And now, stay tuned for the program that has 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. Signal, the famous go-farther gasoline, invites you to sit back and enjoy another strange story by 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 for The Signal Oil Company, The Whistler's strange story, The Golden Penny. The tall, lean young man throwed up the gravel path with an easy gait, and now standing on the crest of the hill, he had reached his goal, the Tremont mansion. After five years of searching, he was certain the Tremonts, Rodney Tremont in particular, were exactly suited to his niche. He stepped up to the flagstone entrance, walked to the door, and pushed the button. Yes, sir? I'm Bertram Lowen. Mr. Tremont is expecting me. Oh, yes, come in, sir. This way, he's in the library. Thank you. Mr. Tremont, Mr. Lowen, sir. Oh, yes, Lowen, come in, come in. It'll be all for now, sir. Very well, sir. Well, put down, Lowen. Now then, we'll get to you in a moment, but first, what do you know about me? Your name is Rodney Tremont. You apparently have a lot of money. You have a 65-foot yacht named the Golden Penny, and you want someone to run it for you. Tell me, Lowen, are you always this direct? Always. That's good. Good. All right, now let me fill in some of the things you don't know about me. The columnists like to refer to me as a playboy, a fortune hunter who found one and married it. I don't believe half that I see or anything that I hear. Oh, the columnists have me pegged just about right, but they only suggest that I'm a heel. By some standards, of course, I am. Are you a heel, too, Lowen? By some standards. Now, I guess we've reached one point of understanding. Your letter says your experience to navigation. Know all about diesel engines. Well, that gives you an edge on me. I don't know the first thing about engines, and I don't want to learn. Being skipper of the Golden Penny will be your job. Do I have the job? Let's see here. Where did I put your letter? Oh, here it is. Diesel engineer, navigator, single, 35, played golf in the 70s, ex-football star, big game hunter and guide, expert on skis. You do just about everything, poker, bridge, rummy, checkers. Everything except the one thing that's most important, Lowen. You mean chess, of course. I do. Well, I didn't mention chess because, you see, I'm almost unbeatable at poker, bridge, rummy, and checkers. And at chess? I am unbeatable. I'll consider that a challenge, Lowen, and I'll accept it right now. Come on over. Rodney, I want to drive you... Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I didn't know you had a game. It's all right, Pat. This is Mr. Lowen. I spoke to you about him. Oh, yes. How do you do, Mr. Lowen? Mrs. Tremont. My goodness, Mr. Lowen. I read your qualifications, but you sound just like Richard Halliburton, only more so. Have you written any books? No, I'm sorry. I haven't. I really can't abide yaks, Mr. Lowen. Deep sea fishing bores me to death, and I loathe chess. Honestly, sometimes I'm hard put to understand just why Rodney did marry me. I've told you, Pat. It was your money. Of course. I remember now. Don't take her seriously, Lowen. What she isn't telling you is that she's already hired a companion. Oh, well, now, dear, it's quite another story. Dear, he's my secretary as well, Mr. Lowen, and I do need one. I'm not the well-organized type at all. Besides, Rodney, I've never seen you leave the room when she comes in. But forgive us, we're not quarreling, really. This is just our unique way of blending. I'm sure it is. Do hire this man, Rodney. I like him. See you later. Thank you, Mrs. Treemont. See you at dinner, Pat. Well, now that the hurricane has blown itself out, the chess table's all set up. I make my best decisions on the outcome of a chess game. I give you a sporting chance. If you beat me, you're hired. He's a strange man, Rodney Treemont, isn't he, Bert? Not quite what you'd expect. You're certain he's just what he said, a fortune hunter who found one and married it. He interests you because, in a way, you're very much alike. Except Rodney's ten years older. You wonder if he's ten years wiser. His chess is far better than you thought it would be. But finally, after an hour or so, you make one last conclusive move. Checkmate. Brilliant, Loan. Brilliant. Beautiful game. I'm glad you like it. You're going to find yourself a job, you know. Think you can stand it here? I think I can. And the day I can't, I'll just steal your yacht and