 Muteau presents The Mysterious Traveler, written, produced and directed by Bob Arthur and David Cogan. This is The Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the realm of the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip and it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable. If you can. Where are we going? Tonight we're going to drop in on Henry Norton, a man who saw death in every corner. I call the story, Death is My Caller. My story begins late one afternoon in the luxurious office of Henry Norton, a stockbroker. Norton, a tall dapper man in his 40s, is in the midst of signing some letters when he's called on the office communicator by his secretary. Excuse me, Mr. Norton. Yes, Miss Berry. There's a Mr. Blair to see you. Mr. Who? Charles Blair. He says you know him very well. Charlie Blair. Tell him I'm not in. I'm out of town. Tell him anything. I don't want to see him. I don't ever want to see him. He says he knows you're here and insists on talking to you. Get him out of the office. Get some of the boys to help you. If you won't leave, just... Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Norton. He forced his way in. I'm sorry. I couldn't stop him. Oh, that's quite all right, Miss Berry. I'll see him. Hello, Henry. I thought you'd be delighted to see me. We haven't seen each other for seven long years. That wasn't nice not to have a chat with your ex-partner, was it? Well, I was awfully busy. I have a lot of work to do. You know how it is. No, I don't. I didn't know you were out already. I thought you had three more years to go. I did, but good behavior cut three years off my sentence. Well, that's wonderful, Charlie. I'm glad you're out. Must have been a terrible experience. You've changed. It was a little hard to recognize you at first. Perhaps the prison paler doesn't become me. And my hair is turned completely gray. I don't look so good, do I, Henry? Not like you with a flower at 10. How's Helen? My wife's dead. She's dead? Oh, I'm terribly sorry. What did she die of? She died of heartbreak. Poor Helen. She was always such a sensitive woman. What about your son, Alan? He disappeared after his mother died. I don't know where he is. He never wrote me while I was in jail. Never forgave me for bringing ruin and suffering upon his mother. You see, he was sensitive, too. You've had a pretty hard time of it, haven't you, Charlie? Your sympathy is touching. Well, I hope you'll drop around again sometime when I'm not so busy. I'm not leaving yet, Henry. I've got some important work to finish. If you come around the week or so, perhaps I'll have a spot for you, something in your line. Don't be so nervous, Henry. I'm not going to kill you. Not yet. Kill me? Why should you want to kill me? I was wondering how long you'd put on this innocent act. All this concern about my welfare, about my wife and son. Oh, you slimy rat, if it weren't for you, I'd never have gone to prison. My wife would be alive today and my son wouldn't be embedded against me. I swear to you, it wasn't my fault. Believe me, Charlie, I had nothing to do with it. You should have known that sooner or later I'd be freed. Do you think I was ever going to forget how you framed me? I didn't frame you. It was out of my hands. I couldn't do a thing. My wife died and my son disappeared. I had no reason to live. Just one thing that kept me alive. A fine and beautiful vengeance I had worked out for you. I thought of you constantly as I'd tramp the prison yard. I lay awake at night, smoothing out my plans to pay you back for all you've done to me. Seven years. You can think of an awful lot of things. It was all Grace's fault. I tell you, he's the one to blame. I noticed and built my hate for seven long years. I cultivated it because I would have garden so that it isn't a hot, violent anger anymore. Oh, no. It's a cool, efficient hate that works by blueprint. I look at you now as an engineer. Would it something he must destroy? And you're as good as dead and... No, no, Charlie. No, I can explain everything. Just give me some time. I could kill you now, but you'd only suffer a few minutes and then it would be all over. That would never equal the years of torture and suffering that I've gone through. But I won't disappoint you, Henry. I am going to kill you. But not until you've gotten a fair idea what seven years of suffering means. I tell you, Charlie, it wasn't