 The Mutual Broadcasting System presents The Mysterious Traveller, written, produced and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Cokin, and starring tonight two of radio's foremost actors, Leon Janney and Ralph Bell, in The Man Who Tried to Save Lincoln. This is The Mysterious Traveller, inviting you to join me on another journey to the realm of the strange and the terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little, so settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable if you can, as we hear the strange story that I call The Man Who Tried to Save Lincoln. February 12th, of course, is Abraham Lincoln's birthday and next April 14th is the anniversary of his death at the hands of an assassin. Many people have wondered what would have happened if Lincoln had not died that night. My story tonight concerns two such people and it begins in a small laboratory in a college in Pennsylvania. A heavy-set middle-aged man is tinkering with a maze of electronic apparatus. 1914, 1913, 1912, 1911, 1910, 1910. The gauge stops there, there's no penetration. An accumulated tension is too great to overcome unless I use more power. And if I do... Ah, just as I expected the field coil blew out. 39 years penetration and there I stick. Maybe if I get a more powerful tube. Ah, hello, Professor Hodges speaking. Professor Hodges? Mrs. Erskine? Mrs. Erskine? Oh, Professor Hodges, you've forgotten. I have? Forgotten what, Mrs. Erskine? My tea, Professor. Oh, it was very naughty of you, but I know how absent-minded professors are, so I'll forgive you if you come right over. Oh, oh yes, your tea. The truth is, Mrs. Erskine, I... Now I'm not going to let you say no. The dean is here and some very attractive young women and someone you surely want to meet. I do? Oh, yes. You know, he just wrote that wonderful book, If Lincoln Had Live, you must meet him. Oh, yes. Is he any relation to former Professor Henry Morrison? His son won't you right away. All right, Mrs. Erskine. Maybe I need some social life to take the cobwebs out of my brain. So glad you could come, even if I did have to remind you. And I want you to meet Tom Morrison. This is Professor Hodges. How do you do thing? Glad to meet you, Mr. Morrison. Mr. Morrison has just been telling me about his book. If Lincoln Had Live, it is fascinating. It is simply fascinating. It is... Oh, oh, but there's Lucy Johnson, and I must see a pleasure to just excuse me because... Oh, Lucy! Lucy, I want to speak to you, then. I'm just waiting for you. Mrs. Erskine was telling me you're a physicist, Professor Hodges, electronics. Yes, that's my line. I've heard of your book, Mr. Morrison, If Lincoln Had Live, tell me what would have happened. Well, as I was just telling Mrs. Erskine, I think tremendous things would have happened. Such as? I think Abraham Lincoln would have managed things so wisely that at the end of the war between the states, the whole nation would have recovered in ten years. Oh, yes? Go on. There would have been no bitterness. And as a United Nation, we'd have forged ahead much more quickly to take our place as a world leader. Yes, I... I can see how that would be. Why, we'd have been so strong in 1914 that we'd have prevented World War I by our very threat to intervene. Then there wouldn't have been any world war. Well, certainly the chances against it would have been much greater. Mr. Morrison, Tom, I am glad I came here today. I think you're the man I need. Need? In what way? I'm in the middle of a tremendous experiment. I need a man with imagination. That's you. I need a man I can trust. You again. Professor, what is this experiment? Tom, I'll answer one question with another. How would you like to step back through the pages of history to that fatal night of April 13th, 1865, and save Abraham Lincoln's life? These are the instruments I've been working with, Tom. They don't look like much, I guess, but they work. Up to a point, that is. So that's what a time machine looks like. I always wondered, and now I know. Time machine? Tom, you've been reading H.G. Wells. You and just about everybody else, I suppose, think of a time machine as an invention which could carry people back and forth through time, like an automobile carries them along the road, right? Well, pretty much, I guess. In that sense, a time machine is impossible, believe me. But in another sense, everyone travels about in time constantly. How do you mean? Tom, what happened on your seventh birthday? My seventh birthday? Well, I had a big party. I got a pony for a present. I rode that pony all over the lawn. You see, Tom, just now you traveled backwards 25 years in time, mentally. Well, say, say, I did, didn't I? I think I see what you're getting at. You can travel through time mentally, if not physically. That's it. And this machine here is just a refinement on that principle. If I used user