 Tired of the everyday grind? Ever dream of a life of romantic adventure? Want to get away from it all? We offer you... Escape! Escape! Designed to free you from the four walls of today For a half hour of high adventure! You are standing in the bedroom of an English inn The sound of revelry coming faintly up the stairs While in the shadows across the room from you The gun in his hand already aimed at you Is an enemy agent Whose success depends upon... Your death Listen now as Escape brings you Ben Wright's story Affair at Mandrake This town, this beach might have been wonderful in peacetime I don't know I never saw it before, but in war in 1940 it was hell And on the map that I held in my shaking hands it read Dunkirk I stood by a burnt-out truck, weaving with fatigue Watching what was left of my battalion Lurch-like sleepwalkers onto the shell-swept dunes To await their turn on the little ships that were struggling so desperately To get them away and back to England Major Baker! Over here, son Major! Behind the cannon Him and the old battalion order group All of them? Yes, sir One bloody shell, nasty, very nasty You want to look over the prisoners now, sir? I suppose Brigade still wants unit identification This way, sir I left them with the Lance Corporal of D Company Here you are, sir This bomber will be here Okay, you Nordic superman, up on your bloody feet Get them lined up now We'll see what we've got That man at the end, Holloway Get him turned round You face the officer, you aren't talking to Turn around That's more like it, now we can Ferti Ferti shots Bitter hair, Major Ferti shots What in the world are you? Out of here, Major, it can't be English You don't understand English when you were born in England Bitter hair, Major Holloway, shoot that man Shoot him? No, sir Then by heaven I will No, sir, you can't! Sir! You know it's against King's regulations to set up prisoners You know it is, Major, sir He's a traitor I'll prove it to you Get his service book Yes, sir He says Ferti shots Born London England, doesn't it? No, sir, it says Zia Wilfred Dorff born Bramon, sir Dorff Packard of sworn Dorff Wilfred Dorff Yes, sir All right, Holloway Must have been mistaken Give him back his book Now, I want the prisoners placed nearer the sea Last chance of them making a bolt for it that way Then I want Then I I wanted to see that all of the ranks are fully equipped They don't have already They can pick up off the beach Right, sir Corporals, get them prisoners down nearer to the sea All right, John Magger Come along, Holloway Forgive me, Major, but Who do you think that prisoner was just now? My best friend, Holloway Best friend, sir German? Yes, blasted Holloway, my best friend Sorry, sir That's all right, Holloway I'm tired We all are I made a mistake, that's all I, uh, wasn't Really going to shoot him, you know? No, sir Major Baker, sir Navy's just taking off for us to embark All right, acknowledge Yes, sir Battalion will move off by companies A company leading, single file, five yard interval Deliver that order to platoon leaders Yes, sir You married Holloway? Not half, sir Ten years now and three nippers They'd be glad to see you I should say so You know, I've always thought of the old trouble in strife Talking too much, but With a little larch you'll seem like a blinkin' deaf man Come on, sir, let's get off this flaming beach We left Dunkirk blazing behind us And the Navy took over Then England again And finally the blessed release of two weeks later But it was a short-lived happiness For on the sixth day I was ordered to report to the war office General Ballester, sir Ah, Baker, yes, of course I sent for you, didn't I? Congratulations I beg your pardon, sir On your military cross I haven't got it yet, eh? Well, it'll be long It was a good show in France, Baker A fine rearguard and a properly equipped battalion When you came ashore Deserve your emcee Thank you, sir Thank me rubbish, deserve it Now, what do you know about rockets, Baker? Well, sir, I was interested in them Pre-war as a possible method for postal delivery Ah, that's right, I have it here in your record Ah, attended experimental meetings in Germany, eh? Yes, sir My best friend and I Well, it interested me Well, come here Have a look at this map Sir? Mandrake Forest Full of rockets, our rockets ACAC and anti-personnel The Germans think they're very clever With a sort of nonsense We think we're a bit brighter Mandrake Forest I see Baker, I want you to command a group at Mandrake And carry out field tests Can't give you more than a battalion for the job, either I'm giving you the job because of your record And because you know about rockets Now, what's your main problem? Security? Exactly, security The enemy knows we're up to something And he'll do his best to find out what it is It'll be quite a job, sir, with only a battalion Or you get with your colonelcy, of course Take it? Of course, sir Thank you One thing, sir May I have my old regimental son major with me Holloway knows the way I work and he'd be very good value We'll arrange that immediately, that all? I think so, sir Good, that's it then Except for a word of warning Sir? From now on, Mandrake will be a number one target For enemy agents Mandrake and you Yes, sir Your life, and more important still Our chances of winning this war depend on How well you do at Mandrake I'd already thought of that, sir I'm sure you had Well, then, I suggest you spend the last of your leave By having a look around that district Make your appreciation and so on, eh? Oh, yes And dying with Barbara and me tonight, eh, guy? I'd love to, sir That's splendid Eight thirty, then blitz permitting Oh, and do me a favour, will you? Of course, sir Don't mention rockets, eh? Barbara's all right, really But Pongo's awfully touchy Pongo? Yes, the