Now the Mole Mystery Theater, presented by M-O-L-L-E. M-O-L-L-E Mole, the heavier brushless shaving cream for tough whiskers or a tender skin. Good evening, this is Jeffrey Barnes welcoming you to the Mole Mystery Theater, the program that presents the best in mystery and detective fiction. Tonight's mystery entitled, Where's the Mask, was written by Robert Mitchell and Dean Leavitt and stars Bill Quinn. It's the story of Joseph Talbot, who escapes from prison and tries to claim the woman he loves. To do so, he finds himself forced to assume two aliases. One is a common enough name, John Mason, but the other is Humpty Dumpty. And his short career follows that of the Mother Goose character rather closely as he finds that death wears a mask. Well, sir, Mr. Barnes, you sure have me curious about this Humpty Dumpty character. I can hardly wait. But first, there's one thing I just can't help saying. It's this. Man, if shaving tough whiskers or a tender skin has you hollering for help, then call for Mole, the heavier brushless shaving cream. Yes, sir, it's smooth. So smooth. It's slick. So slick. It's a smooth, smooth, slick, slick shave you get with M-O-L-L-E. Mole, the heavier brushless shaving cream for tough whiskers or a tender skin. Try it. Mole. Now for tonight's Mole mystery. Death wears a mask. When I saw that mask, that black mask, that's when my insides turned to ice water. I clamped a rigid grip on my courage up to then, held onto my poise and my feelings until I unfolded that black mask. Then I got scared. Really scared. That's when the whole awful business boiled through my mind like a churning torrent. The torrent of grinning, gaudy faces that laughed and shrieked at me, muttering. Garish, distorted faces that bobbed and waggled as the fantastic dancing figures reached out, clawing for me. The evil duke of Gloucester, Captain Kidd, Cleopatra, George Washington, Napoleon, Lucifer, the Black Prince. All of them and more are confording in a mad circle around me, giggling and talking and laughing. And it was Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc, more beautiful than I'd remembered. Her mask gone, staring up the sky as the silent ripples dancing over her face, slowly darkening. The instant it was left, my mind plunged back through these memories to the point where it all started. Back to the night I walked in the shadows of a flagstone path and stopped a moment to look at the name on the door before I pressed the bell. Joseph. Joseph! Surprise, Brother John. Come inside quick. Is that wise? Perhaps you're cook. Or your wife alone, come in before someone sees you. Well, well, well, well. Looks as if you've done pretty well for yourself in the last four years. New city, new business, even a new name. Mason now. Talbot was a little carnage, eh, John? Never mind all that. How did you get out? What do you mean, coming here? Take it easy, John. One thing at a time. I broke out. I shot a guy. Joseph! He may have died, I don't know. I had a tough time last night, a tougher time today. Getting down here and finding you wasn't easy. Did the police? No. They think I went east. I'm okay for a while. Now sit here, Joseph. I can't afford to. Oh, surprise, John. Where else would I come for help? Except to my big brother. Well, of course I want to help you, but you must realize. Do you mind if I pour a drink? Oh, help yourself. Been four years since I've tasted whiskey. Now, you have to be a hunter to know what it's like to really relax. Now, a little music on the radio. Joseph, you've got to get out of here. Some friends of mine will arrive in a few minutes. I'm expected to go out with them to the annual masquerade ball. That's all. That's too bad. I hope for a chance to talk to you. By the way, where's Claire? She's gone ahead to the ball. She was on the committee. Oh? Well, since I'm a traveling man, I'll need cash and some clothes. It might be a long trip, so make it heavy on the cash. Now, wait a minute. Come on, get the money, John. Bring it all out. Bring what there is in the safe upstairs. My clothes will be a little large for you. You'd better take sports stuff. Wait here a minute, Joseph. I won't be long. You'd better not be. Well, so far so good. The whiskey was warm inside me, and the music was low and sweet. I dropped my head back into the soft, smooth cushion of the chair and closed my eyes. The gentle music flowed from the radio and smoothened me. Almost subconsciously, I became aware of the clicking that had intruded into the melody. Absolutely, I remembered it was like a telephone being dialed. The extension of stairs. I sprang out of the chair and dashed across the room. The downstairs telephone sat on a small table in the hallway. Mr. Sergeant, do you know who this is? I just thought the police are on all that Joseph terribly escaped conductors at our right now in the Oak Ridge Terrace District. That louse. That dirty louse. Joseph, you, you stop with me. You're jumpy, John. I figured you'd blame me with you in the house. I'm just twelve hundred. That's all there is. Okay. I got restless downstairs. You were taking so long. I had trouble with the combination, huh? Where are the clothes? Hey, what the devil is this stuff? