Personal notice, dangerous white stocking trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you got a job from me, George Valentine. Write full details. The Standard of California, on behalf of independent Chevron gas stations and Standard stations throughout the West, invites you to let George do it. The Dark Chain, another adventure of George Valentine. Dear Mr. Valentine, perhaps if my husband were still alive, I wouldn't need your help. He was the strongest man in the entire county, but he's been dead a long time now, and his brother, who manages the farm, can't see any farther than the cows and horses and the fields and the bright side of everything. Now, buddy, buddy, please, just play with your toys, dear. Oh, here, I'll open that safety pin for you. Can't you manage? Now you'll be quiet, won't you? There is no bright side, Mr. Valentine, when my only neighbor for miles should be in Prudence, and unless he's put there soon, heaven knows what will happen. Buddy, you'll tear it. Now that's your nice dog doll that Uncle Simon gave you for Christmas, can't you? There, that's better. I'm not begging for sympathy, Mr. Valentine, but I'm a woman who already has all she can bear, all the sorrow and the tragedy and the burden. Buddy, buddy, don't do that to your dog. It's your doll. Buddy, don't. Now, don't. Go outside, dear. Go outside, won't you? Go and see if you can help in the fields. I like my chickens, don't you, mama? Of course, buddy. I wouldn't hurt my chickens, would you? Dear, please. All right, mama. Bye. Please help me, Mr. Valentine. Sincerely, Mrs. Purcell. He's nineteen now, Mr. Valentine. Well, he's certainly big. His mind isn't. Yeah, yeah, I understand. Buddy's really quite gentle, but there are things that he can do on the farm to be useful. Those huge log chains he carries, why he can pull stumps out of a field better than a team of horses. Well, Mrs. Purcell, isn't there anything that... No, there's nothing that can be done. That's too bad. No, no, I'm not sorry for myself. He's just a little boy, that's all. And he's my son, Mr. Valentine. He's my... Yeah, your life, sure, of course. Well, Mrs. Purcell, you asked us out here to visit his friends or something. A little quiet investigation of a neighbor. Yes, you weren't very specific. His name is Luke Schroder. Schroder? Half a mile down the road. He's always lived there, but he hasn't been around much. He's been in prison. He's on parole now. He can be sent back if he does anything wrong. And the other night, something was stolen. You mean the thing? No, now please, let me tell it in my own way. A brooch. You know, one of those delicate old-fashioned cameo brooches. It was my grandmother's. I hadn't seen it for some time. I never go out anywhere, but it was in the storeroom in a little box. Well, Buddy wanted to look at the jewelry, that's what he calls it, so I took out the box and the brooch was missing. I see. But you say Buddy likes jewelry. Yes, outside he couldn't take his eyes off this naughty thing here on my purse. Oh, Buddy wouldn't take it. Oh, Buddy doesn't ever touch anything that isn't his. Besides, I asked him later, but didn't even register. He just said it was bad to take things, especially chickens. What? A weasel killed chickens the other night. Oh. Well, how do you know this brooch was taken just recently if you haven't looked in the box for a long time? But I have, a week or so ago. I know it's been in the last week. Uh-huh. Is that all, Mrs. Purcell? Luke Schroeder is a thief. That's what he was in prison for. He stole jewelry before from a store in town. Well, there's nothing you've told us that proves he stole it. And even if we discovered some proof, all we could do was turn it over to the local police. I've seen the police. I've talked to the sheriff. Yeah, well, what'd he do? He was too busy to bother. Well, look, I'm sorry, but from what you've told me, it doesn't seem... Oh, excuse me, sis. Simon, won't you please... This is Mr. Valentine. Yes, we met downstairs. Oh, what have you got here in the crate? Oh, George, look at them. Little baby chicks. Uh-huh. Cute little rascals. Oh. Just fixing the bed for them under the kitchen stove. All right, Simon, but right now... Weasel got to Buddy's chickens, you know. Thought he'd like some more to play with. And, oh, sis, here's a funny thing. Found it there under the stove. Thought you might like... What? His little doll, see? Oh, it's a little dog