 Tales of the Texas Rangers starring Joel McRae as Ranger Jase Pearson. Another authentic re-enactment of a case transcribed in the files of the Texas Rangers. This is in the following story are fictitious for obvious reasons. The events themselves are a matter of record. Before we bring you today's Tales of the Texas Rangers, let's turn on our microphones down the hall in Studio A here at NBC's Hollywood Radio City, where rehearsal for the Phil Harris Alice Faye show is in progress. Yeah, now that's the way we'll do it on the show. It sounded great, fellas. Phil, would you like to talk to the listeners during this break and rehearsal? Yeah, Bill, I'd love to. Folks, I'd just like to take a few seconds here to remind you about part of the fine lineup of entertainment for the rest of the evening right here on NBC. Right after Tales of the Texas Rangers, listen to the big show with Tallulah Bankhead and all of her darling guest stars. I know you'll want to hear the music and comedy. The big show is lined up for you today. And then we come on to keep you entertained with our show, starring Alice Faye, Frankie Remly, Julius Abruzio, and some band leader, Phil, what's his name? Well, please, will you slow up a minute? It's the Phil Harris Alice Faye show right after the big show today, and I hope you'll listen, folks. And now let's return to Tales of the Texas Rangers. And now, from the files of the Texas Rangers, the case called Dream Farm. It is 7.40 p.m. June 12, 1941. On a deserted stretch of highway through a thinly populated area of Texas, a sedan pushes to the southwest, towing behind it a small, heavily loaded two-wheeled trailer. In the front seat of the car, there are three people, a man, his wife, and their 12-year-old son. Don't seem to be much in the way of people out here. Why an open country, all right? I think we're gonna like it here, Edel. Oh, I hope so. Here's waiting to see you. While last month when I was out here to close the deal, I swear I just wanted to start plowing right off. I got a feeling this farm's gonna be lucky for us. Well, I just hope we can make a go of it, that's all. Now, Ethel, we've been all through that. I know, John, but you can't blame me for being a little worried. After all, we spent our lives in Iowa. Here we are, moving to a strange place where we don't know a soul. Well, we'll make friends soon enough. You're real friendly, you'll see. Pa, I'm hungry. Well, that's one thing that ain't changed much from Iowa to Texas. We ought to be coming to a town soon, don't you think? Yeah, yeah, a town called Coronaville, not too far from here. We'll find a rest here pretty soon, Bobby. Just hold on a while longer. We're gonna keep driving all night, Pa. Well, I figure it might be best rather get the farm in the morning so as we can move in the daylight. Can I sleep on the back seat tonight? Sure you can. Hey, what's that? What? There's some fella signalling up again. Why, yes, there is someone. Now, what do you suppose? Looks like he's having car trouble. You're not gonna stop. Well, sure, why not? Will you look at that rear wheel? Hey, that must have been some blowout. You need some help? Yeah. John, I just as soon as you kept going. Now, Ethel, where's your Texas hospitality? Sure, it's all right, ma. How about a ride in the next gas station? Sure glad to take you. Get in the back. Never mind that. What? Get out. What you saying? You heard me. Get out of car, Holly. Hey, is that a real gun? Bobby, be quiet. Yeah, Bobby, be quiet. You won't get hurt. All right, I should go. No, no, no. Get out on this side, you. Well, we're getting out. Be careful with that thing. Yeah, yeah, I'll be real careful. What are you gonna do? Shut up. You. Hand me out your pockets. Me? I'm talking to no one else. Well, I don't get you, mister. What are you gonna do with us? Ain't you figured it out yet? Come on, lady, give me a purse. Now you, throw everything you've got in your pockets on the front seat. Hurry up. John, do what he tells you. Well, I... Yeah, that's more like it. All right, now back away in the car. You're just leaving us out here? What do you think? You ain't going nowhere with my car. John, be quiet. I won't. Everything we got in the world's in there. Be quiet, John, please. Yeah, yeah, do what the lady tells you. I'll show you what I'll do. You can't get away with you. I'm taking our car with you. You should listen to me. I thought you should have listened. Now I gotta kill you, too. No, please. The following morning, the three bodies were discovered by a state highway patrolman. The two adults were dead, but the boy, although unconscious, was still alive. He was rushed to the hospital in Coronaville and Sheriff King of Corona County was notified. The sheriff requested aid from the Texas Rangers. Ranger Jase Pearson was assigned. Yes, Sheriff. Oh, I don't mind telling you, I'm glad to see you. It's a bad one. Yeah, I heard. Why are they... Oh, come on, I'll show you. J.P. been out yet? Yeah, he ought to be along soon. Well, there they are, Jase. Not