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, A Trip to Aunt Sarah's. Carl Halliday was a desperate man. All the while he was driving from Summit to the northwest town of Kinsley. He was haunted by the nagging realization that if old Jace Melton, an associate of Carl's late uncle, refused to help him, the Halliday lumber mills would be no more. And seated beside him, a constant reminder of the impending defeat, was his partner Max Fenner, whom Carl had inherited, along with half interest in the mills from his uncle. Between the two of them, they'd managed to bring the lumber mills to the brink of oblivion, and only Jace Melton's assistance could save it now. Max remained in the car outside, while Carl Halliday pleaded his case with the elderly gentleman, whom Carl believed could save the mills with a single word. You're being unreasonable, completely unreasonable. I think the same of you. You suggest that I sell a valuable piece of land in Mexico to save a lumber mill, which your operations have brought to the brink of ruin. The land in Mexico was half mine, Jace, remember that. My inheritance, yes. You're in a poor position to judge its true worth. But you can. And do. For your welfare and my own. It'll be worth twice what we're being offered in one year, or my name isn't Jace Melton. A year, a year will be too late. To save your lumber mill? Yes, I suppose. But I've tried to help you before. Offered advice that could have saved the mill. But you'd never listen to me. You've always thought you had all the answers. Your free advice isn't what I need. It's too late for advice now anyway. If you hadn't been so cocky, you wouldn't be in this shape now. You want me to lose the mill, don't you? Why should I want you to lose it? To prove a point that you're always right. I've never said that. I did say you and that partner of yours, Max Fenner, didn't stand a chance of making the mill pay. So now, now, it's all about to be borne out. Every prediction you've ever made. I don't give it that much thought. Oh, yes you do. Yes you do. When I go, you'll sit here by this fire and chuckle. You want people to fail so you can laugh. Get out of here. Oh, no, no, not yet. Not till this is settled. What are you doing? Just turning on the radio, that's all. The radio? I don't understand. You will, Jace, you will. We'll play it loud, huh? Real loud. No, no, no. Stay away from me. Carl! What are you doing? Killed him. You killed him. Carl, you don't, didn't have to do that. Oh, shut up, Max, shut up and think. He almost got me. Tore the devil out of my arm with a letter opener before I put him away. I'm sorry you're hurt, Carl, but murder, how do you expect... I said shut up! But, Jace, out of the picture, I can raise money on the land in Mexico and save the mill. But if someone saw us... Nobody saw us. No one even knows we drove down here tonight. But if they did, if they ever found out... They don't and they won't. That's all that's important now, Max. That and the simple fact that the money I raise from that land will keep us in business. Yes, yes, it will do that. Don't drive too fast, Carl. We must get back to Summit without being seen. Don't stop or anything. Oh, you worry too much, Max. You're not nearly as calm as you would have Max Fenner believe, are you, Carl? No. Because you know your little partner well. He'll take whatever strength he can from you. So you must remain very strong, at least seemingly. There's much on your mind, much ahead of you to face. You dismiss the deep jagged cut on your arm from Jace Melton's letter over there. No one need know about that. You're far more concerned with the questioning you'll get in the matter of Jace's death. So many people can testify to the many differences you've had between you. That's why you're not at all surprised the next morning when Sheriff Avery pays a visit to your office. And is ushered in by your secretary. Sheriff Avery? Of course, Jenny, of course you're a man. Sheriff. Good morning, Carl. Good morning to you, Sheriff. I'm surprised to see you way out here. Uh-huh. Carl, I suppose you've heard about the murder over in Kinsley. Murder in Kinsley? When? Who? Jace Melton happened last night. He was alone in the house. You mean someone broke in? It was a robbery? Well, I don't know what theory is there advancing over in Kinsley. Me, I've got my own ideas. Jace was a friend of yours, wasn't he? He was a friend of my uncle's. He and I were associated only through business, Sheriff, and very little of that. We own some property together, otherwise I'd never trouble to see him. I