 Yes, it's another case for that most famous of all man hunters. The detective whose ability at solving crime is unequaled in the history of detective fiction, Nick Carter, master detective, presented by the three great Linux home brightness, Linux clear gloss, Linux cream polish, and Linux self-polishing wax, created by ACME, America's great producer of ACME quality paints. Today's curious adventure. Murder goes to college, or Nick Carter and the mystery at Spring Lake. In just a moment, we'll hear how Nick Carter solved the mystery at Spring Lake. But first, a Christmas suggestion. There's nothing that adds more to hospitable cheer than a bright, well-kept home. American homemakers have learned how much surroundings can mean. That's why they've come to depend on ChemTone, the miracle wall finish to beautify their walls. And for your floors, woodwork and furniture, it's those three great Linux home brightness. Linux clear gloss varnish, the durable super varnish that dries to an elastic transparent surface which protects all wood and linoleum in your home. Linux cream polish, which cleans as it polishes, leaving no oily film on your furniture. And Linux self-polishing wax, which beautifies your floors with a satiny yet tough, non-skid finish that resists wear, water and dirt. Get the three great Linux home brightness at your hardware, paint or department store. Your headquarters also for ChemTone, the miracle wall finish. And now for today's mysterious adventure with Nick Carter. As we start our story today, we find Nick and his assistant Patsy in Nick's car racing toward Mount Albans College for girls in response to a hurried phone call from the dean of the school. But if this girl killed herself, Nick, what are you supposed to do? A girl kills herself, there's no criminal to catch. If it was suicide, Dean Collingwood wants me to find the reason for it. Oh, isn't that a little out of your line? Well, yes, it is Patsy, but she's an old friend of mine, so I said I'd do it. But why does she care why the girl killed herself? Oh, she thinks that if some of the parents felt that the girl disliked the school enough to kill herself to get out of it, they'd take their own daughters out of Mount Albans and droves. The school would be ruined. How did she die, Nick? The dean said she found a box of sleeping capsules at the table beside the girl's bed, together with an empty water glass. She thought they might be the cause. Well, when Nicholas Carter gets on the scene, everything will be all straightened out. We'll all know exactly what happened and why. And this, Margaret, is my assistant and severest critic, Patsy Bowen. Patsy, Dean Collingwood, head of Mount Albans. How do you do, Miss Bowen? Fine, thank you. Have you notified the police yet, Margaret? Why, no, I wanted you to look things over first, Snake. I see. Well, who found the body? When Miss Jordan failed to appear for breakfast, one of the maids was sent to see if she needed help or if she were ill. When no one answered the maids' knock, well, of course, she came back to me. Then you found her? Yes, I found her dead. How many people know about the tragedy so far? Oh, only the maid, myself, and of course, you two. Good, let's keep it that way for a while longer. Now may I see your room, please? Yes, of course, it's on the next floor. This way, please. What can you tell me about this Jordan girl? She was an only child. Her mother is a widow. Did she have any close friends? Yes, she and three other girls were together quite a lot. They were Miss O'Han, Miss Grinnell, and Miss Brown. They all interested in the same things? Three friends were interested primarily in young men and good times. But Miss Jordan's hobby was amateur photography. Did she have money? Yes, she did. Her mother gave her everything she wanted. This is her room, Nick. I'll say she had money, Nick. You don't get rugs like these with cigar coupons. Are these the sleeping capsules, Margaret? Yes. Hmm. You can't buy these in this state without a prescription. She had a prescription. The number of it and the physician's name are on the box. So I see. And I'll check with him later. Patsey, suppose you look over the things on that side of the room while I go through her desk here. See if you can find anything that might help us to learn what's happened. Right, Nick. Any letters, bills, notes, and so on, you know. Because I know. Oh, you rarely shouldn't read her letters, Nick. They're private. Well, if any reporters happen to get hold of them, they'll be as public as Central Park. Reporters? What have they to do with this? Everything. You can't hide suicide or murder. Nick, please, this mustn't be murder. Well, I hope not, Margaret, for your sake. Oh, this is interesting. Letter to a mother. Started but never finished. Darling mother, I hope you will remember always how close we have been and how much happiness we've had together. You've been so good to me. And that's as far as she got. I wonder why she didn't finish it. That sounds like a farewell letter. It was a farewell