my fault. Grace made me do it. He made me water those stocks under your name. So it was Grayson. Poor Grayson went to prison where he got sick and died. He framed himself, didn't he? Come now, Henry. Pull yourself together. You ought to be able to concoct a better alibi than that silly one. You were quite a brilliant fellow once. Why, with one swoop, you got rid of two partners. And you thrived during these seven years while I was away. I hear you're one of the biggest brokers in the city now. Climbed over the backs of half a dozen people. Oh, look, Charles, let's be reasonable. I'll give you an important position in my company. It'll be a good paying job. A job? What for? What do I want money for? I have no family and I want to work for care for. I have only one thing left in my life. And that, Henry, is to see you go to the next world in the most agonizing way possible. Goodbye, Henry. You can spend the rest of the afternoon most profitably by making out your will. Henry Norton's cold and clammy hands were trembling as Charles Blair left his office. The impact of seeing this ghost from his past left Henry's mind in a whirl of confusion. His mind turned to flight, but that was impossible. His money, his very life, was wrapped up in his business. He couldn't flee. His brain in a turmoil, unable to do any work, Henry got his hat and coat and left his office. He arrived home, badly unnerved, and retired to his study to give the problem of Charles Blair further thought that he was interrupted. See who that is, Miss Dean. If it's Mr. Blair, don't let him in. I'm never into him, understand? Yes, Mr. Norton, I understand. How do you do, madam? Is this the Norton home? Yes. What can I do for you? I'm Mr. Madden. I'd like to see the head of the household. Just a moment, please. Who is it? He says his name is Madden. Madden? I don't know anybody by that name. Has he got gray hair? No, Mr. Norton, his hair is black. All right, all right, I'll see him. Did you want to see me, sir? Yes, sir. Are you Mr. Norton? Yes, I am. All right, boys, bring it in. I'll just put it down by the door for the moment, boys. Hey, what's going on here? Why are you bringing a coffin into my apartment? Who are you? Well, now, if you please. I'd like to see the body. Body? What body? What's this all about? What's this coffin doing here? We've come for the body of Henry Norton. You must be crazy. I'm Henry Norton. You? I'm sorry. I must have gotten the names confused. What was your brother's name? I have no brother. And there's no body in this house. This is some stupid joke. I don't think it's funny at all. I'm not in the habit of playing jokes, sir. I've been an established undertaker for many years. Here's my card. Well, the devil takes your card. Who put you up to this? Some man came to my parlor yesterday and arranged for the funeral of Henry Norton. He paid for everything in advance. Some man? What was his name? He didn't leave any name. Charlie Blair. What did he look like? I don't like it at all, I think. His hair turned white. Blair. So it was Blair trying to frighten me. Get out. Get out of here, you stupid fools. Take that coffin back with you. I'm not used to being spoken to like that, Mr. Norton. Get out of here before I throw you out. Come on, boys. Wait a minute. Don't leave that coffin here. It's all paid for, Mr. Norton. It's yours now. Keep it. You might need it sometime. Before Henry could call Madden the undertaker back, he was gone. Henry turned from the door and stared at the new coffin on the floor. He'd even had a plate on it with his name engraved. Unable to stand the sight of the coffin, Henry fled to his study and locked himself in. Unable to sleep, he spent the night trying to think of a way to escape Charles Blair's vengeance. The following morning, found Henry haggard and distraught and no closer to a solution of his problem. As he ate a tasteless breakfast, the door bell rang. Miss Dean Noweskeeper went to the door. A minute later, she returned. Who was that, Miss Dean? It was the postman, Mr. Norton. His special delivery package came for you. Oh, must be the new field glasses I ordered. Let me have it. Nice of them to wrap it in a gift box. Kind of a small box, though. Yes, it isn't the binoculars, after all. Someone sent you a gift. Probably one of my clients. Wait a minute. You hear anything? Hear what? It's ticking. I'll put it to your ear, listen. Yes, I