 case for Nick Carter master detective yes it's another case for that most famous of all man hunters the detective whose ability at solving crime is unequal in the history of detective fiction Nick Carter master detective tonight's curious adventure the unwilling accomplice or Nick Carter and the mystery of the society burglar well lieutenant what's new and interesting well well if it ain't my old friend Nicholas Carter him that used to be a detective here what do you mean used to be sure my boy tell me how does it feel to be old and retired oh come now Riley I get it a little peeve because I've turned down those few cases you've offered me lately it's not a few separate cases Nick it's all been the same gang I'm sure of it the slickest bunch this department's ever been up against we need your help Nick look at this came over the wire only this morning another society rubber quite a hole yes my boy quite a hole seventy five thousand dollars in gems right out of the vault when you say now Nick really I think you're right looks like the same hand in every job well well I suggested for your criminal you look for someone who's accepted in the homes of society and it's just about the greatest safecracker in the country as well oh thank you Nick that's a very great help I'm sure I'm sorry Riley but really I'm not interested you know I don't take a case and that's what in the name wow that was close that stone missed you by inches sure somebody's trying to be in me now is it well I'll fix that wait a minute wait a minute Riley that isn't it this seems to be a little matter of communication communication yes look there's a note tied to that stone well no hand that over here here you are and let's see what it what is well I listen to this Nick my dear Lieutenant Riley since the jobs I have pulled off lately have so completely mystified your department may I suggest that you call upon the services of your very good and able friend Nicholas Carter it won't help much of course but at least I'll then have an adversary more worthy of my talents you see I'm very in the pattern and going on to much bigger things today it has been the national loan and trust company it is not only theft but murder as well well Nick what do you make of that very interesting interesting is it why the cheek of him the national loan and trust company he says and murder he says we're dealing with a conceited maniac give me that phone I'm going to check up on this unless it's now 5 30 on Saturday afternoon Riley I doubt that you'll find anyone at the bank ladies gentlemen here to see you they say it's most urgent well what are you waiting for show me in yes sir yes let me to introduce myself I'm Butler Pierce and this is Miss Olive Belden my fuel say I'm pleased to make your acquaintance now what can I be doing for you you can help us find Miss Belden's father he's missing oh mission yes it has been gone for hours and I'm beginning to fear something dreadful may have happened oh excuse me this is Nick Carter miss Belden and mr. Pierce Carter the detective the same miss Belden oh I'm so glad mr. Carter would you would you I mean isn't your alarm somewhat unwarranted your father hasn't been missing very long I take it that's true mr. Carter only three hours to be exact but under the circumstance what miss Belden means mr. Carter is that it seems as if her father had disappeared into thin air how do you mean mr. Pierce well the last time she saw him it was through the living room window from there she could look out over the court into his private office at the bank and when she bank did you say bank mr. Pierce well yes olives father is Wayne Belden president of the national loan and trust company did you hear that Nick the national loan and trust company yes rally they're not a minute to be lost come on let me get this straight miss Belden you say your father came into his private office here through that special passageway that leads from the house to the bank that's right mr. Carter father often spent Saturday afternoons here writing letters I see and there was no one else in the bank at that time no this is Saturday you know and is after banking hours of course when was the last time you saw your father about one o'clock mr. Carter he was sitting in his desk here writing a letter when I looked through the window again a few hours later he wasn't there sure he hadn't returned to the house positive I'd have seen the passageway opens right into the living room where I was reading what happened when you look for him it wasn't there well just about then mr. Pierce called on I told him about father's absence and we both went to look for him I see about what time was that oh about four o'clock so you you both went into the bank as soon as you missed your father yes we found mr. Belden's office just as you see it now then we looked all through the bank there wasn't a sign of him anyway now wait a minute all of you what was to prevent mr. Belden from walking right out the