The Signal Oil Company is bringing you The Whistler. Today we will tell you a tale of avarice and greed. The awful price John Hendricks paid for selling his soul to the devil. The story of death demands a payment. But first if you'll bear with me for a moment, I'd like to make a suggestion about your car. Because right now it's a very valuable possession. One you won't be able to replace until six months or a year after the war. Keeping your present car running is dependent on current lubrication. More so than most people realize. When you leave your car anywhere handy and just say, grease it, you're likely to find later that certain hard to find lubrication points have been missed. And in these times even minor repairs can lay a car up for days. If lubrication fails on parts you can't repair or replace, then you're really out of luck. Doesn't seem worth that much worry, does it? Especially when getting acquainted with a convenient signal dealer can relieve you of it. He knows his stuff, uses the auto manufacturer's own lubrication chart in taking care of your car. In fact, checks every lubrication point twice. You see, he's not just an attendant, but an independent businessman in his community with a genuine interest in keeping his customers' cars in service. I think you'd find it pleasant and profitable to have him count you as one of his regulars. So stop by next week for a really correct lubrication job or anything else on which your signal dealer can help you out. I believe you'll thank me for the tip. Now. I am the Whistler. And I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets, hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak. That huge, sprawling stone structure surrounded by high gray walls appears against the storm-lashed, lightened street night sky. The State Penitentiary. In a cell in this dismal building sit two men. One is John Hendricks, a man of sixty, a lifer, sentenced ten years ago for the murder of his wife and stepson, murdered Martha and her simple-minded son for the $10,000 she kept hidden in the big house on the outskirts of town. One cellmate is one Bill Smith, otherwise known as Number 1014. Bill has changed in the five years he's been here. He's decided to go straight, if he ever gets out. Bill Smith started reading here, reading philosophy and so forth. Bill Smith has changed. But John Hendricks hasn't changed. Not Hendricks. Because he has a plan. He has a plan. He has a clever plan in mind. Well, all I gotta say, Bill, is that I think you're crazy enough to make the try with me. It's a matter of opinion, isn't it? It's all fixed. Not a chance of a slip-up. Don't tell me you got the break fixed with the warden. What difference does it make who it is, so long as the whole thing is set? Hendricks, I think you're nuts. Dear Craig, yeah? I'm getting out of this place. I got a reason, a good reason. I got something waiting for me outside. Something that belongs to me. I'm the only one that knows where it is. I'm getting out of here. You're in here for a long time, Bill. If you don't want to make the try with me, you can stay and rot. Suppose you do find this money hidden away in the old lady this time. What good luck do you? You killed her and her stepson to get it, didn't you? I did not. I didn't kill anybody. I didn't say you did. That ain't true. But I know where the money is. Okay. You can break out. You can have the money. But I've done a lot of thinking and reading since I've been here. Yeah. You've gone soft. Maybe so. But this much I do know. If I ever do get out, I'll do things differently. Yeah. I'm not... Ah, you just got religious. I get exactly what's coming to me. And believe me, I think so will you. If you break out, they'll have your back one way or another. Watch and see. Well, I'm going, so you watch and see. Just watch. And now, another night, several months later, another storm. A lonely country road, a car. The southern part of the state, that village we passed a few miles back, that silent sleeping village was Marzenburg, and that small stone building was the county courthouse. The courthouse where John Hendricks was tried and convicted for the murder of his wife and her simple-minded son, Henry. We're on the outskirts of town now. A young man is driving the old car, and there's a girl beside him. Motor trouble? There. Just ahead of light. Yes. It's a little crossroad store. There's a light inside, George, but I don't see anybody. It's close. We'd better drive on. Yeah. I guess you're right, John. Evening, folks. There's trouble. Well, we're having motor trouble. That's all. What are you doing driving around on a night like this? Well, we're on our way where? Well, Mr., is there an inn or something around here where we can stay for the night? Inn? There's a place about eight miles up the road. They'll probably put you up. Sign on the left-hand side of the road. You can't miss it. This road's pretty bad, though, in rains. Got to be careful. You'll find yourself walking. Thank you. We'll try it. Good night. Good luck, Mr. You need the luck. The storm is increasing now. The little car lurches and bounces in its fight to keep the center of the highway. Two miles, three miles, four, maybe five, and look. There it is, straight ahead. On the right side of the road, a blue light. That's it. Wait, George. Did the old man say on the right side or the left side of the road? Oh, George, what's wrong? I don't know. The