventure, as H. Rider Haggard described it in his fantastic story, She. She. In those days, I was a professor of archaeology at Oxford. And though this may account for my being able to understand some of those strange events which occurred later, it was in no respect the reason for my becoming involved in them. No, the real reason was unbelievably simple. I walked through the caves of the dead in the terrible and ancient city of Kor, crossed the Orville Abyss and looked upon the Flame of Life, only because I was one of the ugliest men in England. Because of my appearance, I had made few acquaintances and only two close friends, Roger Vincy first, and following his death, his son, Leo, whom he left behind. And it was that friendship which brought Leo Vincy to my chambers off the quadrangle. And it was the late of the evening of the day he became 25 years old. Today was the first I knew of it, Holly, when the attorneys called me in. They said father instructed them the week before he died to give me the letter and this little bronze chest on my 25th birthday. Strange. I mean, the chest. Designs on the lead show Egyptian influence. It must be very old. And according to father's letter, it contained something over 2,000 years old. Really? I must have considered it rather important. He's closed the cover with the lead sealed. Yes, I see. At any rate, Holly, the letter doesn't tell us much. Suppose we... suppose we see what's inside. All right. I have a geology hammer here somewhere, my boy. Here we are. Chisel, you hold it in place on the table, Leo. Go ahead. There, it's pulling loose. Ah, I did it. Well, here goes. What the devil is that? Why, it's a clay tile, an old Egyptian writing tablet. Yes, it's the kind used about the time of Nectanabes, around 340 BC. With the writing on it, it's not Egyptian, it's Greek. Yes, and parts of it are broken away. Oh, it'll take some time to translate this, Leo. My father apparently did it, Holly, according to this paper. Listen, here's his translation. Read it. I am a Nati, wife of Calacrates, say this to you, my son. Forced to escape the wrath of the great Nectanabes... I thought so. Your father and I fled southward across the waters and wandered for twice twelve moons upon the coast of Libya... That's the old name for Africa, you know. ...that faces the rising sun, there by the mouth of a river where stands facing the sea... ...a great mountain carved like the head of an Ethiopian... What is it? Ah, nothing, Holly. It goes on. Following the river, we soon fell among... there's a row of asterisks here. That must be one of the places where the tiles broken. Go on, my boy. ...to a hollow mountain where a great city once stood, and to the terrible caves of which no man had seen the end... ...and to she who must be obeyed. She who must be? What's wrong, Leo? I don't know, Holly. There's something familiar about that name, but I've never heard it before. Strange. Well, well, come on, get on with it. She who must be obeyed, who did lead us by awesome ways to the place where the great pit is, whose voice is like thunder... ...and she did show to us the rolling pillar of life and its stand in the flames... ...and she spake unto my... there's a large fragment missing here. There isn't very much more. Picks up, carried far away on the ships where I gave birth to thee and came hither to Athens at last. So I say to thee, by these things which I have told, seek out this place. Nor stay thy will until thou hast the secret of life for thyself. Sit then on the throne with the pharaoh. And that's all, Holly. Now, what's it all about? Leo, if your father knew, he kept it to himself. I don't know. It's all very strange. Yes. Well, we'll know as soon as we reach the place. I was hoping you'd say that. If you decided not to, I think I should have had a try at finding it alone. I can't do anything else, Holly. It's more than curiosity. It's almost a compulsion. There's such a familiar feeling about all this. Even that mountain, Holly, shaped like the head of an Ethiopian. Yes, what about it? Well, often on, ever since I was a kid, I've dreamed about a mountain like that. But why, Holly? Why should I? That was the beginning. And some three months later, we drifted down the east coast of Africa, south of Zanzibar... searching the miles of jungle shores for the mountain carved like a head. There were four of us in the tiny sailing dow. Leo and I, of course, along with Abdullah, the Arab boatman we'd hired in Arden... and finally a solid North-Cunderman named Job, my servant for many