front door of the bank as easy as that that's not very likely lieutenant he was wearing his house slippers at the time and he had no coat or hat oh and not only that Riley you see this letter here on Belden's desk he was writing it when something interrupted him you notice anything peculiar about it well no he accepted he broke off in the middle of a sentence more important than that Riley he stopped in the middle of a word Belden was interrupted very abruptly oh that must be the cashier now hello mr. Cook come in I almost fell tonight got here just as soon as I could this is mr. Carter and lieutenant Riley now what's all this I hear about mr. Belden disappearing that's right mr. Cook but I've an idea he'll soon be found what do you mean by that mr. Carter I've asked mr. Cook to come down here because as the cashier of the bank he's the only one beside mr. Belden who knows the combination to the large vault and I want that vault opened immediately but that's impossible mr. Carter the large vault operates on a time lock it can't be opened until nine o'clock Monday morning we can't wait that long it must be open now I'm sorry mr. Carter that's impossible then I'll do it myself what it's impossible I tell you give me one hour and we'll see how impossible it is you don't seem to be having much luck do you mr. Carter don't you worry about that mr. Pierce I never saw the lock yet that could keep its secrets from Nick Carter very long not that kind of luck lieutenant why there isn't anybody in the world a good why haven't she did it there we are gentlemen I told you so Pierce really look there where is it Nick there in the corner yes miss Belden your father's been murdered how's miss Belden rally no she's all right now Nick mr. Pierce took her back to the house good well mr. Cook have you finished examining the contents of the vault yes mr. Carter and you were right there has been a robbery fifty thousand dollars is missing well I'll be just as the note said Nick remember theft and murder yes rally but the theft I'm sure it was just an afterthought mr. Cook did mr. Belden have any enemies why not that I know of what you tell me about mr. Pierce what you mean well was he friendly with mr. Belden oh yes yes quite they were very good friends they'd known each other for years and was mr. Pierce in the habit of visiting mr. Belden in his office at the bank oh yes yes very often he had an account here at the large one I might add mr. Pierce you know is a very wealthy man indeed yes what's that you've gotten your hand on Nick oh this is it's part of a cufflink rally with a very interesting stain on it a fresh blood stain where'd you find it Nick in the dead man's hand but there was no blood on the body he was done in by a crack on the skull there was no bleeding exactly rally undoubtedly the murder is on blood probably tore his hand on the broken edge of the cufflink in the scuffle do you want me for anything else mr. Carter oh no thank you mr. well good day oh mr. cook one more thing yes tell me is mr. Pierce and the habit of wearing his gloves indoors his gloves why why no never but wait come to think of it he was wearing them just now wasn't he yes he was well thank you mr. thank you very much founded patsy this is the strangest case I've ever worked on well you've certainly been acting strangely Nick pacing up and down muttering to yourself I just isn't a shred of evidence anywhere patsy as far as I can see no motive whatsoever yet I'm positive that Butler pierces our man that he's not only the murderer of Wayne Belden but is also the society rubber that's been battling the police for months now but Nick he's a rich man and Wayne Belden was one of his best I know I know patsy but it still adds up to Butler Pierce look he was thoroughly familiar with the bank thoroughly familiar with Wayne Belden's habits he called it the Belden house after the crime had been committed he wore his gloves indoors which might have been to conceal a bad scratch from a broken cufflink he arrived at police headquarters immediately after that stone had been thrown through the window but Nick miss Belden was with him when he called to see Riley surely you don't think he could have thrown that stone no patsy but his chauffeur could have while we're entering the building his chauffeur yes it was he who set me thinking on this line originally what do you mean by that patsy I got a good look at that chauffeur and I'm sure I've seen him somewhere before a long time ago and he wasn't on the right side of the law either well it all sounds like a big hunch to me Nick yes you're right patsy it's just what it is a big hunch although I have to admit your hunches are usually pretty good patsy I feel so sure this hunch is right I'm going to play it for all this worth well what are you going to do I'm going to start playing it right now let's scuppy for me we're going calling on Mr Butler Pierce you're taking a long time opening that safe Nick and it's a tough baby scuppy