 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. Yes friends, it's time for the Whistler, rated by independent research, the most popular West Coast program in radio history. White hot dust. As the bus creaked to a halt at the far end of the single main street, a lone passenger stepped down, stood for a moment looking around him. Moving away from the bus and along the street it all came back to him. The neglected fountain marking the plaza, the faded facades along the little row of shops, the old cafe, all the same unchanged. Just as when he had left on that same bus almost a year ago. At that time Roy Collins was certain that he would never have reason to return. But now he did have a reason for return. A good reason. Crossing the plaza, the guitar music he heard reminded him again of his former mining partner, old Dan Bosley and Paul. Paul Fallon was the youngest and the laziest. Interested only in learning to play that secondhand guitar he picked up somewhere. But now it was Lola Mendes for what I wanted to see. The girl who ran the tiny cafe. Lola! Oh, but no, no, I... Oh, not for you. Oh, no, no, I did not. I do not know what to think, Senior Roy. It's just... Well, it's just that I'm so happy to see you. Well, that's more like it. Tired? Lola, I hope the cafe hasn't changed if you've still got some of that good... Yes, yes, yes. Sit down, Senior Roy. All right. No, no, no. Over here by the barn. Yes, Senior Roy. So happy that you're well and back again. Back in Riondo. Yeah, me too, Lola. Oh, it's good to sit down without bouncing around on that rickety old bus. No, I never mind that now. Here, Mendes. Yeah. To your return. Senior Roy, are you back to stay? Or maybe just to see your old friend Dan Bosley? I don't know. I might look him up maybe. I really came back to see you, Lola. Oh, that's nice. Yeah. How is Dan? Is he making out okay? Oh, see? He bought the watch, the silver one. I told you that in the letter I wrote. You asked me to let you know when he bought it. Yeah, that's right. So Dan got his silver watch, huh? I always said he would, didn't he? Well, he struck it rich. Yes. He fell up in the hills in our old camp. I think so. Oh, see? Oh, Manuel. Manuel, look, it is Senior Roy. He's come back to us. Oh, yeah. He has a long arm of a law. Hello, Manuel. Hello, Senior Constance. Oh, sit down, Manuel. Have a drink with us. Oh, thank you, Lola. It's a matter, Manuel. Southwest malty always on duty? Always, Senior. 24 hours of the day, I am on duty. Oh, that's fine. Fine. That still amuses you, Senior. Oh, sorry, Manuel. It's just that in this sleepy little joy... Nothing ever happens. I remember you always used to say that. Did I? Always. But you forget, Senior, that Riondo is just one place, one village. Manuel has been promoted, Senior Roy. He patrols all this territory now. Travels over parts of it each day. Well, congratulations, manny boy. Why did you come back, Senior? Why didn't you keep going like you promised? Oh, now, wait a minute. I... Oh, please, Manuel, just because he and his partners had a little fight... I am sorry, Lola. It's my job to ask such questions of strangers. Strangers? And hardly that, Manuel. I spent quite a few months here. Weak, Senior. You did not stay long enough to know Riondo, but long enough for us to know you. Oh, now, I wouldn't say that. Neither would I. I will see you later, Lola. I have some resources to make up. But, Manuel... Please enjoy it that you return. Manuel Rosales, annoyed, suspicious, in return, threatens his obvious romantic inclinations toward Lola. With a promise to return later, you'll leave her and, walking through the village, your thoughts turn back to your old partner, Dan Bosley. And then, the sound of the guitar startled you again, doesn't it, Roy? But only for a moment. You're sure, Paul Fallon, your other ex-partner is far from Riondo at this moment. You're sure that he hasn't acknowledged what you have of Dan's recent good fortune. At a blacksmith's shop, at the end of the street, you stop, rouse the dozing old man, and present your proposition. It doesn't take too well, does it? Ah, see, Senior, I have boroughs, good, strong-packed animals, but I do not lend them without the pay, in advance. Now, look, Juan, I said you'd get your money. It's just that I haven't got it right now. I have to work a deal with a friend of mine. No, no, Senior. No pay, no borrow. I'm very sorry, Senior. It's nothing. You're dried up, old goat. Why bother with him, Roy? What? I have enough for our journey. Oh. Uh-huh. 20-year-old partner. Welcome back to Rion, and if I may be so bold, did you come to see an old pal? Or did you come for gold? Shut up and put that thing down. Okay, okay. But if I can't sing, we'll talk. There's nothing