 You are alone on a desert island with a tribe of hungry cannibals who think you are a god. A tribe of natives who would eat you rather than let you escape. Escape, produced and directed by William M. Robeson and designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure. Tonight we escape to the South Seas and the Cannibal Kingdom in H.G. Wells' famous story, Jimmy Goggle, The God. I doubt you'll remember anything of the ocean pioneer, though a bit of the story that came to public knowledge made headlines in the newspapers at the time. Blimey, now that I think of it, it's been over 40 years ago, hasn't it? 40 years. And at times yet I can still wake up in the middle of the night and see that cold, dead eye of Jimmy Goggle staring at me from the darkness. They had to give me the creeps even now. It all started, the night the ocean pioneer went to the bottom of the summer coast. Only two survivors, aside from myself, came out of that wreck. Mr. Sanders, the first mate and the seaman named Jacob. And with a bit of luck we had enough food and water in the long boat to see us save to Papua. Give away that. Do you think I should be able to put this on dry land again? No, it is lucky men we are this time. All right, just one dry time here, Jacob. This is where first Captain Wells and 10 other lads are back there. I'm under 20 feet of my quick and clean water there. Paint oil is laying back there either, lads. You mean in something like that, Mr. Sanders? Because either of your lads know that cargo we carried. Aye. Copper or most lay in some spices. Not that. Not. At kidney we shipped aboard a chest full of gold dust. Worth 40,000 pounds. 40,000 pounds? I wonder about that chest at the time, Mr. Sanders. That chest, still but no lads. And Captain Wells' cabin. Aye. 20 fathoms down. There'll be a nice bit of work for the salvage company. Not necessarily. What is it you're meaning to say? I'm the only man alive who was ship positioned when she sank. There you are. Go on, Mr. Sanders. Now, when we get to Papua, we give reports ships took 100 miles or so to the north. Then the salvage ship goes there, we come here, and pick up a type of fortune for ourselves. And how do we come here? My brother-in-law has a break in the Sydney trade. He's coming, Mr. My lads, are you in or are you out? 40,000 pounds. I'm in. Aye. 40,000 pounds. What sort of fortune, therefore, to take it? Of course we went in on it. Papua, Sanders, made the arrangements with his brother-in-law, Captain Ferguson. And a fortnight later, we set forth in the brig, pride of Banyan. There were just the four of us in the diving suit. There was one of them kind of diving suiters, don't have a pump or airline. Carried its own tank of compressed air attached and you could walk around on the bottom independent like. We hung the suit on the wall in a mess room and believe me, it was some bright times we enjoyed besides it during the three weeks the pride of Banyan beat into a tunnel channel. We'd wonder how long it'd be before we'd get there, what the salvage ship might be finding a hundred miles away from the wreck. And all the time, like we had to care in the world. And that confounded diving suit had swayed back and forth like a regular human being it was. The glass window in the front, staring like a big eye in the middle of its fat copper head. We got so we'd talk to it like it was somebody and we'd even give it a name. Jimmy Goggles, we called it. Jimmy Goggles. And every time we'd break open some rum, we'd pour a glass or so into Jimmy Goggles. So by the time we got to Sonor, instead of smelling rubbery, his insides were as sweet as a cask of rum. When we found the place, we were afraid to take the brig into the rocks where the wreck was lying. So we anchored about half a mile off and all of us rode to it in the long bet. Aye, it's still there all right. I can see the tip of one of a mast above the water. There will take the mast, there's a fortune below. I'm interested in. I hope so. It'll be there later. Better the port of it. Aye, it is still agreed. I'm the one to go inside Jimmy Goggles and make the first slip down. Aye, George. It's what we decided. It's easy now. Can I onto it? I can't see. I envy you none, George. That could be yours now. Easy. There. There's a line around the mast. Keep us from drifting. Better get into that diamond soon, George. Why don't we get him first? Aye. Just as happy ain't me that's going down. Aye. Why not? What are you talking about? It'll be cold in the dark down there with 20 feathers. It might be sighted as thank good for a man to see. In the dark and alone. Jacob, you wonder I'm like an old woman. I reckon the look of 40,000 pounds will cure a heap of other sights. I'm ready, sir. Except to secure the face plate. Good. You know how to operate the valve? Aye, sir. And turn on the air. George. You'll find the chest in Captain's cabin. Move it if you can. We'll see about the chances of getting a line on it. Right, Joe. And good luck. Aye, good luck. Good luck. Well, here we are, ladies. I closed the little glass window in my helmet and passed it. Then I edged towards the stern. Soldiers were saying something, but I couldn't make out what it was. We didn't have no ladder, so I slid over the stern and hung there by the gunnel for a minute