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Hey, what the devil is this stuff? It's egg business and these striped pants. That's my costume for tonight. The egg fits over your head. I told you it's a costume ball masquerade. Oh? It's a little flashy for me. Here, I'll take that suit, some shirts, a couple of ties, some socks. All right. Put them in this bag. Take anything you want. Only hurry up and get out of here. My friends... Yes, yes. I know. They'll be here any minute. Quit worrying. You have more important things to do. What do you mean? John, did you ever stop to figure how long four years are? A man can figure a lot of angles in four years. I've been thinking all that time how helpful you've been, John. Well, I've always tried to do what I could. And you've done so much, John. Like when Claire was my wife and we were flat broke. You took us in to live at your house, remember? Well, I... You found me a job, that bookkeeping job, remember? To help me learn it, to talk me to tricks. We had a nice little penny ante deal going. And all of a sudden I got arrested and tried for grand loss, and you remember that? Now look, Joseph. But I got the ax. Ten years, they said. But even then you helped me. You promised to look after Claire for me, to take care of her. And you did. You married her. Oh, no. Now wait a minute, Joseph. Claire and I, we... Well, I fell in love with her and you were gone. It wasn't fair for how to wait. You can't expect... Maybe you're right. Maybe we're square. Joseph, you know I'll do anything I can. Write to me anytime. I'll send you more money, Joseph. After I leave, you won't call the cops and tip them off, John. Of course not, Joseph. Good heavens, you're my own. Wait a minute. That was a statement, not a question. But I... Joseph, no. Please. Joseph. I didn't realize how much I hated John until I found myself resenting the neatness of the little round hole in his parlor. But now I had to move fast. I snapped the suitcase shut. John's friends. They were at the door. I heard the door open. Hello, John. John is now in his cell. Are you ready? He must be upstairs. Yeah. Hey, John. We're here. Hurry up. Then I noticed the costume. Humpty Dumpty. The egg that covered your whole head. Sure, why not? But perfect. Pretend to be John. Our forces weren't up like. Hi, you two. Sorry I'm a little behind schedule. Make yourself a drink. Okay, but straight to length. We're late already. I've got to get to work. Now to get into this rig. I'd go to that dance and John's outfit. You'd see Claire now, tonight. Maybe she'd come with me. We could leave the country together. The costume was big and baggy. I slipped it on over my clothes except for the long pointed shoes. And the headpiece. The egg with a painted grinning face. I looked at myself in the mirror. It was funny. Really funny. All I had to remember now was to play the part. Good time. Okay, I'm all ready. I love Bill. Oh, it's priceless. It's positively priceless. John Mason, you're a screen. Humpty Dumpty. John, you're marvelous. Bill, look at that head. I've never seen anything so funny. Oh, I'm proud of you, John. You look pretty good yourself. Clear past, all right? And Captain Kidd, no mistaking you, you old pirate. Running through the type, aren't you? Okay, egghead, if you're going to be nasty. Hey, your voice sounds different. You sound like you have a mouthful of mush with that thing over your noggin. Oh, we're going to have a swell time tonight. Come on. Hey, take it easy, Bill. You're cracking Humpty Dumpty. How you doing, John? Oh, fine, fine. Another bump and you can serve me with ham. Oh, okay. Oh, by the way, John, what's Claire wearing? What? That's a secret. Oh, get him playing according to rules. Oh, that's all right. It's for as all the fun as you know. Hey, what's this over here? Huh? What? Oh, it looks like a barricade at some time. Oh. And a police. Huh? A roadblock. A police? Well, Mr. Yacan, somewhere Joseph Talbot says it looks as though Humpty Dumpty is set for a fall. We've got a fun group of our men listeners. Well, same end, for a long time now we've been having a lot of fun reminding you about mole, even singing a little song about it. Well, we hope you've had some fun out of it, too, especially learning about those smooth, slick mole shades. And to those of you who just never got around to trying it, all we say is, next time, ask for mole. You know, many of us miss out on a lot of good things by not trying them. Try mole, the heavier brushless shaving cream. Notice what close, comfortable shave you get, no matter how tough your whiskers or how tender your skin. Yes, as plenty of men have discovered, because mole is a heavier cream, it not only softens your whiskers, it stands them up straight and lets your razor shave them all faster, closer, easier, and painlessly. So how about it? Tomorrow, get a cube of mole, the heavier brushless shaving cream for tough whiskers or a tender skin. And now this is Jeffrey Barnes returning you to Act Two of Death, Gores, and Asks. The road is not going right. John's call is on me. They were stopping all traffic. I shrank back as I succeeded. The cops stepped out on the road. Hi, how are you folks? Hey, what's going on here? Welcome aboard, Tim. We're playing the Jolly Roger tonight. Where is this? Who are you? It's me, Bill Brady. Oh, Mr. Brady. Well done, Tim. I requested escape convict to this neighborhood. Killed a guard at the prison last night, armed and dangerous, protecting everything that looks suspicious. That's us, Tim. Captain, Kim here is wanted for piracy. I'm wanted by Mark Anthony. What's the country's empty-mation in the back? It's the only emmity on the