but I almost got it now oh I sure hope so Nick I don't think Mr Pierce would like to come home and find us here in his library and at this stage I grant you that would be a trifle embarrassing but when I get through ah I did it now let's see what we have here look at this boy it's full of jewelry and it's the real stuff yes unless I miss my bet every piece of it I'll enter the description of some stolen gem well let's see what else now uh-oh what's that Nick what does it look like it looks like a package of bills all big ones too exactly what it is scuppy let's see how much all right boy look at those thousand dollar bills fifty thousand dollar scuppy the exact amount stolen from the bank well of course it could be a coincidence yes it could be but I doubt it this doesn't scuppy we don't have to speculate any further this letter I found on the drawer here clears up everything listen to this dear butler this is a warning to you to permit you to escape if you care to do so I have definite proof that you're a thief and on Monday morning I shall place that proof before the proper authorities you have until that time to escape signed Wayne Belden gosh Nick yes scuppy gosh and there we have the motive for Wayne Belden's murder so your hunch was right after all Nick the rich mr pierce is nothing but a thief and a murderer scuppy oh look Nick you better get out of scuppy it just came to me what butler pierce's chauffeur is really jim martin I knew I'd seen him before jim martin I never heard of him Nick no that was before your time I tangled with him many years ago on the west coast one of the cleverest cracksman in the business he could open almost any safe I could oh so that's it he and pierce have been working together yes pierce with a front and real brains while martin supplied the technical skills so to speak oh I see well what now Nick scuppy yeah I want you to clear out of your quick take Wayne Belden's letter with you get it to Lieutenant Riley immediately and tell him to pick up jim martin oh well what about butler pierce don't you worry about him scuppy I'm staying right here I want to tackle butler pierce myself good evening Nick Carter what are you doing in my house waiting for you mr pierce what do you want I want you to be reasonable and not make any fuss this isn't the water pistol I've got in my hand have you gone mad what in the world are you talking about it's no go pierce you can drop the act I took the liberty of going through your safe oh so that's it you're pretty clever at getting into safe aren't you yes as good at it as your pal jim martin I see well I guess I underrated you Carter no pierce you overrated yourself perhaps what's your next move my next move is to turn over to the law a thief and a murderer turn around get your hands behind you uh-huh so there is a scratch on your wrist just as I expected there I guess those handcuffs ought to hold you for a while sit down in that chair and stay there oh hello Riley this is Nick oh yes Nick what is it Riley I got the murderer of Wayne Belden for you butler pierce butler pierce Nick are you sure you're not making a mistake quite sure scuppy should be at my headquarters any minute now with all the proof you want from pierce's home he's sitting in a chair right behind me with a pair of handcuffs on him I'll expect you to oh Nick are you all right he's coming to now patchy how do you feel Nick oh I'm all right I guess oh rather my head yeah that was a nasty bump you got my boy oh I'll take it easy Nick here give me your hand can you stand up all right boy yeah I guess I'm okay now what happened your guess is as good as mine patchy all I know is that I had butler pierce in my hands and now he's gone that's too bad Nick hey look at the safe it's empty naturally it would be good to leave all that evidence lying around yeah that's a good thing we got that letter at least yes but the important thing is to find pierce he must be pretty clever Nick getting away from you like that yes patchy he's all of that more you got away this time but I'll bring him to justice if it's the last thing I ever do well Nick we got Jim Martin anyway picked him up late last night good work Riley that's half the gang anyway yeah now if we only had butler pierce yes but I think it's gonna be a lot easier now with Jim Martin in our hands what do you mean got an idea Riley if it works it won't be long before we catch up with Wayne Belden's murderer well Martin we meet again yeah been a long time ain't it Carter yes but I never forget a face Martin no matter how much has been changed I must say though the doctor did a pretty good job on you but it just isn't quite good enough yeah you're a smart egg all right I guess the boy knows that by now it's a pretty keen one himself Martin I had him but he got away yeah boy he sure is a slick one and I thought when I had the cuffs on him say you didn't make the mistake of trying to hold him with a pair of handcuffs did you yes why there ain't a pair made