 Yes, it's another case for that most famous of all man-hudders. The detective whose ability at solving crime is unequaled in the history of detective fiction, Nick Carter, master detective, presented by the three great Linux home-brightness, Linux clear-glass varnish, Linux cream polish, and Linux self-polishing wax created by ACME, America's great producer of fine ACME quality paints. Curious adventure. Death behind the scene, or Nick Carter, and the mystery of the persecuted actor. In just a moment, we'll hear how Nick Carter solved the mystery of the persecuted actor and prevented death behind the scenes from becoming a grim reality. But now, a word to the women. Millions of home-makers can't be wrong. For example, the millions who have learned what wonders chem-tone the miracle wall finish can do. And those same home-makers are now discovering the modern way to new beauty for their floors, woodwork, and furniture, the three great Linux home-brightness, Linux self-polishing wax, which beautifies your floors with a satiny, yet tough, no skid finish that resists wear, water, and dirt. Linux cream polish, which cleans as it polishes, leaving no oily film on your furniture. And Linux clear-glass varnish, the durable supervarnish that dries to an elastic, transparent surface which protects all wood and linoleum in your home. You'll find the three great Linux home-brightness at your hardware, paint, or department store. Your headquarters also for chem-tone, the miracle wall finish. Now for today's mysterious adventure with Nick Carter. As today's story begins, we are backstage at the Republic Theater, where Charles Forrest is directing a rehearsal of his new play, Lord Byron. But it will not be possible for us to live our lives as we want to. We must live for those nearest and dearest to us. You're right, my darling. I see it all now. Nothing that may happen to us can ever change the fact that I love you. Love you with every fiber of my being. Love you with a depth I've never thought possible. Nothing will ever change that. And I feel the same way, Robert. And I always... Well, well, go on, Miss Davis. She can't go on, Mr. Forrest. That Weimar's cue to enter. As usual, he isn't here. Paul! Paul, that's your cue! I don't see why we always have to wait until Paul Weimar condescends to honor us with his presence. We spend more time waiting for him to pick up his cues than we do rehearsing. Take it easy, Dick. You don't have to go griping about Weimar all the time. Paul, on stage, please. We're waiting for you. Coming, Mr. Forrest. Just a moment. Coming, Mr. Forrest. Why can't he stay here the way the rest of us do? You forget it. Mr. Paul Weimar is a great foreign star. Pooey! You coming, Paul? Well, sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Forrest. Oh! Paul, what's happened? It's happened again. It's happened again. I can't go on. What is it, Paul? Another accident. Again, someone tried to kill me. This time, it's a sandbag that drops almost on my head. Bradley, what's going on up there? I give up. Things break when I sit in them. Things fall over on me. And now this bag drops on my head. I'm sure it was an accident, Paul. Come on, let's get on with this scene. We open in three days. No, I do not open in three days or ever. I'm through. Look, Paul, you can't quit on me now. It's too late. We're almost ready to open. I will not stay here and get killed. Paul, suppose I get Nick Carter to come down here and find out what's going on. He can stop all these accidents you've been having. Will that satisfy you? You will get the great Nick Carter to make an investigation? I will if you'll stay with me. He'll see that nothing more happens to you. Yes, Mr. Wymer. Mr. Carter will protect you. Oh, shut up, Dick. This is serious. Will you get to work if I get Carter down here, Paul? Very well, I will try it once more. But if there are any more of these accidents that nearly kill me, I shall go home and stay there, Carter. Oh, no, Carter. All right. Betty, take over the rehearsal. I'm going to get Nick Carter right now. You say you're having trouble with the new play for us? I certainly am Carter. It's supposed to be the life of Lord Byron, the poet. So to play the lead, I brought an actor over from Paris. A man named Paul Wymer. He looks almost exactly like Byron, and he's a good actor. Doesn't sound like trouble so far. Wait. And ever since we started rehearsals, one accident after another has happened to Wymer. So that by this time, he's getting so jittery that I'm afraid he won't be able