 You, finding life, Ravadal, dreaming again of exotic places, wishing you were somewhere else. We offer you escape. Escape with us now to the western Pacific and the story of a man trapped by the terror of another man's insane dream. As Millard Kaufman tells it in his exciting story, The Island. The problem was what could I do with Robert Lacy? You happen to have a dream book handy with all the charts and categories precisely arranged in alphabetical order. In it you'll find a dream for loneliness about girls in soft summery dresses. You'll find a dream for hunger, a two-pound steak perhaps smothered all over with lamb chops. Here are dreams for the traveler of a hometown far away and long ago. But find me a dream of a place you've never seen, a place that doesn't exist. Awake or asleep, that was Lacy's dream. Corporal Robert Lacy's 2nd Battalion 4th Marines. A harmless enough dream, I guess, and not to be taken seriously. Or so it seemed until that night when Lacy's dream became my problem. May it was, 1945, in a little wood on Okinawa. Okay, de Bore, I guess we're safe. Where are we anyhow? Oh, couple of three miles behind the Jap lines. So how safe is that? You worry too much, pal. Even for a guy on his first patrol. I've been thinking of it as my last day. Relax like me, you'll live forever. What's that? Yeah, it's nothing. Just a screamin' memeie. Got some kind of a tail adjustment that cuts the wind and sorta screams. Nips shoes are to scare us. Well, they sure succeed. You scare easy, don't you pal? Yeah, sure. I'm a pushover for that Shreklikite stuff. Shreklikite? What kind of jive's that? It means terror, fright for us. The Germans got a whole arsenal of terror weapons. Well, the Japs got a few of themselves. Yeah, what do you say we sack in? Here? That's as good as the next place. What a lash-up. Three miles behind Jap lines. Got no more chance of gettin' back tonight and crawling through the hole in the lifesaver. Get knocked off, we try. You take a first watch, I'm gonna sack him. You goin' to sleep? Oh, mate. Oh, maybe I'll just sit down here and do a little dream for a while. You sure pickin' a fine time for it. Ain't I ever tell you about my island? Yeah, you told me. Well, there's this island, see? You must've told me 50, 60 times in the past month. Well, I'm gonna tell you again. This island, it's sort of a special place. There's no rain, no jungle rot, no war. Just a quiet, cozy spot where a man can lay down under a banyan tree and live off the fat of the land. There is no such place. A man that never go hungry. All you gotta do is fish a little bit with the natives and they'll all be big men and they'll be friendly, not like the nips. And all the women will be beautiful. You read too many comic books. Yeah, that's where I'm fixin' to go as soon as I find it. Never gonna go back stateside. Just gonna lay down under that little banyan tree. I'll let him rave on. What else could I do, argue with him? There I was, three miles deep in enemy lines with a strange yell. His eyes narrowed in a thousand-yard stare. His Russia words like a nervous twitch. He raved on about a place that don't exist with big men and beautiful women. I found myself listening sorta hypnotized and I learned something about corporal lacy and what combat weariness means. He'd forage too long among the rotten, bomb-scarred pebbles of the Pacific. He'd seen too much death, too many crack-outs. He himself was half-cracked and slightly dead, barely held together by the taut and twisted wires of his dream. So what could I do, argue with him? I'm gonna eat roast wild pig and pineapple and bat the breeze with the people and there's gonna be cattle on the island too. I'm gonna find me a beautiful girl and I'm... Tabari. Yeah. Yeah, I'm listening. Look, Tabari, out there. Coming toward us. No, no, over there. About two o'clock, you see it? A bunch of them. No, it's not a bunch, it's just four. Three men and a woman. They're heading right for us. Hey, put down that rifle. What's the matter, you flipper or something? They're not Japs. Men are too big. It's funny, though. Woman with them. Maybe his eyes were better than mine, but how could I trust that brain of his all-fested with dreaming? But I tell you, they're not Japs. And that woman is beautiful. If I had only listened to Lacey then if I had only known. But Japs are no Japs, I was taking no chances. I raised my rifle and... Knock it off, you jerk. You hit the woman. Lacey, where are you going? I'm gonna see if she's hurt bad. Now come on. Go, Lacey, you know the Japs. It might be a trick. Don't worry about me. Well, you let go