 Personal notice, dangers my stock and trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you got a job for me, George Valentine. Write full details. I wonder if you remember the old-time comic who always began with, tonight the show's going to be different. And so it is with Let George Do It. Only we switched it to, tonight the mayhem's going to be different. And I want you to listen closely, as this would be a swell way to discourage your brother-in-law to make a proper plate for the ladies-aid taffy-pull. It has its beginning in a cozy little cave on Crescent Lane. You know the type. One of those modest country places with six rooms and a polo field. As our story opens, the nervous young Philly is writing a letter to George Valentine. For this she is using a very special pen. It not only writes under water, it also writes under blood. Dear Claire, I meant to write you so much sooner than this. It's been so long, hasn't it? But has it only seen that way to me because we're so isolated out here at Crescent Lane? Anyway, I've known, of course, that you'd be here for the weekend tomorrow, you and George, and I've... Oh, hello, Avery dear. It's all right with you, isn't it? To have them here. I meant to tell you that I'd ask them, but I guess I forgot all about it. With me, I think it's a terrific idea. Joe! Who else would wander in to haunt you? Well, I thought you were Avery. Why, does he creep up on you, too? Well, I was just writing a letter, and I... Well, you see, I thought this George, this boyfriend of Claire Brooks, could go fishing this weekend. I mean, Avery loves a chance to show off his own trout lake, and, well, it would take them a couple of days. Hey, this gets better and better. Go on, write your letter. I think it's a wonderful idea. With a squire out of the house for a couple of days. Is this here? Yes, Avery. It's all thunderhead. See you later, baby. I want my lunch now, Cecil. All right, Avery. I was just writing a letter to... Yes, yes, of course, but I'm in a hurry. But I wanted to tell you this weekend I've invited... I said I'm in a hurry, Cecil. Yes, Avery. What's the matter with you, anyway? Nothing. Was Joe Ames here? Yes, but... I don't like that man, or his money, either. He doesn't belong impressively. He's not the sort of man... Well, just because he wasn't born here... Oh, for heaven's sakes, I want my lunch, I told you. Do I have to call one of the servants? All right, all right, I'll be right with you, dear. That's the girl. That's my sister. I have to mail this in a hurry, Claire. But remember, I'm expecting you this weekend without fail. Sincerely, Cecil Lewiston. This gal, Cecil, may have the whips, but she ain't so dumb. She figures by inviting Bruxy, Valentine's girl, Friday for the weekend, she will still have Joe Ames, her boyfriend, Monday. Wonder how the plan will set with Brother Avery, though. I bet not half so well as the plan my friend here has for you. My friend, I think you'll go far with that kind of talk. Now, let's see how far Bruxy and George go when they get that letter from Cecil. Cecil Lewiston? I just don't know her. You don't know her? But then why would she write as though you were an old friend? I don't know. I tell you, I've never even heard of her. Well, I've heard of an Avery Lewiston up there in Crescent Lane. Big shot among big shots. Sportsman stuff. You, too, can wear treads. I know. Wait a minute. Some place in the paper, I read it. What? Yeah, and here it is. Yeah, society section. Where else? Oh, let's see. Prominent Crescent Lane Bachelor, who will preside at the Hunt Club. That's him, all right. The early George Apley, mustache and all, distinguished looking. Look, George, there she is. There, holding the bridle of the horse in the background. Oh, yeah. Mrs. Cecil Lewiston. She's not very attractive, is she? But she writes as though you were a friend. All right, come on, Angel. Let's find out why. I'm so glad you could come. It's certainly a beautiful place. All your gardens and the woods. But I'd still like to know where... Oh, yes, my brother's very proud of it. Well, aren't you, too, Cecil? Well, it's really his. I mean, I've always lived here. Ever since my mother and father died, I was just a child. But my brother is... Well, it's sort of his. I always think of it that way. Here, we'll go in through here. Well, wait a minute. What about that letter of yours? Mr. Valentine, please don't ask any questions. You might as well ask him to stop breathing. I'll explain everything later. No, no, no, no, it's all right with me. What? No questions. Thank you. Come on. All right. But you've told your brother we were all friends of yours. Mr. Valentine, you promised to... No, that's not a question. Just an observation. And you wrote the letter to Bruxy that way because he was watching you write it, maybe. So that