very pretty. No, never is. You've been over the area yet? Yeah, didn't find much. Went over the car for prints. Looks like there might be a couple of good ones there. Well, our lab crew will be out pretty soon. They'll check them. Hold your flash on the body, Sheriff. I want to have a look. How's that? Okay. Hmm. Powder burns on the clothing. He was shot from pretty close up. Yeah, same with the woman, Jase. The boy, too. You talk to him yet? The boy? Last I heard he was still unconscious. Is he gonna be all right? That's hard to tell you. Doc says he may come through okay. It's a tough break for the kid. These his folks? Yeah, I reckon they are. Aren't you sure? Not exactly. The hospital found this wallet in the boy's pocket, but these two had nothing on him. No papers, drivers, license, nothing. No money either, I suppose. Yeah, that's right. Let's see what you got from the kid. A library card from Clinton, Iowa, made out to Robert L. Wood. And here's a card from the Boy Scouts. True 47, Clinton, Iowa, made out to Robert L. Wood. I already notified the Clinton police, Jase. They're trying to find out if the boy was traveling with his folks. Hmm. What about this car, Sheriff? I noticed it's got Texas plates. Yeah. It's on the hot car last. Stolen a knife before last rindle. Killer could have taken their car when this one broke down. Rindville, you said. Mm-hmm. Up north. Figured the killer's heading south, Jase. Up to this point, he was. I think I'll go into town, Sheriff. The boy's conscious. I want to talk to him. Make the talk to him myself. I'll go along. On the way to the hospital, Austin radioed that the murder victims were probably the L. Wood's. The Clinton police had learned from a former neighbor that the family was moving to Texas. The Iowa Division of Motor Vehicle Registration supplied the make and license number of the L. Wood car and trailer. We relayed this information to all Texas law enforcement agencies. It was 3.40 a.m. when the sheriff and I arrived at the hospital. Robert L. Wood was out of his coma, but was still very weak. Robert, we want to ask you some questions. This is Sheriff King, and I'm Ranger Pearson. Texas Ranger. That's right. Tell me, son, do you remember what happened last night? Yeah. Man killed my pa. Where's Ma? I want to see her. Well, you can't right now, Robert. Why? I want to talk to her. Can you tell us what happened, son? He had a gun. He made pa take everything out of his pocket. He was going to take the car, and pa tried to stop him. Was it just one man? Uh-huh. Do you think you'd know him if you ever saw him again? I think so. Was he a tall man? Oh, wait. He thought he was as tall as pa. It'd be about 5.8, Jason. How about his hair, Robert? What color was it? He was dark. He kept falling in front of his eyes. Do you notice anything different about him? Any scars or anything like that? No. I don't remember anything. You remember what he was wearing? Uh-uh. Well, there's just one more thing, Robert. What about his voice? Was it high or low? I don't know. A guy in between. He was real. I reported Robert Elwood's description of the killer to headquarters and then turned in for some sleep. Two hours later, a phone call from Austin woke me up. The Elwood card had been found abandoned on highway 346 near Burton, Texas, about 100 miles away. Sheriff and I were there by 845. Patrolman Hartnett reported that when he'd found the card, about 7, it was out of gas. The trailer was missing. We started checking. I think I'll take a look through the glove compartment. When are you supposed he did with that trailer, Jason? Must have been slowing him down so he unhitched it. In fact, it'll turn up in the brush somewhere between here and Coronaville. Yeah, I reckon so. That patrolman said when he found the card, the motor was still warm. Yeah, killer must have left at around 6.30, maybe a little later. Yeah, and he's only a couple of hours ahead of us then. Hmm. Find something? Yeah. A bank book from the state bank in Clinton. The account was closed just four days ago on the 9th. $608.40. Hmm. Did he have it with him? I know he had it with him. The killer's probably got it. Look at this slip. It was stuck in the bank book. List of numbers. Serial numbers, record of traveler's checks. It's supposed to be filled out and kept in a safe place in case any of the checks are lost. He had 1050s. $500. Yeah, but you can see where he's checked off the top two numbers. Now he would probably cash those checks himself. And the killer's still got $400 worth. You don't think he'd take a chance and try to cash them? He might. $400. It's enough to tempt a man who'd shoot three people in cold blood. But he'd have to sign Elwood's name when he cased him. Match the signatures already on the checks. Well, he might even need identification. He's got identification. Don't forget the killer took Elwood's wallet. As for the signatures, well, a lot of people can be fooled. Yeah. One thing's certain. If he's going to cash them at all, he'll try to do it in a hurry. He's not