 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. He sweeps the length of the Dush de Margo, the desert of death in Afghanistan, and hurls itself against the camo skin walls of a sheepherder's tent. But the man inside is too intent upon his task to pay attention to the wind, the desolation, or the possible dangers that are lurking outside. This is 3-7 calling 5-2 in Kabul. 3-7 calling 5-2 in Kabul. Can you hear me? Over. This is 5-2. Go ahead, 3-7. Over. You must make a report to the Bureau in New York at once. Tell them the rumors of great danger to the entire world are true. The only hope of preventing disaster... Here's the report from this mailer, his contact in Kabul. You know the assignment Kagan Bey was on? Sure. Checking on the rumors that have been coming out of Siberia. Yeah. Rumors about a radioactive material called M5, mendelibid, a material more potent than uranium. Can't if those rumors are right, the Russians could stumble on the answer to the H-bomb. That's right. And suppose Russia got in the track of deposits of mendelibid oil in Afghanistan. Well, that could be an armed invasion. World War III. Yep. Then your guess is that Kagan Bey trailed Russian agents into the desert and learned they were after deposits of M5 ore? This is one time we can't afford a guest chief. We better know. Mr. X, taking me with you here to Kabul is one of the smartest things you ever did. Oh, thanks. There you go. Sure, I know these Jones like a couple of books. Well, so what can I do you for, Mr. X? How'd you like to dig up some information about M5? That's a sense. I'll find out all you want to know about M5. Who? Never mind. See if you can find anyone interested in the Dashi Margo. Anyone who's been on desert expeditions lately. Oh, sure, sure. Nothing to it, Mr. X. Then meet me here at the Camel Mart when you're through. But, but, but, Mr. X. See you later, Pager. But, but, but. Here, you're interested in some of these noble beasts of burden. I'm interested in a man by the name of Ismailah. Ismailah? I was told I could find him right here at the Camel Mart. And who was the low-born one who saw in form the offender? It could have been a certain Kogan Bay. This way, offender, if you please. Sure. So my message did reach the bureau in New York. That's right, Ismailah. Now, what can you tell me about Kogan Bay? What happened to women in the Dashi Margo? No more than what's written in the message to you, Effendi. He didn't mention something called M5, or the names of any strangers from the North? No Effendi, nothing. How soon could you get me out to the Dashi Margo? Ismailah has three desert trucks ready. Over there at the far side of the market place is where they will be in two hours' time. Good. I'll meet you there. It will be so. Bye, Effendi. Yeah, till later, Ismailah. Hello there, Mike. Greetings and salutations from a fellow American. And brother, am I glad to see you. Well, hello. I've been hanging around this lousy home for aged and infirm camels for two days, now waiting for you. I'm Brad Nelson. My name's Ken Thurston. What's this about waiting for me, Nelson? Well, you stymied me, Thurston, grabbing off all the available half-tracks. Sounds like you were figuring on a trip to the desert. Well, that's where the Afghanistan government expects me to go. I'm an irrigation engineer. Gonna be pretty tough on me, though, to step on camelback. Brother. Too bad Ismailah was a couple of steps ahead of you. Oh, Ismailah's all right. It's this other character that's got my boiler busted. What character is that? The one you were talking to just now, the Russian's fair-haired boy in Afghanistan. What? Abdul Khan. Abdul Khan? Hey, you didn't know who he is. And you were going out to the desert with him? That's right. Well, there's only one thing I could say about that, Thurston. Brother. This mail is not in. What next? Why don't we just walk in? Man, just like that. Dirty floor, paper windows, flies. Look over there in the corner. Ismailah? It was before somebody practiced a knife thrown on him. Now why? Maybe this is the reason. That little chunk of rock? That's no motor for murder in my book. Wait, wait till I chop it in my hand. Look. So, now look at it through the crack between my fingers. Hey, that stuff gives off a little light. That rock's radioactive. Could be pitch-blamed. Uranium ore, something like that. Yeah, it could. Couldn't it? That is quite right. I am Abdul Khan. But Ismailah was my brother. And it is my wish to carry out the mission upon which he was engaged when his soul was taken by Mohammed. Then why didn't you tell me that in the first place? I feared that if the offender knew the true circumstances, he would object to this unworthy one accompanying him into the desert. You expect me to believe that story? It would be best if the offender does believe. Why? It is I who possessed the only half-tracks now present in Kabul. To obtain their services, one must also accept mine. Does the offender still desire to visit the desert? Okay, Abdul, we'll go. Don't have to worry about anything, sir. This Kaboojo is absolutely clean. Nobody even heard nothing about any M5. I am also ready for the journey to Dashti Margot