makes your brother a curious kind of duck who looks over shoulders. No, no, I mean... All right, all right, never mind. I'm close enough. But why a full-grown woman would pull a childish stunt like that on a brother who's beyond me? But you're wrong. I mean, Avery doesn't even know about you yet. I haven't had a chance to tell him. It was out all yesterday afternoon with a man named Joe Ames who's new here, and well, this morning I... Hold it. Well, hello. Hi, hi. We were just admiring your place. Oh, no. But this is not Avery. I mean, this is Paul Merrill. Ms. Brooks, Mr. Valentine. Oh, hello. Paul lives down the road. What do you want, Paul? You're looking for Joe. He hasn't been by here this morning. Oh, I don't want him. I'm all through with Joe Ames. Well, what do you mean? Well, he got what he came here for, didn't he? The big tycoon with social ambitions. He's made the grade now. What's this? Oh, hi, Avery. Well, where are you? Right here in the study room. But what did you just say about... No, no operator. Hang on a minute. Will you... Well, it was nothing important. Go on. Go on. Finish your phone call. We'll walk around the porch and come inside. Avery, these are some friends of... Be quiet. Will you shut up? Avery. Hi, Skye. You know why Ames has been here to see you. You stay out of this. Yes, Avery. Well, all I meant was... And you don't know. Goodbye. What do you think it is, Paul? Oh, Avery, for gosh sakes, Joe Ames just bought my place. That's all. What? Well, sure, I... I dropped by. I thought you might be interested. Yeah, now, Joe's made the grade. House and Crescent Lane. He bought up my second mortgage without telling anybody. Sort of had me over a barrel. What else could I do? Oh, I haven't signed any papers yet, but what's the difference? Who cares? I can't pay the taxes by just growing peaches, and I... Well, Avery... Avery, hey! Well, what the heck's the matter with him? Paul, please leave us alone. Get out of here with you. Please, Paul, please. Sure, sure, take it easy. What a place. Everybody always upset all the time. Well, I'll see you later. Ames, Paul Merrill, hot temper, social climbers, what kind of a thing is it? Mr. Valentine, something's wrong with my brother. I don't know what it is, but he's been like this for weeks. Just any little thing will set him off. I mean, he doesn't care about Paul Merrill selling his property any more than I do. That's what I wanted you to do this weekend. Take him fishing. Make him get away from here. Well, Avery hasn't left this place for years, not even for horse shows out of town. Hey, hey, slow down. Well, you tell Bruxy not me. Oh, Mr. Valentine... Don't mind if I climb in the window, do you? I want to make a phone call. George, what are you talking about? A guy has to be pretty upset to just drop a phone without hanging it up. Oh. Hello, hello. Hello, operator. Do I still want to talk to police headquarters? No, no, never mind, thank you. Police headquarters? Cecile. Why would your brother be talking to... Cecile. George, she's gone. Yeah. Listen. Wait, five shots. Sounds like it's over in one of those sheds. Stay here, Bruxy. It's you. Hello, Avery. My name's George Valentine. What have you got here? Miniature rifle range? Get out of here. This man gets upsetting. Come out and plug away at a sandbag, huh? It's a repair shed. I haven't been here for months, but the door is always open. Yes. There's no lock. What's that? Mr. Valentine. I know who you are. I know why you're here. There's something wrong with me, isn't there? My poor little sister that I've given half my life to. She's so normal, so honest. Hey, hey, take it. But she's going to run away from me. Did she tell you that? Did she? There's a man named Ames. You see, and I... What's this? What's this? No, I know. She's using. But it's really not. Sissy, you're stupid. She's not pretty. She's never had a man like that make a play for her. Ames, Joe, Ames, rough and ready, a man of ambition. You'd have to be accepted around here if you married a Lewiston. Only, of course, I'd never allow it. Would I? Oh, clear it up, please, Buster. What are you talking about? A moment ago, I got the idea. It hit me like a stedgehammer. He loped. That's what I've been afraid. Ames would try. He loped with her so I couldn't stop it. And that's why you're here, to get me out of the way. Well, it might make a little sense. Your sister certainly hasn't so far. And neither have I. Because now I know I'm wrong, you see. Hey, move, will you? Stand over there. Ah. Somebody else has been in this shed. And so has my rifle. Look, a slug in a waste box. See? Oh, now, look. How about one thing at a time? That's what I'm doing. Someone's packed a rifle bullet into a shotgun shell. He could dig the rifle slug out of the sandbag there. I still don't get him. Look out, I'll spill sand all