 suspense and the producer of radio's outstanding theatre of thrills the master of mystery and adventure William M. Robson. A small Midwestern town lying asleep in the moonlight of midnight could anything be more familiar more peaceful more safe certainly not unless Ray Bradbury is writing about it for his is a typewriter of terror and once again it has pounded out a tail not only calculated to keep you in suspense but likely to cost you a night or two of sleep listen listen then as Miss Agnes Moorhead stars in the whole town's sleeping which begins in just a moment how does our nation honor heroism one way is to award the soldiers metal a bronze octagon on which is displayed an eagle standing between two groups of stars the metal is suspended from a blue ribbon with 13 narrow stripes in the center seven white and six red one of the newest and least known of all the American decorations the soldiers metal authorized in 1926 is bestowed for heroism not involving actual conflict with an armed enemy there are many forms of gallantry in addition to those demonstrated in battle the soldiers metal was conceived to honor those soldiers who in non-combat situations perform bravely and at great peril to themselves men who serve as an inspiration to others the soldiers metal holds an important place among America's awards for heroism and now the whole town sleeping starring Agnes Moorhead a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense it was a warm summer night in the middle of Illinois country the little town was deep far away from everything kept to itself by a river and a forest and a ravine in the town the sidewalks were still scorched the stores were closing and the streets were turning dark screen doors wine their springs and banged and there was the sound of grandma Hanlon's hammock creaking across the street on her solitary porch Lavinia names age 37 very straight and slim sad waiting here I am Lavinia Lavinia turned there was Francine at the bottom porch step all in snow white I won't be a minute Francine I just have to lock the door I do like your dress here my thank you Francine you look so well in that color I'm afraid I can never wear it makes me look oh no it doesn't I'm sure it doesn't of course I've always loved you in white good evening ladies good evening Mrs. Hanlon good evening well where are you ladies going all dressed up so pretty to the movies Mrs. Hanlon it's William Holden tonight you won't catch me out on a night like this not with the lonely one strangling women lock myself in with my gun that's what I'm going to do I wouldn't worry Mrs. Hanlon oh you wouldn't wouldn't you what about Eliza Ramsey you think she's not worrying lock myself in with the gun that's what you ladies should do silly silly old woman hasn't got anything better to do than scare herself with rumors and gossip just the same had he McDulles was killed a month ago and Roberta fairy the month before and now Eliza Ramsey disappeared Eliza Ramsey walked off with a traveling salesman if you ask me but the others oh thank oh Francine they reached the edge of the ravine that cut the town in two stood there behind them with a lighted houses ahead deepness moistness fireflies and dark the ravine had to be crossed to reach the movies deep and black as it cut through the hill then a creaking bridge to cross over the stream and then 113 steps of the steepened brampled bank to the other side the ladies stood there looking down I just hate to think of you coming back alone tonight LaVenia oh gosh I do wish you didn't live on this side of town don't you get lonely living by yourself in that house homemade love to live alone come on we'll take the shortcut afraid even in the dusk the ravine scared me come on don't be so silly I'll hold your hand LaVenia cool as mint ice cream took her friend's arm and let her down the dark winding path into the cricket warmth and frog sound and mosquito delicate silence let's run LaVenia please no no why should we if LaVenia hadn't turned her head just then she wouldn't have seen it but she did turn her head and it was there back among a clump of bushes half-hidden but laid out that she'd put herself there to enjoy the soft stars lay Eliza Ramsey a face moon freckled her eyes like white marble then Francine saw it too and a woman stood on the path for a frozen second not believing what they saw in a moment we continue with the second act of suspense another visit with Joe and Daphne foresight Joe yeah Daphne you think I should go on a diet no but I'm adding weight only in the right places flatterer seriously if I put on any more pound I'll be out of style what style the current one it calls for that slim chic look the beanpole look you mean boy I don't get it here we are citizens of the healthiest country on earth with hundreds of different kinds of good food and what are Americans doing they're starving themselves well it's fashionable I don't want you to lose interest in my figure don't worry I won't say speaking of that look at this here's a figure with real interest oh 45 billion dollars it says here in the paper that the investment in United States savings