Signal Gasoline. Let every traffic signal remind you, you do go farther with Signal Gasoline. Yes, you do go farther with Signal. The Signal Oil Company and your neighborhood signal dealer bring you another curious story by the Whistler. Tonight, the man who came to murder. I am the Whistler, and I know many things for I walk by night. I know many strange tales 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. You can live too long. Did you know that? Oh, yes. Especially if you have money, a lot of it, and heirs, like Ellen Hargrove. Miss Ellen has a lot of money left to her at her husband's death years ago. She lives in a great Victorian house just outside of town. She has been a helpless invalid ever since she had that terrible heart attack just a year ago. Nobody thought she could live. Yet there she still is in the great carved bed in the second floor bedroom. This morning, there are three people in the bedroom beside Miss Ellen. Mrs. Merton, her devoted housekeeper, Dr. Stone, who has come to make another examination, and Wendell Robinson. Wendell has shown the most touching anxiety about Miss Ellen all through her illness. He's her nephew and heir. Now, deep breaths, Miss Ellen. Make it a good one. Yes, doctor. Hmm, another. Well, that's enough of that. Now, let's check that pulse again. But you've already taken my pulse. Any good reason I shouldn't take it again? I like to hold a lovely lady's hand. You? Oh, Dr. Stone, what a thing to say to an old woman like me. Still, I suppose we're never too old to be flattered. Well, Ellen, you are old. That she isn't, Mr. Wendell, and never will be. Miss Ellen's got a heart in her as fresh and sweet as a child. All right, Mrs. Merton, I've finished. Let me have my bag. Right here, doctor. Dr. Stone, am I... Is there any change? Yes, doctor, how about it? Want the verdict, do you? Ellen Hargrove, you've made a liar out of me. Oh, I don't... A year ago, I said you couldn't live a month, and here you are, frisky as a lamb in the pasture. You mean she isn't going to... She'll live? Exactly. She'll have to take it easy, of course, avoid excitement, fatigue, but with proper care, she'll live to be a hundred. Oh, Dr. Stone. See, didn't I tell you, ma'am, just you do what the doctor tells you, I said, and you'll be on your feet again. Oh, Miss Ellen, you're... I'm very sorry. You mustn't be in a stress... Well, now, don't you cry. It's a very happy day. So it is, my dear. A happy day for all of us, eh, Wendell? Yeah, it's quite a day. Oh, there's Midnight. Come to hear the good news, too. I'll get him for you, Adam. No, no, don't chase him. He'll pop up on the bed by himself. He spends most of his time here with me. There, you see? Now lie down, boy. It's all right. Come along, Wendell. Time we were off, good news can be as hard on the nerves as bad. Miss Ellen needs to rest now. But you'll both come back to dine with me tonight. Surely I might have a little celebration. Well, all right. We'll carry you downstairs, if you promise to go to bed right after dinner. Oh, I will. And, Wendell, you won't forget to bring my account. No, no, I won't forget. Hold your horses, can't you? I'm coming. Well, who is it? Open up, Mel. It's me. Wendell. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, you crazy fool, coming in here in the daytime. Suppose somebody spotted you. The old woman catches on we're married, she'll cut you off without a thin dime. Shut up, will you? She isn't going to die. What? Oh, you're crazy. The doctor. Yeah, he said. Now he says she'll live to be a hundred if she takes care of herself and avoids excitement. And that's not the worst. Nothing could be worse. She wants to check up on her accounts. After a whole year of leaving them in my hands, she's... she's got to see her bank statements tonight. You know what'll happen. She'll find out about those checks I raised. Well, we got to get out of here. Snap out of it, Wendy. How'll she know it was you raised the checks? Other people have cashed them for her. That housekeeper, even her chauffeur. She'll find out somehow and send me to jail. You don't know her like I do. Listen to me, Wendy. You take her those statements tonight. You're out of your mind. No, she won't be able to prove it was you raised the checks. You are one of those servants she's so crazy about. Not tonight she won't. But no matter who raised him, it ought to be quite a shock to the old girl. Remember what the doc said? Avoid excitement. Just like that. Well, you're a wonder. I don't think she'll be around tomorrow to do any finding out. Here's an angle on making your car last longer that may not have occurred to you. When you choose a doctor for your own health, you're careful to select the most reliable, most conscientious doctor you can find. Well, to keep your car healthy, it's just as important