note, of course. Well, why wasn't it finished then? Well, she was probably overcome with emotion. I don't think so. She hadn't been crying. Her eyelids aren't red or swollen. Good girl, Patsey. Oh, Margaret, will you ask your chemistry professor to analyze one of these sleeping capsules? Very well, Nick. Although I still think that this is all nonsense. Also, I'd like to use your study. I want to talk to this Jordan girl's three friends one at a time. Very well. But don't tell them anything about the Jordan girl's being dead. All right, Nick. I'll send the first girl in to you in a few minutes. I wanted to see me, sir. I'm Erie Grinnell. Yes, Miss Grinnell. Come in, won't you? Yes, sir. Miss Grinnell, I'm afraid I have a shock for you. Your friend, Edith Jordan, has just killed herself. Oh, no. Edith wouldn't do that. She just wouldn't. No? Well, at any rate, she's dead, I'm sorry to say. Can you shed any light on the situation? I'm afraid not. I'm sorry. Well, do you know anything about her actions last night? We studied together for our mid-year exams. In your room or hers? In mine. She went back to her room early, though. Said she wanted to write a letter and then turn in early. That must have been the letter we found there, Nick. Probably. Can you tell me anything else, Miss Grinnell? No, sir. Nothing. All right, then, run along. And please don't mention what I've told you to anyone. Miss Ohern, I'm sure you'll be sorry to learn that your friend, Edith Jordan, has killed herself. No, she wouldn't. Well, she couldn't. She wasn't that kind of a girl. What makes you say that? Oh, oh, lots of things. And especially because we plan to go to a matinee together on Saturday. She even got the tickets for us. Tell me, Miss Ohern, in your opinion, did Edith ever seem morbid or unhappy? Oh, no, never. I'll accept. Accept what? Well, when Edith first came here, she was very gay. Lately, she's been very quiet. I don't know why, though. Well, thanks very much, Miss Ohern. Ask Miss Brown to come in, will you? Yes, sir. You can go in now, Alice. All right. You wanted to see me? Miss Brown, Edith Jordan killed herself last night. Killed herself? Why do you say that? Edith wasn't that kind. Lately, she's been afraid of something. Afraid? Afraid of what? I don't know. But for the last month, she's lived in fear of something. That might account for the sleeping capsule, isn't it? Possibly. How do you know she was afraid, Miss Brown? We girls never lock our doors here in the dormitory. But she did. Perhaps she was just timid. She wasn't timid when she first came here. No. What do you know when she first began locking her door? Yes. It was right after someone took a shot at her in the woods. What's that? Someone shot at her. Are you sure? Edith said she knew it was true, but she asked me not to mention it to anyone. Was she alone when this happened? Yes. She often went into the woods alone with her camera. And did she go into the woods after this someone took a shot at her? Oh, no. After that, she used her car and took pictures from the highway. Oh, she had her own car? Yes, sir. Well, do you happen to know whether Miss Jordan was taking a sleeping remedy lately? I don't think she was. She had some harmless preparation the doctor gave her, but I don't think she ever used it. Well, apparently, it wasn't entirely harmless. Unless I'm mistaken, she died from taking it. Well, thank you, Miss Brown. And, Mr. Carter, Dean Collin would ask me to let you know what I found out when I analyzed the sleeping capsules she gave me. Oh, yes, yes. What was it? I found nothing unusual about it, just a sleeping remedy that's in common use. Would they be enough to kill anybody? Oh, no, indeed. Nonetheless, they were accompanied by something far more deadly. Well, thank you, Professor. Thank you very much. It's quite all right, Mr. Carter. Oh, hello, Margaret. Come in. Well, Nick, have you learned anything yet? Only that I'm sure Miss Jordan didn't kill herself. But, Nick, that's the one thing I don't want to find out. Yes, I know, Margaret, but I can't help facts being facts. Well, what now? I think I'll take her running to town and talk with a physician who prescribed the capsules for her. Oh, will you do something for me, Nick? Certainly. Will you take the bus into town and come back in Miss Jordan's car? It's being repaired there, and the garage phoned a short time ago that it's ready. I promise to send someone in for it. Of course. Thank you. Now, Patsy, while I'm gone, I want you to go over Edith Jordan's room with a fine-toothed comb. Notice every little thing. I'm looking for anything special, Nick? No, Patsy, just looking. You've heard what these girls have told us. See if you can find anything to explain the Jordan girls' actions during the past few weeks. I'll see you when I get back from town. Dr. Steele, according to the label on the package, you prescribed some sleeping capsules for Miss Edith Jordan. Edith Jordan. Oh, yes, I remember her now. Plucky kid. Ah, not a whimper out of her when I said her