to go on with the play. Well, what kind of accident is forced? Well, one time a heavy door almost fell on him. Just missed him. Another time, a chair he was sitting in collapsed under him and sent him to the hospital for three days with a ranged back and so on. Today, the final straw, a heavy sandbag counterweight, fell on almost on top of him as he crossed the stage. I don't blame him for being jittery. Any idea what's behind all these things? Neither one of two things. Either somebody's trying to kill Paul or they're trying to scare him out of the show. There's only one person, as far as I know, who'd profit by getting rid of Paul. And who's that? Richard Rowland, my American star. He was so upset at not being given the part of Byron that he swore he'd never act for me again. And suddenly he agreed to play the second lead, which surprised me, even though it is a pretty fat role. And if Paul Weimer had to give up the role for any reason, I suppose Rowland would automatically step into the part? Yes, of course. It certainly gets Rowland emotive, doesn't it? Will you take the case, Nick? If you don't, I'm afraid Weimer will walk out on me, contract or no contract. Why don't you have your next rehearsal? Tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock if the rest of the scenery is hung and ready. All right. I'll be there at 10.30 to look over the ground. Will you see to it that everything... I'll take it, Nick. Nicholas Carter's office. Yes, he's here just a minute. It's for you, Mr. Paul. Oh, me? Oh, thanks. Hello? What? No, don't let anybody get away. Keep everything just as it is till we get there. Yes, I'm bringing him with me. Yes, yes, right away. Goodbye. That was Betty, my assistant stage manager. Rowland is supposed to fire a shot at Paul in the second act. But when he fired just now, it wasn't a blanket. It was real. Was Weimer hurt? No, fortunately, the bullet missed him. Another accident, huh? Yes, another one. Heaven only knows what wine we'll do now. Let's get down there immediately. I want to start working on this before it's too late. Just say you're doing this too fast. One of the best-known writers, Bert Levin. Oh. Very rich men. A successful playwright. Right to present an amusement. Didn't I read somewhere that he doesn't smoke or drink and that he never marries? That's right. He's a peculiar duck. What? No weaknesses? No. There's a reason for that, Carter. He had a younger brother who went to Paris for training in art. He met a wild crew there, got to drinking and carrying on and ended up in an insane asylum where he died a year or two later. Levin has never touched liquor or tobacco from that day to this. Well, I've enjoyed life for many years without smoking or drinking. Now, this is Ada. Yes, and they've spread my dorm and waiting for us. Fred, this is Mr. Carter. He's in charge now. Hello. Has anybody left here since the shooting? No, Mr. Carter. Nobody's been out or in. And through this way, Mr. Carter, ladies and gentlemen, this is Mr. Nick Carter. He's in charge here now and whatever he says goes. Now, that's Paul Weimer over there, Mr. Carter, and Richard Roland next to him. How do you do? Now, first, let me get the facts. Roland, suppose you tell me what happened? Well, in the second scene in the second act, Lord Byron is threatened by the husband of a lady to whom Byron's making love. I play the husband and I'm supposed to shoot him. Instead of the old-fashioned pistol we'll actually use in the play, we've been using a small automatic with blanks. When I fired it just now, it wasn't a blank but a real bullet. Fortunately, you've missed, Weimer, but I'm sorry to say it's like a stagehand who just happened to be in the line of fire. Was he badly hurt? No, it just scratched his cheek. Where's the gun you used? Right here on the table. Very good quote. Only one shell on it and that's been fired. Roland, who has charged this gun before it's given to you? Rogers, the property man. Get him, please. Rogers! Rogers! On stage! Well, everybody, please take the same positions now that you were in when the shot was fired. This is about the way we were, Mr. Carter. Good. Is everybody here now? Where's Barry? Barry! Barry! Okay, stay there for now. Where's the property man? Rogers, where are you? Here I am. Rogers, where were you when the gun was fired? In my property room. What can you tell us about this? Nothing. I loaded the gun, same as usual, with the blank. Anybody see you do it? Sure. Bradley, the stage ham was with me. Then I left the gun on the table and