bloody dog Right Right, sir And thank you The dinner was excellent As was the Courvoisier So it was well after midnight Before I said goodnight to the balusters And made my way slowly towards my flat In panma mues The darkness was absolute No searchlights, no raid An almost irritating hush And then as I turned into the mues I saw it A chink of light coming from my own window I moved quietly, yet as quickly as possible With the steps And stopped suddenly My door had been forced I eased it open wider And stepped through There was a ribbon of light from the study Then as I slowly edged closer I came to where I had fallen in the hall Head pounding, I got to my feet And opened the study door The room was in chaos Chairs ripped open and papers littering the carpet Bookshelves empty, pictures pushed aside Quickly I pried open the tightly fitted false bottom To the bureau drawer My most secret documents and books were untouched The film of chalk dust with which I had sprayed them Unmarked If it had been a burglar He'd got what he came for If it had been the enemy Then they'd not discovered what my mission was Hello A guy, sorry to disturb you A baluster here Oh, yes, General Got another blister for you, I'm afraid In what way, sir? Just after you left, I got a toll call from Pig Spooner Cap's commanding a prisoner of war camp Just outside your new area Yes, sir? Yes, thought I ought to tell you Pig was livid He said that two days ago Six of his POWs made a boat for it His patrols have brought in five of them But one is still swarming about Scott Free, bloody well vanished Got a description of him, sir That's why I rang up Light is about 32 medium bill War, pale face, black eyes and hair I'll keep my eyes open, sir Anything else? Yes Pig thinks he must speak fluent English And know the country well Oh, yes, the fellow's name is Wilfred Dorf I left London the next night And as the train crawled towards Mandrake Under the nightly blanket of shellfire And bummers I thought of my new command Of the rockets And how they could change The whole face of the war Properly used and in the right hands And I thought too of Wilfred Dorf Whom we'd captured at Dunkirk The man I'd mistaken for my oldest friend Ferdy Schatz Ferdy's parents had been German Certainly, but he was a British citizen Until he had gone to Berlin In 37 to finish his studies there And if Dorf was Ferdy Why had he refused to recognize me That day? Shame, fear Why? Why change his name? In any case, I'd soon find out For somewhere in the forest of Mandrake He was loose And then much later I was stepping off the train Into a driving, stinging rain At Mandrake Holt Where Sergeant Holloway Met me with a staff car And in a matter of minutes We were driving away from the station Toward the little town of Mandrake The adjutant sent his apologies For not being here, sir But the camp's a mess And he couldn't get away Thanks, Holloway Well, they posted you quickly enough Too true, sir Lovely a time to get me pack off Camp's a mess, sir Yes, sir The adjutant suggests the red-line pub In the village for you, sir Till we get settled a bit He's warned him, sir Cheer up, Holloway It's not as bad as all that No, sir At least we're home Yes, sir But if you'll forgive me saying so It ain't much better than the beach at Dunkirk How was your wife, Holloway? Talky, sir Very talky Well, this is it, sir The red bloody line The camp's number is Mandrake 4-5 If you want the staff car for reconnaissance And thanks for meeting me, Holloway How about a drink before you go back? It's very good of you, sir But the sergeant's mess Managed to get a couple of barrels of Scotch ale last night They only have bitters here All right, now Off you go Good night, Colonel Colonel Baker, isn't it? That's right I'm Alfie Binker I've been expecting you, sir Your adjutant gave us a buzz And we have the best room put by for you Number 6 on second floor Has to eatin' out yet, sir Well, I did have dinner in London But there's still a bit peckish in all, eh? Yes As a matter of fact, I am Don't you worry, sir I told old lady to put by half a blood pudding And some green gauges for the afters Just in case Sounds fine I'll take your valise up for you, sir And the bottle of James and Diaries The adjutant sent along You just hop into it by a pallet Mrs. will serve you in there Right, thank you Colonel, sir I do hope you won't put us out of bounds To your chance just because you're top secret now Where did you hear that? Well, it's sort of gossip It's sort of gossip like Let's talk about it some other time Shall we? In the meantime, how about the food? Of course, sir Right away Right away The bar parlor was warm And crowded Bingle's food far better than I'd hoped for After I'd eaten, I sat for a while Over a couple of glasses of port I was tired after the journey north Bingle's remark about being top secret Irritated me So that when the singing began I started up to my room 30 shots Sorry about this artillery But we have to talk And I remembered your little outburst at Dunkirk It seemed wiser to take no chances And you were? Wilfred Dorff That's right The sort of melodramatic thing one is forced to do Only in wartime, thank heavens Now you listen to me Guy, please Don't get yourself in an uproar Pour a couple of drinks Like a good chair for you And then we'll talk You probably have a service revolver In your beliefs But I'd rather you wouldn't try to get it Hey, drink sober Here you are Thanks That's more like it, eh? Yes And I can't tell you how grateful I was When you didn't positively identify me at Dunkirk, Guy I'll bet you were Well, you see, it was essential that I get to England With Germans and as a German What else are you? I captured you myself, didn't I? You were British subject in the German uniform Now that you've escaped You've come