 The Equitable Life Assurance Society presents, this is your F.B.I. B.I., the official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Presented transcribed as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. Good news for fathers and mothers who want their children to have a college education. When paying for that education has been made practically painless, that is good news, isn't it? The plan that makes this possible is called the Equitable Education Fund. It's the way to provide a college education for your boy or girl so that not even death of a family breadwinner can interfere. Be sure to listen carefully when the Equitable Life Assurance Society gives you the full details on the Equitable Education Fund, about 14 minutes from now. Subject of our F.B.I. file, Arm Robbery. It's title, The Curious Fisherman. Tonight's case was selected because it points up a warning that your F.B.I. has issued many times on this program. This warning is, don't publicize yourself as a promising victim for a crime. The underworld finds it highly profitable to scan newspapers carefully, to circulate unobtrusively in public places. The man who openly displays a well-filled wallet invites a pickpocket. The woman who allows herself to be photographed wearing costly jewels may be setting the wheels in motion for a carefully planned robbery months later. Tonight's case from the official F.B.I. files is dramatic proof that public display of wealth can be an invitation to crime. Tonight's F.B.I. file opens on a small fishing boat tied to a pier on the outskirts of a western city. The hot noon sun burns down on a leather-skinned man as he approaches a young girl mopping the deck. Well, you put down the mop. You keep working like that, you know what'll happen? No. You'll weigh yourself down. Your mother'll never let you spend another vacation on the Blue Queen. But she has to. Why? I stopped biting my nails. The way I heard it, that just took care of this vacation. Oh, but I won't bite him again next year. You're all right. Now can I finish swabbing the deck? You better get some lunch first. What should I make? Well, now let's see. Should we have oysters, Rockefeller or a juicy steak? Should I open a can of beans or hash? Now I'll have to do some deep thinking about that. Uncle Fred, some customers. What? Those folks on the pier, they're heading this way. Well, not dressed much for fishing. Your party yesterday wasn't either. Well, I'll talk to them, honey. You run inside and cook up some hash. This is my friend here. We'd like to do some fishing. You come to the right place. Oh, that's fine. We want to go out tomorrow. I'm for hire. He's for hire. How about it, mother? Looks like a nice boat. The Blue Queens are right. Nice boat, ma'am. Floyd, you game for fishing tomorrow? Sure. Well, we got to make a sit. Oh, be free tomorrow. You see, we're on a vacation. And never so busy as when you're taking a rest. Lots of folks like that. Yeah, say, have you got a camera? Nope. Well, suppose we catch one of those big babies. You know, the folks back home, they'd want to see a picture before they believe that we really caught one. I'll pick one up. Just you three going? Yeah. Well, be $50 for the day. I supply everything. Just say the time and I'll be ready. Well, how's nine o'clock? Early or if you like. Earlier, no. Let's wait until the fish are up, too. Now, see you at nine, Captain, and bring plenty of bait. You know, we might catch you where. Finish your breakfast. I did. Now, what about the milk? Oh, Uncle Fred. I promised your mother you'd have a glass of milk for every meal. I'll take two for lunch. Well, all right. You're the best uncle a girl ever had. Oh, here comes our party. I'll go start the motor. Take your time. Yeah. Well, here, take my hand. Be up this early. As long as you don't overdo it. Yeah, watch your step, lady. Thank you. Hey, armistice. All right. I don't need help. Why don't we put up poles? What'd you bring poles for? Well, we're going fishing. Sorry you took the trouble. I thought I told you the price covered everything. Oh, we got them, so we might as well use them. We can leave whenever your party's ready. We're ready now. Hey, what's that? A motor. Oh, who started it? My niece. Oh, get her ashore, huh? Ashore? She's my crew. Not this trip. Well, before I forget it, she won't make any difference. Leo is right. Why don't you want her to come along? Well, I don't like kids. All right, Mr. I'll go. Alice, you stay here. It's her or us. I'll take her. Uncle Fred, it's $50. Take them. I don't care. I pick out my own crew. Go ahead. I don't feel like fishing today anyway. Now can we get started? Yeah, sure, dear. All right, Skipper, over the bounding main. This is the life. Yeah, not for me. Look, Floyd, you've got to learn to relax. Enjoy yourself. Why? Leo, something's gone wrong. I don't see the Mary Ann. Leo, are you sure you got the right information? Well, of course. Do you know I never make a mistake? Go back there. Answer him. Yeah, Skipper, now not yet. Hey, I think that's it. Yeah? Wait till I read the name. There can't be too many yachts around here. There's enough. It's the Mary Ann. I told you we'd need her out here, didn't I? All right, then. Get ready to go in your act. Okay, I'll move that chair so I can lay down. Fine. All right, start growing. Hey, Skipper. Skipper! Yeah? Come here, quick. Well, my wife, she's taken sick. Will