And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. Tonight, we bring you a story of a cross-country bus and the safety of a nation that rode in it. We call it Classified Secret. So now, starring Parley Bear, here is tonight's Suspense play, Classified Secret. Nice to meet you. Nice day. Yes. Kids sure know what's getting on at Christmas. Look at them. I've been watching them. Yeah. Kind of glad though I haven't got any. Oh? Well, you know, world conditions, things the way they are. Who wants to bring a kid into it? I suppose so. Do you have a match? Oh, sure. Here you are. Thanks. Have you got it? What's the matter? You don't look the type. I almost hoped you weren't. Have you got it? With me? No. But I'll take you to where it is. All right. The money's in tens, twenties, and fifties. In the sack with the groceries? Yes. I thought it would be safer that way. Yeah, I guess so. How much? Ten thousand. Ten. Well, that's what you agreed to. I said twenty. I was told ten. They made a mistake then, didn't they? Sorry. What are you trying to do? Nothing. Not a thing. I was told you were with us. I am. But I get paid for it too, don't you? Well, I can't sit here any longer. We might be watched. Will you please give me... Sorry, it was a misunderstanding. But... Unless you want to take me to the head man. Maybe he can straighten it out. I haven't got any instructions for that. How can I reach you? Well, there's about two hours from now. You can't. I'm leaving town. Will you give us twenty-four hours? It'll take that long to... I'm sorry. If you can't pay what I want, there's somebody else who will. I'm going. Okay. So long. I was sitting on a bench in a little park in North Hollywood, California. The late fall sun was warm, and for a change there wasn't any smog in the air. I watched the woman I'd never seen before walk off down the path. She was headed for the avenue and some cars parked beyond the trees. I thought how nice it would have been if she were just a woman in the park, nothing else. I waited until she was out of sight, then I got up and walked away in the opposite direction. I got the bus at the Hollywood station. I had a train ticket in my pocket, but with the new development it looked safer to ride the bus. Just before we pulled out, a girl climbed aboard and came down the aisle looking for a seat. Excuse me, is this number... Eighteen. Oh, thank you. Oh, let me put your case up. Oh, thank you. I was afraid I was going to miss it. Yeah, I know how it is. I settled back and watched the city drift away into desert country. As buses go, it was pretty quiet. There was a six or seven year old kid with his mother a couple of seats forward, but he dozed off almost as soon as we got running. I took a look at the girl sitting next to me. Oh, not in the way you might think, but because in my business you get to learn to look at people. You never know who it might be. She must have felt me watching when she lowered the magazine she was reading. Would you catalog of one of these? Oh, that's nice of you. I always forget to buy them. This one's a mystery. I don't usually read them, but on a long trip they kind of pass the time away. Yeah, they do. How far are you going? New York. Oh, that is a long trip, all right. I'll say. I haven't been back for ten years, but it's changed. I guess so. I read the mystery well into Arizona, and when I finished it was beginning to get dark. The kid up ahead was awake and hungry. There was a feeling of expectation on the bus as we drove into the first night of travel. Did you enjoy it? Oh, yeah. It was fine. Thanks a lot. What was it about? Spies. They're real exciting. I like spy movies sometimes, but I think they do so many of them. You know, you read about it in the papers all the time. I don't know. You'd think people would get sick of it. Yeah, I guess you're right. They're exciting, like you say, but I bet it isn't really like that. I doubt it. I'll say, my name's Charlie. Charlie Rader. Oh, how do you do? I'm Julie Spalding. Hi. That kid sounds as hungry as I am. We ought to be stopping soon. I hope so. About 15 minutes later, we pulled up at a restaurant terminal and went in for food. I watched for any new passengers who might be getting on. I didn't see anybody, and as soon as I finished my sandwich and coffee, I sent a telegram to New York, then got back on the bus. The girl, Julie, and I seemed to be hitting it off, and it was pleasant enough to pass the time. After we got rolling, the kid up ahead decided to sing himself to sleep. It was like a crooning over and over again, the same song, the same few notes. I guess it put everybody else to sleep except him. It makes you sleepy, doesn't