distributor must have gotten wet. George? What? That blue light was gone. It's gone. Where is it? Oh, we must have passed it. Oh, we couldn't have. I was looking right at it. It's been deserted. It just disappeared into thin air. I'd better turn in here. This motor won't last much longer. Oh, I guess so. I can't see a thing, can you? Well, it's certainly a desolate looking place. There must be a house back in there. Oh, there it is. There's the driveway. Twenty feet ahead. Yeah. Well, this motor's about to conk out. We'd better drive in and see what we can find. Yes. Drive in, George. You'll find something. That's right. Through the gate. Make the curve. Hurry. There goes your motor. A little more. Now. Oh, we just made it. Thank heaven. Yeah, that's right. Always thank heaven at a time like this. All right. Get out and go up on the porch. Let me help you, Jones. I'm all right. What do we do with the bags? We leave them here until we find out if there's anyone here. Come on. Oh, 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. You're talking about something else. But this is just the body there. Go on. Uncle Cook's tent. Oh, hello. Good. Well, I say, is anyone there? No. Didn't he say something food? What food? Did he just say something food? What did he say? Did he just say pies? Well, tell me there's women that we could buy at the somehow. Well, tell me about that place. Here I am talking about the beans here. Hey, do you see a bell? No, I can't see a thing. Gee, this place looks completely deserted. I, I don't think anyone lives here. I don't either. Maybe you're right. Maybe it is deserted. Then why should they have a light on the road saying Lodging? That is strange, isn't it? But I wonder why it went out just as we reached it. I wonder. Oh, George, let's don't knock. I don't like this place. Let's go on. Wow, with a dead motor? Where could we go? No, I'll knock. Well, all right. Ah, that's right. Knock, George. Knock. Go ahead. Louder. Again. We've just got to have shelter. Yes, we can't stay in that car any longer. Can we? No, I'm afraid not. Here it comes. Now you're on your own, George. On your own. There is someone. Oh. Good evening. Oh, it's easy. Well, our car... Yes, our car's stalled. We can't go any farther. It's such a terrible night out that we thought we could stop here for the evening. Stop here? Why, yes, we saw your light. Light? What light? Well, the blue neon out in front. There is no light. Do you rule? Yes, there is a rule. Well, could we come in? I mean, it's awfully wet out here. You may come in if you wish. Oh, thank you. It's quite a relief we were afraid you'd closed up for the night. Thanks to all the lights were out. All the lights out. Yes, you see. Huh? Of course the lights are out. Oh, I didn't know. You do take tourists, do you? Well, yes, that's what they told us. Who told you? The man. The old man at the little store back at the crossroad told us. Little store? Yes, at the crossroad about five miles back. You know where the crossroad is, don't you? There is no store at the crossroad. There isn't? No. Oh, I see. Well, listen, madam, would you mind turning on the lights? I can't see a thing. We have no lights here. No, no lights? Give me a flashlight, Joan. She means that there's no electricity here. No, there is no light here. Tell the flash around. There must be a lamp. No, don't make a light. We see well in the dark. We? Who's we? Is there someone else in the house? My son. Oh, oh, well, he's gone to bed. He's standing beside you. You son. Mother. Give me that flashlight. You've got it. You've got it. Oh, yes. Gee whiz, how long you been standing here, bub? Since you came in. Since I came in? Well, I can see. You make a noise like a spook. Who are you? What is your name? George Kimball. This is my wife, Joan. We're on our way west. Travelers. Who are we? What? Quiet, son, quiet. No, no, let him talk. He's quiet enough. How long have you folks been living here? We've been here all our lives. Say, how about closing the door? Is the door open? Of course it is. What? Oh, George. Don't get excited. Look, madam, there's a candle on that table over there by the fireplace. Yes, yes. And if you don't mind, I'm going to light it. Please don't. Wait a minute. If you want us to stay here, I insist that we have some light. You do want us to stay here, don't you? Do we? Do we, son? Yes, mother. What? What are you looking at me for? Yes, mother. Yes, mother. Oh, George, let's go. I don't want to stay here tonight. This place doesn't look good to me. There has been no good here for many years. Is that what I mean, George? I don't get it. You don't seem to want us and yet your son does. How do you make any money that way? We don't make money. You don't? You mean you haven't had any guests lately? No. Not for many years. Well, you can't expect any if you act like this. But we do expect a guest, don't we, son? Yes, mother. You certainly have a surprise coming. Yes, we have. How many rooms have you? There are many rooms, but only one. Only one? Oh, now that doesn't make sense. What do you mean? Only one for kids. Oh, you mean only one equipped? Yes. Well, then if you've got a reserve for this guest, you expect, what are we going to do? There is an in-father along the road. They have rooms. They will take you. It will be best. All right. But our distributor got wet so the car won't even run. Where is your car? Right there at the further step. I