 Can Lipton Soup present Inner Sanctum Mystery? This is your host at the Inner Sanctum, inviting you in through the creaking door. Come on in and enter into the spirit of things. Oh, don't pay any attention to those gurgling sounds you hear. They're the unfortunate ones, the midnight spirits who were caught haunting before midnight. Poor things. All they can do now is gurgle because they've evaporated into distilled spirits. What a horrifying thought, Mr. Host. Can't we ever talk about the brighter side of life? Well, don't forget Mary, murder is my business. Well, thank goodness it isn't mine. And right now I'd much prefer to talk with our Lipton listeners about something more conducive to happy spirits. I mean a cup of hearty, piping-hot Lipton tea. You know, it's really wonderful, the extra delight you get from this superb tea, friends. And the reason is simply this, Lipton's grand brisk flavor. Brisk, you know, is the tea expert's own word for the fresh, full-bodied, lively flavor of Lipton tea. Because unlike ordinary teas, Lipton's is never flat-tasting or lifeless. Lipton tea is always spirited, full-flavored, truly satisfying. Why, I'd even go so far as to say that once you've tried it, I think you'll enjoy Lipton tea more than any other tea you've ever tasted. And I'll go even further, Mary, and introduce our listeners to tonight's story. It's an original radio play written especially for Inner Sanctum by Emil Tepperman and starring Richard Widmark in the role of Alex Gregory. It's about a man who became master of a secret so fearful that it could never be revealed to any mortal, living or dead. But let him tell you the story himself, how he learned the most terrible secret in all the universe and what he did with it. It was an evening in September, the 15th, to be exact, when I first learned of the existence of Elixir No. 4. It happened at Professor Jarman's house just off the college campus. You've heard of Jarman, of course. He was to chemistry what Einstein is to physics. But it was his daughter Elaine that I was interested in that evening in September when I rang their bell. Gosh, is it that late? I'm not even dressed. Hi, sweetie. Snap it up will you. The last show starts at 8.30. It won't take me long. Wait for me in the library. I'll be ready in a jiffy. I knew my way around the house. I went into the library and the first thing I noticed was that the door to Professor Jarman's private study was a jar. It had never happened before. The private study in the laboratory beyond were forbidden territory in the Jarman home. Not even Elaine was allowed in there. And now the door was open. I'd heard stories of Jarman's experiments with new and secret formulae. So here was a chance, a possible chance to find out what the old Kaja was working on. I couldn't resist. I pushed open the door and I stepped into the private study. I could hear Jarman in the lab talking to himself. Elaine had told me once that he always talked to himself in the lab. I stood quietly in the study. But I couldn't make out what he was saying in there. I looked around. The study was just a small cubby hole with a chair, a bookcase and a desk. And on the desk I saw the open diary. A single sentence was written on the open page. I stepped closer. And then I got the first shock. For that sentence was written in Latin. My Latin was rusty but I was able to decipher the words We tie secretum in elixir, quartum, prepetus, habeo. In elixir number four I have the secret of prepetus. Life, prepetus. That was the one word I couldn't seem to place. In elixir number four I have the secret of something. Life. I was puzzling over that word prepetus when suddenly the laboratory door was flung open. Where are you doing at my desk? Oh, hello, Professor Jarman. I asked you, what are you doing at my desk? Well, the study door was open. I thought I'd see if you were in here. No, we're reading my diary. Oh, no, no, Professor. You saw the entry in my diary. Really, Professor? I assure you. I don't understand. You're sure you don't understand that? No, no, I don't. Well, is anything wrong? Elaine, I've told you time and again. No one is to be admitted to my study. Oh, I'm sorry, Dad. You must have left the door open. Oh, Alex, you shouldn't have come. I'm terribly sorry, Elaine. I found the door open and I thought Professor Jarman was in here. I just wanted to say hello. All right, all right. No harm done as long as you can't read Latin. I know I'm busy, but keep out of my study hereafter. I took Elaine to the movies, but I haven't the famous recollection of what the picture was about. Through my mind kept running that Latin sentence, we die secretum in a lixir cartoon perpétus hapeo. When I said good night to Elaine at her door after the show, I hurried home to my room and I got out an old Latin dictionary. I looked up the word perpétus. And then I got a strange, cold feeling down my spine. For the word perpétus meant perpetual. The Latin sentence, which Jarman had written in his diary, meant in elixir number four, I have the secret of perpetual life. Professor Jarman had discovered the secret of immortality. All the next day I conducted my chemistry classes purely by instinct. I couldn't take my thoughts from elixir number four. Every voice in the classroom seemed