 signal oil program that whistle is your signal for the signal oil program the whistler and the whistler and I know many things for I walk by night I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadow yeah I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak yes friends it's time for the signal oil program the whistler rated by independent research the most popular West Coast program in gasoline you know it takes extra quality to go farther and signal is the famous go farther gasoline so look for the signal circle sign in yellow and black that identifies signal service stations from Canada to Mexico and now the whistler strange story murder on Rourke Island on Rourke Island had a curious beginning there was no hatred in Keith Brandon's mind no anger no malice in the beginning there was only relief and freedom and love for a girl named Kathy Dunn as each small private club he could see her across the floor standing near the piano the blue light working magic on the white satin of her evening he smiled as he walked towards me I'm waiting but you're glad to see me please Keith not now kind of welcome is this we settled everything a year ago now if you don't mind wait a minute let me talk to you there's nothing to talk about Kathy they're all watching it what you're dressing please Keith I tell you I've got to talk to you that's all there is to it if you want it in the middle of the floor it's all right now you've got something to tell me I suppose your father's changed his mind put the seal of approval on nightclub singers haven't changed a bit have you old friendly approach well let me tell you something first you had a choice to make between me and your father and you made it as far as I'm concerned it stands pretty bitter I think I've a right to be Kathy I told you then that I loved you I always would I'm sure until father put his half million dollar estate out against me it was different after that wasn't me or the money didn't take you long to decide go right ahead father died last night that's why I'm here you're free now I want you Kathy I love you I wish I could be Kathy please please keep let me you know you love me Kathy tell me I do keep darling I do it was worth waiting for after all wasn't it key the dominating smothering influence of your father is insistence that you live under his roof and eat at his table that you jump every time he cracked the five hundred thousand dollar whip he held over your head for that long terrible year after you made your decision to see it through to the end but it was worth it and they're both yours now Kathy and the money or rather the money in Kathy because you know in your heart that the money will always come first there's a wonderful feeling of freedom inside you as you drive up the treeline drive of your uncle Matt's estate the next morning it seems there was something about the will Matt oh Keith my boy I'm glad you're on time this is Mr. Bradbury your father's lawyer executor of the estate and you do sit down Keith thanks Mr. Bradbury and I have been talking over your father's will doesn't seem a little soon 24 hours that's the way he wanted it 24 hours what do you mean he was part of his arrangement with me that the provisions of the will go into effect 24 hours after his death the probate will come later of course that's why I called you in this morning you see well no I didn't say anything to me about it there are a lot of things he didn't talk to you about Keith what for instance is a state for one thing oh wait a minute you're not telling me that was a change no no change he promised me that when he died I relax Keith his state is yours all right then as we get it over with there must be some papers to sign just a minute your state is yours Keith but it's your father's request that I hold it in trust for you what kind of double talk is that take it easy let me finish Keith according to the will I am to hold the estate in trust but there'll be monthly allotments to you out of the income and you will be eligible to receive them as long as as long as you live with me under this roof he can't do this to me he's dead that money's mine he tortured me kept me prisoner in this house for years he can't do it anymore he's a hairy man he can't reach up out of his grave I don't care I don't care sorry I had to slap you Keith I just had to do it sit down come on sit down I said whether you're aware of it or not your father was very fond of you he felt you still need someone to look out for you I agree with him I'm of age didn't care myself you're a highly emotional young man Keith not as stable as you might be what do you mean not stable you did attempt suicide once over a girl what I was a kid in high school well maybe so I remember it seemed pretty important to your father at the time so I do a crazy thing in high school and he decides I need a guardian for the rest of my life why are you trying to make excuses for a mat you know what's behind it all as well as I do with a bitter selfish old man who had to have things his own way even after he was dead this isn't getting us anywhere Keith let's get the things settled nothing I can do then tell him Bradbury we'll take effect tonight mr. Brandon according to its terms you must live with your uncle six days out of every week suppose I refuse the estate goes to the public hospital fund see how long does this go on as long as your uncle is alive after that I guess you're on your own Bradbury there's nothing in there about marriage is there what do you mean just a minute Matt Bradbury supposing I decide to get married and bring my bride here to live would I be fulfilling the terms of the will you're not considering marriage key answer my question Mr. Bradbury wild no there's nothing that would prevent it great how'd you like to have another steady border Uncle Matt who is it Kathy Don you broke up with her a year ago I saw last night I'm going to be married when tomorrow maybe any objections you you know how your father fell I don't think that makes any difference now nice of the old boy to leave me a loophole suppose I refuse to allow her to come here what about that Mr. Bradbury I'm afraid you can't not he has a legal right to marry and live with his wife if you refuse to let her come here you're preventing him from complying with the terms of the will I see Uncle Matt you better set an extra place for dinner I'm bringing Kathy with me well you're feeling a little better as you drive away from the house toward Kathy's apartment on the other side of town you're on top now for the first time since the whole maddening thing started 