 The Mysterious Traveler. This is the Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the realm of the strange and the terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, and it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back and get a good grip on your nerves, if you can. Where are we going? Why, we're going to pay a visit to the home of Albert and Louise Jordan. There's nice a couple that you'd hope to meet. In a story I call... Death is the visitor. My story begins in the Jordan home late on a hot summer night. Albert Jordan is asleep and is having a nightmare about his mother-in-law. You can't tell, but Jordan, I'm on to your ways. Think that my only child was foolish enough to elope with you. But you made her do it now, but you made her... No, no. You're one of them. No, Miss, I'm the new listening... Leave me alone. Darling, wake up. What? What is it? You were having a nightmare, dear. You don't want to wake mother up. She needs a good night's sleep for a trip tomorrow. Oh, yes, the trip. I wish it was tomorrow already. She was gone. Are you sure you have everything, mother? Yes, Louise, everything I need for my trip home is in this handbag. Oh, oh, now don't forget to ship my trunk. I've already notified the expressman, mother. He'll be here to pick it up this morning. Thank you, dear. Well, it's almost nine o'clock, mother. You'll miss your train. I've never missed a train in my life. It'll even be so anxious to get rid of me, Albert. Not really, mother. I didn't mean it. Oh, Louise, darling, I do hate leaving you alone like this. But, mother, I'm not alone. I have Albert. Well, I don't mind saying it right to his face. I don't trust him, Louise. And I never will. I'm really wrong about people. You know that. Now, see here, mother. I've had about enough. Louise and I get along perfectly well when you're not here. See, Louise? Not a temper he has. You want me to stay, darling? Really, mother? I'm very happy with Albert. Oh, very well. Then I'll go. But you'd better be good to her, Albert. Yes, mother. I will. Well, goodbye. And don't forget, Louise. Mother will be back if you need her. Yes, mother. Bye. Louise, if your mother pays us just one more visit, I'll leave this house for good. Albert, what are you saying? In the past year, she spent eight months with us. She has her clothes here, a key to the house, while she's even listed in the phone book under our number. I tell you, I won't be responsible for what happens if she doesn't stay away. I'll write to her, Albert, and try to explain. Really, I will. Make her understand that we have our own lives to lead. You know, now that she's gone, I feel like a new man. I can breathe in my own house. Oh, Albert, you won't forget to put the tags on Mother's trunk when you, the expressman, will be here for it soon. No, dear. Shipping your Mother's trunk to her will be one thing I certainly won't forget. Let me see. This is for tents in the dark and 25 River Road, and they'll... That won't be necessary, Albert. My trunk can remain here. Mother, but you went to catch your train. I know I did, but I changed my mind about going. I won't leave my little girl alone. Why are you looking so startled, Albert? Are you hiding something from me? I know. No, of course not. Where's Louise? She went downtown an hour ago. She should be home soon. I'm sure at least she'll be glad to see me. Oh, you haven't locked my trunk yet. That's good. So you've come back again. You've always wanted to get rid of me, Albert. Keep me away from my only child, but I refuse to give her up. I've come back, Albert, and I'm staying for good. Frankly, I don't trust you. You don't trust me? No. I don't even know your background. For all I know, you may have criminal tendencies. There's a certain amount of the criminal in all of us. Most people can control their worst instincts. And some can't. Exactly. And I'm here to see to it that no one harms Louise. But, Mother, who's going to look out for you? Albert, are you looking so clearly at me? Are you sick? Yes, Mother, I'm sick. Albert, stop looking at me that way. You seem like a different person. I am, Mother. You've made me different. And now you must take the consequences. Albert, stay away from me. Don't you dare come near me. So you would keep coming back, Mother. Well, you came back just once too often. No, no, Albert. Don't touch me. Albert, you... You should have taken that train, Mother. But at least now I know you won't be coming back ever again. I didn't want to kill you. But you made me. Oh, but now I've got to get rid of you. They'll catch me at the trunk. Yes, it's large enough. Even in death, you're a