 Files of the Texas Rangers starring Joel McCrae as Ranger Jase Pearson. Another authentic re-enactment of a case transcribed from the files of the Texas Rangers. This is in the following story are fictitious for obvious reasons. The events themselves are a matter of record. There's nothing so comfortable as a nice plump cushion. And I don't mean the sofa pillow variety. I mean a financial cushion to fall back on when times get tight, when sickness lingers, or when unemployment strikes. The best way to build this necessary cushion is to chop a little money off each paycheck. Not necessarily a great sum, but a steady little sum which you can put into United States defense bonds. These bonds now earn greater interest, give you a quicker return, and may be held at interest for as long as 10 years beyond maturity. You're putting a financial cushion behind Uncle Sam's back when you buy your own with bonds. Because every dollar you put in United States bonds is an investment in your country's strength and security. That's the same as setting up a safer world for your children. Start building your cushion now by signing up for the payroll savings plan where you work, or use the bottom month plan where you bank for United States defense bonds. They're now even better. Now back to tales of the Texas Rangers. From the files of the Texas Rangers, the case called alibi. It is approximately 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning, July 17, 1948. A large truck carrying sheep is traveling at a moderate speed along highway 28, leading into Bancroft, Texas. The driver of the truck squints his eyes against the glare of the morning sun, while his sleeping companion stirs uneasily in the blazing heat. Don't forget by me, traveling at that speed in this heat, you blow a tire for sure. What's the matter, Jack? Ah, tourists. Always in a hurry to get in no place. Must be doing 70 at least. Who's that? Oh, that car that just passed us. Going like the devil. Open your eyes and take a look. There you go, just over that rise up ahead. Oh, man, it sure is hot. How'd you know? You've been asleep since the sun come up. Say, you sore about losing the cars last night? I ain't sore about losing last nights so much. We've been trucking together for over six months and I ain't warned once. Always get this sunrise shift while you just snooze away peaceful as anything. Shucks, I won't have any eyes left. Well, it'll make you feel better next place we come to. Let's stop and I'll buy you a beer, okay? I could stand some to wet my whistle. This heat is awful. How far away from the next town? Bank cross about 10 miles up, but we can stop the deacons. That's his place down there on the ride. Yeah, man, look at those shade trees. Oh, the sheep will go for that. Yeah, about time we were schooling these tires, too. They'd have one blowing the road hot as it is. Yeah, I know what you mean. Deacons, I ain't never been here before. Well, here we are. Look up and drive them for a week. Come on. The sheep will be all right? Sure, they'll go for that shade. Yeah, just with the only ones around. Ain't nobody here. Deacons probably around summers. Let's sit down here at the counter. Deac! Deacon! That's funny. Somebody's been here. Look at them two bottles at the end of the counter. Now, maybe he's out back. Yeah, could be with his chickens. Besides the coldest beer old deacons got eggs here the size of bowling balls. Must have pretty big chickens, too. Biggest in Texas? Hey, where do you suppose you went to? I'm dying of thirst. Hey, why don't we help ourselves? The beer's right over there in the refrigerator. No, I wouldn't want to do that. Deacon might not like... Deacon! Hey, Deacon, you got a couple cash customers. I ain't going to sit here all day. I'm going to get me a beer. Yeah, I'll rank them the Deacon one of mine. Bring me a cold one. Yeah, right off the ice. Just wait till you... Chuck. Chuck, come here. What's the matter? What is it? Look, look through that door. In this storeroom on the floor. Huh? Good Lord, it's a Deacon. No wonder he couldn't hear us. His head's crushed to a pulp. Don't touch him, Jim. What do we do? Better call the sheriff. Come on, there's a phone out front. As soon as Sheriff George Hoffer of Bancroft County received the truck driver's call, he