years. We'd caught no sight of our landmarks yet, but a native had told us of seeing it once years before, somewhere to the south. So our hopes held high, and we were confident luck was with us. And so it was, until one evening, just in dark. That's a pretty stiff wind, Holly. You think Abdullah knows what he's doing? We're rather close in shore, all right, Leo. I doubt if there's any danger, unless a squall hits. Eh, by gozzie, we're strangers here in an even land and all. Anything could happen. It could, Job, but let's assume that it won't. How's the dory making out back there? All trailing along all right behind us. We'd be in a bad spot if we lost it. We have guns, food, equipment and everything in it. Yes, I know, Job. Leo, perhaps we shouldn't have packed the stuff that way, Leo. Eh, should have kept it on board with us. No, no, Holly. We want to be ready to shove off up the river as soon as we sight that head. It would be a tough job loading that boat at sea. Well, we may not have had to, Leo. We've certainly found no reason to so far. But we will. I've dreamed of it. Ah! Eh, Master Holly, look! It's the wind, Holly! The wind's driving the water ahead of it! Abdullah! Lay onto that tiller and head her into it! I'll give him a hand, Holly! Nice! We've got a chance, sir! Hold onto the mast, Job! We shall only drown! Watch out, Leo! Help! The great wave plunged over us, tore away the dory, swamped the dow beneath our feet and hurled us headlong into the foaming sea. Half-smothered, fighting to sail afloat, born shoreward by the drive of the tempest, we were tossed at last one by one up onto the rainswept beach. A calm dorm found us huddled together on the sand at the fringe of a dark and forbidding jungle. At the south lay the mouth of a small river. And to the north, the beach ended at the slope of a rocky headland. Leo and Job went to look at the wrecked dory, lying at the water's edge a hundred yards away. When I searched the shoreline for some sign of our boatmen, I found none. And we never saw Abdullah again. Oh, Holly! Find any trace of him, Holly? No sign, Leo! The wreck is gone for good. Oh, it's too bad. What shapes the dory, Job? Wrecked. Not a chance of fixing it. But the equipment seems to be all right, sir. Oh, good. It's all there. Yes, most of it. The lashings held in the waterproof case have stood up very well. The only trouble is we're afoot. Yes, we're going to have a lot of trouble following the coastline. We won't follow any coastline, Holly. What? We're going up that river. Take a look at that headland there to the north. It shows up better from the wreck, Holly, but with the sun coming up now, you can see it from here too. Why goom it shaped like a human head? That's it! That's the Lamber! Right, Holly. And that's the river Colacrateus followed with his wife, the same one we're going to follow. But, Leo, with the boat gone, we shall have to break trail through that jungle and follow that river back. Yes, we'd better get started. Look, gentlemen, why can't we just stay here and try to signal some ship? There's not much chance of a job. They stay pretty clear of this coast. But anyway, this is what we've been looking for. I don't really know what we are looking for, Leo. It's been more than 2,000 years since Colacrateus went up that river. Things must have changed a great deal by now. Holly, Holly, that carved head up there in the mountain. It looks exactly the way it always did when I dreamed about it. It's incredible. I've got a strange feeling that whatever Colacrateus and his wife found back there in the jungle will still be waiting there today. For five hot, steaming days, we pushed inland through the jungle, following the banks of the muddy river. Myre by myre, the creeping undergrowth became more dense. The river shallowed and became sluggish, and the swamp lands began to stretch out from the low banks. Foul pools and stagnant lagoons full of soft black mud covered over the green scum made every step a hazard. Crocodiles slid away at our approach, and bright-colored snakes glided out from underfoot. Mile after mile, we forced our way through those evil swamps, each mile more difficult. Finally came the morning of the sixth day. Oh, I don't know, Holly. If it gets any worse, we'll never make it. Excuse me, butting in, gentlemen. Yes, Joe. I say we should turn back. Oh, no, Joe, we've spent five days getting this far. It'd be a shame to waste it. It's just the way I feel. We'll keep on as long as we can. Oh, Leo. I know, I know, I stumble over something in the mire. Here, take