 Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission behind the enemy lines knowing you may never return alive? What you have just heard is the question asked during the war to agents of the OSS Ordinary citizens who do this question answered? Yes This is cloak and dagger Black warfare espionage international intrigue these are the weapons of the OSS Tonight's story seeds of doubt Concerning an OSS agent who tracked down Nazis in American uniforms is Suggested by actual incidents recorded in the Washington files of the office of strategic services a Story that can now be told I'm glad I wasn't there when Celeste got my message If I had been I might have called the whole deal off found some other way to carry out my mission What I did was pretty brutal. I Know just how it must have been I gave the note to the baker's delivery boy on re He must have driven the dilapidated old truck through those majestic iron gates of the Chateau Breton 12 miles south of Paris Circled the huge house and come to a stop at the servants entrance And perhaps it was Miriel herself Celeste personal maid who answered the door poor mademoiselle. Oh, thank you Poor will monsieur Merci madame And then Miriel began that long climb up to Celeste roof Three flights of marble stairs and then down the carpeted corridor to the fourth door on the right hand side Celeste was probably reading She always was in those days Was away a passing time while she waited for some word from my friend Paul Blanchard It was all so mysterious the baker's truck was at the door and the boy Give it to me. Voila, ma'am Who didn't know I think It is not not Oh my dear, but then then it is this side is Paul my pearl he is here in Paris He is waiting for me in the cafe in Montparnasse All the bond you Was afraid he was dead That's how it must have been And all the while I sat in a dingy little room in the back of the cafe to our show drinking cognac feeling like a dog waiting I Waited about an hour and then Mademoiselle Breton. Oh You're not born. No, where is a mademoiselle? I was a friend of Paul Blanchard Mademoiselle answer me Very well Paul is dead Like I say It was good But is there any way of saying it that isn't She tottered toward the table and then slumped into a chair Dead Her face was deathly white And yet it was still the loveliest face I'd ever seen But This note It is Paul's handwriting. Well a forgery mademoiselle The OSS is well equipped to forge any man's handwriting OSS oh Begin to understand You are a lieutenant Martin Ingalls morale office OSS and you deliberately told that's right. I Had to see you, but I I couldn't come to the chateau and I knew you wouldn't ignore a note like that I see I will eat you for this lieutenant as long as I'll be rather awkward considering our future relationship We shall have no future relationship you and I I think we will I've come to power us to take Paul's place Decis plays yes as your fiancee at first that is and then later As your husband She sat down again slowly And listened in stony silence as I told her how I'd met her fiancee in North Africa. I Told her how you describe me and Then how you describe their swift frenzied courtship and Geneva just before Paul joined the free French forces Then I Told her how he died all loved France Yes And he told me once that you loved her too And that's why I'm sure you won't refuse to make your own sacrifice for her and that is what miss you Allowing me to pose as Paul Letting everyone think I'm the man you met in Switzerland. How do you know you could pose as poor? That someone would might not recognize you the OSS has made sure that will be perfectly safe You see Paul's father was a government official in Madagascar for 20 years before the war Paul visited France only once and that was the age of eight and From that age until he met you in Switzerland. He hadn't set foot in Europe So you see no one would know the difference. I would know it of course That would be your sacrifice And I would France Benefit by my suffering I Couldn't blame her for putting it like that But I wasn't exactly flattered. I Tried to explain my mission D-Day was six months behind us and most of France had been liberated But now there was bestowed the battle of the bolds von Rundstedt's big offensive and black warfare is a game too can play Morale or the lack of it can help decide OSS knew that And so did the Nazis and that's why they're German agents floating around Paris doing their best to plant seeds of doubt and and to Destroy a lied morale But how is it they're not good. Well, that's my job It's not going to be easy because most of them are in gi uniforms Why we send agents behind German lines they send them behind ours Black warfare was Hitler's first great weapon Why do you think Poland the low countries? Yes, even France collapsed so fast in 1940 Because the Nazis had agents behind the lines fifth columnists doing the same thing then that they're doing now But that was in 1940 the war isn't over yet, mademoiselle Far from