subject, Tom, and focused it at some special date in history when I knew people were present at this spot. Yes. The electronic circuits would take your own brain waves, your memory pattern, your personality, if you want to call it that, amplify it millions of times and push it back into the past, into the mind of some person at that particular spot, at that particular time. You mean that my brain pattern would be impressed upon the brain of some man living in the past? Roughly speaking, yes. You'd be able to think with his mind, see with his eyes, hear with his ears, and move about in his body. I see. There are difficulties. For instance, suppose your mind finds itself inside the brain of a very strong-willed individual. Yes. You will probably be helpless, unable to influence his actions in any way. You see, you'll be dominated. I see. On the other hand, an easygoing or weak-willed person would be subject to your will. Mm-hmm. Then you couldn't always be sure of just what would happen when you made an excursion back into the past. Unfortunately, no. But that can't be helped. There are other difficulties. Right now, my main tube isn't big enough. I can't achieve penetration further back than 1910. Forty years. I have a bigger tube coming that should extend the range at least to 100 years. But why don't we wait for it? Suppose we do a little experimenting. What kind of experimenting, Professor? Tom, tomorrow, how would you like to go on a little jaunt back to the year 1912? Comfortable, Tom? Feel fine, Professor. I've purposely arranged this chair so that you can see out the window. Did you go to the public library across the street? Yes. It was erected in 1912, wasn't it? The very year you're going to visit. Did you know your mother was one of the first librarians there? Yes. It's family history that she met father when he went in to get a book. He was so bold over, he forgot the book. He also forgot to sign the library card in the back of it. I have the very book right here. The Life of Lincoln. The same book. It looks as if it hadn't been read in 40 years. It hasn't. Here's the card. Here's the line where your father should have signed his name. Perfectly blank. Dad certainly must have been smitten. That's just the point. Tom, I know it's possible to send your brain pattern back in time, but is it possible for you to change anything that happened then? To change anything? I hadn't thought of that. If the past has happened, it's fixed, isn't it? It can't be changed. I think it can. That's what we're going to test. Tom, I'm going to send you back to that day your father met your mother. I'm going to force your mental pattern into your father's mind. Good Lord. Yes. You will see with his eyes, think with his mind, move with his body. And Tom, you are going to sign this library card. Sign the card. You're going back to noon, July 10th, 1912. According to the timestamp on this card, the book was delivered at that exact moment. I see. And I'm to sign the library card that never was signed. I'm to alter the past. If you can. Maybe you won't be able to. But try, Tom. Try. Concentrate every power of your mind on it. I will. But you have the book and the card here. They're not in the library. Ah, they are. Back in 1912. Oh, of course. I was forgetting. Ready? Yes. Sit back. Relax. I'll attach the headpiece. There. Now concentrate your mind on the thought noon, July 10th, 1912. Repeat it over and over mentally. I understand. Take a few seconds. You may experience a period of dizziness. Be prepared for anything. Noon. July 10th, 1912. Noon. July 10th, 1912. Noon. July 10th, 1912. Noon. July 10th, 1912. Mr. Morrison, what is it? Are you ill? Uh, I, uh, I, I felt dizzy. Dizzy for a moment. Well, where, where am I? Well, this is the public library. And I have the book you called for, The Life of Lincoln. Why are you staring at me so oddly, Mr. Morrison? You, I, I've never, never seen you before. Have I? Why, no. I'm Miss Andrews, the assistant librarian. I just started work here today. Miss Andrews. Is, uh, is this July 10th, 1912? Well, yes, yes, of course. Oh, well, what time is it? Well, the clock is just striking noon. Oh, yes, yes, of course. Why did I ask that? I, I know perfectly well it is. It's as if, uh, as if there were a voice in my mind. It's odd. Are you sure that you'll feel all right, Mr. Morrison? Of course I do. Just a little giddy. That's the effect of love at first sight. Mr. Morrison. Oh, I mean it, Miss Andrews. Will you have lunch with me now, right away, so, so we can talk? Why, of course I will. Thank you, Miss Andrews. Get your hat. It, it is lunchtime, isn't it? Why, yes, why, yes, I believe it is, Mr. Morrison. But, but the book. Don't you want me to sign it out for you? Oh, bother the book. Lincoln can wait. But, uh, there's, uh, there's something. Yes? I, I'm trying to remember something. The, uh, the