to sing the same refrain. Immortality. Never to know the fear of death. To live on serenely. To watch the world change through the centuries. Never to die. It grew on me like a festering tomb by this terrific dream of immortality. Everlasting life. I had to have elixir number four. In the afternoon, the first free period I had, I went down the hall to Jarman's office. May I come in for a moment, Professor? Oh, it's you. Yes, come in. I haven't much time. Professor, I want to apologize for last night. Let's forget about it. No harm done. Well, whatever it was you had written in your diary, it must have been pretty important. Oh, no, no, not at all. Only some chemistry notes. Nothing of any importance. Just something I've been experimenting with. Well, I'd be very glad to assist you, Professor. Anything I could do. I was very kind of a young man, but I don't need any assistance. Thank you. As a matter of fact, the experiment is completed. You mean you're all finished? All but the practical application. Oh. Well, couldn't I help you on that? It won't be necessary. Tonight I'm taking the last step. Tonight? I knew what that meant. Tonight he was going to use elixir number four. He was going to administer it to himself. I had to act tonight or never. Jarman's keys were on his desk. I distracted his attention and managed to pick them up without his noticing. Then I hurried across town to a locksmith and had him make duplicates of Jarman's house key, his study key, and his laboratory key. Then I returned to the college and I managed to replace the keys on Jarman's desk while he was out. Now I was ready for an adventure into immortality. At eight thirty that evening I let myself into Jarman's house, opened the study door, and stepped quietly over to the laboratory. I knew Elaine was at a sorority meeting. The professor and I were the only ones in the house. Jarman was standing at the lab table with his back tonally talking away to himself. There was a small vial on the table and a hypodermic syringe alongside it. The quantity administered yesterday will be sufficient. At my age, since my blood is too thin, I require the additional dose. But a younger man would need only one injection to cause the necessary type change in his blood. Who's that? Good evening, Professor Jarman. I hope I'm not interrupting. What are you doing here? How did you get in? So Elixir number four changes the bloodstream. What do you want in here? Quit stalling, Professor. I know what Elixir number four is. Ah. So this is it. Elixir number four. Careful. Don't spill it. How much of this stuff have you got? That's all there is. Five CCs. You mean you haven't got any more? It took me five years to distill ten CCs. Before that I experimented for ten years. I failed three times. And this is your fourth try. Elixir number four. And there isn't any more of it? It will take me five years more to make up another batch. Please be careful. Don't drop it. Don't worry. I won't. You, uh... You said this is enough to make the average man immortal. Me, for instance? Not for you. You hear me? Not for you. Oh yes, it is, Professor. It's for me. I won't let you... What are you doing with that mallet? What do you think? No. I'm so sorry, Professor. Wait. I'll let you have it. Don't kill me. I've got to kill you. When I take this dose of Elixir number four, I'll be immortal. And I don't want anyone to know it. How may you fool? You'll never enjoy your immortality. You'll wish you were dead a thousand times. I'll come back to remind you. Back to remind you. I didn't hit him hard enough to kill him. That wasn't part of my plan. But when he lay unconscious on the floor, I didn't bring the chemicals until I found what I wanted. I mixed some chemicals in a test tube and I watched the fumes forming me. Then I held the test tube against Jarman's mouth, forcing the deadly gas into his lungs. When I was sure he was dead, I wiped the tube clean of my fingerprints and put it back in the rack. Then I picked up the vial of Elixir number four, the hypodermic syringe, and carried away, locking all the doors behind me. As soon as I got home, I filled a hypo with Elixir number four. And I gave myself the injection. Almost immediately, I felt a strange radiance pervading my body. A new strength was flowing in my blood. I was immortal. I couldn't die. I would go on living. And living. And living. Forever. Hey, what's going on here? What's all this about living forever? If you ask me, it would be more of a curse than a blessing. Now just suppose we all took a shot of this Elixir number four. I think of all the people who'd lose their jobs. Gravediggers and stonecutters and shroudmakers and herstrivers and... Oh, I go on. You see what I mean? Why everybody'd be out of a job. We'd all practically starve to death. Well then, Mr. Host, maybe we can be glad that nobody has ever found the fountain of youth. You know, I think it's not a matter of trying to live forever. The important thing is to get more enjoyment out of every day. Mm-hmm. For instance. Well, for instance, one splendid way to get more enjoyment out of an otherwise dull day is to invite your friends in for tea. It's a delightful, neighborly custom. Made even more delightful when the tea you serve is Lipton's because there's so much