 Adventures by Morse, Carlton E. Morse presents Dead Men Proul 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. The terror which has been spread over the village of Holman by the apparent uprising of three dead men has reached a new climax. The corpse of old Doc Sims has struck twice. The body of the dead Andrew Walters has attempted a murder of its own, and the body of the murdered half-wit boy has shown all the activity of an inspired spirit of evil. Captain Friday and Dr. Jamie Croft thought at one time today that they had all the corpses corralled and under control, and then everything broke loose. Let the captain tell you. Dr. Croft and I tied the dead body of Doc Sims to a sofa and locked it in the study of his own house. We recaptured the corpse of the murdered half-wit Hartley boy and locked it in a closet at the Andrew Walters' house. Walters' body was supposed to be in the morgue. The excitement of the prowling dead had upset the four young people. They were the cousins, Carmela and Andres Ruiz, and the brother and sister Gail and Martin Stanley. Well, when we quieted them down and established them in my cottage, Dr. Croft and I returned to examine Doc Sims' body. To our amazement, we found the study door smashed down from the inside and the corpse of Doc Sims gone. The ropes that had bound him were lying on the floor, snapped and broken as though by superhuman strength. From there, they rushed up the street to Andrew Walters' house, expecting to find the murdered half-wit's body also done, but it was still locked in the closet. Captain Friday bent over the body when suddenly Dr. Croft yelled a warning, and then there was the crash of wood on skull and a deep void of blackness. Doctor. Dr. Croft. What's happened? It's so blame-dark. Oh, where am I? What's happened? Dr. Croft, is that you, Captain Friday? Are you hurt? It's so dark I can't see a thing. I was knocked out. What makes it so dark? We're locked in some kind of a closet. Locked in? Are you badly hurt? No, it's just my head. Oh, it feels like it's bursting. Yeah, same here. Captain, what happened to us? Don't know any more than you do. I was bending over the body of the heart, lay boy. Last I remember was you yelling, look behind your Captain. What did you see, Doctor? That's right. Now I remember. I saw something creeping up behind us. I just caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye when something hit me, and I tried to warn you. Looks like we were hit over the head and shoved into the same closet. We had the half-wit's body locked in. About the same size. You sure were locked in. I haven't tried the door, but if anybody would take the trouble to dump us in, they'd certainly lock the door. I suppose so. Feeding the way I do, I don't seem to care much. Feeding the way I do, I care a lot. Oh, I think I can stand. Yeah, I can stand, but that's about all. Oh, wobbly. We're locked in all right. Well, we don't seem to hang on to the bodies of either dark sins or the half-wit in spite of our precautions. It's a funny business, Doctor. You think anybody with a brain could corral and hang on to two or three corpses? Think you can stand up, Doctor? Perhaps. If there's any necessity. There's plenty of necessity. Come on. We're going to get out of here. We are? Sure. I don't want to grow old in here, do you? No, but I... All right, come on then. We're going to smash in the door. Oh, a scarcely room to move. Well, we can brace our feet against the back wall and push. You think it can be done? Why not? It's a pine door. If we can't break the lock, we can break through a panel. Well, that's right by all means. Oh, wait a minute. Let me take a crack at it with my shoulder first. Sure, she'll give. Felt her bulge. Now, Doctor, you put your shoulder against it here. Brace your feet against the wall and push with all you've got in you. I'm going to lay into it with my shoulder. You know where I'm going to like when it does give, don't you? That's all right. You've got good padding there. Ready? All ready. Now! I felt it give, Captain. We'll get it. Oh, it's giving, Captain. It's giving. Now, one smaller. Look out, Doctor! Head over heels. What did I tell you? Yeah. I'd like to have had a picture of you. Yeah, just the same. We're free and that's most important. Well, maybe the boy's body's gone all right. Everything in the room's just