The Roy Rogers Radio Show! Yes, folks, it's the Roy Rogers Radio Show for the whole family. Adventure, suspense, mystery, and music! Starring Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys, and Dale Evans, Queen of the West, with Pat Brady, the Mellow Men, and an all-star cast. And now, here to greet you with a song and a story, Roy and Dale. The house I live in, the plot of earth, the street, the grocer and the butcher, and the people that I meet. Oh, good evening, folks. Greetings again to the whole family. I sure hope the whole family is listening tonight, because our story is kind of important. It's important for every American to know what can happen when gangsters and mob rule take over a town or a country. Believe me, it isn't good. We first read about it in the paper one afternoon while we were having lunch at the ranch. More eggs, Roy? Oh, thanks, Dale. I'll take a little more coffee, though. Sure. Hey, Roy. Dale. Hi, Pat. Say, your friend, Leroy Carver, down at Liberty City? Leroy? What about him? He just got elected district attorney. Is it in the paper, Pat? Uh, yeah. Yeah, it's in the paper. Let's see. Here you are. Riots sweep Liberty City. Riots? While delivering a speech to his supporters last night, district attorney Leroy Carver recently elected on a reform plan. When my wife Jane gives our house a cleaning, she starts in the basement and goes clear to the attic. And that's what I propose to do. Now, it's not as hard as it sounds. Of all the slimy scum who leech off this town, there's really only one man responsible for it all. Just one man. Arrest this one man. Put this one man out of business. And that'll be the end of crime in Liberty City. I am proud to say that at last I have discovered who the boss of this town is. And I'm going to unmask him now, tonight. Roy, Dale, and Pat, I just can't thank you enough for coming down here and trying to help. Now, Jane, honey, you know we'll do everything we can to find out who killed your husband. We sure will. You're darned tooting. Oh, there's really more to it than finding out who killed Lee. Find out who murdered my husband, Roy. You'll find out who the big boss is, the man who runs this town. Oh, excuse me. Hello, Jane. I've got something to... Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had company. Oh, come in, Mr. Marshall. These folks aren't company. This is Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and Pat Brady. Mr. Tom Marshall. How do you do, sir? Nice to know you. Mr. Marshall owns the Daily Newspaper. He supported Lee in the election. I really didn't do much, Mr. Rogers, but if I had even a small part in electing Leroy Carver, I'm glad. Now, it appears I elected him into his grave. I've got to find out who killed him. I traced the letter, Jane. Letter? What letter? Just before Leroy was killed, he received a threatening letter. Jane gave it to me, and I've tried to find out who wrote it without being obvious about it, of course. May I see it? Sure. Hmm. It's typed. That's right. But notice the peculiarities. The raised letter Y, the offset A. I've been going around town trying to find excuses for using various typewriters. Here are some samples that I made with typewriters owned by some of our leading citizens. Leading citizens? He means the owners of the gambling joints. Leroy Carver, lay off. Lay off if you know what's good for you. If you are elected, you'll never live to take office. Sign the Pymann. May I see the samples, Mr. Marshall? Sure. The Pymann? What do you suppose that means? Hey, Roy. That one looks exactly like the original letter. Hey, look how the Ys are raised and the letter A sort of skips. Yeah. That's the one I meant, Mr. Rogers. It gives us a lead to go on if nothing else. Well, who owns the typewriter that this was written on, Mr. Marshall? The owner of the Golden Arrow, the largest gambling joint in town, Nick Hall. Music Well, here it is, the Golden Arrow. Dale, you and Pat stay here near the door. I'm going to inquire for Mr. Nick Hall. See you later. I hope. Hi. Hi. You Nick Hall? Nope. Get him. Who says so? Me. Who? Roy Rogers. That can't end. Go on, get lost, you... Who? Roy Rogers. Are you kidding? I am, huh? I think so. You do, huh? Yeah. Say, how do you change the tune that jukebox is playing? Put a nickel in the slot. Suppose I haven't got a nickel. Use a slug. A slug? Sure. Will Nick get sore? Nah, we all use slugs. Want me to get you one? No, thanks. I've got my