silently sail away. I'll bet your word is that. Excuse me, Mr. Treemont. Oh, excuse me. But Mrs. Treemont says dinner will be ready in half an hour. We finished our game just in time, Loan. Delia, this is Bertram Loan. Is it Ramsey? Mrs. Treemont's secretary extraordinary. Ramsey? Dear good girl, dear, and show Bert to his quarters, will you? I've a call to make before dinner. Of course. I'll be right there. Welcome, stranger. Did you get the job? I did. You've cased the deal very well up here. I'm proud of you. Don't underestimate him. He's smart. Treemont? I know. You're sure he's got a hundred grand of his own? She gave it to him as a wedding present. She's very proud of herself for it. Told me all about it. As he mentioned it. Told me all about it, too. He's very proud of himself. Good. We won't talk any more now. Better show me to my quarters, hmm? We'll talk later. You are proud of Delia, aren't you, Bert? She's done a good job of advance work on the Treemonts. You've got to move slowly now, cautiously. And the first few weeks go along quickly and pleasantly. After a while, you begin to wonder when Delia's going to make her next move. And then one night late, after Mrs. Treemont has retired, you walk onto the terrace for one last cigarette before turning in. What? Excuse me. It's all right, Dean. It's only Bert. Sorry. Didn't expect to see you. Obviously, we didn't expect to see you. If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go in now. I do believe you've unsettled Delia, Bert. Looks like it. Anyway, now you know. Look, I told you when I first came, I believe only half I see, nothing I hear. I'm counting on that. Might be wise for you and Delia to show an interest in one another. I throw Mrs. Treemont off the track. Think she suspects? Just a precaution until I decide what to do. You start seeing Delia right away. You wonder what the two of them are up to, Delia in particular. Wonder whether she's with you or against you. It could be a perfect setup for murder, Bert. Or with Mrs. Treemont out of the way, Delia and Rodney would have millions instead of thousands. You decide to have a showdown with Delia. And the next day, you get your chance. The two of you are alone in the library. I'm sorry about last night, Bert. Just a weak moment, I guess. Nothing more. What's it like kissing four million dollars? Any better than this? Nothing's better than that. Okay. Look, what's the deal between you and Treemont? I told you not to work too fast or go too far. And I told you it was just a weak moment. That's all. How would he look to you with Mrs. Treemont suddenly out of the way? You want him? And four million bucks? I don't want him in ten million. I'm just following orders. Remember, Chief? I was supposed to interest him, wasn't I? Look, Treemont isn't the kind of a dope who goes into a huddle with himself and cooks up a murder. Not even for millions. Oh, Bert, for heaven's sake, who said anything about- Murder? I did. Now, don't get me wrong, kid. But strange mushrooms have been known to sprout in dark little cellars like you. Poison ones taken separately, you and Treemont are harmless. But together and out of control, you're a bad combination. I know all about dark cellars. I'm sure you do. All right, then believe me when I tell you he can't get the four million. But if we work it my way, we can get the golden penny and his hundred grand. That's what I want. What do you want, do you? You think we can swing it your way? With you as bait? Yes. But get this, murder is out. It's sloppy, tedious. My plans keep everything clean. I'll play it smooth. And remember, the heavy emotion is out, too. I know how well you can play the role of a temptress. Just don't overdo it. That's better, Bert. For a while there, I thought you'd forgotten. Varnish is fine stuff in its place, that is, as a finish for woodwork. But when varnish accumulates on parts inside your car's motor, it can do real harm, cause your car to lose pep and power and eat up oil and gasoline. But that's exactly what happens when ordinary motor oils break down under heat. That's why Signal Oil Company brought out Signal Premium Compounded Motor Oil, an extra duty lubricant scientifically engineered to do two important jobs which ordinary oils can't do. One, to keep from breaking down and forming varnish even under extreme heat. And secondly, to dissolve out any accumulated varnish which other motor oils may already have deposited. By protecting your motor in these two extra ways, Signal