with the helmet out of the water. I took a last look at the light of the day and I let go. Slow it was. I sunk down through that green water. The only sound was the air, a bobbling out of the helmet there. That valve, you understand, was the only way out of control under the scent of old Jimmy Goggle. If you opened it up, down you'd go. If you clamped it fairly tight, the suit would get full of air and pop it as fast as the man it cared to. Four or five minutes or more I took to think that twenty fathom. Then ghostly sea ferns went slither and past like snakes and big purple and red clumps of jagged coral. And the light from the surface getting dimmer and dimmer. So by the time I hit the bottom, it was pretty near dark. I was happy to find myself come right down on the deck of the old ocean pine here. Ah, what a familiar sight she was. Savin' for the crab, skitterin' around her flank. The bloomin' fish swimmin' past my head and goglin' in through the window of my helmet. I made my way to the deck cabin. Right before the door, I stumbled onto a blinkin' skeleton. Lying there on the deck is peaceful as you please. Searchin' by the gold braids still hangin' on it, it had been old Captain Wells himself. So there weren't enough left of it now to make a decent meal for an hungry guppy. Up there our light, very gentle when I touched it and all the time was wearin' an horrible green. I'm at the bony face. I like to give a man the shivers. I tell you certain I got through the business down there as quick as I could. Found the chest of girls and figured out it was the best way to get a block in line on it. But even so, it must have been an hour far before I clamped the air valve and started for the top. Halfway up, something hit my helmet and split on down past. Found my chef lookin' right into the bloomin' face of first mate Sonders. His mouth was hangin' open and a kind of pink smoke was drippin' out of it and makin' a cloud in the water. I saw yet a spear run through his neck from one side to the other and he was dead on the mackerel. He sunk on fire without a sightin'. Then Jacob drifted down from above and I could see his head was all twisted to one side like and his neck was broken. He was dead, too. Then it hit me. The left on top had been massacred by a boatload of them bloomin' eathen savages. And like as not if I spoke more yet out the same would happen to me. Oh, brolin' me. I clicked up in the omit bells and shot down to the bottom. I sat down there on a sunken rock for nigh onto fifteen minutes, I guess. Trying to figure out what to do. But anyway, a man had to look at it their word but one answer. To finally, crazy as it seemed, I got up and started out to walk ashore. After a while the bottom began to slope up and it wasn't so dark anymore. Finally my omit poked up out of the water. I saw the beach about fifty yards away with dark jungle right behind it. I sloshed on through the water and came out on the sand. Then I opened the face flight and Jimmy Goggle's head cut off the air from the tank and took a deep breath of the natural kind. That's when I saw them. At least a hundred blinkin' savages painted up like banshees. It stepped out of the brush and started movin' toward me slow. Beatin' soft on a couple of drums and growlin' low and evil-like. Well, Georgia, but you're in for it now, I tell myself. After a while of underwater walkin' and you're still forgettin' the loom and throat cut I snapped the face plate partway shut and cracked the air out of it with the diving suit swelled up like a bledded sword and I started walkin' toward them. When I got close they moved back along two sides of a kind of path and I walked right down the middle of it. It led back into the jungle and pretty quickly come out in a little clear and with a grass up standing in the middle of it. And sittin' in front of the hut in the middle of that in Cowahwood was grinnin' about as hideous as he ever hoped to see. And the idea hit me. I was in a spot it couldn't be much worse and maybe it would work. The natives seemed to be awed by Jimmy Goggle's already so I reached out and gave the idler a great push expecting any second to feel a spear from my gullet. I looked up. Climb me if their reasons weren't down their faces worshippin' like mad. It had worked. Oh, not me, you understand. Settin' the men of speakin' was Jimmy Goggle's with his copper head and his one glass eye with me inside him. They'd seen him walk up out in the sea and they figured he was a guard. Old rum so Jimmy Goggle's a regular bloomin' guard. After a while I began to get on my nerves inside the hut. They stayed outside and didn't follow me but they didn't go away, neither. In a couple of hours it started to get dark and I was wondering if they meant to spend the rest of their lives out there bowin' on the ground. Finally a tall native painted up like a circus clown stepped inside the door and stood there just grinnin' like old Satan himself. Climb me if I had me up ticked on my beauty I'd have you grinnin' all in and on the other side of your face. Oh, would you now? What? You're thinkin' mighty bold for man who's had a lot of luck. Depart on where they're mortal for I smite you with light. Oh, relax, wine. I've been some time around plantations in Papua. Learned thing or two I