hear it now. It's throbbing. It's a time bomb. Somebody's trying to kill me. Time bomb? Oh. It'll go off any minute. What are we going to do? Come here. Take it. Throw it away. Where? Out of the window, anyplace. No, no, no. There's people outside. Don't stand there like an idiot. Throw it out. I'll throw it in the bathtub. Hurry before we get blown to bits. I hope it doesn't explode in my hand. Henry Norton stood frozen with fear as Miss Dean raced with the package to the bathroom. A moment later, he heard the water gushing in the tub. Aware of the danger he was in, he hastily retreated to the library, which was the farthest room in the house from the bathroom. The air he crouched in the corner, feverishly mopping his brow. Ten minutes later, a police car raced up to the house and the doorbell rang. Well, from the Brom and Alien Squad, where's the package? It's in the bathtub. I turned the faucet on. That will do. Good lady. Where's the bathroom? That door on your left. All right, you stay here. Jim, you come along with me. OK, here's the bathroom. You better stand back a little, Jim. I'll take a look at it myself. Well, it isn't ticking anymore. Might be safe to open it now. Well, here goes. Why? Why, it's only an alarm clock. Someone must have wound it up before he sent it out. Now, who'd want to do a fool thing like that? That night, Henry Norton found it hard to sleep. He tossed and turned for hours, and it seemed he had hardly closed his eyes before he awoke with a start. Certain there was someone in the room. Who's there? There's somebody in this room. I know it. I'll turn the light on. Never mind the light. It's you, Charlie. What do you mean by breaking into my room in the middle of the night? Get dressed, Henry. Get dressed? What for? You and I are going somewhere. You're crazy. I'm staying right here. If you don't leave immediately, I'll call the police. If you call the police, they'll find only you here. Dad, get dressed, Henry. All right. I'm getting dressed, but you won't get away with it. Make it fast. Don't make any unnecessary noises. Remember, it's with great control. I keep myself from pressing the trigger. I'm coming. I've got to get my clothes on, don't I? You're not going to a dance. Just put your shoes on and get into your coat. Where are we going at this hour? Don't be impatient. You'll find out soon enough. You're not going to kill me. You better stop stalling. I'll get my coat. It's in the closet. Go ahead and get it. You'll make one suspicious move when you're at that crook. Are you ready? Yes. Walk in front of me. We're going out through the back door of the car. We're going to drive. You want me to drive? That's what I said and don't plan anything. Only takes a fraction of a second if I're a gun. You will follow my directions carefully and drive slowly. How much further are we going? Not much further, Henry. Stop a little ahead of that tombstone sign. We're near the cemetery. Look, Charlie, I know I did you a great wrong. Maybe we can work out something. I've got lots of money up here. We're getting out. Be reasonable, Charlie. Let's talk to the tombstone cutting establishment. Keep walking between the two rows of tombstones because this is our destination. Please, Charlie, don't. I'll do anything. I'll turn over half my money to you. I'll give you everything I have. I don't want anything. And I'm not going to kill you. You see the tombstone in front of you? You see it? I'll turn the flashlight on it so that you can read it. Yeah. Well, go ahead, read it. Henry Norton, born March 15, 1899, died October 24, 1947. October 21. Why, that's Tuesday, the day after tomorrow. That's right. The day after tomorrow. You have two whole beautiful days to live. But since you're the worrying type, you'll probably die 1,000 deaths in those two days. Eight o'clock Tuesday night, your infamous career will come to a sudden and violent end. You will never get away with it. Nobody can get away with murder. All right. That's why you're going to die in two days. I suggest that about five minutes to wait, you crawl into the coffin. I sent you, it'll save time. Funerals are so disagreeable, soon you get it over with the better. You're inhuman, Charlie. Am I? Then you don't accept my generous offer? You prefer to be put out of your misery right now? No, no, no, no, no. Why, you're shivering in me. Better button up your coat. You're not having to