 Adventures by Morse. Carlton E. Morse presents The Cobra King Strikes Back, featuring Captain Friday. If you like high adventure, come with me. If you like the stealth of intrigue, come with me. If you like blood and thunder, come with me. Several weeks ago, two groups of Americans boarded a trans-Pacific liner for coach in China. One party was headed by Dr. Howard Carter, archaeologist, and included his daughter Celia, Professor Ernest Lebrun Medical Advisor, Terry Mills, his young assistant, and Tak Kwan, Cambodian scholar and graduate of the University of California. Dr. Carter's party is on its way into the northern jungles of French Indochina in search of a lost sister city of the famous Anchor Tom. The second party is headed by Captain Bart Friday. Yes, and also when my party is Skip Turner and my secretary, Patricia Young, and a young Cambodian prisoner, Fen Loh. It was my job to return this Fen Loh from Hawaii to the authorities here at Saigon, charged with murder and plotting against the French Indochina government. But we lost him aboard the ship. He escaped and vanished. I still believe that Tak Kwan of Dr. Carter's party assisted his fellow Cambodian in his Houdini trick, but I have no proof. Yes. Well, when the ship docked at Saigon, Captain Friday suddenly decided to join the Carter expedition into the jungle. Tak Kwan warned him he must not, that it would be dangerous for himself for Skip Turner and especially for his secretary, Patricia. Then Dr. Carter disappeared out of Saigon, just whisked away, leaving a note telling Professor Lebrun and Captain Friday to organize the expedition and bring it north, and he would join the party at the ancient jungle city of Anchor Tom. The night before the expedition is to leave, the two girls, Celia and Patricia, were spending the night together. Out of the darkness and through their open window came first the ringing of bells in the city, then the sound of a chanting voice, and then the hissing of a snake, as a giant cobra was tossed into the room. The snake is standing on its tail, swaying rhythmically to the weird chanting coming from the street outside the window. Then suddenly a wicked animal-like face appears at the window. The face, the face of the window is climbing in. He's coming in. I'm going to try to reach the door. No, no, you mustn't. Don't get off the bed. The cobra is on the floor. Oh, we can't just lie here. Is he still at the window? He's sitting on the window sill, a little squat man. Go away. Go away, dear, here. Wait. I've got a gun under my pillow. Do you dare shoot him? Wait and see. Go away or I'll shoot. Get out of here. He doesn't move. I'll count three and then look out. He's moving. He's coming into the room. There. Did you see that? Did you see him get out of the window? A little deformed man. Did you hit him? No, no. I fired over his head. What did he want? Why pick out our window to climb in? I don't know. Anyway, that shot ought to row somebody in the hotel. I'm going to get out of here. Don't you dare put a foot out of this bed while that cobra is in here. He's deadly poisoned. What's that shooting? Hey, boss, there's a cobra loose in our room. A cobra? Are you certain? Yes, Captain Friday. We saw it in the moonlight. Someone put it in through the window. Is the door locked? Yes. Is the key in the lock? No. Good. Skip Turner's with me. Come up and open in a jetty. Get to work, Skip. All the rescue people stand back. Did you hear them say there's a cobra loose in there? Watch out when you open the door. He's a big one and he's angry. You two girls, don't move from your bed. Skip's got the door open. Shall I try to shoot it if I see it again? Put your gun up. You might shoot one of us. We'll take care of the snake. All right. I'll throw open the door now. Skip, be ready with your club. I'll use my pistol. All set. Good. Turn on the lights. Right there by the door. Good. There he is. There in the corner. The lights blinded him. Hey, good shot, Chief. Right through the neck. Shut the door, Skip. Keep that crowd out of here. Oh, gee, boss, some excitement. You girls all right? Oh, now that I'm over my scare. But talk about your nerve. I'll have to hand it to Patricia. I'm so scared I can't keep my teeth from shattering. What did you shoot at, Patricia? Was it just arous? No, there was somebody in the window. A man? A little deformed man. Did you hit him? No, I shot through the window over his head. Oh, I shouldn't have done that. You should have let him have it. I couldn't shoot a man. Well, he had it coming. Besides, you'll get a reputation for being a bad shot. I just couldn't do it. Hey, Chief, what about this snake? Now bring him over here, Skip. Let's see what he looks like. Oh, I never saw a deader snake. He practically shot his head over. Hey, look at here. There's a paper tied to his tail. A message? Or something like that. Here, take a look. It's written in French. Well, I don't do us no good. Here, may I see it? It's Captain Friday. It's a warning. What does it say? Well, it's near as I can translate. It says that this snake is an envoy from the great Cobra King. And that he