and Schmidt's family. Go away, I'll talk to you later. But I do not understand. Oh, sure, sure. Don't mention it. A few rounds again sometimes. Go away. Wait a minute, Pagan. If the ladies come along with us, the least you can do is to show the baggage will go. But... How about the second half-track? It's not too crowded there. If her belongings are put carefully away, Sherida will see that you are properly rewarded. Please inform me when we are ready to depart. Oh, sure, sure. Well... Look, Mr. X, I can explain everything. Why bother? Well, anyway, she just wants to get home into her kins and folks and stuff, you know? She belongs to a tribe of wandering desert nomads out there. Just a simple little nomad. Oh, sure. Those manicured nails wearing perfume at $50 an ounce. Well, let's give her a baggage over to the half-track. You better correct right away. Anyway, these couple of suitcases or two won't take up too much room. Hold it, Pagan. Huh? That sound. Hear it? Hey, it's coming from this suitcase. It's a Geiger counter. Do you mean one of those things that tears when you're near uranium or stuff? Yeah. But what's making it click like that way now? This radio-active rock I picked up beside this mirror's buggy. Oh, but why should Sherida be carrying one of those things out to her relative? I don't know, Pagan. Unless maybe they live in Moscow. You sure got plenty of that there in personal fortitude, brother. Why say that now? Using Abdul Khanna, maybe Russian agent for a guide into the desert, taking along a double-talking doll carries Geiger counter around like mad. Oh, man. Why kick, Nelson? I'm taking you along, too. Oh, now don't tell me you dug up something for my dull, dark and dirty past. I checked with the Afghanistan government. They're not conducting irrigation surveys in the dusty Margo, and they never heard of you. Man, that sure thickens the mystery, don't it? You know something, Thurston? What? With all of us suspicious characters along, I gotta hunch this trip's gonna be mighty interesting. Yeah. Mighty interesting. Brother. We'll return to the man called X in just a moment. The National Association for Mental Health says mental illness is a coin with two faces. One side is despair. The other side is hope. The hope of the mental patient when he finds himself in friendly, attractive surroundings. The hope of the anxious person when he discovers a mental health clinic. Now remember, the other side of the coin is hope. You can make that hope brighter by cooperating with the groups in your community that are observing Mental Health Week. And now act two of the man called X starring Herbert Marshall with Leon Belasco as Pagan Zelchman. Rumors out of Siberia. Rumors about M5, a radioactive material that could be a trigger for the H-bomb, and the bureau agent assigned to the case is murdered in the desert of death in Afghanistan. And now it's up to Ken Thurston to find out why. We have come to the end of our journey. What's so special about this place, Abdul? Those rocky hills, a kilometer to the east. It was there that Kogan Bay was murdered. Then why not drive on up to them? Those rocks have held their secrets before the time of man. Abdul Kahn will not disturb them. He has no wish to join Kogan Bay or Ismaila and fell like a lap like the highest heaven. And you think that's what will happen to anyone who goes up there? Why does not the noble attendee discover for himself? Yes, why not? You stay here and watch the half-crack. Nelson and I are going to the hills. How do you like that? Cracked me all the way out here just to sit. But why do you want me to do this for anyway? So you can report back in case Nelson and I don't return. Oh, that's the... You don't return? Oh, no. Cracked it out here in the middle of nothing. It's dark already. Oh, f... Elshni, it's a fendi. Who? Who's that? It is only I, darling. Your little Sherida. Oh, for a moment I was afraid that... Well, well, what are you doing out here, baby? Perhaps you will think it forward of Sherida, but I was so lonesome at the camp without you. Ha, ha, you were, eh? Well, ha, ha, ha. Well, coming over closer, baby, there's no such thing as a long distance smooching with lover-boy Zell Smith. Ha, ha, ha. I would be most honored to come. The most came up with huge gobs of nothing, Mr. Thurston, rocks, sand, and a couple of hunks of this old beat-up pottery. Careful, Nelson. Some of that pottery could be older than history. Eh, that don't make no never mind of me. I'm looking for the future, not the ancient past. You might as well face it, Thurston. Brad Nelson slap-happy about money, and nothing else. Yeah, I guess you are. Oh, well, it's too late. Too dark to look any longer tonight. Let's get back to the halfway. Thurston! Hey, that's our desert buggy. Pull it out. Yeah, let's go. You didn't hit you that hard. That's what you said. Well, it looks like we got one of our enemies pinpointed anyway, Thurston. Maybe. But why else would she give Zell Smith the works and make off with that half-track? Why not ask her? I will. As soon as we get back to camp, I'm going to... You were saying, Nelson? Thurston, the camp, it just ain't. Hey, hey, he's right. That's what we