it? Yeah. It reminds me of when I was a kid. I used to do that. Kids are funny. How? I don't know. I'm going back to New York for my sister's wedding. She's getting married next week. She says she wants lots of kids. I don't know. I know what you mean. Mind if I ask you something? I don't mind what? Are you married? No. I don't mean it the way it sounds. I'm always interested in trying to guess about people. Now, I would have figured you were a married man with maybe two or three kids. No, I'm not married. I hope you don't think I'm nosy. No. Well, that kid singing fixed me. I'm going to take a nap. Good night, Charlie. Good night. I must have dropped off too. And when I woke up, she had her head on my shoulder. A lock of her hair was falling over her closed eyes. And then I knew something was different on the bus. Somebody on the other side of the aisle watching. Excuse me, mister. Have you got a match? I'm clean out. Hmm? Oh, sure. Just a minute. Here. Thank you. No, no. Keep them. Oh, fine. Fine. Thanks a lot. Hey, you got any idea where we are? No, I'm not sure. I got on a flagstaff an hour or so back. Oh, boy, I envy her. Wish I could sleep like that. That's your wife? No. Oh. Say, that's rude. Hmm? But taking your matches, not offering you a cigarette. That's OK. No, I don't want one now. Thanks. Say, I want to tell you something. Oh? There's a lady in the seat behind you. I think you've met her before in the park. Right? Mm-hmm. She brought her with us to identify you. But she gave us a pretty good description back in L.A. Good for her. Yeah? Well, it's going to be a nice trip. Nothing like traveling with people you know, is there? Nothing like it. I don't suppose you've got any reading material you could let me look at? How about a mystery? It's a spy story. Pretty good. No, I was thinking of something else. I think, you know, something more, oh, say, scientific. I'm very interested in airplanes. Jet motors. Sorry. He looked across at me, smiling, pleasant. And to anybody watching, it was nothing more than the casual conversation of two strangers brought together by the night and sympathy of loneliness. Then he leaned back, and reaching inside his jacket brought out a small automatic, which he kept very carefully hidden from any eyes but mine. I always carry this with me on a trip. You never know. Oh, I knew all right. If they couldn't buy what they wanted, there were other ways. That's what he was telling me. I saw in the man's smiling face that I'd never reach New York unless I killed them before they killed me. You're listening to Classified Secret, tonight's presentation in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. Nine solid years of applause. That's the wonderful record of popularity that belongs to Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, now in its tenth year. Enjoy the fun with the inimitable redhead this Monday night on most of these same stations. You'll hear promising young performers compete for a golden chance at fame. Enjoy the suspense as you wait to hear which entertainer will be singled out by the studio audience. Don't miss Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts this Monday night at the Star's address. Now we bring back to our Hollywood soundstage, Parley Bear, starring in tonight's production, Classified Secret, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. Julie and I had breakfast somewhere in New Mexico. The woman from the park and the man who carried the small automatic sat in a booth while we ate at the counter. I'd thought about things most of the night and I decided to tell the girl, not too much, but enough so that she might be able to help. And I knew I'd need some help. Coffee's pretty good here. Yeah. Cigarette? No, thanks. Julie. Yes? I want to tell you something. Oh? I want you to turn around and look, just pretend we're talking about the weather, the coffee, anything, but listen. Well, sure, Charlie. There's a couple sitting in the booth behind us. They're spies. Hmm? Oh, you. I'm not kidding. I can't tell you much, but as you love your life, you will believe me. Oh, you're kidding. Spy? Don't turn around. Smile and just listen. But I... I'm trying to get hold of the plans for a new jet motor. It's faster than anything anybody else has got. You are kidding. No, I'm not. Well, how do you know? Well, how do you know about it? I'm working for the government. FBI? Well, in a way, but now I need you to help me. Me? They think I've got the blueprints, the plans, and they're going to try and get them from me. But can't we get the police? No. Well, but why? Because we're trying to get the head man. And if those two are arrested, we'll have to