 Adventures by Morse, Carlton E. Morse presents The Girl on Shipwreck Island, featuring Captain Friday. If you like high adventure, come with me. If you like the stealth of intrigue, come with me. If you like blood and thunder, come with me. When Captain Bart Friday and his sidekick Skip Turner return to Saigon, capital of French Indochina following their experiences in the Cambodian jungles, they were taken immediately to government house. They had accomplished such a satisfactory piece of work for the French territorial government, they were immediately asked to take on another mission en route back across the Pacific to San Francisco and home. This mission had to do with flying a special French type army plane from Saigon to Australia where it was to be torn down and shipped by boat to France. Did you ever flown this type plane before, Captain Friday? Well, something pretty similar. It wasn't entirely familiar, but with Skip acting as mechanic and co-pilot, I was pretty confident. Is that right, Skip? Why, sure. It wasn't a plane that bothered me. I hated like the deuce to separate from the rest of the Carter party. Business before pleasure. Oh, sure, I know, but I got pretty fond of Professor LeBron and Perry Mills. How about Celia? He dug on right. And here Perry and Patricia went and got married in Saigon, and we hardly had a chance to kiss a bride. For a way, we'd go on another harebrain mission. Well, Perry and Patricia and Professor LeBron and Celia are well out to sea by now in a luxury liner for San Francisco. Yeah, and look at where we are. Where Captain Friday and Skip Turner are is another matter entirely. Yesterday afternoon, they took off from the Saigon airport out over the China Sea in the Indian Ocean they flew into the night through oriental moonlight and white clouds which stood up on end like mountains and skyscrapers and giant pillars. And when the dawn came, these massive towers of white clouds turned rose and pink and flame color and lit up the sky so that the flyers felt as though they were driving through a sky on fire. And then as full day came, the vastness of the ocean expanse spread out below them. From horizon to horizon, nothing but the dirty blue of the ocean below and the haze blue of the heat tinted atmosphere around them. And then it happened. And when the motors conked out completely, the sound of wind in the struts and against the fuselage and on the wings was all the sound there was and the falling craft gathered speed and it was then that Skip Turner caught sight of a tiny island, hardly bigger than a pocket handkerchief, looming ahead of them right into the wind. With every ounce of skill Captain Friday kept the plane under control, heading it for the small place of refuge onto the bosom of the water and to add further to the good fortune of landing safely. There was a sandy beach and the first waves took the plane and ran it up on the sand like a toy in a bathtub. Man, old man, do you see what happened to us? You can be glad you're not feeding the fishers at this very moment, Andy. Amen, brother. Amen. You didn't get hurt in that bouncing around. Huh? Not a scratch. You? Nope. Well, Chief, let's get out and see the country. Get this strap on, Fesson. I don't think the plane's been hurt, any. No, go on, then, engines. What just suppose happened? Eh, there. Will the door open? Yep. Ain't jammed a bit. Good. Get out, Skip. Yeah. Hey, coming? Hey, listen to that bird. Sounds like San Diego on a bright June night. Don't see any hot signs of habitation anywhere, huh? Can't tell what's up in that jungle stuff waiting to be. That's a pretty rugged country. Volcanic. Yeah. Probably caves and stuff up in there. You know, we was lucky to find a sandy beach. Well, let's have a look. Got your packet of special rations? Yes, sir. Including six bars of chocolate. Here we go, then. Hey, what about the plane, Captain? Shouldn't we have to give it to once over and see whether we're stuck here for good? I don't have to come later, Skip. First things to see if we're in any danger from the natives. Yeah, if there is any. Looks like a deserted hunk of volcano to me. I guess we'll have to wade through this grass for a little. Yeah. Hey, where are we aiming for? I thought if we could climb up on that high ground, we might get a survey of the whole place. Well, we might at that. Whole