going to hang on to them any longer than he has to. Then you reckon he's already good rid of them? I don't think so. He hasn't had much of a chance. Why not? He could have cashed them anywhere between here and Coronaville. He'd have a hard time cashing $400 worth of checks in an all-night restaurant. Banks is best bet. Yeah, but what bank? There'll be 50 of them in this county, opening in five minutes. If he left here at about 6.30 and got into Burton around 7, he might just wait for the banks to open there. We better get to Burton and fast. There were two banks in Burton. At approximately 9.10, I dropped the sheriff at the Burton National and headed for the Burton Loan and Savings Bank a block away. Cashier there told me the checks hadn't come in, so I left instructions for him to contact me if any turned up, and I went back to the Burton National for the sheriff. Sheriff? Hey, Chase, come here. Find anything? I sure did. There was a mighty good hunch you had. He's gonna find him for me now. She says her puller came in at 9 o'clock as soon as the door opened. He had the checks all right, all $400 worth. Could she give you a description of the man? Description? She knows him. Follow named Al Walker. He says we can find him at the sales bar in a couple of blocks away. In just a moment, we will continue with Tales of the Texas Rangers starring Joel McCray as Ranger Jase Pearson. Every minute of every day, someone, somewhere calls on the Red Cross for help. Last July, the nation's most devastating floods since 1937 smashed through four Midwestern states. Property damage in Kansas and Missouri alone exceeded $1 billion. Tens of thousands were made homeless. When the floods came, the Red Cross was ready with rescue teams and first aid stations. For the homeless, the Red Cross set up shelters and feeding points. But the biggest job came when the waters receded, and began the rebuilding and repairing of homes, the rehabilitation of broken lives. The total cost of relief in this operation was almost $14 million. This was only one of the 300 domestic disasters in which the Red Cross gave aid last year. To answer the call when help is needed again this year, the Red Cross needs your support. Give and give generously to the 1952 Red Cross Fund Campaign. And now back to tonight's adventure with the Texas Rangers. We continue now with Tales of the Texas Rangers and our authentic story, Dream Farm. We found Al Walker at the sales barn a couple of blocks away. Sign over the entrance read Al Walker, proprietor. There was no loft and all the feed was neatly stacked at one end of the building. A small glassed-in office was at the other end. Walker was watering a couple of horses in the corral at the rear. Howdy, gents. Be right with you. All right. Blonde hair, Sheriff. He doesn't fit the description Robert Elwood gave us. Oh, but he had the checks. And he was in an oil-fired hurry to catch him. Might be best not to mention the killing, Sheriff. Well, that's what I was thinking. Now then, gents, you're Al Walker. It's me, all right. Can I help you? You can answer some questions. All right. This is Sheriff King. I'm Ranger Pearson. Well, right, please, to meet you. Come on in the office, gents. What kind of questions? You cashed some travelers' checks at the Burton National Bank a little while ago. Yeah, that's right. $400 worth. Something wrong? Where'd you get them? Oh, fellow brought them in this morning. He'd come in about 8 o'clock just so I was open enough. Have a seat, Ranger, Sheriff. No thanks. Did he say his name was John Elwood? Well, that's what he said. Can you describe the man, Mr. Walker? I reckon so. Big fellow? About your height, anyway. He's kind of heavy, too. What color was his hair? Oh, he had... Let me see now. He had light hair. Would you say it was as light as yours? Yeah. He'll come to think of it as it was. Uh-huh. What time did you say he came in, Mr. Walker? Just about 8. You always open that early? Oh, I generally open at 6. Sell a lot of feed to the farmers around here, and they do business pretty early. I was eating last night, though. I was out of town and stayed out late, so I kind of overslept this morning. What time do you leave here? Oh, it was 8.30 or so. I closed up about 20 minutes later, so I could go down to the bank and cash the checks. He was here about a half an hour, then. That's right. It'd take you that long to cash the checks for him? Uh-huh. Well, he bought something. He'd come in here to buy a horse, to keep a little stock, you know, was, uh, $150? You got a record of the sale, Mr. Walker? Well, yeah. No, no, as a matter of fact, I didn't have time to end it in my book. What about the rest of the checks? Well, after he paid me for the stuff he bought, he asked me to cash some other checks. I give him $250 in cash. You had that much cash at 8 o'clock in the morning? No, I always keep a few hundred dollars overnight, on account of opening up before the bank does. Mr. Walker, did he sign those checks in front of you? Well, yeah. Well, sure. He signed