 Another case for Nick Carter, master detective. 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 detection fiction. Nick Carter, master detective. Today's strange adventure. The professor's secret. For Nick Carter and the mystery of the Z-rays. Working, dad, by that wound in the guinea pig's shoulder is healing. Well, it's only about half the size as it was before. Yes, Gene. It looks as if my new invention was a success. All that I need to do now is build a full-scale model, and I shall be ready to bring a new era of healing to the entire world. Don't move either. What is it? Just stand where you are and put your hands in the air. What do you want? We have no money. We want that Z-ray machine of yours. Shut it off. But you can't shut it off. Shut it off, I said. All right. Now fix that machine so we can take it with us. And no funny business either. Pack it up, good pop. Better do it, dad. These men mean business. Very well, Gene. Just as you say. Hurry up, pop. We've got a long way to go. How did you know how to find this place? That's our business, lady. Ready, pop? Yes, it's ready. But be careful of it. Don't worry. We'll take good care of it. All right, Bill, you and Jake take it out of the car and treat it gentle. Okay, come on, Jake. What are you going to do with it? That machine heals cuts and bruises and things, don't it? If it'll do that, it'll heal holes made by guns, too. Save a lot of wear and tear on the boys. You mean... you mean you're going to use that wonderful machine to help your gangsters? Sure thing, kid. Now you two get your hats and coats. You're going with it. But that's kidnapping. You can't do that. Get your hat, pop. I ain't got all day. Come on, Dad. It's no use arguing. All right, Jake. Get your hands up. You're surrounded. They're on the floor. Tony, hang on a sec. Any more of them, Bill? I don't know. Maybe that guy was just bluffing. We've got to get out of here. We'll leave Jake here. I didn't mean to go to it. All right, in the car, you two. Hurry it up. All right in there, Mick. Come on, come on. Get going. You and Mick? Yes, Guppy. It's Mick. What happened? He's dead. Meet you here. He didn't get here. Kang started off with the machine and the profit. His daughter. I tried to stop them. What have they shot me? And I got one of them first, I think. Yes, you sure did, Guppy. They left his body here. You all right now? Yeah. I guess so. Good. Come on. Let's see if his dead gangster has any identifications on him. Probably not, but he might have. It doesn't seem to be a thing. Here. Wait a minute, wait a minute. He's wearing a money belt. Especially made. Made by Weber Manufacturing Company, Brooklyn. Well, it's a special kind of belt. Maybe they know who they made it for. Yes, maybe. We'll find out anyway. Oh, another thing, Mick. I got a good look at one of the gang just before I went down. Good. His face was all covered with those peculiar dark colored splotches that you told me about last winter, remember? The, that... Asiatic skin disease. Oh, yes. That's a real clue, Scuppy. Very few doctors can treat that disease, and it requires regular treatment. When we get back to town, you make it your job to find the doctor who treats him and get his name and address. All right, Nick. But how did you know this robbery was going to take place right here? And at this time? A very peculiar thing, Scuppy. As you know, I've been on the trail of this gang for weeks. Yeah? Well, I finally found a restaurant where several of the gang eat. At lunchtime, it's noon. Two of the gang were there. I couldn't hear what they said, but I could read their lips enough to find out about their plan to rob the professor. So I called you back from your vacation in Connecticut, hoping that we could warn the professor and maybe block their plans and capture them. But what happened to you? You were late getting here. Oh, some drunken fool ran into me and locked his car into mine. So I took a wrecking crew to separate us. That's bad luck, that's all. Yeah, we might have had them if you'd been here, too. Well, too late for that. Let's get back to town and work on what clues we have. All right, Pop. Get that machine of yours going. I want to try it out and be sure it's OK. Shall I untie him, Tony? Sure. He's got to use his hands to make that thing work. But leave the girl tied up. OK. There you are, Pop. Now get busy. Gene, you think I'd better... Better do as they say, Dad. If you don't, they may kill us. The kid's right, Pop. Better do as we say and make it fast. It will. Give me the machine. Here you are, Pop. Make it work. Why, I