as we left it. Yes. Well, I'm a son of a gun. Now what? Look at the clock. We've been laid out in that closet two hours. Joe, we must have been given some potent knockout drops. Two hours? Those kids we left at my cottage will be scared silly. Come on, let's get over to them double quick. I hope they haven't been foolish enough to go looking for us. I'd cut across the lot here. Now, we told them we'd be back for lunch. They'll know something when haywire. We warned them explicitly, though. Not leave the cottage. My eye, Captain, you've got me doing a dog trot and the way I feel. Yeah, and I'm worried. Hey, look. There's a light in the front room of the cottage. Oh, God. Well, that means someone's there. Anyway, that Andres Reese Boy seems to have a pretty level head on him. Yeah, so has Gail Stanley. You can't tell what her brother Martin might panic him into doing. Hey, look. The door's standing wide open. Joe, what's that I smell? Come on, Doctor. Something's wrong. Andres, come out. Where is everybody? Something's burning in the kitchen. Yes, definitely from the kitchen. Hey, Doctor Croft, come out here in the kitchen. Yeah. Phew. What's all this smoke? Hey, look. They went away and left things cooking on the fire. Everything's burned to the pans. You sent off the gas? Yeah. Another half hour and the whole house would have been on fire. And with three supposedly dead men prowling around, I don't like it. Great heavens, Captain. You're not suggesting the corpse of one of our three dead men has harmed them? I don't know what to think, but I know one thing. They went out of their own accord. They'd have slipped on their coats. Come on. Let's have a look. You're quite right. That should give us a clue. We'll give their baggage the once over. Hey, Doctor, look in the bathroom. My medicine case. Someone must have been hurt. Cause cotton bandages scattered about. Someone rushed in here and grabbed things in a hurry. Doctor, where did you have your medical bag? By the bed in my room. Why? Go and see if it's still there. I don't see what you're getting at, but I'll soon tell you. Might as well have a look for their coats. Eh, I don't get it. Even if they were worried, they wouldn't go searching for us with medicine and bandages. They wouldn't do landless. Hey, I wonder. Captain. Captain. Where are you? In the bedroom, Doctor. I say, Captain, you're right. My medical bag gone with the rest. Here's her. Now the girls' coats are gone too. What does it mean? I'd say it means that they left of their own accord. But my medicine case and the emergency supplies from your cabinet. Eh, it doesn't add up. Do you suppose someone of the four was hurt? They may have rushed him to a doctor. Nearest doctors and Sorcelito. Besides, they know you're a medical man. They'd have come hunting us. Yeah, that's quite likely. Besides, they wouldn't take your medical case along. Not true. Looks to me like they had some inkling of some accident and rushed out to give first aid. That's it, of course. But, but see here, they wouldn't have dashed off like they did, all four, I mean. One of the boys might have gone, but... Everything here indicates that they were terribly upset. Exactly how they'd act, Doctor, if... If what? If the accident had occurred to one or both of us. Show, yes. Well, that doesn't make sense either. They couldn't have known we were hit over the head and locked in a closet. Anyway, we didn't need bandages. Hmm, it doesn't hold together. See here, Doctor. We've got to get looking for those kids. Yes, of course, but I... But before we can start looking, we've got to figure this thing out as nearly as we can. We've got to work on some sort of a theory. I haven't the faintest idea of one, though. I have. Supposing someone came to the house and said we were badly hurt. Oh, see, here, but we're... Just support it, Doctor. And supposing... Supposing they told them we were about to pass out and... To grab medical supplies and follow him to a certain place. Show? But... But with what object? I'd lure him away from the cottage. Captain, I believe you... Now, this is only a theory. Oh, it's good enough for me. Where do you think we should begin looking? This business is centering around Doc Simms and Andrew Walters' houses. They're both empty. Only ones in the village not lived in. But we just came from Walters' house. Yeah, I