 One of Radio's outstanding dramatic half-hours starring Lee Tracy and presented transcribed by your Army and your Air Force. Radio City, New York, here is your star and host on Proudly We Hail, the distinguished Broadway stage, screen and radio star, Lee Tracy. Thank you, Kenneth Banghart, and hello everyone. Welcome again to Proudly We Hail. What's in store for us on Proudly We Hail, Lee? Our play, Ken, is frightening. At the same time inspiring, it might well be a true story. I think our audience will live every moment of it with us. We'll be ready to begin our story after a few words from you, Ken. For many weeks now, I've been telling the young men and young women of America that the United States Army and the United States Air Force needs them more than ever. These are critical days. Be a volunteer. Visit your nearest U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force recruiting station and find out how you can best serve. Make tomorrow's decision today. And now with your star, Lee Tracy, in the role of Jan Steppen, your Army and your Air Force present the Proudly We Hail production of The Young Conqueror. The time of this story might be 3000 B.C., 1080, today, tomorrow, anytime. It concerns a man who refused to be broken when all his country lay under the male heel of tyranny and oppression. This is a man whose spirit and courage and cunning would never let him give up, regardless of the odds. It's a story also of the people who would or would not help him in his hour of need. Most of all, it's a story of the human spirit fighting against forces of darkness. Eh, that filthy hole this cell is. Commendations here, not the best. Bring him out. Bring him out yourself. Why should I go into that foul hole to bring out what's left of a man? Very well. We'll do it together. Would you like me to hold your nose for you? I can hold my own. Eh, sign a light down there. What a pretty sight. He dead? Probably taking a nap. It looks like an animal. What do you think you'd look like after being in there for a month with treatments two or three times a day? Oh, that is the great Steppen. You should have seen him a month ago. Quite a different sight. Well, let's get him out. Vadek doesn't like to be kept waiting. We hate to disturb you, Steppen, but Vadek... Hit him with your gun, but fully stroking me. What were you waiting for today? He nearly broke my neck. Bird, he was chained. He's been here a month. How could he... He stands like steel claws. He's mad. He's a wild animal. Hit him in that chair and get out of here, both of you. But, sir, he's dangerous here, as I say. Yes, sir. You can wait outside the door. I'll call you if I need you. Yes, sir. Young Steppen, if your friends could see you now, those that we haven't caught, can you hear me, young? I can hear you, Vadek. Eh, it's a surprise to look at a sight like you and then hear a human voice come out of it. I'm full of surprises, Vadek. So am I, young. So am I. What you've been through so far is mild, compared to what we shall put you through if you don't tell us who the others are. We're no hurry because we know eventually you'll be glad to tell us. Why put off what's inevitable? Why be stubborn when it can only hurt you? Lost causes are a thing of the past. Should be enough of a realist to understand that? You have all the answers, don't you? All of them and all the cards, too. Understand me, Stefan, I don't dislike you. I admire your spirit. You have courage and intelligence, but there's a blind spot in you and it's led you to this. To be free is to be blind. To be free? What a silly expression. Who is free anywhere? It's blind to think you can be free. I pity you. You pity me. Now that's remarkable. Would you like a mirror to see what you look like? My clothes are in rag. My beard is long and filthy. My body is bruised, my face is a bit battered. I've lived in a foul hole for what seems like a year, and I've been brutally treated. Still, I pity you, Sonic. And you're more of a fool than I thought. Suppose, just for the sake of supposition, that I decided to tell you what you want to know. That I agreed to make a full confession that I sought to destroy your happy utopia. And all the rest. What would you do with me afterwards? That wouldn't be for me to say. However, I might be inclined to recommend leniency. You, of course, have caused us a great deal of trouble. You've been responsible for debts of quite a long list of our people. Still, it's possible, after serving a prison sentence, to send you to school and teach you to think as we do. Then you might be of service to us. How very generous of you. You fat, pompous little puppet. I see you don't wish to cooperate. You wish to be broken. Bit by bit. Tell me, Vada. What do you people do to a man's soul? What do you do to his heart? You can break me and 10 million men, but you can't break the truth. You can't destroy it ever. The truth is in my heart and soul, and you can turn me into a gibbering maniac, but you can never take it from me. Nor from the rest of mankind. I think we've talked long enough. So we have. It's time to act. You're choking me. Please. Please. Yes. Yes. I'm choking. I'm choking the life right out of you. Where's the truth now, Vada? You have a soul? You have a heart? Or did the state take them from you? Die, little puppet. Die knowing you go to nothing. Don't please. I'll help