went out to talk to Fred, the doorman. And while you were gone, someone took out the blank and put in a real bullet. Could be. I wouldn't know. Anybody see anyone near the property room while Rogers was not there? Oh, come on. Speak up. Did you see anyone near the gun after it was loaded? Now listen, if you know something, speak up. This isn't acting. It's murder. Mr. Carter. Did you see anyone near the property room after the gun was loaded? Well, yes, I did. My girlfriend and I were having a smoke behind one of the wings, and we saw... Well, go on. Who went in there? It was I, Carter. I went in there to find a match, but I didn't touch the gun. Oh, you did it on purpose, you jealous cattle. Why, Mar, don't start calling names. You thought it was me on purpose. You want to pray the leading rose. Do you think Rowland could have done it me? No, it's too obvious fancy. Right now, I'd like to have a look at the bullet that was fired from the gun. If you find it, it could be anywhere in here. Oh, no, it couldn't. Be careful. It started from where Rowland was standing, when across the stage to where the stage hand is standing. Must have gone through those two flats behind him and into the wall. Come on. Okay. If we line up Rowland with the holes in these flats, we should find... Sure, Nick, there it is. In that big wooden post. Ah, yes. Let me get my tweezers. I'll have that bullet out of there before you can see. That was easy, wasn't it? Look here. This bullet is a 38. The stage gun is a 32. You mean that bullet didn't come from Rowland's gun? No, Patsy. Whoever fired this bullet stood offstage and used the sound of Rowland's gun to cover his own shot. But that... That would be murder. Yes, Patsy. Cold-blooded, deliberate murder. How much longer do you want these people, Mr. Carter? Oh, they can go. I am through with them for now. That's all for today, everyone. Tomorrow morning at 11 sharp. Mr. Carter, do you think I'll be safe now? Yes, you're safe enough for now, I'm on. And I suggest you go to your hotel. I'll see you there later. I shall do it. Thank you very much, Mr. Carter. Before you go, Carter, I'd like to have you meet our author. All right, first. There was either one in the stage box on the other side. Yes, come on over. You'll like him. Mr. LeVon. Yes. I'd like you to meet Mr. Nick Carter. Mr. Carter, Mr. LeVon. How do you do? I don't know you. Have you learned anything, Mr. Carter? Yes. The gun Rowland used was not the gun that fired the bullet. That I know definitely. What? That means the shooting wasn't an accident. It means that the one who did the shooting had been a better marksman. Weimer would be dead right now. What's your next step, Mr. Carter? I think I'll go back to the office for a while and do a little thinking. Then I'll drop in on Paul Weimer and see what his side of the story is. Shall we have dinner first? An excellent idea, Carter. I'll pick up my coat and hat and be right with you. I left my things in the box I was sitting and I'll get them and join you in just a minute. I'll see you outside, Nick. I want a part of my nose. All right, Patsy. Just have a look around while I wait. What's the trouble, Carter? Did you fall over something? No. Something fell over me. I started to cross stage and something knocked me over. Almost knocked me out. What's going on in here? Mr. Carter's had an accident. Wait. Another of them accidents? That flowerpot was on top of that pedestal. For some reason, the whole thing fell over on you. You all right, Carter? Yes, I guess so. Let's get out of here before the roof falls in on us. Patsy, it has to be that way. If every member of the cast was on stage when the shot was fired. Yes, they were all in plain sight of each other. It leaves only four persons as far as we know who were backstage and who could have fired the offstage gun. Rogers, the property man, Fred the doorman, Barry the stage manager, and the stagehand, Bradley. And Fred, as Rogers was talking to him near the entrance, which gives both of them an alibi. Bradley, and Barry says he was telephoning and we found that a call was made from that phone at that time. It seems to let him out. And Bradley was shot by the bullet, so he couldn't have fired it. No. Which accounts for all four of them. Which means there's something somewhere we don't know yet. That's one reason I want to talk to Weimar. He may be able to throw some light on the subject. Oh, here you are, driver. Come on, Patsy. All right. Oh, clerk. Four Weimar's in 279, isn't it? Yes, sir. Who shall I say is