 ADVENTURES BY MORSE Morse presents COFFIN FOR THE LADY Featuring Captain Friday If you like high adventure, come with me. If you like the stealth of intrigue, come with me. If you like blood and thunder, come with me. 4 o'clock in the grey wet dusk of a late winter afternoon on Marmaduke Island uninhabited and somewhere off the Pacific coast of Canada Captain Bart Friday and Skip Turner soak to the skin lying in the dank leaf mold screened by a bank of fern watching, listening, waiting. No sound in all the empty forest except the dripping of rain-soaked trees and the lapping of water on the bank of the inland bay a score of yards away. Skip stirred. Honest to my grandma, Captain. Keep your voice down. It ain't even a civic cat within 20 miles from where we're laying. As the crow flies? Yeah, as the crow flies. Here we've been laying for three full hours. Taint that I mind playing Indian if the United States of America wants us to play Indian. Taint that. It's just that if we gotta do it, why'd we have to pick a middle of weather? And I mean a rainy winter. Take it easy, old boy. Suckers, that's what we are. We don't know when we're well off, that's a matter with us. We're sitting pretty in our office back in San Francisco. Friday making money for us. We got to cut a secretary in captivity. We got everything. And what do we do? We come up here on a two-by-four uninhabited island and lay on our stomachs in wet leaf mold. Sucker. That's so loud, sucker. And what for? I asked you. Little job for military intelligence. And do we know what kind of a job? No. Dog gone right we don't. We don't even know who we're working for. Yes, we do. Military intelligence. And that's what this guy brought us up here says. Major James Lawrence is everything he says he is. Maybe. Now you're just talking through your hat because you're cold and hungry. You're dead gum right I'm cold and hungry. And wet and cramped. And I got a cold coming on in my head. And that ain't all either. No. No. Do you realize we ain't so much as even sad eyes on an honest to goodness pretty female woman for more than a week now? Mm-hmm. What do you mean? Mm-hmm. You act like women in the mouth no more a hill of beans. I was just thinking. Thinking what? This job must be pretty hot stuff. I figure. We've been brought up here without a word of information. Major Lawrence hasn't said a word to us about the mission except that our work should be cut out for us on the return trip. And for us to keep our eyes cocked and our ammunition dry. He said that? Yeah. Now he spotted us here while he's gone back into the woods to keep some kind of a rendezvous. Three hours. When he rendezvous, he rendezvous. You suppose we ever gonna know what this is all about? I don't know. Military intelligence. Listen. I don't hear nothing. Somebody's coming through the brush. Yeah. Yeah, I get it. Keep down you crazy idiot. What if it's Major Lawrence? Let him come to us. Hey, it's not the Major. Somebody in army uniform, no? What's that he's toping in his arms? He's carrying some skips he's hurt. Yeah, guy stumbling around like a... Hey, he's down. Come on quick. He's hauled down in a heap. Hey, Captain, there's a knife in his back. So I see. Right between the shoulder blades. Is he... Hasn't corked out yet, but he's unconscious. No. No. Not unconscious. Hey. Who are you? What happened to Major Lawrence? Where'd you get this? Can't talk much. Get the girl to Portland, sir. Girl? Girl to Portland, sir. They... They want her dead. Captain Friday, this is a girl he was carrying. She's gagged and bound hand and foot. Hurry. Hurry. Get back to the boat. Get to the mainland. Get her... Get her off this island. Major Lawrence is dead. He... He's gone, Captain. Yeah, and did you get that? Major Lawrence is dead. Yeah, you think we ought to go look for him? No, we gotta get this girl out of here. I think we can get him in this little hunk of female... Don't mind this man. Hey, Captain. Didn't you hear him say to hurry? They must be hot on his trail. Pick up the girl. Seems a shame. Take his papers along. Come on, can you run with her? Yeah. I think you don't weigh no more than a minute. I sure hate to desert the major and that soldier. He'll notify the authorities the first chance we get. What's the girl look like? Can't tell much. She's gagged and blindfolded. Spring chicken, though, I tell that. They've been on the path. They're shooting at us. They're all going right there, shooting at us. I felt that hunk of lead go by just as plain. We're coming to the boat. Want a hand with the girl? No. Only you should have to launch off while I'm getting in with her. Okay. You're going to have to wait out with her. Yeah. Up to our hips. Hurry. Jump in. Quick. Yeah, man. Push off. She's free. Fly me in, Captain. Go, sir. Yeah, let her go. There. We're getting out far enough now so they can't do as