to me to beg a favour How long do you think you can trade on old friendship? You're an escaped prisoner of war Guy, let me explain Go on, then explain You have the gun All right Firstly, we are very well aware of the importance Of your new command We, oh, we The Germans? Germans, my foot British military intelligence British military You? With MI5? That's right Guy, Guy, do you remember my farewell party At the Dorchester in 37 When I was leaving for Germany To finish my education? I remember What about it? Intelligence, new war was coming Then, sooner or later And because of my German parentage They sent me there as a plant What? Guy, I'm not an escaped prisoner That was arranged by courtesy of military intelligence I expect the commandant of the camp is furious But then sometimes you can't let the left hand know what As far as I did believe you What are you doing here? Well, we feel sure that one of the top German agents Is now or will be in this area Target, Mandrake's new rocket command And, of course, its commander You? Who is this agent? We don't know yet I see Do you know what he looks like? We don't know that either You know very little for someone That supposedly works for military intelligence Ah, I see All right, here This is the only identification I carry Look It doesn't mean a thing Guy, you don't think... I don't think, Ferdy, I know Those credentials are forged Forged? Are you out of your mind? I'm credulous, do you think I am, Ferdy? Listen, Guy, I need your help Our friendship's finished Done You see, you're on one side I'm on the other You better go while you still have that gun Because the next time I find you I'll kill you Guy You always were pig-headed All right, then, a drink for the road, hm? One for our friendship that was As I poured his drink He came toward me, smiling, his gun in one hand Then as he reached for it I flung the raw whiskey straight into his eyes As he spun away from me half blinded I let that him He was trying to bring the gun down on me I brought my heel down hard on his hand And the gun skitted away Out of reach under the wardrobe Then his left hand chopped me hard Across and through Through a choking haze I reached the bed Clawed open my release Swung my revolver towards him as he came toward me Then I fired I knew, I knew I'd hit him But even so, he was able to wrench the gun from my hands Race for the door and slam a chuck behind him By the time I got to my feet Had the door open Ferdy had a good lead I took the stairs as fast as I could But down in the parlor I saw only bingo Open mouth and a blur of excited faces For the black-out curtains At the front door were half a jar And Ferdy Schatz was gone And as you know, Colonel, three days later Ferdy Schatz was dead Captain Harper I suppose for you chaps and MI5 This is a run of the mill But for me the whole thing has been a nightmare Tragedy of errors Killing one's best friend is Well, not too pleasant Yes, I quite understand, Colonel In time of war, friendships are set aside When one's country is being attacked And I thought Ferdy Schatz was doing just that Now that I know he was working for MI5 Well, I... Didn't he tell you that military intelligence Had sent him up to Mandrake? Yes Didn't he show you his credentials? He did But at that time I felt sure they were forged I see Look, Captain Harper On the beach at Dunkirk, I capture this man Later I am told by General Ballester That he has escaped a POW camp And still later I find him in my room Holding me at the point of a gun And what did he tell you he was doing there? He said he'd come to Mandrake Because an enemy agent was supposedly in the area He wanted my help in turning up something It's all easy enough to understand now But don't you see, Captain Harper At the time I thought I was doing my duty I had no way of knowing for sure That he was a British agent The whole thing It's been a frightful tragedy Oh yes, it is tragic Crept most of all because those shots got to one of our men Before he died, he never knew he'd found the evidence he wanted I don't understand, Captain Harper Colonel, you were able only to fire once That's correct Before he grabbed my gun and ran Yes, and lost himself in the blackout That's right I never saw him again Or couldn't find him Is this your gun? It could be I rather imagined his gun Shots gave it to us before he died You fired only one shot from your revolver The shot that killed Ferdy Yes, that's true And during a regulation ballistics check We found the remaining five rounds of your revolver Held not part of but rather microfilms With a complete German code Necessary for your activities here at Mandrake Colonel Baker, you're under military arrest As a Nazi agent and for espionage Against His Majesty's government Shall we go? Under the direction of Norman McDonnell Escape has brought you a fair at Mandrake By Ben Wright, starring John Daener Featured in the cast were Ben Wright Richard Peele, Parley Bear, Joseph Kearns Gary Montgomery and Lawrence Dobkin Your announcer, George Walsh The special music for Escape is composed And conducted by Leith Stevens Next week Groping your way through the belly of a sunken ship Of fortune and pearls secured to your belt While above on the ship that tends you Working the pump that sends air to you Is an adversary whose plans include The taking of your pearls and your life So listen next week When Escape brings you John Russell's story The adversary Today Radio Station WDNC In Durham, North Carolina Celebrates its 20th birthday As a CBS Radio affiliate as well Happy birthday Station WDNC And many more happy listening birthdays To all the listeners in the greater Durham region From more than 200 CBS Radio affiliates From coast to coast Mr. Keene, Tracer of Lost Persons Is heard Friday nights on the CBS Radio Network