problem, Mother. But you won't be for long. There. Now I have to get rid of the trunk. Somehow, think of a way... Albert, are you home? Louise, the trunk. I've got to close it. Is that you, Albert? Yes, dear, yes. Oh, I see you're locking the trunk. Yes, I was getting it ready for the expressman. He should be here by now. Albert, is anything wrong? Anything wrong? What do you mean, Louise? I don't know. Your face is so flushed. Oh, it's just a little warm in here, that's all. Oh, we forgot to pack Mother's robe. Oh, look. You'll have to open the trunk again, Albert. No. I mean, the trunk's full already. You wouldn't be able to get anything else into it. Why, none since when Mother and I packed it, it was only half full. Oh, please open it. But it's locked and we haven't got the keys. Oh, yes, that's right. Mother has them. Well, we'll just have to mail the robe to her. Oh, I'll answer the door. It must be the expressman. Make sure the tags are on it, dear. The tags? Oh, you can't go to her home. Oh, I only had time to think, think. Wait, yes, that's the only thing to do. Please, we'll find the trunk in this room. Here it is. Are you finished, Albert? Yes, it's all ready to go. Okay. Let me make a racket of it. Now, let me see. It's being shipped to... Perhaps you'd better load it on the truck first. It's easier this way, Mr. You're shipping it to Mr. William Smith, 345 Wood Street, Las Vegas. Well, that isn't the right address. Then what is it on this shipping tag, lady? Oh, uh, well, that must be one of my customers. I must have been thinking of someone else when I wrote it out. Yeah, but what's the right address? Oh, it's Mrs. Hortense Murdoch, 125 River Road, Fairydale, Pennsylvania. That's right, isn't it, dear? Yes. Okay, I know your name and address. I'll put the right tags on later. That's mighty heavy. Please be careful with it. Don't worry, lady. I'll get the... Albert, did you get the mail just now? Yes, dear. Is there a letter from Mother yet? No, no, just a few bills. I'm really worried. It's a week now and no word from her. But you mustn't worry, Louise. I'm sure she's all right. Albert, you're even worried yourself about her. You look so upset. Oh, I'll answer. I'll come with you. Maybe it's a special delivery from Mother. Yes? Good morning. I got a track here for you, folks. What? It's Mother's trunk. Yes. You always wanted to get rid of me, Albert. Bring it in, won't you please? Okay, lady. There you are. But I don't understand. Why should Mother send her trunk back to us? Would you mind signing for it, Mr. Jordan? What? Oh, yes. Here you are. Thanks. Bye. Albert, I... I can't understand why Mother shipped her trunk back to us and without even writing a word about it. Can you figure it out? Oh, what? Oh, no, I can't. Well, I'm going to put an end to this guessing. Louis, what are you going to do? I'm calling Mother. Hello, operator. I want to put through a call to Ferrydale, Pennsylvania. The number is 223. Why bother, Louise? I'm sure there's a letter on the way. I've waited long enough for one. I'm sure there's something wrong. Oh, hello. Hello, Sarah. This is Louise calling. Is my Mother there? What? Are you sure? Oh, and that's why you shipped the trunk back. No. No. Thank you, Sarah. Albert, Sarah says that Mother never arrived home. She sent a postcard saying not to expect her just yet. Was Sarah the one who shipped the trunk back? Yes. She thought that Mother had decided to stay with us longer and would need her clothes. But Albert, where can she be? Well, now, Louise, I'm sure she's all right. All right. She's been missing a week. How could she be? Perhaps she's staying with friends. You know Mother hasn't any friends. We've got to do something. Albert, I'm going to call the police. The police investigated, but they had no clues, so they didn't learn anything. And George got rid of the embarrassing trunk just as fast as he could, telling Louise he was going to put it into storage. He took it to a trucking company to ship it as far away as it could go. It was the only thing he could think of to do. All right. I got it straight against now. Mr. Richard Jones, 65 Ocean Avenue, Los Angeles. Is that right? Yes, yes, that's right. He's my brother. And your name is... Martin Jones. 