over you. Oh, yeah. Here's a slug from your rifle. Another couple. Three of them in the sandbag. They match with the one in the waste box. See? Look at it. And here. The one in the shotgun shell. Now, wait a minute, Buster. Let me get this straight. You're talking about being upset over your sister. But now you've got a shotgun shell loaded with what's left of a rifle bullet. Listen to me. I don't understand it. I just found it. Ames. I've been worried about Ames making play for my sister. Wanted to take her away, yes. Of course, I've been behaving strangely. But now I find a thing like this. Uh-huh. Somebody's been experimenting with your ammunition. I don't know what it means. Well, here, I might mess up the barrel of this shotgun a little, but we'll try. What are you going to do? Well, I've heard of taking the buckshot out of a shotgun shell and stuffing something heavier in front of the potter. Look out. Well, that one wasn't packed very tight. Let's see. There's the slug over there, buried in the wall. The slug that was originally fired from your rifle. George? George, where are you? Oh, yeah, in here, Bruxy. Don't tell anyone. It doesn't make any sense. I don't understand it. George! I think you better come inside. Why? We've got a big enough mystery cooking right in here. Oh, George, listen. The caretaker's on the phone from the next estate. He says he was out in the woods and found the body of a man with a bullet in him. Watch. It was the body of Joe Ames. You know, this piece of news is going to come as a big shock to Cecile. Here she was, all ready to marry Ames, and he often elopes with an angel. Poor girl. In her present mental state, she's allowed to toss convention to the winds and get on her broom and join him. However, here's a fellow who doesn't need a broom to take a flyer. He does it with words. Sweep a syllable this way, pal. You remember the old saying, never go for a tramp in the woods unless you're wearing a bulletproof vest. Well, Joe Ames didn't. He went looking for a partridge and turned out to be the pigeon. Now, this made brother Avery a happy little monster, as his cup ran over even at the mention of Ames. All of this came to pass just because George and Brooksy got a weekend bid from Cecile, a hysterical female who's just itching for a jacket that buttons down the back. Two minutes in these surroundings would have told anybody to get your bustle back to town. But not our George. He took a shot in the dark and stayed. Meanwhile, someone took a shot in the woods and didn't. Was it murder? Was it suicide? I don't know. Mr. Worth, the local constable, thinks it was an accident. How about you, Brooksy? Avery Lewiston made some sort of a phone call to the police or was going to earlier, remember, George? I already asked Mr. Worth about that, Angel. Yeah, Avery's been pestering us trying to find out all the facts about this Joe Ames. That's about all. Yeah, that's what he told me too. What do you mean facts about Joe Ames? Well, Ames has made a lot of money, in fact, east, you see. I guess Avery hoped somebody would tell him Ames was crooked. But Ames wasn't, huh? Oh, no, no, no, of course not. You know, just a bit rough, ambitious. I don't know why Avery should have worried so much about it. He's got plenty. Nothing Ames could have done to him except bring a little noise and progress into his precious crescent lane. That was something else, his sister. What? Uh, Skipper, that's all over. Uh, by the way, Valentine, I want you to show me this hocus pocus out in the shed. This shotgun rifle slug stuff. Oh, yeah, yeah, I'll get Avery. Yeah, that's what I mean. Let's clear it up. That's it. That's what I found. Understand, Mr. Worth. Had somebody's been experimenting with how to fire a rifle slug out of a shotgun? Well, of course I do. Only tell me, Avery, where do you keep your rifle? Well, generally in my study inside the house. So your rifle itself couldn't very well be borrowed and then put back without your noticing it? I suppose not. But the slugs fired from it could? I don't understand. I think I do, to one worth. What was it your crew reported to you from town? Uh, where's your rifle now, Avery? Well, I had it out here earlier when Mr. Valentine went... No, it... It's gone. Yeah, that's right. My boys have it. I ran a ballistics check, Valentine. The bullet that killed Joe Ames was fired from Avery's rifle. Well, I'll see you later. What? Wait a minute. Somebody trying to build you a new savory... Yes. Yes, I'm finally beginning to understand. I thought I was a well-liked person. In fact, for years I've been sort of an ex-officio mayor of Crescent Lane. But now it seems someone would like me to hang. Why? Just because I'm known to express my opinion on Ames, because I would make an obvious suspect. Easy now. Worth is going to comb the woods for a shotgun. Try