start all over again. They think I'm working with them. But I got tough about the money they offered, so now they're going to try and get rid of me and get the secret for nothing. Did they follow you from L.A.? Yeah, they got on during the night in Flagstaff. All right, folks, let's go. I don't see... Well, what can I do? Just stick with me. I'll explain at the next stop. We can't talk about it on the bus because she's sitting right behind and he's across the aisle. Listen, are you pulling my... No. No, you're not, are you? I'm not. We went on through New Mexico and the pink rock and desert. We talked a lot of nonsense, and after a while, I could see she was getting back to the idea that I'd been kidding, especially after the man with the gun introduced himself as Mr. Hutchinson and started to talk about fishing. It was about half an hour before our lunch stop. Now you take some of that Northern California country, so you talk about trout and steelhead. Oh, boy, I tell you. My dad used to take us up, my sister and me, he'd take us up to a place in Maine. Oh, gee. Dad always wanted a couple of boys, I guess. When he saw what he got, well, he figured it wouldn't spoil his plans anyway, so he took his fishing every summer. You should have seen the fishing up there. Oh, I'd like to someday. Yeah, I'd like that. How about you, Mr. Rader? Do you like fishing? Oh, not much. Ever try it? No, little. When I was a kid. You ought to take it up again if you have time. Oh, I might do that. You know, if a man had a little money put away, he could do a lot of fishing. Oh, boy, that's a way to live. Have about, oh, say, $10,000. Go all over the country, fishing. No work, no worries. How's that sound, Miss Faulting? What a life. It would take more than $10,000. Oh, I don't know. Ten's better than nothing. Say, have you ever been up on the road? They went on talking, and I did some thinking. He was smarter than I'd thought. Looked like a nice, average guy and behaved like one. That's one thing I'd learned. The more ordinary you can be, the less you're going to be suspected. But these people had it down to a science. It wasn't going to be easy because I was going to have to convince Julie all over again. I could see that. My chance didn't come until that evening after our dinner stop. By that time, the woman in the park who went by the name of Lisa Nyland, Hutchinson, the girl and myself, all four of us were buddies. We'd pulled up over the car out of border. There was some kind of trouble up ahead, a slide or a wreck. And the driver told us we'd have half an hour or so before we went on. You want to take a walk for a while? There's a cafe a couple hundred yards back. I'll give you a call when we're ready to move on. Here, watch your step, Julie. Oh, thanks. Oh, well, gee. Oh, what kind of nice to have an extra leg stretch of that. How about some coffee? Oh, that'd be nice. Jolly? Oh, I don't know. I'd like to have a look at the valley down there. We might walk up the dirt road away, get a pretty good view, the sun setting off. Oh, you're romantic, huh? Sure, why not? Oh, Jolly. OK with you, Lisa? You feel romantic? Want to see a valley and the sunset? That'd be very nice. OK, then let's go. Hey, girls, wait a minute. Be careful. There are snakes. We walked away from the bus up a narrow ranch road. About a hundred yards up there was a curve and around it a stand of trees. And when we got there, you couldn't hear the sounds from the highway any longer. It was peaceful and it was very pretty. I knew that Hutchinson was delighted about the suggestion. It was going to give him his chance. But he made the mistake of playing it a little too clever. Kept his game of small talk going a minute too long. We'd got to the top of a cliff overlooking the valley when I stumbled on a rock and fell a few steps behind before they had a chance to stop. And when they did, I already had my gun out. Hey, what are you going to do? Target practice? No. You two stay where you are and keep your hands behind your head. Julie, get over here. Charlie, Charlie, are you sure? They seem... I know what they seem. Now look, I don't want to do this, but it's you or me. You should have made the right deal in the first place. I can't let you go, you know that. We might still make a deal. You had your chance. We've got the 10,000. How about waiting until we get to the next town? We'll have the rest of it telegraphed out. I make mistakes, but not that kind. If you told us what you wanted, we might have been able to get the 20,000 for you in Los Angeles. Turn around. Both of you. Wait a minute. We're all in this together. We all want the same thing. You figure you can get more money