Premium Oil keeps that like new power and zing in your car, keeps down gas and oil consumption and repair bills. That's why it's just good business to make your next oil change a change to this extra duty Signal Oil that does so much more than just lubricate. Change to Signal Premium Motor Oil at a signal service station. Everything seems calm again, doesn't it Bert, after you set Delia straight. And once more you feel certain that before too long you'll make the golden penny in Rodney Tremont's $100,000 all your own. You've carefully schooled Delia on how to handle Rodney in front of Mrs. Tremont and he's responded just as you felt he would. With Delia cooling, Rodney can't hide his feelings about her. And Mrs. Tremont is upset. All this according to your plan. One afternoon you decide it's time to let Mrs. Tremont confide in you, as she so obviously wants to do. She asks you to join her in the Rose Garden. I don't really like the way I'm handling this Mr. Lone, after all you are Rodney's friend and confident and he's so proud of you, especially your chess game. Does he ever beat you? I let him win every fourth game to keep it interesting. Oh my, it's so good to laugh. It's just a tonic to have you around Mr. Lone. Just a tonic. What can I say? Well you could say that I'm just a fool Mr. Lone, because that's what I am. Fool in love with a younger man. A wonderful nobody. That is, he used to be wonderful. Now I'm not so sure. I hate to think of leaving him but do you think Rodney is, that he's, and Delia is... Is that what's on your mind Mrs. Tremont? Bless your heart, your husband is as straight as an arrow. He wouldn't consider any other woman, Delia. She's just a kid in his, a child. Believe me Mrs. Tremont, I know Rod and I have discussed women by the hour. No ma'am, you haven't a thing to worry about. Oh Mr. Lone, you've made me very happy. Delia is lovely and such a comfort. I do hope it can stay that way. It can and it will Mrs. Tremont. You know I think I know exactly what the situation needs. Really? What? I'm willing to do anything you know. Well if I could talk Rod into leaving you for just a few weeks, Cruz, Cruz would do wonders for that restless feeling of his. That's all it is you know. You know what they say about absence Mrs. Tremont? Well when he gets back you'll be eating right out of your hand, that's a promise. You know Mr. Lone, I believe you're right. This devotion to diesel is beyond me. What's that thing you're fussing with now? Oh this? It's called the gravity tank. Oh. The fuel goes from here right into the fuel injection system. It does, huh? Well, it's all great to me. You know Bert, there must have been women who would be very jealous of the loving care you give that engine. I know more about diesels than I do about women. Oh with me it's just the reverse. Thanks, Evan. Funny now that I think about it, they have more in common than you'd think. Both of them look simple, act complicated, stand up under heavy pressure, cure the pieces of a little thing. Well, Bert, true of women anyway. Although I can't imagine any little thing that would foul up that monster of an engine. A little thing like, like sugar would do it. Really? Sugar in the gravity tank. So that manual there will tell you that it'd create a mess of diesel x-ray, couldn't fix for hours, days maybe. Believe me, I'll take your word for it. It's enough for me to know that too much sugar and women don't make it. Now can't we give the engine a rest? Just racing it here anchored in my own harbor is too much like treading water when I really want to be in the swam. Oh, brother. Well, it's in good shape if we ever do decide to go anywhere. What was that you were saying last night about some island in the Caribbean? Hmm? Oh, like I said, today's run from Kingston, that's in Jamaica. Perfect for you indeed, tropical fruits, bubbling springs of clear, cool water and fishing. Man, you've never seen anything like it. Small, sheltered harbor, perfect anchorage. How big is it? Hmm, it's about 10 square miles. Is it inhabited? Sure. Monkeys. Smart monkeys though, they live like kings. Days run from Kingston, huh? Shouldn't take too long to get there then. Not too long. But then with me it's just a dream because I haven't got the money, the yacht, nor did you. You've got them all right. Rodney falls for a dozen ebbers, just as Mrs. Tremont did, but for different reasons. You convince them that he has all it takes, the money, the yacht, and Delia. Delia carries out her part