 Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road. Those who travel it wind up in the gutter the prism of the grave There's no other end, but they never learn From the pen of Raymond transfer outstanding author of crime fiction comes his most famous character in The Adventures of Philip Marlowe Now with Gerald Moore starred as Philip Marlowe, we bring you tonight's transcribe story the cloak of Kamehameha Message that was delivered by a repulsively wide-away boy missing a two-front row center Arrived at 6 in the AM and had come in two parts First scrawled in black ink and a wrinkled piece of paper said Marlowe get hold of a taxi cab poses the driver yourself At exactly 8 o'clock this morning come past 8840 North Arden Drive Signed Pollard Schindler Second half have made more sense It was printed in neat letters on neater green paper and under an engraving of Benjamin Franklin read 100 silver dollars Payable to the bear on demand So at exactly 8 o'clock I was behind the wheel of a hired cab leather jacket peaked cap toothpick and all And within a taxi distance of number 8840 Mr. Pollard Schindler a round man in square clothes with haircut to match was not late Yes, sir cab Why do you think I'm shouting my head off? I want to go to the international airport You understand the international airport at Inglewood. Okay. Okay Inglewood international airport. It is Marlowe the meter quick put the flag down every minute. I'm being watched. Oh, yeah, watch by whom is the Schindler I don't know Now listen carefully Marlowe later You try to go to the Halle Moana hotel and wait for a young lady named Lenny Collier Then at the hour she designates you go to her house number 44 diamond head circle and pick up the cloak Wait a minute Halle Moana let's diamond. What is it the hotel isn't by any chance in Hawaii Is it didn't I mentioned this in my note? Oh, you didn't or did you mention picking up a cloak? That just proves I haven't been myself ever since yesterday Yesterday I received this anonymous letter that's postmarked on a lulu all it says is Kamehameha's cloak of golden feathers will bring no less than death. Oh great Marlowe have you ever been to the islands? Yeah, twice once on business and once pleasure Then surely you've heard people speak of King Kamehameha. Yeah, I think I do He was back around the 1780s, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, big organizer By driving the defenders over the cliff that divides the island in two and the Pali Now Marlowe the feathered cloak that Kamehameha wore was about a hundred square feet and every inch of it A golden yellow feather and valued at more than half a million dollars. Hey, how come the feathers? Oh They are from the now extinct black mama word There was only one yellow feather on each bill I could explain why they're now extinct But don't tell me that all this is a game of call you to Marlowe to Schindler with a cloak that belongs to the museum Oh, no, Marlowe. It isn't with the cloak you speak of but Lonnie Collier has another one Valuable, of course, it's one quarter the size But it also belonged to the king and it also is made of the priceless feathers And is this her property to having to hold legal like yes Wow 25 went to fashionable schools here in California And as a result cares more about fun and pretty clothes and she does priceless heirlooms. I can't understand that So for $50,000 I have bought the cloak to resell to a New York millionaire for almost twice that son He loves the island lord Marlowe I was right. I'm still being followed. Don't look back right faster. Don't do nothing Exactly as I want it Now whoever it is will follow me not you and when I am in Honolulu, they will still follow me Well, I take care of the business on hand. Yes There's a reservation for you on the next plane So after you leave me and collect your cab fare, which will be five hundred dollars You drive away then later Marlowe get back here aboard your plane and underway and tonight when I've got the cloak Take it back to your hotel room at the Halimoana and sit on it Because unless I am a complete success as a decoy, you will have your share of trouble too. I'm sure But Marlowe from a specific direction it will come. I do not know I got the 500 bucks to cover expenses my Honolulu trip and was told to keep the chain Back in my apartment. I packed got another cab said international airport England would Settle back to think about the crossroads in Pacific There I was wrong Because in the next minute and those that followed everything was done the hard way First we ran out of gas then got tied up in a traffic jam and after that got stopped for speeding All of which added up to me at the airport just in time to watch my plane take off without me