brings a warning that it'll be fatal for Captain Friday, his secretary, or Skip Turner to enter the realm of the Cobra King. Fatal, huh? Fatal for this Cobra King guy, maybe. Hey, who is he, anyhow? There's no such person, Skip. He's the mythological founder of the Khmer civilization. The people who built Anker and the other cities lost in the jungle of the north. Well, there was no mythological king that sent that note on the tail of a cobra. Yeah, that's true. Patricia, I think I'll ship you back to the United States tomorrow. There's a ship leaving for Singapore and Hong Kong early in the afternoon. Oh, boss, you can't. Skip and I have got to go through with this mission. We've got to go north with a Carter expedition. But I can't endanger your life. That's one night's experience should be enough. I can go any place that Celia can. I won't be sent home. But Celia isn't in danger. Her father's party seems to be wanted in the interior. I'm horning in on this at the French government's request. Somebody doesn't want me in Skip. I'll be on the spot all the time. That's the only reason you can't go. I'm not going back to San Francisco without you and Skip, boss. That's final. Who got a secretary as stubborn as she is? Cute looks like she. Think it over. I've done my thinking. If it's good enough for my boss, it's good enough for me. Well, we'll take you as far as Anker Tom. We make that part of the trip by automobile. That ought to be safe enough. When do we leave? We get out of here as fast as Professor Lebrun and I can get things organized. Well, after this experience, I'm not as fond of Saigon as I was. We'll be on our way before dawn. The trip by car from Saigon to Anker Tom took from three o'clock in the morning until mid-afternoon through groves filled with wild monkeys and then up into higher country where the brilliant feathered parrots and parakeets and other tropical winged creatures fill the eye with color and the ears with horrible screeches and squawks. And then the car swooped down into the low country, the swamp land, hot, humid, fetid where the water was scummed over and stank of dead things. The only living thing heard on this part of the trip was yes, one single mockingbird and then slowly the road swept upward. It was still hot, but there was the coolness of altitude in the air as the car came up the tangled jungle plateau and at three in the afternoon they came to Angkor Vat, the great temple about which the ancient city was built. They went to the only hotel in the place. Dr. Carter had not yet arrived. But Professor Lebrun father said we would meet him here at Angkor Tom and he isn't here. He just disappeared. Oh, don't worry about him, Celia. Dr. Carter has been taking care of him so for a long time now. This is such a desperate secretive country. It gives me the shivers just to stand out here in the open this way. Shivers in this kind of weather. Look at the heat waves quivering about the pinnacles of old Angkor Vat. Angkor what? The most awe-inspiring temple I've ever seen. It reminds me of a haunted palace. Exactly what it is. A haunted temple centuries upon centuries old. It's sinister. But Professor, is there only one hotel here in Angkor Tom? Isn't there any place else dad might be? No, Celia. Only the one little bungalow hotel. Everyone visiting Angkor what stays here. Then we can't do a thing. Nothing but wait. Undoubtedly we'll hear from him when he's ready to ready for us to join him. And what's become of Taquan? He's supposed to be our guide. And yet he left us the minute we arrived, vanished as completely as dad. You are a prized little trouble finder, aren't you, Celia? Well, it's so different than I thought it would be. I thought we'd all camp together and be good friends. But dad disappears. Taquan's deserted us. Yes, yes. And here we are scattered all over the map of Cambodia. And worse than that, everything is wrapped up in mystery and warnings and threats and dangerous signs. Ah, here's young Perry Mills now. Hello, Perry. At least our assistant archaeologist is still with us. He's as worried as I am. Did you find out anything, Perry? Oh, Celia. Professor Lebrun, I've made inquiries at the hotel and from everybody I could get hold of. And as far as I can find out, Dr. Carter has never arrived here. Who is that, so milled? Oh, look here, Professor Lebrun. Why be so doggone supercilious? If Dr. Carter's in danger, I want to know it. Don't go back to Saigon as fast as we can and demand a government search for him. And tell me, how would you get back to Saigon even if you wanted to go? The motorcars that bought us are probably halfway back there by now. I'd forgotten that. But look, we can't just stand around. Oh, be reasonable, Perry. Dr. Carter said you would meet us here in Angkor. He didn't say be here the moment we arrived. Ah, look. The sun is just going down behind the temple. Massive thing, isn't it? Reminds me, the pyramids has that same mountain-like grandeur. I've never seen the pyramids, but its general artistic ensemble is much more striking than even the Taj Mahal. Oh, look. There goes the sun. See, the temples turn from