collarbone, even refused an anesthetic. Did you say she broke her collarbone? Well, yes, it was, uh, well, about two months ago, I should say, but there were no complications in the injury healed rapidly. Do you remember how it happened? Well, yes, an automobile accident. Yeah, that was when I prescribed the sleeping remedy for her, just as a precaution. I don't suppose she needed a very strong dose. No, no, it was a very small one. One three-quarter grain capsule, and, well, a second one an hour later if required. What would be a deadly dose, doctor? Oh, from 40 to 50 times that much, probably. Did you give her the prescription? No. No, I phoned it into the drugstore, and he had it ready for her when she got there. I often do that. I see. Well, thank you very much, doctor. You've been very kind. Now, if you'll tell me which way the drugstore is, I won't bother you any longer. So Edith Jordan had a broken collarbone a few weeks ago. That's something no one but the doctor had ever known about before. What else is Nick going to uncover in his search for the real reason why Edith Jordan was found dead in her bed in exclusive Mount Albans College? We'll see in just a moment. If you're a homemaker, you have every reason to take pride in a home that fairly gleams with the evidence of careful attention. And every wood and linoleum surface in your home will gleam when you use Linux Clear Gloss Varnish. 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As we left, Nick, he was learning things about the dead girl, Edith Jordan, that not even Dean Cullenwood, Dean of Exclusive Mount Albans College for Girls knew. Did she commit suicide or was it murder? Let's pick up, Nick, as he calls at the drug store where the sleeping capsules the doctor prescribed for Edith Jordan were made up. Yes, sir? I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be good enough to allow me to see the prescription for a sleeping remedy prescribed for Miss Edith Jordan by Dr. Steele about two months ago? I'm sorry, sir, but our records are available only to the police or the doctor. But I can assure you that the prescription was filled exactly as ordered. Very well, I understand. I thought you would. Sad case, isn't it? Yes, very. Oh, did you fill the prescription yourself? I believe I did. I remember thinking that college girls these days use far too many sleeping preparations. Yes, of course. Thank you. This is her car, Mr. Carter. Well, I should have expected a girl with her money to have a more expensive car. Oh, she wasn't no show-off. Yeah, too bad her luck ran up, finally. Luck ran out? What do you mean by that? Her accident? Look, but that was no accident. How do you mean? Why, someone sawed the gadget on the steering wheel almost through. First time the car went around a sharp curve at high speed, it gave way. Only as luck had had it, instead of going over the embankment, the car just turned into a hill of dirt along the road and buried its nose in the dirt. As Jordan got off with just a broken collarbone, instead of being killed altogether. Did you tell Mr. Jordan what you just told me? You bet I did, and didn't worry her at all. And I told the cops, too, only the boss said it was none of our business if she didn't want to report it. I see. Well, thanks very much. We'll be seeing you. What can I do for you, Mr. Carter? You're running a story on the suicide of the Jordan girl at Mount Albans College? Sure we are. That's big news for this town. Well, could you add one little paragraph to your story? What kind of paragraph? Mr. Jordan left a diary. It's locked in a steel box for which we've not been able to locate the key. May take a day or so to have a new key made, as it's a very special type of lock. But we expect the diary to clear up the motive for the suicide. That's very interesting, Mr. Carter. May I quote you on that? Well, if you don't mind, I'd rather you'd use that well-known phrase. It is understood. Oh. That should cover it. I see what you mean. I don't know what you've got up your sleeve, Mr. Carter, but we'll play along with you. Your little item will be understood in this evening's paper. Thank you. Thank you very much. Should help us immensely. Well, Petsy, find anything and eat at Jordan's room? I don't expect it amounts too much, Nick. And here it is. Exhibit A, a hat with what looks like a bullet hole through the crown. Yes. So Miss Brown was right. Someone did shoot at her. Anything else? The only other thing I found was this. Exhibit B, a picture that Edith Jordan took just before she was shot at. What? She didn't have any enlarging apparatus, so she gave it to Alice Brown, who does have an enlarger. She wanted it blown up. But why? Look, Nick, it's a picture of Spring Lake that's just north of here. Here in the center of the background is a figure. Neither Edith nor Alice knew who or what it was, so Alice made an enlargement of it to see if they could recognize it. But beyond the fact that it seems to be the figure of a man, it doesn't mean much. You can't see who he is. Petsy, where