And now stay tuned for the program that is rated tops in popularity for a longer period of time Than any other West Coast program in radio history the signal oil program the Whistler S-I-G-M-A-L S-I-G-M-A-L Signal the famous go farther gasoline Invite you to sit back and enjoy another strange story by the Whistler For extra driving pleasure the signal to look for is the yellow and black circle sign that identifies Signal service stations from Canada to Mexico and for Sunday evening listening pleasure the signal to listen for is this whistle That identifies the signal oil program the Whistler 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 And now the Whistler strange story arose for Pamela The concert was progressing successfully brilliantly the young artist had perfect command of the keyboard at her fingertips and the quiet inspired audience watching This was because like her famous father Thomas Barrett before her she loved music She was a very talented musician and she was a very talented musician She was a very talented musician and she was a very talented musician She was a very talented musician and she was a very talented musician This was because like her famous father Thomas Barrett before her she loved music It was a part of her and she felt no more nervousness than he might have had at the height of his brilliant career As one of the world's most celebrated pianists Pamela Barrett might have felt differently. However, if she knew what was in the heart and mind of someone watching Yes Pamela Barrett's touch might not have been so fine So sure if she had the knowledge of a cold calculated plan for murder It was a plan that began some time back at an even more innocent affair an impromptu concert at a pleasant social gathering Friends of Pamela's and of Denise Barrett her stepmother Denise was watching admiringly as Pamela played for her friends Softly, beautifully Pamela darling it was beautiful wonderful. Thank you, Denise. All of you. Thanks so much She's ready now. You must arrange a concert debut for Denise I should say so You hear them darling? It's what I've been telling you repeatedly You mustn't let anything interfere with your music Nothing will, Denise Now if you'll excuse me You've done a marvelous job as her guardian Denise. Her father would be proud Yes, it's a shame Thomas Barrett couldn't be here Yes, he would have loved to hear his daughter play tonight Yes. Oh, yes. It's our only regret Oh, my dear, I'm sorry I mentioned that It's all right. Just the excitement, the thrill of hearing her play so much like Like Thomas himself Yes, Denise, so much like Thomas himself, your late husband The thought is still on your mind as you excuse yourself Leave your guests discussing the way you've managed Pamela Brought her along, guided her career and affairs so efficiently And on the terrace you're congratulated again by a guest who has remained in the background Marty Drake, attorney for the estate of the late Thomas Barrett She was very good, Denise. Very good The girl does have talent, doesn't she? You think she meant that about not letting anything interfere with her career? I hope so So do I You ought to make sure, you know, young girl in love that way I've managed her pretty well until now, Marty, and she has faith in you Both personally and as an attorney She told me the other afternoon she was glad you were handling the estate Oh, sure I was just thinking that's all I mean her father's career ended by an accident It'd be dreadful if anything had to end the daughter's too Please, Marty I'm sorry, like I said, I was just thinking Oh, Marty, it would be terrible if... If... If you couldn't handle her and couldn't talk her out of marrying Richard Matthews I can. I must You can say that again, baby Her marriage had put us in the position of having to account for the hundred thousand dollars we've managed to remove from the estate A hundred thousand? Is it that much, Marty? We've lived well, Denise, very well since Thomas fell over that cliff a year ago But a hundred thousand, Marty? That's... That's the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony You'd better go to work on Pamela quick I will. Tomorrow I thought you might like a cocktail, Mrs. Barry Say? Yes. Thank you, Alma Yes, thank you. I could use one lastly Alma, would you tell Pamela there's another number I'd like her to play? Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am. She told me to tell you She's gone out. There was a phone call Not Richard Matthews Why, yes ma'am. Richard Matthews Well, and you tell me not to worry Marty, Marty, we're in trouble So is Pamela What do you mean? Well, we won't have much choice, Denise. If your lovely stepdaughter persists in marrying, there might be only one way to stop it And this time you'll do the stopping If you don't, baby, you won't be around to spend any more of Pamela's money. You'll be on the inside looking out Don't worry, Marty. I'll stop her A $20 signal gasoline book is being sent to Darien Guest of San Fernando, California As a token of our appreciation for this limerick A most thrifty young woman named Penny drove from Kalamazoo to Kilkenny She found, did this last, in checking her gas that signal went farther than any Signal, signal, signal gasoline Your car will go far, will go far the gasoline Well, all I have to say to the lass from Kalamazoo is that if she'd been a Westerner, she would have known that from Canada to Mexico, signal has long been famous as the go farther gasoline But mileage, mind you, is only one of the benefits you'll notice when you switch to signal In addition, you'll enjoy signal's quick starting, signal's peppy pickup, and signal's smooth, quiet power