it and the longer these Nazi agents operate in Paris the longer the war is going to last Now that's why it's important that the OSS smoke them out and fast Why it should be necessary for you to to become your husband Well because then I'd be the master of Chateau Breton And what could be more natural for a wealthy Frenchman and his wife out of I had a gratitude to the Americans and then to throw open their home to lonely gi's in Paris You mean parties mademoiselle cocktail parties dinners dances whatever might attract the gi's and German agents Nesta, right It's it affairs like that. They do their work there. They spread rumors lies stir up dissension And it wouldn't take me long to spot them There's a very clever scheme lieutenant There is only one thing wrong with it. I do not care to be your wife It would be a strictly impersonal arrangement And just as soon as my job is done It is out of the question Very well, ma'am cell. I'm sorry Paul was wrong Wrong About you That was another dirty trick playing on her memory of Paul her love for him But it worked in a half hour we were Engaged do you say less bread? Don't take this man to be your lawful wedded husband. I do and Do you poor blanchard? Take this woman to be one of the Paris blue bloods who crowded into the church suspected the headquarters Colonel wasn't really a minister And I guess I was the only one who wished he were After the ceremony Celeste and I drove out to the chateau and settled down to Housekeeping Your husband What is it you want lieutenant? Well, I just got back from the USO. I announced our first open house for Saturday Looks like we're gonna have quite a mob. We should be ready for them You don't mind my stepping in We can talk about it, but We just did talk about it. No Yeah, I Yes, I guess we did then good night And that was married life of the chateau It's a good thing our series of parties did start then took my mind off Other things It looked like every Joe in the European theater attended those parties the champagne clothes The canapes vanished each clam bake was a bigger success than the one before it Except I didn't spot any Nazi agents. Yes, we're plenty of rumors. Sure That's one thing an army always has plenty of I hear we're getting our brains beat out at best. Don't this man's war ain't over yet pal The guy was telling me the other day how the brass snuff food things that can't break You're like a guy was saying the other day if Hitler wants to negotiate Oh, let's negotiate and get it over with so as we can go home I heard Hitler's got a secret weapon Bacteriological stuff. He's just waiting for the right time to use it If I'd arrested every guy I heard repeating a rumor I'd have had half the GIs in Paris in the clink The guy I was looking for was a guy who did all the talking The other day I Knew he was one of the guys lounging in the living room or sprawled on a patio or loafing in the gardens Yes, but which one For several days. I didn't get anywhere and then I noticed corporal Alan Chester I might never have paid any attention to him if he hadn't paid so much attention to Celeste Every time I looked up they had their heads together and Celeste was smiling And the time I found them sitting on a bench in the garden. She was actually laughing Well, if it was a good story, you're going to have to tell it again corporal You have met my husband, haven't you Alan? This is Corporal Chester Paul. We've met so many times. It's getting embarrassing I've already apologized to your wife, monsieur for wearing out my welcome. No apologies necessary. I only excuses I can't stay away your chateau is the first place. I fell at ease since I left home Where is home cover? Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette Well an American town with a great French name. It's right Maybe that's why I feel like I found a second home right here 20 kilometers from Paris It wasn't much to go just the word that didn't ring quite true. I took Celeste aside and asked her about it Alan Chester? You think he might be... You are a fool, Lieutenant Maybe but I still want to know why I said kilometers in Indiana They say miles. Perhaps if I told you he was a Harvard graduate. They say miles at Harvard, too Only Europeans say kilometers. Yes, sir. And because of that you suspect him of being a Nazi agent How absurd. He is the most charming of all the men who have come here. I noticed you thought so Did you, Lieutenant? Then maybe That is the reason you suspect him. I Admitted she might have something there. I admitted it to myself Not to select An hour later a jeep with four GIs and it rolled through the gates of the chateau and one of the GIs was Corporal Alan Chester and 30 seconds later I was behind the wheel of Celeste little Jaguar following the Jeep Dust was falling and the road to Paris was lined with traffic and it wasn't too hard to keep a few cars behind the Jeep Seeing without being seen In town the Jeep pulled up in front of a cafe on the Boulevard Saint-Germain and Corporal