extra pleasure in Lipton's tea. The party will seem more of a party. The conversation will be more sparkling and your reputation as a thoughtful hostess will soar to the skies the moment your guests take their first sip of Lipton's tea. For Lipton's wonderful brisk flavour makes it a favourite with everybody. So when friends drop in for tea or the family gathers around the dinner table, serve them Lipton's tea at its delicious best. And now let's get back to our story. We're all anxious to see what this fellow Alex does with his secret of perpetual life. Just imagine a man with all that time on his hands, time to kill and kill and kill. Immortality. I had it in my blood. I could feel it pulsing in my veins. The vitality, the power. I had to establish an alibi. Not that I expected to need an alibi. Jarman's death would surely look like an accident or a suicide when his body was found in the laboratory in the morning. But I wasn't taking any chances on a murder charge. I had so much more to lose now. Wouldn't it be ironic if they were to execute me for murder? Me an immortal. Next morning I stopped at Jarman's house and rang the bell. I knew Elaine must have gone right to bed when she returned from the sorority meeting last night because she never disturbed her father when he was in the lab. But now, when she discovered that he hadn't been to bed all night, she'd want to investigate. And I wanted to be there when the body was found. Good morning, Alex. Oh, sweet. What's wrong? You look worried. Come on in. Alex, I am worried. Dad's still in the lab. He didn't go to bed last night. Well, what of it? He must be working on something big. No, no, I'm afraid something's happened. I knocked at the door just now and there was no answer. The door was locked? Yes, but I have a past key. I wonder if I ought to use it. Well, of course you should. Please, Alex, you come with me. Of course, darling. Together we opened the laboratory door. I was all set to act horrified when we discovered the body on the floor. But there was no need to act. I was horrified. For the lab was empty. There was nothing on the floor. The body of Professor Jarman was gone. I don't know for how many hours after that I walked the street, confused and frightened and uncomprehending. I tried to reason it out. How Jarman's body had walked out of that lab. There was only one solution. Jarman had already taken one dose of elixin number four. It must have counteracted the poison that I'd forced into him. He must have gotten up and then walked away. But where? And why? I recalled what he'd said before I hit him with a mallet. Yes, I could hear his voice faintly strumming at my brain. You'll never enjoy your immortality. You'll wish you were dead a thousand times. I'll come back to remind you. The next day I went to Elaine's house and I saw that she was taking her father's disappearance pretty hard. Oh, Alex, I don't know what to make of it. Do you think that the dad... that... No, not take it easy. Maybe he's just suffering from amnesia. Maybe he just walked out of the house. He might turn up tomorrow. I have a terrible feeling, Alex. That he's dead. What makes you think so? Oh, I don't know. Now, now, please. I'll never do you any good. But it's the uncertainty. If I own him you for sure. Alex. Do you believe in mediums? Communicating with the dead? Do you believe a medium can put you in touch with the dead? Oh, is that what you're thinking of, darling? Going to a medium? Don't you see, Alex, if dad... if dad is dead... maybe... maybe... I was worried too. I had to know if Jarman was dead or alive. I had to know before I could start enjoying life. Yes, yes, that might be a good idea, Elaine. Can't hurt to try. There's a medium in town. I don't know what I want to do. Let me think about it. Sure, sure, darling. In the days that followed, I began to doubt whether I really was immortal. Was elixir number four really the elixir of life? Was I really going to live forever? If there was only some way to prove it, then I remembered what Jarman had said, that the elixir caused a change of blood type. Well, that'd be easy enough to check. Elaine was taking a medical course, so I asked her to test my blood and the pretext that I thought I had anemia. Won't hurt, Alex. Just the needle. Now I've got all the blood I need. Just sit here a minute while I make the test. Well, does it take long? Only a minute. Excited. There was something different about my blood then. Alex, Alex, come here quick. What? Look, Alex, I... You know, your blood. It's a new type. Elaine couldn't get over the discovery that my blood was a new type. I'd asked her not to tell anyone about my new blood type, but I knew she wouldn't be able to keep the secret for long. And once it got out, people might begin to suspect what I already knew for sure, that I was immortal. Oh, I couldn't afford to have that known, because then everybody in the world would be envious of me. They'd hate me too, because they'd know I could go on living long after they were dead. No, it had to be a secret forever. No one in the whole world must know, except myself. And the only person who could spill the secret now was Elaine. So... there was only one thing to do. Elaine furnished the opportunity herself the next day. Alex, I've been