know. Look, come on. We'll go to Simms' place first. Are you armed, Doctor? No. Well, here, take this gun. It's small, but effective. But you? Oh, I've got my regular. Come on, Doctor. We haven't had any opportunity to shoot so far, but if my theory is any good, it won't be long. I've never shot a man, Captain. Yeah. It's not so different from sticking a knife in him. Being a surgeon, you've had plenty of that sort of experience. Oh, look here. That's a bit offensive. Can't found this fog. It's getting worse and worse. Gonna last all day. You know, Doctor, another reason why Doc Simms' place is a good spot to start the hunt is that the kids knew we were going over there. They'd go there without giving it a second thought. Shall we take the path through the vacant lot? Yeah. How's your head now? So much excitement. I've forgotten all about it. Looks like it's gonna be pretty skinny pickens for the coroner's jury tomorrow. We only got one of our three corpses to put on exhibition. Going to be rather an unhappy affair, I'm afraid. Yeah, bad. For the village in its temper, no telling what'll happen. No more mob scenes, I hope. Not while I'm constable. Say, what's the meaning of that light in the morgue? Light? Yeah. You just see it through the fog. Hey, we might find some answers in the morgue. Don't suppose one of us left the light on, do you? No, I don't. Come on. I'm gonna have a look. But see here, what about those four? They may be in bad trouble. Sure. This may be a clue to it. I don't follow you, Captain. You're not used to following hunches, Doctor. That's my meat. Better have your gun handy. He is the door locked? Yeah. Come on in, Doctor. The light's on in the back where the slab is. That door's closed. Joe, Captain, it's dark in here. Yeah. Very chills the blood. Now then, I'm gonna open the door. Ready? Perhaps it's a trap. We've got the American advantage. We'll be in the dark in here. Crutch down lower. Righto. Careful now. There. There's... there's no one in there. It doesn't look like it. Come on. Let's have a look around. Keep that gun handy, Doctor. Captain. Captain Friday. Where's the body of Andrew Walters? What's that? Andy Walters body gone again? This is a great little morgue. Can't get a corpse to stay in it. It isn't decent. Not a single corpse to exhibit at our inquest tomorrow. Telling you the minute I lay my hands on that collection of corpses again, I'm gonna stick them down in that refrigeration room and freeze them up so solid that... Say, Doctor, we haven't looked down there yet. Haven't looked where? Down in the basement, the refrigeration room for dead bodies is more than one way to commit murder. There's a refrigeration room in the basement of the miniature morgue in the village of Holman. It's the one place Captain Friday has not thought to look for the missing young people. After all, there are less than 30 houses in the whole village, and that allows little room for making four grown people vanish as completely as have Carmel, Andres, and Martin and Gale. But the basement of the morgue could also be a booby trap. That's the door leading downstairs, Doctor. Ah, are you going down, Captain? Sure. Come on, be on your guard. There's a light down there, I suppose. Yeah, switch at the head of the stairs, lights the stairway. Another switch at the foot lights the ante room leading to the refrigeration room. Why? I'm just wondering if we could be trapped in the door. No, not a chance. Be careful, though. Stand away from the door. Yes. Well, here goes. Somebody took a shot. Listen. Someone falling downstairs. Yeah, one inch lower and I'd have had my head blown off. Where? They don't shoot again. Looks like he took one shot and beat it. Fell downstairs trying to make a quick getaway. How can you stand there so calm, Captain? That was a pretty close call. Never mind about that. I'm going down after that guy. Captain, you're not. I'll see, I am. You stay right here. Nothing of the kind. You need help. It's my funeral. No funeral if I can help it. Add a boy, Doctor. Yeah, come on. We'll go down the stairs with the lights out. Go ahead. I'm with you. Don't follow me too close. We don't want to collide and give ourselves away. I'll watch. Come on. What's this? A wood beam murderer dropped his gun. You found his gun? Yeah. The fella got away so fast he left it behind. So much the worse for him. Let's