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As our story opens early one morning, we find the kindly old Tracer and his assistant Mike Clancy pouring over some documents in his office. Mike, I asked you to step in here for a moment. I wanted to test these signatures. Well, Mr. Keen, Susie ain't in yet. This hour? Well, that's odd. You suppose she's ill? I couldn't say, boss. Well, Mike, ring her apartment right away. Yes, sir. I don't understand it. She's always so punctual. Well, you'd think she'd let you know if she was sick or something. Yes, that's right. It's got me worried. They're ringing, boss. I hear them, but I don't get the answer yet. I've suffered quite a bit. I'm afraid I'll have to go to the doctor. I'll have to go to the doctor. I'll have to go to the doctor. I'll have to go to the doctor. I'll have to go to the doctor. I'll have to go to the doctor. That's one phone call that hasn't aided the war effort. Oh, I'm sorry to be late, Mr. Keen. What happened, Susie? Just as soon as I get my breath, Mr. Keen, I'll tell you. You see, a family by the name of Nolan lives in the apartment below mine. There's the father, Jim Nolan, and his wife, Mary, and their daughter, Helen. Yes. Well, at 5.30 this morning, I was startled out of a sound sleep by hearing Helen cry out. She was calling, Daddy, don't leave me. Come away from there. I beg you. And then I heard violence sobbing. Huh. Family rower. Now, Susie, that ain't any reason to... Mike, don't interrupt. Go on, Susie. Well, I couldn't imagine what had happened. They're usually such a quiet family. And then this morning, just before I left for the office, Helen came to see me. Mr. Keen, she told me the strangest thing. She'd had a terrible dream about her father last night. A dream? And to cap it all, her mother told her this morning... that her father hadn't been home all night. They're afraid something terrible's happened to him. Well... Helen's nearly out of her mind. And well, I brought her along to the office with me. I wonder whether you'd talk to her, Mr. Keen. Well, all right, Susie, send her in. And I'll take these documents along now that Susie's commenced. Yes, please do, Mike. Mr. Keen, this is Helen Nolan. Oh, come in, my dear, and sit down. Thank you, Mr. Keen. Susie has told me briefly what has happened, so... suppose you let me ask you a few questions first. When did you last see your father? Yesterday evening when he got home from work. And what does he do? He's a typesetter, the daily advocate. That's down on Center Street. Yes, go on, my dear. I'm sure he's been murdered, Mr. Keen. Murdered? I dreamed it last night, as clear as could be. Try to calm yourself, Helen. A dream is one thing and the facts of life quite another. Has anything happened lately that makes you believe someone wanted to murder your father? Oh, no, Mr. Keen. My father has no enemies. He leads the most regular life in the world. Well, he's never stayed out all night in his life, but my dream was so clear. Well, try to think back. Now tell me, when you last saw your father, what were you doing? Well, last night I was seated at the piano when Dad returned home. You see, Mr. Keen, I love to sing. Just as I was beginning a song. Helen, your voice sounds sweeter every day. Well, oh, Dad. That's a beautiful song. It's a dreamy song. It reminds me of you. Me? Dreamily? You hear that, Mother? Well, come to think of it, perhaps you're right. Guess what tomorrow is? Tomorrow I'm celebrating. I'll have been working 25 years at the newspaper office and I have a big surprise in store for you. Jim, Helen has to be leaving. Oh, that's so merry. Sorry, Dad, I've got a date. A very special one. I'll see you in the morning and you can tell me your surprise then. And maybe I'll have one for you. I returned home quite late, Mr. Keen. Mother and Dad had both gone to bed. I suppose. And then later on I had that terrible dream. A nightmare. My father's been murdered, Mr. Keen, or he's in some awful danger. I know it. Well, tell me, Helen, how does your mother account for your dad's disappearance? Is it possible they had a quarrel? That's just it, Mr. Keen. I don't like to say this. You think she may be holding something back? I don't quite know. Well, suppose I have a talk with your mother. However, first I'll send my Clancy, my assistant, to your dad's newspaper office for a checkup. And Helen, I'd like you to remain close by where I can reach you very quickly. You're very kind, Mr. Keen. Do you think anything... My dear, try not to worry. I'll get working on this case right away. Well, I talked to Jim Nolan's boss like you asked me, Mr. Keen. What did he say, Mike? Well, sir, Nolan didn't show up at this newspaper office