 And now stay tuned for the mystery program that is unique among all mystery programs. Because even when you know who is guilty, you always receive a startling surprise at the final curtain. In the signal oil program, The Whistler. Signal, the famous go farther gasoline. Invite you to sit back and enjoy another strange story by The Whistler. I am The Whistler and I know many things for I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak. And now for the signal oil company, The Whistler's strange story. The Clay Tree. Russ Thompson's movements were quiet. His steps slow and even as he paced back and forth across the wide corridor. Outside the approaching storm was creeping closer. Russ would stop occasionally. Look up to where the winding heavy rail staircase disappeared to the floor above. It was almost as if he could see what was going on up there. An old alvira clays bedroom. The doctor checking alvira's fading pulse. Jennifer Clay, alvira's knee looking on. You start to pace again, Russ. And then stop as alvira's attorney, Jayce Devlin, sighs softly from his position in the big wing chair across the living room. What do you think, Jayce? You think the doctor's right that alvira won't laugh? She's old Russ, very old, quite tired. I wish Jennifer would come down and let us know. You heard the doctor's last report. You're attitude, Russ. What about it? Most admirable. I know you've always fought a lot of the clays. I mean far beyond your management of their land and holdings. I've tried to do what's right. You've done nobody. Even this feeling about poor old alvira. After all, it isn't as if she could live a good, long life. That isn't everything. It helped. Killing of her son didn't help any, especially the way he was killed. Poor alvira. I still wish you would try to talk her out of leading that tree up there on the hill with that plaque on it to the memory of hasty hands that took justice and law unto themselves. It's the monument of shame. That's what it is. Why shouldn't it be? Your only son was hanged by a wild mob. It was done by Miss Stake, Russ. Terrible mistake. That doesn't bring the boy back. No, no, no. The Anderson girl. They thought he killed. Look, what are you going to do? Alvira's son was going with the girl. They quarreled. When she was murdered, it was natural for people to think he did it natural. It wasn't natural to hang him, take the law into their own hands. But Stake did, Russ. He then learned too late that the boy couldn't possibly have done it. That it was someone else who killed her. Anyway, I don't condemn alvira. I mean for putting a plaque on that tree up there. Going to stay there, you know. It seems, Russ, there was that crowd up on the hill. They're pretty mad. Alvira's mind is made up. I wish she'd change her mind. And I hope she doesn't. It's a strange situation, isn't it, Russ? Attorney Jace Devlin mistaking your attitude for strong devotion to Alvira Clay. Actually, it's far different, isn't it? Yes. And as you walk to the window and look up toward the big tree on the hill, you're trembling inside. Trembling with fear and anxiety. A little crowd of townspeople around the tree, Russ. Supposing they got excited. Decided to tear the tree down. The old clay tree. You hate it as much as any of them, don't you? But for a much different reason. And in spite of your hate, you realize the tree must not be touched. At least for a while. Jace. Yes, Russ? I'm going out for a walk. In this weather? That's right. Going up to have another look at the tree. What if I am? Well, I... If the people know how you feel anyway, it will be a long time before they're in the mood to harm anyone else. Alvira's at least accomplished that. Yes, she's at least accomplished that. Fighting the wind as you stride up the hill toward the old tree. Your mind spins, doesn't it, Russ? The branches silhouetted against the sky look weird, accusing. Equally accusing of the softly muttering people standing around at the base of the tree. Staring at the plaque which Alvira ordered placed there, following the hanging death of her son. You're thankful that the plaque is all that these people can see, aren't you, Russ? Yes. As you reach the summit and the small group of muttering townspeople, you see Hank talking to a news photographer. Hard to plan the old woman for putting up that plaque. Now, let's see now. I want to get a picture of it. Well, he's right there right in front of you, plain to see who the memory of hasty hands that took justice and the law unto themselves. You didn't have to come all the way down here, miss you, those words been in the papers a lot the past