 Listen to Herbert Marshall as the man called X. Wherever there is mystery, adventure, intrigue, in all the strange and dangerous places of the world, there you will find the man called X. The dock area of Yokohama, Japan, looks to be in a normal state of bustle and confusion. But there is nothing normal looking about the man crouching like a hunted animal behind a pile of packing cases. And then they fix on a jaunty-looking figure approaching the hiding place. And with a move born of sudden desperation, the man leaves his concealment and runs out onto the dock. Zelschmidt? You're Pegan Zelschmidt, aren't you? You're Pegan Zelschmidt. And whom wants to know? I know you are. I saw you once in Washington with a man named Ken Thurston. Where is he? He must take me to him at once. Do you hear? Take me to Ken Thurston at once. Oh, sure, sure. Big left. Only right now I've got a heavy date with him. No, no. No, listen to me. You can't leave me now. Ken Thurston. I have to see Ken Thurston at once, but... Thurston. I must see... The body is right there, Mr. Thurston. In the morgue. Thanks, doctor. You haven't been able to identify him? No. No papers, wallets, lawn remarks, nothing. I see. Mr. Thurston? Do you know him? No. No, I don't. Never saw him before in my life. It makes it even more strange, doesn't it? This insistence of his upon seeing you. In his scars, broken bones, physical characteristics that might help us? Only that scar tissue on his legs and feet. Crossed by? Yes. Another recent, too. Mm-hmm. Oh, I did notice some peculiar calluses on the thumb and little finger of his left hand. Here. You can see them quite plainly. Yes. All right, doctor, thanks. Anything else we can do for you? I'd like to use a private office if you don't mind. One with the telephone. Of course. Do you want to call the authorities in Tokyo? No. The Bureau. New York. What connection Professor James Abbott could have with the murdered derelict there in Japan? I don't know. Oh, let's see if we can find out, chief. Professor Abbott was working on robot weather stations in Alaska, wasn't he? That's right. Establishing a string of stations throughout the Arctic. All self-operating, not requiring any maintenance personnel. Wasn't there some connection between those weather stations and our radar defense system up there? Right. That was the same robot system on our radar detection stations. If he could, it would make our aircraft warning defenses so airtight that... Oh, but this is the Arctic we're talking about, not Japan. Professor Abbott's missing, isn't he? Sure, has been for a couple of months. All efforts to contact him, then we don't think this dead man could possibly be Abbott. He had recent frostbite scars on his legs, chief. And how many people do you know who plays a French horn? A French horn? Yes. Wasn't Abbott a well-known amateur musician, a French horn player? Well, sure. But what's that got to do with it? The dead man had well-developed caresses on the thumb and little finger of his left hand. The kind musicians get. Those who play the French horn. And there were two Russian freighters in the harbor, chief. But there are quite a few items, doesn't it, Ken? Yes. I think I'd better check on them in Alaska. There isn't much information we can give you about Professor Abbott here, Mr. Thurston. He was working out of the Elmdorf airbase, wasn't he, Colonel? That's true, but as far as his work was concerned, well, it was top secret. Where did you last hear from him? I see. Must have been a little over two months ago. He'd informed us by short wave that he was heading for a new robot weather station up the Narooka River, intended to winter there alone. And no word since. None? We sent out a number of searching parties, didn't find a trace of them. I see. How can I get to the Narooka station? Well, the only feasible method this time of year is to fly in. I can tell you right now you won't find anything there, but we'll put a plane at your disposal. I think I'd better make this unofficial, Colonel. What about bush pilots? Well, there's Chuck Stevens. He covers that territory all the time. As a matter of fact, I believe he was the one who flew Abbott in that last time. Chuck Stevens? Yes, you'll find his plane at the Anchorage Field. I'll have someone drive you out. It's the same, Colonel. I just got a nasty hunch it won't be necessary. What do you mean? Mr. Thurston, welcome to Alaska. There you go. Now, I'll be hanged if I'm going to ask you what you're doing here. That's