to select a service station operator who's conscientious and experienced at the job he's doing. Which explains why so many drivers these days are switching to independently operated signal gasoline stations. You see, each signal dealer is in business for himself. Servicing cars is his permanent work. Naturally, he wants his business to grow. So he has a personal interest in pleasing you so well, you'll come back again and again and be his steady customer. As a result, you get not just the minimum service you ask for at your signal gasoline dealers, but also those little unasked for extras that can make such a big difference in the life of your car. With the average car on the road today over seven years old, this conscientious, thorough signal service is more important to you than ever before. More reason than ever why you should make it a point soon to get acquainted with your neighborhood signal gasoline dealer. And now, back to the Whistler. Yes, it's hard to be an heir, especially when the person you expect to inherit from clings to her pitiful, useless life. It makes you nervous. After a while, you might even step up beside death and guide his groping hand. If the doctor's going to be there, you won't want him around, will you, Wendell? Still, you can take care of the doctor, all right, can't you, Wendell? Or can you? Hello, Aunt Ellen. All right to come in? Certainly, dear boy. Oh, hello, Dr. Stone. Greeted me here, did you? Well, a few minutes. Well, Aunt Ellen, here are your bank statements. And your cancel checks, too. Dear me, what a lot of them. Just leave them here on the bed beside... Oh, one moment. Midnight. You'll have to get down. No, I'm sorry. I shall need room for my papers. Down. Now the papers. Thank you, Wendell. If you'll excuse us, Dr. Stone, we'll just run through this stuff. Mrs. Merton's left the decanter of Sherry in the library. Oh, no, Wendell. You and the doctor must have your wine together. I can manage quite well by myself. Well, it's all right. Come along, Wendell. I don't often get Sherry like Miss Ellen. Coming. I'll just shut the door, Aunt Ellen, so no one will disturb you. So it was easy to get the doctor out of the room after all. Here he is, shut up with you in the library. And upstairs, your aunt is shut in her room alone, where nobody can hear her if she cries out. You're congratulating yourself, aren't you, Wendell? It's working out as smooth as butter. More Sherry, Doctor? By all means. Second glass can't hurt me. Oh, not of this stuff. Grand wine. Uncle laid it down right before I was born. Are you sure it's all right? What, the wine? No, no. Aunt Ellen. Letting her work over those statements. Why wouldn't it be all right? You don't think it might excite her too much? Bring on another attack. Your concern is admirable, my boy, but there's very little excitement in Bank's statement. I didn't mean excitement. Tired, that's the word she might overdo. Nonsense. Miss Ellen will be all the better for knowing exactly where she stands. And by the way, she was just telling me how proud she is of you. Of the way you've changed, taken things over, and dropped that young woman. I'm sure it helped her condition a lot. Excuse me, Mr. Wendell. Miss Ellen would like to speak to you in her room. Aunt Ellen? How did you know? She told me yourself just a moment ago. Excuse me, Doctor. Surely. You needn't come up, Mrs. Merton. Oh, it's no bother to me. I was going up anyway to tidy Miss Ellen for the evening. You'll stay here to understand. My aunt sent for me. Well, I... I mean, there'll be plenty of time to get her ready after I come down. Very well, sir, I'll wait in the hall. Careful there, Wendell. An heir shouldn't make mistakes, not when he's helping his beloved aunt out of the world. The doctor and Mrs. Merton looked at you very strangely just then. Better not trust those nerves of yours too far. Better make sure the old woman dies now. You want to see me, Aunt Ellen? Oh, well, no. Come here, please. I made a disturbing discovery. Most disturbing. Why, what's the matter? I... well, it doesn't seem possible, but I believe the bank must have made a mistake. A mistake? The bank? Oh, come now, Miss Ellen. I know it seems strange, but there can't be any other explanation. There's got to be. Banks don't make mistakes. Their statements are wrong. You mean they don't agree with the checks you drew? Oh, but they do, Aunt Ellen. Remember, I've gone over these myself. No, no, it's the checks themselves. Look at this one. It's drawn to cash for a thousand dollars. What's so funny about that? It costs money to run this house. Oh, but everything is paid for by check. The household expenses, salaries, any large bills. I never write checks to cash, except for a little ready money in case of emergency, and never for more than a hundred dollars. You sure