a look at it. It's a rock. Look. Yes, it's a square stone. It's been hand-cut. There's another. It's a section of an old wall of some sort. Thought of a dike. That's it, Holly. A long time ago, the river was held between stone dikes along here, like a sort of canal. That's impossible. That might account for the swamp land. The dikes gradually fell to pieces, and the river spread out through the jungle. Of course. And Holly, there could be only one reason for building them. So that boats or barges could come in from the ocean to some kind of a city. A city, gentlemen. Why don't we turn back while we can? A city. It had to be a long time ago. Centuries ago, Leo. It could still be there, Holly. This place has never been explored. Nobody would ever try to come through these swamps. Let me include us if we keep... Joe, what's the matter with you? He must be... Uh-oh. Look! Natives. Ah. Where the devil did they come from? I don't know. Ooh, strange-looking brutes. Look at those clothes they're wearing. Yes. I've never seen any quite like them. Except in... Hey, cop! Bacchani vico? Do you recognise that dialect? No, it's a little like Arabic. I might try that. Oh. S'aboul al-haiyya. K'iifa? Eh, cop. Ni bocom ni vet. I've never heard anything like it before. They seem to want us to come along with them, Holly. Yes. You think we'd better chance it? Well, they outnumber us. That is one, Leo. Yes, and they're all carrying those stabbing knives. Well... Bacchasi dango! Hang on to your guns. They don't seem to know what they're for. Let's go. Our strange escort moved rapidly ahead, twisting and turning as they followed some well-remembered trail of their own. We rested during the night on a hummock of dry ground and then struck out again at dawn. It was late afternoon when we left the swamp and climbed up a long slope to the foot of the rock-walled mountain. Reaching its base, we entered the mouth of a great cavern, and a short way inside we led into a small side chamber, carved from the living rock and lighted by a reed wick floating in a jug of oil. And then the strange natives went away and left us, and we sat about on the floor, trying to plan some course of action. Oh, dear. How long do you suppose we've been here, Holly? Close to two hours, I'd say. Must be dark outside by now. Holly, do you have any idea what race they belong to? They're not like any other natives in this part of Africa. Oh, I've seen people much like them in some of the villages in southern Egypt, Leo, but I don't know any more about it than that. The way those odd tunics, too, cotton or linen, I suppose, those bronze headbands, must have been out of contact with the rest of the world for centuries, Holly. Evens, that's what they are, and, opting no good so far as we're concerned, that's what I think. You may be right, Joe, but I still want to find out about the other things emanates wrote on the tile, the city of Ka'a, and the pillar of fire, and she who must be obeyed. We found the caves, at least. I can't see anything so terrible about them. Perhaps we haven't seen everything at the cave. Oh, well. Oh. Our little chum. He seems to want us to follow him. Well, hang on to your guns. Right you are. Stick close together. We'll separate us. All right, Joe? Come, let's go. Our strange guide led us along the twisting, branching passageways, riding our way with a flaming torch that threw weird shadows on the walls of solid rock. Now and then we passed side chambers lined with long rows of stone slabs. Then I saw that each slab held the sheeted figure of a human body. I realized these caves were one vast crypt filled with the mummified bodies of some vanished race. Gradually, as we moved on, a most remarkable sound began to grow louder, made up of the guttural voices of a crowd, the throbbing of drums, and the moan of some strange musical instrument. Suddenly the narrow passage opened out into a great hallowed cavern where the natives danced and postured, and the eerie glare from a hundred huge torches placed about the walls stirred an amazement, for the torches were flaming mummies tied upright to the posts, and the guide had lighted our way through the passages with a human arm. Nebuk! Orgjane! I... I think he means for us to walk toward that platform in the center. Yes. There's a pit of coal burning in the top of it. Nebuk! Yes, come on. Watch it, Holly. I don't like the looks of this. All right, keep your gun handy, Leo. Stay right with this job. They look anything but friendly. If anything starts, try to get on the platform. They've