right, Mr. Thurston. So hop into this jalopy and I'll drive you to that Chuck Stevens pilot. He's going to fly us out to the Narooka weather station. That's right, Mr. X. I knew you made a big mistake giving me the brush up in Yokohama, so I got the next plane out for Alaska. You mean you were stowed away? Yes. No, no. Anyway, sir, here we are. The Zelschmidt Stevens Air Taxicap Service and Company. Oh, fuck. You must be Thurston. That's right, you Stevens. You named it. Your friend Zelschmidt has been spreading the word around Anchorage that you're trying to get some dope about a Professor James Abbott. Thank you, Peter. Don't think nothing of Mr. Thurston. That's why I asked him to bring you here. Figured I might be able to help you. Might be nice of you, Stevens. What do you know about him? Well, I flew him up to a weather station on the Narooka River a couple of months ago. It's a pretty lonely spot. You'd be glad to have company. I guess you haven't heard. Professor Abbott is missing. Missing? That's right. Has been for two months. How come you didn't know? Well, that's simple. I flew over that weather station day before yesterday. And Professor Abbott was still there. Narooka weather station dead ahead. Boy, with a lonely hunk of a place, nothing but snow nice and snow. Yeah. You sure you saw Abbott there, Stevens? Well, I couldn't miss. The arrangements for me to check with him any time I flew near. So I buzzed the place twice. He came out and waved me off. He wouldn't have done that if he was in any kind of trouble. Oh, you better keep those belts tight. There's just a couple of inches of new snow over some pretty rugged ice down there. The landing's liable to be rough. Yeah. Well, that does it, gents. Now, let's go in and say hello to the Professor. You notice anything strange, Stevens? Strange? Like what? Well, the Professor doesn't seem too anxious to meet any guests. That's right. I wonder how come he's sticking inside? Supposed to be going and asking. Hey, it's... it's quiet out here and... and quiet. Like... like there was something wrong or something. We'll find out in a minute. See? Nobody home. Hey, maybe he's getting a short beer or something. Oh, sure. Come on. Nobody's home inside either. I don't get it, Thurston. There weren't any tracks in the snow leading away from here. Abbott's got to be around somewhere. You're right. Yeah. Well... She's got a gun. She's got a gun! Hey, what's the big idea? Stay put, Mr. I know how to use this thing. I think she does have that, Stevens. Yeah. Okay. What are you doing here? We might ask you the same question. You might. Only I've got the gun. So what are you doing here? I suppose I said we wanted to talk to Professor Abbott. Then I'd say you're out of luck, Mr. Why? I just killed him. We'll return to the man called X in just a moment. Today, throughout the nation, driving conditions remain precarious. Longer hours of darkness, poor visibility caused by ice, snow, rain and fog, and slippery streets. Call for extra precaution when you drive. Adjust your speed to road and weather conditions. Keep windshield clear of rain, snow, ice and fog. Never slam on your brakes if the road is wet or slippery. Guard against that one accident that might take your life or ruin it. For your own sake, be careful. Act two of the man called X starring Herbert Marshall with Leon Balasco as Pagansel Schmidt. An unidentified man is murdered in Yokohama, Japan, and Ken Thurston believes him to be Professor Abbott, a missing meteorologist who had been working on top-secret weather and radar stations in Alaska. But when they arrive at the Norooka Weather Station, they're met by a girl, a girl who greets them with a gun in her hand and a startling statement. You heard me. You're too late to speak to the professor. I just killed him. Very interesting. Mind telling us why? Anna Kohler don't cotton to claim jumpers, mister. Claim jumpers? That's right. I staked out a uranium load back in the foothills. Abbott wrecked my claim markers and put his up. Tracked him down here and I managed to get my gun first. Any questions? Yes. Where's the body, Miss Kohler? The next room. Thanks. He's dead in the macro. Yeah? You know, Miss Kohler, that yarn of yours is pretty fishy. You can check the claim sticks for yourself, mister. And if you look close at Abbott's there, you can see he's got his gun half drawn. She's right, Mr. Therson. That's not what Stevens is talking about. Oh? And what is he talking about? It's a dead man. He's not Abbott. Hmm? That's