 Proudly, We Hale. New York City, where the American stage begins, here is another program with a cast of outstanding players. Public service time is made available by this station to bring you this story as Proudly We Hale, the United States Army. Today's story is called The Private and the Paint Brush. It may be a rather unusual name for the story, but then Private George Marvin is a rather unusual kind of a soldier. Our opening curtain rises in just a moment, but first, here's a special tip for you high school graduates. Do you want real technical training? Our modern United States Army runs the greatest technical schools in the world because a modern Army needs hundreds of kinds of technical skills, radio, radar, maintenance of engines and delicate optical equipment, and many others. You can get this kind of training under the Army's Reserved for You training program, and here's the way to do it. First, after you've received your high school diploma, you apply for the course of your choice at your nearest United States Army recruiting station. There are more than 150 courses to choose from. Then, if your application is approved, you enlist and start the basic training all good soldiers must have. Then you're all set for some of the world's best schooling. Ask about it at your Army recruiting station right away. And now your United States Army presents the Proudly We Hale production, the Private and the Paintbrush. Yes, sir, we live and we learn, especially me. I've been a first sergeant for eight years, but do I say I know it all, not on your life? I'm willing to learn something new every day. When you're running a company of 232 men, buddy, you've got your problems. I don't mean that a first sergeant is kind of a social threat who has to work 24 hours a day to see that everybody has a good time. Now, what I do mean is you have to be sure that you're running the kind of outfit where every man feels that he's getting a fair shake. See, as first sergeant, I have to make up the duty roster, a little document that lists the men for the various details that have to get done, like guard, charging quarters, KP stuff like that. It's always been my experience that guys are never satisfied with it. Everybody thinks he's being tapped too often for details. But one day I'm sitting in the orderly room and George Marvin comes in. He's got a request to make. It was the first request of its kind that I ever heard. Would you repeat that, Marvin? Yes, Sergeant Wood. I want to know if it's all right for me to volunteer to pull charge of quarters every night for the rest of the week. That's what I thought you said. Why? Well, I just feel like it, that's all. I don't mind it. I don't mind sleeping here in the orderly room all night. Now I've heard everything. Is it all right with you? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's all right with me. But you have to have a reason. There's no special reason or... Let's say it's a personal reason. And you don't want to tell me. Let's say I'd rather not tell you, Sergeant. You've got a problem, see? If I put you down on the duty roster for charge of quarters of five nights in a row, the captain has to sign the roster, see? It'll strike him as unusual. He'll ask me why. I won't be able to tell him. He might ask you, would you want to tell the captain? I'd rather not tell anybody. It's very personal and private, Sergeant Wood. Just between the two of us, what I'd like to do is use the office typewriter. So now I'll ask you what for? Well, now we get back to the private and personal part of it. Well, I can't do anything for you officially, Marvin. Oh, I see. Well, thanks, anyhow. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I said I couldn't do anything officially. That doesn't mean you can't go to anybody who's down on the roster for charge of quarters and tell him that you're willing to pull CQ for him. Huh? Oh, sure. You're the first man I ever heard of who actually wanted to get stuck with charge of quarters. I see what you mean. Thanks, Sergeant Wood. Thanks a million. So I must confess, I felt pretty good. Why? What did I do? Nothing really. But to me, I was acting the way I thought a good first sergeant should be. Especially with a guy like Marvin, a good all-around soldier who certainly deserved a break. So anyhow, that night, about 10.30 or so, I happened to run out of cigars that felt like smoking one before I turned in. I remembered I had some in my desk drawer in the orderly room, so I strolled over. Marvin was there. Evidently, he had taken over for the guy who was on the duty roster for CQ. Well, it was all right with me. It was okay with me. I could see Marvin through the window. He was typing. As soon as he saw me coming in the door, he stopped. I haven't been my imagination, but he did take a newspaper and put it over the pile of papers he had finished typing just so I couldn't happen to see them by accident. Well, go ahead, Marvin. Don't let me bother you. I just came in for a sec. Oh, that's all right, Sergeant Wood. I feel like taking a short break in any event. Yeah, I saw you through the window. You were really typing away. But I guess that's private and personal. Yeah, yeah, it is. Oh, you want, uh, you want to answer something? No, I'm