see no car. You don't? Why, it's standing right there. George. George, where is it? It's gone. It's gone. Where and how? I didn't hear a sound. Oh, it must have rolled ahead. Show your light around. There's not a sign of it. Say, what goes on here? Shhh. Son. Yes, mother. You moved the car. Yes, mother. Why? Him. I understand, son. I understand. Now, wait a minute. Your son moved it? Well, how could he? The motor won't run and he wouldn't. Well, we didn't hear a sound. No sound. How'd you move it? I don't know. Fine, here we are in a place where they don't want us and no way of leaving. Well, you've got us on your hands now. You have to make the best of it. Oh, no, George. We'll leave. Oh, no, this is all silly. Now, come on. Let's have some light and cut the monkey bit. Wait, son, what have we decided? Yes, mother. We've decided, yes. Very well, if you wish. If you wish, you may stay. Stay until... Until when? All night. Yes, mother. If you wish. Well, that's better. Now, that's more like it. Now, our life is camped. There we are. George, look. Oh, I don't believe it. Look at that death and the cowboy. This place looks deserted. Looks like an old cellar. Well, how about the room? Do we get it or the gesture expect? There is another room that will do for us. Well, could we see it? Uh-huh. And by the way, how much do you charge? We charge nothing. You charge nothing? Nothing. Sounds silly, but it's a break for us. We're running short anyway. Let's see the room. Very well. It is upstairs. Uh, after you, ma'am. No, you go first. Very well. Come on, John. Bring that other can. Come, son. Follow me. Yes, mother. I've never saw so much dust. They must like it, you know. Nice, clean dust. That room at the head of the stand. Why, this room's well furnished. Is this the room reserved for your expected guests? No. But you said you only had one room furnished. Who sleeps here? This is my room. What's your room? I stay here now. Oh, I see. Or do I? Well, it's a nice soft bed. It was always comfortable. We leave you now. Come, son. We must leave them alone now. Yes, mother. Leave them alone. Good night. Good night. You will lock your door. Huh? Oh. Oh, yes. We'll lock. Goodbye. Did she say good night? Or goodbye? I don't know. I thought she said... She... she did say goodbye. What a screwy outfit. Boy, I wish we hadn't had car trouble. That's what we get for trying to drive in the rain. How much money have we left? Not very much. Just enough to get to Los Angeles. The way I figure. But once we get there, I know there'll be a job for me. We'll make it, don't you worry. You'll see me in a nice job in Hollywood. I'm not worried about seeing you in Hollywood. No? No. I'm just worried about seeing you in... in the morning. The same night, but later. It's midnight. Another car on the same road. You know who it is. It's John Hendricks. And you know where he's going. He turns in at our deserted mansion, up the driveway. He's got a car. He's got a car. He's got a car. He's got a car. He's got a car. He turns in at our deserted mansion, up the driveway, and stops. He steps out, slips up the steps, opens the door, and throws his flash about the dusty room. The cobwebs glisten in the beans. A few moments, and the light comes to rest on the fireplace. He steps quickly to the mantel, draws a small hammer and a chisel from his pocket, and sets to work, removing a brick. Now he's finished. The brick is loose. He reaches in and withdraws a heavy yellow envelope. He starts to put it in his pocket, but suddenly freezes in his tracks. He can't move. He turned icy cold. Turn around, Hendricks. Turn around. Look. At the foot of the stairs, across the room, stands a woman holding a candle, and beside her a grinning youth, holding an axe. Turn around, Hendricks. Look at their heads, covered with blood. Turn around. John Hendricks, murderer. John Hendricks, thief. Martha! Yes, John. Henry! Yes, John. No. No. We've come for you, John. The train where you came from. No. We've been waiting for you, John. Please come back for the money. No, I... We've come to take you, John. No, no, no, no. Please don't come near me, please. You must suffer, John, as we have suffered. I've suffered. Not enough, John. I didn't mean to do it. I didn't plan to kill you. I didn't mean to kill you. I went mad. I lost my head. No, no, no. Don't come near me. You can have the money. You can have the money. We can give it to us, John. Please don't come near me. Please. Give us the money. You won't need it now. Come, son, we must have the money. And we will take John. No, no, no. There's the money on the floor. Please, please. Please don't come near me. Oh, please. We must give John. No, no, no, no. Please. He's a murderer. I've lost my head. Yeah, close my head. No, you don't understand. Don't come any closer, don't come any closer. Please, please. No, no, no, I'll shoot. I'll shoot, I'll shoot. It won't stop. Bang, bang. Ah. Oh, good lord, George. What was that? I heard a scream. It's downstairs. So did I. And Sean. I'll open the door. It must have been downstairs. I don't see a thing. Here. Here's your flashlight. Great Scott look a man down there on the floor come on Look at the gun and fire, I don't see a mark on him I'll say come on. No you don't and why you are George Going on here and over that gun. Hey What are you doing here? Oh, we're stopping here That is we're just leaving. I can see that Know this man on the floor? Know