of my arm. You get yourself killed. Not me, Tabori. I live to spit in your grave. Now let go of me. Okay, I hope you know what you're doing. I just don't want to get involved in your cockamamie dreams. Dreams? It's no dream, Tabori. You'll find out. Okay, Lacey. So where is she? It's funny. Must be around here somewhere. Maybe she... What's that? She's coming from over there. Come on. Now here she is. She's scared of us. It's all right, lady. Go away. Go away. No, we ain't gonna hurt you, lady. I hurt you. I hurt you. Maybe she's armed. Now, she's bluffing. Break out your first-aid kit. Here. And it's a boy. Now, look, lady. Let me fix your arm, huh? See? We got bandages and adhesive tape and penicillin. She don't get what you're talking about. She gets the idea, all right. That's right, lady. Now, this is not gonna hurt you a little bit. And we put it around there. You just got nicked a little, that's all. Just a flesh wound. She trusts you. Yeah, she trusts me more than you do. Didn't I tell you she was beautiful? You told me a lot of things. How about the men she was with, the big men? She was with them and they weren't japs. Not japs and a pig's eye not japs. No. No, they're not japs. Yeah, they are, you see. And what were they? They were how you say my people. Who are you? What are you? What's your name? Name, Taki. I am... I know I can't say in English, but... But please go away. Please, you go away fast. Now, you scared her again. Now, it's gonna be all right, Taki. You just come over. No, I go home. I must go home. Sir, go home, scram, lose yourself. Oh, no, you don't. Let her alone, Lacey. You keep out of this. Then let her go. Let her get back to her rice paddies. You still don't catch Tabore. She ain't from Okinawa? She's from that island I was telling you about. Look, Lacey, I don't care if she's from Mars. I'm not from Mars? No kidding. Also, I'm not from Okinawa. What? I'm from Yakachi. Yakachi Shima. Shima, there, you see? Shima means an island. Yes, an island. Then what are you doing here? I do not know. The Japanese brought us in Kanu. She's crazy and you are. Shut up. Taki, where is your island? Where is Yakachi? In East, in China Sea. Half day from Okinawa by Kanu. Kanu. What's it like, Taki? What's your island like? Not a mighty island. Let's find a Kanu. Don't you see, Lacey, with the Kanu, we can get back to our lines by water. I think maybe you got something there. Taki. Taki, can you find the Kanu? I think I can. Then let's go. She led us on through the wood. A lopsided moon came up and its ray filtered through the clouds and down through the jagged trees. In the moonlight, she was like one of those porcelain figurines, delicate with a peculiar tint to her skin unlike anything I'd ever seen before. The shade of waxed ivory, ancient ivory. Her hair was long and black and drawn tight over her head. She was straight and slim and she walked with dignity. She was beautiful. As beautiful as a dream. Lacey's dream. But dreams don't come true, not like this. Yet here she was just the way he described her. And the three men in the island, I couldn't figure it out. And just then I hadn't the time because... Lacey, listen to that. What? Taki led us down a slope to the water. There were Kanus and leaning against a prow at two centuries. They were safe, they thought. Three miles behind their lines snug as two bugs in a mosquito net. They were so safe they didn't know what... Get in the canoe. Okay, you push us off to Bury. Yeah. Come on. All right, you take a bow. Sit down, Taki. Where to? Straight out in the channel. You know what I think, to Bury? I think we're gonna make it. Okay, to Bury. We can take it easy now. I'm not taking it easy until we cross up a remedy. Yeah? Well, just how you gonna tell at night? Will you zip, old lighter? Oh, lay off. Maybe you think I got neon signs, huh? Well... Maybe we'll see a landmark or something. Yeah. Trouble is, distance isn't fool you at night. We're liable to paddle into a platoon of nips. What do we do, Lacey? We'll stand by the morning and head for our convoy. We'll ride ashore in style and on LST. I don't know. I think it'd be better... Well, look, whatever you think you're outvoted. You've outvoted two stripes to one. Pulling rank corporal? Why not, knucklehead? This ship's got one skipper and I'm it. You are, Lacey. If I want any stuff out of you, I'll knock it out of you. I'm warning you, don't follow up this detail. So what was I gonna do? Argue with him? Start a private firefight in the middle of the China Sea? I was getting a little combat worry myself. Lacey. He was all charged up as though