go on. Coming. Yes. You're plenty quiet. You should have been a burglar. Here we come to the bottom of the stairs. Haven't heard a sound, have you? We'll have to feel our way in the dark. Okay. Come on. Is there another exit from the basement? No. Doctor. Yes? Just bumped into one of our corpses. I can tell by the feel. Captain, are you sudden? Sure. It's all in a heap. This must be the chap that fired at me. That had explained the gun. Who is it? Just a second. It's the half-wit Hartley boy. What are you going to do with him? Leave him here for the moment and go on. But Captain... I'll stay here and watch beside him. If you wish. Looks like we'd found their hangout, all right. Whose hangout? Hangout of these dead bodies. Looks like this is where our corpses have been hiding out. You talk as though you thought we were fighting the dead. Looks like it doesn't. Looks like this chap was set to guard the head of the stairs. Imagine the others will be around close by. I'm going on ahead and turn on the light. Captain, you don't know what you're walking into. I can shoot as fast and as straight as the next guy. You stay here and wait for me. There's the light. Dr. Croft, come here quick. What do you see? Come here and take a look. What is it now? I want an exhibition. Can you imagine it? That Andrew Walters stretched out there on the floor on his stomach. What's that? A rifle in his hand? Yeah, 30-30. Pointed right at the foot of the stairs. But he's dead. You can tell by the way he holds the weapon. Yes. He's dead or he'd have taken a pop at us. Look at old Doc Sims slumped down over there against the door to the refrigeration room. Talk about the army of the dead on guard. Give you the shivers. There never was anything like it in the world, Captain. It's just as though they had set themselves to die fighting to protect that room and then all protect that room. Doctor, you don't suppose they've got those four kids in that refrigeration room? Those four children. Froze. Get that body out of the way. Door's locked. We've got to get in there. Do you suppose Doc Sims has a key on him? Yeah, yeah, maybe. Yeah, let's see. Hurry, Captain. Hurry. The first time I ever rolled a dead man. Find anything? Nothing here. Hey, maybe it's on the key ring I took from him yesterday. Good. Hurry. Hurry. That seems like a million keys on this thing. Can I help you? No, no, no. Stand out of the way. Here. This looks like it fit. Ah, no. It doesn't fit. It fits. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Try it on. No, no, no. That's too big. Here. Here it is. Here. Oh, holy mackerel. It's freezing in here. Captain Fryes. Andres, is that you? Captain, is that a light? Yeah, on the outside of the door. Here. In Heaven's name, Captain, look at them. Froze into death. Please. Please help us. Grab them, Doctor. Drag them out. Got to get them out quick. Gail's stand is still conscious, I think. Here, child. Don't move. I'll carry you. There, there. I've got Andres. Save Carmel. Please, I am all right. Save my little cousin. Yeah, we'll get her. Come on. Get young Stanley, Doctor. I'm after him now. Poor little tyke. Carmel's hardly breathing. We've got to get them into bed immediately, or we lose them all. What a way to die. Somebody's going to pay for this. See here, there's one of these, uh, ambulance tables. A what? A double deck table on wheels. I saw one on the main floor. We've got to get these four upstairs and onto it. We can wheel them all over to the cottage at once, then. Let's go. Take off your coat, wrap Carmel up the best you can, then carry our upstairs. Yeah, I've got her. Please, please, you do not need to carry me. You'd better wait, Andres. I'll be right back to give you a hand. If I couldn't stand and walk about to get my simulation to go again. You stand where you are, Andres. As soon as I get Miss Stanley upstairs, we'll attend to you boys. I left Carmel on the table, Doctor. Is there room for Miss Stanley on top alongside her? Yeah, I think so. Here, Andres, let me give you a hand. Please, no. You take Stanley first. He is worse off. All right, fella. Hang on. I'll be right with you. It is a bad way to die. This freeze. Charlie, there's a lot of meat on the sky, Stanley. I guess I'll have to ride upstairs on my shoulder. Please, please, Carmel going to be all right. Don't you worry about her, Andres. Oh, you've