doll, isn't it? Yeah. Only, its neck is all twisted around. No, no, it's been torn. The head's been torn clear off, see? I did that. Hmm? I was fixing the little doll, that's all. I tore its head off so I could put some more stuffing in it. Well, I guess... Now, Simon, please, we're busy. Can't you take those chicks downstairs? Yeah, they're getting cold. Here, I'll carry them for you, Simon. What? Oh, but Mr. Valentine... Don't worry, Mrs. Bacill, we can talk later. Yeah, I think we'll be staying around here for a while after all. Oh, there's a bright side to Buddy, Mr. Valentine. You mean because at least he's able to help you here on the farm. Oh, not much. So clumsy he can't even harness up the horses. Oh. Then he gets an idea of his own sticks with it. Nothing else matters. You know how little kids do. No, I was thinking more he's happy, you know what I mean? He's not bothered by thinking he's smarter than he is, like most of us are in this world. Simon, I was thinking more about his mother. Upset, ain't she? Yeah, that's right. I used to think it'd be less strain on her if we put the boy in one of those homes or something, but she bristles out like a book if I ever mention it. I'm an upset right now about something. Oh. Well, I'm glad you're here. Friends are good. She needs friends. I don't know what it is, Mr. Valentine, she is upset bad. I suppose maybe it's only she has trouble seeing the bright side. What's the matter? What are you looking at? Who's that girl over there? Walking out there by the bar. Oh, her. Maria. Maria? Luke Shroder's wife down the road. Oh. Something, ain't she? Yeah. Luke's wife, huh? If you'd like to take a little walk around, I can... No, no, thanks. We'll look at the farm later, Simon. I've got a couple of things to do right now. But, George, if you want to talk to Luke's wife... Come on. Where's your uncle, buddy? I don't know. What are you doing? What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? You go away. Why? It's a free country, isn't it? I don't like you. I said... You do like those chains of yours, don't you? These? I... I can pull stumps right up out of the ground. I can... I bet you can't throw them all the way across the barn. I bet I can. I bet I can. I bet I can. See? That's better. You are a strong little boy, aren't you? Buddy, not a little boy. Why don't you like me? You got yellow hair. I just washed it, too. And I got a new dress on with a sparkly belt, see? Why don't you like me, buddy? Maria. Yes, buddy? Do you belong to Luke like my chickens belong to me? Stop laughing. I'm sorry, buddy. I told you it's a free country, isn't it? Stop laughing. It's not funny. They're dead. What? My chickens are dead in the nighttime. They're all dead. And when you're dead, you don't breathe anymore. I hate you. Buddy, what are you talking about? Tell Maria. Oh, George. Come on, buddy. He's crying. I can't realize it's you, buddy. Oh, George, that girl's in the bathroom. All right, all right. Get out of the way. Go on. I said get out of the way. Slow down, buster. Where is she? Where is she? Come on, Angel. We're in the town. Yeah? I was just wondering when you were going to... Get back to the house. Get back home. What? Your supper's ready, Luke. It's already just waiting. Hey, who are they? We're friends of Puddy's, Mrs. Shorter. Stay out of this, mister. Go on, Maria. Beat it. I will not. You got to find out a nerve in front of people. Hey, you. Hey, Emmy. How do you like that, mister? How do you like a friend of... Yeah, he's real tough, isn't he? I said stay out of it. I'd cool off, you big mug. I'm going. Bye, mister. Well, so you're the great Luke Shorter. Yeah. I know who you are, too, Mac. Now, you bitch. No. No, don't go away, mister. Don't go away, mister. Don't go away, mister. Shut up. Shut up, you crazy idiot. Buddy, leave Luke alone. Now, mister, just leave me alone with this freak. You're not going to argue with me now, are you? It's not going to do you any good. Buddy, stop it. Buddy, it's all right. Stop it. Buddy, it's all right. Buddy, it's all right. What's this? Come on. Get out of here. Come on, Luke. Come on. Run, will you? Run. All right, all right. Let go of me. Let go of me. Crazy jailbird. You sure take the cake for brains. That poor kid back there is five times your size. All right, all right, I see. Look, mister. The other night a weasel killed some chicken at Buddy's. Everybody in the county knows it's a weasel. They've