 From Hollywood it's time now for Johnny dollar George Reed here. Well, hi George. Haven't heard from you in a long time Skip the formalities Johnny. I have a problem you and everybody else $25,000 problem possibly 50,000 double indemnity clause, huh? Who's insured? Name is Mercedes Crabtree Crabtree elderly woman lives out in Montana And how long has the policy been in effect almost 30 years and you're crying because you have to pay it off Well, that's it Johnny What? A few days ago somebody took a shot at her. They missed but yeah last night she disappeared Bob Bailey in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance Investigator yours truly Johnny dollar and now act one of yours truly Johnny dollar Expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny dollar to Floyd's of England American branch office Hartford, Connecticut Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the silver bell matter Spell be double le Expense account item 185 cents taxi from my apartment at George Reed's office He was on his feet waiting for me his suit look like he'd slept in it Close the door Johnny. Yeah, sure Johnny, I'm not gonna mince words with you. This one's important Not only to me, but to Floyd. Oh Because Mrs. Crabtree was one of our first American clients and because Murdoch Morton sold her that policy Murdoch Morton who that my goodness Johnny mr. Morton's the president of our company. You should know that by now. Oh, yeah, I suppose I should yes Well at the time mr. Morton sold her the policy he and Mrs. Crabtree became very close friends and where was mystic Crabtree while all this was going on he'd been killed in an accident in his mind six months before Johnny you have a very suspicious. I know George prettier people than you told me. Yeah Well, anyway, since that time mr. Morton and Mrs. Crabtree have corresponded regularly and when mr. Morton heard that someone had taken a Shot at her wait a minute George mr. Morton's in London, right? Yes Well, just how did he happen to hear about the shooting through Mrs. Crabtree? No, Mrs. Henrietta Scott wrote to him Oh, and just who is Mrs. Henrietta Scott according to her letter to mr. Morton She claims to be Mrs. Crabtree's only friend and silver girl silver girl Montana It's where Mrs. Crabtree's lived for over half a century and it's where mr. Morton wants you to go immediately When did Mrs. Crabtree disappear? Well, you see the telegram from Mrs. Scott early this morning She was supposed to have dinner with Mrs. Crabtree last night and caught up to her house, but it was empty She waited until midnight checked again this morning then wired us. Hmm Who's the beneficiary on that life policy George? He doesn't mean a thing. No, why not? Not only a couple of people know the policy exists. Also the beneficiary happens to be Mrs. Crabtree's favorite charity Good luck Johnny. Oh, thanks pal. I'm gonna need it Expense account item two one hundred and seventy eight dollars their transportation to Butte, Montana Item three fourteen dollars and ninety cents bus fare butte to Silver Gulch like George had said it wasn't much of a town I checked into the Silver Queen hotel rented a battered model T and drove out to the home of Mrs. Henrietta Scott I'm sorry, Mrs. Scott. Yes. Oh, you must be from Grandma's trunk. Yes, beg your pardon They sent you didn't they well come along with me in the house, Mrs. Scott. Wait a minute. I'm afraid you've made a mistake You mean you're not from Grandma's trunk. I don't even know Grandma It's an antique shop in butte. They said they send a man out to offer me a price for my hand carved rosewood headboard You're not him huh? No, no, my name is Johnny dollar. I'm an insurance investigator. Well, why didn't you say so right off? Come on inside I Suppose you're here about poor Mercedes Crabtree God rest her soul. Yes, that's right Is she still missing with her soul sit down anywhere? No, not there You comfortable now fine The sheriff and a couple of men who worked for Charlie Green Paul. We're not looking for her most of yesterday They're at it again today, but they won't find her at least wise alive Well, can you think of anyone who might have a reason to kill her? Well Now that's hard to say Most people in this town right now. They ain't got no use for us They say she's stopping progress. Well, just what do you mean by stopping progress? Well, try to Green Park busy getting some of the old buildings fixed up so they're livable again He's planning on turning the whole town into a tourist attraction. Uh-huh. Well mercenaries. He won't hold still for it He won't let him set foot on any of her land won't sell none of it neither