him? Yes, yes Joan what's the matter with you? Oh no, no we don't know him Take a look at him Frank, yes sir What are you two doing here? Why we're guests Yes we're both guests Guests? Who's guest? Well I guess Lodge's tourist, guest of the old lady What old lady? The old lady who lives here The old lady and her son Well you'll have to cook up a better one than that What do you mean? Drive here? Where's your car? Why the son took it Son? Old lady? What are you talking about? They live here, they said they owned this place We had motor trouble and they put us up for the night What about him Frank? He isn't dead, breathing Looks like he had a stroke or something Him alright, John Hendricks Take a look around see if there's anyone else here Yes sir You, what's your name? George Kimball, this is my wife We're on our way to California Do you know who this man is? Certainly we've been on his trail, he's an escaped convict Is this your gun? No sir Did he shoot at you? No sir Well this gun's been fired, we heard shots as we turned in the driveway Ah, look at the bullet holes near the ceiling Hendricks probably missed whoever he shot at because of the stroke Oh Frank what'd you find? Nothing much sir, nothing but dust and cobwebs Look Kimball, you said there was an old lady and her son here Why sure, they were here all evening They're not here now Well they let us in and showed us to our room, they certainly were here What, what did the old lady look like? Well she had grey hair and wore kind of a house dress and an apron What'd the boy look like? Oh he was a big kid, I'd say about 20, had a round, rosy face In fact I know he was kind of simple minded, he had a strange laugh Oh yes and he had red hair Well I'll be darned What do you think of that Frank? Golly, gives me the creeps, why so? Do you know who you've just described? No The old lady and her son used to live here Used to live here? Yes, they were murdered here ten years ago What? Murdered? Sure, sure, this man on the floor was her husband, the boy stepped on it He was tried for killing them with a knife and stealing her money and bonds I agree because of the lack of evidence, he escaped though, he could go and head it this way We've been on his trail ever since he entered this county So you see Kimball, if there was anybody else here tonight It must have been a figment of your imagination This house has been deserted for ten years Oh, oh George Good Lord Look Duggan, I found this hemphill open the dining room floor there Well what do you know, the bonds, old Martha Hendricks bonds That's why Hendricks came here We'll probably find the money too But where did they go, the old lady? No place, because they weren't here Kimball Well, we better get them out of here and back to 840 Hey wait a minute, don't leave us Well you won't, you're coming along too Why? We'll need you for a day or two, now let's get going Frank, come on But where did they go, we saw them, we know they were here Well you certainly described them to a tee but, oh don't worry too much about it You know things like this can drive you nuts You know what I mean, things like this Well, things like this sometimes just, just happen You know what I mean? No Well, oh come on, come on, let's go before I get the heebie-jeebies The Whistler will finish his strange tale in just a moment While we're waiting for his explanation, here's an interesting statement from a military expert about the gasoline we're all doing without If you've been to several gas stations and found them out, you'll appreciate it This military authority says, quote, we're fighting a war of engines The side which keeps the most tanks and trucks rolling, the most planes flying, will win This takes many more engines than we had to keep running in peacetime And some of these military motors burn a gallon of gas a minute The oil industry's job is to keep the fuel tanks of these engines full It's a tremendous job, oilmen are doing everything they can to increase production But over 53 percent of all the gasoline produced must now go into military use, unquote The Signal Oil Company brings you these facts so that when your signal dealer can't fill her up as he used to You can better appreciate how the gallons you're doing without are helping carry us down the road to victory Another way by which America's unequal resources are winning this war Now, the Whistler What was it the officer said? Things like this just sometimes happen, just happen Well, sometimes they do and can't always be explained But not this time, oh no, not this time, this can be explained Remember John Hendricks' L.N.A. Bill, Bill Smith, number 1014? He can explain, he knows all about it because he planned it Yes, he had learned all the dope from Hendricks and he sent his pals The phony spooks to get the money when Hendricks recovered it You see, he didn't want to hurt John, he wanted to scare him out of it Remember, Bill 1014 said he had changed He said he'd never do things the way he'd done them before And he didn't, but he hadn't changed I know Next week, same time, I, the Whistler, will return to tell you another unusual story Good night Original music for this production was composed and conducted by Wilbur Hatch The Whistler, brought to you by the Signal Oil Company, is written and directed by J. Donald Wilson and originates from Columbia Square in Hollywood, Bill Pennell speaking This is the Columbia Broadcasting System
