 From Hollywood, it's time now for... Johnny Dollar. Perry Jamison, that paramount insurance adjuster, Johnny. Hi, Perry. It's been a long time. I've begun to think you're neglecting me. Oh, how you talk for you. Yeah, you do have a habit of handing me the dirty ones. What is it this time? Four-State, out in Denver. Oh, yeah, I've heard of them. Well, they're small-outfit. By contract, all their claims are rooted through us. So what's happened? Well, we've had to pay a lot of claims for them recently. Well, Perry, you know as well as I do that things will average out in the long run. Unless something's wrong. 60,000 on one policy, 35,000 on another, 70,000. And a cool 150,000 on one just last week. And a beneficiary in each case has been the same man. Then no wonder you... Just leave the door open, Perry. I'll be right over. Exciting adventures of a man with the action-packed expensive cars. America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator. Does truly? Johnny Dollar. Spence accounts submitted by Special Investigator Johnny Dollar. The Paramount Insurance Adjustice, Home Office, Hartford, Connecticut. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the Denver Dispersal matter. Expense account item 1, $1.10 for the cab that took me over to Perry Jameson's office at Paramount. Through the form, the door was wide open for me. Kind of thought this thing might get you down here in a hurry, Johnny. Sit down. Yeah, thanks. And I took the liberty of calling TWA and getting your seat on the plane to Denver. Good idea. When? There's one leaving New York at 6 p.m. Okay. And I'll get you into Denver about, oh, 1030, mountain time. Uh-huh. Thinking major. Charge your expenses to us. That's the deal we have with four states. And the man to see out there. It's almost a one-man outfit. His name is William Whitney. Got it. Now, look, Perry, I've been thinking on the way over here. Woo-hoo, wonders we'll never see. Thanks, pal. But how well do you know this man, Whitney? Well, maybe he's in cahoots with this big beneficiary, this Don Ricardo. That his name? Yeah. Such things have happened? No, no, Johnny, you're wrong. Poor Willie Whitney's a mild-timid milk toast. His wife, an ex-course girl who probably thought he had money. Well, you can be sure she's the one who wears the pants in the family. Willie would cringe at the thought of hurting a fly. Well, that was an idea. I don't blame you. But no, forget it. Oh, it makes you so sure something's wrong. Well, I didn't say I was, but 215,000 to one beneficiary in a period of only three months. Well, I just want to be sure it's okay. And I called you in because I am willing to pay to make sure. No, don't worry, Perry. You will. Since the count of $241, even playing for an incidentals, Hartford to New York to Denver. Originally Indian country, the mile-high city is now a maze of oil refineries, steel companies, grain mills, chemical and manufacturing plants. A huge downtown shopping area, and beautiful tree-studded residential sections. No wonder it's one of the big insurance centers. Item three, $2 even for a cab into town where I park myself at the world-famous Brown Palace Hotel. Item four, 10 cents phone call to an old newspaper pal from back east who is now working on the Denver Post. Pete Packard. Johnny Dollar, Pete Packard. Great, great. Pete. The Brown Palace. Are you kidding? I have such a headache the next morning and it hasn't left me yet. Hey, listen. I am. No, you look. I'm out here on a job, insurance investigation. Did you ever hear of a man named Don Ricardo? No. What do you know about him? What's that got to do with Don Ricardo? What do you mean? Where does he live, Pete? If I don't seem to be really telling you anything about him. Pete, I think you've told me plenty. Well, now listen, Keith. Thanks, and I'll be talking to you. And I was tired, but I went downstairs to the cocktail bar and with the help of a big fat tip for a night nap, got some more lowdown on Don Ricardo. The bartender talked plenty. Yeah, it seems Ricardo was living the life of Riley in the little town of Millville. Lovely home, expensive cars, threw a lot of big, gaudy parties, and always for people from out of town, mostly Chicago or Miami Beach. Yeah, the bartender talked plenty. Until he spotted a lean, well-dressed, rather too well-dressed man sitting alone at one of the tables watching him, a man who'd somehow forgotten to take off the light gray hat that shaded his features and slightly narrowed eyes. The bartender climbed up. I paid for my drink, that's item five, and was conscious of being watched closely as I casually sorted out and took the elevator out to my room. First thing in the