calling? Oh, never mind announcing us. We're expected. Well, what's the name, please? You must be announced. The name is Nick Carter, and don't announce it. But it's a rule to announce all of this. We can walk, Patsy. It's only the second floor. Well, why didn't you want to be announced? Just second nature. They don't know I'm coming to see them. They can't get ready to receive me. I like the element of surprise when I go calling officially. Room 279. That must be right here. Seems to attract trouble as honey attracts a bee. What has happened now? Are his unfortunate accidents not confined to the theater after all? How is Nick going to unravel this tangled thread and reach a solution? We'll see in just a moment. Family's preference may be in home decoration. 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You'll find all three great Linux home brightness and chem-tone, the miracle wall finish at hardware, paint, and department stores everywhere. Back to our story. Nick and Patsy racing toward Paul Weimar's hotel room from which are coming cries for help. Oh, Nick, we've got to get in there. He's in trouble. I'll see if I can open this door. Hurry, hurry. I wouldn't be safe here. What's happened? A man broke in through the window. He tried to strangle me. Where's he now? He heard you at the door. He ran into the bedroom wind out by the fire escape. In here? Oh, there's no one in here now. Oh, fine thing. Even in my hotel, I'm not safe. You've ever seen him before? Can you describe him? No, no. It was all too sudden. How long is this going on? I can stand it no more. Every day is something. You say you never saw the man who... Oh, what's that? That's only the telephone, Mr. Weimar. I won't answer it. I won't. I won't. It might be trouble. You'd better answer Patsy. Take the message. Said me, Nick. Hello, Mr. Weimar's room. Is Mr. Weimar there? Yes, but he can't answer the phone just now. May I take a message? Yes. Tell him Mr. Forrest called and wants Mr. Weimar to meet him in Mr. Weimar's dressing room at the theater at 8.30 tonight. Tonight? Are you sure of that? Yes, he was very specific. Said something about some revisions in the play that had to be made tonight to be ready for rehearsal tomorrow. All right, I'll tell him. Thank you. Was it that news quick? Oh, not at all, Mr. Weimar. That was the clerk downstairs. Oh. She said Mr. Forrest wants to see you in your dressing room tonight at 8.30. Something to do with revisions in the play. And it must be tonight. Oh, that is a relief. I must prepare myself to leave. You will excuse me. That's quite all right, Mr. Weimar. Patsy and I must be running along anyway. See you tomorrow at rehearsal. Good night. Good night. And thank you. Good night. Oh, splendid, splendid. I could never have arranged it better myself. Nick, are you feeling all right? I'm never better, Patsy. Never better. But why all the unconcealed joy? I'd expect that this case would come to a head faster now that I was in it. But I hadn't hoped it would come quite so fast. The end is now in sight, Patsy. You go back to the office and wait for me. Where are you going? To the theater. And I must get there before Weimar does. If his life is to be safeguarded. I'm coming here at this time of night. Do you have to guard the door 24 hours a day? Well, not so, Mr. Forrest said he was expecting some crops about supper time, but they ain't come yet. Told me to wait for them and I'm waiting. I see. Good. Oh, has anybody been here recently? I know. Brad was here about a half hour ago. But he only stayed a couple of minutes long enough to get something to me for God. That's all. Mr. Forrest hasn't come down yet? No, he hasn't. Was he coming back tonight? I understood so, but I may be wrong. Oh, is it okay to go in? I want to have a look at something. Oh, sure thing. I want some lights. No, thanks. I have my flash. Okay. Watch yourself, though. I was dressing room. It's a cane he was carrying. A rehearsal this afternoon. Seems to be no concealed bombs. Oh, booby traps. Okay, for now. Nothing to do now, but wait until he arrives. I'm here protecting your life, Mr. Weimar, whether you know it or not. But, Mr. Forrest was... Mr. Forrest knows nothing about this. The call you got came from the would-be murderer. He wanted to get you down here so we could finish his job tonight. Finish his job? How? What do you mean? That's what I want you to tell me. Before you touch anything or sit down. Look around this dressing room. What do you see that doesn't look natural in here? Not look natural? What