left Abdul and Sherida and the trucks and stuff, and there's nothing there. What else did you expect? What, what? Man, some lash up. Stuck on the desert of death on foot, no food, only the water in our canteens and the sandstorm coming up. Yeah, I guess that's about it, Nelson. Thurston, Sherida, it has been done. Allah has blessed our endeavors and the prize has become ours. You are a fool, Abdul. If you think it is all as simple as that. No other answer can be written, Sherida. We have been waiting in this roadside tea house for over eight hours. By now the sandstorm has blasted the desert clean. Perhaps. Look, you're going somewhere. To my room, I have been paid. My work here is over. Masa unher, don't attend me. You weren't the only ones who knew about this Shahi Khanah. We were just about able to make it. And now that you are here? Maybe you've got some ideas. Look, attend me, all that has happened is not what it seems. Sherida, I had no intention of harming you. No, you put on a pretty good show. That was Abdul. Abdul is the one who... Here. You know what this is? A Geiger counter. So what? Take it. The half-track of Abdul is behind the barn. Within, you will find specimens of ancient pottery and statues. Use the Geiger counter upon them and note well the results. This could be a trap, Sherida. Yes, Efendi. It could be. Okay, I'll find out. Why are we hanging around this coffee joint anyway, Mr. Rex? Those jokers in there would cut your throat for a rice bowl without... Oh, shut up. Hey. Hey. Hey, that's one of our half-tracks. Yes. The one Abdul was driving. Some interesting pottery specimens here, Pegah. I want to check them. But, Rex, the Geiger is counting. Yes. But why should that stuff get all hearted up? Because of some radioactive material hidden inside. Maybe uranium. Maybe M5. Look, Mr. Thurston, why are we monkeying around on top of this rock pile out here in the desert? There's nothing here but some old broken-up vases and vases and vases. I thought I saw something with Milton and I were up here earlier. Underneath this rock. Is there a hole in the ground or something? Let's get the rest of these rocks out of the way. Oh, sure, sure. Oh, what we've been looking for. There's a regular mine tunnel underneath this desert. What's for anyway? Gold? Something a good deal more valuable. Here. In this tunnel wall. So was there to see nothing but a six-foot strip of black mud or something? Look a little closer. You'll see lights in it. Green and blue. Hey, hey, that's right. What is it anyway? Come to me, give us the answer. Then, then we found the M5 stuff. If it isn't that uranium or radio more. It ain't just whooping. Move! Although Nelson's been working pretty fast, haven't you? Man, I had to. Keeping up with you is worse than hanging on the tail of a cyclone. You sure make it tough on a guy. Brother. Boy, am I ever glad to see you. Oh, for a minute, I thought maybe you were one of those foreign agents of something. You were right, Pagan, he is. Oh, sure, I knew it all the time, but he, he, he is. What happened, Nelson? I've go double-crossed you. He wasn't playing footsies when he left us holding that sandstorm out in the desert. Looks like he wanted all the glory for getting those ore samples across the Siberian border. That's right. I found this stuff here. Bumped off his mail in Kergen Bay, and that joker wants to ride the gravy train by himself. Oh, man, you just can't trust a local talent. You should have followed that sooner, Nelson. Why? You still haven't got any M5 samples to Siberia. They don't know if there's any ore in this desert or not. Oh, what's that there? They'll know inside a week? You won't make it. Why not? Sharida. You're kidding. She's nothing but a cheap little stool pigeon who's out whatever she can get. You ever hear of counter-espionage? Even a country like Afghanistan has it. Is that right, Sharida? That is quite right. Hey, what the hell? Not the gun, Mr. Nelson. Not today, sister. That words are quite inadequate, Mr. Thurston. Particularly after what I did to you in my ignorance. But please know of my gratitude and that gratitude of my countrymen. If the people like you would deserve the gratitude, Sharida, people will never hear of working for their countries and for freedom all over the world. It's because of you that the Nelson's and the others can't win. You think they'd have learned that by now? Well, someday. And pretty soon, they'd better. And all here is our star, Mr. Herbert Marshall. Thanks for being with us. And my thanks to Lucille Meredith, Will Wright, Peter Leeds, Byron Kane, and Stan Wackman. Next week, the seemingly innocent Minimal Bears and Coward Bears lead Ken straight to the horrors of a slave labor camp in Czechoslovakia. And speaking of horrors, Pagan's villagemen have to take a bath. This is the umbrella that is. So join us, won't you, when next I return. I hope without a cold as the man called X. Good night. Barring Herbert Marshall is a J. Richard Kennedy production with music by Milton Charles. The story is 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 Gitney saying good night for the man called X. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.