that could hold butler pierce he's a regular whiz maybe so Martin you're in a pretty tough spot murders serious business murder honor you're barking up the wrong tree Carter I didn't have nothing to do with that but you did open the vault at the bank sure like I don't know all the job for Pierce after he paid the way but murder that ain't my racket maybe not but it'll go a lot easier with you Martin if you play ball meaning you know where Pierce's hideout is sure what about it they want you to help us put the finger on him now you want to know me better than that Carter that's what I thought you'd say I have a proposition for you Martin you help us track him down we'll set you free the answer is still the same I'm no stupid well Martin we're gonna let you walk out of here anyway what do you say to that I say it won't work Carter what do you mean listen I'm on to your game you're gonna set me loose so you can tell me that is because that's the last thing I'd ever do and I'm telling you that right now and yet Martin that's exactly what you're gonna do lead us right to Butler Pierce who would be off your nut I wouldn't even try to go near him in fact I'd do everything I could to throw you off I know that Martin and yet inspire yourself you're going to help us catch Butler Pierce uh quirk yes sir any mail for me today name's Martin James Martin just a minute I'll see oh nothing mr. Martin thanks hello Martin you expect you a letter from someone who are you I'll give you one guess that ought to be enough oh you must be the guy that's following me one of the guys Martin I'm scubby Wilson I work with Nick Carter I'm glad to see you you know I've been getting sort of anxious the last few days to know what you guys look like yes I can understand that must have been quite a strain on you knowing that you were being watched every minute of the day and not knowing who was doing the watching yeah it was sort of getting me down a little well that's what mr. Carter was figuring on I guess oh yeah not a good it's gonna do you never know Martin hey I can't figure this thing at all oh you're not supposed to Martin no you just keep on having a good time that's all you bet I will and as for Nick Carter you can tell him for me whatever his scheme is it ain't working see how do you know it isn't working I haven't led you to Pierce yet have I pal no not yet but you will you're nuts too you're all nuts good good night good night oh but Martin uh knowing Nick Carter as I do I don't think we're the ones that are nuts well Nikki don't look like that little plan of yours is going to pay off does it now be patient Riley just a question of time at all but but Martin's been on the loose now for over two weeks how much longer we got to wait Nick as long as necessary who are we now yes Rana you agreed I'm positive but we're doing it's a one sure way of getting on Pierce's trail I sure don't seem very positive to me you've got plain clues men and detectives out looking for him haven't you well sure we set out a general alarm just as soon as Pierce got away from you have they brought him in yet well no see what I mean my way is slow Riley but it's sure well Nicole I can say is I wish I was as sure of that as you are if we don't get Pierce this way they've got it laugh me right out of the department using a valuable men and time just keeping an eye on his counter that should be behind bars this very second he will be Riley just as soon as we got Pierce too they keep him company uh police headquarters lieutenant Riley speaking yeah yeah he's here for you Nick yeah thanks for that oh oh yeah scabby yeah oh you did it okay that's fine scabby good work so long scabby well rally it looks like this is it yeah what happened did Martin finally get in touch with Pierce no rally it happened as I expected the mountain came to Mohammed who did what unless I'm very much mistaken Pierce has finally got in touch with Martin oh is it it's me Jim oh don't you recognize my voice hello Jimmy wow who are you may I come in uh look lady I'm afraid there's some mistake you got the wrong party there's no mistake Martin holy mack at you Pierce yes it's me gosh boys I've seen most of your disguises but this beats them all really look like a woman thanks hey you shouldn't have come here though boys it's dangerous yes Martin very dangerous for you what do you mean boys I don't like a squealer Martin a squealer me hey you got this all wrong have I never ratted on anyone boss I wouldn't start now not even to save your own neck you were in this thing as deep as I you know all right I know that but whatever gave you the idea I'd rat on you what gave me the idea oh I get it you mean why am I on a jail well honest boss this wasn't my idea Carter let me go you see he that's enough Martin think I'm a fool let you go just like that well I won't be so generous stool pigeon hey what are you doing for us no I ain't gonna use that get on me guess again squealer you're making a mistake for us please you