1635 Sherwood Road, Riverdale, New York. Jones, Sherwood Road, Riverdale. All right, Mr. Jones, now let's see. That'll be $18. Well, here's $20. Keep the change. Oh, thanks. Thanks, Mr. Jones. Here's your receipt. It'll go out right away. There's a truck leaving tonight. Don't you worry. This trunk will get to Los Angeles all right. That's fine, fine. It'll be quite a load off my mind when it's gone. A week passed, two weeks, three, and poor Albert was breathing more easily again until one morning when something the most unexpected happened. Louise, Louise Darling. Yes, Albert? Oh, darling, I have a present for you. Some flowers. Just saw them and thought you'd like them. Thank you, Albert. You're very thoughtful. Louise, your mother's been missing more than a month now. You can't go on like this. You'll have a breakdown. Oh, Albert, where can she be? Why can't the police find her? Well, darling, she hasn't been found in five weeks. Oh, excuse me, dear, I'll answer it. Maybe it's news of Mother Albert. Good evening. I got a trunk here. I think belongs to you. A trunk? Yeah, that's right. You always wanted to get rid of me, Albert. Do you recognize it? It's yours, isn't it? Oh, no, no. Huh? Well, ain't you the fella that shipped this trunk about a month ago? Didn't you give me a $2 tip? I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else. Don't you know where the trunk goes? No, you see, it's come all the way back from California. It seems there wasn't no such address where this was shipped from. Surely it had a return address. Yeah, but the trunk got wet. The return address kind of washed off, so it came back to the office where it was shipped from. So what makes you think it belongs here? Well, you see, I kind of did a little detective work. The initials stamped on the trunk are HGM. Well, I looked it up in the phone book, and the only person in town with those initials lives here. I'm sorry, but it certainly isn't my trunk. Oh, well, I'm sorry to trouble you. I had to sworn you as the guy that gave me that $2 tip. Where will you take the trunk now? Oh, it'll be put with the unclean baggage. And then in a few months, it'll be auctioned off. Auctioned off? Yeah. You'd be surprised what you sometimes find in them, just like a grab bag game. Well, sorry to trouble you. Oh, wait a minute. Huh? What did you say those initials were? HGM. HGM? What? They're my mother-in-law's initials. Her name is Hortense G Murdock. Oh, sure. That was the only name in the book with those initials. That's why I came here. Well, that was a very clever piece of detective work. Yes, of course it's her trunk. I don't know why I didn't recognize it. Well, you know, trunks, they kind of look alike. Yes, yes, that's right. Well, bring it in. Trunks are funny things, aren't they? You have something valuable in one, just as likely as not, it'll get lost. But put something you don't want in it, like a mother-in-law, and it'll come back every time. You can hardly blame Albert for being upset, especially since Louise wanted to open the trunk to look for possible clues. But Albert managed to get Louise out of the house, then put the trunk onto the trunk rack of his car, and started out. Several hours later, he was at the receiving platform of an all-night storage warehouse in New York. Yes, mister, can I help you? Pardon me, but you store trunks here, don't you? Yeah, sure, we store anything in here. You want to store that trunk you got there? Oh, yes, please. Okay, I'll make out a ticket. Now, what's the name? Williams, John Williams. Your address? 313 Maple Street. Yeah, but what city, mister? What city? Oh, Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore. Okay. The charge is $3 a month. How long you want to pay for it? Quite a while. I'll be leaving the country and... Well, what is it? Anything wrong, mister? Oh, dear. I only seem to have $6 with me. Well, that'll pay for two months, then we'll send you a bill. No, that won't be necessary. I'll send you a money order in a few days. I may be out of the country for several years. Okay, leave the trunk there. I'll take care of it. And here's your receipt. Just put the number of it in your letter when you send the money. I will. I won't forget it. Good night. Good night. Hey, mister Williams, mister. He's gone. There's your receipt on the platform where you dropped it. The nervous type. Oh, well, I suppose I can forward it to him from Baltimore. When Albert found he'd lost his receipt for the trunk, he was badly upset at first. That meant he couldn't send any money for future storage charges. But after all, there was no identification inside it, and he'd rubbed mother's initials off the outside this time. So how could anyone trace it back to him? Especially since they'd be looking for him in Baltimore. So in a few weeks, Albert was himself again, except for a nightmare once in a while. Andrew, what do I know about you, Albert? You may have criminal tendencies. I'm going to protect my daughter from you. Yes, I've come back. And you're not going to get rid of me. Do you hear