immediately requested the assistance of the Texas Rangers. Ranger Jase Pearson was assigned to the case and arrived at the scene of the crime about an hour later. That all you mean? Well, howdy, Jase. Hello, Sheriff. Ranger Pearson, this is Chuck Roberts and Jim Patrick. They're the ones that found the body. Howdy. Hello, Ranger. Is your truck outside with a sheep in it? Yes, sir. We're kind of anxious to get along, too. I've already talked to him, Jase. Is there anything you want to ask him? Yeah, in a few minutes. Why don't you men wait over there? It won't be long. Okay. Did you look at the body, Sheriff? Yeah, it's out back in the storeroom. Of course, fella, he sure took an awful beating. Is that the door over there? Mm-hmm. Jase, before you go out there, I want to show you something. What's that, Sheriff? Over here. Cash drawer's partly open. Ah, cleaned out all right. You men touch this cash register? No, Ranger. We ain't touchin' nothin'. Just a phone when we call the Sheriff. Okay. Well, there's the motive, Sheriff, robbery. The kind of business the deacon did here. He couldn't have had more than $15 or $20 in that thing. That's a lot of money to some people. Yeah. How about those beer bottles down at the end of the counter? Were they yours? Those. Hmm. Golden box. Looks like the deacon had a thirsty customer. Jase, look here by the refrigerator. Isn't that a bloodstain? It sure is. What do you make of that? It looks like the deacon might have been slugged right here. If the man who was drinkin' that golden box was sittin' at the counter, he could have done it when the deacon had his back turned. Yes, he wasn't hit with a bottle or there'd be some broken glass around it. Wouldn't have to be a bottle. Could have been anything. Come on, let's take a look at the body. There's some blood here by the door. Yeah. The body's right behind these barrels. Sure did take a beating, didn't he? Yeah. I figured must have happened last night around closing time. Else he'd have been found before this. The deacon do much more in business? Oh, a little bit. Didn't amount to a hell of beans. Night time seems more logical. Yeah, I'd think so. I wonder if they cleaned his pockets out, too. I don't know. I guess I'd better have a look. Find anything, Jase? A few coins, some keys, that's all. Sheriff. What's the matter? Sheriff. Get on that phone and call an ambulance. What? Why? Deacon. He's still alive. The deacon remained unconscious. His condition was critical. X-rays showed he'd sustained triple fractures of the skull. After the lab crew arrived and went over the store for additional clues, the sheriff and I started checking on people known to be Deacon's customers. The next morning we were still looking for lead. Who's next on the list, Sheriff? Well, let me see. There's Dodie Carson, Ranford 220. That's about a half mile farther on. You know him? Yeah, but he couldn't have done it. Why not? He's an old fella. He ain't got the strength to break an egg, Sheriff. ATX-A to unit 10. ATX-A to unit... Unit 10 to KTX-A. Go ahead. John Samson, age 34, 5 feet 10, 195 pounds. Brown hair, brown eyes, ruddy complexion. Released Huntsville Penitentiary January this year after serving two of the three-year sentence with burglary. Subject now employed as ranch hand. Climb the ranch, your vicinity. 10-4, no other traffic, unit 10 cleared. John Samson. What's the matter? You know him? The name's familiar. I think we pulled him in a couple of months ago. Brawl in a pool hall, if I remember right. Oh, yeah, he's a tough one. Where's the flying bee located, Sheriff? It's west of here. About 10 miles past the deacons. Hang on. 15 minutes later, we arrived in the ranch yard of the flying bee. The foreman told us that John Samson was out riding fence. I got charcoal out of the trailer while the sheriff borrowed a horse and we headed for the area where Samson was supposed to be. Foreman said he ought to be just over this rise. Yeah. Oh, there he is. Where? Over there for that mesquite. Come on, Charlie. He sees us, James. Yeah. Oh, oh, Charlie. Oh, oh, oh. I did. You, John Samson? Yeah, why? Ranger here wants to ask you a couple of questions. What's on your mind? You ever stopped by the deacons on Highway 28? Deacons? About 10 miles down the road from here. Oh, that place. Yeah, I go