gold to marble color. Oh, lovely. Oh, look at that great cloud of birds. What a wonderful sight. Just as the sun sank, that great flock of white birds rose out of the forest. The most vivid thing I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Oh, oh, Captain Friday. I was just talking with a French engineer at the hotel. He tells me that in spite of the fact that they had to actually chop this temple out of the wilderness, there's not the slightest sign of decay. Incredible. He says the carvings on the galleries are as perfect as the days they were made. I can believe it. I can almost hear the ancient priests chanting in the galleries. And the dancing girls. There were dancing girls, of course. Hundreds of them. Girls with little silver bells and sparkling tiaras, canopies of jasper, floors of silver, beautiful priestesses with strings of rubies about their white throats. Well, listen. Why doesn't someone say something? It makes the cold chills run up and down my back just standing here. It affects us all the same way, senior. It's the past. Casting its spell. Cambodians are afraid of that feeling. They think it's the spell of the Cobra King. They think it's a warning for them to keep out of this part of Cambodia. They link it with the force that originally drove the Khmeres out of Angkor and the other great lost cities. Honestly, did the Khmeres just drop everything and leave their cities? They left everything, Celia. But not until they'd buried all their precious jewels and sacred ornaments. And is the sacred seven-headed cobra of Emerald buried in one of these cities? Shhh, Celia. Not so loud. La-la-la-la-la. Ah, skip Boston. Hey, Boston. Hi, Johnson. Patricia's with him. I wonder if they found anything. Oh, undoubtedly Skipper's 3D clue. Hi, boss. We discovered something. What did I tell you? Boss, Skip and I ran on to the queerest old Englishman you ever saw. It's down there on the edge of the woods, all by himself. In Hermit, eh? Well, I didn't ask him. But he had a long white beard and watery eyes and long skinny hands. Yes. You've noticed not in Hermit, all right. It's always a hermit. What about him? Got a bunch of information out of him. Information about what? Dr. Carter. About Dad? Hey, just a minute. Will you find out, Skip? Has Dr. Carter been here? Sure. Great caravan came through last night. Went through like a train of cars. They left us behind. Father must be a prisoner. Dr. Carter vanished from Saigon, but promised to meet the rest of his party at the ancient city of Angkor Tom, outpost of civilization on the edge of the coaching China jungles. He wasn't there when his daughter and the others arrived. And now, Skip Turner and Patricia have uncovered news of him. Sure. I asked the hermit if he'd seen an expedition pass this way toward the north with a white man in it, and he seemed to know all about it. And the funniest expression came into his eyes. He said it was a great caravan and that it went by last night. Only last night, huh? He didn't beat us here by very much. What else did he say, Patricia? Oh, Celia, he said it was like a parade of giant skeletons. Oh, come now, after all. Well, that's what he said. He said there were ghostly beings moving in and out among the shadows of the forest and that there were great wild elephants in the caravan and tall camels and wild ponies ridden by Khmer slaves. And there were parakeets in bamboo cages. Patricia, do you know what you're talking about? But, boss, I'm just telling you what he told me. That's right, Captain. That's what he said. Of course, he was laying it on a little thick. It was probably just an ordinary caravan going north. But no caravans go north from Angkor Thom. Angkor's on the edge of civilization. There's only wilderness to the north. Well, he saw something all right. Are you certain he saw Dr. Carter in this caravan? Well, he said the leader was a strange white man. I don't suppose many strange white men in this neck of the woods. Is something screwy about all this? Well, you can come down and talk with him yourself. His hut is down there under that big banyan tree. Don't you think we should all go back to the hotel? It's getting dark and... We're getting scared. Well, I don't care. I don't like those long, creepy shadows. Look. What's that? Hey, that's him. That's the bird who told us. But he's got on a yellow robe now. That's a Buddhist priest costume. And he's wearing a crown covered with orchids. Yeah, jungle's full of wild orchids. And if I'm not mistaken, he's got a scepter too. Or is it only a bamboo rod? Let's go to the hotel. Who do you suppose he is? The Mad King of Angkor. No. What's all this nonsense, LeBron? Oh, don't look at me, Captain. It's none of my doing. Just the same. You seem to know what it's all about. Quite right. Then perhaps you'll explain. I should be delighted. That strange creature you see there is an Englishman. Right enough. He lost his mind in the Great War, and he came out here to Cambodia as a result of some fanatical twist of the mentality. Insane. The French air catered to his illusions, and the natives submit to his presence out of fear that