board. Well, let's see about that. Hey, that sure is some get-up, Mr. Mason. Sure you're not a bad egg? Oh, I'm pretty bad, Tim. You might say that the yoke is on you for letting it go. Oh, brother, how corny can you be? Hey, folks, turn your way. Have a good time. What was she worrying? She could be anybody. From old Mother Hubbard to Tondaleo, they were all here. As I moved through the crowd, I made quite a hit in John's costume. Mark! There's Dufy Dufy! Hello, Dufy Dufy! I had no idea where to start looking. Claire would recognize this Humpty Dumpty rig. Maybe she'd spot me. Once, a girl alone walked up to me and I stopped. Hello! Oh, you look marvelous. My, what a face! Claire? No, wrong number, mister. I'm Madame Lafarge. Can't you tell? These confounded masks. I moved toward the back of the room and then I noticed Joan of Arc standing alone in the corner. She was waving. I looked around, but no one seemed to be paying any attention. She waved again, so I walked toward her. Dufy Dufy! Hello, darling. Hello there. Wonderful. Your costume is the best in the place. Really, think so? Yes, I told you it would be. I'll give you a hand now and then we'll pick you up on time. Oh, sure, sure. Plenty of time. Well, they thought they might be late. Oh, we had an awful mess here. Whenever we're done, they'll all feel unabashed, can't we? Would you like a drink, John? Huh? What'd you say? What's the matter with you, darling? Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking. Is something wrong? Wrong? No, no, there's nothing wrong. Why? You sound a little worried. Not like yourself. Oh, you're imagining things. If you were talking to an omelet, you wouldn't sound the same either. Shall we have a drink? I'd much rather dance with you, Claire. All right, darling. When I took her in my arms, everything else faded away. Crowd, the colors, the noise. Leaving just Claire and the music. I'd waited so long for this. I wanted to forget everything else. I love dancing with you, John. Does it stop there? Does what stop? Your love. Oh, you silly. Oh, John, before I forget, here are the keys. I've almost lost them a dozen times. I guess Joan of Arc had no use for the pocket. The keys to the crock. Oh, okay, sure. I've kept the moose over the handle of my poignet all evening. The handle of your what? The stagger. The real 15th century poignet. I just found out. Oh, that's all. Mm-hmm. By the way, where did you park? Way down at the end of the center lane. I backed in so we could get out fast. That's fine. Fine, darling. I'll keep the keys. But we were talking of love, Claire. Remember? Mm-hmm. Nice of you. Just where does your love stop? It's not with dancing. Why, how can you ask? I really want to know. I mean it. Something's come up and I must know for sure about you, Claire. Do you love me? John, it's a joke. I've never been more serious in my life. Still, you love me. John, I don't know what to make of this. Ah, here you are, you lovely people. Hello. Since John Mason, you're a perfect dumpsy-dumpty, even to the gestures. Everyone says so. And Claire, my dear, you're such a fascinating town of art. There are things, of course, I should have told you. Boston is a keystone car, isn't it? Yes, so appropriate. I thought so. It's a giveaway, of course. Everyone recognized him. Well, John, people will probably suspect a scandal when Mother Goose dances with Humsy Dumsy. But this is our dance, isn't it? Shall we risk it? Why, yes. I think I... Please don't let you off, Tim Claire. He held up over there. All right, Claire. Come on, John. Let me take you under the old cheese of please. I think we can trust them. Now, this is the most wonderful party the club's ever held. Oh, sure. I can hardly wait to be unmasking at midnight. It's going to be such fun. Unmasking? At midnight? Yes. First day of war. But it's 11.30 already. Oh, a minute won't be long now. There's Austin and Claire and they're mentioning to us. I wonder what's wrong. Excuse me, will you? Oh, yes. I'm sorry. John, John, there was trouble at headquarters. She's saying you just got a call. The police. What about the police? You knew this, didn't you? That's what you meant. Let's get out of here. We've got to talk. Claire took me outside. I'm down a path that led to the end of the garden where the lights were on. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't let her talk to the police. Don't let her talk to the police. OK. Well, the police, you're all right. I'll talk. I don't care what happens to you. Christians should be Sounds like she's ill. Okay. Okay, Claire. Come on now, come on. Okay, hold it, sir. What are we going to do? He's out! He'll come back, he found him. Don't worry about him, Claire. He'll go away. I promise you that. He won't, he won't forget us, John. Why else would he come here at all? He knows he was framed and he must realize that we did it to get rid of him so we could be together. I couldn't bear what Claire was saying. And the meaning of a word jammed into my brain. I felt the terrible pressure swelling up inside me. Maybe we should tell the police that he's your brother. They'll be waiting for us at home in a minute. He's a killer now. She would have taught me again if I reached out and teased her. She's a nasty whore! She stopped short when I ripped it from her face. Her eyes grew wide as I moved toward her in her mouth, fellow. I was afraid she might scream till I cut her hand over her mouth. I bent her head