can't make it work. The main adjuster coil is missing. You mean it won't work without something that ain't there? As long as that coil is missing, I can't demonstrate it for you. It won't work. Look here, Pop. Are you trying to kid it? No, I assure you, I'm quite serious. That machine won't work without the coil. You still brought that thing down here just the way you gave it to him. You must have left it up there yourself. Perhaps I did. I was very nervous. Why, you old son of a dried-up mummy? I believe you did this on purpose. I believe you've checked it. What's a dip, Tony? He's got to have the coil. He's got to have the coil. But ain't here? We've got to get it. You're right, I guess. What does it look like, you old goat? It's a small coil of green-covered wire, about four inches across. Last time I saw it was lying on the bench near where the machine was. Take a couple of the boys' bill and get it. First thing in the morning, and Pop, you better pray they find it. Next, Cubby just called me. That special money belt was made for a man named Jake Shackley. He lives at 47 East Pitch Street. Yes, Cubby said he was going to try to find it. Waiter, Shackley's not the only cook who lives here. Yes, sir. What room's Jake Shackley in? Shackley? Oh, I don't know anybody by that name. See this, do you? Oh, yes, sir. Shackley lives in number 42, but he's out just now. Yes, I expect he is. I just want to look over his room. Any objections? Oh, no, sir. Go right ahead. It's on the fourth floor, sir. There's over there. You want the key? No, thank you. I've got one. I'll wait up there for a while. If anybody comes in looking for Shackley, send him up. I might like to talk to them. We mean you describe each one of my patients. He comes here twice a week for X-ray treatment. If you have the proper authority, I can give you his name and address. Yes, I see. That is quite satisfactory. Now, here, there you are. James Dwayne, 43 East Peach Street. Great to help you. Good. Number 37. Yeah, this is the room. I wonder if anyone is in. We better be leaving, Jim. The wrong way up there. But Bill, how come the coil wasn't for the rest of this off when you brought it down? I don't know if that head of a professor left it behind on purpose. Oh, when do we leave? Just as soon as Trapp gets here. We need to do it right now. Somebody else coming. Maybe I better get out of here. Looking for somebody, Bud? Oh. Oh, I was just, um... I was just trying to find Room 9. I'm nearsighted. Go on inside. We'll talk about it there. Go on inside. Oh, sure. Sure. Hey, Trapp. Where'd you get that guy? He was listening outside your door. Know him? Know him. I thought I killed him. How about the professor's place? You mean, this is the thick coat I tried to stop you up there? Yeah, yeah. That pretty bandage on his head covers up the place where I put my slug. Well, he's here now, anyway. Yeah. And we better get rid of him so we can be on our way. How about leaving him here and turning on the gas? Simple and efficient. Not here. This is my room. But there is a small empty room across the hall on the wrong window. We can stop the craft with newspaper and leave him in that. I doubt. That's a good idea. When the gas turned on, he won't last long. When they find him, we'll be miles from here. We won't be in the picture at all. This clue certainly turned out to be a total loss. We have a thing in the room that's of use. Nobody dropped in. I and Mr. Jake Shackley must have lived a very lonely and uninteresting life. And they could better try another lead. Let's start by walking down those three flights of stairs. What big clue that leads me to a place without an elevator. Hey, wait. A strong smell of gas in this room. Better look into this. Must be down this way. You know, it smells stronger here. This must be the room. Remember? 36. They didn't even lock the door in the left. I hope they don't take me for one of the uninvited. Might not like me. Scuppy! Scuppy, what in the... Where's that gas chip? Now for the window. There's Scuppy. Scuppy, come on. Come on. Come on, Scuppy. Now he's out of color. Come on. He's all tied up. What's been going on here, anyway? I'll have to get him out of this. Hey, you're heavier than I thought, oh boy. It ought to be all right. Now for artificial respiration. One. Two. Three. Relax. I smell gas. Any trouble, Mr. Man, overcome. Gas. Turns out to be a friend of mine. Oh, dear. Don't know what happened. I just got here. I think he's coming around now. Yeah. Yeah. He's opening his eyes. Scuppy. Scuppy. Can you hear me? Scuppy. Nick. Oh, Nick. Getting