place ain't two miles across in any direction. Looks like from the air. Okay. Here's where we start the climb. Well, I'm glad to get out of that grass. There's one thing I hate. It's the snakes and bugs and stuff down in this part of the world. Well, a lot of sharp lava. Edges like a razor. Gotta pull yourself up in some of these places. You make it? Yeah. Come on up. Okay. Phew, is that sun boiling? I think we can skirt the edge of that next pinnacle. It seems to be easier going to the left here. Looks like the minute we get up on the next level, we're going to be in a tangle of jungle. Don't worry about that when we get up there. Notice how the island seems to be built up in tears. First the beach level. And this level we're on. Then up above the jungle level. Yeah. I ain't seen nothing that looks like human life yet. We're only natives. We've got to be pretty shy of two white men. Especially coming down out of the sky as we just did. Uh-oh. What do we do now? We'll run into a blank wall, all right. Oh, it's 10 foot if it's a inch and straight up. There's no place to go except turn back. Skip, do you think you could boost me up? Maybe if I could get my fingers over the edge, I could scramble up. Sure, but how do I get up? Well, let's figure that when I make it up. Okay. Climb up on my shoulders. Hey, but for gosh sakes, keep them hob nails out of my ribs. Here I go. Hey, you're taking my skin off. Oh, still that. Oh, still, he says. You making it? Yeah. I got my fingers over the edge. Now you can reach up and push my feet up with a heave. Let me try. Here you go. You making? Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Now what about me? Just a minute. Be with you in just a minute. What's up there, anyway? I haven't had much of a chance to look around. There. Hey, you got your pants on. That's right. I'll brace myself up here and throw the legs of my pants over the edge. Grab a hold and scramble up. And what if I tear a leg off? For your own good, you better not. Okay, let's go. Yeah, here I come. Up with you. There. Yeah. Goody. Yeah. Yeah. Excuse me while I put my trousers back on. Well, will you look around us? Hey, this ain't the kind of a jungle I thought we'd find up here. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it looks interesting, though. Hey, that's beautiful. Kind of rollin' metal with green grass and vines and a lot of palm trees. Okay, let's go and investigate. Yeah. That's more like a park. And we'll keep headin' for high ground, huh? Yeah. I'd like to get a picture of the whole island if I can. Hey, look it. As soon as we get back from the rock ledge, the ground's as black and fertile as a California meadow. Uh-oh. Look there. Yeah. Yeah, rabbits. Looks like a cross between a rabbit and a kangaroo. It's just the size of a rabbit. Hey, there's some more of them. Hey, this place is alive with them. We won't starve here. That's one thing. Hey, let's cut across to that high spot. Yeah. Hey, this is kind of interesting, you know? I didn't know there was any South Sea islands like this. You want to stay here at Homestead. The heck with that? Too far to the nearest drugstore. Okay, here we are. Well, and there's your whole island laying out before you. Well, the island seems to be divided into two parts. Look at that ravine down below us. Yeah, seems to have two humps like the back of a camel. Yeah, we're standing on one hump and across the ravine is the other. Well, is that water down there in that ravine? Hey, it looks like a creek, all right. There's a fresh water stream on the island. We're more than in luck. Hey, you talk as if you didn't think we was going to be able to get that airship off the beach. That remains to be seen. Hey, Captain. Captain, look down here under the water. Where? By that palm tree down by the creek. It's a girl. Skip, I think you're right. Of course I'm right. A white girl using the old swimming hole is sure as I'm a foot higher. She's a white girl, all right. How far away do you imagine she is? A hundred yards in a straight line, I reckon. Probably half a mile away we'd have to travel to get out of where she is. Well, what are we waiting for? Yeah, man. Now, what in the blazes is the white girl doing alone on this desert island? She might be a Polynesian. Oh, but their skins ain't pure white. They're kind of brownish. You could see for yourself