 another case for that most famous of all man hunters. The detective whose ability at solving crime is unequaled in the history of detective fiction. Nick Carter, master detective. Presented by the three great Linux home bright news. Linux clear glass varnish. Linux cream polish. And Linux self polishing wax. Created by ACME, America's great producer of fine ACME quality paints. For his adventure, webs of murder. On Nick Carter and the mystery of the black widow spiders. Just a moment, we'll hear how Nick Carter solved the mystery of the black widow murders and saved the webs from getting into the hands of the enemy. But before we do, consider this. Millions of Americans have learned how easily chemtone the miracle wall finish brings amazing new beauty to the home. Now millions more are learning that floors woodwork and furniture can be made to look like new with the three great Linux home bright news. 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No, not directly. I had to stop off and do an errand for Riley first. Do an errand for Riley? Since when have you started that? I haven't started anything fancy. Riley called me this morning just before you got to the office and asked me if I do this job as a special favor to him. What do you have to do? Well, it seems that there's a woman on Cherry Street who makes a business of supplying spider webs to the Army and Navy. They use them for cross hairs for engineering instruments and sighting devices for gun sights, bomb sights, and so on. It's only a small business, but it's pretty valuable and mighty important, too. Oh, where do you come in? Well, this woman called Riley early this morning and said that someone had tried to break into her place last night. She has a large shipment just ready to go out and she's afraid that someone may try to keep her from delivering it. I see. So Riley asked me if I'd stop in on my way back and pick it up. Said he had no good man, he could send for it now because of some special work the police are doing just now. And good-natured old Nick said he would. Where do you have to take it? To one of the naval buildings downtown. Besides being worth about $10,000, the web is very important to the service. Also, I thought you might like to see how they collect this web from the spiders. You want to come with me? Well, I've got a dental appointment in about an hour, Nick, but I'll stop off and have a look at this spider conservatory. How long are you going to be there? Only long enough to pick up the stuff, I expect. Unless there's some delay, you ought to get back to town. Plenty of time for your appointment with a tooth specialist. I'm Nick Carter. I've come to pick up the web that you want delivered to town. Who told you to come here? Lieutenant Riley said you wanted police protection. That's right, I do. Would you mind identifying yourself, please? Not at all. Would this prove my identity sufficiently? Oh, of course. Come in, Mr. Carter. Thank you, Miss... Lewis, Kay Lewis, I own this business. This is Miss Bowen, my assistant. How do you do? The web will be ready in just a few minutes. I have one more spider to take care of. This is a new one on me, Miss Lewis. I've seen plenty of spider webs, but I never thought of saving any of them. Well, that's a very different thing, Miss Bowen. You can't just save any old web you might find around the house. You have to go at it the right way and have the right kind of spiders. What kind do you use? Black widow, aren't they? Yes. Their web is very strong and very uniform. Black widows? Aren't they deadly poisonous? Well, there's really no danger if I get bitten. A solution of epsom salt injected into the bloodstream will counteract the poison. It's nice to know, but I hope I never have to use it. So do I. Oh, look at all the jars, Nick. Is there a spider in each jar? Not quite. We have 160 here just now. I checked up last night. My assistant, Jim Baldwin, is out in the field collecting more today. How do you get the web, Miss Lewis? Well, watch me. I let the spider out of the jar and almost at once, it starts to spin a web. I take the end of the web so and fasten it to this small wire frame. There. Then I just wind up the frame and the web winds up as fast as the spider produces it. I understand you had an attempted burglary here last night, Miss Lewis. Yes. Someone tried to break in the back door. We found chisel marks all around it this morning, but they were unsuccessful or