he may have some mystical claim to the throne of Angkor. Madman. I got my information from the French engineer. He wonders about the temples, offering up prayers to these mythical gods. And he sleeps in the shrines or wherever wherein this overtakes him. Perfectly dreadful. The women of the native villages feed him. They say he accepts all these donations with the dignity of a monar. That's getting too dark to see much. Let's go back to the hotel and figure what to do next. Yeah, and get some fodder. I'm hungry. Might a good meal as you get out here on the edge of nowhere, chief. A cigarette skip? Mm-hmm. Let's sit here on the steps of the hotel for a bit. Tell me that later this evening the natives are going to hold a torch dance on the elephant terrace at the front of the temple. Might be interesting. Yeah? You don't say. Some of these Hindu girls, snake dancers? No. Frey not, Skip. Tell me in the hotel that the native girls of Cambodia aren't much at dancing. By the way, I hope Patricia and Celia haven't left the hotel. No. I went to their room. That's good. You seen LeBrona Young Mills since dinner? Yeah, they went off together over towards the temple. Said they wanted to get a close-up view of some of the carvings. A queer time of night to be studying carvings on a temple wall. Well, they had flashlights. Hey, the nights here are certainly blackouts, ain't they? You'd think we was on the bottom side of a tea kettle. Mm. Our Cambodian guide has certainly made himself scarce since we arrived here. Tarquan, I think I caught a glimpse of him just before we went into dinner down in that grove of... What kind of trees did you call them things? Banyons. Oh yeah, down in that grove of banyons. What was he doing? Or nothing that I could see. Just caught a glimpse of him, and then he disappeared in the shadows. Now, look here, Skip. What do you think about this business? Not a blooming thing. It's all wild horse meat to me. You and I start to bring a prisoner to Saigon and he gives us a slip aboard ship. Then we arrive in Saigon and you suddenly decide to become an explorer and drag us off up here to Angkor with Dr. Carter's party. Yes, but I explain the reason for that. The French government's afraid of an uprising among the Cambodian natives. Why? Because of the supposed finding of the ancient, seven-headed emerald cobra. Oh, shucks. Chief ain't nobody gonna get very excited over a statue of a snake. You don't know the fanaticism of the East Skip. There'll be plenty of excitement if the sacred cobra is found. You mean one certain stature? The one and only emerald cobra. What's that got to do with us, Captain Friday? We're representing the French government. We're here to see that there's no such uprising. If necessary, to capture this seven-headed cobra and get it out of the country. Yeah, some job. A dangerous job. You heard what Dr. Carter said. You mean about the priest following you no matter where you went? Yes. That's a lot of hooey. It's a very well-established fact. Yeah? It's been done before. Well, then, what did you take the job on for? Skip never before in my career if I let a prisoner escape. That Cambodian killer, Fen Loh, slipped through my fingers and I don't like it. Yeah? So that's what's eating you, huh? I'm gonna recapture that fellow dead or alive if I spend the rest of my life in Indochina. Well, what makes you think you'll find him up here in this wilderness? Two reasons. First, when Taquan brought us the message in Saigon that Dr. Carter had gone on ahead. He also said that I was right about Fen Loh not having committed suicide. Remember that? Sure. Fen Loh's alive. Well, that was a subtle challenge sent to me. It indicated that Taquan had been in touch with Fen Loh quite recently. It also meant that Fen Loh defied me to capture him now that he was back on home territory. Oh, I begin to see. The fact that the excitement over the possible return of the Emerald Cobra comes just at the time of the return of Taquan and Fen Loh from the United States leads me to believe there is a very definite link between those two incidents. Uh-huh. So I figure that as long as I can keep within range of Taquan I won't be very far from the center of excitement. Nor will I be far from the man I want, Fen Loh. Yeah, but what's going to prevent Taquan from beating it into the jungle and leaving us stranded here in Angkor? That's exactly what he would do if it wasn't for the Carter Party. He's got some sort of understanding with Dr. Carter and Professor LeBron. He won't desert them. Probably he's sworn to protect them in case of an uprising. LeBron and Carter were very good to him while he was in the United States and people of the East are tremendously loyal to their friends. And we're riding along his excess baggage on this French. That's right. It's a most uncomfortable position to be Jinsky. Taquan won't give us any protection if he can get out of it without breaking faith with Dr. Carter and LeBron. Well, I don't think we ought to take Patricia back into the woods under them conditions. Oh, bring her along, Captain. Hey, I'll vouch for her, Sifton. Hey, LeBron, how