do you mean? Anything out of place. Something here that shouldn't be here. Something missing. Oh, I see. Now... Yes, yes. Someone has been smoking my cigarettes. I left nearly a fresh pack here, I remember. Now, look, there are only two cigarettes left. Yes, I might have expected that. Will you have one? No, neither will you. Unless you want to die fast. I don't understand. Wait. These cigarettes have been treated with a deadly drug. One so rare that he could only get enough for two cigarettes. That's why the rest of the pack is missing, so you'd be sure to be killed almost at once. That, Mr. Warmer, was why you received the message to beat Mr. Forrest in your dressing room. You'd smoke at least one cigarette while you waited. And that one would be your finish. Look, who wants to do this to me, hence why? I know the answer now, but I'd rather not say until I can produce the killer himself. As soon as I can, I... You win a fairing medal or you'll never... Sorry, I had to shoot out the lights, but I didn't want him to hit you. Mr. Carter, are you there? What is it that has happened? Stay here, Warmer. You're safe for the moment. I want to stop that man who just ran off. Your life's in danger as long as he's... Where are you going, Mr. Carter? Sit tight. I'll be right back. Fred! Fred! Yes, Mr. Carter? Did I hear some shoo-too? You did. Who was it just ran out here? Nobody. But he went out some way. I heard him slam the door. He must have gone out that little back door up behind the dressing room. You mean this isn't the only way out of this theater backstage? Oh, no, there's that other little door, but that's supposed to be kept locked all the time. That leads out to the other street. Oh, I see. Well, where's your telephone? Right there in the office, Mr. Carter. Good. Let me make one phone call and I'll show you a would-be killer. Do you can't do this to me? Maybe we can't, but we are, so just pipe down. Why won't you tell me when I'm accused of it? Because I don't know. I'm acting under orders from... That is, I'm doing what Nick Carter suggests. And Nick's a pretty clever guy, if I do say so. So you're... Thanks for those kind words, Riley. Well, we're the juice of your bed. We've been waiting here in my office since... Yes, I know, I know, I know. I came as soon as I could. I got in a little traffic jam. Well, there he is. We picked him up just as he came in his hotel lobby just like you said. Now what do we do with him? He's the man who's been trying to kill Paul Weimer. And who almost succeeded tonight. That's a lie. Is it? What did he have in his pockets, Riley? Oh, here it is, Nick. It's the usual stuff. The usual stuff? But not with the usual implications. Yeah, never mind those two-dollar words here. What do you see there that's so interesting? These loose cigarettes, for instance. There must be about 10 or 12 there, about half a pack. And they're Paul Weimer's brand. So what? And this little box, Riley. If you'll have your chemist examine these two cigarettes that were left in Weimer's dressing room, I believe you'll find them full of the same drug that was in this box. You'll undoubtedly find traces of it there now. Sure. We'll know you begin to make sense. This is all a pack of lies, a frame-up. It isn't either, and you know it. I am willing to bet that your fingerprints are on the door knob of the little back door where you made your hasty exit from the theater tonight. What's that? Together with a few prints belonging to your assistant Bradley, the stagehand. And I imagine that Bradley will be very willing to talk when he finds he's up on an attempted murder charge. All right, Collar, you win. I did it. I hate that man Weimer. But why should you hate him so, Mr. LeVan? Because he was the leader of the gang in Paris who helped my brother drink himself into the insane asylum in the grave. He was more to blame than my poor brother, who knew no better. I wrote this play, Lord Byron, just to get him over here where I could work on him. I suggested him to forest as the man for the part and forest fell for it. Why didn't you kill him and be done with it? I wanted him to suffer as my brother suffered. But when you got into the case, Collar, I knew I had to finish it up quicker be caught. Bradley let you into the theater tonight to the little back door, didn't he? Yes. And it was Bradley who phoned the message to Weimer to get him to come down to the theater tonight, wasn't it? Yes. And it was Bradley who worked the backstage accidents after you had planned them, wasn't