from the people in the East. Okay, give us a chance to get it for you. We're in contact with them. Turn around. They give us our orders. What difference does it make? Look, you shoot us. What do you think they'll do? They won't let you get away with that. They'll kill you. Charlie, you can't just shoot them. Turn them over to the police. You can't just shoot them. Be quiet. He can tell the police, Julie. He's with us. Only he wants money out of it. And he thinks you'll get more from the head man in the East. Turn around and I'm not going to say it again. Charlie, don't. I know you've got a duty, but you can arrest them, please. You could still. I told you to be quiet. Arrest? Arrest? Listen, Raider, you're not going to... Oh, you're not going to kill us over 10,000? Boy, that's murder. Even if... Mr. Nylund dropped instantly. Hutchinson held his middle for a second and tried to keep his balance. I shot him in the back of the head. I knew he was dead before his body slipped to the ground. The girl just stood next to me, her hands tightly covering her mouth. She was shivering. I took a look out across the wide valley. The sky was turning purple. I... I've never seen anybody killed before. I'm sorry. Couldn't you... Couldn't you have arrested them or something? Couldn't you... Did you have to? I had to. They wouldn't have stopped it killing both of us if they'd had the chance. What are you going to do? What are you going to do now? I've got to get the money for evidence. What are you going to tell the driver? He'll ask where they are. Charlie? The driver's going to wonder where they are. Charlie, what are you doing? I've got to put them over the cliff. Oh, no. No. I've got to. Oh. Oh, no. Charlie, no. No. You can't, Charlie. Not her. No. All right. Come on. We got back from the bus. Neither of us said anything about the two we'd walked off with. I guess nobody had seen us together, and after waiting around for another half hour, the driver gave up. I'll drop their baggage in La Jolla. I'd better notify the police, too. It's screwy, all right. Okay, folks, sorry for the delay. You'd better go back to your seat, mister. Sure. I was starved when we pulled into the depot at La Jolla. I'd already made up my mind to lay over and take a detour on another bus. The girl wasn't going to be able to keep quiet much longer, and I had to get rid of her. Well, we got out of the bus, and two men were standing alongside, waiting. Just a minute, please. We're special agents for the FBI. Search them, Larry. Just gun and money. Where are the other two? The other two? They're dead. He killed them. Oh. We'll take those plans now, Mr. Rader, and don't do anything silly. There are four more men covering you. Okay. It's in my shoe. You want me to take it off now? Please. All right. I've got terrible balance. Mind if I lean on you? Thank you. Here we are. Thank you, Mr. Rader. This isn't worth anything, really, you know. We planted it in the factory in LA for someone to steal. What we wanted was to be led to the top man in New York, and when you sent that wire to him from Arizona, we got him. Uh-huh. We were worried about you, Julie, when you didn't call us from Albuquerque. I didn't get a chance. He was with me all the time. Is she... Oh, my. Is she... Are you playing spy, too, Julie? I'm working for the government, Mr. Rader. She's been following you since you stole the plans. Well, you fooled me. I bet you fooled Hutchinson and Nylan, too. It won't matter to them, though, will it? Well, that's the way it goes. Take him away, will you? I had to watch him murder those two. I didn't want to hear him laugh about it. Come on, Rader. We've got a car waiting. Sure. So long, Julie. Nice to have met you. Suspense, in which Parley Bear starred in tonight's presentation of Classified Secret. Be sure to listen next week for another presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. Suspense is produced and directed by Anthony Ellis, who also wrote tonight's script. The music was composed by Lee Stevens and Lucian Morwick and conducted by Wilbur Hatch. Featured in the cast were Virginia Eiler, Charlotte Lawrence, Richard Beals, Howard McNear, Charles Seal, and Jim Nasser. Listen Friday night for the 21st Precinct. The hard-hitting 21st Precinct police will give us another graphic view of big city protectors at work. There's danger every minute, human interest every second, when metropolitan police try to unsnarl personal problems, hunt the missing, solve the crimes, protect the public, sometimes from itself. Remember, Friday nights on most of these same stations, hear the 21st Precinct. Thrill to gun smoke every Saturday and Sunday on the CBS Radio Network.