else they got scared away. Any idea who might want to steal your stuff? No, but I didn't want to take any chances with such an unusually large shipment as this, so I asked for police protection. And I don't blame you. You say there are 160 spiders here? Yes, all widows. Okay, I'm back. In here, Jim. That's my assistant, Jim Baldwin. Not much like this time, Kay. Oh? I only got 11 more black widows. The woods are too dry just now. Oh, Jim, this is Mr. Carter and Miss Bowen. How do you do? How do you do? Mr. Carter is taking the shipment of web to the naval building for me to be sure it gets there. Oh, I see. You know, I can't understand why anyone would want to steal the webs. We're the only collectors in this part of the country, and no one else could sell them without attracting attention. Well, I know it sounds foolish, but I... Well, I'm not criticizing you. I'm just thinking out loud, that's all. Oh, Miss North, how much longer before the web will be ready? Oh, not long. As soon as I've made this one web, I'll pack them in those cases and they'll be ready to go. Not over half hour at the most. I think I'd better get along, Nick. I can take this that way. I don't want to be late for my appointment with the dentist. Okay, Patsy. I'll see you in the office about noon. All right. Thanks for the demonstration, Miss Lewis. You're very welcome. Goodbye. I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Carter, but you can't hurry these spiders. That's quite all right. I don't have to hurry. Oh, Jim, get that. Will you please... Sure, I'll take it. Those cases you pack the web in look like boxes of fishing tackle, don't they? Yes. You can pack a lot of webs into a pretty small space. It's for you, Kay. Pete Marl. Pete? Oh, thank you. I'll only be a moment. Excuse me, Pete. Pete Marl. Isn't he that small-time gangster who runs the garage? That's the one. He has black market tires and gasoline? That's him. And what's her connection with him? Nothing, I guess. They've been out together a few times. Well, it's time to feed the spiders. Each one gets a fresh kill fly once a day. What's this? Now, what's her go after it? See that? Yes. Well, don't think I'd care to be run... Oh! Beals as if a thousand hammers were... Oh! A Baldwin, too. Not you, too, huh? I wonder... Where the web? They're gone, both cases. Great. Greed. Miss Lewis. Miss Lewis, are you... Not right through the head. And away. That's my gun there on the floor. But she was shot with my gun. Hey, Baldwin! Baldwin! Baldwin, wake up! Wake up! What happened? Baldwin, can you hear me? Yeah. What's the matter? Kay Lewis has been murdered. Kay? Murdered? Yes, shot through the head. And the web is gone, all of it. The web gone? Yes. Did you see the guy who slugged us? No, I looked around as you went down. I saw someone behind me and then I got it. And got it good. Okay, come on, come on. Snap out of it. Will you get on the phone and call the police? Police? Of course. Get in the office and call them now. All right, I'll call them. I'll have a look around. See if I can find anything to tell us who's behind this. Wherever it was, used my gun, wiped all the fingerprints off. Clean as a whistle now. Hello? What's this? Wasn't here before? That I'm sure of. Take it for a parked car. Moro's garage. Pete Moro. He phoned here just before... I got him. They're coming right out. Look here, Baldwin. Are you sure that was Pete Moro on the phone a few minutes ago? Yes, it was. I know his voice. Why? I just found this on the floor here. A parking ticket for Moro's garage. Probably just a coincidence. Somebody who had parked at Moro's place did this. You're wrong there. This is the other end of the ticket. The end held by the garage. Yeah, so it is. So what? I know that was Moro on the phone. Besides, he was still talking to Kay when we were slugged. Yes, you're right there. Miss Lewis was still talking last I knew. I wonder. This ticket wasn't here before the killing. And it's here now. I knew of a better clue. I think I'll take a run over to Moro's place and see what I can get out of him. I wish you luck, Carter. By the way, how long have you been in business here? About a year. Who started the business? Kay did. How'd you get into it? Well, she knew I was a zoologist, so she asked me where she could get some black with her spiders. The idea interested me and I finally gave up what I was doing and came over here. I collected the spiders and she collected the