it? Yes, yes, yes. He thought it was all part of a practical joke. He didn't know I intended to kill him. All right, all right. Watch your language now. There's a lady present to you. I thought everybody had forgotten about me being over here in the corner. I was just sitting here listening. You fired that shot during the rehearsal, didn't you, Levan? Yes, and I wished I had aimed straighter. How come you hit the stagehand? Pure accident. I didn't even see him until after I'd fired. In a way, it saved us from suspecting he had a hand in these things because it didn't make sense that he should get shot. If he was in it. But after a while, when I began to see things, the way they were going, I saw it could be nobody but you working with his health. Oh, Nick. Yes, Betsy? Now, I ask a question. Oh, yes, Betsy. One little one. Did you see who shot at Weimar in the theater tonight? No, it was all too fast. And how did you know it was Mr. Levan? Well, even before I got to Weimar's dressing room tonight, I felt quite sure that Levan was guilty. And then when I entered the room and found that it smelled very strongly of that highly scented odor cologne that Levan uses, I was positive. Oh, hey, Gunny, you're right there, Nick. Sure, he smells like a perfume counter with a fave and dime. Decidedly. That was the first thing I noticed about him when I met him earlier today. That was his only weakness, wasn't it? His excessive use of that scented odor cologne. Well, maybe so, Betsy, but as far as I'm concerned, attempted murder is also a weakness. One that has to be punished. In just a moment, Nick and Betsy will bring you a preview of next week's exciting case. You want to take it a little easier than listen. Everybody's days are busy. We've all filled our daily schedules full to overflowing, doing our own home front jobs and helping with the all-out effort toward victory in every way we know how. So we appreciate more than ever before what it means to relax and how much easier it is to relax when a home is pleasant and inviting. American homemakers are learning how much easier it is to keep a home that way with the three great Linux home brightness. For example, they're learning that Linux Cream Polish restores the original handsomeness of fine furniture in one quick, easy application. Banishes messy finger marks, helps conceal scratches, does away with cloudy old polish and dust. You see, Linux Cream Polish for fine furniture actually cleans as it polishes, saving one whole step in the cleaning day routine of busy homemakers, cutting their work in half. Let your fine furniture regain its loveliness with Linux Cream Polish. Remember always to ask your dealer for Linux Cream Polish which cleans as it polishes. It's the streamlined way to furniture care. You'll find all three great Linux home brightness at your nearest hardware, paint, or department store. It's here from Nick Carter himself. Well, Nick, what's your story about next week? Next time, Ken, I'm going to tell you about an experience that Patsy and I had in one of the great movie studios. It started out very simply when the studio lost a reference book containing information about all kinds of poisons. You could look in that book and find out just what poisons to use for anything you wanted. It was much too dangerous a book to be at large. The unfortunate part of it was that I was called in too late to save the man whose body we found a few minutes later. But we did save the old man, Nick. If it hadn't been for you, he'd certainly have been killed. That's true enough, Patsy. What do you call a story, Nick? I call it death at the studio. So long. So long, everybody. And so long to both of you until next week. We'll look forward to seeing you then same as usual. At the same time, listen to another curious experience of Nick Carter, Master Detective, entitled Death at the Studio or Nick Carter and the Mystery of the Murder Book. Master Detective is featured in Street and Smith magazines. Long Clark is starred as Nick with Helen Chote as Patsy. Original music is played by Lou White and the programs are written and directed by Jock McGregor. Nick Carter, Master Detective, is presented at this time and over these same stations each week by the three great Linux home brightners. Linux Clear Gloss Varnish, Linux Cream Polish, and Linux Self-Polishing Wax. Created by ACME, America's great producer of ACME Fine Quality Paints. This is Ken Powell speaking for the thousands of Linux dealers all over America and saying so long until next week. This is Mutual.