you get us out to that yacht? Maybe there's a doctor aboard. We'd be better off turning back. But I got first-aged stuff aboard. Oh, please, will you? She's very sick. Head for the yacht. A short while later, at a nearby FBI field office, special agent Jim Taylor is at his desk when the phone rings. Taylor speaking. Jim, this is Sheriff Webster. Oh, hello, Sheriff. I'd like some help down here. Why? What can we do for you? A yacht named the Mary Ann called in Jim. Said she'd been boarded by two masked men. Oh, where? Oh, who's the Mary Ann registered to? A man named Forrest. Sheriff, any other ships in that area? Video. And still no answer from the yacht, huh? That's right. I'm setting up our plane now to search for her. Well, OK, Sheriff. I'll be down on the first train. There is a beautiful ring. Let's see it. Oh, just keep stirring. You can see it at the hotel. Before I take the wheel. No, I can't. I'm cleaning my gun. It got wet. Hey, look, there's the pier. I think I'll keep this ring. Hey, Leo, swing over. You're going to hit the pier. Hey, good. Are you OK? Yeah. Come on. The pier. Hold it. Yeah. No answer. What'll I say? Never mind. Your uncle's in the cabin. Why? Isn't he going to tie up? Ask him. It's his boat. Take care of him. Anything convenient on my yacht? Our plane located her and landed alongside. Good. We were right about the radio equipment being smashed. The bandits took care of that first. How much they steal, Sheriff? $20,000 in jewelry. Wow. We didn't get descriptions on either of the men, Jim. We got a good one of the getaway boat. She's a fishing craft named the Blue Queen. About a 35-footer painted blue with a white star stern. Uh-huh. Where's she registered from? Here. I know her owner. His name's Barrow. She's usually at her dock by now, but I checked. And the pier's empty. Couldn't the victims give you any description of the men? Just that one was fat. They wore masks made of an off-white silk. Uh-huh. And there was another man and woman in on the job. They stayed aboard the fishing boat. Oh. The fishing boat pulled up alongside the Mary Ann. One of the men yelled up that they had a sick woman aboard. They asked for first aid equipment and were invited to come up a rope ladder and get it. So the woman was in on the job, huh? Now, how about the man who stayed aboard the fishing boat? No description on him either. Well, maybe that was Barrow. Oh, I doubt it, Jim. I've known Fred a long time. He wouldn't be mixed up in anything illegal. Besides, this was no amateur, Joe. No, it certainly doesn't sound like one. One of the women aboard the Mary Ann said the fat bandit told her to hand over a diamond pendant and a ruby bracelet set. That's understandable. But she wasn't wearing them, Jim. She said she didn't have anything like that. But the bandit told her he saw her wearing them in some picture. In a movie, you mean? No, a newspaper picture. Oh, I see. So I've arranged for us to use the launch. Want to see if we can locate the blue queen? You mean at night, Sheriff? Weatherman says the moon will stay this bright. Oh, OK. Let's give it a try. What are you doing on this side? Our good, Sheriff. We can't stay out much longer. Gas running low? Mm-hmm. You know, that moon's not as much help as we figured. I can't take much more of that reflection. Oh, it's pretty rough. We may have to wait till morning. Great, sir. Hm? Look over that way. Where? Out there on the left. Oh, something there. Yeah. Part of the port side. It sure looks like a boat. Uh-huh. It is. Yeah. Jim, there's the white star on the stern. Yeah, that must be the blue queen on it. Nobody's on deck. She looks like she's drifting free. Cut your motor and hook as fast. It doesn't seem to be any life aboard. Ah, blue queen. Anybody aboard? Cover me, Sheriff, huh? OK, Jim. Go ahead. Sheriff, come on over. Uh, let's see if there's anything in the cabin here. Right away, Sheriff. Look over there, little girl. Oh, it's Barrow's niece. Is she usually aboard? Summers. Let's have you light a minute, huh? Sure. Kids get a bad head wound. Uh-huh. How about moving over to the launch? Yeah, well, let's cover the rest of the boat first quickly. OK. Uh, poor kid. What's that on the deck there? Scraps and material. Looks like silk. It's white. It could be the masks. Uh-huh. Looks like parts of a shirt. Yeah. I don't get this. Where is everybody? It's in the cabin. I doubt it. Didn't you say they were armed? That was the report. Well, if they were aboard, they'd have heard us approaching. That's so. Wait a minute. Hold it. Hm? I thought I heard something. From the cabin? Yeah. Wait here, Sheriff. Come on. There were your hands up. No pulse. No heartbeat. Well, Sheriff, we're working on a murder now. In just a moment, to tonight's exciting case from the official file of your FBI. Now, for a moment, let's listen to a professional worrylifter in action. His name is Fred Barton, a representative of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. And his job is to help men and women get rid of some of life's major worries. Fred Barton is talking to a young father named Jim McClain. Well, what worries me, Mr. Barton, is when my kids are both in college together, boy, will I take a beating financially. Well, you don't need to take a beating, Mr. McClain. Not if you start an equitable education fund. Equitable education fund? What's that? It's the painless way to pay for a college