catch cold. Imagine dying in the midst of a sneeze. What shall we go? Would you rather look around at some of the other tombstones? Being so rich, you might prefer marble instead of granite. No, no, I want to go back home. I'd like to look over the nice cemetery I picked for you. It's just the other side of this yard. I'm sure you'd like to see where you're going to be buried. No, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't like to see anything. Not even curious. It doesn't really matter. It doesn't make any difference where you're buried after you're dead. Please, let me go home. I can't stand any more. Please, let me go. Come now, Henry. You mustn't go to pieces. Why, you're trembling all over. Oh, you're due for a nervous breakdown. You must be very tired. You've had such a hard time. Oh, you're driving me mad. Please, let me go. No pride at all. You ought to meet your fate with defiance instead of oozing out like a blob of melted jelly. All right, come on. Look back to the car. You can return home. You can go back to bed now if you think you can sleep. The morning of October 21st arrived, and Henry Norton's nerves were a little calmer. He had been promised a police guard and detectives were searching the city for Charles Blair. He was reading the morning paper at home when the phone rang. Charlie, Jew, I am fine. I forgive you for your joked on me the other night. Joe, in fact, I called now to ask if you would like an elaborate funeral with flowers or just simple services with no one but your intimate friends present. Oh, but I forgot you have no friends. So my call was useless. But I'll see you tonight at 8 o'clock sharp. Operator, operator, I must trace that call. Please tell me where it was coming from. Yes, I'll wait. Huh? What? The Judson funeral parlors? Well, that's in this block. Six o'clock. My head's splitting. Are there any aspirins in the house, Miss Dean? Yes, sir, in the medicine cabinet. Shall I get them for you? No, never mind. I'll get them myself. Tonight, I'm supposed to die at 8 o'clock. But that's fantastic. Blair can't carry out his plan. And not if I had police protection. I've nothing to be afraid of. Nothing. Here are the aspirins. I'll take a couple of them. Oh, my head's splitting. No. No, maybe they're poison. That's right. They do look too large for aspirins. They are poison. Got to be on my guard. Death may come in a hundred different ways. Got to be on my toes. Oh, my headache. That's nothing. I won't take any aspirins. Dinner's ready, Mr. Don. I'm not hungry. Oh, but you must eat. You haven't eaten all day. How about a little broth? It'll warm you up. All right, yes, I do feel cold. Can't seem to get warmed up. Well, I'll get it for you. Why, she's so anxious for me to eat. She doesn't like me. She never showed any concern about me before. Here it is, Mr. Norton. Would you like some croutons with it? No, no, nothing else. Something's wrong. This broth has a peculiar bitter taste. It's just some spice I put in. You're lying, Ms. Dean. Lying? Why should I be lying? You're trying to poison me. Blair's put you up to this, but I'm too smart for the both of you. You'll never get me that way. You're crazy, Mr. Norton. I've put up with plenty from you, but I've had enough. I'm leaving. You're a hard, mean man. I wanted to tell you that for a long time, and if anybody wants to poison you, he must have good reasons. Get out. Get out of here, you boorish. I'm going. You can get yourself a new housekeeper. Good riddance, you eesh. Try to poison me. Good thing I didn't swallow it. Eh? Who's there? It's the poor you. Oh, just a second. Police. It's about time you got here. You're Henry Norton? Yes, of course I am. Come in. Come in. I'm Officer Gibson, Mr. Norton. I was sent to act as your bodyguard. I was told someone's trying to kill you. Yes. 8 o'clock tonight. You don't say. Even told you the exact time. Eh, what precinct did you say you came from? I didn't say, but I'm from the 16th precinct. Eh? Who's your captain? Captain Donovan, Tom Donovan. Say, what's all this about? Eh, I just want to make sure you're a real policeman. What do I look like, a fireman? Eh, I've just got to make sure. You've got any credentials? Well, of course I have. Here's my identification card. And here's my badge. Eh, I guess you're OK. I've got to be careful. Blair's promised to kill me at exactly 8 o'clock tonight. He's capable of any