long you been sticking your ears in on this confam? Oh, goodness, Mr. Turner. What a tremendous reserve of bellicosity you must have. Always jumping out at people. Yeah, well, I don't think much of guys with long ears. Delightfully frail. Well, you get the drift anyway. Oh, who is out of doubt? Never mind, Skip. What was it you said, Professor LeBron, about my secretary? I said bring Patricia along on the expedition. She'll be as safe as any of us. Yeah. What about Captain Fryder here and me? Oh, I say, Skip, you don't want me to set a big guard around you and the Captain do you? I can take care of myself, don't you worry. That ain't the idea. What I want to know is this Taquan bird leading Captain Fryder and me into a trap? Look here, I can arrange it so that both of you will be under the same protection as the rest of us. How? Well, forget about this business of the French government. Forget about the seven-headed emerald cobra. Forget you ever heard of anyone by the name of a fenlo. Come along on the expedition as a couple of guests of Dr. Carter. See the sights. Enjoy yourself. Make it a first-class vacation. Oh. My reasons for being in this part of the country seem to have traveled ahead of me. You had your warning in that cobra incident in Saigon? My answer is no. I'm here to get fenlo. I don't leave without him. You don't know what you are setting out to do, Captain Fryder? Are you trying to defend that murderer? According to his lights, he is not a murderer. He was treated unjustly and he struck to free himself from further injustice. Justice is not a matter of individual idea, LeBron. According to law, fenlo, a prisoner, killed his captor a French consulatache. Therefore, fenlo is a murderer. He is a mighty, intelligent young man, Captain Fryder. He has a splendid mind. He is a natural born leader. You seem to know a great deal about him. I've met him. I've seen him command men. I like him tremendously. Well, he's still a murderer. He's a prisoner who escaped from my hands. He'll return to Saigon my prisoner or one of us will return in a casket. I'm sorry, Captain. There is nothing I can do for you then. You're not leaving us behind, LeBron. According to the instructions of Dr. Carter's note, I'm co-leader with you on this expedition now. Oh, no. You go along all right. There's nothing more you could do for us. Skip an eye, look out for ourselves, as long as you promise protection for Patricia. Your secretary is in absolutely no danger. And the matter's settled. There's an old biblical quotation, Captain. It goes, uh, something like this. He who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword. Yeah. Well, it's lucky to have a fashion then, ain't it? If I didn't know you to be a pair of brave men, I'd think you the biggest lunatics out of asylums. Hey, look here on across that patch of wood. What are all them lights? The dancers. There's a religious ceremony down on the Elephant Terrace. Oh, yeah. The chief mentioned it. What kind of light to the guy? Torches of bamboo bound in, uh, some kind of leaf and dipped in perfumed oil. Yeah. And a girl. If you're thinking of the beautiful dancing girls of the ancient Camilla Empire, you've got a disillusionment ahead of you, Skip. Besides, uh, the dancers tonight are youngsters of 12 or 13. Would you like to take a walk down and watch? Yeah. What do you say, Captain? That's a good idea. It isn't much of a walk. It's a quarter of a mile or so. Looks further than that. There is a path leading down through the Banyan Grove. Safe to travel to the woods at night? You have weapons, haven't you? Of course. Now, let's go. I'm here. I have a flashlight. We are quite safe. Uh, down this way. Uh, just keep on the path. No telling what sort of insect or crawling thing might be lurking in the grass. Yeah, I hate crawling things. Well, it's worth taking a chance to see these youngsters perform. Hey, what sort of costumes do they wear? Oh, look out. Look out. Look out. Watch your step. The pathway leads right straight ahead now. Uh, I think you'll find this very interesting. Gosh, what a dark hole. Oh, the trees overhanging the path. So why don't you use the flashlight? Careful. Hmm? The path turns here. LeBron, what's that? Well, I'll be a son of a gun. Elephant. Your hand's in the air, if you please. Uh-oh. Fellow with a gun, chief. Don't move. You are surrounded. Elephants, camels, ponies. Hey, what is this? A circus? Let's see. Wasn't it the mad king of Angkor who mentioned something about a caravan? Look, I want an explanation. Quiet, please. Bind these men and put them on the second elephant. Well, spank me for a baby. Kidnapped a border elephant. Taquang comes and goes like a grey phantom in a ghostly kingdom. And now Captain Friday, Professor LeBron and Skip Turner are the victims of the weirdest kidnapping plot ever conceived. But what's become of Perry Mills and Celia and Patricia? The fourth episode of The Cobra King Strikes Back will come to you next week and is entitled The Temple of the Gorillaz. Watch for next week's colorful episode Temple of Gorillaz brought to you in this newest series of Adventures by Morse.