got no weapons except those stabbing nose, remember. Well, here we are. Now what? The bandivate. It's quite some fire they've got built up. I can't understand what they're... Oh! Joe! Joe! Joe! Look out, Holly! They've killed Joe! The devil's back against the wall, Leo! Watch it! Here they come! All right, you! I hope without a chance they... What are you left? Holly, let's try for the fake! Come, Hagen! Hand over! What the juice is this? Old man in a long white robe. Hold your gun ready, Leo. We'll see what happens. Nebandi! Unzip up! Oh, what? They're scared to death of him, whoever he is. Wait, he's coming our way. I presume you speak English, gentlemen? Yes, but you do. Occasionally natives from the south have come through the swamps and we have captured them. I have learned many of the languages of the outside world. I am Bilali. Uh, um, uh, Leo Vinci, and this is Mr. Holly. I am most sorrowful for the death of your companion. Oh, yes, poor Joe. My children had no excuse. They know the law. From now on you will be allowed to complete freedom. No white man is ever to be eaten. Eaten? That is what would have been done to you. But rest assured, her law is just and their punishment will be swift. Whose law? That of she who must be obeyed. Holly! This is it, Holly Weston. We're still on the right trail. She has demanded your presence. I have come to take you to the place where she is. Tell me, Bilali, who or what is this she who must be obeyed? A goddess, a queen, a white woman? I could not say, my son. I have never seen she come along. Again through those tortuous passages, two of us now with kindly old Bilali leading the way, until he left us alone at last in a large chamber hung with brilliant colored silks, fitted with softer vans, and lighted by crystal lamps. We stood there several minutes, not speaking, wondering, when suddenly the curtains across the doorway parted and the most amazing figure stood before us. It was swathed in folds of filmy white draperies with soft, gauzy veils covering even the face and hands. I bid you welcome to the city of Kor, Kallikrates and friend of Kallikrates. I, uh, I, I, I'm not Kallikrates. I, I'm Leo Vinci, and this is my friend Mr. Holly. Leo Vinci. Vengeance. No matter, you will understand. Are you? I am she. We, you must forgive us if we find it difficult to understand this. What is all this, the, these caves, the natives? What is Kor? Kor is a great city that rose up and then died many thousand years ago. These are the caves of Kor. The city itself stands farther on in a huge crater at the heart of the mountain. Are you a descendant of Kor? I came from another place far away, and Kor was dead long before I found it. The natives know me as a fearsome figure in white, and they obey me. They have never seen you? No, Holly, not one of them has ever seen behind these veils. It's amazing to think that Kallikrates must have been here in this same place over two thousand years ago. Two thousand, two hundred eighty-seven years ago. Kallikrates died in this very chamber. You, you speak as though you saw it happen. I did see it happen. I killed him. But... you couldn't. That was over two thousand years ago. Yes, and at that time I had been here in Kor for more than five hundred years. Impossible. How do you know? You haven't seen me. Well, then you claim to be immortal. Yes, as he could have been had he stepped with me into the flames of life. As you can be my Kallikrates, if you so choose. I hope you'll forgive me, but I can't believe anything so fantastic. Is it proof you need? Proof that I once did an evil act in anger and paid for it by waiting alone through all these centuries? Proof that my waiting has ended now? Then look upon it behind this curtain. A mummy. A mummy like those out in the caves. But look at the face. Leo, it's you. That's you lying there. That is the body of Kallikrates whom I loved and whom I killed in anger when he refused to leave her and stay with me to become immortal. His wife Aminarides fled across the mountains and later gave birth to his son, your ancestor. Then Leo, that clay tile has been handed down in your family for over twenty centuries. I have paid for my sin and I have waited. Knowing that someday my Kallikrates would be born to me again, would come back to Kor and find me. It was as though I had to. I dreamed of that carved mountain before I'd ever seen it. And your name, she who must be obeyed, it struck some chord in my memory the first time I heard it. It is your heart that must be obeyed now, my beloved. The decision is