much damage. Yeah. It's funny they don't come out and open. We've heard all them shots, but they ain't seen hot in the air nobody. Shooting stopped too. Notice that? Yeah. They used to use and gave up the chase, looks like. Hey, how about me opening this little package and see what we got? Package? Yeah, the babe, the doll. She tied up like a Christmas candy bomb. Okay, I'm tired. But first, got that gag out of her mouth. Yeah. Oh, lady, they got enough dried good stuff in your poor defect to dress a bride. There we are. Oh, thank you. Hey, Captain, look at what we got. Hey, she's pretty. Even in men's clothes, she's pretty. Hello there. I don't know who you two men are, but I want to thank you for saving my life. I think you're wonderful. I love both of you. Well, now I asked just about the nicest speech I ever heard. Well, don't stand there like an idiot, Skip. Cut the ropes on her hands and feet. Oh, sure. What am I thinking about? Shut up, honey, so I can get at those wrists. Oh, they tied my hands behind me. Oh, say they did. There, that cut them loose. Oh, all the circulation's gone. Yeah, we'll rub them together hard. That'll bring the blood back. They feel like they were dead. Where are we going? I don't know. Oh, Captain. What's the matter? Little lady wants to know where we're taking her. We'll be arriving on the mainland in another five or 10 minutes. There's nothing here at all. Just voice. That's all. Run the boat up alongside that old piling and tire up, Skip. Aye, Captain Freddy. Stan, I thought you were taking me to some town, or at least a village. Boats all secure. Good. We have to wait a short from here. I'll get over the side and carry her. How about me carrying her? I saw her first. You'll bring the rifles and bedding. Oh, that's great. I get to bring the rifles and bedding. And don't get them wet. Come on over the side, lady. I suppose there's nothing else to do. Nothing. Give me a hand. Here. Now, over with you. You must be freezing in that water. You just lie quietly and you won't get a drop on me. By the way, what's your name? Judith. And all? Judith Wright. Now, you know more about me than I know about you. Here we go up the bank. And safe and sound. Oh, you don't know what a good feeling it is. Horses. You got horses hidden back in the woods. That's right. Oh, wee. Honest at Christmas. Every time I wade in the Pacific Ocean, it seems to get colder. Want to build a fire? Skip. Fire? We gotta dry out. Besides that, I want a little conversation with Miss Wright here. Oh, is that her name? Judith Wright. Miss Wright, this is one of my sidekicks. Skip Turner. Hello, Skip. Same to you, Miss Wright. Oh, Skip to Miss Wright. Anybody who saved a girl's life ought to be allowed to use her first name. Well, that suits me right down to the skin. And who are you, Captain? I'm Captain Bart Friday. Captain of what? No, it's just a title. Ah, don't let him kid you, sis. Skip? Yeah? I thought you were going to build a fire. Oh, but look, you kept... I thought we was running away from a bunch of bad boys. I am babies who were shooting at us must have a boat, same as we got. And if they're so anxious to get Judith back in... They got the whole Canadian coastline to look for us. It'll take them a month to find this hiding place. Yeah, but fire makes smoke, and smoke can be... Make a fire without smoke. Now, who ever heard of a fire? Indians do. Huh? Make a fire without smoke? Oh, sure. Get me some dry twigs and leaves. I'll show you. Well, what do you know? A good-looking redhead's a girl's cow. You seem awfully cheerful, Miss Wright. Why shouldn't I be? I've just been rescued. Oh. You're thinking of Major Lawrence and their poor soldier. Yeah. They both died getting you out of whatever mess you're in. You could be a little more concerned. I'm sorry. They were friends of yours. I've done a little work with them, Major. I never saw the soldier in my life. Well, at least it isn't a personal loss. That was a very dramatic thing. Army GI running down a rough forest trail with a girl in his arms and a 10-inch dagger blade between his shoulder. Yes. The girl gagged and bound. I know. How'd you get into a mess like that? Something that just happens to people in this crazy world. Hmm. How old are you? 20. You working for military intelligence? I don't think that's a question you have any right to ask, Captain Friday. What do you know about Port Lancer? Nothing. Should I? I don't know. The soldier gasped out Port Lancer before he died. Yes. I heard him. You're supposed to take me there. Why? I don't know. I just heard him tell you so. Okay, Judith. Here's some dry leaves and twigs like you asked for. Forget them. We're going to Port Lancer. But cap, the fire. Last the fire. Get the horses. Sure. Why did a sudden urge to rush to Port Lancer, Captain Friday? I'm being double-crossed somewhere along the line and