today at all. And he's always very punctual and a reliable worker. The boss didn't know much about him in a personal way. So he suggested we talk to a fellow by the name of John Olson, who works with him. And he's right here in this office, sir. All right, Mike, let's go in. Are you John Olson? Yes, that's me. My name is Keen and this is my Clancy. How do you do? We're inquiring about Jim Nolan. I understand that you and Jim are friends? Yes, Jim and me are just like that. He's a fine fellow. And a good worker, too, but why didn't he come today? That's what we want to find out. Maybe you can help us, John. Sure, sure, I'll help. But how? Well, for some unknown reason, Jim Nolan has disappeared. Disappeared? Yes. Did he have any trouble here that you know of? Trouble? No, Jim and me and the rest here are like one big family. Then you'd know if he was worried about anything. Sure, Mr. Keen, but Jim, Jim was always happy. His head was always in the clouds. In the clouds? In what way? Well, one thing, he talked all the time about how he wanted a house in the country with cows and chickens and honeysuckles climbing all over the porch. Yeah, he talked about that all the time. A house in the country, you say? Well, that might explain something. Well, I hope so. Now, you find Jim, Mr. Keen, and say his old pals here want him back. Quick. All right, John. I'll do the best I can. Come along, Mike. We're going now to see Jim's wife, Mary Nolan. But, Mr. Keen, I can't imagine why Jim didn't come home last night and why he didn't show up at work today. Are you sure? I'm going to ask you something, Mrs. Nolan. What was the surprise your husband had in store for Helen? Well, I suppose it might have something to do with his work, with a raise, perhaps. Could it possibly have had anything to do with that cottage in the country? Your husband may be in great danger, Mrs. Nolan. You want him back, don't you? And Helen's heart is breaking. You're right, Mr. Keen. I'd give anything in the world to have Jim home again. Perhaps, perhaps I should tell you everything. I think perhaps you should. You see, it was this way. From the first day we were married, Jim would bring his weekly paycheck home to me. We agreed that out of it, I'd lay aside five dollars every week to put in the savings bank. And last night, after Helen had left the house, Jim said to me, Well, Mary, I guess you know what my big surprise is. Tomorrow is 20 years to the day when we started our savings account. Tomorrow, Jim? Oh, I hadn't remembered. I don't wonder, Mary. 20 years. It's been a long time. But now our dream can come true. Together with the interest, there must be over six thousand dollars in the bank. Enough to buy that cottage in the country and a few acres of land to live off of. Yep, tomorrow I'm quitting my job. Quitting? But Jim, hadn't you better wait just a while longer? No, Mary, I've made up my mind. Tomorrow I'm going down to the office and tell them I'm through. Think of it. No more grinding away at the shop. Just green fields, blue skies, and air a man can breathe. But things aren't too easy now, Jim. With expenses so high, some weeks I've hardly been able to make ends meet. That's what you're worried about. Well, I understand, Mary. If we're a few hundred dollars short, that's all right. It's more than that, Jim. More? How much? Answer me. How much? Jim, I didn't realize... Is there six thousand in the bank? Forgive me, Jim. Is there five thousand? Three? One? Is there anything? No, nothing. Nothing. I didn't know you cared so much, but... Jim, let me tell you, I... That's all I've lived for. For the past twenty years. Now, no house. No country. All. All gone. Jim, what are you going to do? Where are you going? I don't know, Mary. I don't know. You see, Mr. Keen, I... I couldn't tell Jim the truth for Helen's sake. The truth? How do you mean, Mrs. Nolan? What happened to the money? Well, a few years ago, our daughter Helen developed a very fine singing voice. I spent the money having her voice trained under one of the best teachers in the country. I see. Last night she had an audition. If Helen wins, it will mean a contract with a Metropolitan Opera. So that's it. But Mrs. Nolan, you were wrong in not telling Jim the truth. Oh, I realize that now, Mr. Keen. I was gambling Jim's happiness against Helen's future. And if Helen failed, Jim would never forgive me. Now I'm afraid Jim may have done something... Something terrible. That's the story, Helen, as your mother told it to me. Poor mother. I never knew. And poor dad. Oh, Mr. Keen, we've got to find my father. Yes, Helen, and quickly. But frankly, I... I don't know where to start. I haven't a single clue to go on. That terrible nightmare