morning, I looked up the address of Fourstate. Instead of the striking new, mile-high center, as I expected, it was a dingy old office building on South Broadway. William Whitney looked a little old and dingy himself. Johnny Dollar? That's the special investigator? That's right, Mr. Whitney. Oh, well, sit down, won't you? All right, thanks. Just here on a visit? I'm here because the insurance adjusters are concerned about some recent claims they've had to pay on policies issued by you. We've been very unfortunate lately, Mr. Dollar. Yeah, $215,000 unfortunate on only four policies. Yes, and all paid to the same beneficiary by some odd coincidence. You sure it was coincidence? Who were the policyholders? Quite some old miners living over near Goulton. Old miners insuring for those amounts? Yes, sir. They were all able to pay the premium. Give me their names. Yes, sir. Unless I'm cock-eyed, there's something wrong with this whole thing, and I intend to find out what it is. The policies were issued in good faith. The premium's paid, but I agree with you, sir, and I'm terribly concerned. I'm glad you're here, sir. It will not only save the company a lot of money, it will take a great load off my mind. Here's the list. Do you know the beneficiary, this Don Ricardo? Only through seeing him when I've given him the checks. Farnell, Mulligan, R. Smith, and J. Smith. Did any of these insured have families? Well, I don't know. You see the beneficiary in each case. Yeah, I know. Better let me see those policies. Wouldn't he left me alone while I plowed through his file? Satisfied, at least, that the policies themselves were OK. I finally left him, hailed a taxi, and told the driver to head for the town of Goulton. As we pulled away from the curb, a small black foreign car in the next block swung around and appeared to follow us, and I wondered. But then it cut off at an intersection and I decided I was imagining things. Until we pulled up at one of the addresses Whitney had given me in Goulton, a ramshackle unpainted old frame house on the edge of town. I told the driver to wait for me and walk up to the front door. Yeah, this is the address, all right. And behind each star, there stands yet another flag, representing one of the 50 states. Vermont's state flag in its early form annotated our national flag, uniquely bearing 17 stripes and 17 stars, with only the inscribed word Vermont to distinguish it. The good people of Vermont assumed, as did our national government, that stripes as well as stars would be added as each new state entered the Union. Vermont entered the Union after Tennessee and Ohio, and with Kentucky to join shortly, the Vermonters naturally put 17 stripes on their flag. In 1800 and 18, the United States Congress put a stop to this, and since then the stripes have always been at 13, and only stars are added for each new state. Vermont's present flag captures the famous beauty of the Green Mountain State in its coat of arms, and inscribed is the phrase, Vermont Freedom and Unity. Vermont's state flag, the flag of the 14th state to enter the Union, up to now April 26, 1923. And now act two of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the Denver Disbirthal Matter. Old house to the edge of golden Colorado looked empty, but I knocked anyway. Yeah, driver, this is the address all right, but I guess that... Stay down. Barely nick me, I'm all right. Holy cow, I thought you was a goner. Here, let me help you. You will need help if you don't stay out of his line of fire. Well, who was it? Did you see anybody? Yeah, that's a car pulling away from the back. Get a look at it. There's a side road back there. Looks like a little one, though. Far and car. Too far away now, I can't tell. Getting back into your cab. Yeah, yeah, I'll get you to a doctor. No, no, I'm okay. You know where Millville is? Sure, a few miles east. It's an old mine. Come on, you know where Don Ricardo lives? For sure, I... You want to go there? Does he own a small, black, foreign car? Yeah, real expensive job. I've seen him in town. But, Mr.... Come on, because I'll lay odds. He's the one who fired those shots. Uh... Do you mind if I drop you off a few bucks away from his place? Never really. Drop me off at Ricardo's front door, then hightail it for other parts. It was a nice home, very modern, seeming me out of place in what had once been a prosperous mining center, but was now a little more than a ghost town. Mr. Ricardo? That's right. Who are you? I think you know, but I'll tell you anyhow. I'm Johnny Dollar, insurance investigator. Oh, come in, Mr. Dollar. We can sit in the den. Would, uh... Would you like a drink? No, thanks. What happened to your neck