right. He's Ivan Vasilov, runs a coastal trading schooner out of Anchorage. All I know is that he was trying to run a con game on me, and it didn't pay off. This the man you saw from your plane a couple of days ago, Stevens? Those are the clothes he was wearing. I guess I just took her for granted. He was Abbott. I, um, I'm sorry for the bum steer, Therson. So who cares who he was? He's dead. And this dame done to him. Well, why don't you do something about her, Mr. Therson? Sure. Go ahead. Oh, put that thing away, Miss Kohler. The authorities in Anchorage will handle this killing business if and when we ever get back there. What do you mean, Therson? Well, take a look outside. Outside? Looks like we'll be snowed in here for a while. Snowed in? With the dead men and the gun, Molly? Who? Oh, cheer up, Pagon. While we're here, maybe we'll get a couple of questions answered. What kind of questions, Therson? What happened to Professor Abbott? And why? I don't get it, Mr. X. Why do you want to muck around with all that junk and stuff? What's here in this weather tower that can tell you anything? It's not what's here, Pagon. It's what's missing. Huh? What's missing? Abbott's top secret. The heart of the equipment. The robot brain. So it's missing? So what? So now we know why the professor's missing, too. Over this next little hill, Therson, I spotted it this morning while snooping around for that uranium claim of Anacolas. What about that claim, Stephen? Well, I didn't find a trace of it. But there, that's what I did find. Ah. The remodeled Russian Yak fighter plane. Sure. Made over into a nice, three-place cabin job. That dead man, Vasilov, must have flaunted in here. Why not, uh, Anacola? No, no. She came over and in the snow track, I sought. So, uh, what do you think, Therson? About what? Oh, now, look, I'm no idiot. Abbott was working on something up here, and it must have been something big, maybe top secret. So? So maybe he didn't disappear because he wanted to. Maybe somebody was after him for that top secret. Maybe Anacola or Vasilov. Or both. You don't come here with a lot of theories, Stevens. What about proof? I got a hunch that's your job, Therson. But I'd sure like to know what's going on in Anacola's mind. Pagan, really. After all, what kind of a girl must you think I am? Oh, come on, baby. Move over a little closer. After all, it's, it's cold outside. Oh. Pagan. Oh, can I help you if I am so impestuous? Oh, come on, babe. Oh, but after all, we hardly know each other. Oh, so who cares? When you and me could make such beautiful music together, what's they would start tuning up? Hey, maybe? Pagan. Mr. Therson might be back any minute. What would he think? Oh, what difference does it make what he thinks? After all, he takes his orders from me. Does he really? Oh, sure, sure. So come into Papa's arms. We've got things to talk about. Real interesting things. But I think you're so interesting, Pagan. Doing such dangerous and exciting work. We're working for the government and everything. Government? Who said that? Oh, and Mr. Therson did. He did? Well, of course. You tell me all about the two of you. He told me everything. Everything? That's right. How do you like that? He makes me promise not to tell anybody that he's the man called X and then he goes around to do... Thank you, Pagan. Huh? For what? For being so sweet and talkative. I just got to give you something in return. You do, baby. Like what? Like this. Looks like we're beating our feet for nothing, Therson. If Anna Kohler did stake out a uranium load around here, the storms covered it. Yeah. Might as well head back for the weather station. Storms died down enough now for us to... Hey, what's the matter? Listen. Holy smoke, my plane. Thurston. Yeah, Anna Kohler. There it is, Thurston. Starting the taxi. Yeah. It's Anna Kohler, all right. Look at her. Heading right toward us. Don't keep it quick. Vasilev wasn't enough for her. She tried to get us too. And she's left us stranded out here. Not quite. There's still Vasilev's plane. Come on. Let's get back to Anchorage. Hey, I don't get it, Mr. X. Why are you just rushing around Anchorage this way? I've got a little work to do. But you've already done some work, calling that colonel at the air base and finding out that Kohler cookie filed a uranium claim with that land recorder. And what are you looking for down here at the docks? Anyways. I just found it, Pager. Huh? You found what? Ivan Vasilev's trading ship. But that Vasilev's character's dead. Who's