 And now tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills suspense Tonight the story of a handicapped man and the woman who holds the key to his freedom. We call it give me liberty So now starring mr. Tony Barrett. Here is tonight suspense play Give me liberty. I Embezzled a quarter of a million dollars. I Want you to know that needed brains? planning patience I devoted three years of my life to the trick and I got away with it $250,000 Of course, they caught me very easily, but they couldn't find the money. I wouldn't tell them where it was I Got seven years for it My right wrist was handcuffed to the left wrist of a detective and they put me aboard a train bound for the penitentiary I Could see that the detective had had instructions to soften me up He was much much too kind you're comfortable mr. French You want a magazine any anything? Like to be able to lift my hand without raising yours in a year Can't you got me without being quite so attached to my Sure, I guess we can work that out. Tell you what you sit next to the window I'll kind of boxy in and that way you can wear the cuffs all by yourself and nobody loses now. Thank you Let me get my keys There Funny thing Most guys say the biggest trouble is when you read a paper Five inches of chain don't give you much room to turn the page. I'm not worrying About seven years for reading seven years and a quarter of a minute Say how smart does a guy have to be to get his hooks on so much lettuce? Would you like some of it? Are you kidding? All right, let's make a deal You drop the key to these things on the floor and then you go have yourself a nice lunch Oh sure, and when do I see mr. French again what I made you to pay off Mm-hmm. I wouldn't be taking kind of a chance there would I? You know to tell the truth you wouldn't be taking a chance at all Why should I escape be on the run the rest of my life? No Now this has to go according to plan planning That's what gives a man his future, but you've got a long stretch ahead How do you know that whoever is holding this stuff? Was a stupid conversation and I was only making words I Looked out at the fields and Brooks and houses rushing past I wouldn't see these things for seven years not counting time off for good behavior But then I'd be free again, and I'd have my quarter million Not a bad salary, huh? No, I'd use my brains for myself this time some guys will do anything for dough not take you seven years Lay on its side and planes passengers who could move got through the broken windows French It was the detective his legs pinned by the wreckage What can I do with my hands like this? Where do you carry the key? Give it to me we'll both die here if I can't use my hands Where's that key? The only weapon was a suitcase I kicked him in the face. I smashed the suitcase down on his head And he didn't have the key I emptied his pockets down to the last crumb of tobacco while a fire crept closer He hadn't the key to the hand and I wanted Because this wouldn't be an escape. This would be a disappearance What a chance I would have my liberty and I'd have my money. I threw away as pistol I wouldn't need a gun. I used my head. I squeezed my college ring on his finger. I switched wallets There was a conductor out there a crowd of passengers. I got to the opposite side of the car No, not a soul and there wasn't a splinter of glass left in the window Slid down the side of the car. I cleared the wheels. I struck the ground running a few moments Few hundred steps and I was safe in the darkness. I was free They'd think I was dead and I had a quarter of a million dollars Listening to give me liberty tonight's presentation in radio's outstanding theater of thrills suspense Tomorrow night CBS radio's FBI in peace and war goes into a car ceiling racket that involves a youth from one of the community's most Respected families don't miss the facts about the neighborhood boy on the FBI in peace and war tomorrow night on most of these same stations And now we bring back to our Hollywood soundstage. Mr. Tony Barrett starring in tonight's production of Give me liberty a tale well-calculated to keep you in suspense My first job after escaping was to break out of those manacles I Sat in a wheat field holding my arms over heads Oh, the blood would run for my hands and wrists and leave them slim Then I try to pull them off Didn't work and I I couldn't snap the chain. I Twisted I pull at it. I try to fling my hands apart And it wouldn't break I Rubbed it against stones until my skin was torn bleeding and it wouldn't break By this time it was morning It wasn't until then that I Knew I had to have Push through the wheat and the corn beyond it. I stumbled on a slope The woman was standing near one of the hen houses a pan of chicken feed in her hand What do you want there's nothing I could say she has seen the handcuffs come on. What do you want um? I'm hungry. Why are you from? How'd you get away? Oh? We were going up to the prison. There was an accident. Well What do you want from me? Look you lend me a file and If you could spare some food, uh, I'll be glad to pay you don't have to pay me for anything Wait here Jack you watch him She went into the house And the dog got down on