did, including English language. Job in Christopher. What the devil you doin' here? My simple bedroom. Something else I learned at Papua. My name Mamala. I'm high priest, witch doctor. Call it whatever you want. Well, I may appear to know you. Mine's George Herbert, officer of the English Brick Pride of Banyan. The late Brick, might say. Boy, it burned it a couple hours ago. Burned what for? Why was it you attacked us in the first place? Oh, a bit of go like that once in a while this boy's feeling joyful like George. It's a harmless little man of city. Harmless is it. That's for my boys at once. Oh well. What were you diving for out there anyhow? Curves. So it's now, mate. You are looking over that lake down there on the reef. What's aboard her? All right, Mamala. How much do you pay in 40,000 pounds in gold dust? 40,000 pounds. Hmm. No fair deal. Aye. Hmm. We could use 40,000 pounds, couldn't we, George? I'm listening. We might make deals. You keep on being the god and I'd be your high priest. You can't talk their language anyway. Trina will have been beating out of our hands. Meanwhile, we'll figure a way to raise gold off the bottom. Gold off? You mean I gotta go on wearing this blooming suit all the time? Only if you want to stay alive. They found there was man inside it. Let me tell you two pieces. Oh, promise. Trina always cracked up to be being a god. At least you're alive, mate. And we'll both be rich. Aye. Are you gonna spend the night out there? We'll be leaving after ceremony except for guards of honor. I understand you. Er... What's the ceremony? Oh, a little piece of business with owner of rings. We captured him alive, you know. Captain Ferguson? Hmm. What kind of business? A bit of this, a bit of that. When they get done, they cook him, of course. Cook him? Well, now you wouldn't expect boys to eat him raw. You wouldn't be civilized, you know. Uh... See you in the morning, George. I was pretty all right. But what was one thing and another I didn't feel as bad about it as I might have. After all, I hadn't known the captain too well, anyhow. A month went by in mighty uncomfortable fashion. And all the time, Mamela was trying to figure some way to get that gold out of the wreck. I was right in with him at first. And I got to notice, and now he was always saying what he could do with 40,000 pounds. And then I'd kind of remind him we were zappers and he'd grieve and strange like. See, that's what he meant all the time. But I didn't trust him no way. And I started stalling every way I could, and things stayed about as they were. I kept on being a garden. We couldn't get no proper chance to go after the gold. Then one morning Mamela and most of the tribe went back into the jungle to hunt. I was sitting in the hut trying to figure some way to do for that even if all he could do for me. When I happened to hear voices outside. I sneaked a look through the palm search for an Englishman dressed up fit to kill him. What came this short and the sun helmet and all they had a native interpreter all dressed up and walking with him. In here now. They're idols. Tribals can't. But it's been turned over. Do they no longer worship? Lucky here, Trance, if you step inside, I'll show you what they worship in. There you go. Come in, come in. Welcome, Gents. Now take it easy, lad. I've got a diving suit, you know. Yes, of course, I. I saw that. Who are you, anyway? Yeah, no, that's not the asking name. Things I didn't ask yours. That's no objection to telling you, sir. I'm with the Royal Anglicover Touring Missionary Society. No, not really. Please. Oh, profanity. Come on, see it, please. How'd you get here? By sailing cutters down coast from the Bunkeel Residency. Well, you've had a bit of luck. The boys were there, you'd be in a proper fix, by now. Oh, I dare say we'd be in no danger. No danger? What is it you'd call being cooked like a pork tenderloin? Has they done it to one of my friends? Sir, no doubt. The natives are well aware that if anything happened to me, they'd be a gunboat here from the Residency in 48 hours. Oh, that's how they win browser. It is indeed. And they're out for your mouse trading and that diving rig. Aye. To keep from getting myself killed, that's why. The natives think there's flanking rubber union since the regular gods. I see. And you've been feying on their childish credulity. Childish, that may be, Mr. Bander, but they've got full ground teeth. Aye, and I've seen them in action. Well, you'll simply have to take your chances because I'm going to expose you. Gee, you know, you can't be doing that. Well, if they were to find out I'm a human being, they'd do me in for fair. Well, I'll help you as much as I can, but you should have thought of that before you tried exploiting me. But you can't let it happen to a fellow Englishman. Then why don't you leave now while they're away? You'd likely be able to get aboard the ship that's working a mile or so down the coast. What ship? Fun salvage, but who's looking for a wreck? They think it might have drifted down the channel from the north. Oh, it just might have been there. They might find it. Mr. Bander, I'll make your proposition. I won't promise anything. But I'll listen. Leave here now and sail down the coast away and stay till nightfall. Then come back as soon as it's