trick. Well, well, you don't have to worry, Mr. Norton. The chances are that he's just trying to frighten you. But if he's serious, he won't get very far. You don't know him. He's an inhuman fiend. Well, I'll take care of him if he comes. Say, you don't speak like a policeman. Your English is too good. You were sent here by Charlie Blair. You're a fake. I happened to be a college man who became a policeman. Nothing strange about that, is there? Why don't you call the precinct and make sure? I will. I'll call him right away. Oh, operator, give me the 16th police precinct station. Hello, 16th police precinct, Henry Norton. Did you send an officer named Gibson to my house? Oh, you did? I just wanted to make sure. Thank you. Sorry, you know, you can't be too careful. Well, that's OK. I understand how you feel. What time is it? It's two minutes to eight. Is that the exact time? My watch says three minutes date. I checked my watch by radio just an hour ago. He'll be here. I know it. I don't think so. No man in his right mind would walk into a trap. It's eight o'clock. Your hall clock is off about a minute. Well, say you were shaking like a leaf. Well, I'm frightened. He certainly put a scare into you. But what was that noise? I didn't hear anything. I'm sure I heard something move. Oh, it's just your imagination. Well, what time is it? Just eight o'clock. As a matter of fact, it's a few seconds after eight. There he is. There he is. It's him. He's come. Stay right here. I'll answer it. Don't leave me. No, you stay here. Once at the door, I'll take a look outside. Charlie, how'd you get here? You see, Henry? I keep my appointments. I got a boy to ring the bell at exactly eight o'clock. I've been hiding in your house for hours. Oh, no. Don't, Charlie, please. You can have everything. I promise I'll give you back everything I took from you. In less than a minute, you're going to die. Help, help. Gibson, save me. The door is locked. No one can save you. In a moment, your heart will be ripped apart by a piece of lead. Just one terrific moment of agonizing pain. Then you'll be dead. Open our door, Norton. Help. Help me, gonna shoot. Open the door. You see? No one can help you now. This torture is only a minute for you, but it was seven years for me. It's a pity you want so much to live. Mr. Norton, Mr. Norton, I'm going around to the side door. Please, Charlie, I'll do anything. Oh, you was crawling, getting on your knees. I'm going to shoot you when I count three. No, no. One, two. Help, help. Gibson, save me. Oh. What's going on here? Why did you lock me out? And just who are you? I was playing a joke on my friend. A joke? You just shot him. Hand over your gun. Yeah, but I didn't really shoot him. You can see for yourself, I just fired a blank. Huh? That's why Norton is lying on the floor? He's just fainted. We'll see. Keep your hands up. If he wasn't shot, there's no wound. Not a drop of blood anywhere. That's right. I only meant to scare him. He's in a deep faint. We had better call the doctor. So you only meant to scare him? Well, Norton's dead. You frightened him to death. This is the mysterious traveler again. Did you enjoy our little trip? Poor Henry Norton. Imagine dying from the noise of a blank cartridge. His nerves were really on edge, weren't they? Oh, well, at least he got a free coffin and tombstone. And he doesn't have to worry anymore about dying. What happened to Charles Blair? Well, he's still in prison, of course, because you don't get away with murder, even when you're killed with a blank cartridge. And speaking of murder, I recall another case in which a lovely young girl was able to get off here. I'm sorry, but I'm sure we'll meet again. I take this same train every week at the same time. You have heard the mysterious traveler, a series of dramas of the strange and terrifying. In tonight's cast were Maurice Tarplin, Santos Otega, Agnes Young, Ted Jewett, and Neil O'Malley. Original music was played by Paul Taubman. The mysterious traveler is written, produced, and directed by Bob Arthur and David Cogan. Listen next week to a tale titled, Invitation to Death. Another strange and terrifying tale of the mysterious traveler. This program came from New York. Another program of tense and dramatic action follows in just a minute. Stay tuned to the station for official detective. Carl Caruso speaking. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.