had the same trouble. Only that crazy overgrown bird brain gets an idea and his head it sticks there like concrete. What do you mean? Come over here, in the back of my car. Something I just found on the road. Something I had longer than Maria. Something never kill a chicken in its life. A dog. Yeah, my dog. At least it used to be. Before it was beat to death with log chains. We'll return to tonight's adventure of George Valentine in just a moment. No one likes to get up and get going on a chilly fall morning and your car is no exception. For the gasoline in your car is sensitive to the weather too. But it's no problem when you use Chevron Supreme gasoline. It's climate tailored. Based on year round weather reports it's tailored to each different season and to the different altitude and temperature zones throughout the west. That's why you can count on it for faster starts every time. For faster, smoother pickup and traffic. And for extra ping free power on hills. Try a tank full of Chevron Supreme tomorrow. Right away you'll notice how much better your car responds to this premium quality gasoline. You can't buy a better gasoline for today's high compression engines. Ask for Chevron Supreme at standard stations and at independent Chevron gas stations where they say and mean we take better care of your car. Now back to tonight's adventure of George Valentine. You meet Buddy Purcell who is both an enormous man and a small child at the same time. His mother first called you to try to locate a cameo broach that she says has been stolen. She's even sure who stole it, Luke Shorter who lives down the road. But if you're anything like George Valentine you're much more interested in something else besides missing trinkets like dogs for instance. First a toy doll dog that had been torn and mutilated. Now Luke's dog, a real live dog. Only not anymore. Well there it is Angel. Those log chains he lugs around are dark in a couple of places. Try it tonight. Well look now, how about it Buddy? Come on kid, how about it? I don't think he even understands us Mr. Valentine. Well look kid, you're a big boy now. You don't need to cry. Did you get mad at the dog? Look Buddy, did you kill the dog? Let me go, let me go. Oh George, we ought to wait until his mother gets back from town. Yeah Mr. Valentine, I've never seen a boy like this. Now listen, both of you, I get rid of that guy Luke alright but it wasn't easy. And the kind of trouble he's liable to cause isn't exactly legal. What do you mean? He's headed for town to buy himself a drink or two and he still says he's going to kill Buddy. I'm not afraid of anybody named Shorter. Buddy going outside. Now look wait a minute kid, we're friends of yours. I killed a dog once. You know that? You did? Alright kid. I took my chains and I swung and I swung and I swung and it killed it. It was Luke's dog. It killed my chickens didn't it Uncle Simon? Oh Buddy, we've talked to other farmers on the phone. They saw your chickens. It wasn't a dog. He gets an idea he never let go. I hate Luke. I hate Luke. He stole Mama's jewelry. Kidding? Mama told you, I heard her, she told you. Let go of me. Please let go of me. Buddy, Buddy, is that any way to act? Now Buddy is... Mr. Valentine, what's this he was talking about a brooch? Oh, well it's a cameo thing. Mrs. Purcell said it was stolen. She thought Luke Schroeder took it. Cameo? Uh huh. Maybe Luke did. I saw a cameo just yesterday. A girl wearing it. What? It was Luke's wife. That Maria. Say ain't she something though? Yeah. Something is something all right. Sorry we've been waiting for you Mrs. Purcell. Have you? Yes, I think it's time we had a little talk about Buddy. I'm so late getting back. It's so late. Serving supper. You haven't had a thing to eat. Oh we don't mind. Sit down won't you Mrs. Purcell? No not now excuse me. I'm sorry Mrs. Purcell. You got us out here with a story about a brooch being stolen. Maybe you buy Luke Schroeder. And maybe Luke did take it, I don't know. Of course Mr. Valentine that's right. The only reason you pointed a finger at him is because you want to get rid of him. Get him out of the neighborhood. Is that right? He's a troublemaker. You mean for Buddy he is. He teases him. He picks on him like a bully. Yeah yeah I know. And his wife Maria is no better. She could get anybody in trouble, even Luke. But the person you're really afraid of is Buddy himself. What? You're afraid of his violence. No, no he's