suppose you've seen him since the two of you quarreled a week ago. What? I know. Jenny, have I been to Kinsley since last week? No, not since a week ago Thursday. Just for the record, Carl, where were you last night? I was here in my office working. And just for the record, Sheriff, I don't like your insinuations. I'm not insinuating anything. I'm merely asking questions. It's my job. But surely you can't suspect Mr. Halliday of a crime like this. Never mind, Jenny. Never mind. Do you realize, Carl, that under the circumstances, the quarreling and all, that if you had gone down there last night... I realize that, Sheriff, but I was here working. Can you prove that, Carl, if you have to? Well, no. But could you prove I wasn't? Or show anything to indicate that I could have been anywhere near Melton's place at the time of his death? No, I guess not. Oh, by the way, Carl, you haven't asked. But Jace Melton was killed with a fireplace poker. And it looks like he defended himself with a letter opener. The murderer is probably carrying a nasty cut on him somewhere. Well, thanks for talking to me. Talk to you anytime, Sheriff. I'll be running along. Oh, never mind, Miss. I can find my way out. As you wish. Well, you were more annoyed than I was, Jenny. You showed real faith in me. And thanks for remembering the exact day I went down there. I'm paid to remember, Mr. Halliday. I suppose. But I look at it differently, Jenny. And I appreciate it. I'm glad. Particularly that you look at it differently. She says it oddly, doesn't she, Carl? And you reflect that you've often thought she was an odd girl. But you give Jenny a little more thought in the days that follow. Because the murder in Kinsley gets little space in the newspapers in Summit. Your name isn't even mentioned. And you feel for certain that you and Max Fenner are in the clear. You are able to persuade the bank to advance you some money. That you'll have no trouble getting the money you need. That you'll have no trouble clearing the title to the land once Jace Melton's will is probed. Even the deep cut on your arm seems to be less painful. And then with all going quite nicely, you receive a surprise. In a conversation with Jenny one afternoon in your office. Oh, yes, Mr. Halliday. I mentioned to you before that my sister teaches school. Well, I don't recall. But Jenny, I still don't see why... Why I brought it up? Well, you see, my sister visited me the other evening and I... I'm sure my sister corrects some school papers. She teaches the fifth grade, you know. Uh-huh. Well, anyway, in helping her, I ran across very interesting composition by a boy named Willie Sykes. It was called A Trip to Aunt Sarah. Is that so? Uh-huh. It seems that last week Willie Sykes took the train up to the big city all by himself. He was so excited by it all that he sat up half the night on the observation platform. Jenny, I don't want to seem rude. Look, we have to do. I'm hardly interested in the composition of a ten-year-old... But you haven't heard what he wrote. You see, the train on the way to the city, it stopped at Kinsley. So? So the train blocked the main street crossing and from the observation platform, Willie Sykes saw a man get out of his car, stopped at the crossing and wipe off his windshield. He recognized the man as his father's boss. His father's boss? Willie's father works here at the lumber mill. Willie saw you get out of that car and he says there was another man inside the car. He took that trip the night Jason Alton was killed. Where is this composition, Jenny? Where is it? I want to see it. Has anyone else seen what the boy wrote? No, no, Mr. Halliday. Uh, Carl. I'm the only one who's seen it and, uh, I put it away in a very safe place. You can't see it. You can't see the wear that's taking place inside your car's engine, but you can see smoke in the exhaust, which means engine wear is causing your car to consume more and more oil until eventually it becomes an oil eater. You can't feel it. You can't feel the wear that's taking place inside your engine, but you can feel your car losing pep and power, and your wallet can feel the drain of repair bills caused by engine wear. But once you can see and feel this damage, the damage has already been done. The time to prevent engine wear in your car is before it happens, and the way to prevent it is with Signal Premium, the amazing new motor oil that reduces engine wear due to lubrication, 50%. So if your car isn't already an oil eater and you'd like to continue to enjoy low oil consumption twice as long, the time to start getting your