Does she own very much of the property around here little more than half of main Street and the thing that Charlie wants most the Silverbell Please wait it was once George's crab tree discovered it Yes, when the thing ran out he's killed trying to find it again after that the mine was closed I missus Scott the town closed down when the mine missus scott were you with missus crab tree the day someone tried to shoot her No, he was walking up toward her mine alone thought it was just a stray bullet Just where is this line? Oh, you can see it from the window right behind you. It's about halfway up the hill yonder Yeah, you come over here and take Well, I'll be first cousin to a stink bug. Why what is it up there on that hill going toward the mine? It's Charlie Green Paw and Slim Richard's the sheriff's deputy No, I wonder if they think she's down inside that mine a few minutes later. I caught up with Green Paw and Richard's They'd snop near a large newly painted no trespassing sign about 20 yards from the mine's entrance. I introduced myself Mr. Dollar, you see that sign says no trespassing. Yeah Well folks around here take the signs. Mrs. Crab tree had put up mighty seriously at right slim sure is You mean you're not going in there Green Paw. Well now. We didn't say we weren't going in We just thought we'd better consider it before we did anything hasty, but she could be dying in there Provide and she's in there right mr. Green ball. Yeah, that's right slim now dollar you want to go on in why there's nothing to stop No, sir, not a thing I left daylight behind as I followed the narrow tunnel deep into the side of the hill About 50 yards down the tunnel branched off in two different directions. I stopped for a moment Then took the one to the right I Hadn't gone 10 feet when it happened Johnny dollar in a moment It is a rare event when a young man decides to leave civilization behind and hide himself away in the steaming jungle Just so he can help his fellow humans in a remote corner of the world The late Dr. Tom Dooley did just that when he left the United States to help the sick and starving Jungle people in the little kingdom of Laos in Southeast Asia Dr. Dooley's story is well known to nearly everyone and all over the world people talk of his little jungle hospital on stilts That's where he treated the dread diseases of the jungle and trained native medical technicians So that they might help their own people Dr. Dooley wrote and lectured to many people so that the work of his medical assistance program Medical might go on It was not easy for someone so young and so talented to give up the bright lights of the city and plant himself down in an unknown Jungle just for the purpose of helping unfortunate people. He didn't even know But through medical Dr. Tom Dooley wanted to help people They wanted to help people to help themselves Today the work of medical is going forward in a number of countries besides Laos Young men are being sent to the United States to be schooled in medicine with the idea of returning to their own countries to help their own people Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of medical supplies have been donated by American businessman and pharmaceutical companies today Dr. Tom Dooley's work is being continued for him It is helping to create better understanding It is an injection of the spirit of freedom The right of all men everywhere And now act two of yours truly Johnny dollar and the silver bell matter I wasn't alone in the mine that was for sure But whoever was in there with me wanted to be alone and resented the intrusion I wondered if they could hear so I picked up a rock and tossed it on down the side of the tunnel Well, I'll be him Mrs. Crabtree is that you? No, wait a minute. My name is Johnny dollar insurance investigating. Oh, no, I don't intend to Looking for you your friend mr. Morton is worried about you Yes, ma'am. I sure will That's right, ma'am your friend mrs. Scott wrote to him You know murder no ma'am. I've never had the pleasure You're such a fine gentleman. I remember years ago when I first met him He was so kind of understanding. Hey, what's the matter? Oh crazy fool thing. I did come in here and fall and hurt myself bad too Mr. Dollar, you're just gonna have to carry me out. It'll be a pleasure She couldn't have weighed more than 80 pounds six shooter and all I carried her out of the mine and down the hill to her cabin I had just finished making her as comfortable as I could when mrs. Scott arrived You ever hear such sick garbage mr. Dollar woman stop looking like you buried me yesterday and run and get the doctor to take care of my ankle Your