own. Bang! Music Who'd you say you was? Roy Rogers. Yeah. I'll come get you here. Music Sit down, Roy. Excuse me. Yeah. Stinking cold. Can't seem to shake. Bless you. Thanks. What can I do for you? Who's the boss here? Boss? Why, I... I mean the town, not this one place. Who's the pie man? Uh... Look, Roy, this ain't the movies. You're gonna get in big trouble fooling around here. I'll take a chance. Say, Nick, I called a meeting for... Oh, excuse me. I thought you was alone. Who are you? Well, now, wise guy, I might be asking the same thing... This is Roy Rogers. Oh. Well, now, this is a pleasure, Roy. Welcome to Liberty City. I ask you a question. Yes, sir? Who are you? His name is Steve Brooks. Deputy Chief of Police. Deputy, huh? What's keeping you, Steve? I thought I told you... Oh. I'm sorry, Nick, I thought you were alone. What's the big secret? Who's this character, Nick? He bothering you? Yeah. Yeah, he is. Lock him up, Chief, huh? Lock him up. All right, you. Come along with me. Hey. Hey. What's the idea? Get up off the floor, you idiot. Get up and meet Roy Rogers. Roy Rogers? Oh. I'm pleased to meet you, Roy. Gosh, you didn't have to start shooting. I... I was only kidding. I don't like being pushed around by hoodlums. Wait a minute. That's what's gotten into you, Roy. I'm a little mad. In fact, I'm awful mad. I'm not quite myself. And Liberty City isn't quite like any town in America I've ever seen. It's rotten clear through. Somebody killed a good friend of mine. A man that the people elected to clean up this place. And I mean to find out who it is before I leave here. Now, there are some things that you just can't handle peaceably. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. All right. If that's what it takes down here, then you might as well be forewarned. I can be as tough as you are. On the other hand, I can be generous, too. I understand that money talks in these parts. Whoever the boss is controls this town with money. Handouts, patronage. Well, we'll fight that with fire, too. I don't know who the boss is. It could be you, Nick. Or this deputy. Or even the chief of police himself. It could be anybody. So I'm going to start a little fund, a reward, for the first man who brings me some information. We'll ask every decent citizen in Liberty City to contribute to this fund. And I'm donating $2,000 to start with. $2,000? That's right, Chief. Think I'll have any takers? Well, there go the presses, Roy. Tomorrow morning, this town will know that there's more money in being honest than in protecting the vultures that control Liberty City. Do you really think Roy's plan will work, Mr. Marshall? Miss Evans, I believe that people are basically good. I think when they read in my paper that Roy Rogers has started a clean-up fund, they'll rally to the cause. If Roy's put $2,000 in it, I put in $500. By tomorrow night, I wouldn't be surprised if we had over $5,000. Stands the reason that somebody will talk. There's bound to be a flaw in the boss's armor. I forget a lot of his henchmen must know who he is. They'll talk for $5,000. Yes, I sure hope you're right, Mr. Marshall. Well, we'll know more tomorrow. Now, why don't you all get a good night's sleep, and then we'll meet down here first thing in the morning and map our strategy. Good idea. Dale, you stay with Jane Carver. Pat and I'll check in at the hotel. All right. See you in the morning, Mr. Marshall. Right, Roy. Good night. Good night. Roy? Yeah? Roy, what you doing at the window? I'm not at the window, Pat. I'm in bed. That's what I thought. So who's at the... Roy! I'll take it easy, Pat. Nobody but a friend would announce himself. I'll see who it is. Oh, come in. Thanks. Who is it? Me. Who's me? Max, you remember? The guy at Nick Hall's gambling joint. Oh, yeah. Come in. Thanks. What's on your mind, Max? I bet about the reward. You couldn't have. No? No. Why not? Well, it won't be in the paper until tomorrow. Oh. Who told you about it? It's all over town. Yeah? We've got a warning. I see. Oh, aren't you taking a chance talking to me? Had to. Things are getting too hot. I want you on my side. Okay, Max. What can you tell me? Protect me. I'll do my best. Okay, that's good enough for me. The boss calls himself the pie man. Oh, shucks, we already know that. Quiet, Pat. Go on, Max. Do you know who this pie man is? I think so. Who's that? I don't know. I can't be found here. Who is it? It's Clark, Mr. Rogers. A message from Nick Hall. Wants to see you right away. I'll be back later. Max, wait. Max, don't leave now. Did you hear me, Mr. Rogers? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Did you hear me, Mr. Rogers? Yeah, I heard. Where is Nick? At the Golden Owl. Okay, thanks. Oh, now, you ain't going over there, are you, Roy? Yes. At this time of night? It's a trap. What was that? A shotgun. Can you see anything out of the window, Roy? Yeah. Max, lying in the middle of the alley. He's not moving either. Roy, I still don't think you ought to go to Nick Hall. It sure sounds like a trap to me. Well, maybe it is, but I've got to take that chance. Hmm, the chief and his deputy. Yeah, and three other guys I ain't never seen before. Looks like they're headed for the Golden Arrow, too. Chief. Hey, Chief, wait a minute. Oh, oh, Rogers. Still snooping around. Not exactly. I got a message from Nick Hall. Said he wanted to see me right away. What? Well, that's funny. I got the same message, so did the chief. Who are these other men? Well, sort of plain clothesmen. Keep them on the payroll to help maintain the law and order. Strong-armed boys to collect payoffs, huh? Isn't that what you mean, Chief? Now, wait a minute. Something smells awful fishy here. Why does Nick send for me, the chief, and the boys? Sit down, Miss Evans. Jane. I haven't seen Roy yet this morning. Have you? No. No, we haven't, Mr. Marshall. And frankly, I'm worried. I tried to call the hotel, but the clerk said that he and Pat went out late last night and they didn't come back. That's strange. I wonder. What? Well, there was an accident last night. Maybe it wasn't an accident. Anyway, the Golden Arrow Club was blown up. Blown up? The fire department's been over there all night trying to clean away the damage and help the injured. You mean you think maybe Roy was there? I don't know. I only know he was getting hot on something. Maybe his investigations led him to Nick Hall. After all, that threatening letter was written on Nick Hall's typewriter. I'd better get over to the Golden Arrow right away. Try to take it easy, Miss Evans. I've already made inquiries. Roy wasn't found in the wreckage and I've checked the hospital. That doesn't prove anything. Maybe he's still buried in there. Maybe... Oh, it's Roy and Pat. Thank heavens. Hi, Dale. Jane, Mr. Marshall. Hi, everybody. Well, Roy, it's good to see you. We were beginning to worry that you were... That we were killed by the explosion? Well, that's the way it was planned, but we were lucky. I wish I could say the same for the chief and his deputy. Two of their boys are in the hospital also. The other one's dead. Oh, that's too bad. What about Nick Hall? Well, we don't know. They haven't found him yet. The bomb went off in his office. Bomb? That's right. Chances are Nick is still there. It's pretty messy. Bomb. Well, that's the way it goes, Roy. Those who live by the sword die by the sword. I have an idea this is the beginning of the end of crime in Liberty City. I have an idea you're right, Mr. Marshall. The state militia is on its way here now. State militia? Who called them? I did. They're going to be needed to restore order and set up a provisional city government until the people can elect an honest mayor and a chief of police. And I have an idea they'll appoint somebody to run this newspaper, too. What do you mean? What do you mean? I don't think I understand. Oh, I think you do, Mr. Marshall. Or should I call you the pie man? The pie man? Oh, no. Now, what in the world ever gave you such a fantastic idea? A lot of things, Mr. Marshall. And they all finally added up. I think I'd better take you into custody until the militia arrives. I'll make a full explanation at that time. Now, Roy, this is ridiculous. I'm the only one who dared to print the truth about Vice in this town. I supported Leroy Carver. Well, that's true, Roy. He did. Just one of the reasons why he had to be the pie man. And that struck anybody as being mighty strange that Mr. Marshall could get away with printing these things and not have his newspaper blown up, like Nick's place was last night. Who could put up a better front for the so-called Reformed Citizens Group and keep it carefully controlled than the boss of the rackets, the pie man, as he chose to call himself? I must admit the name pie man was a nice whimsical idea, Mr. Marshall. But it was just one more thing that led me straight to you. Huh. So you saw through that, too. Rogers, I've