two weeks. On ours at the different angle, pictures. We do a layout covering the whole story. The tree here, the plaque, reaction shot to the townspeople. They won't like it. Am I right, Mr. Thompson? What? I say folks won't like this magazine fella taking pictures. They're ashamed, but they're pretty fed up. Folks, would you move aside a little, please? I don't want to get a close shot of that plaque. Now that does it. I'll get another for protection. Then a few folks don't mind. Maybe a few of you are looking up at the tree. Suppose we do mind. Yes, we've just about suffered enough. Now, now, now, easy folks. Mr. Thompson, you better talk to them. I'm not interested. Look, folks, I'm just doing my job. It's news. My magazine, they sent me down here. We're sending you back. Come on. We're not posting. You have your picture of the plaque. You better do what he says, Mr. I can't be responsible. Well, I... Okay, okay. Take it easy. You don't have to shove. I'm calling. I'll see you later, Mr. Thompson. I better help him get out of here. Sure, sure. Go ahead, Hank. You wait until a small crowd of townspeople and the protesting magazine photographer have all gone. Then you look around, decide there's no one watching, then step quickly over to the tree, reach your arm down inside the hollow trunk, where your secret is hidden. Secret evidence, Russ. Murder evidence against you. Evidence proving you committed the murder for which Alvira's son was hung. The letters that the Anderson girl had written you. The gun you killed her with. Yes, Russ. Murder evidence. Evidence that could hang you. Evidence you hurriedly disposed of the night you killed her. But now as you try to reach them, you find that the hollow extends much deeper than you thought. Now it's no use. Probably hollow cleared out of the base of the tree. Mr. Thompson? You will. Drawing your arm quickly out of the tree trunk. Your hand empty. As Hank, the caretaker, comes back up the hill. Well, he's gone, Mr. Thompson, that reporter. They run him off. Just as well. Been somebody around here ever since it happened. Yeah. What do you think will happen to the tree now, Mr. Thompson? Happen? Why should anything happen to it? Well, haven't you heard? I thought you handled all the clay property. Well, my office does, of course, but I don't know what you... Well, I heard only yesterday that some fellow named Carson's aimin' to buy this property. Wants to put up a new house. Right smacked on the nose here. Oh, no, no. Oh, Alvira'd never stand for that. But if she dies, Mr. Thompson, and it seems as if she will, then what? Well, then there's her niece Jennifer, a good sensible girl. Yeah, but Jen never did hank her too much after puttin' that plaque up there. Thought it was unfair to all the people in town that didn't have nothin' to do with the hangin'. Jen might just sell, don't you think, Mr. Thompson? Well, I don't know, I'm sure. You don't mind hank, I've got to get back inside. I forgot I left Jayce Devlin' waiting for me. You scarcely know what you're saying, do you, Ruff? The fear inside you is mounting so. You were so certain you could reach the gun in those letters. Didn't realize that the hollow in the tree went so far down. And that you'll have to improvise a way to fish them out when you get the chance. You hurry back to the house, discover Jayce Devlin on his feet, looking toward the wide, circular staircase. Jennifer is standing there, isn't she, Ruff? White face, silent, looking down on both of you. Then... He's dead. And how Vira's dead. It's up to me now to look after the house of Clay. In that popular new song, he lived on the morning side of the mountain. He lived on the twilight side of the hill. They tell of a boy and girl who lived so near to each other, yet never got acquainted, never got to know each other. Well, don't laugh, friend. You may be living even closer than that to wonderfully improved performance for your car, yet never get to know what proud performance your car can deliver, unless you get acquainted with signal ethyl gasoline. You may never know how quickly your car can start on cold mornings unless you try signal ethyl. You may never know what peppy pickup, what smooth, quiet power your engine can deliver, unless you try signal ethyl gasoline. For the premium grade of signal's famous go farther gasoline is a true superfuel, scientifically engineered to bring out the best in any car of any age. And, fortunately, unlike the boy in the song, you won't have to drive over a hill to try signal ethyl. You'll need only drive into the nearest signal station and say, fill her up with ethyl. Why don't