For like birds of a feather, mileage and performance go together To enjoy both, just heed the advice on those signal billboards you've seen Next time, fill up with signal, the famous go farther gasoline Music Well, Denise, your conversation with Marty only strengthens your determination, doesn't it? Pamela Barrett must be talked out of her romance with Richard Matthews The girl can't learn of the embezzlement you've engaged in with Marty during the last year It might set her to thinking, to adding up something else, something that will suggest to her that her father's death a year ago might have been more than an accident Yes, Denise, the problem faces you squarely now And the following afternoon you decide to approach Pamela, to attempt the first step in dissuading her As you walk down the long corridor toward the music room, your maid Alma suddenly steps out of your late husband's study Oh, ma'am Yes, Alma About Mr. Barrett's curio collection, Miss Pamela said she didn't want anything touched, I told her Oh, no, really, I don't see why she insists on keeping those awful things around Spears, poison darts, those vials of South American and South African poisons, purari, snake venom, and all those things Her father's man, she... I can't imagine what Mr. Barrett had in mind bringing those horrible things back with him after that foreign tour I just can't... poisons, they make me shiver Oh, well, never mind, Alma, I'll talk to Pamela again later Very good You play Chopin nearly as well as your father did, Pamela You're still angry with me, aren't you? Well, I don't blame you really, I should have told you the reasons I thought it best that you postpone your marriage to Richard for a year or two The main reason is that you enjoy telling me I can't do things, isn't it, Denise? You think I'm very unfair, don't you, dear? Aren't you? I don't think so Oh, Pamela, I know how hard it's been for you since your father died It's been hard on me, too, I... I loved him very much I've just been trying to keep a promise I made to your father about you I guess I've gone at it very badly Promise to Daddy? What... what was the promise? I promised him I'd see to it that you followed in his footsteps, become a great concert pianist You... you did? Yes, dear, I did Dad asked you to? Yes, he wanted you to make your debut at Civic Hall on your 19th birthday Well, that's hardly two weeks away Yes, but I made all the arrangements some time ago That's why I was so shocked when you said you wanted to give up your music and marry Richard And why I was so emphatic in saying I wouldn't let you My career meant a lot to Dad, didn't it? Pamela, you're awfully young to get married Why not wait for a couple of years and in the meantime go ahead with everything just as your father planned? I... I guess it would have made him happy Of course it would All right, Denise, I'll try to go on with my career You'll always be glad, darling You may feel badly now about postponing your marriage to Richard, but after you get started on your career... Oh, Denise, you must have misunderstood I said I'd continue with my music, but I didn't say I changed my mind about marrying Richard But you can't marry him You wouldn't have time for both... Look, Denise, legally I'm old enough to be married, with or without your consent Even if you are still guardian of my money If I decide to marry Richard, there's nothing you can do to stop it Remember that, nothing You've failed, haven't you, Denise? That look on Pamela's face You've seen it before on her father's face The man you married with so much more than love in mind Yes, Denise, to gain control again is another step necessary, a more drastic one But something more in your line You've always managed with men easier than with women And later that week out at the swimming pool You call on all the strength of your considerable feminine powers to turn the tide for you Win him away from Pamela Morning, Richard Morning, Mrs. Barrett. How's the water? Warm and wonderful Here, give me a hand, will you? Oh, sure There we are Thanks. Now to get this cap off Oh, it was such a beautiful morning. I just couldn't resist the pool Hand me the towel, will you? Oh, here you are Pamela around? Oh, she had some shopping to do. That's why I asked you over I want to talk to you, alone Sit down, Richard All right Pamela tells me you're quite a musician She's prejudiced You like Pamela very much, don't you? I love her Enough to put her welfare before your happiness? Of course Then Richard, don't let her think about getting married until she's reached the place in the music world her father planned for her Why couldn't she do both? She just couldn't, that's all Well, hundreds of women have combined marriage with a career and rather successfully, too Perhaps, but not Pamela. She's different Her life shouldn't be complicated with emotional disturbances Her thoughts should be only for music And you are rather distracting, Richard Oh, not really, Mrs. Barrett. You make it sound as if... Denise, please All right, Denise Did it ever occur to you that the... Well, the things Pamela sees in you are obvious to other women, too I...I never thought much about it, Mrs. Barrett Denise You know, Pamela's such a child Naive and all But you and I, Richard We're the same kind I knew it from the first time I saw you Remember, Richard? Pamela's first concert, the afternoon you brought her the first rose I remember You seemed a little surprised when we were introduced Yes, I suppose I was I didn't expect Pamela's stepmother to be so... So what, Richard? Well, young and so attractive How nice of you to say that, darling You really think we're attractive? Yes, very My, we are getting