education. Actually, it's an endowment life insurance policy with the Equitable Society. By the time your youngsters are ready to matriculate in college, the fund will be all paid up, and the money for their expenses is ready and waiting. Well, like paying for it on the installment plan, only doing it in advance. That's it, exactly. Installments are the sound way to finance any major family expense, like buying a house, a car, or household equipment. That's the basic idea of the Equitable Education Fund. Spread the payment so they don't hurt. What's more, if you should die before your children are ready for college, your fund is all paid up. No further payments are necessary. Well, how many years does it take to pay up one of these funds? Well, that's up to you. But starting when your children are young makes the yearly payments lower for you. Well, it all sounds attractive, providing I can afford it. Well, you leave that to me, Mr. McClain. Just figure out what you can afford to put into a plan like this. You'll be surprised how small payments wound up when you keep at it for 15 years. For instance, at your age, a $4,000 equitable fund... If you have children of your own, why not get the cost of an Equitable Education Fund from your equitable representative? These equitable men give you the information you need and let you make up your own mind. Get in touch with your equitable representative or right care of the station to the Equitable Society. That's E-Q-U-I-T-A-B-L-E. The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Now back to the FBI file, The Curious Fisherman. Captain Barrow is dead. Murdered by criminals, he accepted as ordinary fisherman. Naturally, a man in his position cannot be expected to ask every prospective customer to identify himself. The fact remains, however, that people whose business it is to deal with strangers should be constantly on their guard. Tonight's skipper might have been more cautious. The men's refusal to have a girl on board. Their obvious ignorance of fishing know-how should have struck him as extremely suspicious. Your FBI files abound in cases similar to this. Cases in which the victim's readiness to accept strangers at their face value has contributed to his own undoing. Tonight's FBI file continues two days later at Sheriff Webster's office. Special Agent Jim Taylor hangs up the phone. Sheriff, that was the lab. What'd they say, Jim? Well, that silk we found aboard the fishing board didn't carry any invisible laundry. Sure looked like parts of a shirt. The lab says they are, and that from the quality of the silk and the hand stitching, it must have been custom made. It doesn't help much. How many custom shirtmakers are down here? Oh, a dozen or so. Well, maybe one of them would recognize the material, huh? I'll try. Okay. Here's the swatch, Sheriff. I'm gonna run by the hospital and see if Barrow's niece has come to you. The hospital call? No, but I'm gonna be out that way. I've got an appointment to interview one of the women and the woman who was robbed of the jewelry the bandits saw wearing in a picture. I went through the files of both local papers this morning. Neither of them has ever printed her picture. Oh, I'll call in when I'm through. Hmm? Oh, I don't know. Stop ogling those dames in the pool and answer me. He went to see the fence. What did he do with my ring? Huh? The one I liked. Oh, he took it. What for? To sell. After I told him not to? Uh-huh. Well, just wait till I see him. I'll straighten him out. Uh, don't tell me. Tell him. I will. There's your chance. Oh. When you hear the deal I made for us. Leo, did you sell that ring? Yes, honey. Don't honey me. I told you I wanted it. Look, honey, the cops are gonna be looking for all that stuff. If they found it on you, then I'd go to jail. That's not a bad idea. How much you get? At $11,000. It was worth more. Well, that's all he'd pay, so I took it. You got the cash? No. I'll leave it to collect the day after tomorrow. Where? In the lobby. We collect and then we rest. Not too long. Uh-huh. I got another job all laid out for next week. Got bad news on that silk. No shirtmaker use it? Not now or ever. Yeah, that is too bad. How'd you make out with your interview? Well, sure if that woman's only had her picture in the paper once in her life and that was with the jewels. Which paper? Crystal City Journal. That's her hometown. Maybe it's the bandits, too. Yeah, could be. How long ago was the picture printed? Last year. I called and had our lab ship a sample of the silk to our resident agent at Crystal City. There must be plenty of shirtmakers there. Well, I just hope not too many use this material. How soon can we have an answer? Well, the sample went out air mail last night, so it's in Crystal City this morning. Fine. Hey, tell me, you have to stick around here. No, why? Well, the little girl's doctor told me that if we came by the hospital this morning, we could see her. Maybe she can give us a description on the bandits. Well, let's take along the jewel theft album and find out. Alice, you too tired to continue? No, Mr. Taylor. All right, honey, go on. Well, then when I went aboard to see Uncle Fred, one of the men hit me. Which one? The strong one. You're not going to let him get away, are you? I'll sure try not, sir. I'll help you. Quicker. The doctor said I can get up tomorrow. Oh, that's fine. Alice, you want to go through these