Two minutes later when I told it's a ruby clerk and a gray flannel and then sipped smile that my name was Philip Marlowe And that I wanted a reservation on the next flight which was leaving in an hour Things got even worse. You can't be Philip Marlowe sir That is not the Philip Marlowe who was on flight 21 that just left you you have a reason for saying that Do there were 36 seats on that plane sir and when she took off all 36 were full I know I know I checked the myself and I don't make mistake well bully for you boy But I happen to be both Philip Marlowe and the man who was supposed to be on that plane Also buster. I'm just about out of patience. How do I get on the next plane or don't I come on? I can't stand a decision. Well, well, I you're what well, uh, mr. Marlowe I am I think it can be a rain. That's better as a matter of fact. I am almost sure of it Last of California had slipped over the horizon and there was only clear sky ahead. Oh I began to relax. My mind drifted pleasantly Frosted Hawaiian punches warm white beaches Lovely My eyes again diamond head was in front of us and Majestic in the red glow of the evening sun that gave all of the lush Moana Valley I could see the texture of thick building We landed like the airport was made of marshmallows a half hour later. I was in the lobby of the Holly Moana hotel It was cushioned right tan and Philippine mahogany over cool tile And everywhere laughing sunburned people wearing anything from Catalina swimsuits the pea fabricated hula skirts So smiling both inside and out I worked briskly to the reservation desk and told a good-looking Hawaiian and white final that I was Philip Marlowe But at his reply I stopped smiling both inside now, but sir your reservation was taken two hours ago There must be some mistake some mistake you are Philip Marlowe of Los Angeles, sir Yes, all right, and look I've been through this before today because of what I thought was an error Do you do what sir? Nothing. Yeah, I'll talk to you later It was a large circle of mirror on the wall behind the clerk and even as we had talked I caught the reflection of a beautiful tan girl and cocoa browns suit white pearls and no stockings With the mention of my name and then a take that made a long blonde hair whip straight up When she saw me watching as she pivoted sharply on a spiked heel and hurry taught the little nye under the Benyon tree where there was Hawaiian music and a lot of different-looking people drinking at glass-top tables under a three-quarter moon I Stayed near the reservation desk long enough to light a cigarette and I followed her She was seated away from the lobby entrance and on a hunch that she just might be Lonnie Collier I started for an empty table next to her But a middle-aged Chinese and gay Gabardine Panamata match slipped into the chair that I was after So I forgot about being suckling the dressing or as mrs. Collier introduced myself as an old and dear friend of Pollard shinlers one Leland Dunn this is a pleasant surprise mr. Dunn But tell me how did you know what I looked like a Pollard shindler's accent doesn't happen as vocabulary Miss Collier He used the right adjectives believe me I'd love to but I can't mr. Dunn because Pollard shindler never saw me in his life. All our business was done by telephone Okay, my mistake. I'm Philip Marlowe Lonnie and I want to know when we rendezvous at 44 diamond head circle for the cloak of Kamehameha Look You're no more Philip Marlowe than you are Leland Dunn and if you need a reason it's because I just left Philip Marlowe upstairs Look, baby. There's only one Marlowe. That's me. I can prove it. I'll bet you can forged papers and all I've already been warned to watch for imposter so quit wasting both your time and mine and get out of my way I've got things to do. Wait a minute Lonnie listen proof that you're actually Kamehameha himself. No, thanks, mr. Goodbye Now I had two clues One an obvious party would assume the name of Philip Marlowe and the other Lonnie Collier less obvious for more intriguing So figuring the road company Marlowe would keep I followed Lonnie by this time was getting into a long yellow convertible Before I got to her she lurched in the curb So I ran across the street to what I thought was a taxi, but I was wrong Because it turned out to be a chauffeur limousine and being helped in by a small sporthy item of dubious lineage in a wrinkled cotton uniform Was the Chinese and gay gabardine in Panama to match would been sitting near us in the lanai What counted more was that he obviously sensed my problem You all wish to follow the girls, huh? Yeah, you know, it's a bit to lovers patch. You know what I mean I think so Yes, sir Know where she is going, sir. I'm not sure maybe diamond head