always heard you were smart, but I didn't know you were that smart. I'm not smart, Mr. Marshall. I used to do crossword puzzles. Crossword puzzles? What's that got to do with it? I'm sure he'll explain it thoroughly after I've gone. I don't do anything foolish, Roy, like reaching for your guns. Mine's already pointing at Miss Evans. I've been expecting this to happen. I'm prepared to make a getaway out of the country to a nice hideaway where there's no extradition. I don't want any more violence, Roy, so don't try to stop me from leaving. Well, there's nothing much I can do as long as you're pointing that gun at Dale. Roy, you just can't stand there and let him go. You won't get too far, Dale. That's right. Look out! Look out! You won't get fired. You won't get fired, or... Well, Nick, it's good to see you. We thought you and... No fall of yours, Marshall. You planted the bomb in the secret drawer of my desk. Only but you and me had a key to it. I'm really already dead, Marshall, so this doesn't mean a thing. Nick, no, no. I'll put the gun down. I'll shoot the women. I mean it, Nick. No. No, you won't. You're a coward, Marshall. A coward, a thief, and a leech. Everybody's gonna be better off without either one of us. Get down! Down, Dale! Roy, I still don't understand why you're so upset. Roy, I still don't understand what you doing crossword puzzles has to do with it. Now Pat, let Roy tell it in his own way. Well, after the explosion, I went in with the firemen to investigate. We found some fragments of the bomb, little smooth pieces of metal. Early this morning, I took them to a metallurgist. The pieces were an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony. That combination of metals is only used for making one thing, linotype. Linotype? You mean the type used in printing a newspaper? That's right. Okay, okay. So you found that a linotype metal was used to make the bomb. But what's it got to do with crossword puzzles? Well, I'm coming to that, Pat. Mr. Marshall's hold on the community depended partly on fear and partly on the element of the unknown. Nobody knew who he was except Nick Hall. But he had to have a name by which he could be referred to and still not give away his identity to the underlings and the strong-armed boys. So he chose to call himself the Pie Man. Well, I'm afraid I don't get it either, Roy. Mr. Marshall didn't have anything to do with the bakery business. Or crossword puzzles. Oh, but he did. If you'd worked as many crossword puzzles as I have, you'd know that pie, spelled P-I, is a word that means scramble type. And folks, that's the whole story of how a town was rid of vice and corruption and was made a better place to live in. What is America to me? A name, a map, a flag I see, a certain word, democracy. What is America to me? The house I live in, a plot of earth, a street. The grocer and the butcher and the people that I meet. The children in the playground, the faces that I see. All races, all religions, that's America to me. The place I work in, the worker at my side. The little town or city where my people lived and died. The howdy and the handshake, the air of feeling free. The right to speak my mind now, that's America to me. The things I see about me, the big things and the small. The little corner newsstand and the house a mile tall. The wedding and the churchyard, the laughter and the tears. The dream that's been a-growing for a hundred fifty years. The town I live in, the street, the house, the room. The pavement of the city or a garden all in bloom. The church, the school, the clubhouse, the million lights I see. But especially the people, that's America to me. The house I live in, the friends that I have found. The folks beyond the railroad and the people all around. The worker and the farmer, the sailor on the sea. The man who built this country, that's America to me. The house I live in, my neighbors white and black. The people who just came here are from generations back. The town hall and the soapbox, the torch of liberty. A home for all God's children, that's America to me. The house I live in, the goodness everywhere. A land of wealth and beauty with enough for us to share. A house that we call freedom, the home of liberty. And the promise for tomorrow, that's America to me. That's all for now folks, this is Roy Rogers saying to all of you from all of us, goodbye, good luck and may the good Lord take a liking to you. See you next week. Music