bonds has reached more than 45 billion what do you think on that figure mmm that's a lot of money and just think every three dollars invested in bonds pays back for that's real interest for you I know and every savings bond is guaranteed by the government right oh Joe I wish you cared about my figure the way you do about those bond you buy every payday honey I've got great interest in both well you just see that you stay that way and now starring Agnes Moorhead act two of the whole town sleeping and then the police came and dotted a flashlight surrounded the shadows of the ravine and LaVinia held on tightly to the shuttering Francine and the night grew to rate 30 you didn't move her ladies no no of course not oh no we didn't touch her how could we and you didn't hear anything unusual no no nothing it's it's the lonely one isn't it the lonely one did it didn't be all right couldn't say man we knew her you know she was a friend of ours I'm sorry that's too bad I'll have one of my men walk you across the ravine oh that won't be necessary thank you very much we'll be all right LaVinia come along dear I've never seen a dead person before on come on it's only a little after 830 we'll pick up Helen and get on to the show the show LaVinia you know me of course I do we've got to forget about this there's no good brooding about it now we hurry we won't miss too much of the first well I thought you'd never come you're an hour late well Helen you see someone found Eliza Ramzell dead in the ravine oh oh no who found her we don't know how awful oh I I don't think we better go to the show tonight oh of course we will the last showing today and I wouldn't miss William Holden to the world besides the only one can't kill three ladies all at once and anyway it's too soon the murders come a month separated come along Helen well all right I'll get a sweater wait for me why didn't you tell her about us finding Eliza why upset her time enough tomorrow tonight we're going to the show so let's not talk about it enough enough the ladies walked downtown and stopped at the drug store which was a few doors from the theater LaVinia bought a quarters worth of green mint chews and the drugists dropped the mints into a sack with a silver shovel you looked mighty cool this noon miss LaVinia when you was in so cool and nice somebody asked after you know man sitting at the counter he watched you walk out he says to me hey who's that just like that he says it why that's LaVinia nebs prettiest maiden lady in town I says beautiful so beautiful he says well she lived you didn't you didn't give him her address well now I didn't give him the exact address I said over on Fox Street near the ravine hope you didn't mind well that settles it we're going straight home that man asking for you LaVinia you're next you want to be dead in that review oh I'm not going to miss the movie you too can do what you want I'm going in the end they all went to the show LaVinia was like that cool self-possessed and persuasive when they came out of the show the streets were midnight clean and empty as they walked Francine home LaVinia Helen and stay here with me tonight it's late Mrs. Murdock has an extra room no thanks I don't sleep well away from my own bed please LaVinia please I promise I'll call you the very minute I get home will you will you really yes I promise Helen you make a promise to call you too I will good good night please now I'll walk you home Helen well I don't suppose it's any use asking you to stay with me LaVinia there's no reason for me to you certainly acted strangely all evening I'm just not afraid that's all and anyway the lonely one wouldn't be around not now with the police discovering Eliza's body and all oh I feel so guilty I'll be drinking a cup of coffee just about the time you get to the ravine all that awful bridge in the dark you will call us the minute you get home won't you I won't sleep a wink if you don't I promise you I'll call now good night good night LaVinia Neps walked down the midnight streets down the late summer silence she saw the houses with her dark windows and for a way she had a dog barking she thought to herself in five minutes I'll be safe home in five minutes I'll be phoning Francine and Helen they're so silly like old hens old I'm older than either of them I she heard the voice singing away among the trees and she walked a little faster and then coming down the street toward her in the dimming moonlight was a man well look who's here what a time of night for you to be out miss nebs officer Kennedy oh I'm so glad it's you anything wrong miss net no no nothing at all I'm just glad it's you you know you shouldn't be out so late because I know I've been to the movies the late show well I'd better see you across the ravine no thank you I can make it fine he's gonna be behind the trees it'll be pretty dark I'm not afraid of the dark Mr. Kennedy are you sure you'll be all right yes yes quite sure thank you well I'll tell you what I'll wait here till you're across if you need help just give a yell and I'll come running thank you good night good night miss nebs as LaVinia walked on she