you the very next time you need gas? It was a dread moment, wasn't it, Russ? Hearing that old Alvira Clay was dead and having no idea what her niece Jennifer will do now that it's up to her to run for. You try several times to recover your gun and the tell-tale letters from the murdered Anderson girl from the old Clay tree, but you can't get to them. If the tree is chopped down before you get them, the evidence against you will be conclusive, wouldn't it, Russ? And the townspeople in their fury will see you in the same way they destroyed Alvira's son. You know that tree must stand, don't you, Russ? At least until you can somehow fish the gun and letters out of the hollow trunk. You wish the people would stop paying visits to the tree. Then one morning at your real estate office, another visit occurs, a frightening one in the person of a Mr. Carson. Good morning, Mr. Carson. That's right. Mr. Clay Carson, I understand you handle the Clay properties? I do. There's one particular piece I'm interested in. The no just above their place. You know the one I'm sure with the old tree. That piece of property, Mr. Carson, is not for sale. Oh, but I thought since the old lady is passed on... The old lady, as you call her. Alvira Clay, as I call her, would not have wanted to sell. And I'm certain her niece will respect those wishes. Oh, I see. I hope you do, sir. I think it easier for both of us if we respect the wishes of the deceased. Well, I must say that the noble attitude, I didn't think that the average sale... No need for there to be any unpleasantness between us, Mr. Carson. Perhaps I can show you something else? Not today, thank you. You see, I... Well, I more or less had my heart set on that no. Well, Mr. Carson, I'll see you again, perhaps. Any other property in town, Mr. Carson, I'd be happy to help you in any way. Thank you. Good day, Mr. Carson. You're safe for the time being, aren't you, Russ? But that isn't good enough, is it? You've got to find a way to protect the secret that Clay Tree holds. Make certain it will never be taken down. At least until you can somehow find an opportunity to remove the gun and letters from the hollow trunk. You think about it in the days that follow. Finally, the answer comes to you one morning as you're having a late breakfast at the corner lunch room where you've grabbed quick snacks for years. You listen to the idle chatter of Frank the counterman. Well, Mr. Thompson, I guess the Clay House will have a lot of callers from now on, huh? What do you mean, Frank? I mean Miss Jennifer. Now that she's come into the Clay Money, I guess some of the young fellas around town will be dropping in to see her. Oh, yes, I suppose so. Nice girl, Miss Jennifer. Not what you'd call a rave in beauty, but a mighty nice girl. She's all right. You know, it might be smart for you to think about her a little more, Mr. Thompson, if you know what I mean. I'm afraid I don't. Well, she's always been sort of fond of you, ain't she? We've been friends for a long time. I got an idea she'd like it better if you two were more than just friends. Really? Yep. That's what I think. What do you think? I think I'll have some more coffee, Frank. Pressure would ease, wouldn't it, Russ? If you could be certain that at least for the present, Jennifer won't sell the Clay Tree property. She's always liked you. You know that. But you've never paid much attention to her, have you? Hardly noticed it. But, Frank, the counterman gives you an idea. You decide to call on Jennifer, and you do several evenings in a row. And in the weeks that pass, you're most attentive. She's pleased, isn't she, Russ? Until one night as you stop by the house to pick her up. Hello, Jen. Well, not ready yet. I thought we were going out to dinner. Come in, Russ. I'll only be a moment. Sure. I've had a visitor. Oh? Anyone I know? Competition plan? Hardly. My caller was Mr. Carson. Carson? Yes. He told me he'd made you an offer for the Clay Tree property. Is that right? Yes, that's right. And you turned it down? Yes, I did. Why wasn't I consulted about this? Well, I didn't think it was necessary. Didn't you? Well, now look, Jennifer. Oh, I know. You just naturally assumed it because and Alvira and the tree, I'd turned down Carson, too. Of course. Well, you're wrong. What? I've accepted Mr. Carson's offer. You've accepted? Yes. A very generous offer, I think. But the tree, he'll have it taken down. I timed someone, did. Oh, you can't mean that. I most certainly do. I never dare tell Alvira, but that tree, that horrible plaque, the whole idea of it. Well, I think it's perfectly hideous. Now, Jennifer, listen to