did you get this? Alice Brown gave it to me. She had it in her room. She and Edith thought there might be some connection between the shooting and this picture. But they couldn't seem to find any. Doesn't mean much, does it? Uh-uh. And yet? Did you find out anything in town? Well, yes and no. The way things look now, this is a situation. Edith Jordan, perhaps unknown to herself, knew something that placed her life in danger. What? She was shot at, and she was in a phony auto accident in which she got a broken collarbone. I don't think she ever used a sleeping capsule she got from Dr. Steele until very recently. No. She'd probably been getting more and more nervous about things until at last she felt she had to have something to put her to sleep. So last night she took one or more of the capsules and they killed her. And yet the physician who prescribed them is a reputable man. And the drugstore, where they were made up, also has a good reputation. So far, that's his first. Hey, mind if I come in and bother you a few minutes, Mr. Carter? Of course not, Sheriff. Come right on in. Thank you. Howdy, ma'am. Hello. Hey, look, Mr. Carter, you got some theory about this kid committing suicide? Only one theory, Sheriff. She didn't kill herself. Ah, can you prove that? Expect to be able to? When? In the next 24 hours. 24 hours, huh? Won't you give me that long without interfering? Yeah, yep, you got it. You know, that picture of Spring Lake there in your desk reminds me, we came across a murder out there at the lake just yesterday. What was the murder? Why do you ask? Thought maybe there might be some connection between the two killings, that's all. Oh, heck no. Notice this college girl and the woman we found out at the lake are two different kinds of people. No connection at all. Well, what was it you found at the lake? Yeah, a woman. Been dead a couple of months. I was a waitress at the roadhouse near the lake. And what happened to her? Oh, slugging the back of the head, skull crushed, then almost buried in the brush. A hunter found her yesterday. Too bad. By the way, Mr. Carter, what's the idea with holding evidence? What evidence? That there diary. Oh, the diary. Yeah. You know, I'm going to break somebody for overlooking that this morning when they search that girl's room. Wait 24 hours, Sheriff. Remember, you gave me 24 hours. Yeah. Yeah, I remember. Why I let you wind me around your finger this way, I don't know. It couldn't be because you haven't any clues and you think that I might have one, could it? Huh? Well, could be, Carter. Could be. Then you're correctly, Nick. You want to spend the night in the girl's dormitory? That's what I said, Margaret. I want your permission to spend the night in Edith Jordan's room. Nick, that would be most irregular. Margaret, murder is most irregular, too. You're sure it is murder? Absolutely positive. And I hope to solve it by spending the night in her room. But if it was murder, how was it done? Probably the contents of one of the sleeping capsules was changed to a deadly poison. But, Nick, that means that no stone must be left unturned to catch the murderer. It's time for lights out, Nick. I just wanted to see if you needed anything you don't have before I leave you. No, Patsy. I'm all set. Well, what are you going to do, Nick? Just sit here and wait? That's it exactly. Just wait. I have all the evidence I need for a conviction, except the name of the killer. I could guess at that, but I couldn't prove it. I expect the killer to prove it for me. Why do you suppose Edith Jordan never told anyone about her fears? Probably she didn't want to worry anyone. She had only suspicions, and no matter how strong those suspicions were, and if I guessed correctly the kind of girl she was, she wouldn't want to burden anyone else with her troubles. That's too bad, isn't it? She might have been alive now if she'd only told somebody. True enough, Patsy. And hindsight is always better than foresight. Well, Nick, I'll say good night. Happy hunting to you. Thanks, Patsy. I'll just sit here in the dark and wait. There, Hans, I said I can see you plain enough. Now for some light. Well, so it's you, the mechanic from the garage. What's all this about anyway? You came here to get the diary, didn't you? Oh, did I? I thought so. That was your picture, Miss Jordan. Got on her snapshot of Spring Lake, wasn't it? Oh, was it? Prove it. I can do that, too. In the picture, the cap on the head of the little figure has two white dots on it, in the same place where you wear your two white union buttons. You can't call that proof. Anybody could have those. You must have taken that picture at the time you were burying that girl you killed, the waitress. You were afraid she'd identify you as the one in the picture, so you took a shot at her. But you missed. Then you tried another stunt. You worked late at the garage one night and weakened the steering gear or car. When that failed to kill her, you were very careful to be the first to point out to her that the steering gear had