circle Maybe it's cleaning son. Oh, well, let's make it diamond head circle. Is there a faster way there a shortcut? Oh, yes There is Which means what means never mind diamond head circle drive fast to the factory instead and do not move mr. Marlowe Marlowe Heavy artillery Okay, full-man shoe. What's with the factory you out of the way until the cloak of Kamehameha is mine Which won't work believe it or not clever one There's another Philip Marlowe at the moment is a lot closer to that collection of fancy feathers than either of us You know is stupid bit for freedom As we hit I slept at his gun and jerked the handle of the door and jump when I got to my feet I was on the sidewalk and bruised but better off in the China boy It was draped over the back of the front seat the crowd that included a towering Hawaiian policeman who promptly told my Hostess shut up gathered in a hurry. So I ran for a cab gave the driver 10 bucks the address I wanted and took off The street on which Lonnie Caldwell it was a neat curving strip that rose sharply from sea level up into the shadow of diamond head itself We were there in less than 10 minutes Finding number 44 was something else Another 30 minutes disappeared before we finally parked away from the place which was glass and Kona wood Tucked deep behind a thick growth of date palms I told the driver to back down the hill without using his motor and I slipped into the grounds and carefully moved toward the house Until what I thought was the trunk of another farm stepped into my path Stop where you are Top was over six and a half feet. There was a shock of flaming right here The whole frame was half covered in dirty yellow shirt once upon a time white ducks and battered brown sandals. Who are you? Someone with an appointment to see Miss Callia why you belong to this place? Yes, and this place belongs to me as well. All of it miss Collier included. She's mine to protect you understand that Malahini Malawit Malahini greenhorn tourist a kind that I hate a kind of Ravaging all that's beautiful stealing the islands from those they belong to make it easy red I'm not here to stick your pretty island in my pocket when you're not looking Well, I want his words with Lonnie Callia You're like the rest of them trying with cunning in deceit to turn a head away from these shores and toward the mainland Where you come from I won't stand for it. Why don't we break this round table up and get to the house? I'm in a hurry But I'm sure that Lonnie will be on my side so sure in fact that we really shouldn't disturb the flower Should we In just a moment the second act of Philip Marlowe, but first this Wednesday night Fred Allen will be Bing Crosby special guest under bingles CBS half hour of laughter and music Earlier this Wednesday the winner of the $1,000 prize in the Dr. Christian prize contest will also be announced by Jean Herschel Star of CBS's Dr. Christian show and don't forget that Groucho Marx and Burns and Allen will also be here on most of These same CBS stations this Wednesday Now with our star Gerald Moore the second act of Philip Marlowe and tonight's story the cloak of Kamehameha Red-headed lunatic with a slow soft voice and fast hard fist took me by surprise I wound up flat on my back before I realized he'd so much as moved That time I got to my feet and took after me was sprinting for a bamboo thicket and had a 30-yard lead It's all he needed to lose me completely And I finally untangled myself in the jungle. I came out on the road But then I heard a motor behind me, so I'd go for the underbrush again. Just as a heavy car rode by I had seen it before in fact, I'd been in it was the limousine that belonged to the Chinese The back seat was empty, but the half-cash chauffeur Jolo was crouched behind a wheel like his life depended on As I walked back to the house I saw that a door was handing open and spilling a shaft of yellow light across the dark grounds I started up the walk when it came The second later Lonnie Kahlia burst into the path of light and ran for the open door I went after a quarter by one arm and spun her around What happened why just frame line back there in the pond I heard a noise in there found who will come on show Minutes ago. Yeah, I gave him the cloak No, it's gone. Who is it Lonnie? Do you know her? You know my neck crawled as Lonnie tagged the thing in the lily pond with my name It was faced down in the shallow water and three inches of crooked steel in the ugly curved handle of a criss Stuck straight up between his shoulder blades Somebody had made a very grim mistake But it took five minutes of argument and a thorough checking of all the credentials I carried Convinced the badly frightened Lonnie I dragged the body out of the water and up onto