there? It's been bleeding. I will get to that later. I've been rather expecting someone like you to call and view of my good fortune in insurance money lately. Uh, sit down. You sure you wouldn't like a drink? Tell me one thing. Yes. Who paid the premiums on those four policies that netted you a couple hundred grand? Well, the policy hold is, of course, at least to the best of my knowledge. Four old broken down miners? They were still quite active, Mr. Dollar, hoping to find a new vein in some of the old workings in this region. Then maybe you grub-staked them, huh? Well, as a matter of fact, I did. And they promised me a share of whatever they might find. In return, they named me in their insurance policy. Oh, you must have given them plenty. More than a worked-out mine could ever yield. How do you mean? To afford the premiums on those hefty policies. Now, look, Dollar, it was all perfectly legal on the up-and-up. How old were they? Barno. Barno? About 68, I believe. Mulligan and Smith and the other Smith. About the same. So why? God, a company was crazy. How did they die, Ricardo? By some strange coincidence, the poor old fellows all went the same way. Accidents there in the mine, they were working. Did the police investigate those accidents? I imagine so. Now, look, Ricardo... As you know very well, I was shot at a few minutes ago. Shot at? At a little isolated house on the edge of Golden. You were a lousy shot. Aye. Now, look here. So you should have known better than to park that little foreign job of yours in the driveway, at least without washing it down. What are you talking about? That kind of purplish dust it's covered with. Dust? Yeah, I'm talking about the side road, back of that house, where you tried to plug me. Well... Okay, okay, Dollar, maybe you're right about the whole thing. So what if I did try to knock you off? Oh, you admit it, huh? Yeah, why not? But since I didn't kill you, then I'll know, you know? Officer, I've never seen a prettier uniform in my life. What is this? What is this? We've been waiting a long time to nail you, Ricardo. Get him out of here, boys. All right, take it easy, take it easy. Pete! So help me, Keith. I knew if anybody would bring Ricardo out in the open, you would. You mean to say that? Yeah, I figured I'd bring these... better bring these state police out here. Oh, Pete, you're a doll. Now, let you and me go out into the town apart, huh? Later, after I finish this job. Johnny Dollar, in a moment. Over 150 years ago, the Swiss poet Henri Amiel wrote, Heroism is the brilliant triumph of the soul over fear. Heroism is the dazzling and glorious concentration of courage. During the Korean campaign, Corporal Ronald Rosser was attached to the heavy-mortar company of the 38th Infantry Second Division, United States Army. Rosser, a veteran of World War II, rejoined the army and shipped to Korea when he heard that his brother had fallen in the winter assault of the Chinese Communists. One day, Rosser's company moved into enemy territory. At the time, the corporal was a forward observer and carried a radio. Suddenly, in the midst of an enemy attack, Rosser handed his radio to a buddy, slipped the safety off his carbine and filled his shirt with hand grenades. He charged at the enemy through fierce mortar artillery fire shooting from the hip. Straddling a bunker, he riddled its occupants. Still advancing, he accounted for two more of the enemy, shooting one through the head and clubbing another to death. Continuing his one-man charge, he jumped into a trench full of enemy soldiers, opened fire and forced his way relentlessly down the length of the trench, killing right and left with grenades and carbine fire. Out of ammunition, he returned to his company, where he replenished his supply. Then he charged the enemy again and again. Finally, he returned to his own area and taking the radio back from his friend, he moved out with his company. Corporal Ronald Rosser was awarded the Medal of Honor for his action, action which had shown the enemy that his personal code of conduct wouldn't let them push around either his kid brother or his country. And now act three of yours truly Johnny Dollar and the Denver Dispersal Matter. It took hours, even with Pete Packard's help, when he finally had to go back to his job at the Denver Post. But there in Don Ricardo's house carefully hidden away under a drawer lining and a sideboard, I found what I was looking for, a handful of canceled checks. It was well after dark when I appropriated one of Ricardo's fancy cars and drove back to Denver to a little house in the south end of town, not far from the office of four state insurance company. As I pulled to a