you. I need to hear you. Anything to live for, but you have nothing to live for because you believe in nothing. You are nothing. Nothing. Listen. You have your name on it now, Vada. How long is he going to keep us in there? I don't know. It's been over an hour. I'm getting hungry. What are you men doing here? We were told to wait, sir. Who's in there with him? The prisoner's step-on, sir. For the love of guards. Vada, idiots. Didn't you hear anything? No, sir. We heard nothing. Is he? Look at him. He must have gone out this window. Down the drain pipe. I'll have you both shot for this. A hunted man looking like a hunted man in a fear grip city must take desperate chances. Over his rags he wears a coat stolen from the place he escaped. There is nothing to hide his face and even the darkness cannot do that completely. In one pocket of the coat, his hand clenches the butt of an automatic taken from a dead man named Vadek. It holds eight shots. This man cannot go to his friends for fear of exposing them. He must turn to people who are strangers. He has no way of knowing who will or will not help him and therefore he must depend in part on his luck. There is little time and although he must act fast, he must also act carefully. The faded apartment house on the corner is his choice. There are a few people about. He enters unseen and mounts quickly to the second floor where he stops at the first door to confront him. Please don't be frightened. Don't cry out. I don't wish to harm you and need help. Who are you? What do you want here? I have done nothing. I'm sure you have. My name is Stefan. The police are after me. Soon will be. All I want to do is to borrow a razor and clothes. The police? No, please go away. I want no trouble. I can't help you. Carl, tell your wife to keep still. Now listen to me. I have a gun here. I don't want to use it. If you won't help me, I have to lock you up or tie you up for both. I'll do that anyway so you'll surely not get in trouble. What is this all about, please? Carl, I can tell you later. What about it? Carl, will you help or not? I wouldn't dare help you, Stefan. Stefan, the underground, they say. Still, Myra, I have to think of my wife, my children. But I won't resist you. Take what you want and then tie yourself up. Thank you, Carl. Suppose you show me around. Where are the children? In bed, thank goodness. Myra, get them something to eat. Come along. Is that too tight? No, it's all right. The suit is a good fit. Some day I'll try to repay you. Get away and you'll repay us enough. It helps to know somebody hasn't given in. You haven't given in, Carl. Don't ever believe that you have. There. Now, let's go. Perhaps you'd better gag us. They'd say we could have shouted for help. She's right. All right. God keep you, Stefan. How can a haunted man get out of a city? He cannot use the regular means of transportation. Such avenues are carefully guarded. He cannot stay on the street for already. Streets are being marked off. Everyone has to show his papers. Next, there will be a building-to-building search. A noose has been thrown about the metropolis. It will be quickly and efficiently tightened. Where can a haunted man go? What can he do? He must again look for help from others. Who is there? Please, open up. I've done nothing. Stop aside. Close that door. What is it? Who's here with you? No one. My wife is God's sister. Let me see your papers. They're all in order. I'm a good party member. I've done nothing. Your name is Helm, huh? Well, Helm, have you heard the news? What news? A dangerous enemy of the state has escaped. You don't think that I... He came here. What would you do? Hey, turn him over to you people, of course. Why are you pointing that gun at me? Suppose I wasn't a police at all. Suppose I was the man they were looking for. Oh, I had a feeling. You weren't the police? Well, what do you want with me? My papers will do you no good. No, I can see they won't. Will you help me? Yeah, I might. There must be a reward for your capture. Can you pay me as much as the reward? I can pay you nothing. Yeah, you don't have much to bargain with. Why should I risk everything for nothing? No reason except... No, no, I can't help you. It would be pointless. But I can help myself. Ah, thanks so much. Sleep well. No, no, please go away. We can do nothing for you. Now go. Yes, he was here not two minutes ago. He wanted us to help him. The address is... Halt! Stop! There he goes! After him! Tracey, starring in the role of Jan Steffen in the Proudly We Hail production of The Unconquered will return for the second act in just a moment. But first, I want to say again, as I've said before on these Proudly We Hail programs, that our freedom is challenged and we must be fully united in its defense. Our great strength is the united loyalty of a free people. There are many ways we can all help in one important vital way is to join the military forces. You may have just the qualifications to serve most effectively in the United States Army. Why don't you pay a visit today to your nearest Army and Air Force Recruiting Station where you can sit down and find out exactly where your talents can be best utilized. If you're technically inclined and otherwise qualified, you'll find this a definite place for you and your skills in the United States Army. Radio, radar, auto mechanics, the list is a long