webs. We've been very successful. Know anything about her past? No, nothing. Never thought much about it before. But why all these questions, Carter? Just want to learn what I can before I talk to Moro. Sorry. I don't know anything more than I've told you. All right, Moro. You wait here for the police. I'll have a talk with our friend Pete Moro. He's in the office. Anybody with him? No, no, you can go in if you want to. Thanks, I will. You want with me? I want to talk with you. Okay, you've got the floor. I suppose you keep your hands on top of your desk while we talk. What? Just sit still. Keep your hands in sight. Hey, who are you anyway? What do you want with me? I'm Nick Carter. As I said, I want to talk to you. Okay, so you're Nick Carter. So what? I just want to ask you if you know what I think about this bump on the back of my head. Bump on the... I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you don't, maybe you do. You know Kay Lewis? Yeah, sure, I know her. Good looking thing. Been out with her? Yeah, what's it to you? You know what business she was in? Sure, I know about them spiders. And you also knew the webs were worth a lot of money, didn't you? Hey, what are you getting at? You trying to pin something on me? Sit down! Did you telephone Kay Lewis about an hour ago? Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, sure, sure. I, uh, I had to talk to you. What about? Why I... You're lying, Moron. Now stay right where you are. I want to have a little look around this office of yours. I don't know what you're trying to do, copper. But I'm telling you, I... One of those boxes under your desk, Moron. Uh, boxes? Yes, boxes. What are they? They're, uh, they're tools. Mechanics tools. Yes? Well, suppose you shove those tools out from under your desk and let me have a look at them. Well, there ain't nothing there, but... Don't try reaching for your gun again. Next time I'll aim lower. Now shove those boxes out of here with your feet. I don't see why you're so interested in them boxes. They just... You know well enough why there's enough spider web in those cases to send you to the chair. To the chair? You shouldn't have killed Kay Lewis, Moron. I didn't tell her. I took the web, sure, but I didn't do anything to her. You admit you stole the web? Sure, I got the web. Was it my fault? It was... Uh... Doing the shooting this time. Was it Nick, or was it someone trying to kill Nick? Did Pete Marl kill Kay Lewis, or was it someone else? We'll see in just a moment. I know every man notices the beautiful floors after the appearance of a room, and every woman knows that well-kept floors reflect the pride she takes in her home. Now, with Linux self-polishing wax, you can give your floors a more beautiful finish than ever, without tiresome rubbing or polishing. For Linux self-polishing wax, it's simply wiped on, drawing to a handsome, satiny finish that really wears, because Linux self-polishing wax contains genuine carnauba wax. When worn spots do appear, you simply renew the finish where it's needed, without re-waxing the whole floor. And Linux self-polishing wax is easy to keep lovely, for surface dirt is quickly whisk away with a damp cloth. What's more, Linux self-polishing wax is the anti-slip floor finish, as the underwriters' laboratories have proved. And it's equally fine for tile, wood, or linoleum. Ask your dealer now for Linux, L-I-N-dash-X, Linux self-polishing wax. You'll find all three great Linux home brightness, and ChemTone, the miracle wall finish, at hardware, paint, and department stores everywhere. And now back to our story. Nick had just made Pete Morrill small-time gangster admit that he had stolen the missing spider webs when two shots were fired in rapid succession. It's a few minutes later. You must bury Chem life, Nick, if neither of the two shots hit you. Only the second one was aimed at me, Patsy. The first one went right through Pete's forehead. I dropped behind the desk, and the other one went over my head. Do you have any idea who killed him? Not yet. Tried to get him, but he got away. Why would anyone want to kill Pete? To keep him from talking too much, probably. Pete had just admitted he stole the webs, and was about to tell me something else when he was shot. I imagine the killer himself was listening, and when Pete started confessing, shot him to keep him quiet. Did you get the webs back, Nick? Yes, both cases. They're in my car now. I'm going to take