oil changed at a Signal service station is now. And if you want your car to keep its like-new pep and power twice as long, the kind of oil to change to is Signal Premium, the new heavy-duty type Signal oil that reduces engine wear due to lubrication, 50%. Music It's a terrible moment, isn't it, Carl, with Jenny, your secretary, describing a composition she corrected for her sister who teaches school. A composition by a ten-year-old boy describing a trip to Aunt Sarah's. But a composition also proving that you and Max Fenner were in Kinsley on the night Jace Melton was murdered. It's all the sheriff would need to have a strong case against you, especially since you lied to him about being there. And you listen in shocked terror as Jenny continues. And? Well, that's all, Mr. Halliday. Carl. Naturally, I kept my sister from seeing the composition. She marked it an A on my recommendation. But what happened to it? I kept it. Oh, I see. Well, go on, Jenny. Calby, what do you want for that composition? How much? Nothing. Nothing? Really? Well, I... I was hoping you'd bring us a little closer together. You see, I've... I've always admired you, Mr. Halliday. Well, I've always admired you, Jenny. You know, you are quite pretty. Quite pretty. Then we shouldn't have any trouble. None at all. No. None, Jenny. None whatsoever. Come here. And so in the days that follow, you turn on the charm, don't you, Carl? Evidence a great deal of interest in Jenny. Anything to keep her quiet for the time being. Until you can think of some way to silence her forever. In the meantime, you make plans for Willie's father, don't you? Yes. And one morning he's ushered into your office. You sent for me, Mr. Halliday? Yes, yes, Sykes. Sit down. Good morning, Mr. Halliday. Good morning. Good morning. Sykes, you're familiar with the mill up at Pineview? Oh, sure. Worked there a couple of years before I come here. How'd you like to go back? Go back to Pineview? Well, it's nice up there. As foreman. Foreman? Me? Surprised, Sykes? Well, I sure am, Mr. Funner. I don't know what to say. Of course it'll mean moving your family out of Summit, leaving a lot of friends here. Oh, don't worry about that none, Mr. Halliday. I won't mind at all. Good, good. You'll start drawing a foreman's pay the minute you reach Pineview. Thanks a lot, Mr. Halliday, Mr. Funner. You're a good man, Sykes. Deserve the chance. I'll go home. Tell Willie right now. Thanks again. Jack! Well, that's that. I'm sure I'll feel a lot better when that Sykes kid gets out of town. Satisfied with everything now, are you, Max? Sure, aren't you? No. Now I still have Jenny, remember? Yes, I do. Well, she's beginning to annoy me. I warn you, Max, I may do something about her, too. And I may do it soon. Warning! It's while you're returning from an inspection tour of the mills a week later that you decide to stop at Halliday Lodge, high in the timber country above Summit. Once used as a weekend retreat by your late uncle, the place has been closed now for a number of years. You dread the thought of returning to town and Jenny so soon, don't you, Carl? Decide you need more time alone to think things out. You park your car in the middle of the road, and as you start down the long flight of stone stairs, your foot suddenly gives way. The guardrail was the only thing that saved you from falling, Carl. Yes, saved you from hurtling down the stairway. You kneel down, examine the steps. The stone slab is loose, isn't it, Carl? It made you lose your balance. All those stairs are... I would have been killed. I would have been killed. The idea hits you suddenly, doesn't it, Carl? You get to work, scoop more dirt out from under the stone slab, prop it in place with a few twigs. Then you loosen the guardrail, and the stage is set for murder. You hurry back into town, and that evening proceed to Jenny's apartment. Oh, Carl. Hello, Jenny. I wasn't sure if you'd be back from the trip in time for our date. I hurried back especially for you. Well, I'm all ready. I'll just get my hat and coat. The moment she steps out of the room, you decide to try an old trick. You pull the window shade down to within an inch of the bottom of the window. Then you slip the catch on the lock of the apartment door. You hope it will work with Jenny and lead you to the evidence she holds against you. Mr. Goldencall from Seattle bought that shipment last week, and... Oh, there were several letters... Please, Jenny, we'll save all... Come here. Oh, Carl. Well, we'll enjoy ourselves. All right. Shall we go? What are you thinking about, Jenny? You haven't