always been so kind, so calm. It's just that Luke is... No well Luke he's on parole. I can see the sheriff about him. I don't like guys who pull knives on people anyway. But what I mean is you'd better be thinking of doing something about Buddy. No I... what's that? Well it's just the wind outside that's all. Hey I guess you've lived in fear haven't you? In fear of the things your own son might do and nobody's big enough to stop him from... Oh please, please not now. Please Mr. Valentine, please. I don't like what I'm saying but it seems... George wait a minute. Mrs. Purcell, where have you been? What? Oh I know you've been in town shopping. But I heard your car drive up quite a little while before you came inside. Oh leave me alone. And you've been so frightened just now that you've hardly heard it. Where were you? What happened? Nothing. Leave me alone. Both of you. Mrs. Purcell you've also kept your hand in your pocket. Why? No, no leave me alone. Fine I have to. George, a cameo broke. So that's why you had your hand in your pocket. Where did you get this Mrs. Purcell? Come on now, where did you get it? Buddy. Buddy? Well where did he get it? I don't know. He just gave it to me outside and ran. Outside? But George, Buddy was in his own room a little while ago. Come on. Well he's not back here yet. He's still outside. George what's that? Wait a minute. Another doll. Oh. Yeah. A little girl doll. And Brooksie it's head. Look it's head's all twisted. It's all. The brooch. Brooch. And the doll. Maria. Oh Maria's dead. Didn't she George? Brooksie that's an understatement. The chain. Yeah yeah. Cruises. Even scratches on the floor. Chains all right. George look. Look at her blouse here. Two little tiny holes. Yes I wonder. That's where the brooch was pinned. See the mark of the class? This is where Buddy got it. But before he took it outside to give to his mother. Mrs. Purcell must have guessed where it came from. Well I guess there's nothing to do. But to keep looking in June. What? Something I noticed outside a second ago. What? Her husband Luke went into town didn't he? What yeah? Well I saw something along there by the bushes. Here we are. A hat see. Oh. It's the one he had on earlier. Well George Luke's been here. Well it could have been at supper and he could have left his hat on. On a windy night like tonight. Oh no angel he went into town all right. I just think he got back that's all. Yeah sure there's his car on the side of the house. And he left the car door open. George he was in a hurry running maybe and lost his hat. Wait maybe it wasn't Buddy. Maybe it was Luke who came back here. That's a man's voice. Come on this way. Music There he is. Oh. Luke. Luke. Oh no. The chain. Luke can you hear me? Luke listen can you hear me? What happened? The chain. He was waiting for me. I'd seen him earlier on the road with the chain. I ran and he chased me. He had to be. Chain. Oh George can't we get him back to the house? It's too late. What are you going to do? Look this just happened Brooksie it just happened don't you get it? We interrupted it. You mean then some place right around. Wait a minute. Yeah. The chains hear them? This crazy wind you can't tell which direction. Off the road angel. That little patch of woods come on. Oh George you're not good. I said come on I can see him if he runs for it across the fields in the moonlight. Yeah yeah come on in here someplace. Mr. Barrettine. Oh oh oh hey. Well hello Simon. I've been chasing after you as fast as I could. I saw what had happened back there and Luke too. Oh you did huh? Yes I wanted to. What's that? It's James. George. Yeah still in there. The woods. Come on now. Little more to the left I think. Mr. Barrettine you're not going after Buddy when he's like this. Why not? George. We can get the sheriff here in half an hour. Buddy wouldn't have time to leave the property. He wouldn't even know enough to. Right now we only have to search a tiny patch of woods. But George there's no one else he can hurt except us. Oh we're crazy. Five times as strong as an ox Mr. Barrettine. You've seen it yourself. We can't handle him. He's clumsy. What difference does that make? Oh George please don't. He's moving. Listen. No he's not. He's back to the right again through here. I still say he's clumsy. He's got hands like baseball gloves. Mr. Barrettine. So clumsy he can't even harness up the horses. He's closer to you. You know a bit Buddy can't even open a