them back to the spider place. Raleigh should be there by now. You walked into something when you agreed to deliver those cases, didn't you? Apparently I did. But here's where I called you, Patsy. I want you to look into our files. Get together all the information you can find on Kay Lewis and her business. Call me at the spider place as soon as you get it. There's something very peculiar going on around here someplace. I saw the beat of it, Nick. The way you're always around when somebody gets killed. And I suppose you're not in about it the same as usual. Oh, I wouldn't say I know nothing about it, Raleigh, but I certainly don't have the solution all ready to hand over to you. Have you made any of your usual startling discoveries yet? None of your wise crags cut her. I'm doing all right. Ah, fine, fine. And what have you found so far? Well, we got the bullet that killed this Lewis woman, and it came from a 45. That bullet's got to identify the killer for us. I doubt that, Raleigh. Why do you doubt it? Because I'm pretty sure the bullet was fired from my gun. From your gun? You mean you shot her? I mean nothing of the kind. After I was knocked out, someone stole my gun, shot Miss Lewis, and left the gun on the floor beside her. Ah, gunner, that's the only real clue we had. There are other clues, Raleigh. Although I doubt that you would get much out of them. For example, I know that Pete Morrow, small-time gangster and black market operator, stole the spider webs that are missing. Pete Morrow, is it? Hey, Sergeant! Send a couple of the boys out to pick up Pete Morrow. That wouldn't do any good, Raleigh. Very not. Pete ought to be able to give us some dope on this. Pete is not going to tell anybody anything anymore. Someone put a slug through his head while I was talking to him. Another killer? We ain't even solved this one yet. When you solve this one, Raleigh, if you do solve it, you'll have the answer to both of them. I believe the same person killed both Kay Lewis and Pete Morrow. Did you learn anything from Pete before he was killed? Only that he stole the webs, and that someone else was back of it. Where are the webs now? Outside in my car. That ain't safe, Nick. Maybe the killer will be back to get them. They'll be safe enough. I left them in charge of one of your men out there. Hey, where's Jim? Who is Jim? Kay Lewis' assistant, Jim Baldwin. Oh, oh, him, sure. He was here a while ago, but he said he was feeling pretty sick after finding Miss Lewis' chart the way she was. So I let him go over to the drug store for something to make him feel better. How long has he been gone? Only a few minutes, sir. Let me see here. What a good gush he is longer than I thought. He's been gone about three quarters of an hour. He ought to have been back here before this. That's very interesting. Come on, come on, come on. What's going on out there? Well, this is the kind of coffee. Okay, one at a time. Oh, Scotty, what's the trouble he is? Well, Mr. Carter asked me to keep an eye on his car, so no one would bother him. But I just took a look at it. I found this fella fooling around. So I brought him in. That's ridiculous. I didn't know it was Carter's car. What were you doing with it? I wasn't doing anything with it. I was on my way back from the drug store, and as I passed the car, I just happened to glance inside. I thought I recognized the cases we used to pack the spiderwebs in. I was just having a look at them to make sure when this dumb cop came up and grabbed me. A dumb cop, did you say? Yo, that's all, Scotty. Go back and watch the car like you was told to. Yes, Lieutenant. Hey, Jim, have you been at the drug store ever since Lieutenant Riley let you go? Well, sure I have. What else would I be doing? It's exactly what I'd like to know. Are you insinuating that I'm insinuating nothing? By the way, you said someone tried to break in here last night. That's right. Which door was it? That one there? Yes. You can see the chisel marks all over the outside where they tried to break the lock. That's just what I do want to see. We're right back, Riley. Take your time. Take your time. I got nothing else to do but watch you play around here. Shall I answer, Lieutenant? Why shouldn't you answer? Well, I didn't know now that you're in charge here. Go on and answer. Sure, sure. Hello. Sure. Uh, wait a minute. Uh, Carter, telephone for you. Okay, thanks. I'll be right back. Now, look here, Bartman. Hello. You said you