and going back. That's something. Professor's house. A machine no good with water. Nick, hurry. Hurry, Nick. We can't get away. Let's pass out again. Clerk, is our doctor around here? Oh, yes, yes. Right in the next room. Get in. Come on out if you want it. Doc. All right. He'll be all right now. You and the doc take care of him. When he's okay, send him to my office at 3rd and 5th. I'll get back there as soon as I can. I've got a job to do. They can't wait. Can you live here, Nick? Practically, Patsy. The entrance is just around the bend ahead. I'm going to run the car off the road into the bushes here so it can't be seen by anyone going by. How far is the professor's house in here? About 100 yards through the woods there. You're going to wait here? No. I'm cutting across to see if the gang's car is there yet. Where's that kid of mine? Now put it in the back, Nick. What's in it? Oh, little gadget. You wait here for me. I'll be back as soon as I can. But, Nick, you're not going to try to catch the gang single-handed, are you? No, Patsy. I don't expect you, but you'll never can tell. Maybe before anybody sees me. Hey, Colin. Somebody's smoking with our car. I gotta get out of here. Two can play at this game. If I can get behind this bush. I think so, but he got trapped first. Trapped dead. He wasn't meant to finish off the dig. No, no. We got the corp we come after. Nothing to keep us here any longer. I don't want to waste time hunting for a couple who's probably dead already. What about draft? Leave them there. It's a long way back to town. I ain't particular about making the trip with a corp. Oh, thank goodness. I caught my off guard. Creased the back of my head with a shaft. Oh, Nick, I'm so scared that you're dead. No. I was shooting and then when their car rode off down the road and you didn't come back, I didn't know what to think. Oh. Oh. I waited a little and then came over here to find you. Come on. Let me help you out. All right. Thanks. Oh. Oh, my head aches. Oh. You'd have to drive us back to town, Patsy. I don't feel up to it. Well, gangsters' car guts at the head start will never find them now. I hope Patsy, you're wrong about that. We can follow them no matter how much of a start they got. What do you think you are, Dunninger? No mind reader or fortune teller either. No. We'll see. Come on. Are you already on the trail of the other car, Patsy? Don't be funny, Nick. Of course we are. There hasn't been any crossroad or side road yet where they could have turned off. That's a great weight off my mind. Nick, how can you be so sure we can follow them no matter what road they take? Wait until we get to a place where there's another road they might have taken. Then I'll answer your question. Oh, you. Think about a call scubbie on the short wave and give them some instructions. I left word for them to wait till they heard from me. KR calling YN. KR calling YN. Come in. YN to KR. Ready here. Go ahead. KR to YN. Pick up reinforcements according to plan previously arranged. Have men and machines ready in one hour. Stand by for further orders. We'll call you again one hour from now. That's all. YN to KR. Okay. Okay. We'll wait your call in one hour. Signing off. Nick, you never told me what are the code letters you use for identification. We use the last letter of first name. And the last letter of our last name. Francis Nick Carter is KR. And scubbie Wilson is YN. And mine would be... Well, mine would be YN too. Patsy Bowen. Well, scubbie is YN. What would my letters be? Just add the first letter of your first name. Oh, the first letter. Well, you mean my letters then would be P-Y-N. That's right. Simple, isn't it? Hmm. Look, Nick, we're coming to a crossroads. Which way, maestro? Well, if they're going where I think they're going, they'd take the right fork to try that one. I'll slow it down a little bit though. Okay. Now what? Just a minute. Stop the car. Well, what is it, Nick? Look, that's Patsy. Hmm? Looks like a firefly on the pavement. That's the answer to your question. Meaning what? It's not a firefly. It's a drop of luminous paint. Nick, you mean the other car is dropping those as they go along without knowing it? Exactly. All right, you can go ahead now. Oh, that's what you were doing when they shot you. Yes, Patsy. I rigged it up before we left the office. Then when I left you to see if they'd arrived yet, I found their car. No one was in it, so I fastened it on the chassis. They came out and found me just after I finished the job. So that's why you weren't in any great rush. What is it, Nick? A phosphorus solution and a