said a word in the last ten minutes. What? Oh, I'm sorry, Carl. I'm just thinking. Do you have fun tonight? Oh, you know I do. Oh, Carl. God, I've met so many wonderful, exciting people since... And there are a lot more I want you to meet, Jenny. New and interesting places to visit, too. Well, here we are. Oh, home already? Mm-hmm. You're sorry the evening's over. Oh, of course I am. But I'm a working girl, and it's after one in the morning. Oh, gotta get my sleep, you know. Oh, don't bother getting up, Carl. Good night, Jenny. Good night, Carl. See you in the morning. Sweet dreams. You drive away. Park your car out of sight around the corner. And hurry back to the window of Jenny's ground floor apartment. Crouched low, you can see her standing in the middle of the living room, a puzzled expression on her face. Your trick is working, isn't it? She's noticed the door was unlocked. Now she'll suspect that someone was in her apartment while she was gone. And she'll go right for Willie Sykes' composition to see if it's safe. She turns toward the window where you've drawn the shade, and then hurries to the chest of drawers at the far end of the room. She opens the middle drawer, sips through a number of items, and finally, with a sigh of relief, she withdraws the paper. Willie's composition, Carl. Thanks, sweetheart. All I wanted to know was where you kept that composition. Morning, Jenny. Morning, Carl. Now, don't fall me out. I know I'm late. Oh, it's a fine time to show up at the office, huh? I'll let you in on something. I was late myself. Oh, by the way, Jenny, I meant to tell you something last night. Oh? Yes, call up the mill foreman at Shelton Pinedew in Hareston, will you? Tell him there's going to be a meeting tonight at 8 o'clock at Halliday Lodge. That's a good idea. And, uh, Jenny, I think you'd better run on up ahead of the rest of us. The place has been closed for some time, you know, and probably needs some straightening out. And you'd know about that, honey. We'll do. You sure you don't mind? I don't mind at all. It's late that afternoon when Jenny leaves the office. You stand by the window and wait. Presently, you see her drive back from her apartment, past the office, and head into the town. She's on her way to the lodge, isn't she, Carl? You're certain of that. Certain, too, that within two hours, by 7 o'clock, she'll be dead, lying in a crumbled heap at the foot of the stairs outside Halliday Lodge. You stroll out of the office, down into the town, waste almost two hours chatting with some old friends. Then, a few minutes before 7, you're at Jenny's apartment house, ringing the manager's bell. Well, good evening, Mr. Halliday. Good evening, Mr. Gross. Say, I wonder if you'd do me a favor. I received a phone call from Jenny a little while ago. She's on her way to Halliday Lodge, and she left some important business papers in her apartment. Oh, want the passkey? Sure. Here you are. Thanks. I'll bring them right back. No hurry. Just drop the keys here in front of my door on your way out. Fine, fine. Once inside Jenny's apartment, you rush to the chest of drawers, open the middle one where you saw Jenny put Willie Sykes' composition. You search through it frantically. It's not here. A wave of panic sweeps over you, Carl. As the sudden thought strikes you, Jenny could have taken the composition with her. Yes. And when her body is found, the Willie Sykes' composition will be found too. Still, there's a slim chance she's hidden it somewhere else in the apartment, isn't there, Carl? And you begin the search. It's no use, is it, Carl? You've wasted over half an hour searching the apartment. The papers aren't here. You hurry out of the apartment, and as you reach the sidewalk, a car pulls up to the curb. Carl! Jenny! I thought you'd be on your way to the lodge. Jenny, what are you doing here? I might ask you the same thing. Well, I... That's why you sent me off to the lodge so early. You wanted to search my apartment. Oh, no, no, Jenny. You... Get in the car. I want to talk to you. Now, look, Jenny, if you'll just let me explain, you've got this all wrong. Yes, I know. I've had it all wrong right from the beginning. What...what do you mean? About us, Carl, no good. Won't work. I guess I was a fool to think I could force you into falling in love with me. Jenny, what...what are you trying to... I'm through, Carl. Washed up. Finished with the whole business. I, uh, just got back from shopping. I also bought myself a train ticket. I'm leaving Summit for good. What? That's right. I won't bother you any more, Carl. I'll see that