got back here with them spiders you'd caught just before the killing this morning, didn't you? That's right. The weather was bad for spiders, and I hadn't had much luck. I only got 11 spiders for 12 hours' work. Well, sometimes I got as many as 35 and maybe 40 in the same length of time. But this time, all I could find was 11. Hardly worth the trouble. I hear you say you got 11 spiders, Jim. Yes, you saw them when I brought them in this morning. So I did. So I did. How's your arithmetic? Arithmetic. I don't get you. How much is 160 and 11 added together? Are you being funny, Carter? Definitely not. Add 160 and 11 and see what you get. Any fool could answer that, Nick. I know the answer myself. You get 171. That's what I make at two, Riley. What's this all about, Nick? Let's count the spiders here in this room and see how many there are. What do you want to do that for, Nick? Just to satisfy my curiosity. Now, what do you say? You're curiosity. All right, all right. Let's count the things and get it done so we can get to something important. This is important, Riley. You take that side. I'll take this. One, two, three, four... Don't move. I'll shoot if you do. Hit your hands up high. He broke the charge and some of them spiders is loose. They're poisoned. Just step on it, Riley. They can't bite you unless you get out. The spiders don't get you, gentlemen. I will. With my little 45. Nick, Nick, one of them is on me. He's going to bite me. Knock it off, Riley. You're not dead yet. Not yet, but soon. I missed you in Pete's office this morning, Carter, because I was in a hurry. But I won't miss you this time. You mean you killed Pete Moro? I did, just as I'm going to kill you. I don't think you are, Jim. And why not? Look behind you and you'll see. You can't fool me that way, Carter. I'm no chump. Take care of him now. Hey! I've been bitten. One of the spiders got me. Oh, my fine friend, try and get out of these. Now, good work, Riley. Quick, get some of the epsom salts before I die. They're in the first-aid cabinet there. You killed K. Lois, didn't you? Yes, yes. Get the salts quick. And you killed Pete Moro, too, didn't you? Yes, do something. I'm dying. Pete stole the web as part of your deal, didn't he? For the love of hell, would you hurry up? Didn't they? Yes, yes, yes. I planned it, but he just helped me. Would you do something before I die? Yes, I'll give you the epsom salts now. Oh, hurry up! I want to save you for the electric chair. Quite a day. Yes, Patsy. Quite a day. And now that everything's quiet and peaceful, suppose you give out with the missing details. Did you know Jim Baldwin was behind us when you started out? No, not at first, Patsy. There didn't seem to be any motive for him to do it. But as soon as you told me that our files show K. Lois' partner and not her employee, I got suspicious. Well, go on. Tell me all about it. All right, slave driver. Jim Baldwin knew there was a big shipment of webs going out this morning. And he wanted it for himself. So he planned everything to look as if he couldn't possibly be mixed up in it. Uh-huh. We told Miss Lewis he was going out after a new batch of spiders. But instead he came back after dark and chiseled around the lock on the door to make it look as if someone had tried to get in. Oh. As soon as I examined the door, I knew it was a phony attempt. Then he arranged with someone to call Miss Lewis at a certain time this morning, just as he got back in with his 11 spiders. He answered the phone himself and told us it was Pete Morrow. Said he recognized his voice. That gave Morrow an alibi as well as himself. Then he knocked me out. And Morrow, as they'd arranged, came in and took the webs. Jim says he never planned to kill Miss Lewis. And I think that's true. When he found me there, he was afraid, as he hadn't expected any witnesses so probably thought it would look more legitimate if she were killed. So he took my gun and shot her. Then tapped himself from the head hard enough to raise a good bump just to fool me. Then if you hadn't found the parking ticket for Morrow's garage, you wouldn't have had any reason to suspect Morrow, would you? No, that was a lucky break. For me, not for Morrow. But how did Jim get away to kill Morrow? He stayed at the spider lab, didn't he? Well, after Riley got there, he talked Riley into letting him go to the drugstore for some medicine. But instead, drove to Morrow's place and got there in time to overhear