off duty. You're charged a quarter, heck. H company, Private Marvin, charge a quarters. Uh, yes, Sergeant, I'll tell him right away. That was Sergeant Bailey at Battalion. He wants me to tell the mess steward to prepare sandwiches for 20 men from Cannon Company who will be going out on the range with us tomorrow morning. Well, go ahead. Don't let me keep you. Press got ought to be back in his room in the barracks. I'll have you right back. He stood there for a minute. Not as if he were doing something automatically. He picked up the papers he had just typed, took them with him as if I would have read them. Well, there followed a couple of busy days when I didn't have the time to think about Marvin at all. I knew he was pulling CQ every night, but I sort of got used to it. Then all of a sudden on Friday morning, a Sergeant I knew, Dave Hendricks, walked into the ordinary room. Without any preamble at all, he asked to see George Marvin. I started to get a funny feeling because Sergeant Dave Hendricks is attached to the intelligence section, and he was obviously here on business. So I sent for Marvin, while Dave began asking me questions. Well, now, what do you want me to tell you about George Marvin, Dave? Everything. Well, he's 21. He comes from Philadelphia back home. He's been in the Army a year. We don't need any of that. We already checked his service record and all his papers and personnel. You're his first Sergeant. What are your impressions? Dave, can I ask you this? Is Marvin in any kind of trouble? I don't know. He might be. Marvin. George Marvin seems like an ordinary quiet guy. He's intelligent. He's a good soldier. Well, think carefully. Has he ever said or done anything that in any way might seem suspicious? Now that you look back on... Offhand, I'd say no. Wait a minute. Just because you're asking, just because your section is interested, this could be suspicious, I guess. He's arranged with everybody on the duty rods to put charge of quarters for them. He's been on every night this week. Oh, yeah? Is there a reason? Well, I asked him. He said it was private and personal. He sits there all night and types as far as I can make out. Well, what does he type? I don't know, but he makes a big mystery about it. You wanted to see me, Sergeant Wood? Yeah, this is Marvin, Dave. Marvin, I'm Sergeant Hendricks of the intelligence section. I've got some questions to ask you. Now, I'm convinced everything's all right, but I could be wrong. What do you know about a German civilian named Hugo Hulst? Hugo Hulst? I, uh... I never heard of anyone named Hugo Hulst. Uh-huh. Well, let's put it this way. Six months ago, before you were assigned here to Germany, Hugo Hulst was murdered. Now, we'd been keeping an eye on Hulst because we were convinced he was an espionage agent. We had no definite proof, but we were watching him in the hope something had break. One night, he was killed. The civilian police could never find out who did it or why. Recently, an American soldier has been making inquiries about Hugo Hulst. He's been to the factory where Hulst worked. A paintbrush factory, by the way. He's been to Hulst's rooming house to the beer parlors where Hulst used to hang out. This American soldier's name is George Marvin. Now, we can go a lot of ways here. If you still insist you know nothing about Hugo Hulst, you're under arrest and we'll adopt a certain kind of attitude. On the other hand, if you care to discuss it truthfully, that's another story. You decide. Well, I know quite a bit about Hugo Hulst. That's better. Now, why should a young American soldier from Philadelphia who has no record of any kind be interested in a murdered espionage agent in Munich? I never thought anyone would ever look at it that way. I didn't even know he was an espionage agent. Wait a minute. Maybe that's the clue I've been looking for. Thanks, Sergeant Hendricks. Now I've got the story. What story? Well, I didn't care particularly to have it known. You know how the fellas are, but... You see, I write mystery stories. That is, I try to write them whatever's sold any yet. And what does this have to do with Hugo Hulst? I like to get my ideas from real life. I was looking for a plot, see, so I went to the public library. I got some back issues at the newspapers and I saw this unsolved murder case. It makes a great story. A middle-aged man, no enemies anyone knew about, suddenly murdered. Why? All right, you had all the facts in the newspaper. Why'd you have to go around asking questions in person? Well, that's how I write your work, Sergeant. You have to get the feel of the story. You want to put flesh on your characters. Okay, so what did you find out? Well, nothing. You didn't just tell me. His name was Hugo Hulst. He worked in a paintbrush factory. I spoke to his daughter. I couldn't get anything at all out of her. Of course you're telling the truth, but just satisfy me in one little detail. If you're writing a detective story, where is it? In my foot locker. Go get it. The night was dark and the sky was filled with ominous black clouds. It was a night for murder, a lonely, desolate night. There'd be no witnesses to the sharp crack of a shot or the quick flash of a knife. No one to see or hear, except the waning moon fitfully