been tampered with. In that way, she'd never think to blame you for it, which was very clever, my friend. But then you were stumped until you found out that her doctor had given her that sleeping prescription. So being a morphine addict yourself. How do you know that? I saw your arms the other day, and I recognized the scars of the needle. OK. OK. You got it on me. You win. So as I said, being a morphine addict yourself, you broke into her room just as you did tonight and filled one of the capsules in the top row with morphine, which would kill her instantly. Yeah. I knew she couldn't take that much of a dose. By the way, how did you find out about that prescription? She told me about it herself when we were talking one time. But if you knew all this stuff before, why didn't you pull me in down at the garage instead of laying and waiting for me like this? I could prove it all to myself, but I couldn't prove it to a jury. However, now I can. Because by your coming here, you've confessed. It's a shame killing her like that. Because she never had the slightest suspicion you were the Spring Lake murderer. Yeah, don't try to kid me. She knew right enough. That's why I had to get that diary. The whole story would have been in that mable that girl I killed. She was in love with me. She wanted me to marry her. So if I didn't, she'd tell the cops where I bought my dope. It's such a fuss I finally had to hit her over the head. And you were burying her by the lake when the Jordan girl came along and took that picture. Yeah. Then I knew that when the body was discovered like it would be someday, this thing would remember seeing me out there. So I had to get that diary before the cops got it. Well, as you go to the electric chair, I want you to remember one thing, my friend. There is no diary, huh? I invented it to smoke you out in the open. Why, you? An imaginary diary in a guilty conscience could have done what clues and detection could only do with great difficulty. You've convicted yourself. A man's own conscience is a better detective than the greatest detective on earth. Always. In just a moment, Nick and Patsy will bring you a preview of next week's exciting case. But now, a thought for this holiday season. Holiday time is hospitality time and nothing reflects more clearly your hospitable feeling than the sparkling holiday look of your home. The look it has when you depend on the three great Linux home brightners. Take Linux Cream Polish, for instance. In one easy application, it gives your fine furniture a lovely luster, leaving no oily film to attract more dust and make more work. And Linux Cream Polish is so quick to use for it cleans as it polishes, cutting out one whole step in your cleaning day routine. You see, Linux Cream Polish removes the cloudy accumulation of previous dust and polish, banishes messy fingerprints, and helps conceal ugly scratches all at once. Here is your real shortcut to furniture beauty. Get Linux Cream Polish now at your dealers. Get all three great Linux home brightners. Linux Clear Gloss Varnish, Linux Cream Polish, and Linux Self Polishing Wax. Remember, Linux is spelled L-I-N-Dash-X, Linux. So ask for these fine home-making products now at your hardware, paint, or department store. And now let's hear from Nick Carter himself. And now, Nick, what's the story you're going to tell us next time? Well, Ken, next week, I want to tell you about an adventure I had just because I went to a party to meet a famous man. And the famous man never showed up at all. It doesn't sound as if the party was much of a success. As far as I was concerned, it was a total flop, socially speaking. But there were three murders as a result of that evening's get-together. And Nick himself was almost added to the list, all due to a decanter of whiskey that turned out not to be whiskey at all. I think that's about enough for now, Petsy. Let's save the rest for next week. And on behalf of myself and the rest of our cast, our organist, Lou White, our sound effects, Walt Shaver, our engineer, Herman Berger, and our writer and director, Jack McGregor, may I wish every one of you the season's greetings in the biggest possible way. And that goes for me, too. So long, everybody. So long to you both. We'll be seeing you again next week. Next week at the same time, listen to another curious experience of Nick Carter, master detective, entitled... Death in a Decanter. Or Nick Carter and the mystery of the missing brother. Nick Carter, master detective, is featured in Street and Smith magazines. Lon Clark is starred as Nick with Helen Chote as Petsy. Original music is played by Lou White and the programs are written and directed by Jack McGregor. And now, Acme, creator of the three great Linux home brightners, Linux clear glass varnish, Linux cream polish, and Linux self-polishing wax, wishes you the hardiest greetings of the holiday season and invite you to be listening next week when Acme will again present Nick Carter, master detective over these same stations. Ken Powell speaking. This...