safety pin. What? Can you imagine what he'd look like trying to unfasten the pin on a delicate cameo brooch? What? How about that Simon? You should have torn off Maria's blouse. It would have looked more like Buddy did it that way. George. That's the way you wanted everything to look isn't it? But you made that one little mistake. What did you do after you killed her and took the brooch? Just give it to Buddy knowing no one would believe where he got it? I don't understand. Mr. Barrettine the chains. He's right in here with the chains. Oh yeah sure. Busted the chains to the weapon all right. That's why I'm going after them right now instead of later. In a little tiny patch of woods a man couldn't run away without being seen. But he could come out of the woods and pretend he came from someplace else like you did. No no no I didn't. Buddy's right there. And I search those woods and don't find Buddy and instead I find... Sure. Sure there they are. The chains Simon. Right where you left them. Hanging on a branch swaying in the wind. No no you don't Busted. I guess you don't mind if I use the chains to tie you up. Yeah some of it was a guess Mrs. Purcell. George seemed to think he should have a little of the kind of faith you have in your boy. How could you after the dog and those dolls? Well the second doll Simon planted himself and the first one... Well Buddy gets an idea and sticks with it. But that doesn't say where he got the idea. It's Simon who's been making him so upset. He gave him that stubborn idea that Luke's dog had killed his chicken. Luke's dog? He did kill the dog Miss Brooks. Yeah well he threw a chain at it like he said. But I think you'll find Simon was the one who... Well added the finishing touch. It was an awfully easy way for Simon to get out of a nasty spot. To set up a crime that would be blamed on an abnormal kid. And the spot was Maria. Yeah a little trouble girl Simon unthinkingly gave you approach to. Oh she was something all right. And Simon must have lived in terror of that tough husband finding out. Luke gave us another clue you know Mrs. Purcell. Yeah he was attacked because he'd seen someone with chains on the road. He didn't say who but certainly Buddy wouldn't think in terms of trying to kill a suspicious witness. Oh no and Buddy is really kind when you know him. He's really... Oh no. You were right Mr. Valentine. I'll find a place where they'll take good care of Buddy. Of course you will. But I'll always be near him. I'll always be near my son. Oh but I wish there were a happier ending for George. Oh I don't know Brooksie. Remember what Simon said? At least Buddy's not bothered by thinking he's smarter than he is. Like most of us are. Well yes but... Mr. Valentine. What am I saying? Mr. Valentine. Oh Mr. Ralph. Goodbye. Goodbye. I hope you have a nice time. Hope you be happy. Thanks Buddy. Same to you. What's the one biggest cause of wear in your car's engine? Automotive engineers have proved that internal corrosive rust is responsible for 80 percent of all engine wear. It starts the moment the ignition is turned off, the result of acid-laden moisture attacking cylinder walls and other vital parts. But when you rely on RPM motor oil you stop this 80 percent of wear completely. That's because RPM is specially compounded to keep a moisture-proof film on internal metal at all times. With RPM on those vital parts rust can't harm the engine even though your car stands idle for days or weeks. No wonder this premium quality motor oil is first choice in the West. It's the oil that stops 80 percent of engine wear. Why not try it tomorrow? Ask for RPM motor oil at independent Chevron gas stations and at standard stations where they say and mean we take better care of your car. Tonight's Adventure of George Valentine has been brought to you by Standard of California on behalf of independent Chevron gas stations and standard stations throughout the West. Robert Bailey has starred as George with Frances Robinson as Brooksie. Let George Do It is written by David Victor and Jackson Gillis and directed by Don Clark. Also heard in the cast were Georgia Backus as Mrs. Purcell, William Boucher as Buddy, Louise Arthur as Maria, Herbert Butterfield as Simon, and Tony Barrett as Luke. The music is composed and presented by Eddie Dunstetter. Your announcer, John Heston. Listen again next week, same time, same station, to Let George Do It. This is the Mutual Don Lee Broadcasting System. Music