peering through the scutting clouds. Forty-eight years ago, a frenzied cry heralded the arrival into this world of Hugo Hulst. Tonight, another desperate cry would announce his departure. Who killed Hugo Hulst? Why? Yeah. Yeah, well, that's good enough. But this is just the first page. Yeah, I know. Look, Marvin, as far as intelligence is concerned, this Hulst thing is still hot. Now, keep away from it, will you? You can write all the stories you like, but no more personal research until we clean it up. An espionage agent. That gives me an entirely new slant for the story. All right, but just make sure you keep the story on the typewriter where it belongs. So that was Marvin's big secret. Well, you couldn't blame him. And besides, writers, they're kind of a nutty bunch anyhow. They're very sensitive. They don't want people to know what they're doing. What I thought about it was, if a member of my outfit wanted to write detective stories in a spare time, well, why not? Hey, so Marvin kept spending his nights in the orderly room wearing out the typewriter ribbon. You really had to admire his perseverance. Time to time, I'd drop in to see how he was doing. How's it going, Marvin? I'd have a great story, only I could figure out why the guy was killed. Why? All right, all right. He was a spy. But what did he do to get himself murdered? Hey, it's getting close to lights out. You better make the rounds of the barracks and check the weapon racks. Oh, gee, I almost forgot. I'll put them in the playrooms and I'll put them down as missing. I know. H Company Sergeant Wood. Hello, may I please speak with a soldier named George Marvin? George Marvin? Yes, yes, George Marvin. He is in this concern. I mean, barracks, no? We have a George Marvin here. I would not call except it is urgent. Very important. Is he near the telephone now? No, he'll be back here in another 15 or 20 minutes. Can you wait? No, no, I must hang up now. Well, can he call you back? I'll come to see me tomorrow night. No, not at home. He must meet me at the amusement park near the carousel. Will you please tell him that? Yeah, yeah, I'll tell him. Thank you. Goodbye. Wait a minute. Just who is he supposed to meet? Me. Sure, but who are you? What's your name? My name is Brigitte Holst. Okay. Thank you. Holst. Holst. Now where did I... Uh-oh. I'm going to put the paintbrush. We'll return in just a moment for the second act. In the world of music, the melody plus a good arrangement and a good performer most often determines a song's success. In drama, the plays the thing plus of course good actors to deliver the lines. And in whatever your occupation, training and teamwork are the reasons for success. If you're a young man of service age, you can be trained for success in the course of your choice by enrolling now in your United States Army's reserve for you training program. There are over 150 courses to choose from in such fields as radar, guided missiles, automotive maintenance and the medical services. But these are only a few. And if you act now, you can make your application and rest assured that you have a class space set aside in your name. If you're a high school graduate, we suggest you investigate this outstanding opportunity right away. For complete information, visit your nearest United States Army recruiting station. Team up with the Army and you team up with success. You are listening to Proudly We Hail and now we present the second act of The Private and the Paintbrush. Let us sit here where no one may overhear what we say. Well, what did you want to tell me, Furline Holst? I must talk with someone. I cannot go to the police because if I do... If you do, what happens? It will be bad for my father's memory. But I must talk with someone. I feel you're interested in Papa. You seem concerned about what happened to him. I am. You say you are a writer, but one day you may be able to write the truth. You see, Papa was an agent for the Reds. He could not help himself. They knew something in his past. They blackmailed him. It was only because he decided to defy them finally that they killed him. But just what did your father do as an agent? I could never find out. I found a key last week to a safety box in a bank. I went there. I found a box filled with money. A quarter of a million marks, all in hundred mark notes. That's a lot of money. Yesterday I took one of the hundred mark notes to a bank to change it. The cashier looked at it, then looked at me. Where did you get this, Furline? He asked, this is counterfeit. I must ask for your name. I became frightened. I ran away from there. Counterfeit? How about the rest of the money? It is all counterfeit. The accounts with different hundred mark notes all are bad. I mean, only a bank employee could tell the average person could not. Yeah, that's part of espionage and sabotage. Spread counterfeit money. Attack the currency of a country. Make people lose faith and get to the ring. Papa must have hidden the money away against the day it could be used as evidence when he wanted to turn against them. Did you know any of your father's friends? Or should I say associates? No, he worked all day at the paintbrush factory. Even when he would spend the evening at home, the telephone would ring. It would be her