stop, a big, fancy truck nearly sideswiped me. It covered the sound of my stopping there. As unobtrusively as possible, I walked up to the front door of the place. Even above the sound of passing traffic, I could hear voices, loud ones, coming from somewhere in the rear of the building. Focussiously, I edged my way around the side to where I could see the lighted window of a bedroom. Watch when you want to sleep. Forget Don Ricardo and collect your stuff. It wasn't for me you'd still be working in Chicago. Oh, stop this happy domestic scene to walk slowly back to the front door. Yep. My original hunch at the office in Hartford had been right. Boy, you look upset, Mr. Whitney. I am, sir. I am terribly upset. Handbags there in the hall? Yes. Going somewhere? It's that Don Ricardo. Hall? I thought you didn't really know him. I didn't. Oh, if only I'd done it before. I'd never have issued those policies to him as beneficiary. None what, Mr. Whitney. Investigated that, Ricardo. What I did after you left me this morning, he's a gangster. An ex-gangster, Mr. Dalla. No. Yes. I suddenly realized that in your investigation you'd investigate him and he'd think I'd had you investigate him. He'd think I was trying to make trouble for him. It frightened me. It frightened me terribly. And that's why you decided to leave town. Yes, yes, of course. Until this whole thing blows over. He's a dangerous man. He'd stop at nothing. He might even try to kill me. I must leave here immediately. Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that. Where did you plan to go? Far away. Anywhere where he couldn't find me. And where maybe I couldn't find you? Of course. What? Why did you say that? Well, I was just thinking. This morning when I was going through the files at your office you left me alone for a while. Yes, yes, I recall that I did. Why? To make a phone call maybe to Don Ricardo. What? Is that why he just happened to be waiting in a foreign car, a block or so, up the street about the time I left your office in a cab? Mr. Don. Pretty good theory, isn't it? Especially when I have these little scraps of paper to back it up. What are those? Some of Don Ricardo's canceled checks. Made out to you. 20% of the take on those big fat insurance payments. Where did you get those? 22. They're all dated one day after you paid off on each of those big claims. Give me those. You don't. I'm going to need these. I'll kill you. That's the milk dose, huh? I'm kidding you. Okay, baby. Okay, Willie, get up on your feet. Yes, sir. Anything you say, Mr. Donner. But please, you must believe that I'm an innocent man. That timid soul pose of yours may have sold insurance to a handful of suckers, wouldn't he? But it hasn't sold me a thing. I suppose you find them in every trade that still doesn't justify their even being alive. Fortunately, in the insurance business, they never get away with it for long. They seem like Whitney and Ricardo. I wonder if they're sharing the same cell. Expense accounts, item $6, $10 to the doctor, is sold on my neck. Item $7.84 for a night in the town with Pete Packard. Strangely enough, I still have a bit of a headache from it. Expense account total, including a little gift to that taxi driver, incidentals, and transportation back to Hartford, $391.80. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. The car will return in just a moment. Our flag now numbers 50 stars, and behind each star there stands yet another flag, representing one of the 50 states. Idaho's state flag depicts the prime industrial pursuit of its citizens, mining. Balanced against this image is a female figure combining the virtues of the goddess of liberty, where she carries the spear and cap of liberty, and the goddess of justice, represented by the scales in her hand. The white shining star in the heavens is an indication that Idaho has joined the nation. Overall is the motto, esto propatua. May she endure forever. Idaho's state flag, the flag of the 43rd state to enter the union, was adopted on March 12, 1907. Now here is our star to tell you about next week's story. Next week, a killer's list. That's right, a list of victims. And guess who's on it? Join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Bob Bailey originates in Hollywood, and is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone, who also wrote today's story. Heard in our cast were Virginia Greg, Forest Lewis, Barney Phillips, Edgar Beria, Frank Gerstle, and Peter Lee. Be sure to join us next week, same time and station, for another exciting story of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Is Dan Cumberley speaking? The United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.