his crazy dream had come true. Lying on the narrow deck of the canoe I could hear, Lacey. The more I heard, the more confused I got. And it's not like the other islands, is it, Tucky? It's different. You gotcha. Yeah, yeah. I wish I could tell you how... Oh, I know, I know. It's pretty, huh? It's very pretty, but... Is the fishing good? It's good. And we hop pigs. Yeah? Cows? Good cows. Oh, I knew it, I knew it. Cows and pigs. And Lacey getting all hopped up about them. That's the last thing I remembered. I guess I fell asleep. And then suddenly it was daylight. Tabore? Hey, look, Tabore. What? Look over there. What do you see? An island. Just an island. It's not just an island. That's my island. What's so special about it? Well, look at it. Look at it. You see, it's surrounded by mist, just like I said. Tell it to the troops when we get back to Okinawa. Stand by for a ram, Tabore. We ain't going back to Okinawa. Now, wait a minute. I don't want any more trouble out of you. Then don't make any, or I'll... You looking for your rifle? Don't bother. Because I got it right here. You get up forward. You're crazy. Move! You know, you're flirting with a purple heart. That's it, boy. All right, now lean on that paddle. That's right. We're heading for your gotcha. Escape, under the direction of Norman MacDonald, returns in just a moment. Motorists, the next time you put your foot down on the accelerator, tread easy. Remember that excess speed is the cause of most highway accidents. And pedestrians, the next time you start to cross the street between intersections, stop and think. Crossing between intersections is the most dangerous thing you can do. Whether walking or driving, be careful. The life you save may be your own. And now, back to escape. I can now scrape the coral beach at Yagachi about four hours later. It was a lovely island with terraced hills and patches of tilled soil checkering the greenery. Well, here we are. Sins believe it, aren't they, Bury? Funny. So close to Okinawa, this place looks like it never heard a shot fired in anger. Where are your people, Taki? Long way over hills, but you must not come. You go back now. Oh, no, not me. I'm sticking around. How about you, Bury? You can't miss, Farah. I'll sweat it out just for the laughs. What do you mean? Just a figure of speech, Taki. Let's go. So there I was, caught up in Lacey's dream when all the time I should have taken off at Highport for Okinawa. I should have known better, but I didn't. And what you don't know can hurt you. Plenty. Hey, look. Look at that cow. I could eat her down to the hooves. I tell you, I'm gonna live off the fat of the land. The trail's snaked upward. The lilies and casserinas rattled in the sweet, strong wind from the China Sea. Their cones lay along the footpath and in the fields were raspberry bushes. There were lilies in the sword grass and scarlet flowers. All very nice, I suppose. But I was looking for people, the big men of Lacey's dream, the girls all as lovely as a girl beside us. I was tense with expectancy at each bend in the trail, but Lacey's tensions had vanished. That's them because he'd found Taki. Robert Lacey. Oh, Taki. My name's Lacey. Now try it again. Lacey. L. Like in, uh, this is a lily. You are a lady. You're a local. Tabori, I'm gonna slug you. You're so funny, Lacey, when you're mad. Oh, you laugh nice, Taki. It is first time in five years. It is first time I have been here. Maybe. Maybe you was waiting for me to make you happy like I was waiting for you. What do you mean, Lacey? Well, I... I mean, here. This is for you. Why you give me flower? I love you, Taki. No. No, you cannot. But why, Taki? You don't know. I don't know how to say, but you don't know me. Oh, I know you. I've been dreaming about you for two years. I always knew I'd find you. I never forget what you say. I'll never let you forget. Oh, Lacey. Oh, Lacey, honey. L, like in love. They walked on together, the tall marine and the slim girl with the ivory skin, with the flower in her hand. Now and then she'd look at the flower and then she'd look at Lacey in a paint expression clouded her face as though she didn't understand. But I did. I had to witness the refuge in a dream. Very soon now that dream would burst like a bubble but become reality. I had to find out. Huh. Man, what a climb. Be easier for you if you give me back my rifle. Now, don't you worry about me. I'll get back. Hey, we got it licked. There's the summit. Yeah. It is highest point on Yogashi. See, down there, far away in Bali. Hey, look. Look at him. They're my people. I told you they were big men. How can you tell