this girl's skin was white as milk. It actually gleamed in the sunshine. Hey, look, you can still see it. You're not going poetic on me, are you, Skip? Well, I know, but something like this don't happen to a man every day. Yeah, we're going to have to scoot around the brow of the hill for a ways. Oh, but we'll lose sight of her. So we lose sight of her. She can't keep out of our way for very long on an island no bigger than a pocket handkerchief. Uh, just a minute, Chief. Well? Uh, looky, maybe you should stay here and kind of keep her in view while I go down. Hey, hey, hey, what kind of double talks they have? Well, I was just thinking. I know what you're thinking. Come on, we go down together. Well, it was an idea. I'll say it was. We get around the brow of this hill and, hey, hey, look there, Skip. Huh? Well, I'll be your son of a gun. Shipwreck. You see, it is a white girl. Shipwrecked and mooned on this island, probably for months and months. Yeah. That craft's been piled up on the beach there for six months anyway, looks like. Yeah, but where's the rest? The captain and crew on the rest. We'll have her six and the crew, yeah? Uh-huh. Looks like a small luxury schooner. Millionaires, yeah, huh? Could be. Well, anyway, that explains the girl. Come on, let's get down to her. We don't want to rush in on her. Probably scared of that. Don't be silly. She'll be so glad to see white folks again. She'll probably throw her arms around our necks and hug us to death. Skip the romanticists. Well, why shouldn't she? After all, if I haven't seen a white girl for six months, I know how I feel. You think she's going to feel any different? That was to that, Skip. Hey, that was the right hand. Get the dirt, Skip. Hey, they were shooting at us. I could hear the bullet just as well. Why that little white-skinned female shooting at her rescuers? That wasn't the girl, Skip. The shots came from behind us. Here are Captain Bart Friday and Skip Turner marooned on a desert island in the South Pacific when their army plane in which they were flying between Saigon, French Indochina and Australia conked out on them. They landed the plane safely with hopes of repairing the motors, but at the moment are exploring their island refuge. At the foot of the hummock on which they have been standing, they see a freshwater stream and in the stream a white girl bathing. They are just making their way down to this amazing vision when two rifle bullets sing over their head. The shots have come from behind them and just now the two are wriggling on elbows and stomachs through the long grass for safety in the ravine below. Keep down and keep coming, Skip. Honest to my grandma. I never felt so sorry for a snake in my life. Yeah. Yeah. Imagine having to go around on your belly all your life. Hold it just a minute. Yeah. I need a breather. It'll even looted the guy with the nervous trigger finger or else he's stalking us. Wait until you get a really good beat on us. Well, that's a confident thought. Yeah. Another 10 feet and we can drop down behind those rocks in the ravine. You think that makes me mad? The shots probably scared the heck out of the gal we saw him bathing. Where'll she be now? Probably jumped into her clothes and beat it for a home. Home? Whatever she calls home these days. Yeah. And if she hides out on us it'll take us maybe days to make contact. It's not the angle it bothers me. We now know that there are other people on this island besides the girl. Hey, I hadn't thought of that. What I want to know is why one of them wanted to shoot at us. Maybe he and the gal are here all alone. He wants to keep it that way. He's known on this island for six months. He'd welcome a rescue party with wide open arms. Even with a beautiful gal all to herself? Even with ten beautiful girls all to himself. I don't believe it. Well, come on. Let's get down to the rocks. Okay. Watch the way I wiggle my hips as I slither through the grass. Okay, hold it. Hey, Captain, you can hear the creek. Listen. Oh, don't that sound cool and refreshing? Right over the edge. I'll drop down under the gravel. Then when I see everything is all clear, I'll give you the high side. Okay. I'll have my gun all set to back you up if there's any trouble. Check. Here I go. There. Hey, Skip. Okay, Chief. All clear. Come on down. There. Oh, man, oh, man, does that water look