me. It's no use. I've made up my mind. I know Alvira thought very highly of you, Russ. Listen to your advice. I intend to do the same. In all matters, except this. I insist the Clay Tree property be sold. I see. Mr. Carson will be expecting your call in the morning. I want you to handle all of the details. Of course. Well, I'd drop the matter, shall we? It seems hopeless, doesn't it, Russ? You're certain you can't talk Jennifer into changing her mind. Carson's won. He'll have the tree chopped down immediately. And unless you can recover the damning evidence against you first, its fall will reveal your guilt. You spend a sleepless night trying to think of a quick way out. Following day, you're in your office when a visitor calls. It's Jace Devlin, Alvira Clay's attorney. I found you in, Russ. Why, something wrong, Jace? I've just heard some rather disturbing news. Oh? The talk around town is that George Carson is going to buy the Clay Tree property. Well, yes, that's right. I tried to talk Jennifer out of it, but she... She can't sell, you know. What? According to the terms of Alvira Clay's will, Jennifer cannot sell that property. She can't sell? That's right. It was Alvira's way of making certain nothing would happen to that tree. Jace. Jace Devlin, are you sure? Of course I am. Throughout the will myself. I'm surprised Jennifer didn't know about it. She...she can't sell. Something amusing, Russ. I'm certainly certain I can't sell, Russ. According to Jace Devlin, and he ought to know, he drew up the will for your aunt. Oh, I see. I gather you didn't bother to read the will yet. Oh, no, I didn't see any reason why I should. I knew, and Alvira had left everything to me, and... Well, that I suppose. No sale. No sale. If you'll excuse me now, I'd better look up Carson and tell him it's all off. Oh, won't you stay for lunch? Uh, better now to have a busy day. All right. Will I see you tonight? Afraid not, Jen. I'm going to be busy then, too. Oh, I see. I'll phone you tomorrow, though, Jen. Yes. Do that. The tree is temporarily safe, isn't it, Russ? And time is on your side again. Soon the tree will be forgotten, deserted. And you can do whatever is necessary to get your gun and letters out, even chop into it. Jennifer isn't important now. You hurry back to your office. Put in a call to George Carson. He's disappointed when you tell him the deal is off. But then something he says sends a wave of fear sweeping over you. The sale was on, and I wanted to get started right away. You sent Hank Thomas out to chop down the clay tree? Yes, he's probably out there now. I just got started. The tree isn't going to be chopped down. But Mr. Carson said... Never mind what Carson said, the deal is off. I just talked to him on the phone. The sale is off, huh? That's right. How about that $5 he pays me? You can keep it. Well, that's fine with me. You know, I was just thinking I should have charged him $10 at least. He's a bigger job than I thought. Well, I guess I might as well get on back to the house. Now, wait a minute, wait a minute. You're not going to leave the tree half chopped like this, are you? Why not? Well, there's a storm coming up. You better do something about propping it. Oh, I don't think that'll be necessary, Mr. Carson. As you can see, I didn't chop very deep into the trunk. I don't want to take any chances. Well, whatever you say. I'll get some rope from the house and... Let me see. I could loop a rope around that top branch, anchor it with a stake in the ground over there, and then I could do the same thing on the other side. Yes, yes, yes. I think that'll do fine. Will you get started, Hank? Sure thing, Mr. Thompson. A few minutes later, Hank returns with several long coils of rope and two iron hooks. Passing the hooks to the topmost branch and then climbs down to draw the ropes tight around some heavy stakes. All secure, Hank? Well, if you ought to hold fine, Mr. Thompson, in the morning I'll see what I can do about something more permanent. Maybe put a jacket or seaman around the base of the tree. Just send me the bill when you've finished, Hank. Right. Well, I'll see you later, Mr. Thompson. I got some chores to tend to. Course, Hank, you go on. You watch Hank start away down the hill. He's brought you just the tools you need, hasn't he, Ruff? The ropes and iron hooks he'd fasten near the top of the tree to fish your gun in the packet of the Anderson Girls' letters from the Hollow Tree trunk. The first real chance you've had. It'll be easy, won't it? First! It's Jase Devill, Alvira's attorney. You know you must find a way to get rid of him quickly. The wind is increasing