thought I won't walk in the ravine any man how do I know who the lonely one is could be anyone then the ravine she stood at the top of the 113 steps that led down the steep bramble bank and across the creaking bridge then a hundred yards and up through the black shadows to Park Street and home three minutes from now I'll be putting my key in the house door nothing can happen nothing and she started down the dark black steps into the deep ravine night counting as she went one two three four five in a moment we continue with the third act of suspense we have together ample capacity in freedom to defend freedom this is NATO the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as in many other complex activities in NATO to it's the little things that count for instance spare parts for the armed forces equipment of NATO countries this complex problem is handled by the NATO supply center at Chatteroo France which assists NATO countries in providing a common system for supply of spare parts the United States of America is a part of NATO you should be aware of and alert to the programs and objectives of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and now starring Agnes Moorhead act three of the whole town sleeping and Lavenia worked on the steps counting as she went 16 the ravine was deep the world was gone the safe world of people and one the locked doors the town the drugstore for theater life everything was gone only the ravine existed in black and huge one thirty two thirty three forty four nothing's happened has it no one around is there forty forty one forty two forty three forty four forty remember remember that old ghost story you told each other when you were children about the dark man coming into your house and you upstairs in bed now he's at the first step coming up to your room now he's at the second step now he's at the third and fourth and the fifth step how you laugh and scream to that story now the horrid man is at the 12th step opening your door and now he's standing by your bed there at the bottom of the steps the man no no he's gone he was waiting there it's empty nothing it's nothing on the bridge you fool that story I told myself I'll silly shall I call Mr. Kennedy did he hear me scream or did I scream maybe I only thought I did he didn't hear me at all I'll go back up I'll go to Helen's and sleep there tonight no it's it's near home now don't be silly wait someone's following me someone's on the steps behind me don't dare turn around is that you crickets were suddenly still the crickets were listening the night was listening to her then there was a sound only a woodchuck surely beating a hollow log no it was Lavinian ebbs it was most surely the heart of Lavinian ebbs and she went down the steps faster faster running now down the steps plunging faster and faster down down under the pit of the ravine across the bridge run don't turn don't look if you see him you'll be able to move he just run up the path between the hills the top of the path the street and even with the light the fierce world about her closing and pressing please give me time to get inside the door and save at home and safe home I'm locked and safe inside I wait the window there's no one there at all there's no one following me at all nobody running after me silly if a man had been following me he'd have caught me I can't run as fast as a man I wasn't running from anything except me the ravine was safer than safe it's nice to be home though home's a really good war safe place she had just put her hand out to the light switch when she heard it behind her in the blackness just a movement suspense in which Agnes Moorhead starred in William and Robeson's production of the whole town sleeping written by Ray Bradbury and adapted for suspense by Anthony Ellis in just a moment the names of the supporting players and a word about next week's story of suspense how are your breaks not the ones in your car we're sure you keep those in tip-top working order but how about your own breaks are they in working shape when you're behind the wheel of your car and you feel that impulse to challenge the legal speed limit can you stop that impulse on the dime when a less courteous driver does something downright stupid that may inconvenience you are you likely to do something twice as foolish just to show him he can't push you around or can you say halt to your anger before it leads to an accident students of human behavior have discovered that most of the accidents on our highways are the result of emotional immaturity an adult can control his feelings and concentrate on his goal don't let childish attitudes keep you from reaching your destination when other drivers and traffic regulations annoy you use the brakes in your head as quickly as you would the ones on your car remember accidents don't have to happen supporting agnes moorhead in the whole town sleeping were william conrad lorraine tuttle paula winslow barney phillips and charlie lung listen listen again next week when we return with another tale well calculated to keep you in suspense this is the united states armed forces radio and television service