card. Yes, I, I have to sign the card. Not if you don't wish the book. Yes, yes, but I, I do. Something tells me I must. I, I, I don't know why. Give me the card, please. Yes, yes, of course. And, uh, a pen. There you are. Now, I, I'm feeling busy again. My name, Tom. No, no, no, not Tom, Henry. What's wrong with me? Henry... Morrison. Bear. Now, I, I... Mr. Morrison! Mr. Morrison, can I get you a glass of water? Tom, here. Drink this. Oh, thanks, Professor. No, it's better. I, I'm over my busyness. What happened? Tell me. Well, there was, uh, an instant of, uh, of busyness. Then I, I opened my eyes and, uh, Professor, I was standing in the, in the public library talking to a young woman. The woman who was later to become my own mother. Go on, Tom. Yes, it, it was noon, July 10th, 1912. And I, uh, I, I, I seem to be inside the mind of someone else. Someone who, who went on talking and acting as if I didn't exist. Of course. Your mental pattern was being superimposed on his mind. Your father to be. Yes. Yes, I, I, I tried to make him realize I was there. I exerted all my willpower. Then I, I think he signed the library card. And I'm not, I'm not sure. Everything got far away in dark then. And I, I was sitting here with you back in 1950. We'll know in a moment if he did sign the card. If you did change the past, Tom, I'll open the book. If the card was signed, the signature will be there now. It'll have to be there. Look, it signed Henry Morrison. My father's signature. And look, he started to sign it, Tom. And then he crossed out the Tom and wrote in Henry. That proves your personality was dominant for a moment. We can do it, Tom. We can reach back into the past and save the life of Abraham Lincoln. And change the whole course of world history since 1865. As soon as the bigger tube gets here, we'll try further tests, send you back further. Tom, how would you like to be present to hear Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg address? Step to my foot, Tom. Oh, sorry, sorry, I, I felt dizzy. Well, where am I? Where are you? Are you crazy? It's Gettysburg, of course. You ought to know you lived here all your life, Jesse Evans. Quiet, the president's going to speak. The, uh, the president? President Lincoln, of course. Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we do this, but in a larger sense, we... Professor, I saw him. I saw Lincoln. And I heard him deliver the Gettysburg address. And we've done it. We've achieved the penetration into the time we need. And we've proved you can stay there at least half an hour. It was terrific. There was, there was a farmer named Jesse Evans, a simple fellow. I, I was able to control his actions without difficulty. And, and for 30 minutes I saw Lincoln. Listen to him. Now, now I know I'm right. If Lincoln had lived, we'd all have a better world today. Tom, we'll leave for Washington tomorrow. We'll set up our instruments and equipment in the Ford Theater itself and John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln at about a quarter past ten on the night of April 13th, 1865. And you will return to that fateful night and prevent the shot from being fired. Everything seems to be working. I was afraid the trip by truck might have jarred the main tube. How still it is here. Listen to the silence, Professor. It's as if not a single sound had been uttered here since the night Lincoln was shot. Tom, considering this place is a museum now and maybe a million people have visited it. Still the atmosphere of silence is here. Think of it, sir. Through that doorway, Abraham Lincoln walked across those boards, up those stairs, walked unknowing to his death while John Wilkes Booth lurked outside a loaded pistol in his pocket. I know what you mean, Tom. Now let's plan our strategy. We have the place to ourselves until tomorrow morning. Let's try to imagine this theater as it was, April 13th, 1865. Let's figure out just where everyone was so far as we know. You tell me, Tom, you're the expert in this field. All right, Professor. Now over there is the box office. There, the entrance. This was the auditorium. And there, of course, was the stage. Up there was the private box in which Lincoln and his party sat. Ah, I wish we could get the gadgets up there, but we can't. Have to work from down here. At about nine o'clock in the evening, the president and Mrs. Lincoln entered with two guests. The play had already started. A ticket taker named Buckingham took their tickets, and an usher led them to their box. Now see, the one time. At about 10 minutes past 10, John Wilkes Booth sauntered in. He spoke to Buckingham, the ticket taker. Then he went on upstairs toward Lincoln's box. In his pocket, he carried a brass derringer loaded with one shot. And he struck almost immediately. Yes, sir. The president had an armed guard, John F. Parker. But Parker was criminally negligent. He left