back. And I pulled the little dagger she wore from its scabbard and drove its point deep into her throat. I bent her back. I needed to slow her down. Until I felt the cold water in the pond in my arms. And I let her drop. And she stared up at the sky as the ripples over her face grew dark from her blood. This is Jeffrey Barnes again. In just a moment we'll bring you Act Three of Death Wears a Mask. Now a word from George Putnam. Thousands of people who suffer the social and business handicap of dandruff are discovering that the way to combat effectively is with double dandruff. Outstanding authorities explain that the most common kind of dandruff is caused by a germ called Pityrhus pormovali. Now when you wash or brush away loose dandruff, that doesn't destroy the germ. If you want real relief, the germ must be destroyed. And double dandruff does just that. It kills this germ on contact. Even in many stubborn cases, results with double danduarine have been amazing. Now a special ingredient is the reason for double danduarine's astonishing effectiveness. An active antiseptic so remarkably efficient many hospitals use it. In double danduarine we call it alzheimer's. So try double danduarine and see if you don't agree that it really works. That it really does more than many dandruff fighting methods. Methods that actually are no better than plain water. Get double danduarine tomorrow. It carries a money back, guaranteed. Music Claire. Laid dead. Her blood darkening the pool. I had to get out of here. Now I have the keys to John's car. I couldn't make it if I could leave without being seen. I leaped up to the wall, clamped up on top, and swung my legs over. I was about to jump when... Hey! You're up on the wall! What do you think you're doing? I... I... What's the matter, officer? At the same time, there, mister. There's an escaped convict on the neighborhood. Wouldn't be safe to go through these trees now. Oh, I... I'm not leaving. It's just a gag, officer. You know, Humpty Dumpty on the wall. There he is. Well, look at him after he's been in there. Well, what does Humpty Dumpty usually do on the wall? He falls off. Come on, John, you're missing all the fun. Hey, there's Claire. Claire? Oh, didn't you see her? She just went up that path. I jumped down off the wall and led them away from the terrible thing in the fish pond. I left them near the ballroom and said I was going to find Claire. I started by the side entrance to the back back when I saw a cop standing there, too. I cut across the dance floor, pushing my way through the people that milled around the edges. I was about halfway across when... Get around, everybody, get around. The Russian people swarmed toward the stage. I tried to get by, but I was swept up with them as they pushed in close. Yes, this is by far the most successful party ever sponsored by the Old Bridge Terrace Country Club. I had to get out. I had to. I began to shoulder through the mob, forcing my way between the tactfully packed bodies. Yes, oh, that man's big. People began shoving me back toward the stage. They were all laughing and shouting. Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to announce that the judges were unanimous in their selection of the masquerader who played best the part portrayed by his costume. As the best clown of the evening, the grand prize goes to... Contiante! The announcer stepped down and handed me a huge silver card. I still thought I could climb my way out. I bowed poolously and then... It's midnight, he's first. Take his mask off. Let's see the champ. He knows who's going to make it. Come on, on that. No, no, no, John! I dropped the cup and plunged headlong into the milling, laughing ring that pressed in on me. I struggled to break through them as they swooped and sang and clawed at my costume. Take his mask off. No, no, take it over. I started holding him. I fell down and their voices closed over me. They didn't know what they were doing. They were laughing and shouting. I felt the shell of my headpiece crack and I ripped it off. Then hands were helping me to my feet. And a deadly silence suddenly swept out through the crowd... No! ...in an ever increasing circle... Who's that? With me as the center. I think they're hiding. Shut up! John Mason? And at my feet, twisted and grotesque and grinning, lay the humpy-dumpy mask. Not like the somber hood they were holding in front of me now. A black mask with no eyes. Joseph Talbot, before you are executed in accordance with the laws of this state and the sentence pronounced, have you anything to say? I couldn't think. And the man holding the mask walked toward me. He slipped it over my head and tied it on. Then they adjusted the rope around my neck. And in the blackness of the black hood and the expectant hush beyond, my mind screamed for something to hang onto. Words. Any words. Speak them. Humpy-dumpy. Sat on a wall. Humpy-dumpy. Very great. And now this is Jeffrey Barnes again bringing down the final curtain on tonight's Mystery Theatre presentation of Death Wears a Mask. Be with us next week to hear a story written by Ray Darby entitled Death Goes Shopping. The original music for the Mystery Theatre is composed and conducted by Alexander Sennler. Billy Quinn was starred and Mitzi Gould and Gregory Morton featured in tonight's play. Any resemblance between the names and characters used on Mystery Theatre and any actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
