 And now, tonight's presentation of Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrill's Suspense. Here is a story of man's assault against nature. We call it The Mountain. So now, starring, Harley Bear and Ben Wright, here is tonight's suspense play, The Mountain. There were four on the East Glacier, 22,000 feet above sea level. In that cold, thin air we stood, looking up. And in the great loneliness we saw it. For a few seconds, as the mist cleared, we saw it. The mountain, the peak, towering over us. It was beautiful and terrible. Then a swirling curtain moved round it, and it was gone again. There were six of us in the course. Anton and Lee had been sent back to camp three, some 4,000 feet below. Both had been badly prospered. So then there were six of us left to make the tent. Nobody had done it before. No one had ever reached the top of that tremendous windswept place. And now we were ready for the assault. That night we held our last meeting in camp four. Thomas, Feldman, Eldridge, Gaines, Perucci and myself. It's the best way, the most practical. Three of us stay and three of us try to make it. Now we stand a better chance if we all do it together. What do you think, Bob? I don't think so. Thomas is right. If three of us go and have to turn back, the other three will still be fresh, and they can have a go. That's right. All right? Yes, it has to be. Okay, two parties. Thomas, you will head out to second. Stay at the camp. I'll lead the first one up. Right. Oh, now, wait a minute. Don't we get a boat on this? No, it's a waste of time. Start boating and we'll start arguing again. Those monsoons aren't going to hold off forever. Yeah, but how's your leg, Harry? Oh, it's not bad, but I might hold you back. You better leave me down here. All right. Perucci, you want me to go? Do you feel up to it? Sure, you bet. Gaines? You're not acclimated. Claude? Nothing. It'd get a lot worse. Harry, you better not. Well, look, why not let me go with you and leave Harry and Charles down here? That leg will be all right in a couple of days, don't you think, Harry? It ought to be. He hasn't had enough experience for a lead man. Oh, there's nothing wrong with me, or is there? John... You keep out of this, Thomas. Okay, you, Perucci and myself, that'll be it. We'll start a daybreak. It wasn't that we didn't like, you know, it was just that he was always flying off the handle and because of that, he wasn't at good risk. Nerves... It's never gained peak hidden and missed. Later that evening, Thomas and I were going over the equipment before turning in. Oxygen tank, that's light. Oh, but they seem to weigh over 30 pounds. Yeah. One of us will be able to do it. Yeah, that's the trouble. I think we're gonna make it. Wouldn't that be something? The first man to get to the top. You understand why I didn't take you to... Of course, wishful thinking, that's all. Well, you better turn in. I'll finish checking this up. Okay. See you in the morning. 33,000 feet. Each of us carried a 30-pound oxygen tank besides the equipment we needed for our next camp. For three or four hours it wasn't bad, but as we went higher, there'd be a big jump for Luchy. What do you figure, about 3,500 feet more? Yeah. Might make it by tomorrow. That's what I thought. Like that. Save your breath. We'll move in a few minutes. We get patches of snow. And the pace slowed down. We spelled each other's leader, and it was my turn up ahead. Luchy was bringing up the rear when I heard him yell, 10,000 feet below the shoulder from the wind, and pitched us dusted and shocked. Well, this now. Couldn't make it up there alone? There's 2,500 feet to go, maybe more. We've got to go back. We'll let the others try. It's bad for the nerves. We couldn't make it. We'll go back and try again later. The monsoons will be here later. We've got to do it now. Thomas and the others can do it. No, we'll keep going. Look, I've got to. I'm not going. Luchy hung over the crevasse. He was going over the crevasse. He'd cut the rope, which had held Norman and Perucci's body some 20 feet into the chasm. To save his own life, he'd done this. I pulled the coil through the straps of my pack and left the tent with Eldridge about 100 feet higher. He was standing on a shallow ledge, catching his breath, and his head was tilted back. Eyes fixed on that mountain. I didn't think I'd made it. You might. I think you must have known then that I'd found out. Looking down in the distance, he'd seen it further down. And even then, it began to grow much cooler. The 20th was gray. It caught in one of the steps that held us. It had me around because I was afraid. I thought there was even a chance of seeing the top. For a moment, it stood out clear. 250 feet below the feet. It was almost warm. Almost full. I changed the rope, which had been cut with a knife, into a rope which had prayed and parted on the ice. I remember as we started down to the valley below, I turned and stood a minute, looking back, and then a cloud softly poured over and in a moment.