in there sometime. How often? I don't know, once in a while. You in there Tuesday night, around closing time? Tuesday, let's see. That's the day before yesterday. No, I wasn't in there. Where were you? I was in town. Where in town? Say, what is this? Just to answer the ranger's question, Samson. All right. Tuesday night, it was at the easy ace there all night. Where's that? That's a beer parlor and a pool room, James. I know where it is. Uh-huh. You say you were there all night, Samson? Sure, I just told you. Don't they stop serving beer at midnight? All right, so what? Pool tables stay open. They serve food there. What's wrong with that? He's right, James. The joint don't close. Well, you must have come back to the ranch sometime. I did, after daybreak. You shoot pool all night? We had a little game going. Who's we? Some of the boys and me. And you didn't stop by the deacons on your way back to the ranch? No, it was closed. When was the last time you were at the deacons? I don't know, Monday night, I think. Don't you know? Sure, I know. It was Monday night. I had a beer in there. You sure it wasn't Tuesday? No, it wasn't Tuesday. It was Monday. Why? What do you want to know for? Got a beer. Do you drink, Samson? What kind? Well, I don't know any kind. Do you ever drink golden box? Sometime. You better come along with us. I ain't going nowhere. I got to finish checking this fence. You get on your horse. I ain't done nothing. Why? Tuesday night, somebody beat up the deacon and robbed him. Nearly killed him. What's that got to do with me? Plenty. You found your fingerprints all over the place. We took Samson in and checked his alibi. The manager at the EZA said he had been there all Tuesday night and had left near daybreak. It seemed like the man was telling the truth, but we didn't want to release Samson until we had a talk with the deacon. We called the hospital and learned that he was still unconscious. We went back to the sheriff's office. Samson was getting impatient. Hey, how much longer are you guys going to keep me here? Just until we check on a few things. Now listen, I know my rights. You're going to keep me here. You've got to book me. We will when the time comes. On what? The manager at the pool room told you. Is that what Morty wants? Better witness. What's the matter with him? How do we know he's not covering up for you? He's no angel, you know. I've had him in here before, too. And on account of that, you're holding me. Take it easy, Samson. If you're in the clear, you've got nothing to worry about. Who said I was worried? Excuse me, Jay. You guys think you're fooling with some dumb bunny or something? If you're so innocent, Samson, why are you giving us so much static? All up, Ranger. Either you've got to book me or turn me loose. It's as simple as that. Right. You got anything more important to do? That's my business. All right, Samson. I got a deputy outside who'll be glad to entertain you for a while. What do you mean by that? You'll see. Look, I want to get out of here. You will if you're telling the truth, and that's what we're going to find out right now. What was that phone call, Sheriff? The hospital. The deacons regain consciousness. This is a lucky break for us, Jayce. Yeah, if he identifies as Samson, we can wrap it up this afternoon. Sure hope so. Of course, Doc says he's still pretty weak. Might not take the question. Here's your room. 121. Deacon. Can you hear me? His eyes are opening. Deacon. Who's that? I'm Ranger Pearson. This is Sheriff Hoffer. Pleased to meet you. What? Deacon, you know me? George Hoffer? Hoffer? Oh, yeah, sure. Tell me. Do you know a man by the name of John Samson? Who? Samson. John Samson. He stops in your place from time to time. Oh, yeah. Nice fella. You know him, then. What'd you say your name was? Pearson. Ranger Pearson. Oh, yeah. Pearson. You come about the eggs? Eggs? What do you mean, Deacon? Those are bad eggs, Mr. Pearson. I can't hear that. You should've candle those eggs. What's he talking about? I got good customers, Mr. Pearson. You saw me three dozen bad eggs. Can't hear that. Looky. I'll show you. Now, wait a minute, Deacon. Don't try to get up. It's all right. I've been out here on the porch long enough. I want to show you the eggs right back in the storm. Now, now, Deacon, you stay