perfectly. She's quit and Mrs. Tremont believes she's gone to visit her mother. But you and Rodney know she'll be waiting to board the Golden Penny at your first stop down the coast. It wasn't easy, but you finally manage to convince Rodney that this trip might be just the beginning of a cruise that could take him anywhere. That he'll be so happy with Delia he may never want to return to Mrs. Tremont. In that case, he'll want to take his entire fortune of $100,000 with him. At last, when the money is in the wall safe of the master cabin, you put to sea. You refuel at the port of San Juan and stock the galley to your liking. Because from here on it's your cruise, isn't it, Bert? Delia keeps Rodney sufficiently occupied, going ashore, seeing the sights. And he pays no attention at all to anything you do. You leave San Juan long before dawn. But it's late morning before Rodney appears. And he seems quite excited. Bert, are Thompson and Miller with you? Who? The mechanic and the deckhand. Where are they? I've looked all over for them. I dismissed them in San Juan. I told them I wouldn't need them anymore. Why? I don't want them in my way. I don't want anyone in my way, Rod. Not you, not anyone. You what? Oh. Well, that's it. You dismissed the crew, now you're going to get rid of me, I suppose. Then you'll have the yacht, the money. How stupid can I get? Easy does it, Rod. What's wrong? I've been looking for the deckhand. There's not a sign of the crew anywhere. Rod just mentioned that, too. I told him easy does it. What I'm going to do will be easy. Believe me. Hey, Rod. Put the gun away, Rod. Think a minute. Suppose you kill me. You don't know a thing about engines or about navigation. The ocean current we're in right now will eventually deposit you in the equatorial calms. Death would be slow there. But the galley's loaded. We'd be picked up in time. With a temperature at 120 day and night, you'd be at each other's throats in three days. You devil. You planned this all along. Oh, please, both of me. Oh, and don't forget the sudden squalls in that area. It takes an expert to ride them out, even under power. Sharks in those waters, too. Think of Delia, Rod. Poor girl. Rod, please. I'm frightened. All right. All right. How much do you want, Bert? Take the yacht. No. The yacht and $50,000. Only take Delia and me back to San Juan. Get the gun out of your hand, Rod. Replace it with a straight scotch. You'll need it. Why didn't you take the yacht and the money last night? You had the chance. Delia and I were ashore in San Juan. You know the combination to the safe. I even trusted you that much. You... Oh. It's Delia. It's Delia you want. That's up to Delia. She can come along with me if she wants to. You see, you underestimate me, Rod. Any chess player knows that's bad. The insurance company has blueprints of this yacht. It's custom-made, very distinctive. I'd be picked up at the first court. Then what do you intend to do? You might have known I'd give you a sporting chance. How is your chess game today, Rod? Is that your idea of a sporting chance? That's right. One game, winner take all. The yacht, the contents of the safe, and Delia. Well, I like that. Me part of a chess game. The queen, my dear. But this is no time for chivalry. You could lose, you know, Bert. Oh, I do. You give me fare back to the States. But if I win, you give me a bill of sale to the golden penny and a signed statement that I won the money and a game of skill. A deal? A deal. All the deal I can expect, I guess. All right, Bert, you're on. Good. Take the wheel, Delia. I wouldn't know what to do with it and you know it. Okay. Just cut the engine and heave two. This is it, isn't it, Bert? Everything just the way you planned it. More confident as the two of you set up the chess game right there in the pilot house. Delia, now openly your ally, watches silently as the game progresses. After more than an hour, you have Rod exactly where you want him. It doesn't look too good for me, does it? But I beat you once before when you had me like this, remember? Mm-hmm. It took eight hours and a long walk around the estate between plays to do it. How about giving me 15 minutes and a walk around the deck this time? Sure. Go ahead. 15 minutes it is. If you aren't back and moved in that time, though. Then I'll concede the game is yours. 