Schneider, the foreman at the factory. I never liked her Schneider. Why? I do not know. He is what we call unsympathetic. Do you think that he's also an agent? He's mean enough to be anything. I suspect the factory, too. Yeah? What for? Business is not good, but they never fire any working men. Well, you can't hate him for that. I believe the paintbrushes are only a disguise for something else, for counterfeiting. But I cannot prove it. I... Good night. I better go home. Perhaps I am being watched. I should not be seen talking to people in public. Oh, well, let me take you home. No, it is safer if I go along. Yeah, but I want to talk to you again. Very well, if I learn anything. Look, just in case you're being watched, we better throw whoever it is off the track. See, better slap me. Slap? Yeah, make it look as though I tried to pick you up. Go ahead, get mad. Slap me and walk away. Okay. You can't blame a guy for trying. Very touching. Very touching. Sergeant Hendricks. Sergeant Wood. Marvin, weren't you told to keep out of the way? I know she called you Wood-towards. Well, look here, Sergeant Wood. Seminar, Marvin. You know what you were letting yourself in for. All right, but I know something you don't know, Sergeant Hendricks. I know Hugo Hulse was engaged in counterfeiting. I know Brigida found a quarter of a million phony marks. Quarter of a million, huh? Yeah, that's right. That's how much the civilian cops told us they found in her apartment. The cops? But how did they know? Well, now, you see, this would be beneath a good mystery rider, but the bank tellers described the girl who was trying to change counterfeit money. From the description, they traced down Brigida. Now, I admit Sherlock Holmes would have used a more spectacular method. All right, then check the paintbrush company. We've been doing that for the last six months. We can't get a thing on them. Yeah, I bet I could. You're gonna go back to your outfit and do the job the Army trained you. A guy named Schneider. How about him? Nothing. Nothing so far. Now, look, you're probably gonna be a pretty good detective story writer someday. And like the rest of them, you'll probably make fun of the authorities and have your amateur hero solve the crime with one brilliant flash of logic. That's good. I'm all for it. But keep it on the typewriter where it belongs. Now, look, Marvin, these are dangerous people, and they are no concern of yours. What are you gonna do with four-line holst, the Brigida? The civilian cops are waiting for her in her apartment. Now, I guess they'll question her and let her go after a while. Now, just keep away. Understand? Solve the whole thing if you want to, but do it on the typewriter in each company's orderly room. Come on, Sherlock. Back to the barracks. Sarge. What can I do for you, Marvin? May I pick up a pass? Your pass. I see. Well, may I have it? It's Saturday, one o'clock. Inspection is over. I'm not in any detail. Do I get my pass? I'm afraid you do not. You see, Dave Hendrickson, I decided to keep you under wraps till this holst thing cools down. You can't be trusted, Marvin. You're gonna go poking around, asking questions. Sarge, I give you my word. I'll lay off. Well, you know that's not true. Goodness is for your own good. You don't know who's become suspicious of you already. Look, all I want to do is just go to the library. Just to the library to do some research. No questions about host? Not one. Okay. I have to go downtown to do some shopping for the wife. You come with me. I'll drop you off at the library. You got an hour. That's all I need. I'm doing some research on paintbrushes. Paintbrushes? Oh, so... Yeah, yeah, we have many books. You want the history of paintbrushes? Well, I'm interested in how they're manufactured. I will consult the catalog. What connection can there be between paintbrushes and counterfeiting? I'll take your pardon. Oh, nothing, nothing. So, we have castle, a book called Bristles Into Brush. We have undergants who wrote industrial manufacture of paintbrushes. We have 15 books. You read German? I read enough. Besides, they have pictures, no? Yeah, it says profusely illustrated. How many of these books can I take out? You can take all of them. Whoever asks for them anyhow. Lady, I'm asking for them. Most bristles for paintbrushes come from the Orient these days, from Hong Kong. Ah, that I knew. What's in here? Figure one, plate illustrating, package of pure hog bristle, usually wrapped in one-pound packet. The bristle is wrapped in a strong, durable material for shipment overseas to Europe and America, usually in a fine grade of Chinese rice paper. This protects the bristle against dampness of the ocean void. Wait a minute, Marvin Boy, wait a minute! Don't, don't grab it yet. It may be a mirage. Easy, fellow, one step at a time. Look, Sergeant, is there any law against a man making a phone call from the dayroom booth? Oh, hello. Is this the paintbrush company? Well, my name is John Smith. I'm interested in buying paintbrushes for export to America. Yeah, yes, I'll wait. Marvin, you were told not... Sergeant, this could be it. Believe me, please, believe me. Oh, yes, yes. I'm interested in quality brushes. What sort of bristle do you use? Imported from Hong Kong. Well, I'd like