to talk about. What are you doing here, anyway? You see, there is something to talk about. You hate Rion, though, but you're back. There's got to be a reason. A good reason. Like what? Well, like maybe our dear old ex-partner, Dan Bosley, making a strike. Did he? I wouldn't know. Neither would I. But we'll go see him, won't we, Roy? Sort of renew our old partnership, just like you figured. That didn't figure any of this thought. Not with me along, you didn't. But you'll lead me to him. Well, I might as well get this straight, Roy. You're not going anywhere without me, partner. Oh, yes, we're right back in Rion, though. Two of the unholy three. We're going to take Dan's gold away. Have for you and have for me. Nothing of Dan Bosley's good luck in the hills far back of Rion, though. But it's all right now again, isn't it? Yes. You had to move fast and run the risk of Lola suspecting your plan. Wondering if you'd really come back to see her after all. But you're almost in the clear and she doesn't seem to suspect a thing. She's even helped you. It's still helping you. Here in the darkness and back of the old cafe. Slowly, you're okay. I'm not forgetting this. I hope you will be safe, Senior Roy, and that you will come back soon. Oh, yeah, yeah, I will, Lola, real soon. Now, look, are you sure you're okay with Mr. Burrow's supply? Oh, no, no, he will not. The supplies I bought. I'll have the burrow back soon. After that, Lola, I'll make it up to you. We'll get out of this burg. Oh, be careful, Senior Roy. The mountain trails, the rivers, they're dangerous. Manuel says... Never mind what that half-baked deputy says. You heard what I said. You and me, Lola. Oh, yes, Senior Roy. You and me. Adios, querido. With your movements covered by the night and Lola's assurance that she'll say nothing to anyone. You're confident again, aren't you, Roy? Please, that you've outpernovered Paul. Of the three of you, Paul knew the least about the territory around the old camp. He never went there alone, so he'll be unable to find a hidden canyon. You have trouble remembering yourself, don't you, Roy? But you remember enough to follow the river exactly as Dan always did. It's almost dawn before you decide to rest. You halt the burrow, sink down, wearily near a tree on the riverbank. You feel yourself starting to doze off, and then you leap to your feet. They're around the half-darkness of the near dawn. Wonder if you're imagining things. But you're not, are you, Roy? You're not imagining anything at all. When he does not like me, he slipped out of town and fled. But I found... Oh, see, Dan, huh? Paul's haven't you, Roy. It leads to the present. Paul's trick show. Follows you from Riondo, and whatever you find at the end of the trail is Dan's little cabin and hidden canyon. You must share with him unless there might be something in Paul's a ridiculous storm. A way out for you. Something not quite as ridiculous as it sounds. You've been thinking about it all day, and you're still thinking about it, as the two of you make camp that night on a rocky cliff over the river which winds through the twisting canyon below. Then as you stand there, looking down on the river, a ribbon of silver gleaming in the bright moonlight. Isn't that smoke? Yeah. Dan's place. That's not very far. Why'd we stop here? A lot farther than it looks. I see. Seems to me we could've come along the river all the way instead of hiking up over this mountain. I thought you might enjoy the view. Oh, thanks. It's an inspiring sight. Sure. Sure it is. Quite a drop from here, isn't it? Down there to the river. Yeah. Quite a drop. You can find you alone on the trail again, leading down the mountainside. And it's almost noon when you reach the river's edge. You stop for a moment, look up to the lone tree high above at the top of the cliff where you were camped last night. Yes, it's a long drop, isn't it, Roy? Paul Fallon couldn't possibly have survived a fall like that. Then as you turn and start up the river, you'll freeze in your cracks as the bullet kicks up a tiny cloud of dust at the top of a nearby boulder. And then a smile crosses your face and you relax. Yet you don't make him move. You wait, and presently he appears walking easily along the path coming toward you. Hello, Dan. Roy? Yeah, Roy Collins, your old partner. Hiya, Dan. Didn't recognize you. You're pretty quick with a trigger finger, eh? But then you always were, uh, cautious. I don't like strangers nosing around. Yeah, I know. And you're back, huh? Well, I'm pushing through, Dan, into the interior. Thinking as long as I was in the neighborhood, I'd drop in and say hello. I see. Just passing through, eh? Yeah. Hey, look, you don't mind if I stay over a day or so, do you, Dan? I, uh, I can stand the