dark and I'll let you expose me to your arts content. In fact, you might say, Mr. Bander, I'll even welcome it. There's nothing else to do. That salvage ship found who I was, I'd be in it for good. They'd know by now that we'd file a false report about the position of a wreck as we could get the girls for ourselves. They'd put me in the brig for sure. And if I tried to leave with Bander, he'd turn me into the first British resident we came across. Ah, I had no chance at all at the 40,000. If I stayed here, like it's not, I'd end up parceled amongst a hundred eaves and stomachs. But I had one chance at showing that blink and mamala as how he weren't the only one that knew a thing or two. I finally took Bander in to leave and then about dusk, mamala and the boys came back. Understand that nosy man Bender was snooping around here this afternoon, George. Know anything about it? Bender, eh? Oh, that's who it was. I saw him prowl around the clearing, but he didn't come inside the odd. I'd have given him what for if he had. It's a good thing he didn't. It's a blasted nuisance. Always interfering with established customs of the people. Like which doctors, eh, mamala? God is too short. He'd do for you quick and he would be. Eh, why don't the boys just eat it? Oh, no, no. That would be too dangerous. He'd be missed and they'd send gunports. Not to tell around here somewhere, is he? No. Women say he sailed on south. Good. I'd just as leave not meet him face to face. He was for him with that face you're wearing. Ah, and I'm now under being fed up with wearing it. Uh, mamala me, aren't he? I'll make you a proposition. Mm-hmm. What kind of proposition, George? Why don't you take over being God? And, uh, what would you be doing if that happened? I'll leave me some food and water in one of the boats and soon as it's dark I'll cut and run for it. It'll be easy for you to get the gold that way. All right. You can have the old forty-thousand. You're a kinder off-duty ambassador, George. Anyways, uh, suppose when I was up and dyes, I'd explain my body to the boys. Mm-hmm. I have been thinking about that, but I hadn't figured it out yet. I was wondering if you hadn't been... You know a thing or two, don't you, George? Enough to know you weren't going to share with me unless you had to. Frankly, you're right. This may be the best way. I'd have my little brethren right under my thumb. You're out of my way with no need for explanation. All right, George. I'll keep the boys away from the clearing so you could make your break. Both of you ready in half hour. Good luck. Always working out just as nice as you please. I made my break all right, but I wasn't ready for any boat. No, sir, not me. At least twice. Not yet. I hid myself in the jungle if he had to the clearing. Then I waited. After a while, the savages started drifting back into the clearing and, pretty soon, Mammala, all dressed up in Jimmy Goggle came out and sat in front of the hut, the way I'd been doing every night. And the Bloomin' Ethan started in bow and down, all just as usual. I waited a long time before I finally heard it. The commotion started over at the far edge of the clearing and coming closer. It was Bender and his boy, Friday, walking through the crowd to where Jimmy Goggle sat with Mammala inside him. The crowd moved aside and let him pass, but you could tell they were just waiting for that one-eyed god of theirs to knock him down there. He stopped in front of the hut. All right, I'm back. Before you carry out your part of the bargain and take off that... Get out, you fool! I didn't really believe you were honest. All right, Thomas, tell the natives this is nothing but a man dressed up. What are you looking at? What are you looking at? What are you looking at? What are you looking at? What are you looking at? Limey and Bender didn't jump on the Mammalins' doctrine at the front of the diving suit, and all the time that Ethan, which doctor, kept trying to fight him off. And it seemed as though Mammala hadn't known how to fasten the armrest properly, because suddenly it slipped back on his shoulders, and there he was. They faced them savages who as well as their own offspring. And they didn't like it even one little bit. All right, they'd been taken in by one of their hometown boys, so to speak, and they weren't for having any. They didn't arm Bender, man, but they shoved him off to one side. They made one grand rush from Mammalins, and they got it. And blimey, what had been said wasn't sound like uncivilized. I cut and run for it and tumbled into that boat and shoved off. I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for old Mammala, so it wasn't as if he hadn't eaten his own share of human beings. And of course he certainly wasn't a man who could be trusted at all. Well, it was a long time after, before I heard how Mr. Bender made up. It seems as though he couldn't get them blues and blooming evens, so listen to him at all. And one day he hit on the idea of climbing into that diving suit, and from then on he had a crowd around every time he'd open his mask. As far as I know, old Jimmy's goggles may still be down there summer, but his battered copper head, and his rummy smell, and his one glass eye, he may still be doing business. But I stand there at the same old stand.