going to be on board now? Suppose you'll get yourself a short beer while I find out. That's the first thing I've heard in Alaska that makes any sense. See you later, Mr. X. Who are you? I merely happened to be the dead man you found at the Narooka Weather Station. Ivan Vasilev. So, Mr. Thurston, have you figured it out yet? About Professor Abbott, I mean. It wasn't too tough, Vasilev. You wanted the secret of that robot mechanism. So you kidnapped Abbott. Only he escaped in Yokohama and was shocked for his trouble. Through? Quite through, Mr. Thurston. And is that all? Not quite. With Abbott gone, you needed the mechanism itself. So you had to send for an expert. He was the man Anna shot at Narooka. Yes, the poor girl really believed that you were all after uranium, but that does not matter now. What does? The fact that we shall live anchor it shortly to rendezvous with a submarine in the Gulf of Alaska. It already has the robot mechanism aboard. What your fate shall be from then on, I'll leave to your imagination. I see. Stand fast, everybody. Don't you worry about a thing, Mr. Thurston, we've come to the rescue. Show the first pirated moves, Mr. Stevens. We'll make them walk the plank afterwards. How do you ever dream this one up, you idiot? That's crap. It's for you. I meet Mr. Stevens on the docks. We see you bump into this character in the cabin. I risk my life to come on board and save you from worse than death. And then you call me an idiot. Don't take my word for it. Ask Stevens. Stevens, how could you know how big an idiot I am? Because he's the man we've been looking for. The brains of the outfit that killed Abbott. He is. Give me the gun, you get the ship on the way. Of course, Comrade. We will be started. Oh, Thurston. You had me figured, too. That's right. You knew too much about the landing fuel conditions at Narooka. That meant you'd been there recently. You identified the dead man as Vasilov when his papers said differently. It all ended up to something, Stevens. Now you know what? A one-way trip to you and the radar equipment. What? What about me, Mr. Stevens? I didn't figure out nothing. Come to think of it, Zeltschmidt, that's right. Sure, sure it is. So I guess I just take myself a mosey onto the dock. Hey, Mr. Stevens. Why don't I save you the trouble, Zeltschmidt? By shooting you now. Oh, that's the thing. Save me the trouble. By shooting me now. Oh, no, no, no. What's the trouble? What's going on out there? I hear that Colonel Bishop's men are taking over. Colonel? That's right. I'll tip them off that I might run into trouble here. I drop the gun, Stevens. Okay, okay. Everything all right, Thurston? Yes, thanks, Colonel. And what about this man here? I'm dying, I'm dying. Oh, get up there, you're going through all over. It is. Hey, how do you like that? It is. Forgetting something, aren't you, Thurston? That submarine with a robot mechanism aboard? We're still one. Oh, that. I imagine we'll get a report from the bombing squadron shortly. Bombing squadron? Yeah. Colonel sent one up over the gulf, after I call him. Death bomb practice. Depth bomb? What? You can't do that. What about international law? International law. Since when did your kind pay any attention to law? What law gives you the right to kidnap, to murder, and start wars? But don't worry about it, Stevens. Those bombers are practicing in the Gulf of Alaska. They won't hurt anything that doesn't belong there. And I'm sure one of your subs wouldn't violate our territorial waters. Or would it? And now, here again is our star, Mr. Herbert Marshall. Thanks for being with us. And my thanks to Gene Tatum, Will Wright, John Dana, Lou Merrill, and Peter Leeds. Next week, Lisbon, Portugal, where Ken uncovers a plan to kill the North Atlantic Pact, a dumb waiter who isn't so dumb, and a man who dies four times. And let me assure you, the letter is not Leon Bolasco, who will be along, of course, as Pagan Zeltschmidt. So join us, won't you, when next I return as the man called X. Good night. The man called X, starring Herbert Marshall, is a J. Richard Kennedy production with music by Milton Charles. Tonight's story was written by Sidney Marshall. This program is directed by Jack Johnstone. All characters and incidents on this program are fictitious. And any resemblance to actual characters or incidents is purely coincidental. And now until next week, same time and station, this is Hal Gipney saying good night for the man called X. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.