our conversation. Then, being afraid Morrow was going to confess that he, Jim, was behind the deal, shot him. And on his way back, he saw the webs in your car and tried to steal them again. Right. But, Nick, if Jim didn't go out gathering spiders, as he said he was going to do, where'd he get those 11 spiders he brought back with him? Took them out of the stock at the lab when he was there last night trying to make the lock look as if someone had tried to break in. Oh, then that was why you wanted to count the spiders. Exactly, Betsy. Oh, I get it. Miss Lewis told us in the morning that she had 160 spiders on hand. Remember? Mm-hmm. Well, if Jim had brought in 11 more, that would have made 171 and all. Right. So I wanted to count them to see how many there actually were. And when I started to do that, Jim knew the game was up because he knew we'd find only 160, which had been there before. So he tried to get rid of us by breaking several of the jars in order to let some of the black widows out, hoping they'd bite us. But one bit him instead. Yes. I saw one heading for him, so I kept talking, hoping he wouldn't notice it. Then when it did bite him, I shot his gun out of his hand. It's an old story, isn't it? That has happened many times before. A widow caused his downfall, poor man. In just a moment, Nick and Betsy will bring you a preview of next week's exciting case. But right now, here's a helpful hint. When there are children in your home, it's a real job to keep your furniture looking its best. Small hands leave fingerprints, small shoes leave scratches, and the youngsters demand so much of your time. So it's really wise to depend on the quick, easy shortcut to furniture beauty. Linux Cream Polish. Linux Cream Polish renews the gleaming beauty of your fine furniture. And it's so simple to use for it cleans as it polishes, saving you half the time and energy. Yes, in one quick application, Linux Cream Polish does away with the cloudy look of dust and old polish, erases finger marks, helps conceal scratches, and Linux Cream Polish dries hard so there's no leftover oil for dust to cling to. Ask for Linux Cream Polish at your dealers now. You'll find all three great Linux home brightness, Linux Cream Polish, Linux Clear Gloss Varnish, and Linux Self Polishing Wax at your nearest hardware, paint, or department store. Now, an urgent reminder. Your service man needs the Red Cross. Needs the touch of home it provides for him wherever he may be. Help support the Red Cross overseas clubs and what they can do for that fighting man of yours. Contribute out toward the $200 million the Red Cross needs. And keep your Red Cross at his side. Now let's hear from Nick Carter himself. Well, Nicholas, what's your story about next week? Patsy and I went to the races one afternoon just before the season closed, and saw one of the most exciting races I've ever witnessed. But as the winning jockey came down the home stretch, he suddenly fell from his horse and was instantly killed. And Nick, being a detective, born and bred, instantly smelled a murder. Nothing to go on, just one of his hunches. Was it murder, Nick? The proof can. I knew it was murder. The only job was to get something concrete in the way of evidence. Which Nick, being Nick, proceeded to do. Much to the annoyance of a great many people who all tried to do something about it. What do you call this story of yours, Nick? Death goes to the post. Or the mystery of the murdered jockey. And that's all for now. So long. Details next week. So long, everybody. And so long to both of you. We'll be looking forward to seeing you next week as usual. Next week at the same time, listen to another curious experience of Nick Carter, master detective entitled Death Goes to the Post. Or Nick Carter. And the mystery of the murdered jockey. Nick Carter, master detective, is featured in Street and Smith magazines. Long Clark is starred as Nick with Helen Chote as Patsy. Original music is played by Lou White, and the programs are written and directed by Jack McGregor. Nick Carter, master detective, is presented at this time and over these same stations each week by the three great Linux home brightness. Linux clear glass varnish. Linux cream polish. And Linux self polishing wax. Created by Acme, America's great producer of Acme fine quality paints. This is Ken Powell speaking for the thousands of Linux dealers all over America and saying so long until next week, this is Mutual.