from this distance? Well, look how broad they are. Funny how they're all in a bunch. Hey, listen. Yeah, maybe it's a... sort of a ceremony or something, huh? It is. Maybe it's for us. I bet they know we're coming. No. It is... for dead. What happened, you suppose? A war? The war not here. My people die. Everybody's people die. It's got to happen sooner or later. Yes. Sooner... or later. It's like I always say. Here today and come tomorrow. I never heard it so well put. Oh, drop dead. Dad, dry up. Let's go talking. We went down the mountainside, down to a Cape that jutted into the Pacific like a gnarled finger of doom. Far away we saw a village. We headed toward it through the sunless gorge that the far end was a thatched hut. It looks like it's empty. As any fool could see. Wait here. I'll come back soon with Headman. He speaks English good. You, uh... you're gonna stay here with me? Don't worry. No, Lacey. One good look at your big men and beautiful women in their native habitat. Then I'm off for Okinawa. You still want proof, huh? Yeah. There's something strange about this place. I want to know what it is. It's not strange. It's just different, like I said. You're all fouled up in a dream, Lacey. I'm not sure what it's all about, but I gotta find out. It'll drive me crazy the rest of my life. You mean crazy like me? I didn't say that. You were giving me a bad time. It was mutual. Now you call me crazy. I know what I said. I know what you think. And I know what you'll do. Once you get back to Okinawa, you'll tell the MPs I went over the hill. And you'll tell them where I am. And they'll come after me. You are crazy. I'm just crazy enough to make sure you keep your trap shut. You remember Tabore? I said I'd be around to spit in your grave. Lacey, stop kidding around with that rifle. I ain't kidding. No question about it. He wasn't kidding. He slid back the bolt of his rifle and it sprang forward a cartridge in the chamber. I'm gonna kill you, Tabore. But first you're gonna see I was right. I want to see the expression on that smart alec face of yours when you admit it. And then I'm gonna kill you. Now get back in that corner. And keep your mouth shut. You, uh, you the head man? I suppose you could call me that. His name Hiroshi. What can I do for you? Well, I... I, uh... I want to stay here. Well, talking. I'm afraid you can't. Well, I'll work my way, you know that. That is not the point. Look, I don't want no arguments out of you. You cannot stay here. But why can't I? She is a leper. Well, she's so beautiful. I know, son. But in three years. Five years. Taki? I'm sorry. Taki. So am I. I... I tried to tell you, but I not know how. And... And then I could not, even if I want to. I wanted to... to rest one more hour, one more minute. They stood there facing each other. The tall marine and the girl with the ivory skin with the flower still in her hand. The flower already beginning to wilt. Goodbye, Raston. Goodbye. Thank you for... for the flower. That's all right. I never forget you. I won't forget either. It was like a dream come true. For a while it was. Rashi, what's this all about? It is quite simple. Two nights ago, the Japanese came to the leper colony. They took more than half my patients to Okinawa, headed toward the American lines. Why? To disrupt your advance. There was no chance of contagion, but well, my patients aren't all as lovely as Taki. I see. Shrecklish kind. Exactly. A weapon of terror. Tabori? Yeah, L.I.C.? I... I guess we better move out, huh? Are you ready, pal? Yeah. Long road back to Okinawa. For me, the road back is longer than that. Under the direction of Norman MacDonald, Escape has brought you the island by Millard Kaufman, starring Harry Bartell and Bill Conrad with Michael Ann Barrett and Edgar Berrier. The special music for Escape is composed and conducted by Leith Stevens. Next week, Escape with us to the most evil city in the Orient and the story of a beautiful but unscrupulous woman who ruled it. As Herb Perdom tells it in his exciting tale, McCow. He's coming up next on most of these same CBS stations, yours truly, Johnny Dollar. You want to hear every exciting minute of the fairway matter in which 13 die when one man is marked for murder. It's one of Johnny Dollar's most exciting insurance investigations in which he turns in a masterful expense account as well as masterful deduction. Stay tuned for yours truly, Johnny Dollar, next on most of these same CBS stations, Roy Rowan speaking. This is CBS where you meet Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons every Thursday night, the Columbia Broadcasting System.