along well, aren't we, Richard? I think we should get to know more of one another, don't you? Uh-huh Well, there's no time like the present, is there? Whatever you say, Denise Once Once He's falling into the trap, isn't he, Denise? Soon you'll be able to twist him around your little finger Yes, you're confident that when you're through with Richard he'll have forgotten that Pamela ever existed You sit there at the edge of the pool with Richard for over an hour Then when he's gone, you hurry to the telephone and call Marty So you charmed the boy, huh? What did you tell him? It isn't what I told him, it's what I left unsaid, Marty, that's what counts I'm certain he thinks I'm quite mad about him And he's very interested He'd say he'd keep the little rendezvous? Of course not, and I didn't ask him to I merely mentioned that I'd be dining alone tomorrow night at that quaint little café overlooking the sea How I loved it there, the soft music, the candlelight Yeah, yeah, I think he'll show up How could he turn it down? Oh, well, honey Don't worry, Marty, after tomorrow night all our worries will be over Promptly at seven the following night you enter Chavini's That quaint little café at Santa Monica The head waiter steers you to a secluded table near the large window overlooking the sea And there in the candlelight you sip a martini and wait for Richard to show up Suddenly you're aware of someone standing by your elbow Good evening, Mrs. Barrett Yes? Allow me, I am René Dement, may I sit down? Just a moment, I don't think... I am from the Hollywood Escort Bureau Escort Bureau? Yes, Mr. Richard Matthews hired me, he said Mrs. Barrett hated to dine alone Get out of my way, you... What are you on now, Lord Mrs. Barrett, how about my fee? Collect your fee from the man who hired you, he'll pay Yes, he'll pay all right So he sent you the two-bit Romeo, a guy from an escort bureau Yes, all those dirty shabby tricks Well, it's no worse than when you tried to pull on Pamela, baby You must be losing your technique You won't think it's so funny when I tell you that last night she informed me they're planning to get married right after the concert What? I said they were planning, Marty, but the wedding will never take place How are you going to stop it, poison in cornflakes? Don't be a fool, I... Poison? Yes, poison That's it, Marty What are you going to do? My late husband's curio collection, the poisons he picked up in South Africa and South America Some of them are fatal in almost a matter of minutes, Marty I thought you'd gotten rid of that stuff Pamela wouldn't let me, Pamela wouldn't let me get rid of a thing But how very thoughtful of her, how very thoughtful Just a scratch from any one of those poisons, Marty And it's all over for little Pamela You're all right, but how are you going to do it? I don't know, Marty, but I'll think of something I'll think of something Yes, and it's on your mind all that night, isn't it, Denise? You've got to find a way to kill Pamela With one of the poisons from her father's collection And somehow Richard must be blamed Just how you're going to do that isn't clear, not yet Not until the following afternoon when suddenly, quite by accident You stumble on the answer You're sitting in the library when your maid walks into the room Well, Alma Yes, ma'am Where are you going with those flowers? Well, Miss Pamela asked me to put them in here The gardener picked them this morning Aren't the roses beautiful? Yes, they are They're quite beautiful Put them in that vase over there Remember, I have something very important to do It's all very simple, Marty We poisoned Pamela with a rose A rose from her darling Richard I don't follow you, Denise Richard always sends her a rose when she appears on the stage It's become a superstition with them She wouldn't appear without it All right, so? I'll arrange to be at the door when the florists deliver it They always wrap the stem of the rose with a very thin wire I'll put several sharp wires on it, Marty One of them right up through the rose All of them, especially treated One of those wires will be sure to scratch Pamela Uh-huh Yeah, but suppose that she... I'll pin the rose on her Arrange it so that you'll be certain to scratch yourself Oh, that'll never work The police will be sure to find out They'll make it all the better if they do Richard sent her the rose Not me He always does Yeah, but the motive Why should he want her out of the way? Because he was madly in love with me And he wanted the Barrett fortune, too You see, he knew that with Pamela out of the way All the money would go to me You know, uh, that might work And with you, the attorney, for the Barrett estate To back up my story, it can't fail to work Oh, sure, sure That'll stand up, baby In another month, Marty, the Barrett fortune will be all mine Hours, baby All right, hours However, I think I should warn you, Marty Oh? Just in case you get ideas about pushing me off a cliff Keeping all the money for yourself Oh, now look, we're getting married Yes, I know, I know But I've taken the necessary precautions just the same, darling I've sent a letter to a friend of mine, a lawyer That letter will be opened in the event of my death What are you driving at? It's all there, in the letter, Marty All the evidence the district attorney will need How you embezzled money from the Barrett estate And the complete story of Thomas' death You see, I'd hate to have an accident happen to me, Marty Fall off a cliff like he did You don't think I'd double-cross you, Denise? I'm crazy about you Yes, of course you are But I just want to make certain you don't have a change of heart You might get to think that a half million dollars