got Stanley, eh? Can I give you a hand? No, I'm all right, Doctor. Then I'll take Andres for chaffee suffering brutally. Please, you do not need to carry me. You just help me walk. Matter of fact, it'll be better for you if you can help yourself a bit. Help to stimulate the bloodstream. Now, right up those stairs. Ceaseless nerve. Sorry. Oh, no, no, Andres. Take it easy, lad. What? This most horrible thing? Who would do this? Then don't think about it. Don't think about it. Save your breath to get up these stairs. I cannot forget how Carmel, she cries so hard. There, there, no. Can you make this step? She is so young. Do you think I'm dying? Here, Doctor, let me give you a hand. Yep, here we are. Now then, hold yourself as stiff as you can, Andres. We'll shove you in beside Stanley. See, I understand. Yeah, there. And now then for the buggy ride. Thank heavens we have an easy approach to the road. Yeah, no curbing between here and the cottage. Wheels like a baby carriage. Do you want to lock the place up, Captain? Yeah. Well, look here, Doctor. Can you get along without me for a few minutes? Why? Why, I suppose so. Well, you go ahead. I'll run and catch up with her. What now? Please, if my cousin she is in danger, she will hurry? I, I, I don't dare to go too fast. Too many ruts here. It's too bad if we, if we tipped you over. Only, only a moment or now. And we'll be at the cottage. This is mercy. Okay, Doctor. I'm with you again. There you are. Couldn't see in the fog until I got right on top of you. All right, all right. Here we are. Get them all the house as fast as you can. Yeah, you bet. Great heavens, Captain. My medical case. I've got to have stimulants. Don't worry, I got it. Found it when I went back. Oh, Joe, what a fright. Here, here, get the unconscious ones in first. Then I can be working on them. Here, you take Carmel, I'll bring young Stanley. Yes, I can take her and still open the door. Think Stanley's going to come too, Doctor? Put him there on the floor before the fire when it's warm. Carmel's the hardest hit. I'll attend to her first. Here, go ahead, Doctor. I'll bring in the others. Stimulant to keep her heart action strong. Yes, this will do the work. What do you want, Miss Stanley, Doctor? Oh, put her beside her brother. And when you've got under her seat, gather blankets and roll them up. Better build up a big fire. Yeah, okay. Some party. Biggest attempted massacre I've ever been on. I'm afraid Carmel's going to have to take an awful beating before she comes around. There, there now. I better have a look at young Stanley. Lean on me. But I am bad. Oh, come on, don't be so independent. Yeah. You've flied down here beside the others. I have never been so cold. How about Carmel, Doctor? Come here, Captain. Yeah? What is it, Doctor? She's very low. I've given her an injection, but I don't know. Hey, you're not giving up hope. Shhh. Please? Please, what is it? No, you've done it. Doctor, do that. Tell me something. No, no, no, no. Andres, Andres. Carmel's going to be all right. You see, this is no time for sentiment. We've got to slap and massage her rather sharply now to get the blood flowing. I understand. Her whole body, Andres. You understand, Andres. We've got to get the blood to flowing. You, you mean whipper? Exactly. Whip and massage, warmth, back into her body. Here's a bunch of blankets, Doctor. Hey, look. Stanley's coming around. Here. Give them each a drink of this. Okay. I'm having a juice of a time getting Carmel out of these frozen pearls, though. Ah, fair. Now then, I can work. I have a name, Doctor. Not so hard. Keep Andres quiet, Captain. Yeah, what's the matter, fella? It's for her own good. My foot. I say, Captain, why did you go back into the morgue? Why did you stay behind? I dragged our three corpses into the refrigeration room and locked the door on them. But, Captain, what if they're still alive? You can't freeze them like butchers mean. What did Andres mean? Does he really believe there is life in those three dead bodies Captain Friday locked in the freezing chamber in the basement of the morgue? It goes against all the rules of physiology. But Captain Friday may yet be sorry for his actions against those three. Listen next week to chapter eight of Dead Men Proud, which is entitled The Prowler with the Rope Around His Neck. You are listening to Adventures by Morse.