Chester climbed out and waved goodbye to the other three Luckily it was a gloomy joint. He walked straight across the dance floor. I Huddled the walls moved in the same direction He didn't stop at the bar. He didn't sit down at a table He headed straight for a back door He opened it and he went out. I Gave him ten seconds Then I went out the back door, too It was an alley and it's dark. There's only a Paris alley can be So dark. I thought there was only one guy leaning against the building I don't miss here. It's good was available on the cigarette. I dug into my pocket for a cigarette That's when I knew that there were two guys. I whirled around The second one was standing behind me and there was something in his hand that looked like a blackjack My fist shot out quick and connected But number one was on me then with a hole that I hurt I broke away and I let him have it That's when I found out what it was the other man held that looked like a blackjack It was a blackjack. I hit the cobblestone The moment I saw number two standing over me and heard a girl singing Far away, and I didn't see or hear anything more for a long time It was dawn when I climbed up to the third floor of the Chateau If Celeste was sleeping she woke up plenty fast And if she had to get into that shimmery house coat she wore she must have done it in record time Didn't tell her that she looked wonderful I didn't ask her if I could come in either. I just walked past her and I sat down on the van I told her what had happened in the alley off the boulevard Saint-Germain But all the time I talked I was thinking of something else But we were alone But she was very beautiful So now of course you are quite certain that Corporal Chester is a German agent. Well, that's how it adds up, doesn't it? Perhaps I am not so good at figures These men may have been thieves. They took your money in a spa. Well, that doesn't prove anything Well, that could have been a cover-up. But why would Corporal Chester have wanted you beaten up? What has stopped me from tailing him? Now that cafe may be a regular hangout and his boys may hang around outside to take care of any shadows who show up Then you think he did not know you were following him tonight, huh? Well his boys may have reported that they slugged the guy in the alley, but They can't be sure who I was or even that I was tailing him I look that funny I am just thinking what they fool you are lieutenant strange I Was thinking the same thing myself What do you mean a Man who has a wife as lovely as you Doesn't even kiss her He is a fool, isn't he? He would be even more of a fool if he tried Have you forgotten that bargain This strictly impersonal relationship you said I said it when you said you'd be loyal to Paul Blanchard's memory Then am I not being loyal? I don't know The way you smiled at Alan Chester wouldn't suggest you are oh You do not like the way I smiled at him, huh? I don't like it at all Oh Then naturally you would not wish me to accept this invitation. What invitation? That is why I call you a fool lieutenant You think Alan Ayers meant to keep anyone from finding out where he is staying Why then is he so careless with me? Why does he invite me to his room? Why is that? Oh? Of course if I went I could tell you where he is staying Perhaps I could tell you a great deal more if he's a Nazi agent. I would surely find it out But you do not want me to go You're to go whether I wanted or not Oh noble you are lieutenant So she kept her date with corporal Alan Chester and I paced the rooms of the chateau and waited for Suffered It was dawn when she got back Well, let's have the report the personal one lieutenant or the impersonal one The impersonal one is the only one that concerns me. Maybe Well, I found out nothing and I am more certain than ever that there is nothing to find out Okay Thank you Well, maybe you'll try again some other night tomorrow night. It is all arranged I see and I will give you the personal report to lieutenant even though it does not concern you I had a lovely time It was the next night when I began to suspect her I suppose I started even before she came home I tried to look at things straight and I asked myself if I were being taken for a ride She walked in an hour later You are wasting precious time lieutenant I still think Alan is just what he says he is an american soldier on the touch service in ferry I have seen his orders. Well orders can be fake. Oh, c'est ça Then if you are still suspicious I will keep another date with him tomorrow night I decided it better be three of us on that date She told me the name of his hotel an old and honorable one In the root of old Jirov I slipped into its musty lobby early the next morning An old man with bushy brows and a faintly familiar face eyed me as I approached the desk I told him I was paul blanchard the master of chateau britain If you say you are paul blanchard monsieur Then you are paul blanchard Any reason to suppose i'm not I mean all monsieur none at all Just as there