and check everyone in the neighborhood that might have been fired. He figures whoever practiced stuffing shells in here is the one who did it. But the slug was from my gun. It had the telltale markings from the barrel of my rifle. So when he finds that everyone disliked Ames, it'll be much easier to put the handcuffs on me. Oh, cut it all, would you please? Don't you understand? How will we ever be able to prove that the bullet that killed Ames had already been fired once by me in here? Sometimes a crime is simpler than it looks. You said everybody hated Ames. But everybody didn't have access to this shed, did they? No. No, that's right. Hello. Paul. Hello, Paul. I just wondered if there was anything I could do. No. No, I guess not. Mr. Merrill, you live down the road, don't you? Yeah, that's right. Yes, all is I. I suppose the police have asked you where you were this morning? Yeah. I don't have any alibis, if that's what you mean. But on the other hand, I don't kill people. Hey, you fixed this place up pretty nice, Avery. Moving the lathe out gave you more room in here, didn't it? Haven't you been in here since then? Me? Well, no, why would I? Now, what's going on anyway? I'm not interested in guns, if that's what you mean. But you're a neighbor, you're around here all the time. Well, let's get it clear. What do you mean? No, no, Valentine, it's ridiculous. Paul and I have nothing in common. As for my sister, she actually goes out of her way to avoid you. There must be others. I was thinking that Mr. Merrill and Joe Ames had something in common, that's all. What's that? Yeah, that business of the property. Oh, hold on, hold on, look here. He forced me to sell, whatever. I don't mind getting out of here. I've been full of crescent flame all my life and I'm sick of it. Well, just because he didn't give me as much money is... Oh, I'm getting out of here. I'm sorry, I can't help you, Valentine. Paul. No, I'll let him go, Avery, it's about all over anyway. What? Yeah, yeah, sometimes a crime can be so simple. And the simple way is the only way I can figure it. Well, where are you going? What do you mean that it's... To see an old friend that I didn't meet until today. Your sister, Avery. No, Mr. Valentine. Please leave me alone, please. Now, look, you lied to begin with when you wrote us your letter and if you don't help me now... But Joe Ames was an awful man. Don't you see anyone could have done it. An awful man? Ames has been around here for months, hasn't he? He wanted to buy some property. But even more than that, he wanted to marry you. George. Yeah, Bruxy, what did you find? What have you been doing back there? I was in your room, Cecile. I had to go through the bathroom. The other door was locked. You have no right to... What if you won't tell us we'll find out ourselves? Go ahead, Bruxy. She had three suitcases all packed. Oh. There's nothing left in her closet, but a few things to wear over the weekend. No. No! Okay, so you were planning to get out of here. That is why you brought us out here, isn't it? To get your brother out of the way so you could leave. You must be scared to death of Avery. No, no, I'm not. It's just that... I know, I know. He didn't want you to get married. But I wasn't going to be married. You don't understand... This is your engagement ring, isn't it? I found it in your dressing table. Okay, Cecil, okay. Avery had already guessed it. He told me about it. Now, you tell us about it. No. No, I won't. I can't. You're protecting someone, aren't you? No, no, I'm not. Someone like yourself. What? Ames was murdered by a bullet from your brother's rifle. Avery? Avery, come in here. Oh, no, never mind him. He couldn't have been the one to try and frame himself. Don't you understand? So it's someone else you're protecting? No. Oh, leave me alone. Oh, come on, Cecil. Let's go into town. What? Oh, George, she's so upset. She's sick. The person she's protecting is Cecil. How many times do I have to say it? George. Well, who else would have access not only to that shed out there, but also to the study where Avery kept his rifle? Mr... Mr. Valentine. Oh, come on, sister. You can tell it to Mr. Worth that police headquarters... George, look out. She's... Oh, yeah, I've got her. Oh, she just fainted. That's all. What is it? Oh, nothing. Roxy. Get on the phone. Call Worth. Tell him I'm on my way. All right, George. Then wait here for me. What are you doing with her, Cecil? She fainted. That's all. Never mind. I can get the door. Put her down. Valentine. She'll be taken care of. Don't worry. Put her down, I said. I have. There's a doctor in jail. He can take... Get away from her! Will George get away from her? Will Avery give it to him in the end? Boy, it doesn't a situation like this kind of get you deep down inside? Well, in case it didn't, maybe what my friend