his post to watch the play. Left Lincoln unguarded. Booth slipped into the president's box, fired one shot into Lincoln's head, leaped to the stage, and made his getaway. Now, Tom. Yes, sir. Our experiments have proved, definitely, that your ability to alter the past depends on the type of mind into which the electronic pressure forces your own mental pattern. That's right. If I should hit a strong-willed man, I might not be able to control him at all. A neutral or a weak-willed type I can control and force to act. And you must act. Booth must be killed. You understand that? Of course. If I just stopped him, he might strike again later. Another danger is that we might send your mental pattern into the mind of someone who did not know Booth and would be unable to stop him in time. What do you suggest, sir? We have two possibilities. First, the guard Parker. He was weak-willed, and he was armed. He seems the most logical choice. Unfortunately, we don't know just where he was for part of the evening. He left his post, you know, and wandered around. And the pattern of pressure must be very carefully aimed. Of course. If we missed him... Don't tell him what would happen. My choice is Buckingham, the ticket-taker. Buckingham, eh? The ticket-taker is not ordinary. A man of, shall we say, great mental achievements, he will probably be able to control him. And remember, he knew Booth and, in fact, spoke to him. That's true. Also, we know almost exactly where he stood the whole evening. There, there by the entrance. All right, Tom. We will plan on sending you back to April 13, 1865, into the mind of Mr. Buckingham. Now, let's start getting ready. And steady, almost fell in. What's the matter, fella? You're drinking again? Oh, eh... Am... I... Well, this is Ford's Theater, of course. What's wrong with you? I'm all right. Thanks. Just... dizzy for a minute. So, I'm there. On the scene. Ford's Theater. The night of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Yeah, what's that? What about Lincoln? He's here tonight, you know. Yes, yes, I know. The lobby. Ford's Theater. April 13th, 1865. We've done it! And I can't fail. I can't! Quiet, quiet. The play's going on, you know. You mustn't disturb the president. No. The president. Yes. The president. He mustn't be disturbed. Oh, no, I... I'll see he's not disturbed. You are acting awful, stranger talking odd. Well, who am I? Tell me. Who am I? He's my name... Buckingham? Buckingham? That's a good one. Tell him, Harry, is his name Buckingham? It can't be. You're Buckingham. You? You're Buckingham? That's right, fella. Say, how much did you have to drink tonight? Nothing, nothing. We missed. Somehow. We missed. But it won't make any difference. It won't. I'll find him. Look, why don't you go in, find an empty seat, and sit down until you're all right? No, no. I can't sit down. I've got to find someone. Who? Lincoln. Yes, President Lincoln. And John Wilkes Booth. Got to find them. Save. Kill. Harry, help me to hold him up. He's staggering. And is he? Not to concentrate. On Lincoln. On Booth. Concentrate. Look around his breath. He's ill. Let him get him outside. No, no, I'm all right. It's 10 after 10. I have something important to tend to. Life and death. Have you seen Booth? John Wilkes. Booth. The actor. Have I seen Booth? Yes. Yes. Excuse me, Buckingham. I've got to go on in. I have a very important engagement to keep. Yes. Very important. A matter of life and death. Well, if you're sure you feel all right. Go right ahead. Thank you. Good night, gentlemen. Well, that was a funny performance. If I hadn't smelled his breath, I'd have sworn he was drunk. Ah, he's a funny one. Never know what he's up to. Let's talk just now about having an important engagement. Just bluff. You may be bound. Do you suppose he's in his right mind, though? Asking us if we'd seen John Wilkes Booth, the actor. When he's John Wilkes Booth. The mysterious traveler again. Did Tom and Professor Hodges succeed? No, you have only to open your history books and know they didn't. The past can't be changed. Only the future. And it can be changed for good or evil. Now, today, by you, you, and you. By all of us, each working in his own way. What future are you working for? While you think about it, I'll tell you about next week's story, The Big Hand. It's about two criminals who risk their lives in a desperate gamble for a million dollars. With death, is there ever... Oh, you'll have to get off here, I'm sorry. But I'm sure we'll meet again. I take this same train every week at the same time. You have just heard the mysterious traveler with a title role played by Maurice Tarplin. In the cast were Leon Janney, Ralph Bell, Miss Leslie Woods, and Raymond Edward Johnson. Original music composed and played by Al Finnelli. This is Bob Emmerich speaking. This is the world's largest network, the mutual broadcasting system.