them in front of me. Uh-huh. Let me see the checks, Sheriff. Yeah. Here you are, J. See the two signatures on this check, Mr. Walker? Yeah. They don't match very well. They don't? What's wrong with them? I'll take a look. You see the difference here and here? Well, they look all right to me. I couldn't tell the difference. You mean it ain't... It ain't his right signature? The checks were stolen, Mr. Walker. This isn't John Elwood's signature at all. Stolen? How told you say that fellow was? Why? Oh, he was a big fella. How big? I don't know. He was six feet, maybe taller. You mean these checks are no good? I ain't going to lose my $400, am I? Wrecking your will unless we catch up to the fellow who's got it. What color hair did you say he had? It was light-colored, blonde. I didn't know they were stolen. You should have checked the signatures. He did sign them in front of you, you said. Oh, excuse me, Ranger. Hello, Walkers. What? Well, yeah. Yeah, he's here just a minute. It's for you, Ranger. Pearson speaking. What time did they come in? All right, we'll be right over. Thanks. Mr. Walker, we'll have to pick up our conversation a little later. You stick around. I'm sure I ain't going nowhere. Come on, Cheryl. What's up, Jason? He's a highway patrol. He's been identified a fingerprint from the car found at the scene of the killing. Yeah? Who's was it? Fellow named Sam Bradley got his mug shots at the patrol office. Bradley's description fit the one given us by Robert Elwood. A set of photographs had already been sent at the sheriff's office in Coronaville, and a deputy took them to Young Elwood at the hospital for positive identification. Short time later at the highway patrol office, I telephoned the boy. Yeah, Ranger, I got the picture. Do you recognize any of the men in the pictures? Yeah. Which one is it, Robert? Thanks, Robert. You've been a big help. What do you say? It's Bradley, all right. The boy picked his picture out a half a dozen the deputy brought up at the hospital. Well, that settles it then, but what about Walker? The description he gave us sure doesn't fit Bradley. In case you know he was lying. Yeah, but I can't figure out why. His only stake in this is $400 with the traveler's checks. He tried to cash them openly, so it's a sense he figured they wouldn't bounce. I don't think he knew they were stolen. Maybe not, Jayce, but he knew the man who gave him the checks wasn't John Elwood. Now, why'd he lie about that? Just as puzzled as you are. Come on. Well, where you going now, Jayce? Out to Walker's. I still want a written statement from him. You want to bring him back here? Uh-huh. Well, I reckon I'll mostly around town in the meantime. Maybe I can find someone to saw Bradley go into Walker's barn. Good idea. I'll meet you back here. I want to see if Walker's going to stick to his story. When I got to Walker's, the barn was closed up tight. I got his home address from a telephone book in a store nearby and walked back to the barn. At the time I got to my car, Walker was just driving up. Walker? Yeah? I thought I told you to stick around. Where you been? Well, no police ranger. I had to make the delivery. In your car? I didn't have much room there to haul feed. Oh, it was just a sack of oats, that's all. I want you to come down to the patrol office with me. What for? To get your statement about the fellow who gave you those checks. Well, what about the barn? I mean, you know if any customers come. They'll have to wait a while. You know where the highway patrol office is? Yeah. You can take your car. I'll follow you. At the station, Walker's story began to change slightly. His statement said that the man who cashed the checks was 8-10 inches tall. Earlier, he told us that the man was over 6 feet. It was 12 noon when the stenographer completed typing the statement and I took it into Walker to sign. Here's the statement, Mr. Walker. Are you sure you don't want to make any changes before you sign it? No. No, I've been telling you the truth, ranger. Uh-huh. Oh, one more thing. Before you sign it, I want to show you some pictures. Pictures? Yeah. Look at them carefully, Mr. Walker. Here are pictures of three men. Was one of these the man who cashed the checks? No. No, it wasn't any of these, fellas. How about this one? Could he be the man? No, no, no. The fellow who cashed the checks was an altogether different kind of man. This ain't him. Mr. Walker, this man's already been identified by one person as the man who killed John Elwood and his wife. What'd you say, ranger? Elwood was the man the checks belonged to. He was killed last night. Killed? First deal and now kill him. You didn't say nothing before about a murder? Two murders. This man, Bradley, killed two people and wounded a 12-year-old boy. He stole two cars that we know of. Well, I... I didn't know about all them things. Uh-huh. What about the picture? Is this the man who cashed the checks? No. No, that ain't him. I'm sure it ain't. All right, Mr. Walker, sign the statement. Walker was afraid. He couldn't