I had. In it, I saw someone trying to murder my father. I saw it as clearly as I'm seeing you in this room. But that was a dream, Helen, a dream. Mr. Keen, sir, if I might make a suggestion, it is just possible... Oh, I know what you're thinking of, Mike. For a fact, boss. The great-grandmother Gilhoolie had second sight by once she had a dream... Yes, yes, Mike. I've heard such things do happen, but... But to look for a lost person on such a basis, why, it's fantastic. Dreams are too vague and uncertain. I wouldn't attempt it. Mr. Keen, it wouldn't do no harm to have a young lady describe it. No, I suppose not. It was so vivid, Mr. Keen. Please let me tell you. All right. Go ahead, Helen. Well, I... I suddenly found myself running along what seemed to be a broad wooden platform. I could faintly see a pier in the distance, and... and I could hear water lapping up against it. Then as I got closer, I... I noticed my father standing uncertainly on the edge, and someone was beside him. Railroad tracks and a watchman's shack were between me and the pier. I wanted desperately to get to my father, but... but as I started to cross the tracks, I heard a train approaching rapidly. Then the watchman came out of his shack and said... You better hurry, Misha, if you're gonna make it. Come along, I'll help you. He flashed the train down with its brakes grinding. I leaped across the rails crying out, Daddy, don't leave me. Come away from there. I beg of you. Suddenly my father was gone and the other person ran away. And I woke up sobbing wildly. Hmm. You're very close to your father, aren't you, my dear? Terribly close. Oh, Mr. Keen, doesn't that dream mean anything to you? Don't you believe it shows danger that... that something dreadful has happened to my father? Well, boss, what do you say? Well, Helen, there's... there's just a bare possibility you've been through one of those rare psychic experiences when occasionally reads about. It's a thousand to one chance. And while I've never attempted such a thing before, I propose to look into this dream of yours. Mike? Yes, sir? There's a railroad line running the length of the west side riverfront. That's the logical place to begin. Inquire of every shackman's booth along there for any trace of the missing man. In just a moment, we'll hear the outcome of Mr. Keen's search for Jim Nolan. Meanwhile, cold sufferers, at the first sign of a sneeze or other common cold symptoms, take something to help reduce fever of present, something to ease the headache, and something to relieve the pains and aches of a cold. Hill's cold tablets are specially prepared to go after all these symptoms at once. You can rely on Hill's cold tablets because each ingredient in this scientifically compounded cold tablet is of the highest possible quality, a proven formula, famous for more than 50 years. Take only as directed. Ask for Hill's cold tablets at your drugst tonight. Now back to Mr. Keen and the nightmare murder case. It's a few hours later and the tracer is in his office, waiting to hear the results of Mike Clancy's search of the riverfront. His telephone rings. Hello? Is that you, Mr. Keen? Yes, Mike. What's the news? Well, boss, I think I've got a lead. And it looks like a good one. Fine. Where are you? At the corner of 12th and West Street. Very well, Mike. I'll be there right away. And this, this shackman I told you about, Mr. Keen, he says to me, well, he says, well, here we are at his hut now. I let Tom, that's his name, tell you the story himself. Very well. Suppose you wait outside, Mike, while I go on in. Right, boss. Hello, Tom. I'm Mr. Keen. Yes, Mr. Keen. Come on in, sit down. Thank you. I ain't got much style here, but it's a mite warmer outside. Mike Clancy was telling me what you're after. Yes, I understand you noticed someone early this morning who answered the description of the man we're looking for. That's right. I spied him first about five o'clock. He was hanging around the pier there. The pier, eh? Yes. Well, the early mill train comes by here at 5.30. As he was coming down the stretch, I see this here fella easing towards the tracks. That's funny, thinks I. So I called him to get back, but he took no notice. He acted like a man in a daze. So I flags the train down with my red lantern and pulls him away from the rails, and just in time too. And then what happened, Tom? Well, I took him into my shack here, Mr. Keen. He didn't look like the usual waterfront hobo, so I asked him what his name is. And what did he say? Well, he says, what's that to you? Jim Jones is good enough. I talked to him for half an hour, kind of quiet like, but didn't seem to make no kind of impression. He acted real beat down. He did, eh? Yeah. He