pictures again? It's no use. They're not in here. Can Uncle Fred tell you what they look like? No, no, he can't. I only saw him for a couple of minutes, but he was with them all day. Do you remember anything at all about the woman? Just what I told you. She was blonde. I liked her at first, but she stuck up for the strong one when he said I had to get off the blue queen. Was she pretty? Uh-huh. But she uses too much mascara and lipstick. Did any of them dress so you'd remember? No, they were dressed regular. Well, Alice, the doctor asked us not to stay too long, so I guess we'll be going out. Oh, it's all my fault. I know that's what Uncle Fred had the fight with him about. You're sure he's not mad at me? No, Alice, he's not mad at anybody. Come on, Sheriff. Sheriff, I just heard from Crystal City. What'd they say, Jim? Well, a shirt maker there used that silk last year and then discontinued it. He supplied the names of six men who got shirts from that bolt. Five of them are legitimate people still living there. Who's number six? He's a man named Leo Spencer. His shirts were delivered to his hotel. The register showed that Spencer and his wife stayed in Crystal City for about a month, and they were there when the victim's picture was published. Sounds like he's our man. Where's he from? Well, that's where we run out of gas. The address he gave is a municipal swimming pool. The shirt maker remembered Spencer, though. He said he's kind of short, very heavy. The fat bandit. Now, it looks like him. Well, he ordered two dozen of those shirts at $30 each. Washington got any record on Spencer? No, I called I didn't when Crystal City reported in. Then we're still without a lead and running out of time. I know that thieves might have had the stones reset. That's right. That'd give Mr. Spencer or whoever he is enough to get some new shirts. Wait a minute, Sheriff. New shirts. He shouldn't need any new ones. Well, he just got two dozen last year. Now, silk shirts don't wear out that fast. Say that's so. Well, if we're right so far, we might still have a chance. Is Leo still making that call? Uh-huh. That fence must be in Europe. I hope he ain't. What time is it? It's, uh, 10 after. Well, he's not too late anyway. Well, here comes Leo. Oh, good. There's no answer. He must be on his way. Pardon me. Yeah? Is your name Leo Mason? That's right. Leo, is this him? No, no. I'm a special agent of the FBI. Here are my credentials. Well, what do you want from me? Information. Are these the two people who worked on that fishing boat with you? Uh, Leo, I got to run. Just a minute there. Huh? Who's he signaling to? How should I know? The kid. That's him, Mr. Taylor. All three of them. Thank you, Alice. Why, you little... Oh, none of that. I've got him, Jim. Okay, Sheriff. Now let's take them in. Martha Mason and Floyd Scott were convicted in federal court for murder on the high seas and sentenced to life imprisonment. Special Agent Taylor and Sheriff Webster arrived at the correct hotel because a certain laundry recognized the odd swatch of silk. They were at that time cleaning three shirts made of that same material. Three shirts for a man named Leo Mason at the Star Hotel. Tonight's case from the files of your FBI is a good illustration of how slim a thread of evidence is often all the police have to work with. It is also a good illustration of another important point. That's so long as there remains the vestige of a lead. Neither your FBI nor any good law enforcement agency will ever stop working. Will ever stop until the criminals have been apprehended. And justice done. Quick review of the advantages of an equitable education fund. First, it's the painless way to pay for a college education. You spread the cost over many years instead of taking a beating in four. Second, it's sure. From the moment you start, you're certain your children will get the kind of education you want them to have regardless of what happens to you. So why delay? Ask your equitable representative for full information on an equitable education fund. All right, care of the station to the equitable life assurance society. Next week, we will dramatize another case from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It's subject, subversive activities. It's title, The Interrupted Journey. The incidents used in tonight's equitable life assurance societies broadcast are adapted from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious, and any similarity thereof to the names of places or persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight, the music was composed and conducted by Frederick Steiner. The author was Jerry D. Lewis. Your narrator was William Woodson, and special agent Taylor was played by Stacey Harris. Others in the cast were Sheldon Leonard, Paul Richard, John T. Smith, Naomi Stevens, Tom Tully, and Ann Whitfield. With your FBI, a Jerry Divine production was directed by Sid Goodwin. This is Larry Keating speaking for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. And inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society will bring you another thrilling transcribe story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Interrupted Journey on This Is Your FBI. Stay tuned for a life in your hands starring Lee Bowman, which follows immediately. This program came to you from Hollywood. America is sold on ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.