about that? Certainly I am. But this is one for a thousand, and there are others. I see. Wendell, dear, what is it? Look here, Aunt Ellen, you haven't been able to go to the bank yourself lately. Who's cashed your checks for you? By you most of the time, but Mrs. Merton and Roberts have also gone to the bank for me. Nobody else? No, dear, I'm certain. Look at this check. Is that your signature? Oh, yes, Wendell, of course it is. Then there's no question about it. About what? Somebody's been raising your checks, Aunt Ellen. Somebody's changed the amounts from a hundred to a thousand. That's impossible. No one has cashed checks for me except you and Mrs. Merton and Rob... Wendell. Yeah. Roberts and Merton and me. Take your choice. Oh, no, no. Mrs. Merton, she's been with me for nearly thirty years. Roberts was our stable boy, and you... Don't try to wiggle out of it. When you got sick, one of us saw a swell chance. One of us did a sweet job of robbing you. At nine hundred bucks a throw. Oh, please. When you're old, so few people left. Everyone else gone. Husband, family, friends. Only you three. All of us. And one of us is a thief. It's true. You know it. I can't. I can't believe it. Oh. What is it, Aunt Ellen? Pain. Pain. Wendell, help me. Yeah. Yeah, I'll help you. Please, the doctor. Yeah. The doctor. Aunt Ellen. Aunt Ellen. It worked. Oh, yes, it worked all right. A sick old woman's heart won't stand much. And the doctor told you, once she collapses, she must have immediate attention or she will die. You're going to slip out of this room, softly. You're going to close the door behind you without a sound. You're going to keep Mrs. Merton talking downstairs. And when at last she comes up, she'll find your aunt dead of a sudden heart attack. Safe, Wendell. Safe? Why are you backing away? Can't you turn your head away from that still body on the bed? There's something behind you, Wendell, a black furry shadow on the floor. It's midnight, Wendell. Sound asleep. And you're stepping so very softly. Careful. Look out! Ah! What? Cat. Shut up. Shut up, blasty. I didn't mean to hurt you. You keep quiet. Thanks for the service. It was a matter of midnight. Mrs. Merton, she's coming up here. She'll see. Shut the door. Keep her out. No, that won't do. Mr. Wendell, did something happen at midnight? Call to her. The only way. Come up here, quick, Mrs. Merton! He's screaming his heart out. Where has he gone to, Mr. Wendell? Where's Mr... Miss Ellen? We were just talking and all of a sudden she fell over. Miss Ellen, dear? Doctor! Doctor Stone! Yes, Mrs. Merton? Early, Doctor. It's Miss Ellen! I tell you, she just fell over. I was running for help. I didn't see the cat. I told the doctor. I warned him too much for her. Oh, early, Doctor. Get out of my way. You shouldn't have let her go over all this stuff. We were just talking quietly and she fell over. Quiet, please. Doctor, is she... No, she's not. Weird that a devil is my... But I saw her die. She didn't die and she won't if I can help it. Get along, Wendell. I've got work to do. I'll go. Too bad, Wendell. Everything ruined because you stepped on a cat's tail. Such a little accident to spoil a perfect murder. The doctor told you to get out, didn't he? Well, you're going out of the room, out of the house, like a scared child making for home and Lill. Poor Lill. She expected a lot from you, Wendell, money and security for the rest of her life. But she knows the moment she sees your face. I could just chip the doctor out a few minutes longer. It was going swell, Lill. She was dying. I know it. If only the doctor... Oh, cut it out. What's the use of crying? The doctor got there too soon and that's all there is to it. No, it isn't all. She knows now that somebody's been after her money. She'll track us down. What will we do, Lill? You name it. Listen, we can't get away. We've got hours. All night. Maybe longer. The doctor won't let Aunt Ellen talk sick as she is. The police will never catch up with us. Don't kid yourself. They always catch up. Well, we just can't sit here. Once she wakes up tomorrow, we're through. If she wakes up tomorrow. If she... Lill. What's the matter with that? She's had a shock, hasn't she? She might die in spite of everything the doctor can do. She might die in her sleep. Perfectly naturally. And if she doesn't? Yes. If she doesn't... It'll be her own fault. She ought to have died a year ago. That's my Wendy. There can't be any tomorrow. All right, Lill. Good guy. Can you get them a house? Easy. She keeps her window open for the cat. There's a big oak tree outside. I'll take her from the limb to the balcony. Wait a second. Won't there be a nurse with her? Not a chance. Aunt Ellen can't stand having a nurse in the house. Says they make her nervous. Mrs. Merton takes care of her. The housekeeper? Will she be in the