I can't hold still till I find out who's doing it and why. Judith Wright, the girl of mystery. Port Lancer, the port of mystery. Why have two army men been murdered over Judith? Why was she bound and ganged? But most important, what is there at Port Lancer to make Captain Friday think that... but wait. Watch out, your horse doesn't stumble. We've got to wait this creek. I don't hear no creek. You will as soon as we turn the corner. It's just up ahead. That's our Captain Friday. We'll be at Port Lancer in another five minutes. I'm not used to riding. Neither am I. That's a fact. I bet they'll have to peel the seat of my pants off or I'll drown it between me and the saddle so hard. I hear the running water up ahead. Here's where we cross. I keep a tight rein. The creek bed has a rocky bottom and your horse is liable to stumble unless you keep his head up. Here we go now. Come on, boy. The bank with you. Good boy. Come on, Miss Wright. Just hang on. Keep right behind her, Skip. Okay, here we come. Come on, boy. Come on. Hang on, Judah. Careful, Dad. Oh, cowboy. Skip to call me. I only put two handfuls of hair out of my horse's mane hanging on there, sir. Come on, boy. Come on. On the edge of Port Lancer. You can see smoke from the village. That's about time. You realize we've been in the saddle from 11 o'clock this morning to 4.30 this afternoon? You don't have to tell me. I've realized to be second of it. Yeah, yeah, there she is. You can see the buildings through the trees. Hey, you any idea what we're going to do when we get there, Captain? Put our horses up at the local livery stable. Take a couple of rooms at the little hotel. And then what? Then just sit. Do what? Just sit till the news of our arrival spreads over Port Lancer. It won't take long with all 300 of the inhabitants thirsting for the latest news. And after the news is around, what? And I expect we'll be receiving visitors. What makes you think that? Somebody in Port Lancer wants to get in touch with you very much. That was the soldier's dying words. Hey, our forest path just sort of widens out into the main street of the village. And there's the livery stable on the left-hand side of the street, up ahead. Yeah, yeah. There's a Comstock Hotel just opposite. Well, if you ask me, the livery stable looks more inviting than the hotel. You just ain't kidding there, sister. And the horses will get better food, too. Hello. Must be a boat in the harbor. Huh? Do they have passenger boat service up here? Listen, not passenger. That'll be a cannery boat. One of the boats that service the fishing canneries. They carry passengers, one and if there are any. You're pretty well acquainted with the country up here, Captain Friday. That's my job. Job? And just what is your job? Whoa, there. Whoa. Here we are. Now let's get down. Man, does it ever feel good to stand on your own two feet again? Here, come on, baby, I'll help you off. Just let go down slide. Oh, there. Whoa, boy. Gotcha. Oh, my goodness, Judith. Man can pick you up and put you in this bargain. Skip your ladies, man. Put me down. Do you mind? There you are. Oh! Oh, you see? It's that lame. You want I should pick you up again? No. I'd get along. Here, I'll take the three horses in the stable. You won't need to do that, mister. Oh, hello. You're the stableman? That's right. Will you be leaving the horses here overnight? Looks like it from here. Then I'll be taking them along. Come along, boys. Wait, mister. No, what's the matter? Whoa. Whoa, boys. What's the matter? One of you better come along. I'll be needing a small deposit on the feed bill. Well, that's silly. You can hold the horses if we don't pay. It's a rule we got. Avoid arguments later on. Well, that's a silly issue. Never mind. Never mind. I'll go along with him. You're on this right way here. Sorry, mister. The rules are rules. Yeah, sure. Hey, come on, boys. Whoa. Whoa, boys. You folks staying across the street at the Comster Hotel? I expect so. You mind just leaving the bay horse and the buck stall there? All right, but hurry it up. We've had a long ride. We're tired. Come on, baldy. Whoa, baldy. Whoa, boy. Uh, just time. Hey! That takes care of one of you. I'm easy enough it was to. Now to get the other one in here. Hmm. Taking Captain Friday long enough to make a deposit. Some of these natives along the coast are funny people. Just vicious of everything. Only hard to do business with. Yeah, I spoke. Hey, look. Here comes a stable man. Well, where's the Captain? Maybe he decided to sleep with the horses. Hey, what's the matter, fella? Will you come into the stable a minute, mister? Me? Looks like one of your horses is going lame. Oh. Which one? The big bay. Your friend was wishing you'd step inside a met. Oh, will you excuse me a minute, Judith? Oh, yes. Is there anything to... A no, miss. I'll be out in a minute. They come along with