its belly and put its nose between its paws And its eyes never left my face for a minute Then through the stillness I heard the cranking of an old-fashioned wall telephone, and I knew what she was doing I couldn't get them off. I couldn't get the hair and cuffs off. I Couldn't get anything to eat. I couldn't show myself You know what it means to to see food all about you're not be able to buy it Don't tell me I could have eaten corn fruit and roots I can tell you the nature of every dog in that area the feel of every barbed wire fence and the sound of every rifle and shotgun I crept into a village one night I forced up the window of a hardware store I wanted a file just a file Do you know what they carry in hardware stores these days? Last where a kitchen gadgets garden tools seeds ovens rat boys and dresses Then I moved behind a counter A hardware store has to have a file somewhere My foot struck a wire stretched across the floor How tired have you been? Have you ever been so tired that you thought you'd die if you wanted to die? On the evening of the fourth day of my liberty I I crawled quietly to the garbage can back of a roadside dine. I began to pour about for something. I could ease it There was a step behind me. I turned it was a boy We looked at each other for a long moment. He was waiting for me to speak I said Hello, sonny You you're living this neighborhood. Yeah I I don't I'm I'm traveling with handcuffs on Oh Well friend put them on me for a joke say that gives me an idea sonny. Look, would you do me a big favor? Depends on how big I'll say it's worth ten dollars You you'll get me a file or chop them off with an ax or something like that, huh? No, I'll let you keep them there. They're fun no Well, then would you do something else for me? depends Well, you know, I'm a little embarrassed about going in a lunch wagon like this Would you step in there and buy a few hamburgers for me? How much? Same ten dollars Let's see the money I got I got it right here in my pocket ready to jump into your hand A lot of things a boy can buy with ten dollars. Uh, here we are What do I know? It's good Don't don't you trust me drop it on the ground Drop it Why you drop it and back away then I'll pick it up Oh Say that's very smart All right, how's that? Far enough He picked it up began to walk around the diner When he was out of reach he started to run I got away and I couldn't tear them off. I couldn't I had two hundred and fifty thousand dollars buried away and it was worthless to me Do you know what can be bought with a quarter of a million? A man's soul can be bought for less, but I couldn't buy a ten cent fire I spent that night in a nest of cast-off railroad ties stacked at a siding When I opened my eyes in the morning, I had company A very tough looking hobo in blue jeans and a navy coat She was counting my money smoothing each bill with loving care She grinned when she saw that I was awake Good morning chum You sleep like an honest man It's mad at chum never speak till they bring your orange juice Look, I'm in trouble. I want you to help me here To get the bracelets off? Yes, yes That's chum wouldn't that be kind of silly? I might lose all this hard earned dough Look, there's more where that came from a lot more. I'll make it rich Yeah, yeah, I've heard that one before What's up on chum? Listen, listen, I've got a quarter of a million dollars Yeah, I know I get feelings like that Look, come back, will you? It's true that don't you read the papers? I'm Earl French I've never heard of you Look, just go into town and buy one of the newspapers. It's six days ago. I stole $250,000 Mm-hmm And you're wearing those things so they won't pick your own pockets Oh, please don't don't try to be clever Don't you understand? I died in the train wreck near Scottsville You, uh... You're sure about that, chum? You died only a few days ago No, no, they only think I did Look, get those newspapers and come back here with a file and some food Ah, chum, don't order me around Just take it easy, maybe I'll be back I waited for all through the long blistering day Crouching within the four walls of railroad ties I knew she'd be back She couldn't resist it. I knew she'd be back Chum, it seems you were a very important guy in your time You saw the papers Yeah, and I got news for you Mr. French, you are now burned to a crisp That's the way they found you in the train Recognized me by the ring on my finger Yeah Yeah, you're dead all right You and 250 grand All right, all right, we'll come to that later Look, get to work with a file Now, look, you're giving me orders again I told you, I don't like that Please, give me the file It's right here in my jeans That's where it's gonna stay until you lead me to my share of that dough You'll get it, you'll get it Chum, you listen, I can pick up 500 fish by turning in an escaped prisoner Or you can dig up that treasure chest and buy this file for half the dough It's over a hundred miles away I can't ride a train or a bus with these on my wrist It's okay, Chum We'll walk, I've done it before But we'll be seen Not at night How will I eat? Where will we sleep? You'll sleep in the woods and I'll bring your grub to you Me? I'll sleep in town where I'll