me, Albert? I've come back to stay. Leave me alone. Albert, wake up. What is it, Louise? You were moaning in your sleep, dear. You must have been having a nightmare. Oh, yes, I was. But it's not important. It's just that midnight snack I had. Go back to sleep, darling. But as the months passed, so did the nightmares. And finally, Albert was his old cheerful self again. Good evening, dear. How are you? I'm all right, Albert. Fine, fine. Say, I bumped into George Horton and his wife on the way home, and they asked us to come to the charity bazaar tonight. That was very nice of them, Albert. Oh, why don't we go? There'll be an auction, a raffle, supper, a dancing. It'll do you good. I know, but somehow I don't feel like meeting people. But you can't go on this way, Louise, cutting yourself off from the world. I've been unfair to you, haven't I, Albert? Keeping you home night after night all these months. Oh, darling, you know I've been perfectly happy. It's been so nice. Just the two of us. You've been perfectly wonderful, Albert, and I'm afraid I've been acting very selfishly. All right, I'll go to that charity affair tonight. This beautiful antique lamp. Do I hear a dollar? Do I hear a dollar? I'll get a dollar. There, we have a lady with a real sense of beauty. Now, do I hear a dollar? You are here for a dollar. Well, good evening, George. Well, hello, Albert. Hello, Louise. Hello, George. Say, I'm sure glad you two came. Missed you both a lot these past months. Well, I hope you'll be seeing more of us. Hey, we've got quite a crowd here tonight. Oh, yeah. We hope to raise quite a bit of money. Say, that auctioneer's a genius. Come on, let's get a little closer. All right. The one with the superb eye for beauty did five dollars for this lamp. Do I hear five fifty? Your last chance, ladies and gentlemen, going at five dollars once, going twice, sold to the gentleman in the tweed suit and very fortunate he is. That lamp couldn't have cost more than three dollars when it was new. Well, now we come to the raffle. The raffle? Yeah, the raffle for a mystery prize donated by yours truly George Horton. Oh. Better let me sell you a few tickets, Albert. They're only fifty cents each. No, no, thanks, George. We just came to be sociable. Better take a chance. No telling what you might win. Now, next, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the feature of the evening. A raffle for a mystery prize which I have hidden here beneath this canvas cover. Now, I'm going to lift this cover and show you a lot, Trunk. Now, take a good look at it. Trunk. Oh, no. It can't be. It is. Please come back again. Yes, Dave. I'm good this time. Oh, no, no. Now, this is no ordinary trunk, ladies and gentlemen. It was donated by a gentleman who bought it for storage charges. Now, who knows what it contains. Perhaps the crown jewels of old Russian. Or better still, a case of scum. Now, take a good look at it and try to get it. Albert, you're so pale. Is there anything wrong? I know, of course not. George, where did you get this trunk? Oh, that big storage place in New York. You know, on the east side. Somebody did keep up the storage charges on it. And all the notifications they mailed came back. Yes, yes, I see. Now that you've seen all the prizes and particularly seen this prize, ladies and gentlemen, I know you're going to want to buy not one, not two, but half a dozen chances each. What can be in it? Guessing is half the price. Well, now we're all going to adjourn for supper. And immediately after supper, the big drawing will be held. So buy your chances now and win yourself a trunk full of surprise and pleasure. Well, Albert, changed your mind about buying a chance or two? Yes, George. Yes, I have. Now, take all you've got. Albert, I don't understand you. You bought every chance that was left on that trunk. Louise, I know what I'm doing. What on earth do you want with an old trunk that... Looks a lot like Mother's trunk, doesn't she? Oh, no, no, I don't think so. But of course it does, Albert. It's the same make and color. It's the same dent there. But it couldn't. Of course not. The idea is absurd. Darling, you're acting so strangely. You didn't eat any supper or nothing. I have to say, Louise, will you stop nagging me? I'm sorry, Albert. Hello, hello. Feeling pretty sure you're going to win it with all those tickets, eh, Albert? I hope so. I knew the mystery if it would get you. Say, I didn't even got a ticket on it myself. So you'll have some competition. Oh, I'll win it. I've got to. Well, I did my best. I picked out the heaviest trunk the place had for sale. So I don't want the winner to blame me if he doesn't like what he finds. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we are ready for the feature of the evening, the drawing for the locked mystery truck. Now, my assistant has put all the ticket stumps in the wire wheel. And so I spin it. Thus, round and round it goes and where it stops, nobody knows. Now, the stumps are thoroughly mixed. And I stop the wheel so that this lovely young lady may reach in and withdraw the number of the lucky, lucky winner. Now, will you open your eyes, please, and read the number that you have drawn? Number, number 38. Number 38. Number 38. Number 38 is the winner. Is the holder of number 38 here? Yes, yes, I have it. I've won. I've won. Well, good for you, Albert. Congratulations, sir. May I have your ticket, please? So that I may compare it with the stub that the young lady drew? Yes, yes, of course. Here it is. Thank you. Now, I've placed the ticket and the stub together. And we... What is it? I'm very sorry. I'm afraid an error has occurred. An error? What do you mean? The young lady misread the winning number. It is number 33, not 38. No, you're lying. I won. Now I'm sorry, but mistakes will happen. Ladies and gentlemen, I must make a correction. The winning number is 33. Is the holder of number 33 present? Yes, yes. Well, that's my number. Well, hard luck, Albert. But I guess you don't win after all. May I have your ticket, please? Sure, here. Thank you very much. Now, ladies and gentlemen, the lucky winner purely by chance is the gentleman who donated the prize, Mr. George Button. And congratulations to you, sir. And I hope you'll open the trunk now and let the rest of us know what we missed out on. I certainly will. No, he can't open it. You haven't got the key. No, no, but I have a bunch here that I bought from a locksmith and one of them is bound to work. You mustn't open it. George, George, I'll buy that trunk from you. Well, I don't want to sell. I want to know what's in the trunk. That's where the fun comes in. I'll give you $100. You can't refuse. $100? Well, if you wanted that, that all right. I'll give you my check tomorrow. Yeah, but there's one condition. Condition? Yeah, that you open the trunk here so we can all see what's in it. Oh, no, I won't do it. Well, then the deal's off. Sorry, Albert, but curiosity has the better of it. But George, George, please listen to me. Sorry, Albert, sorry. Just a minute, everybody. As soon as I find one of these keys, it's better. I knew I'd come back, Albert, and I have you should have known I would. Oh, no, no. Darling, you're not well. Let's go home. No, no use it. It's just no use. What on earth do you mean? You will never be rid of me, Albert, to never hide. I think I've got it. Yeah, let's keep it in return. No, wait. Wait! What is it? You mustn't open it. Oh, Albert, fun's fun, but... I had something to tell you. She's beaten me. I can't keep it hidden any longer. That's the only way you can ever be rid of me. Go on. Tell them. Well, Albert? I... I did it. What? I killed her. Did what? Killed who? Albert, what are you talking about? I killed Louise's mother. Her body is in that truck. Oh, no! Albert, that's a very poor joke. Oh, it's no joke. I thought I could get rid of her, but I can't. She keeps coming back, and coming back, and coming back, and I can't stand it any longer. Go on. Open the truck now. You'll see I'm telling the truth. Go on. Open it. No. Please stand back, everybody. Come on, stand back, all of you. How can you help me with it? Yes, sure, Mr. Wharton. I don't do this catch now. There. All right, now lift her. Albert, this trunk. Well, there's nothing in it, but old books. This is the mysterious traveler again. Poor Albert. He let himself be fooled by the wrong trunk. Maybe it was his guilty conscience. What happened to him? He's getting the best of attention these days in a small but comfortable room with bars over the windows. The only trouble is the bars won't keep his mother-in-law out. She comes in every night to talk to him. So if you're ever tempted to... Oh, you're getting off here. I'm sorry. But I'm sure we'll meet again. I take this same train every week at this time. You've just heard the mysterious traveler, a series of dramas of the strange and terrifying. Listen next week over most of these mutual stations to a tale titled... Murder is no accident. Another tale of the mysterious traveler. The mysterious traveler is presented by the Mutual Network from our New York studios, Russ Dunbar speaking. Stay tuned to this station for another exciting crime drama, True Detective Mysteries, which immediately follows Station Identification. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.