thinking about that medium. I've got to know if... if Dad is alive or... or dead. All right, whatever you say, darling. It'll make you feel any better. I'll go with you, of course. Just the two of us, huh? We made a date to go to the séance that evening. And I made my plans accordingly. I didn't intend that Elaine should leave the séance... alive. We arrived at the medium's house promptly at nine o'clock. The medium asked Elaine and me to sit close to each other. And then... she put out the lights. Alex... It's all right, sweet. I'm right here. I'm right next to you. I'm frightened. There's nothing to be frightened about, darling. I'm right here with you. But it's so dark. I can't see anything. I don't hear anything. Where's the medium? She's still here. She's right across the table. She's gone into her trance. Do you think she'll contact that spirit? I don't know, darling. Wait and see. I timed myself carefully. Waiting for the moment when the medium should be well into her trance. I took out of my pocket the ibidermic syringe. I held the plunger in my left hand while I gripped Elaine's arm with my right, my thumb over the artery. Alex... Your finger's here. It's all right, sweet. Slowly I brought the ibidermic needle up close to the artery. One bite of the needle, a single plunge of the plunger, and death would come almost instantaneously. And no one in the world could say that it hadn't been heart failure. But suddenly, just as I had the plunger ready, I heard... I heard something strange. A sound. In the room where there should have been a sound. You'll never enjoy your immortality. You'll wish you were dead a thousand times. I'll come back to remind you. The dead. The voice of the dead. Charmin, where are you? Charmin, stop. You're dead. You're dead, Charmin. You can't be talking. You're dead. I saw your dead body. I killed you myself. Suddenly, the lights flashed up. The room was full of police. Arrest him, officer. He killed my father. You heard his confession. That voice. That was Dad's voice, Alex. A recording. A recording? That's why he always talked to himself in the lab. He had a wire recording machine. He talked while he carried on his experiments so that there'd be a permanent record. The wire recorder picked up everything that was said in the lab the night you killed him. But we could never have proved it was your voice in court if you hadn't confessed just now. Yes, but the body... I found Dad dead that night. Well, I got back from the meeting. And I hid the body until I could find his murderer. And now, Alex, I found him. All through the trial, Elaine sat and watched me. All the time the jury was out. She sat and watched me. And she watched me while I read the verdict of guilty. Her eyes never left me when I stood up to be sentenced and heard the judge say... Alex Gregory, it is the judgment of this court that you be confined to the penitentiary for the rest of your natural life. Me. Me of all people. Me sentenced to imprisonment for life. Me in whose veins runs the precious election number four. Imprisonment for the rest of my natural life. Which means forever. I feel kind of sorry for Alex. He really got a tough break. Locked up in a cell for all eternity and no way out. It looks like they'll have to build a new jail around him every thousand years or so. Of course, there's one way out for him. He could let his beard grow for a couple of centuries and when it gets long enough, he could hang himself. Imagine such a thing, Mr. Oast. Yes, it would be sort of breathtaking, wouldn't it, Mary? Poor Alex. He probably had many good impulses in his lifetime. As a trouble as he didn't follow him. Well, Mr. Host, I'm afraid that's something we all do every now and then. For instance, perhaps some of you inner sanctum fans have promised yourselves the pleasure of trying Lipton Tea, but somehow just haven't gotten around to it. Or maybe you've just forgotten it when you're writing out your grocery list. Well, this time make sure. Add Lipton Tea to your grocery list right now. For until you do try it, you're missing a real treat. Why not start enjoying lively, full-bodied Lipton Tea beginning tomorrow? And before I say goodnight, here's a pleasant bit of philosophy. Biologists tell us that all life starts in a little cell and for convicted murderers it ends there too. Oh, by the way, this month's inner sanctum mystery novel is Death in the Limelight by A. E. Martin. And next week's inner sanctum story brought to you by the makers of Lipton Tea and Lipton Soup and directed by Hyman Brown. Next week's story is called You'll Never Escape. So, if you feel in a capturing mood, join us next Tuesday. Until then, goodnight. Pleasant dream? You want to know how to make an ordinary meal into a feast? Start it right. Start it bright with tempting, heartwarming Lipton's noodle soup. Lipton's noodle soup is ready to serve in a jiffy and what a treat it is. Lots of tender, golden noodles and a world of real chickeny flavor that makes it taste homemade. It's economical too. Lipton's noodle soup makes costs less and makes lots more than canned soups. So try Lipton's noodle soup real soon. And don't forget to tune in next week at the same time for another inner sanctum mystery. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.