gotta listen to me let me tell you how it happened oh my can you listen to me and I'll tell you Carter didn't have a thing on me not a thing do you understand yeah sure then he spotted your ugly mug put two and two together I didn't think anybody'd recognize that pan of yours anymore but somehow Carter did so he had you picked up and what he got out of you must have been plenty I swear to shut up why else would Carter have let you go I don't know I'll tell you why because you spilled the works Martin spilled the works and got your freedom for it no that ain't why they let me go it was all a scheme they had what are you talking about sure boss they told me they'd let me go if I steered them to the hideout but I wouldn't do it not me no so they let you out anyway yeah yeah that's it okay squealer I've heard enough now no boss no shoot Nick you're not the gun right out of his hand Nick Carter yes mr. Butler Pierce we meet again you all right Martin yeah I guess so but he didn't get here any too sold oh so I was right you rat you were expecting relax Pierce relax Martin wasn't expecting anyone he played square with you right along yes and what was he doing on the loose just a temporary arrangement Pierce there's a trap we set for you and you oblige just by walking right into it very clever of you Carter not at all you see mr. Pierce I based my plan on the belief that at bottom you were not so clever really and how do you mean that because instead of doing the really clever thing getting as far away from here as you possibly could I felt sure that your personal vanity would lead you to expose yourself to almost any risk in order to get the man you thought it betrayed you all gangsters react that way you can hardly consider me a gangster mr. Carter at heart that's exactly what you are and that's what I counted on so you had it all figured out yes I also counted on your pal Martin doing exactly as he did after we let him go we laid low for a while you prayed at what we were going to do but after a few days of that he got bored doing nothing just as I figured he would made a lot of money out of jobs you two did together and now we wanted to spend some of it so we stepped out visited the high spots stayed at a fine hotel so I heard yes I knew you matter of fact I counted on you forget we let him loose and had paid him well for squealing on you well pierce you put two and two together all right but you got the wrong answer and the wrong answer you got is going to send you to the electric chair is the end of the road for you mr. Pierce mr. Carter I gotta take my hat off to you really Martin and to what am I indebted for this great honor oh you said I'd lead you to pierce and I said I wouldn't you made me do it you even know what I was thinking all the time I did it yes Carter you're cleverer than I thought you were thank you gentlemen I'm very happy I can't say the same for you too this has been another of the strange adventures of Nick Carter master detective which are brought to you regularly at the same time each week by W.R. Mutual oh what's your story going to be next week Nick the title of the story that I want to tell you next week really gives you the clue to the whole thing I call it the corpse of the cab oh you mean I suppose that you're going to tell us how the corpse got into the cab who the corpse was and so on is that the idea that's the idea mr. Scott but it's not nearly as simple as it sounds when you tell it there were no clues on the court no means of identification at all that isn't quite true Patsy it would have been literally true if you hadn't been called in on the job you know Lieutenant Riley was completely down yes but I'm not sure just how little it takes to stump my friend Riley completely anyway mr. Scott if Nick hadn't been able to apply a little real deductive reasoning to the few bits of evidence he could find the case would still be a mystery I know that well Patsy however that may be I can assure you that next week's story will keep you guessing right to the very end and until then so long folks so long everybody and so long do you both Nick and Patsy in the strange adventure you have just heard Nick Carter was impersonated by Lon Clark Patsy by Helen Choke scubby by John Kane the story was written for Nick Carter by Ralph Burkey original music was played by Luke White the entire production was under the direction of Jock McGregor next week at the same time listen to another curious experience of Nick Carter entitled the corpse in the cab or Nick Carter and the mystery of the murder in the park this story is a copyrighted feature of street and Smith publications incorporated the return of Nick Carter is produced in the studios of WOR and is broadcast over most of these stations every Saturday evening at seven o'clock eastern wartime and don't forget the adventures of Nick's adopted son Chick Carter are broadcast over most of these stations Monday through Friday at 5 30 p.m. eastern wartime this is mutual