here has to say will. Now let's get back and see how George is making out. Say, this is terrible. He's still standing there. Get away from her! Well, where did you get the shotgun? Ma'am, found it out in the woods. Just bringing it to show you. Well, don't wave it at me like that. What's that shotgun loaded with? Buckshot? You better get your hand off the trigger. You'll hit us both. Buck? Or is it loaded with another one of those five slugs from the shed? You went over to Merrill's and you stole his rifle and now you're getting ready to plant it in the woods. Get away from her. Oh, yeah, sure. The big squire of Crescent Lane that everybody calls Thunderhead. And the only person that really takes you seriously, I guess, is Cecile. After all, why not? She's not very good looking. There weren't any boys. She's waited on you, hand in foot, ever since your parents died. Stop it! Be quiet. What makes you think I'd want to plant Merrill's gun? Now, you listen to me, Buster. You move one inch and she gets hurt, see? The gun's simple. The whole crime's simple, I told you. I always wondered what it'd be like to walk in on a case just a few minutes after a man had been murdered. Now I know a man will try anything when he's desperate, won't he? I don't know what you're talking about. All right, forget all the fancy stuff. Forget that shotgun stuff. When I walked in here today, you were phoning the police. You were all upset. Well, suppose you were going to phone in and tell them that you just shot a man by accident in the woods. No, that's not true. He was the guy who was going to take your sister away from you. With your standing around here, how could anybody ever prove it wasn't an accident? But the shotgun... You shot Ames with your rifle. Only then you changed your mind. How desperate can you get? Sure. Why not make it a murder now? The last time, Valentine, I'm warning you. Why not get rid of Merrill, too? Why not go out to the shed and show me a perfectly obvious switch with the ammunition that'll make you look innocent forever? But I found those shells there. You knew ballistic's approval was your rifle that killed Ames, so you showed me how someone else could have used one of those five slugs. Get away from there. For the last time, get away from there. Five slugs, Buster. Five slugs. You ripped open the sandbag, remember? There were three in there. One in the wastebasket. One in the shotgun shell. You just stuffed. I don't even know what you're talking about. But I heard you fire your rifle five times. So why weren't there more slugs? If somebody else was getting them from an earlier shooting out there, he'd have to get them out of the sandbag. Wouldn't he? But the bag wasn't ripped open. And when it was, we only found three. Five slugs and you fired five shots. Now drop that gun. Mr. Valentino, I knew he must have done it. But I couldn't tell you what I knew. I couldn't. All right, all right. Take it easy, Cecile. Your brother's a strange guy. I guess you know that better than anyone else. But you don't need to explain anything. Not even why he suddenly decided to make his simple crime look like a murder. He made quite a mistake, didn't he? Mistake? George, what do you mean? Haven't you figured that out, Angel? Well, come on. I'll tell you on the way out. All right. Thanks, Brooks. Why didn't he just leave Aime's death as an accident? Why didn't he finish his call to the police? You remember what happened? Well, Paul Merrill was there talking about selling his property. Angel Cecile was planning to elope. Now, would the man she'd elope with buy property right near the murderous brother they were running away from? Oh! Yeah, yeah. That's what hit Avery like a sledgehammer. But on the other hand, why would Merrill be perfectly willing to sell at a bad price and get out? Now you have it. But she and Merrill were so cool toward each other. Well, if it was necessary to elope, it'd also be necessary to put on an act, wouldn't it? Avery never even guessed until that moment. It wasn't Aime's at all. It was Merrill. And Avery started working to pin the murder on Merrill. Sure, sure. Get rid of the real suitor who was going to steal a sister. But at least it ends happily. You see? Now they can get together. Love always wins out. You know it's amazing to me how Valentine can romp his way through a million clues then top it off by saying the wrong thing to Bruxy. That poor gal's got enough frustrations for a sorority house. Oh well, time will tell. And I've got just enough time to tell you that Robert Bailey plays George Valentine with Virginia Greg as Bruxy. David Victor and Jackson Gillis wrote the story and Eddie Dunstetter gave you a shot at two at the organ. Now this is yours truly inviting you to another visit with Valentine when you will again hear what happens when you let George do it.