ankle? Well, what's the matter with it? Well, it's busted Now, why do you think mr. Dollar had to carry me? Oh Is there a doctor in silver gulch doc weaver? He's pretty old. He's doctored me for almost 40 years So get him Henrietta for I get mad at you for tattling to mr. Morton. Yes. Yes. Yes. I'll do I'll do it right now Now then mr. Dollar you come over and sit by me Keep counting until the doc gets here. Yeah, sure Hey, you know, you really ought to rest Why don't you start asking me questions mr. Dollar came all the way out here to do that now didn't you? Well, there are a few things i'm curious about like what now for one thing Why you took those shots at me in the mine What you might be one of charlie greenpaw's friends Well, he's the man who's trying to buy your mind, isn't he? But I ain't gonna sell it No, sir. No matter how much he offers You believe the mine could be worked again someday might be somebody could find the vein again But that ain't why I won't sell it's because My husband He's buried in there mr. Dollar him and the others that were caught in that cave in Oh, I see I've told them all if they step one foot on my property. I'm gonna shoot first and ask questions later Aren't you afraid someone might shoot back one of these days? Haven't so far that's not what mr. Scott told us. I know what she told him She's mistaken by that bullet missed me by a good two feet. You don't think it could have been a warning No, I don't People in these parts if they wanted to fright me there are better ways of doing it than that Well, if that's so I sure hope they don't try any of them No one at least so far as she knew had reason enough to try killing her Not even charlie greenpaw although she refused to cooperate with his silver gulch improvement committee I waited until mrs. Scott returned with a doctor then left and drove back to my hotel I had finished supper and was heading toward my room when someone called me Oh, mr. Dollar. Yeah Oh, mr. Greenpaw. I was just thinking about you. That's so yeah I was wondering why you hadn't thought to take a look in the silver bell mine when you first heard that mrs. Crabtree was missing Well to tell the truth. I'd left the search up to the sheriff until the day Then this morning is about that's my wife She said if something did happen to mrs. Crabtree it sure looked like I did it good thing you listened because she was right Yes, I know Say dollar I hear mrs. Crabtree's taking quite a shine to you. Oh, what'd you hear there duck weaver said? That's all she talked about Hey, look If you'd like to pick yourself up a few hundred dollars, you sure could do it easy Oh, how's that? Just get the old lady to sell me her mine and the acreage along next to mrs. Scott's place I'd give her full value for both and then come to enough money for her to live on the rest of her life real comfortable Now you do that dollar and I'll give you $1,000 cash You know something greenpaw I could have been mistaken about you You want that mine and the land around it real bad, don't you? Sure I spent a good deal of money fixing up the old buildings here in town If I can get the silver bell and enough land out there to put a dude ranch on Why this town will be able to make virginia city look second-rate Now, uh, what do you say? I don't know. I'll relay your proposition to mrs. Crabtree the rest is What's all the excitement out there? What is it? What's going on fire? Act three of yours truly johnny dollar in a moment For thousands of years the oceans of the world have taken their toll of the treasures of the people who live near them Or travel over them and calm and in storm And for an equally long time These same people have dived to the bottoms of these oceans seeking those treasures gold silver jewels And emblems of tradition or symbols of history have been the sought after prizes late in 1959 a group of english divers Seeking underwater specimens with fish and plant life off the coast of the island of tecerra in the azores Came across a group of some 17 ancient cannons They'd been swept off the walls of the old fortress by a tidal wave sometime during the middle of the 19th century And sank about a hundred feet to the bottom of frequently storm-swept waters News of the discovery was relayed to the portuguese government which gave permission for the raising of the relics American skin divers stationed at the air force base on tecerra Volunteered to do the job on off-duty hours In cooperation with the portuguese museum The men made a few exploratory dives to determine the situation Then the salvage work began After cleaning the cannons some made of brass others of bronze It was