15 months ago when your father suddenly decided he wanted you with him for the rest of his life from then on nothing made sense there were no explanations no reasons for anything he knew when the cards were down you do anything for that half million he was right wasn't he you walk up to Kathy's doorway a half hour later hoping she'll understand hello Keith how are you darling all right I guess something wrong no I guess I just talked with Uncle Matt it's not quite the way I told you last night he was appointed trustee of the estate and I'm gonna have to live at the seat is I know I've just talked to your uncle on the phone what did he call you about to tell me about the will he had no right to call you I'm glad he did you you belong there with him Keith what do you mean please don't make it hard for me dear I've decided not to marry wait a minute he didn't tell you everything we're going to be married you're coming there with me to live there's no way he can stop but don't you see I love your Kathy I want you there with me please Keith I I've made up my mind I'm not gonna change it that's all what else did he say tell me Kathy nothing nothing what major change then you wanted to marry me last night what made you change your mind I was something else you told you something else I'm vicious on the you'd better go now and Kathy yes Keith don't don't tell anyone what I just said well of course not I'm sorry I said that said I kill him with the prologue of murder on Rourke Island the signal oil company brings you another strange tale by the whistler just think by the time next week's whistler rolls around it will be 1947 and your car will be another year older more than ever it's going to need the more conscientious service that cars get at dealer owned signal service stations and when I say more conscientious let me show you what I mean when signal dealers lubricate your car for instance they don't take chances on memory no sir instead they check against signals factory recommended lubrication chart which shows every lubrication point on your car and they use nine specialized signal oils and greases so each part will have the exact type of protection it needs for long trouble-free service but do they stop there no sir just to make doubly sure not a single part has been overlooked they check each point again which is why it's called signal double check lubrication now that's the kind of lube service you want when today's aging cars have the last until there are enough new ones to go around and that's the kind of lubrication you get from your friendly dealer owned signal service station and now back to the whistler it came to a climax that morning and Kathy's apartment all the hatred the frustration the rage against the idiotic demands of your father well up inside you and exploded in a single remark I said I kill him and though you don't know it the elements are all there and a pattern is beginning to take shape for the murder on Roark Island your life in prison is beginning all over again with uncle Matt is the jailer instead of your father six days out of every seven keys you're free to come and go as you wish but six days out of every seven you must live with uncle Matt the cedar thanks I thought you'd like this room best nice view of Lake Washington out of the window here great hardly contain myself we want you to be happy here that in the will to what they have to be happy you don't have to stay here Keith you're of age you can leave anytime you want let's not get into that again selling my soul for a half a million dollars and I know it you leave me alone of course we'll have dinner at six don't worry and so it begins again Keith and during the weeks that follow your life falls into a rigid pattern breakfast at eight dinner at six evenings in the library with uncle Matt pouring over his stamp collection and you know it will last as long as he lives that only his death can bring you at last to the thing you've suffered for before long you realize the will to murder is somewhere inside you but it's not until a night in early spring that it finally crystallizes into a plan in many ways it was like all the other nights you and uncle Matt in the library the dull novel stamp collection half penny black I wasn't such a type for that just saying if I wasn't such a type what I'd buy that half penny black stamp dealer in town's got a fine used copy but he wants $40 for kind of quiet tonight wouldn't be surprised if we had little rain when the winds from the southwest rain sure follow do I always say that every night at 855 never miss on the band I got a headache any aspirin upstairs ought to be some of the medicine cabinet oh thanks I'll take a look but there isn't any aspirin in your medicine chest so you try the one in uncle Matt's bathroom find the aspirin on the lower shelf start to close the cabinet door when your eye lights on a bottle a prescription bottle half hidden by the others your hand shakes as you pick it up examine it closely and it's at that precise moment that all the elements come together to form the plan for a murder three months in the future on a tiny tree covered dot in the middle of Puget Sound called Roark Island you are not much interested in your breakfast the next these darn strikes wonder where it'll all end up excuse me uncle Matt some matter aren't you going to finish your breakfast I'm not very hungry and that I'd run down to the library do you mind the library yeah I heard about a book the other day and I sure go ahead just bold me over I guess the public library is the last place in the world I'd expect to find you yes I know I haven't a card but I don't want to take the book out I just want to look at it here what was the title again Materia Medica it's a textbook on drugs that's a very interesting question I don't mean to be stupid doctor but not at all the drug is habit-forming more than that to a victim of certain forms of heart disease it's like eating or breathing it's the difference between life and death how often do they take it once a day usually if they start failure of course how soon two days possibly more it depends thanks very much doctor always glad to help out a detective story writer you know I'm quite a mystery fan myself 825 and that's our number I just wanted to double check I probably filled that prescription myself what does the card say first filled February 14th dr. Talbot for patient Matthew Brandon say and so except for the name of the prescription of course extract of digit others hello Uncle Matt well you must have done a lot of reading been gone all day I had a few