the grass and I went through his pockets and occurred From the Hawaiian island art products company limited number 12 Harbor Street. I mean anything. No, I've never heard it What's that on the back? Flight number and departure time of the plane. I was supposed to take out of Los Angeles Well, where he is. He's been one jump ahead of me all the way right up to your lily pond here Tell me was anyone with him when you gave him the cloak a half cast and a chauffeur's uniform No, no, he was alone. I I gave him the cloak justice Schindler had instructed me to listen Lonnie There was a down at the heel redhead here just before you came out. He claimed to be a friend of yours Yes, that must have been Lawrence Cochran the poet and making him rutted these days Lawrence wrote one great poem years ago About two lovers who leaped to death over the valley to keep from being separated and their souls turning to birds It's still very popular here in the islands. What happened Lawrence got the habit of drowning himself in gin And now the natives call him Bapoolie Bapoolie the crazy one. Yeah, well, that's closer He's always hanging around My mother wanted me to marry him at one time and now that she's dead. He thinks he should look after me Okay, Lonnie, let him keep thinking so. What do you mean? I mean you can use a good watchdog right now So when Cochran comes back make him park on your doorstep. You stay inside and be careful With guys named Philip Marlowe getting knives in their backs. I've got a few things to do myself But fast like to borrow that souped-up convertible of yours. Where are you going? Number 12 Harbour Street in the Hawaiian island art products company limited Harbour Street was a narrow twisting alley two blocks below King Street a social Sargasso where the derelicts of the Pacific quietly pounded in dives Built of the damp crevices between warehouses However, number 12 turned out to be a practically blank wall It was one small window high up Door with a heavy iron grill over the glass on which a Hawaiian island art products limited I K Lee president was painted in small black letters and a thin passageway blocked by an iron gate at the side of the building a Light burned inside that the door was locked So after I'd ruined my shoe shine and skinned all my knuckles. I managed to climb over the gate and edge down the passageway to the rear I could hear water It's a marble fountain playing in the center of a walled garden as Oriental is the forbidden city I Ease the cross it's rigid fingertips to an open door peaked in and then reached for my gun Because sitting inside at a sleek white mahogany desk was the Chinese in the Panama This is a somewhat unexpected turn of events Please be careful with that gun, won't you? You'll be careful Lee and you won't have to worry about the gun Tell me something. Why'd you break your neck to get Kamehameha's cloak? You know, it'll happen if you try to sell it my good man I can sell that clock every day for the rest of my life a few feathers at a time Yeah, the world must be full of feather collectors. Oh, it is I manufacture the beautiful feather lay that Islanders wear on the head and While the bird is extinct desire for its gleaming feathers is not One or two golden mambo feathers in each leg and instead over me a hundred dollars a piece I can get double that or triple Now do you understand mr. Marlowe? You know, you got things a little mixed up haven't you Lee? Lisa Hussle your boy Marlowe is dead at Lonnie Kalyer's place. Oh No, that was a mr. Blake and easily accessible gentlemen. I hired a main street in Los Angeles He only pretend to be used for obvious reasons then to set the feather cloak on yes I've known all about Paula Chandler's plan since the inception. I followed every move he made In fact was I who caused all your trouble on the way to the airport this morning by means of a bribe to your driver Too bad you won't be able to keep your nest line with Kamehameha's bathrobe after all Lee Because I'm gonna walk out of here with it or big chunks of your face. You name it. Where's the cloak now? I gather from this that you do not have it mr. Marlowe. That's what's known as a shrewd observation Hmm, and that mr. Schindler as I suspect has tricked us both. You're stalling Lee I'm wanting to start talking. Oh, that is all I wanted to find out Magic You behave Schindler has the cloak no doubt about it, so I must find him at once with no interference from you mr. Marlowe Jolo you have his gun so lock him inside. I may need him later Something I have cast under my spine the edge of his hand might my legs were paralyzed I Felt like the practice dummy in a school for chiropractors Rejoice my body hate when I move so I didn't move until Feeling ooze back into