discovered that they had been forged in england france and portugal more than 110 years before Now the shiny symbols of history are on view in a portuguese museum The portuguese people are happy because of an unselfish american gesture That brought back to them their symbols of the defense of freedom The right of all men everywhere And now act three of yours truly johnny dollar and the silver bell matters By the time we reached the cabin it was all over For a moment i was afraid mrs. Cranberry hadn't managed to escape Then i saw her on the ground near the sheriff's car wrapped in blankets Hey you get back over there It's all right sheriff this is mr. dollar Oh i heard you're in town mr. dollar This is sheriff wilkins johnny Sheriff you have any idea how this fire started? Not yet i don't i ask her but I'd rather not talk about it now johnny Maybe maybe some other time Whatever you say She's pretty done here now Johnny yeah You tell mr. Greenpaw Tell him i'll sell Will you do that for me Well i Well look i'll talk to you about it in the morning No I want to sell now Nothing to stay here for Nothing We'd better get it down to this is scott's place Doc weaver's giving us a morphine You go ahead sheriff I'm going on back to town Sure see you later dollar Oh mr. Dolly is she gonna be all right Yeah yeah i think so Greenpaw do you have a map of this area including all the land you're planning on buying But not on me it's down at the office You want to see it tonight Yeah i sure do I took a look at the map I got a little sick at my stomach Then drove back to henry at a scott's There was a line on in the front room So i got out of the car and walked up to the door Johnny dollar mrs. Scott Oh when mr. Dolly I'm the tree's keeping sound and i'm all ready for bed I want to see mrs. Crabtree I want you to wake her up Well i just couldn't do that The doctor told me she should have as much sleep as she can get Yeah you took his orders a little too literally mrs. Scott By whatever do you mean I mean trying to burn her house down with her still in it Yes she trusted you She thought you were the only person she could trust Then when she found out different she decided to sell her land and get away from here Why that's a pack of the biggest lies i ever did here Now what reason would i have for wanting to hurt the poor old deans Money money You own most of the land adjoining the Crabtree property Including that around the silver bell Greenpaw wouldn't buy your land unless he could buy mrs. Crabtree When she refused to sell you decided to see that that property changed hands the hard way If that's so why would i be so concerned about her now Why would i write mr. Morton telling him she'd been shot at and then wiring when she disappeared why To protect yourself you purposely missed her that day you had to set up your alibi You've got no proof No no you're right i haven't But mrs. Crabtree has She knows who and what started that fire in a cabin Now get out of my way No Oh Oh mrs. Crabtree mrs. Crabtree All right mr. Dollar You move away from her Not until i find out Move away now or i'll shoot Well when you put it that way mrs. Scott i'll i'll have to You were right about me missing her on purpose Nobody's lived up here long as i have They don't miss for the right for good is this one Mr. Dollar Mr. Dollar she started the fire Right today you shut up You you try and make me Maybe i will like i should have before You say that oh no you don't Give me that bribe already You okay mrs. Crabtree Yes did i did i do good getting her attention You you did just fine I was ready to leave silver galtz the next day But i stayed over for another week waiting for a little english gentleman By the name of murdoch morton to arrive and claim his bribe Yeah just about everybody in montana came to mrs. Crabtree Pardon me mrs. Morton's wedding Everybody that is but her old friend mrs. Henry of the scott Expense account total three hundred and seventeen dollars and ten cents Yours truly Johnny dollar And now here is our star to tell you about next week's story Next week a beautiful girl is killed And with her goes a big part of my own heart It's one of those things that Well join us won't you yours truly Johnny dollar Truly johnny dollar starring bob bailey originates in hollywood Written by charles b smith it is produced and directed by jack johnstone Heard in our cast were virginia greg dj thompson g stanley jones frank nelson san edwards and will write Be sure to join us next week same time and stations for another exciting story of yours truly johnny dollar This is damn coverly speaking the united states armed forces radio and television service