be snug and safe You don't take this file from me, Chum Not till I see my half of the dough And that's how it was That same evening we started a walk At first it wasn't as bad as I made it sound It gave me time to think And I knew I'd think of something Don't start thinking I trust you, Chum, I don't A lot of things can happen before we get there No, I'll do what's fair, we'll split We don't all split your skull Don't kid yourself that I won't I've been waiting a long time for a break like this We walked Well, the handcuffs digging so deep into my flesh That I began to believe they were part of me Yeah, yeah, she brought me food But she wouldn't come close enough to hand it to me And every time I reached for anything it was torture My hands and wrists, they were a mass of misery As though I were a pet animal on a leash My friend always walked six paces behind me Oh, she was smart I realized I had to get away from her in soon The morning I decided to do it She found me a shack to hold up in I could hardly wait for her to leave, go into town This place looks good I'll meet you back here tonight All right, all right, see you tonight That's the way I like it, Chum Nice and agreeable Well, why not? Why shouldn't I be? I'll see you tonight as usual Sure Is anything special you'd like me to bring you to eat? No, nothing special Uh, Chum I think you better turn around Why? Because When I awoke with a dull ache filling my head I found myself neatly trust up I could move a little but not enough to get free They talk about female intuition She had guessed that I was gonna try to get away from her And she just beat me to it I didn't give up though She would have to make one mistake The next night we'd stop for a rest How can you be sure the stuff is still there? Look, it's safe How do you know? What kind of a place did you hide it in? You'll see, now get out that file When I see the doe, little Chum Take them off with ya! How long do you think... Shut up! Wake up the neighbors Now move No I said move No! That money is mine You'll never see it unless I want you Toon will go to it the way I say Chum You're making me mad You get out that file and take these off Now go on, get it out I can give orders too What do you think you are, an animal trainer? Now that's not a bad idea Is it? But it happens I'm not an animal And it all so hap- What's that for? You can't frighten me with a knife You use that on me and we both lose out You gonna get up? No This will hurt I'll kill you someday I swear I'll kill you I had a husband like you Brave enough outside but once anybody put on the pressure If you talk too much go on I'm calling you bluff I'm sick of hearing you talk Keep away from me And she She was sure she'd beat me down all together Because she didn't even bother now To make lousy jokes at me anymore She was very quiet after that And a little careless I stopped now and then She'd bump into me in the darkness I just never had a chance to get my hands on her Then a couple of mornings later I said Here it is What? The money Where? We're standing over it You're trying to kid me We're standing in the middle of the highway You didn't do any digging here, Chum Looked as a culvert running under the road here A 24 inch pipe Come on in the ditch, I'll show you You didn't stick that dough in the pipe it had washed away It's not in the pipe It's in a deep crevice between a pipe and a concrete Pull out some of those stones You pull them out With these hands I can't touch anything Without screaming pull them out Prince, help me if this is a gag She believed me, she had to She saw the truth in my eyes The money was there in my quarter of a million She bent over to tug at the stones She turned her back to me for the first time That was it, that was a mistake I was waiting for her, I sprang forward And I killed her The hand comes down on her head Look back at her hand Her hand, her hand Her wrist, but I didn't care I didn't, I just didn't care She was dead I couldn't move My hands, my poor hands I had to wait till the shock drain all of them I reached into her pockets for the file It isn't there Must be in this one No No, no fire She hasn't got a fire She never had one Cheat Come on, little children Come on babies, 250,000 beautiful Come on I can't get a hold on it Need another few inches I can't, I can't with these handcuffs on I need one of them That's the way I found him, Chief Sitting in a ditch beside the dead girl He hasn't stopped babbling since All right, lock him up I'll notify the city authorities Tell him we got Earl French here Suspense In which Mr. Tony Barrett starred in tonight's presentation of Give Me Liberty Next week, suspense will bring you a repeat performance of one of the most controversial stories ever heard over your radio It's called Zero Hour Written by Mr. Ray Bradbury Be sure to listen to Zero Hour That's next week on Suspense Suspense is produced and directed by Anthony Ellis Tonight's script is written by Herb Meadows Music was composed by Lucian Morwick and conducted by Wilbur Hatch Featured in the cast were Michael Ann Barrett Lou Merrill, Helen Cleeb, Richard Beals and Jack Carroll Ride a real squad car with Night Watch Thursdays on the CBS Radio Network