to be sure of that. Well, no, no, I'll take your word for it. I don't have time to come down to your plant and see the packets of bristle for myself. Yeah, I'll be in Munich several days. I'll be calling you again. Goodbye. What do you think you're doing? Sergeant, for the first time since I got into this thing, I know. Now, just one detail. One little thing has to fit into place, and we're home. Look, Marvin, right now, you and I are going to Sergeant Hendrick's office. You're gonna tell him exactly why you made that phone call to the paintbrush company. You know, Marvin, you might be in a jam, but fortunately for you, we got Hulse's murderer. They found a gun that belongs to him and the bullets checked. Is the murderer named Schneider? Who told you? Well, if you'll remember, Sergeant, I told you. I said, check a guy named Schneider. Can you prove Schneider's an agent? Not yet. Do you know how the paintbrush company ties into the counterfeiting? No. I do. Yeah? I need the answer to a couple of questions. First, did Schneider originally hire Hulse? Yes, he did. After Hulse was killed, another man take his job? Yeah. Did Schneider hire that man, too? He did. Now I have to know one more thing, and it all fits. Just what was Hulse's job in the brush factory? Now, wait a minute. Why don't I assume for the sake of argument that you know what you're talking about. Now, you've built up a theory, obviously. Now, to make this theory stand up, is it necessary for Hulse to have had a particular job there? It would help a lot. Well, just what job would you have wanted Hulse to have had? I would have wanted Hugo Hulse to have been a porter. A porter? Well, that's exactly what he was. A porter, a man who collected and disposed of the refuse. I don't think the owners are most of the people who are running the factory know what's going on. The guy who's doing it is the guy who has Hulse's old job. Follow him. He'll lead you to that counterfeiting espionage ring. On a hunch, that's what they did. They kept an eye on the man who was now the porter at the factory. They traced him to a place where there was an entire counterfeiting setup. They bagged everybody. They broke this man's Schneider down. He was the leader of the outfit. What Brigitte said was true. Her father was killed because he'd had enough. Well, everybody was satisfied. That is everybody on our side. The best part of it all was that the only guy who knew the why of the setup was Marvin. And it was quite a treat to see Dave asking questions. Well, as you probably know better than I do, counterfeiters have two problems. The first is plates, but they can solve that. All they need to do is find an engraver who's good enough. But the second problem is paper that's good enough to pass is the real thing. Well, that's tough. The manufacturer and sale of banknote paper is rigidly controlled. But how did you know they were getting the paper from the brush company? Bristles for brushes these days comes from Hong Kong. It's wrapped in Chinese rice paper. And it looks and feels exactly like paper that's used for money. But the paintbrush company has no use for paper like that. They unwrap the packets of bristle and throw the paper away. And Schneider saw the possibilities of that kind of paper for counterfeiting. Holt's job was to make sure the paper was salvaged and delivered to the other members of the ring. And when Holt was murdered, another member of the outfit had to replace him. Thanks to you, Marvin. We've got that little avenue of getting paper for counterfeiting all blocked up. Come on, let's go. Where are we going? Well, it's ceremony time. The colonel wants to meet you. You're going to get a citation? Say, can I make a phone call first? I have to tell somebody everything's okay. I bet I know who that somebody is, too. Brigida. Hey, how did you know? Well, listen, after all, I'm a detective, too. If you're of service age and a high school graduate, I'm sure you'll be interested in the reserved-for-you training program of your United States Army. This program is filled with opportunities for young men of today who want to equip themselves with a top-notch skill and serve their country at the same time. Here's how it works. You make application at your nearest United States Army recruiting station, at which time you state your preference of a training course. There are more than 150 training courses from which to choose. Now, this application does not place you under any obligation to enlist. If you qualify and a vacancy exists, you will receive a letter of acceptance that is your guarantee of a reserved seat in the course of your choice. Then you can enlist and begin your career as a skilled specialist in the United States Army. So, if you expect to serve a tour of duty in the near future, make sure you make the most of your opportunities. Visit your nearest United States Army recruiting station and talk it over with the friendly people there. This has been another program on Proudly We Hail, presented transcribed in cooperation with this station. Proudly We Hail is produced by the Recruiting Publicity Center for the United States Army. This is Ralph Roland inviting you to tune in this same station next week for another interesting story on Proudly We Hail.