good? Hey, how about us falling on our faces and having a drink? Undoubtedly spring water. Go ahead. Yeah, man. I never tasted anything so good. Yeah. All right, isn't it? Now then, what? We'll follow down this creek to where we saw the girl in bathing. Yeah, maybe we can pick up a trail again, even if she has disappeared. Come on, then. Hard walking on these rocks. Yeah, like walking on marbles and bideyard walls. And we can't be very far from the babe swimming hole. I've got it spotted, right? It should be around the next turn of the ravine. Water's getting a little deeper along here. Hold it, Skip. What's the matter? Crouch down along the edge of the bank. Get down low. Hey, what's going on? Somebody's standing on the bank right above us. Oh, oh, quiet. Listen. I say, is that you, Gracie? Gracie, huh? Shh, quiet. It's all right, Gracie. I'm all alone. You don't need to be afraid of me, you know. You know that, Gracie. You know that. Somebody's shot him. Quick, Skip. Let me put him out of the creek before he drowns. Up with him. Easy. Oh, wait. Wait, Skip. I've got him. Never mind. Drop him back in the water. Hey. Drop him back. He's dead. Look at the back of his head. Oh. Oh, yeah. Somebody's coming along the bank. A killer? Come on. Get back under the bank. Whoa. Hold it. Hold it. They're just men. Yeah. He's looking down at the body. Ha, ha, ha. My fine young cutlery. You have come to a very bad end. A very bad end. Just like I told you you would. Hey, how about throwing a gun on that guy? Great, Skip. It is too hard to dig for you a grave this afternoon. But tonight you shall have one. See? The senator must not see like this, no. But tonight you shall have a grave. But now, oh, I shall have my siesta. What is this, Mr. Cockney? Adios. Hasta la vista. Well, how do you like him, Athens? Oh. A very cheerful killer. Doggone pirate. Pirate? Certainly a pirate. Didn't you see that bandana tied around his head when he peered over the bank? Yeah. I suppose he was a member of that yacht's crew before it went around. Oh, sure. 20th century pirate if I ever saw one. Hey, what do you suppose he killed a sidekick for? I could give a good guess. Gracie? Oh. Looks like it to me. Cockney sneaked off to hold rendezvous with Gracie and our pirate friend followed after him. And he made sure Cockney was trying to get the inside back on the girlfriend he up and blew the back of his head off. Well, that's one way of getting rid of rivals. What does that make Gracie? I don't know. Shall we go and find out? Yeah, let's. OK. Keeping close to the bank in case there are any more jealous Romeo's in this place. Now we've got some sand to walk on. Yeah. And it's wet, so it won't make a sound. Uh-huh. Uh-uh. It's the pool where Gracie was bathing. Hey, pretty, huh? Nice of pool. You could what? You know, we should ought to pull Cockney out of the creek. Seems too bad to let him contaminate a pool like this. I didn't dare. Cockney's body disappears. The pirate's going to know something's wrong. Just think Gracie buried it or somebody else. Besides, what hurt if it does get uneasy? I skipped there a couple of things that keep gnawing at my mind. Such as? Those two shots that were fired at us. Uh-oh. Were they really meant for us? It was the pirate firing at Cockney. Got me. They were meant for Cockney that it looks like nobody knows yet that we've landed on the island. Hey, how could they miss airplane coming down? Well, the engines were dead. We just barely glided up to the beach. Unless somebody happened to be looking up, they'd never know we were even in the sky. OK, so nobody knows we're on the island. What about it? In that case, nobody wants to kill us. Those shots were meant for Cockney. Well, I like it that way better. I never did hang out to have somebody itching to bump me up. Hm? What you looking for? Look here, Skip. You find something? Oh. Barefoot prints of a girl's foot in the sand. Yeah, I'm pointing in that direction. Yeah. There's a sort of path away from the pool up through the palm trees. Yes, sir. As neat as those should put up a signboard. Well, lead on, Chief. Keep a bow. Use these palm trees for shelter as much as possible. Just in case of the power, huh? Yeah. Right up ahead, the jungle looks like it thickened up a bit. Climbing up toward the brow of the second hump, if you notice. Yeah. Currently, Gracie