Looks better to you than I do See what I mean, darling? And now a suggestion to drivers With cold winter nights and mornings ahead You don't want to be caught with your battery down So now is a good time to stop by a signal service station For a free battery inspection Perhaps your battery needs recharging to assure quick cold weather starting In that case, your signal dealer has safe, speedy recharging equipment to serve you If your cables are corroded, he can replace them with heavy-duty cables And should you need a new battery, there's none finer than Signal's new Deluxe batteries Because their all-rubber separators are an improved microporous type That holds twice as much acid solution between the plates Signal Deluxe batteries deliver up to 35% more power And because they're guaranteed a full 30 months on a service basis You can look forward to reliable, trouble-free service with a Signal Deluxe battery So before you buy any battery Get your signal dealer's generous trade-in offer for your old battery Find out his liberal credit terms Find out why, any way you look at it Today's Best Battery Buy is a Signal Deluxe Battery It was all so simple, wasn't it, Denise? Richard's rose arrived while Pamela was upstairs dressing for the concert It took you only a few moments to turn it into a deadly weapon Then you went to Pamela's room and carefully pinned it on her dress In such a way that she'd be certain to scratch herself Die by the poison you took from your late husband's curio collection You lie down for a while, certain that you'll soon be in full control of the Barrett fortune You're calm and confident when Marty calls for you a few moments after Pamela leaves with Richard And now, as you sit beside him in the concert hall, watching Pamela's performance Your eyes are fastened on the rose she's wearing But as the recital progresses, you become more and more tense The fear that your plan has gone wrong gradually comes over you Something should have happened to Pamela long before they shouldn't, Denise And as her brilliant performance draws to a climax, you exchange worried glances with Marty Baby, what's gone wrong? I don't know, I don't know I was afraid of your idea from the start It'll work, Marty, it's got to Come along, Marty, we'll go backstage to her dressing room This way, Marty, pardon me, please, excuse me, please Thank you, ma'am Come in, ma'am Oh, wasn't this Pamela wonderful tonight? Yes, yes, where is she? Oh, she didn't come back to her dressing room, ma'am She ran right off the stage and left with Mr. Richard What? Yes, ma'am, she gave me this note for you What is it, Denise? My dear Denise, sorry to rush off like this But Richard and I are driving to Las Vegas to be married I know you don't approve, but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us Love family Married? Miss Pamela getting married? Oh, how wonderful Oh, no wonder the poor child was so excited before she left for the concert Marty, I don't feel well I feel a little pale myself Oh, yes, ma'am, Miss Pamela was so nervous she couldn't pin Mr. Richard's rose on her dress I had to do it for her What? Miss Pamela was so excited You pinned Mr. Richard's rose on her? Yes, ma'am But you couldn't have I did it for her I took it at the door when it came and pinned it on her in her room That's right, but I'm talking about the artificial rose Mr. Richard brought her later when he came to pick up Miss Pamela Artificial rose? Why did he do that? Well, Mr. Richard said that at the last minute he remembered roses made Miss Pamela sneeze this time of year He brought her an artificial rose Alma, what did you do with the other rose? Well, Miss Pamela thought it was too pretty to throw away, ma'am So she put it in your corsage when the florist brought it just before she left for the concert with Mr. Richard My corsage? Yes, ma'am, the one you're wearing Denise, your arm's bleeding Oh, my, you must have scratched yourself Scratched myself? Yes, I have When did you do that? I don't know, it must have been... Marty, I feel... Well, what's the matter, man? Is something wrong? Marty... The poison... Call a doctor You know how quick... Don't help her, Mr. Marty, she's... Denise... Denise! Let that whistle be your signal for the signal oil program The Whistler each Sunday night at the same time Brought to you by the Signal Oil Company Marketers of signal gasoline and motor oil And fine quality automotive accessories Remember, if you would like the fun of having your friends hear a limerick of yours on The Whistler The address to which to send it is Signal Oil Company, Los Angeles, 55, California All limericks become the property of Signal Oil Company Those selected for use on The Whistler will be chosen by our advertising representatives On the basis of humor, suitability, and originality So, of course, they must be your own composition Featured in tonight's story were Mary Lansing and Frank Lovejoy The Whistler was produced and directed by George W. Allen With story by Nancy Cleveland, music by Wilbur Hatch And was transmitted to our troops overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Service The Whistler is entirely fictional and all characters portrayed on The Whistler are also fictional Any similarity of names or resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental Remember, at the same time next Sunday, another strange tale by The Whistler S-I-G-M-A-L, signal, signal gasoline Men between the ages of 17 and 34 can earn extra money and qualify for retirement pay By taking part-time military training at home For full information, see local headquarters of your National Guard Marvin Miller speaking, this is CBS for Columbia Broadcasting System