you get Willie Sykes' compensation. And burn it. Do whatever you want with it. Jenny... I don't know quite what to say. You don't have to say anything. It's all over. It's forgotten. Well, how does it feel, Carl, to be off the hook? It feels fine, Jenny. Just fine. You can't see it. No, unfortunately, you can't see inside your motor. Can't see how some motor oils break down and form harmful gum, varnish and carbon, clogging up oil rings and causing hydraulic valve lifters to stick. But because new Signal Premium motor oil controls and reduces these harmful engine deposits, you can be sure your oil rings are being kept clean and free, sure that your hydraulic valve lifters won't stick. You can't feel it. You can't feel it when acid corrosion and rust attack expensive parts inside an engine. But because new Signal Premium motor oil stops acid corrosion and rust, you can feel sure this unseen villain isn't damaging your motor. And you can feel doubly fortunate that at Signal Service Stations, the extra protection of this superior quality heavy-duty type oil is yours at no increase in price. So see your signal dealer. For an oil change now, you'll both see and feel a wonderful difference in the way your car's performance stays up and maintenance costs stay down. With Signal Premium, the amazing new motor oil that reduces engine wear due to lubrication, 50%. It was a shock, wasn't it, Carl, meeting Jenny in front of her apartment, when all the while you thought she was dead, lying in a crumbled heap at the foot of the stairs outside Halliday Lodge, killed by the trap you had set. Yes, and the paper you thought she carried with her, Willie Sykes' composition. It would have been found on the body, turned over to the sheriff. That's all he would have needed, Carl. But everything's all right now, isn't it? Jenny didn't go to the lodge after all. Now as you sit with her in the parked car in front of her apartment building, she's informed you of her decision to leave Summit for good, step out of your life forever, and you're certain you're completely in the clear. Well, Carl, I guess we can say goodbye now. Uh, Jenny, the composition you said there... Oh, yes, yes. You'll get it, Carl. I gave it to Max. Max? Yes, after I bought my train ticket, I went back to the office looking for you. I wanted to give you the composition then, but you weren't there, so I gave it to Max. I... I see. He stuffed it into his pocket and headed up to the lodge. What? What? Max is on his way to the lodge? Yes. I told him about the meeting. You rushed right up there to find you. That was about two hours ago. Oh, no! No, no! They'll find him! They'll find him in the composition! Carl, where are you going? I can still get away. They couldn't have found Max yet. All right, hold it, Mr. Halliday. What? Sheriff? I'd like a word with you, Halliday. Now let head for it. Why? Why, what's wrong? I just drove back from Halliday Lodge. One of your middle foremen, named Sykes, found Max Fenner at the foot of the stairway. Dead. He called me right away. Sykes? Yeah. Seems he got to the lodge early. Thought it would make a good impression. New job and all. Anyway, he found Max Fenner's body and I found this on Max. Oh. Yeah. The composition by little Willie Sykes called A Trip to Aunt Sarah's. Oh, no. Looks like you were in Kinsley the night Jace Melton was murdered, Carl. Now, if we can just find a cut on you made by Jace's ladder opener, you're as good as in the gas chamber right now. Music Let that whistle be your signal for the signal oil program, The Whistler, each Sunday night at the same time. And this week, if you want to do your car and your budget a favor, get your car's oil changed to Signal Premium, the amazing new heavy-duty type oil that reduces engine wear due to lubrication 50%. Get it changed at a Signal service station by the same friendly independent dealers who help you go farther with Signal gasoline. Music Featured in tonight's story were Bill Foreman, Wally Mayer, Gigi Pearson, Bill Boucher, Charles Calvert, and Charles Seale. The Whistler was produced and directed by George W. Allen with story by Steve Hampton, 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 to tune in at the same time next Sunday when The Whistler will bring you the strange story of a fortune in diamonds that turns into murder right before a man's eyes. Marvin Miller speaking for the Signal Oil Company. Stay tuned now for our Miss Brooks starring Eve Arden, which follows immediately over most of these stations. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System. Music