was no reason during the resistance to suppose that you are an oss agent I remembered him then It'd been in the marquee unit i'd worked with on a mission before d day It was pierre salon a patriot. It was a break and I knew that I was safe Safe enough to tell him as much as necessary It shall be done lieutenant This couple chester is in room 613 Room 612 will be vacant all evening Here's the key to a lieutenant The door between the two rooms will be unlocked And fortunately the walls are paper thin Five minutes after celeste had left that night I was on the road to paris At the hotel I went straight to room 612 let myself in Was empty pitch black There was no sound from 613 Celeste and corporal chester had probably gone to a cafe first It might be a long wait It was a long wait And a hot one The windows were closed the room was stuffy I stood there in the blackness and the sweat poured down my face In the minutes ticked by Then at last the door to 613 opened I pressed my ear against the wall Pierre was right about that wall. It was paper thin. I thought we'd never get up here darling. I could kiss you I've been wanting to kiss you all evening The sweat was rolling down my face harder than ever I don't see how I'm ever going to be able to leave you celeste Leaving paris tomorrow morning It's very hard to kiss Alan Yeah, if I were not married If Paul were not really my husband What's the use of saying it he is your husband But what if I tell you he is not What if I confess it is all a sham and mockery I wasn't sweating anymore now. I was so cold. I shifted. I don't understand celeste You mean he's only pretending to be your husband But why in order to trap you He is an emeritus an officer on the oasis He thinks you are a initiation The butt of my revolver was cold too My hand squeezed tight around it. Is this true celeste He actually thinks I'm a german And I think so too I know you are Celeste, but I don't care I would not have told you my secret if I did I love you How long would you go on loving me? If I were an enemy of france With his any country to any woman I would love you no matter what you are All right celeste You're right I'm a member of the intelligence service of the third right I twisted the knob jerked open the door and stepped into room 613 Thank you for selling me out mademoiselle You weren't a traitor. I might never have been sure about corporal chest It was a lamp on the table the only light in the room and it stood behind him As I spoke a swift movement of his arms and a crashing to the floor Now there was darkness again enveloping all three of us We all moved we changed our positions swiftly silently None of us could speak without tipping off where we were Neither chestner nor I could fire for fear of missing So we circled the room We waited for our eyes to grow accustomed to the dark And then He must have thought he saw me He missed me The bullet struck something near the door But the flash of his gun was all I needed I fired And then on the third shot wasn't until old pierre shalon opened the door And light from the hall flooded the room But I saw with the light corporal chesters bulleted a hit He mistaken celeste for me She lay dead Where she had dropped In this war even the innocent must die the innocent He was a traitor pierre no no no She deserved to die just as much as that rat over there But if that is so then I should not have told her lieutenant. I'm sorry told her of what She passed by the desk. I thought she was working with you. You you you need a yes Yes, but what did you say to her? I said all is well, ma'am cell. What lieutenant has arrived He is in room 612 Good lord Then she knew all the time Then the only possible reason why she would have told him who I was was Was to persuade him to confess who he was She'd have been crazy to say what she did otherwise Knowing that I was listening then she did not betray you No pierre No, she didn't betray me perhaps It was you she loved them lieutenant No pierre it was france. She loved The rest was easy In corporal chester's room. He found a list of names and code We broke the code before dawn the next morning By that night, we had every nazi agent and gi uniform corral And once again the report of another oss agent closes with the words Mission accomplished this and again next week to another true adventure from the files of the oss on cloak and dagger Heard in tonight's cloak and dagger adventure as lieutenant engels was chuck webster celeste alice frost corporal allen chester joseph julian Others were carl webber evelin juster jerry jarratt louis soren horris bram and anna caron The script was written by ken field and music was under the direction of john gart sound effects by manny seagull and john powers engineering by don avid Tonight's oss adventure was based on the book cloak and dagger by corrie ford and alistair mcbane This program was produced by louis g con and alfred hollander under the direction and supervision of sherman marx Three times mean good times on mbc