yours whether to leave me once again now that you have found me or to walk with me into the pillar of life, to love me and to become immortal. Yes. I feel somehow that this is the ending of something I've been moving toward all my life. Leo! Oh, but it isn't possible. Immortality. And how can you love someone you've never seen? Then you shall see, my beloved. I've been these veils for you and for you I look. Oh. The soft veil slid off from her shoulders and she stood revealed before us, the most beautiful woman the world has ever seen. Will you leave me now, my Kallikrates, or come with me to the flame of life? I'll go with you anywhere. Anywhere. We talked the night away in the chamber, Leo and I fascinated by every word that fell from those lovely lips. She talked of the hidden knowledge of ancient lands, sang softly of her thoughts in rhyme, and spoke once again the words of long dead poets forgotten by the world. She made us believe in her own immortality and in ours to come. And before dawn, Bilali with us, we followed her madly and joyously through the dim and dusty passage that led to the flame of life. We came to a great abyss with a narrow ledge crossing over it like a rainbow of rock. There Bilali waited and we three went on alone. At the sight of the awful depths beneath us, Leo and I shuddered in spite of ourselves and moved carefully step by step. She never hesitated but swayed along gaily before us like a feather borne on a breeze. Finally we stood in a vast circular chamber, a great bubble in the earth's crust whose walls were shining black basalt. Holly. Yes? I see there by the wall. Looks like the body of a man. An old philosopher, my beloved, who came here many centuries ago. He sat and watched the flame and could not decide whether he should become immortal. Finally he died. And you? Have you never regretted becoming immortal? I could not have waited for Calacrates, Holly, had I not been immortal. But you, Leo, perhaps you have doubts. Immortality will not even be long enough with you. Where is the flame? Listen, even now it approaches. It advances and then retreats a never-ending cycle of life. It has moved along its path through this cavern since the beginning of time. Holly, look! Do not fear it, beloved sea. This time I will step into the flame alone. And when it comes again, you may join me. It's like the fire of the sun and the dust of a million diamonds. As the great and terrible pillar of flame approached, she threw off her veils and opened her arms to it, and the eternal fire flowed over her. It passed and left her there, standing with her head bowed. Are you all right? It didn't harm you? No, my beloved. Can one find harm in the flame that created life itself? Do you believe that... What? That... What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong. I... Tell me what's wrong. I... I... I... I... Tell me what's wrong. The flame was different somehow. Now that Calacrates has returned, the curse of everlasting life has lifted. Leo, she's aging! Grosgold! No, I... Oh, no! I do not... If I go, search for me. Search... Most of her heavens... Oh, no! No! No! Even as Leo's hands reached out to touch her, they closed on a dry heap of soft, gray dust. I knew now that neither of us would step into the flame, and I knew we would spend our lives searching through the world for she. I seemed to hear in my mind once again words she had spoken in those glorious hours the night before. I knew that Leo was hearing them too, and that neither of us, so long as we lived, could ever forget that lovely voice. Nay, not in coer, but in whatever spot in town or field, or by the insatiable sea, men brood on buried loves, or unforgot, or break themselves on some divine decree, or would or leap the limits of their lot. There, in the tombs and deathless, dwelleth she. Escape, produced and directed by Norman MacDonald. Tonight brought to you She by H. Rider Haggard. Adapted for radio by Les Crutchfield, with editorial supervision by John Dunkle. Featured in tonight's cast were Barry Kroger, Larry Dabkin, Kay Brinker, Ben Wright, and Wilms Herbert. Special music by Ivan Dittmarz. Next week! You are clinging precariously to a diving, pitching longboat, lashed by mountainous seas in the center of a hurricane. And at the helm, driving you on, is a man bent on revenge, and willing to kill for it. Next week, we escape with F. R. Buckley's exciting story, Habit. Good night then, until this same time next week, when once again we offer you Escape. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