other things to do oh yeah you know what today is Saturday April 16th big day isn't it Keith how did you know never forget a birthday an envelope careful I open that yes and I see what it's empty isn't it look down on the corner there oh a half penny black right thank you been wanting okay I I don't want to say chief let me say it will you I took a long walk today Uncle Matt I did a lot of thinking about you and me I've been awfully wrong I want things to be different now I really believe you mean that chief I do don't worry boy I always thought you had a great heart things will be different now yes key things will be different now and you didn't lie to him you did take a walk and you did do a lot of thinking about how you were going to kill him this summer on Roark Island murder him with a perfect ingenious plan that had no possible chance of going wrong the first thing of course is to get his confidence and his spring changes into summer you develop an interest in his stamp collection go for walks with him along the lake spend evenings together at the theater and finally on the day in early June you decide he's ready just look at the lake out there you know as long as I've lived here I never tire of it I don't think I could ever live away from water you know it makes me think of the summers you and father and I used to spend on Roark Island I haven't been there for years we still own it don't we yeah the lodges still live worth the Dory let's go huh just you and I we could do a little fishing loaf around do you really want to of course I do look you need to change to we could hire a boat to take us out there bring bring food with us and spend a week or 10 days George what about it it's a deal three days later as you stand on the jetty on Roark Island and watch the boat moving out into the sound on its way back to Seattle you realize that there's no way you can fail now by the time the boat returns uncle Matt will be dead of heart failure and at long last the legacy will be yours the doctor told you he couldn't last two days without digital 9 should make it certain after dinner it seems an eternity before Matt yawns and finally suggests going to bed you lie there tense until almost midnight he's out in the sleep now breathing heavily as you quietly get out of bed and slip on your clothes first the small boat moored down at the jetty I don't want to do it you cut it loose stand there a minute watching it drift out with the tide then you hurry back to the house on the kitchen table is the portable radio telephone Matt brought along as a safety measure you take out the rectifier to walk quietly to the rear of the house where he can't hear the most important thing of all is the bottle of digitalis you'd seen him slip into his luggage when he thought you weren't looking you carefully feel through the suitcase at the foot of his bed take it out make certain it's all he has and then walk to the sink you empty it you fill it with water from the faucet five minutes later it's back in place in the suitcase there's nothing to do now but wait how'd you like your eggs Keith right got the table set where the plates they're on the stove getting warm I smell that boy nothing like the smell of bacon and eggs is there yeah let me help you dish up take care of the coffee will you you know Keith yeah they're going to have a great time together from now on aren't we nothing let's sit on the breakfast the whistler will return in just a moment with a strange ending of tonight's story tomorrow being New Year's Eve most programs tonight are wishing you happy new year of course we want to do the same but just wishing doesn't always make a thing come true that's why the signal oil organization has asked me to go a step farther tonight and leave the thought with you which if it saves just one life will be well worth this moment of your time New Year's Eve is one of the most hazardous nights of the year for drivers and pedestrians many people are at the wheel who shouldn't be cars are old driving conditions are not good if you don't absolutely have to go out don't but if you must drive take it easy keep the speed down keep a sharp eye on other drivers and pedestrians I know these are somber words for an occasion like this but if all you friends of the whistler will just remember them tomorrow night it'll go a long way toward keeping some unnecessary auto accident from Marring the happy new year which we of the signal organization hope will be yours and now back to the whistler well it's a little unusual to be sitting down to breakfast with a man you know is going to die in a day or two yes it's all done now isn't it your only chance of getting away from Roark Island vanished when you cut the boater drift down at the dock and smash the rectifier tube of the radio telephone Uncle Matt brought along for safety reasons yes the murder has been committed already hasn't it it happened the moment you emptied his bottle of digitalis down the sink and refilled it with plain water you might last 48 hours but it's a good nine days until the boat comes back from the mainland you know it'll happen long before they're halfway through breakfast you look up from your plate to see him watching you a quiet smile on his face your father never would have believed you could eat like that you know Keith you're a different boy now than the one he knew a good or bad it's wonderful I'm going to do something I promised him I'd never do I won't be with you forever I think you can take it now believe me he was afraid you'd kill yourself if you ever found out about it that's why he was so unreasonable about your staying home why you refuse to let you marry that's why he wanted me to take care of you what are you see this did you tell us I'm going to let you take care of it now Matt you'd better develop a lot of respect for it you've been getting it secretly in your coffee for two years now it's the only thing in the world that's keeping you alive let that whistle be your signal for the signal oil program the whistler each Monday at 9 brought to you by the signal oil company who have asked me to remind you to get the most driving pleasure in 1947 drive at sensible speeds be courteous and obey traffic regulations you'll go farther and have a happier new year featured in tonight's story were David Ellis and Charles Seal whistler was produced by George W. Allen with story by Harold Swanton music by Wilbur hatch and was transmitted to our troops overseas by the armed forces radio service this is Marvin Miller speaking for the signal oil company this is CBS the Columbia Broadcasting System