metal can with an adjustable nipple. Enough to last for 100 miles. They can't lose us this time. How much longer you got to keep us here tied up this way? Until my men bring back the missing coil. And it works. They should be back here by now if nothing's happened to prevent them. And for your sake, I hope they are now. We got it. Where's Trapp? We left him there. You had a fight? Yeah. I picked right to put our car out of commission while we was in the lab. Trapp spotted him. They shot it out. Trapp Lord. And the dick? He's still up there, too. Dead as a don. You fool! Wondrous! Can't you do anything without having trouble? We've got the coil, Donny. Isn't that what you wanted? Of course, of course. But trouble always spells danger. Where is the coil? Here. Plop. Take a look at this. Is it the right one? Yes. Yes, that is the coil. Do you have to have anything else to make that machine of yours work? No, it's all here now. All right. There's the rest of it on the table there. Get it going. I want to see it work. Very well. Make it do take time. It better not take too long. Otherwise, your daughter might find things happening to us she wouldn't like. Don't worry about me, Father. I can't help worrying about you, my dear. I'll work as fast as I can. It's just 9.30 now. I'll give you 15 minutes to get that thing working. But that won't be too long. Better not stop the talk. Time's going. Yes, Father. Very well, my dear. One minute gone. Five seconds. 10 seconds. 15. KR to YN. Come in. YN to K- YN. They are now parked near Hideout. It's center one of three old tenement houses, each having a road. Come at once. Ring men as previously planned. Around house. Wait for you to arrive as possible. Come at once. YN to KR. Understood. Leaving immediately. Should be there in 20 minutes. Signing off. 12 minutes. Five seconds. Father, can't you hurry? I'm almost ready. Just a second. 25 seconds. I think it'll work now. Ready, Pop? Yes. Turn on the current, please. I'll get it. Now then, what is it you wish to try? Try it on me, Tony. That dig got me in the shoulder. Very well. Try it on Jim Sheldon. Stand in front of the machine. Now a little closer. Bring your shoulder a little lower. It was to be directly in front of the raise. That ain't going to hurt, is it? You want your shoulder fixed up, don't you? Sure, sure. Shut up, then. Now, stay right there. Stay there now. Gee. Feels good. Tony, look. The shoulder looks better already. Yeah. This'll make us the tops of any gang in the whole world. How long will it take to fix him up as good as new, Pop? Well, this is only a small demonstration machine. It'll take several hours to complete the healing process. With a larger output of the Z-ray, it'll be much quicker. Tony, what's that? What's what? Some cars outside. Did you hear them? Cars? Stopping here? No, it was two of them. See? There they are. You fool! So you left that dick dead in the wood as a proff lab, did you? Tony, I was sure he was dead. So Daddy's tracked us right here to our own hideout. But Tony, I... Hey, boss, boss, the cops think you're under the hog. How many of them are there? There's about a dozen of them. They're all over them. I got them in the weekend, take care of them. Bill, go and send for Donovan. You two. I'm going to close this door and lock it. Well, let me hear a peep out of either of you, and you'll get a plug in your back. So long as I got you two here with me, I got something to bargain with. And it's going to be a good bargain. One that'll get me out of here free and clean. They all accounted for it, Cubby? Yeah, Nick. Probably got them all. One dead and four wounded. Oh, that's two of them. They're busy defending the front and back doors that they forgot that little side window. Yeah. Once we got a man in there, it was easy. Were they surprised to be attacked from the rear? Did you find out where the head of the gang is? No, Nick. I searched every room in the house except this one. He and the old man and his daughter must be in here. Well, I know they haven't gotten away. I watched the house from the time I called you until I got here. I'm positive. Nobody left the house. Well, let's find out. All right, you, and now you might as well come out. You can't get away? You think so, Mr. Carter? Oh, you know me, do you? Yes, I know you. And you know that you can't get away? What? What do you mean? I have a proposition to make. All right. What is it? Let me go free and give me a half hour to start without trying to stop me. I won't harm either the old man or his daughter. But if you refuse, if you try to break down the door