one. Go to your nearby Recruiting Station today and get the facts for yourself. You are listening to Proudly We Hail and now with your star, Lee Tracey in the role of Jan Steffen, we present the second act of the Unconquered. One false step, one piece of bad luck in the noose tightens fast. The area in which the hunted man can move is cut sharply. He has reached the point where he must break free soon or he will not break free at all. Yes? May I come in, please? Do you always point a gun at people you wish to call on? Come in. Thank you. You're Jan Steffen, the one they're looking for. That's right. They're all around here now. I know, I've heard of it. Why did you pick a palatial building like this to find help? Desperation, I suppose. I thought perhaps they wouldn't be so inclined to search here. Oh, they'll be here, don't worry. They're very thorough. I know, I worked for them. That startled you? Everyone in this building either works for them or is one of them. You couldn't have picked the worst place to come to. I didn't have much choice. Oh, put away that gun. Listen, Jan Steffen, for the past five years I have lived for something like this, for something to hurt them or to help someone who fights them. Do you know what my job is? I'm private secretary to Marshall Goat. Yes, that's right. I'm a trusted, well-paid, well-thought-out woman who believes deeply and religiously in the obscenities they stand for. So they think. They don't know how I feel in my heart. They don't know that I've stored up two things in me, hatred and information that others can use against them. They killed my father, my brothers, and the man I was going to marry. They destroyed everything I held dear. And now I live for one thing, to pay them back in every way I can. And you said I couldn't have picked a worse place to come to. I meant as far as the building is concerned. What do you want me to do? I can't hide you here. They searched too well. Even a trusted party member's apartment? They don't trust anyone that much. You have a car? Yes, but you couldn't get ten feet in it. You would, though. They'd stop me. They'd look in the back and find you. What kind of a car is it? A roadster. The trunk is too small and they'd open it. Would you say there's enough room between the chassis and the road for a man to fit without dragging? I don't know. I imagine so. But you can't hang on like that. I can if we make a sling. I've done it before. We'll make a kind of hammock out of pieces of rope or sheets or anything that'll hold. I lay face downward and my body extended. Get the idea? Very ingenious. But what if they look under the car? That's the chance you'll have to take. All right. Now where do I drive? Do you know the village of Quinto? Quinto? That's where the mountains begin. Yes, I think so. You're trying to get across the mountain? I was raised in them. I know them well. It's my best chance. What's in Quinto? Friends, perhaps. At least someone. Give me some proper clothes and gear for climbing. Well, how do we better get started? We can take the elevator down to the car. It's in the garage below and there's some clothesline in the kitchen that you can use for your sling. I think God must have guided my steps to you. I hope so, John. Are you all right? Now get a parking lot. Let's go. Your paper. Here you are. I suggest you notice the sign if you're on this one. Uh, Marshal Go. Oh, I'm sorry for this inconvenience, but would you mind getting out? I'd like to search the car. A mealy routine, I assure you. Haven't you caught him yet? No, madam, not yet, but we shall before midnight our wages. Uh, may I have the keys to your trunk? It's open. Oh, thank you. Now would you mind telling me where you're going? Are you leaving the city? Yes, and I've got the fellow you're looking for under the hood of the engine. Madam Joe, it's merely routine, but we must know. All right, I'm going to Kareninen for the weekend. I have a friend there. He's a major. Is that enough? Oh, Wendy, thank you. Uh, now would you mind signing your name here? I think you people waste more time. There. Now may I go? Yes, I think so. Everything seems to be in order. Perhaps I'd better take a look under your car. Why don't you? And after that, why don't you take the roof off or look inside the tires? I think I've been very patient with you. You've held me up and it's late already. Look at all the cars waiting behind me. How are you ever going to catch anyone like this? All right, all right. You may go. Merely routine, madam. To Kareninen you say why. Sign here. Jan, are you all right? How much farther? About 10 kilometers. Are you all right? Yes. Go on. Pull off the road before you get there. Here. Here, drink this. That's better. Where are we? In a field off the road. Pinto is just over the hill. Are you all right? Boiled a little, perhaps. But all right. I can never thank you or repay you for this. Being able to help is payment enough, Jan. You can't stay here, Nahan. I've got to get moving. I'll go on to Kareninen and if they stop me, I'll say I missed a turn in the dark. You know, I don't even know your name. It's Lisa. Lisa. It's a lovely name. It goes with you. When you get across the mountains, what'll you do? I'll write a letter. A letter? To whom? Lisa, there's no time now to talk. There may never be. But don't give up in your heart. Perhaps someday, a man will