miss it. But I didn't know what was bothering him or why. After he signed the statement, I let him go. A few minutes later, the sheriff came into the office. He had a newspaper in his hand. Jayce, is that Walker I just saw pulling away? Yes, Sheriff. He signed the statement, so I let him go. Well, we'd better get him right back again. Take a look at this newspaper. Burton Harold, what about it? But did Walker identify the picture of Bradley? Well, take a look at that item on mark. He'll tell you why he didn't. Mrs. Nancy Walker, wife of Al Walker, proprietor Walker Sales Barn, is in Fort Worth visiting her sister. Mrs. Walker is the former Nancy Bradley. Get it, Jayce? I checked around as soon as I got a load of this item, and it fits. Mrs. Walker has a brother named Sam Bradley. Walker's his brother-in-law. We raced out to Walker Sales Barn, but it was still closed, so we headed out toward his home in the farm section west of town. Half a mile from there, we spotted Walker's car turning into the driveway, and saw him rush into the house. We parked a short distance away and covered the rest of the ground on foot, approaching the house from the rear. Let's move up to that open window, Sheriff. Right, Jayce. Nothing in the house, do you? Sam, you fool, where you been? I've been looking all over for you. I took a bus over to Hazel, bought me a new suit. What's bothering you now? Well, I don't care, you can take the money, but you just got to get right out here as fast as you can. Now, wait a minute. What do you mean, spending your money? I thought you told me you got them checks from a friend of yours. Why, sure. What about it? You and your stories. It's just like I told you. You were playing cards last night, and the place was raided. I just thought I was afraid if he showed it to himself, he'd get caught. That's why I asked me to cast a check. I knew you wouldn't mind. Sam, don't you lie to me. You didn't have no friend. Use on them checks. They were stolen. I know all about it. I lied for you first because you told me you and your friend Elwood was ducking a gambling raid. Then I find you stole the checks. Now, I find there's a couple of killings besides, and I'm mixed up in it. Now, you get out of here. Look, who you've been talking to? There's been a ranger out asking questions. That's who. Do you tell him anything? Not yet, but if I didn't have to lie to save my own hide, I'd have turned you in. Brother-in-law, I know Brother-in-law. I'll get in and tell him. I'll get out of here right away. I'll get out of here right now. I'm not getting myself home for you. All right, Bradley. Don't move. Throw your gun over here. Okay, James. Yeah, I'm okay, Sheriff. Save it, Walker. A jury will want to know why you didn't tell us where he was. Come on, get up, Bradley. You better have some of that $400 left for a good lawyer. You'll need one. In just a moment, we will tell you the results of the case you have just heard. This is George Hicks reporting. I'm now in New Hampshire for NBC. The names are Taft, Eisenhower, Truman, Kefauver, and Stassen. We'll bring you the reports soon on this first state presidential primary. This evening, NBC will present a broadcast of great interest to you in this election year. This is W.W. Chaplin inviting you to follow the campaign of the next president on NBC. Yes, from Concord, New Hampshire, the scene of the important New Hampshire primary election, NBC brings you surveys, reports, and comments by New Hampshire voters and party leaders. NBC is going to bring you full coverage of the New Hampshire primary, a primary which will not only decide the delegates to the Republican and Democratic national conventions, but also give a pretty good indication as to the strength of the leading presidential candidates. This is Leon Pearson inviting you to follow the campaign of the next president on NBC. Here are the New Hampshire primary special broadcast tonight on NBC. And now, back to the Texas Rangers. And now, here are the results of the case you have just heard. For harboring a fugitive from justice, Al Walker received a five-year suspended sentence. Sam Bradley was identified by Robert L. Wood as the man who shot and killed John and Ethel L. Wood. Ballistics confirmed that Bradley's gun was the murder weapon. He was convicted of murder in the first degree. And on August 4th, 1942, was electrocuted at Huntsville, Ben attention. Sweet Joel McCrae and another authentic re-enactment of the case from the files of the Texas Rangers. A Warner Brothers release. The part of Robert L. Wood was played by Richard Beals. Ethel and John L. Wood were Barbara Luddy and Tom Tully. Tony Barrett was Sam Bradley. And Barney Phillips was Al Walker. Ken Christie played the part of the sheriff. Technical advisor was Captain M. T. Lone Wolf Gonzalez of the Texas Rangers. This story was transcribed and adapted by Shelby Gordon. And the program was produced and directed by Stacey Keach. Hal Gibney speaking. Next, the big show brings you 90 minutes of drama, comedy and music on NBC.