doesn't wear shoes anymore. Lots of tracks of a girl's bare feet. All the same girl? Seem to be. Hey, the jungle's beginning to close in around the path. Still good. She must make a practice of fading down at the pool. Yeah. Oh, boy, that shade feels good. I never did see such a zone as they have down in this part of the world. That's a lot. Yeah. Jungle's closed in over the top of us, like a tent. Hold it. What happened? Listen. Well, I'll be a son of a gun. He kept massacring this thing I ever heard. It's a parrot skip. A parrot? It looks like Gracie's got a parrot to keep her company over on this side of the island. I'll say this for him. He's the loudest parrot I ever heard. Well, he's my parrot. Hey. You heard me. He's my parrot. So what about it? I don't see you. No, of course you don't see me. You see her, Captain? No. She's hidden somewhere off the path in the jungle. There's no use you're looking for me. You'll never find me. That's that noise. Um, you must be Gracie. And if I am, so what? Come on out of hiding and let's talk. Oh, no, you don't. Well, what? What do you mean? I don't take no chances with men. Not on this desert island I don't. But we've just arrived. I know that. I saw your airplane drop out of the sky. Then why weren't you down at the beach to meet it? Not me. I'll watch out for myself, I'll do. Besides the way you were fallen, I thought sure you'd be smashed to bits. Oh, no, not us. Well, it makes no matter. The same rule applies to you two gents, which applies to them that's on the other side of the island. And, um, what rules are those? This off of the island belongs to me. Oh. Yes. When you came to the ravine and waited across the creek, you came on my side of the island. Hey, you mean that hill over Yonder belongs to the men, and this hill belongs just to you? That's just what I said, isn't it? I don't get it. I'm a good girl, I am, and I'm a fighter. And when that sail and yacht over Yonder went on the rocks, I was the only girl left alive. I took things in my own hands. And you sound like you were just the gal who could do it. And so I am. How many were on the yacht before it was wrecked? The master and the missus and a crew of seven. What about you? Always the missus Lidie's mate. And a very good Lidie's mate, I am too. Oh. That makes ten on the yacht. How many landed safely on the beach? Four of us. You and Cockney and the pirate and one other, huh? The pirates? Sure, the Spanish baby with the turban. That has been Manuel. Hmm, Manuel the pirate. And who was the fourth? He was the captain of the yacht. He was killed two days after we landed. And I'll bet it was Nicola with Manuel the pirate who done it too. It was him and Cockney together. Why? It was over me. Hey, you must have something. Oh, you have me moments if I do say so myself. Well, come on, climb out of the bushes and let's have a look at it. Oh, no you don't. Is that why you divided the island in two parts and why you keep to yourself over here? It is. When I see the way the men were killing each other with me to go to the winner, I just made up my own rules and got me a gun and a box of cartridges to back me up. Hey, you ain't poking a gun through the bushes at us right now, are you? Make a move in the wrong direction and see what happens. You know something, Gracie. So you're getting mighty familiar with the use of a girl's name if I may say so. No kidding, Gracie. You're what I'd call a woman with an iron willpower. What about that parrot we keep herring? He's my parrot, he is. My parrot and my watchdog. They come within a mile of us without bell-shazer, let me know. Bell-shazer, huh? Oh, so that's how you knew we were coming up the path, huh? That's it. Every time Manuel or Cockney tries to come over here... Oh, by the way, you're not going to have to worry about Cockney anymore. What are you talking about? Manuel just shot him. Oh, no. Yeah, we saw him do it. Then none of us is safe on this island with nobody to stop Manuel. He has resort by the hills before morning. Marooned on a desert island with a Cockney girl and Manuel the pirate, Captain Friday and Skip Turner face one of the most amazing adventures of their lives. In the second episode of The Girl on Shipwreck Island, which is entitled, The Pirate is a Fighting Man. Listen next week to another in this fascinating series of Adventures by Morse.