room? Why should she be? Her own room's right across the hall. The doors are kept open. Doors open? You'll have to be awful quiet. I'm not taking a bright spade. I thought...a knife? A knife? Use your head. It's dark as pitch already. No moon in an overcast sky. You weren't thinking of putting on the lust. No, no, I... The gun? And wake up the whole house. What you need is a sock. A sock? Yeah, a good strong one. Like those wool things your aunt knits for you. Sure, one of them'll do it. Fill it with pebbles and tie it tight. Even dark as it is, you ought to be able to make out her head on the pillow. Just one soft stump. Yeah, one ought to do it. She'll die easy. Listen, though. Suppose somebody sees me? Late at night in a hick town. Folks around here go to bed with the chickens. Besides, you'll have an alibi. Alibi? Yeah. We're gonna leave my place now and go to your room. We're gonna make good and sure somebody sees us. Later on, you'll slip out. But I stay, see? And when they come to tell you about your aunt, I can swear you haven't left the place. And nobody will be able to prove a thing. That's right, isn't it, Wendell? Nobody will be able to prove a thing. So you walk brazenly down the street with Lil. And just outside your apartment, you run into an incredible piece of luck. Things are breaking just right. For there you meet Mr. Leary, the town constable. Oh, evening, sir. Who's that? Oh, it's you, Lil Edwards. Mr. Robinson. Yep, that's me. All right. Now, come on, Lil. Here's Raleigh. Is she going to see you this time of night? Listen to him. What's it to you, constable? Yeah. Anything wrong with asking a friend in for a drink? Well, it's your own business. But the old lady out the big house ain't good like you're taking up with Lil again. You like you sick old man? I'm not taking up with Lil again. Yeah, like you said, it's my business. Come on, Lil. Get the door open fast. Yeah. Well, he saw us come in. Oh, as soon as he's out of the way... Oh, as soon as he's out of the way... Perfect, Wendell. Everything's perfect. Perfect, Wendell. Everything's perfect. When he's gone, you slip out and go. When he's gone, you slip out and go. The big house is quiet, the windows are dark. The big house is quiet, the windows are dark. The big house is quiet, the windows are dark. You slip off your shoes, swing yourself up into the oak tree, edge along the big limb over the balcony. Let yourself down now, easy, without a sound beside your aunt's open window. Inside your aunt's open window. Step over the sill. It's darker than ever in here, isn't it, Wendell? It's darker than ever in here, isn't it, Wendell? A pause for a moment, staring toward the bed. Until your eyes make out a blur on the pillow. Three lightleri steps in your stocking-feet tug something out of your pocket. Now. It's all over. And no one has heard you. There isn't a sound. What? No sound? What's that? An automobile turning into your late aunt's drive at this time of night? Run, Wendell, run for your life. Grab the balcony rail and swing yourself down. But you keep your head, don't you? You remember your shoes at the foot of the oak tree. Grab one in each hand and make off across the lawn. You're away. Back at your place, you tell Lil what happened and the two of you prepare for what's sure to come. You've got to make it look as if you haven't been out. So put on slippers, get that cold chicken from the ice box, bring in the carving knife, carve off a slice. Settle down with a sandwich, relaxed, comfortable. You and Lil, just two people spending a quiet evening together. And soon they are outside. Lil, I'm here. Here, take a knife. Carve me a piece of chicken quick. Oh, what are you going to do? Do as I say and stuff something in your own mouth. Take it easy out there. Well, look who's here. Come right in, gentlemen. You've got company, Wendy. Dr. Stone and the chief of police. Well, Dr. Stone, what are you doing here? Aren't you surprised to see me here, too? What? Well, sure I am, chief. I didn't. I just... Wendell's worried about his aunt. Maybe he thought she was worried Dr. Stone coming here. That's it. She's all right, isn't she? I'm afraid not. What does that mean? Might as well tell him straight out, Doc. Awful thing happened out the big house tonight. Somebody broke into your aunt's room. Broke in? You mean a prowler? Might be. Nothing was taken. But maybe Doc's car scared him away before he could look. Or maybe he came on purpose to murder her. Murder? Is Aunt Ellen dead? I'm sorry, Wendell. Oh, that's terrible. Oh, poor Wendell. I don't understand. Who would want to kill Aunt Ellen? That's what I wondered. Figure on finding out, too. We'll get him all right. And when we do... Not you, Mr. Robinson. Me. Don't reckon I'll have much trouble. The fellow left the murder weapon behind him. Mr. Wendell. Yep. Must