15 minutes then. I'll be right here waiting for you. Time's up according to my watch. Well? I'm looked, Bert, and I know it. Best man won and all that sort of thing. He is the best man, isn't he, Delia? I think so, Rod. You sure had me fooled. Both of you. Well, hand me that pen and paper from the desk and I'll make this piracy on the high seas legal. This is to certify that I, Rodney Cremont, for value received, do sell to Bertram Lowen my yacht, the golden penny, and all... Decent of you to offer me the shoreboat. And five gallons of gas, don't forget. The only way to get rid of you. All right, in you go. Here, Rod. Thank you. I'll help lower you. Good. You say if I head due south from here, I'll hit San Juan? Can't miss it by more than six inches. Bon voyage. Thanks. Well, goodbye. And no hard feelings, huh? Are you kidding? Of course not. In a recent newspaper article, you may have read about a test conducted by one of the heaviest makes of cars on the market to prove that you get both increased mileage and outstanding performance when a motor runs efficiently. Two stock cars, each weighing more than 4,000 pounds and carrying four passengers, averaged over 20 miles per gallon of gasoline with the most brilliant performing motor this automobile has ever had. Well, friends, isn't this just more proof of what I've been saying all along about today's signal gasoline? Because it's engineered to help your motor run more efficiently, you not only reap the good mileage, which has made signal famous from Canada to Mexico as the go farther gasoline. In addition, you enjoy the quick starting, the proud pickup, and the smooth, quiet power that's possible only with a gasoline that helps your motor deliver its most efficient performance, which explains why more and more drivers who demand more from their automobiles as well as their motoring dollars are switching to signal, the famous go farther gasoline. Well, Bert, it's over. You and Delia stand arm and arm on the deck of the Golden Penny, peering out onto the horizon until the shore boat bearing Rodney Tremont to San Juan becomes a speck in the South Atlantic and then disappears entirely. Everything's gone just as you planned, hasn't it, Bert? The Golden Penny, the contents of the cabin safe and Delia. They're all yours now, just as you knew they would be. Now you're certain the ports of the world are yours too. Enter and leave whenever you like. Oh, goodness, where did that wind come from? Don't know. Uh-oh, look at that sky to the north and east. Oh, it's so black, Bert. The storm all right, a lulu. Now we can ride it out, no use trying to run from it. We'll have to head into it at full power. We'll have to double over the engine room. I'll get it started. Oh, Bert, will it be all right? Sure it will, baby. Only hurry along now. If we don't get to 65 foot or under way before the storm hits full, we're in real trouble. Oh, I'm frightened, Bert, after everything we did to Rodney. Never make it to San Juan at the rate this thing's blowing up. You're better off with me, baby, and Mr. Diesel's pet invention. Ah, here we go now. See, baby? You've got nothing to worry about. Oh, thank heaven. We'll make it now, hit it full power. What? What is it? What's wrong? I don't know. Wait a minute. It doesn't seem to be getting any fuel, funny. Let's take a look at the fuel line. I'll be... That 30th... It's sugar. What? Sugar. Lots of it in the gravity tank. Oh, Bert, look. They're on the floor of that book. There's a note on it. I see. It's a letter. It's a letter. It's a letter. It's a letter. It's a letter. It's a letter. It's a letter. It's a letter. It's a letter. It's a letter. It's a letter. There's a note on it. Thanks for giving me 15 minutes, and that tip about sugar. This was the only move I could think of, and your manual on diesel engines was most helpful. I'm taking the money from the safe too. From what you said about these waters, I don't think you will have much use for money. Goodbye, and no hard feelings, huh? Let that whistle be your signal for the signal oil program the Whistler reached Sunday night at the same time. The signal oil company has asked me to remind you now that school days are here again it's even more important to drive at sensible speeds, be courteous and obey traffic regulations. It may save a life, possibly a child. Featured in tonight's story were Bill Foreman, Lamont Johnson and Barry Kroger. The Whistler was produced by George Allen, directed by Robert Hafter, with story by Jack Conrad, 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. Marvin Miller speaking for the signal oil company. This is CBS for Columbia Broadcasting System.