here. We'll talk to you later. Yeah. You do that. Come on, Sheriff. Can't hear the no more bad ones. What is the matter with him, James? He's lost his memory. In just a moment, we will continue with tales of the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McCrae as Ranger James Pearson. If you want your child to have the best elementary schooling you can give him, won't you get a pencil and paper to take down the address I'm going to give you at the end of this message? Unless we start preparing now, in a few years, our public schools will be as behind the times as the Little Red Schoolhouse. Because of the huge increase in our birth rate during and after school, it's estimated that by 1956, there will be some 7 million more children in elementary schools than there are now. We must start preparing at once. More equipment will be needed, textbooks, playgrounds, and above all, more elementary school teachers. To help assure your child a proper education, join and work with local groups and school boards. And for free information about how people in other communities are improving their schools, write to this address. National Citizens' Commissions for the Public Schools to West 45th Street, New York, 19, New York. Now back to Tales of the Texas Rangers. We continue now with Tales of the Texas Rangers and our authentic story, Alibi. With the deacon suffering from loss of memory, we knew there was only one thing to do, release John Sampson. We went back to the Sheriff's Office and asked the deputy to bring him down from his cell. Well, it's about time. What's a big idea locking me up? Oh, pipe down. All right, Joe, I'll take over things. Right. Look, what do you think you're kidding? You ain't got nothing on me. Right now we haven't. What's the matter, Ranger? Did the deacon die? Would it make you feel better? Wouldn't make any difference at all. I got an alibi and you know it. All right, Sampson, you're free to go. But if we want you again, you better be around. Yeah, and remember this. If you did do it, we'll get you sooner or later. You're a two-time loser and still our number one suspect. So what, you can't prove nothing? Go ahead. Book me. But if you do, I'll sue you for false arrest. Now what do you know about that? Go on back to your ranch. But I'm warning you, you set one foot out of this county and we'll pick you up so fast you won't know what's happened. I ain't going no place. Don't worry. I'll be seeing you, Sheriff. Ladies. Oh, he's so sure of himself. Yeah, I'm too sure. I don't like it. Well, what do we do now? Wait a morning. I guess. Then I want to have another talk with the deacon. Jace, what do you expect to gain by that? I don't know. Maybe if we just keep asking him questions about anything, we might pick up an angle to go on. He might remember something. Yeah. I suppose it's worth a try. Right now, it's our only hope. The next morning, Sheriff Hoffer and I went back to the hospital. There we learned the deacon had improved to the point of taking nourishment, though he was still suffering from loss of memory. Even with the odds against us, we had to try once more. Deacon. Huh? Oh, hello. You remember me, Ranger Pearson? Seems I do. I've seen you someplace. We were here yesterday. Yesterday? Yesterday? I'm sorry. I don't know you. I can't remember. Don't you remember anything? No. I can't seem to make any sense out of anything. Something's happened. Look, Deacon, you've got a star on the highway. No, not me, mister. I think you're wrong. Sure you have, Deacon. You and Mary Ann started about 17 years ago. Mary Ann? Mary Ann? Who was that, Sheriff? Mary Ann. She died three years ago. Mary? Look, look, mister, you've got to help me. You've got to help me. Worth trying to. I can't remember. My head is hurt. What happened to my head? Tuesday night, somebody came into your store, robbed you and beat you up. Me? Someone done that to me? Yes, Deacon. Tuesday night. I don't remember. I can't remember. Well, Deacon, look, maybe you'll remember something if you just answer a few questions. All right. All right. Try to help me, mister. Please try to help. We will. Now, do you remember where you live? Yeah. Yeah. I got a house. You know where? Yeah. It's, uh, our bank. It's our bank. Out back of what, Deacon? Uh, yeah. I don't know. It's