be a shock when a car drives right up while you're doing murder. The fellow needed both hands to swing down off that balcony. Maybe he never knew he dropped it. Ever seen anything like this before? Just a sock, an ordinary sock. Uh-uh. Not ordinary. This one's hand-knit. Know anybody that knits socks around here, Doc? Yes, Miss Ellen. That's so. Who'd she knit them for? For Wendell. What are you up to? You can't frame me for this. I never saw that sock before. Sure about that? Mighty fine wool in this sock. Expensive. Don't know as anybody in town, but Miss Ellen could afford it. Mrs. Merton says she ordered it special from New York. Merton's a lying old troublemaker. I tell you, I never saw it before. Of course not. As far as we know, it's just an ordinary sock filled with pebbles. Well, now ain't that interesting. You never saw it before. Then how did you know it was filled with pebbles? I didn't. I... Said so for witnesses. They're always filled with pebbles. Or dirt or sand. You'd have to feel to know which, unless you mixed it up yourself. I don't know anything about this. You haven't got a thing on me. Only your own confession that you knew what was in this sock. I don't know a thing about this, I tell you. I'm getting out of here. Yeah, we'll all get out. Down to the station. I came to arrest Wendell. You'll go along as an accomplice. Accomplice? You know what an accomplice gets? Same thing as the murder. Death in the gas chamber. No. No, I didn't have anything to do with it. It was Wendell. Will. He'd been stealing from her. She was gonna find out. Keep your mouth shut. You aren't gonna drag me down with you, Wendell Robinson. It was your idea, all of it. I begged you. Why you? He threatened me. He said he'd kill me if I told him. He said he'd kill me. Kill you? He's got a knife. Robinson, put down that carving knife. No. No, Wendell. No! The Whistler will return in just a moment with the strange ending of tonight's story. Meantime, here's some hot weather motor mathematics for you drivers to think about. Take the temperature of the day, add 2800 degrees, the temperature inside the average cylinder head. That adds up to a lot of heat. A mighty good reason why car cooling systems should be in tip-top shape to protect motors through summer driving. How's yours? If it hasn't been inspected recently, your signal gasoline dealer will be glad to do it for you. Perhaps your radiator is choked with sludge and rust. Your signal dealer has a special rust and sludge dissolving compound that will not only restore cooling efficiency but can't harm the metal. Another thing, he has a radiator sealer to stop small leaks and a rust preventive to protect radiator and motor from further corrosion. If you need a new water hose or fan belt, your signal dealer has the finest heavy duty quality and he will install them while you wait. You see, your signal dealer is much more than a place to buy signals famous go farther gasoline and fine lubricant. Wherever you see signals yellow and black circle sign, there you will also find complete conscientious signal service to help your car run better, look better, and last longer. And now, back to the Whistler. So it was Lil who broke down after all and Wendell killed her for it, stabbed her with a carving knife. An upsetting business murder, you shouldn't try it without good strong nerves. When you lose your nerve, you're sure to make mistakes like Lil and Wendell. You shouldn't have done that, Wendell. Why not? They won't kill me any deader for two murders than for one. Two murders? Aunt Ellen's and Lil's. Your aunt's all right. What? You told me that- I said I was sorry, I am, because some day your aunt will have to learn about you. Miss Ellen is sound asleep in the hospital where I took her as soon as the sedative took effect. She dislikes trained nurses in her house and I want her to have absolute quiet. I was bringing Mrs. Merton home when you ran away. But there was someone on the bed, on the pillow, I saw it! Oh yes, there was something there. Possibly the SPCA could have you fined, but I doubt that a jury would sentence you to death for the murder of your aunt Ellen's cat. Next Monday at 9 o'clock, The Whistler will bring you another strange tale. The Whistler is broadcast for your entertainment by the marketers of signal gasoline and motor oil and fine quality automotive accessories and by your neighborhood signal dealer. This program directed by George W. Allen with tonight's story by Sally Thorson, music by Wilbur Hatch, is transmitted to our troops overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Service. This is Marvin Miller speaking and suggesting that you let every traffic signal remind you that you do go farther with signal gasoline. Yes, you do go farther with signal. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