to get me, they'll both die before you can save them. Are they all right now? They are. How long they stay that way depends on you. Hey, what can we do, Nick? We can't let them kill the old man and the girl. I have a plan, Scuddy. Yeah? Miss Pender, are you all right? I told you she was okay. I want to hear it from her own lips. Miss Pender, are you all right? Go ahead, Miss Pender. Yes, Mr. Carter. We're all right. Professor Pender, are you all right? What's the idea of all the talk, Nick? Let's do something. It's fine, Scuddy. I'm running it. Oh, can you adjust it yourself? Professor Pender, are you all right? Yes, Mr. Carter. Nothing's happened to me. Your invention perfectly safe? Yes, it's quite safe at present. If you try to do anything except let me go, you'll find a machine wreck and both of them dead. Is your father all right, Miss Pender? Nick, what in heaven's name are you trying to describe? Miss Pender, is your father all right? Yes, he's all right. Well, Carter, now that you're sure everything's all right, are you going to accept my proposition or not? No, I'm not going to accept him. Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill both of them. I can't understand it, Mr. Carter, or you couldn't see him through the door, and yet you shot him dead. Yes, Mr. Carter's incredible. He killed him without even knowing where to shoot. That's where you're wrong, Professor. I did know where to shoot. Oh, Nick, you're not going to tell me that you have X-ray eyes or something. No, Scabby, I won't tell you that. But how in the name of all this wonderful, could you know where to shoot? Use my ears, Scabby. Your ears? Yes. I made the three people in that room talk to me until I had a mental picture of just where each one of them was. Then when I was sure in just what direction the crooks' voice was coming from and was sure that neither the professor nor his daughter were near enough to be hurt, it was a simple matter to shoot right through the door at the crooks' voice. And I was right. Sorry, I had to kill him. But it was the only way I could see to get him without danger to either of them. Well, I'll be your monkey's uncle. So you shot him by the sound of his voice? Exactly, Scabby. He'd kept his mouth shut and had to agree with his terms. But he talked. He talked himself right into the hereafter. I wonder if he can talk himself out of whatever he finds waiting for him there. This has been another of the strange adventures of Nick Cotter, Master Detective, which are brought to you regularly at the same time by W.O.R. Mutual. And now, let's ask Nick for a hint or two about a story for next week. How about it, Nick? Okay. Well, next week's strange adventure was strange indeed. Scabby started for Philadelphia to get some information I wanted. But he ended up in another city under another name and occupying a body that wasn't his. And then we found that somebody else had barred Scabby's body to kill him then. I'm afraid I'm getting confused. Well, that's nothing to what was happening to poor Scabby. He didn't know who he was or what he was doing. And at all the time, he was perfectly sane. And it wasn't until this boss crook who called himself the mystic tried the same thing on Nick that we really got anywhere at all. Well, it sounds like something out of the ordinary to say the least. What do you call it? Murder by magic. Or the mystery of the missing identity. And that's all for now. So long. So long, everybody. And so long to you both, Nick and Patsy, until next week. In the strange adventure you have just heard Nick Cotter was impersonated by Lon Clark, Patsy by Helen Schott, Scabby by John Cain. Original music was played by Lou White. The entire production was written and directed by Jock McGregor. Next week at the same time, listen to another curious experience of Nick Cotter entitled... Murder by Magic. Or Nick Cotter and the Mystery of the Missing Identity. And now a very special announcement. Beginning next week, the return of Nick Cotter will be brought to you at a new time. 10.15 p.m. Eastern wartime on Saturday evening. Remember, beginning next Saturday, April 8th, the strange adventures of Nick Cotter will come to you at 10.15 p.m. Eastern wartime and at that same time each week thereafter. And don't forget that the adventures of Nick's adopted son, Chick Cotter, are broadcast over most of these stations Mondays through Fridays at 5.30 p.m. Eastern wartime. This story is a copyrighted feature of Street and Smith Publications Incorporated. The return of Nick Cotter is produced in the studios of W.O.R. This is mutual.