just couldn't seem to get hold of himself. Kept saying he had no interest in life. Finally, I persuaded him to go and get some sleep. Told him he'd feel better then, and I directed him to a hotel around the corner. A hotel, you say? Yes, sir. Last I saw of him, he was headed that way. Well, thank you, Tom. You've been a real Samaritan. God bless you. This must be the hotel Tom spoke of, Mike. Well, I guess we're at the end of the trail, Mr. Keen, and that's fine. Yes. Well, here's the lobby door. Go ahead, boss. Mike, do you see what I see? What police and plenty. What looks like trouble, sir. There's Inspector Hopkins. Come on. Hello, Inspector Hopkins. Why, what are you doing here, Mr. Keen? I might ask the same of you. Well, I'll tell you. It's a little matter of murder. Murder? Yeah. The night clerk was slugged over the head this morning and the safe robbed. Any idea who did it? Oh, sure. This is one murder we don't have to worry about. We just got a confession out of the gunman. Good for you, Inspector. Yeah, Mr. Keen, it's an open and shut case, all right. This gunman was the last one to sign the register before the murder was committed. And he signed it under the name of Jim Jones. Oh? But we broke him down, though. That name is a phony. His real name is Nolan. Nolan? Oh, my, oh, my. Oh, you know him, Mr. Keen? Well, as a matter of fact, we were looking for him for another matter, a little domestic trouble. Oh, well, that soars it up, then. You say that he confessed to this murder? Got it down in black and white. Oh, isn't that terrible, Mr. Keen? Inspector, what time did the murder take place? The medical examiner has just finished his examination and handed me his report. He said the hotel clerk must have been dead approximately 12 hours. It's now 5.30 in the afternoon, so the murder must have been committed about 5.30 this morning. Yeah, between 5 and 5.30, the doc says. Not later than 6. Between 5 and 5.30. Inspector, with your permission, I'd like to check on some of the details of this murder, and then I'd like to talk to Jim Nolan. Sure thing, Mr. Keen. This way. Come along, Mike. Boy, if that nightmare ain't coming true, boss, with murder in all the trimmons. Hush, Mike. All right, Mr. Keen, you've seen the desk clerk's body. Now, do you want to have a talk with Nolan? Yes, Inspector. I'd like to see what I can get out of him. He's right in here, Mr. Keen. Oh, Nolan, there's someone wants to talk to you. Hello, Jim. I'm glad to see you. My name is Keen. Keen, you say? What do you want? I've been sent by your wife and daughter to look for you. I haven't any wife and daughter. No? The inspector tells me you've confessed to killing the hotel clerk. Sure, I confessed. Why don't you fellas let me alone? I've told you I did it, so let's get it over with, and sooner the better. Do you want to die, Jim? Is there any reason why I should want to live? I can think of two reasons. Mary and Helen. I don't know what you're talking about. Inspector. Yes, Mr. Keen? I have an idea. Have you had this man view the body of the victim? Why, no, it wasn't necessary, Mr. Keen. All right. Jim, there's one question I want to ask you, and then I won't bother you anymore. Can you give me a description of the hotel clerk who was on duty when you registered this morning? The man you say you killed? Haven't you enough evidence against me? Yes, but this will clinch it. Well, he was stocky, had black hair, a pug nose, and the little finger on his right hand was missing. I noticed the finger especially. You're sure of that? Positive. Oh, Mr. Keen, just a minute. That ain't what the dead man looks like at all. Of course not. That's a perfect description of Bugs Morelli, the safecracker. Why, sure. That mug we've been outgunning for for some time, eh, Mr. Keen? Right. Morelli's your man, Inspector. Jim Nolan never committed this crime. Yeah, but how... Let me suggest what happened. Bugs held up the hotel desk clerk and then blackjacked him. While he was in the act of breaking open the safe, Nolan entered the hotel. To allay suspicion, Bugs then posed as the real clerk and assigned him to a room. But then why did Nolan here confess he murdered the clerk? Well, that's another story. Jim Nolan has had a great shock the moment he is desperate. He just doesn't want to live, and having failed in an attempt to kill himself, he thought he saw in this another way out. Well, it sounds crazy, Mr. Keen, but it looks as if you might be right. I'm sure of it, Inspector. With your permission, I'll take Jim Nolan along home. Right ahead, Mr. Keen. That is, if you'll promise to have him on hand if I need him as a witness. I give you my word on it. Mr. Keen, don't you see I can't go