come to you for the information you can give. You'll never give up, will you, Jan? Never. As long as I live. Now, goodbye. God keep you, Lisa. God keep you, Jan. Don't stand there and tell me you can't find him. He must be found at all costs. But he have gotten out of the city. I don't know how. Our people have been alerted everywhere. Guards on the border have been doubled. We have orders to find him before daylight, and if we don't... He came from the mountains. Isn't it logical he would head for there if he got out of the city? Don't tell me about logic. He was seen. We had him trapped in a small area, and he's not there now. Someone has helped him, and there's no way of knowing who. Well, he can't possibly get away. It's only a matter of time. If we don't find him by daylight, we'll find him by sunset. They can't shoot us for not finding the devil in five minutes. They've gone on down the street. Tell them to hurry. Get ready. All clothes fit well. Keep your voice down. I know what the others to wait. You know how grateful I am, Max. I know the risk you take. One is willing to take risks for a friend. How will you go? Through the gourd over Whiteface Mountain? It's very difficult, especially now. And you're in no condition for climbing. There's no other way. I'll take my time. You knew something was up when we saw the extra guards boot in. They've chosen to be pass. They don't know the gorge as I do. And you won't let us go with you. Thanks, no. You have your family. He's right. Where are they now? They've gone around the corner. You can go out the back way through the barn and up the gully. You have everything? Everything. And good friend, too. It's nothing. When the guards came, we thought it might be you. We hoped it was. You don't know how much your name means to people, John. I think secretly people all over the country are saying a prayer for your safety. Come, it's time. They'll be coming back soon. A hunted man in territory that is familiar, a hunted man in the land of his home has a fair chance to elude the hunters. But an exhausted man, a man whose physical endurance is all but sap, should not try to scale the sight of a towering mountain to wreak safety. For here there are not only the hunters, there are the elements. I must go on. I must go on. I got you. I got you. I'm nearly frozen. He could never come this way. So we sit on the top of this mountain in freeze. Listen, Arak, perhaps we were wrong. Perhaps he was mad enough to try this way after all. Arak falls and you get the jumps. We better have a look. You have a look. I'm staying right here out of the wind. It'll be light soon. I will. Oh, and don't forget to call me if you see anyone. Who? She's, thank God, where she's on naked. Anton. Anton. Where are you at? Anton for the lover. Anton, what happened? Anton, stop out of it. Hit me. Took my cheese. Here. Here, sit up. Listen, if we sound the alarm now, they'll shoot us for letting him get through. We've got to say nothing about this. But what about my cheese? We'll say you had a fall. Broke them. You'll look the plot. Here. Put your arms around my shoulder. I'll help you down to the post. In the sanctuary of a friendly land, a man who was hunted sits looking out toward the mountains. On the table before him lies a letter. It is a letter to a man, a man who was arrogantly assumed the right of God over the people he ruled. The whole world knows now that I've escaped you. You've beaten your entire organization. I could not have done so without the help for some of your faithful and devoted subjects. I have not escaped to find someone to help me. I have not escaped to find safety and peace for one day soon I shall return. Yes, I'm coming back with one purpose. One aim in mind. There will be no place you can go without the fear that I am there waiting. You have hunted so many. Now you shall be hunted. You've ruled by fear. You shall live by it. I am but one man and it may be that I shall fail, but you can never destroy what I represent. There will always be others to take my place. You have denied God. And the day will come when God shall deny you. You cannot conquer and spirit of man. We will return with a word about next week's show in just a moment. But first, in these United States of America, freedom is not just a word, freedom is a fact. Each and every one of us must help to preserve it. The young men and women who volunteer in the uniform of the United States Army are helping to keep that freedom a fact. The minute you put on that uniform, everyone knows you're an active member in the fight for freedom. So visit your nearest U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Recruiting Station today. Get all the details and how you can best serve yourself and your country in these critical times. Get on the Army team. You're needed now. This has been another program on Proudly We Hail, presented in cooperation with this station by your Army and your Air Force. Proudly We Hail stars Lee Tracy. The Unconquered was written by DeWitt Cock. Music was composed and conducted by John Guarnieri. Proudly We Hail is directed by Charles Wilkes. This is Kenneth Banghart speaking, and here again is your host and star, Lee Tracy. Next week, join me on an adventure into the unknown on a visit to unexplored territory in a suspense-filled play appropriately titled The Greatest Adventure. Goodbye.