behind your store. Remember your store? My store? Yeah. Yeah, my store. That's right. Now, Deacon, I want you to tell me everything that you do from the time you get up in the morning until you go to bed. Can you remember that? Yeah. Yeah, I remember. Let's see. I get up. I'll fix breakfast. Wait, wait. You skipped over a lot there. Yes, Deacon. Not so fast. What time do you get up? Do you know? Early. Daybreak. Every day? Yeah, every day. I feed the chickens. I open the store. Wait a minute. You're getting ahead again. Oh, sorry. Now, what's the next thing you do after you get up? Uh, a shave. A wash up. Anything else? Uh, a calendar. I set my calendar. You set your calendar? What kind of calendar? A little desk model on a roller. It gives the day and the date. It's in my bureau. Top drawer. Did you set it Tuesday? Tuesday, yeah. It was raining Tuesday. Yeah, I set it. Hey, Jay, she's right. He's remembering. It did rain early Tuesday morning. Yeah. Wednesday. I set it then, too. It was a nice morning. Now, wait a minute, Deacon. Not Wednesday. You couldn't have set it then. No. I set it. It wasn't raining Wednesday. Jay, do you reckon he did? I don't know. Deacon, are you sure you set your calendar Wednesday? I always set my calendar every day. So, man, don't you believe me? You gotta believe me. Sure, Deacon. We believe you. I'm trying to sleep now. We'll see you later. Yeah. Sleep. If he did set his calendar Wednesday morning, you know what that means, Jay. You bet I do. Samson could have been at the EZAs Tuesday night, but he's going to have to have another alibi for Wednesday morning. Come on. Let's see if we're on the right track. 45 minutes later, the sheriff and I pulled up to the Deacon's house behind the roadside store. In the top of the dresser, we found the calendar. The Deacon was right. It was set for Wednesday, July 17. From there, we went straight out to the ranch where Samson worked. He wasn't around, and no one had seen him. On our way into town, we sent out an APB to pick him up. Then we headed for the EZAs cool room. Well, I don't see him anywhere to you. No, the manager's not around either. Let's ask the waiter. Waiter? Be waiting a minute. Oh. Howdy, Sheriff. Ranger, what can I do for you? You know a fellow named Samson who hangs out here? Uh, Samson? I don't seem to, don't seem to recollect. You ought to know him. He's here a lot. Huh? Oh, oh, you mean the one that works out the flying bee? That's him. Uh, yeah, I see him in here, time to time. Was he here last night or this morning? That's hard to say. Lots of people here last night. What's Samson here? You fellas looking for him? Look, will you quit stalling? I was just asking. Come on, mister. If you know, you better tell us. Uh, well, it seems to me he was here Wednesday night, I think. That's not what we asked you. Wait a minute, Sheriff. What was he doing here Wednesday night? Oh, just hanging around. He broke most of the time. Did he have any money Wednesday night? Well, he seemed to. How do you know? Did he spend much? He lost most of it. What do you mean, lost most of it? No, no, no, don't get me wrong, Sheriff. Hey, Charlie, get that money off the table. We don't allow gambling in here and you know it. Oh, I see you. What was it you was asking Ranger? About Samson. He almost killed a man. You know where he is? Almost killed a man. Samson did? That's right. Oh, so that's what you're here for? Did you expect us for something else? Look, Sheriff, don't get me wrong. Wednesday night there was a little crap game here. Samson was in on it. I thought you come about that. Crap game. Here? Well, not exactly, Sheriff. I mean, well, it started in here. As soon as I saw it, I told him to break it up. Manager, don't allow that sort of goings on. Samson was in on it, huh? Well, now that's what I was going to tell you. A few minutes after I told him to quit, they moved out back into the alley. Well, now that ain't exactly in here, but it still don't look good. So the manager sent me out to break it up again. Then what happened? Well, Samson got kind of mad. That's how I figured he was losing. He didn't want to quit. Did he? Well, finally, after I told him about three times. You know how much he lost? Well, about 20 bucks. I reckon he sure was mad. 20 bucks, huh? Probably every cent