you. Might as funny. I was riding the bay and there wasn't a limp out of her all day. Right inside here. If you'll step right in the buck stall. Hey! Captain, why'd you do that? Look at this bump on my head. Hey, you're bleeding. No, not bad. Oh, I'm all right. This crazy old codger load me into this buck stall and then club me over the head. I saw the blow coming and rolled with her, but I still was stunned for a minute. You mean he brought me in here for the same reason? That's right. Why, you dirty old skin flip. Well, he didn't roll with the blow you give him. You'll be out for an hour. Never mind him. Where'd you leave Judith right? Out in front. She was gonna wait. Come on, let's find out what this game is. Wait. Don't go barging outside when we see the lay of the land. Just a minute. I don't get it. Did you say Miss Wright was waiting outside for us? Oh, she said. What she said and what she's doing and two different things. Take a look for yourself. Hey, she's hightailing it off down the street. Avoiding the cum stock hotel like it was poison. Well, we better get on her tail. What if she gets further ahead? Well, there's one thing she's not heading for the harbor. Hey, but why does she want to give us a slip after us saving her? Hey, do you think she's in cahoots with this old stable geezer who tried to lay us out? Come on. She's far enough ahead. Right on your coattail. Oh, how you're gonna shatter anybody in this one horse village? Man, just do the best we can. And have you thought that if there's one man who wants to have us put away in Port Lancer, there's probably at least a couple of more? Well, anyway, I'm glad it's getting dusk. That's more of a break. Hey, look, she's turning off the main street. Okay. Then we can close up a little on her. Faster, but keep on the grass so she won't hear footsteps behind her. Yeah. Right ahead's where she turned off. Yeah. Hold it. There's nothing more than a cow path leading off into the woods. There she is. I don't see nothing. I caught sight of her going through the trees. Come on. Easy on those footsteps. Walk along the edge of the grass. It's getting darker under the trees so we can close in some more. What the heck's going on, Cappy? We rescued Judith right at the cost of the lives of two army intelligence men. We'd get her safely to the mainland only to have one of her friends try to crack our skulls. We don't know who he was, her friend. Well, then why didn't she stick around? Looks to me like the stable man was getting rid of her so she could be on her way. Smells rotten, all right. Look. Look ahead. Uh-oh. Cabin. With a light in the window. Your friend Judith are knocking on the door. Yeah. Looks like we come to a place where we might get information about a lot of things. Door's opening for her. See who let her in? No. Come on. Let's creep up outside the window. See what goes on inside. Think they might have a guard outside? Why didn't they challenge Miss Wright then? Sounds logical. Come on. Not too fast. Let's look the situation over as we go. Let's try for that group of trees near the cabin first. OK, go ahead. I'm right behind you. Come on. See anything? Not a move out or nobody. OK. Our next dash will be the shadow of the house. Yeah. Oh, a night comes down on you like a blackout out here in these woods. All right. Here we go. Make it quiet. Don't know a sign of man or beast. Now then, we'll ease along the house up to the window. Uh-huh. Oh, Captain, did you see that? They pulled a curtain over the window. Yeah. It's too bad. So what do we do now? Let's have a look anyway. Oh, don't brush against the logs. They can hear you inside. I'm watching. Hold it. And there's a crack. You can see under the curtain. Get quiet, you idiot. Yeah. See anything? The girls laying on the floor. I can see her as well as you can. They've killed Judith. I don't see any blood. Hey, what's that big oblong bob? They got sitting on those kitchen chairs. Where? Oh, it's a room there. They're lifting up the girl's body. But they're putting in... They're putting Judith right in a coffin. Did you see her face? She's not dead yet. They're burying the girl and she's not dead yet. Skip. Huh? What's the matter? If I'm not mistaken, somebody's standing right behind us. Be there, you two gentlemen, so much as twitching eyebrow. I'll blast you to kingdom come. Judith right elude her rescuers to rush to her own destruction. Why was the coffin in the cabin? Were these men just waiting for her to deliver her body in the satin lined burial box? But Skip Turner said she wasn't dead yet. No one wants to be buried alive. And what of Captain Friday and Skip Turner each with a gun in his back? Chapter two of A Coffin for the Lady is entitled The Conversation in the Casket and will bring you further developments in this newest cartony Morse production. Be with us next week at this same hour.