my legs And I wobbled to my feet looked around It was a small high window. I'd seen from the street a Heavy chair at desk with a lamp and something like a like a picture framed in bamboo on the wall. I glanced at it Kept looking hard for a long long time until I finally realized what it meant The answer to the whole thing was contained in that bamboo frame. I had to get out and get out fast I unplugged the lamp plastered my back against the wall next to the door and tapped on the lampshade to intrigue Jolo into coming in It worked The knob turned slowly I threw the lamp up at the window the crash brought the door open with a jerk on the jerk stepped in With my gun in his hand Where are you Right here Jolo I'll get up. I got some magic to show you a trick. I learned in Kansas called the haymaker And on the whole to the street door and out of the car There was no traffic problem with that hour So I jammed the gas pedal at the floor and held it there right through the heart of Honolulu and up the twisting road That led to the mountains back of the city the echoing raw the motor is a tunnel through the forest lining the road Was finally replaced by another role The unending gale which shrieks through a precipitous past three thousand feet above the city the poly I swung the car to the side of the road and ran the rest of the way Out to where the rocks rose to a knife edge that dropped a sheer thousand feet to the valley floor Then I spotted them Lonnie lying at the cliff's edge and standing over it He's red hair ripped by the wind with the mad island point drunk as a lord and flapping around his shoulders Like a pair of huge gold wings was the cloak of Kamehameha Your destiny is here You belong to the islands Lonnie like this cloak and I We must never and our souls will turn the bird the cloak Cochran must have lost it as he fell the wind brought it back to me I don't want to touch it ever again. I know I know what you mean. I'll carry it. Come on Lonnie. Let's get out of here Good black coffee in the morning sun. Don't make one forget an ugly night. You're right, my friends All right, yeah More coffee. Oh, thanks Lonnie. So Lee was picked up by the Honolulu police, huh? Sure, I had to set up. He's spent some time in prison and Jollo too And by the way, he was still unconscious when they got to him What in the world did you hit Jollo with Marlowe? Enthusiastic mainly And that's when you got away and came up to the Polly Well, how did you know it was Lawrence and where he'd be well It's all tied with that one popular poem that Cochran had written Lonnie that anonymous letter you've gotten Los Angeles Mr.. Schindler was aligned from that poem Kabeha me has cloak of golden feathers will bring no list How did you find it out Marlowe? Well, you see when I was locked up in Lee's factory I saw a full copy of the poem on the wall in a little bamboo frame When I came to that line you just quoted it stuck out like it was printed in neon See for me that Peg Cochran is the killer going on that hunch. I I try to look at things from his angle It was a murderer sure to be caught desperately in love insanely possessive of everything He thought belonged here in the islands and he was an unbalanced lush as well Most of it figured that's all See And when he was cornered he went back to the one important thing that he'd ever done exactly Lonnie He was lost so he identified himself for the hero of his poem and took that as the only way out amazing Yeah, truly an amazing thing. Yeah, it's a terrible thing too. Mr.. Schindler. Well, we all got what we went after didn't we each of us Even Lawrence Cochran Schindler left to catch a plane for the mainland Lonnie said Aloha and left to get ready for our date I sat on the lanaya the hotel and watch the sweep of the Pacific from diamond head to the hills across the harbor The white sand Green shallows over the reef to the purple depths beyond There's a warm wind whispered through the palms From somewhere I heard the soft strung of the ukulele It suddenly occurred to me What does Aloha really mean? The adventures of Philip Marlowe bringing you Raymond Chandler's most famous character star Gerald Moore are Produced and directed by Norman McDonald and are written for radio by Robert Mitchell and Gene Levitt Featured in tonight's transcribe cast where Wilms Herbert Lin Allen Jack Krushen Dan O'Hurley he Byron Kane and Peter Leeds the special music is composed and conducted by Richard Arant Be sure and be with us again next week when Philip Marlowe says This time a dead witness a hundred thousand dollar bribe the eyes of a beautiful dreamer and a corpse in a tool bin We're all tied tight to the same thing a fox's tail This is Roy Rowan speaking for CBS the Columbia broadcasting system