in fury and... you're not certain the tree can withstand the pressure of the storm after Hank's chopping into the trunk. And until the evidence against you is removed from the tree, the letters destroyed in the gun disposal will always be a threat to you. Hello, Jase. Hi, Ruff. You're worried about the tree? Well, I thought... I thought it best to take certain precautions. Of course. I must say you've shown great concern over the welfare of the clay tree, Ruff. Well, yes, but you see, I... I felt a certain responsibility, Jase. After all, I should have checked with you before okaying Jennifer's sale to cost. I understand, my boy. I understand. Well, I guess I'll get back to the house, Russ. Coming along? Uh, no, not right away. The wind's rising. I want to see how those ropes hold. I'll be along. All right. Don't think you have to worry, though. I say the old clay tree's going to stand for a long time. Yes. Yes, it does seem that way. Because so many tires these days claim to have some kind of guarantee. Tonight I'd like to point out the difference in tire guarantees. Point out the extra protection you get in the double guarantee on Lee tires. You see, guarantees against effective workmanship and material are quite common, but few tires are backed by a written road hazard guarantee such as is offered by Lee. A guarantee you can read, see what it says, and have it with you when you need it. Most important, however, is what Lee's generous road hazard guarantee covers. It covers any unexpected damage to a Lee super deluxe tire during the first 15 months. Any damage, such as cuts or bruises, which might make it necessary to replace a tire. Now, obviously, in order to give you such a generous written guarantee, Lee tires must contain extra quality, although you pay nothing extra for them. Any one of the hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic Lee tire owners could tell you how much extra Lee's give, extra mileage, extra safety, extra value that make it well worth your while to get your next tires at one of the 19,000 Lee tire dealers throughout America, which include all signal service stations. The news of the tragedy spread quickly and the townspeople flocked hurriedly to the scene. A wind swept hill, a twisted misshapen tree silhouetted against the sky. Exactly how the accident happened was not quite clear to them. But one thing was, the clay tree had claimed another victim. The one man in the position to guess what might have happened, Attorney Jayce Devlin, told his story to the sheriff. When I left, Russ Thompson was standing right here, sheriff. He was worried about the tree standing against the storm. I figured he was going to climb up, tighten things up a bit. I guess that's what he did, all right. Up at the house, I came back, and there he was, up there swinging at the end of the rope, by his neck. From where the rope is hanging over the limb, it looks as though he climbed the tree, unfastened the hook, and was bringing it down to fasten it lower down on the tree. He must have tried to throw the rope over that other limb there and slipped. I guess that's how the rope got tangled around his neck as he fell. That's the way it must have happened. Too bad. All right. The pity of it is that the very tree he was trying so hard to protect, for albira clay's sake, finally hang him. Let that whistle be your signal for the signal oil program The Whistler each Sunday night at the same time. Meantime, signal oil company and the friendly independent dealers who help you go farther with signal gasoline hope you'll remember. Regardless of what gasoline you use, you'll enjoy more miles of happy driving. If you drive at sensible speeds, obey traffic regulations, and avoid taking chances. You may even save a life, possibly your own. Featured in tonight's story were Bill Foreman as The Whistler, Larry Dobkin, Jean Bates, Herb Butterfield, Parley Baer, George Niece, and Britt Wood. The Whistler was produced and directed by George W. Allen, with story by Adrian Jaundau, music by Wilbur Hatch, and was transmitted overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Service. The Whistler was entirely fictional and all characters portrayed on the Whistler are also fictional. Any similarity of names or resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Remember to tune in at the same time next Sunday when the signal oil company will bring you another strange story by The Whistler. Marvin Miller speaking for The Signal Oil Company Stay tuned now for our Miss Brooke starring Eve Arden, which follows immediately over most of these stations. This is the CBS Radio Network.