rest. No, I guess I don't mind. Come on, shacks down this way. There'll be a new place after you. Paul, nice split up. You walk away casually. Then when you're a few hundred feet down the path, you look back. Dan hasn't moved. Now's your chance, Roy. At the base of the cliffs, you stare at the crude setup for washing gold dust out of the river sands. Then your eyes wander up the smooth face of the cliff to the top, the lone tree directly overhead. Paul must have fallen close by, but there's no sign of his body. You whirl at the sound. It's only a loose boulder, Roy. And then suddenly a thought hits you. Is it possible that Paul is still alive, that he wasn't killed in the fall? Is he somewhere close by at this moment, watching you? What? Oh, oh, Dan. Uh, for a walk, Roy? Oh, yeah, yeah. Thought I'd come down here, take a look at your layout. Too bad it isn't paying off. Yeah, too bad. Hey, look, Roy, I'm going down river. Check some traps or shit. Wanna come along? Well, I guess I'd better not, Dan. I think I'll stay around here and catch up on my sleep. I'll be leaving in the morning, probably. Oh, I see. All right, Roy, I'll be back by dinnertime. Okay, Dan. It's a break, isn't it, Roy? We're Dan out of the way, if only for a few hours. You'll have time to search his shack. Look for the gold you're certain is there. You watch Dan as he disappears around the bend, and then you race back to the camp and begin your search. After an hour or two, you'll finally find what you're looking for, hidden away under the loose floorboards of the shack. Yes, Dan's gold. Back after sack. A small fortune, Roy. Now you'll have to act quickly. Pack as much gold as you can on your burrows and get out before Dan returns. As you reach down to pull up the first sack of gold, your hand freezes in the air. You're certain you heard something outside, the snap of a twig, perhaps. Your main motion was unable to move, hardly daring to breathe. Finally, you slip across the window and look out. There's no one in sight. Your hand is trembling as you return to the gold cache. Begin piling the gold sacks on the table, and then... Didn't expect me to bash this into a... Wait a minute, look. Look, Dan, I know you don't think that. I didn't go far, Roy. Find out what you were up to. Let you show your hand. And you did. Now listen, Dan, I was just looking around. You got me all wrong. Back from the blow, you take the gun from his hand, clatter to the floor. You pick it up quickly, and you're ready for him as he lunges at you. Dan sinks slowly to one knee, and then crumples to the floor. Couldn't have come back, Dan, not so soon. Long way around, but easier with a load. I had your gold. You were digging something else. You have only to pack all the gold you can carry into that sack. Wrap them onto your back, and then hurry to the river. At its edge, you stop a moment near the digging, wondering for a fleeting moment about Paul's body. What became of it? And then you have another idea. You can cover your tracks, can't you, Roy, so that if anyone else happened along, they won't know what direction you took. You wait along the river's edge, ankle deep. Move along for several yards in the cold water, and then a sudden clutching fear grips you with your feet sinking away, and you begin to sink. Now you know what happened to Paul's body. It fell into quicksand, Roy, and you've walked into the same quicksand. You've caught the pack strapped to your shoulders. It's Dan Bosley's gold weighing you down, forcing you to sink deeper and deeper. Yeah, Dan's gold. The gold you kill for, hurrying you to your own death. Desperately, you'll reach out, manage to grab the branch of a tree, hold on, try to keep from sinking deeper. Help! Don't voice, Roy, bouncing against the hills and back. And then the memory of another voice seems to fill the air around you. The bush is on the river's edge part, and someone appears there. Hello, senor. Who is it? You're firing fire. You cannot hold on too long. My position is as strange as you are, senor. If I leave you there, you would never bother Lola again. But, well, you can't. You can't leave me like this. But, well, where are you going? Come back! It's all right, senor. I will be back. Hey, no! Those tree branches! Throw some of them out of here! I've had to do this before. I will help you, they say. What are you going to do? I know this quick, too. We need something long and flat, something you can hold on to while I put you out. All right. Anything? Well, hurry, my well. See, senor, I will hurry. I will tear up the floorboards in Dan's shack. Floorboards? See, senor, they are the only supports I can get here. I am sure that under the circumstances your old partner Dan Bosley will not mind my pulling them up.