back? Jim, don't talk that way. Of course you're going home. I can't face them, Mr. Keen. Why not? You haven't been guilty of any crime. You've acted a little foolishly, I think. But then so has Mary, your wife. With our dreams, they've all gone sour. Our cottage has turned out to be just a house of cards. What have I to live for? Jim, you're like a little boy who has lost his ice cream cone and thinks the world has come to an end. All of us have our dreams of one kind or another. Many are feathery and golden ones, just like yours. Why we couldn't exist without them. But sometimes we have to sacrifice our hopes to help others attain theirs. That's what's happened in your case. What do you mean, Mr. Keen? Mary didn't spend your savings, as you thought, for selfish reasons. She spent them on Helen. Helen? Yes. Your daughter has a fine singing voice, something you didn't realize, Jim. Mary wanted to give her the best musical education that money could buy. But if she'd only told me... Well, that's where she was wrong. She was afraid, afraid you might not understand, and afraid if Helen knew the circumstances, she'd refuse to continue her studies. So that's the way it was. Yes. Jim, I believe you're going to have reason to be very proud of Helen. Well, here we are. Home. Yes, home. That has a wonderful sound, hasn't it? Yes, Mr. Keen, it has. Mary. Jim. Oh, Jim, thank God you're home again. Helen, he's back. Daddy's back. Oh, Dad, I'm so happy. He only knew how we've worried about you. There, there, Helen. It's all right. Oh, Jim, it was all my fault. Can you ever forgive me? Don't worry, Mary. Mr. Keen explained everything. I guess I was a little foolish, too. You did exactly right about Helen. How can we ever thank you, Mr. Keen? Oh, yes, how can we? Don't try, my dears. My reward isn't seeing you all so happily reunited. But Mr. Keen, I still don't understand. How did you manage to trace me? Well, it's a strange story, strange and incomprehensible. Helen had a vivid dream about you last night. She dreamed you were in great danger. And from the misty gropings of her mind, she saw almost an exact duplicate of the spot where you were standing. By following this lead, I was able to pick up your trail. That's amazing, Mr. Keen. And I've never been one to put any stock in dreams at all. No, I never did either. But it is an amazing coincidence. Suppose we call it just that. And now I must be going. Oh, wait, Mr. Keen. Helen has something to tell you. I won that audition, Mr. Keen. You won that audition? Good for you. And a contract to sing at the Metropolitan next year. Helen. Oh, Daddy, I'm so happy. Helen, darling, it all seems so wonderful. I can hardly realize what it means. I think it means, Jim, that you're going to have that cottage in the country after all. It's always a shock to meet someone whose nice appearance is suddenly shattered by a smile that reveals dull, dingy-looking teeth, or whose breath is unwelcome. And because many people are hampered by both of these handicaps without even knowing they have them, it pays to know about colonose toothpaste. To help correct these conditions when caused by improper cleansing, just brush your teeth with colonose, as you would with any other toothpaste, with this one exception. When you finish brushing, swish its rich, active foam thoroughly through your mouth, for colonose is one toothpaste with a mouthwash effect built right in. Thus it fosters a double result. First, colonose helps your brush remove ugly surface stains from your teeth. Then at the same time, it freshens your breath while you're brushing your teeth. For a high-polishing, high-forming toothpaste with a mouthwash effect built right in, ask for colonose. It has been approved by thousands of dentists. If powder is your preference, try colonose tooth powder. It offers the same double result, has a wonderful wintergreen flavor. Get K-O-L-Y-N-O-S, toothpaste or tooth powder. Tomorrow, buy colonose. You've been listening to Mr. Keen, tracer of lost persons. On the air every Thursday at this time. Don't miss Mr. Keen next Thursday when the kindly old tracer brings us another thrilling missing persons case. Gleaming floors in record time. Yes, no-rubbing Aeroax goes on quickly, dries in minutes, lasts for weeks. It polishes floors to a sparkling luster that makes rooms lovelier and saves frequent scrubbing. Only 25 cents a pint at any leading store. Get Aeroax, A-E-R-O-W-A-X, tomorrow. Mr. Keen, tracer of lost persons, will be on the air next Thursday at the same time. This is Larry Elliott saying goodbye for Mr. Keen and the Whitehall Pharmacal Company, makers of colonose toothpaste and tooth powder. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