of it was Dickinson. Oh, I ain't saying he lost all of it because he came in here earlier today and broke a five. How long ago was that? About half an hour. Bought a dozen bottles of beer and left. Where'd he go? You know? The only place I know would be his girl. Where does she live? Over the dry goods store on Venner Street. We called for a stakeout on the pool hall in case Samson returned, picked up a search warrant and headed to the dry goods store on Venner Street. There it is, Jason. Yeah, I see it. Better park around the corner. He won't be able to see our car here. Let's hope he's up there. Yeah. Those must be the steps going up the side of the building. They are. Looks like only one apartment up here. Yeah. And there's only one door. That's a break. Somebody's coming. Who's that? Where? Police officers. What do you want? Open the door, ma'am. Fuck, I was sleeping. Sorry to disturb you. Mind if we come in? Sure do. I told you I was sleeping. This time of day? I sleep late. Better let us in, lady. We got a search warrant. For what? We're looking for John Samson. We ain't here. We think he is. I ain't seen him in a week. Sure, you can look, see for yourself. What's your name, ma'am? The name's Molly. You say you've been asleep? Right. What's this empty beer bottle doing here? Ain't no law against beer in this county. I drank it before I went to sleep. Why? The bottle's still cold. And it's Samson's brand, Sheriff. Yeah. He must be up here. No, he ain't. What's back of this door? Hey, that's my bedroom. You can't go in there. Sorry, ma'am. I had a closet there. Yeah, just my clothes in it, that's all. Stand back, Sheriff. I'm gonna open it. Johnny, look out! Watch it, John! All right, Samson. You almost got your girl that time. Come out of there or we'll blast you out. Throw your gun out first. Okay. Okay. There it is. Now put your hands out in front of you. Come on. That's right. Put the cuffs on him, Sheriff. Right, Jay? She did it, didn't she? She turned me in. Oh, shut up. You got him, Ranger. Now get him out of here. I'm dirty. It's too time. Hold it, Samson. She's not getting off either. What did I do? There's a law in this state against harboring a criminal. Come on, you two. Let's go. In just a moment, we will tell you the results of the case you have just heard. 20 seconds from now, a fire will break out somewhere in the United States, causing untold misery and devastation. Yes, every 20 seconds, all day long, a fresh fire starts in a home or a factory or a forest. More than 11,000 persons are killed annually by these fires. Many more are injured, and more than $700 million worth of property is lost. The most tragic part of this statement lies in the fact that more than 90% of all fires in the home start through sheer carelessness and could be avoided. Here are a few simple rules of safety which will help you to protect your home and your loved ones from the ravages of fire. Don't smoke in bed or discard lighted cigarettes carelessly. Clean out old newspapers, magazines, and other inflammable debris. Promptly repair all defective wiring and electrical equipment. Use only those cleaning fluids which will not burn. And finally, be careful with matches. Keep them out of the reach of small children. You can't afford to gamble with fire. The odds are against you every time. Now back to tales of the Texas Rangers. Now here are the results of the case you have just heard. John Samson was found guilty of robbery by assault with intent to murder. On October 11, 1948, he was sentenced to 99 years in the state penitentiary at Huntsville. Molly Andrews was given two years in the women's prison for a story obstructing justice. As prescribed in Article 338 of the Texas State Penal Code. Ladies and gentlemen, we hope you and your friends will be listening to our show next week. There are two reasons we are asking you to be tuned in. First, because the case is a very interesting one. And second, because it will be the last performance for a while at least of Tales of the Texas Rangers. We hope you've enjoyed this series of authentic stories and that you'll make it a point to be with us for our last show next week. Thank you. And the program is produced and directed by Stacey Keatsch. This is Hal Gibney speaking. Keep tuned for the Standard Hour on NBC.