 The signal oil program the whistler that whistle is your signal for the signal oil program The whistler I am the whistler and I know many things for I walked 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 signal oil program the whistler Rated tops in popularity for a longer period of time than any other West Coast program in radio history And signal gasoline is tops too, tops in quality It takes extra quality you know to give you extra mileage And signal is the famous go farther gasoline So look for the signal circle sign in yellow and black That identifies friendly dealer owned signal stations from Canada to Mexico And now the whistler strange story Silent partner for 20 out of every 24 hours Saunders Junction is a sleepy little western town The railhead of a dairy cattle empire called the Robertson Ranch But twice a day at 6 o'clock in the morning and evening It comes to life It's three blocks of stores and supply houses suddenly active As the trains pull into the station And Robertson trucks line the platform The drivers and swampers hustling hundreds of gleaming cans of Robertson milk Into the waiting cars to be taken south to the city In the wintertime a stranger in Saunders Junction would have trouble distinguishing morning from evening The same trains the same shouting men The same darkness morning and evening But Matt Robertson was no stranger As he stood on the platform watching the train pull out He was thinking a little bitterly now of the day 30 years ago When his father passed the Robertson Ranch over to him And as he looked down the line of trucks with Robertson painted on their sides He couldn't help reflecting on the changes those 30 years had brought Okay boys, let's roll Barry, hold Barry, just a minute Did you check that shipment on Barry? For sure, what's the matter Matt? Let's look at the sheets, I didn't see them Oh, I didn't think you wanted them I've got a right to know how much milk I'm shipping off my own ranch, haven't I Barry? Come on, give me the sheets Oh sure Matt It's just that Wilk said... Never mind Wilk Okay Matt More than 3,000 gallons, eh? 10% over last month Yeah, Wilk is doing a great job You think so Barry? Yeah, sure do And 3,000 ain't nothing to what we're going to do when Santa Susanna gets going We decided, Jant, whether we're going to buy Santa Susanna ranch Oh, it's all bought, yesterday Where did you hear that? Well Wilk changed himself Yeah, we're going to double milk production, he says He went ahead and bought it? Why, I thought you knew Wilk, went ahead Went right ahead and bought it Oh, funny, he didn't say nothing to you You're his partner and everything Oh, I can't figure why... Just forget it Barry I'll take it up with him directly Sure Matt, sure I better get back, I gotta get these sheets to the boss The boss, eh? Look Barry, before you get in that truck Take a look at the name on the side of it Huh? It says Robertson Ranch, you see it? Big, clear, bright yellow letters Robertson Ranch Robertson Ranch Oh Matt Hey, oh, hello Sheriff Thought I might ride back to ranch with you Matt If it ain't too much trouble Anything wrong Sheriff? I want to see young Charlie Brack Charlie? What's the matter, what's he been... Oh, don't get worked up Matt, it's nothing serious You know he's been on probation after that shooting scrape up north He just ain't reported to me this month like he's supposed to that's all Oh, I see Can't say I blame him for putting that fella in the hospital But the book says he checks with me once a month And that's what he better do Well look Sheriff, I'll send him in tomorrow Tomorrow he'll be working stock all day if I know his boss Will Caines will have ever hand on the place Moving cattle over to Santa Susana place he just bought Oh, you heard about that too, huh? Sure, yesterday, it was all over town What's the matter Matt, something wrong? You know Sheriff, it's nice having a partner Who takes care of everything Yeah, Will Caines is a mighty capable fella Yeah, you sure picked a winner when you took him in ten years ago Oh, that's your car down there, ain't it? Yeah Alright Sheriff, let's go It's ten miles from town to the main ranch house You know every bump, every rabbit on the winding dirt road Matt And as you guide the car through the night You can see in your mind the vast stretches of pasture land on either side The cottonwood thickets, the oak covered hills All part of an empire that once was yours All of it, 27,000 acres of the best land in the state As usual there's a light on in Wilk's office down by the gate when you arrive For an hour after train time, morning or night Will Caines always works alone over his reports And then as you reach the door and Sheriff grabs your arm Sounds like Charlie, maybe we better wait Please, Wilk, listen to me You listen to me, I don't give a hang what you think Sir Dorothy thinks either for that matter You gotta think of her, Wilk If you're not kid anymore, she's a grown woman with a mind of her own It's her business to do with Well, I'm making it my business, get that? Dorothy is my daughter And if you think I'm going to allow her to run around with a jailbird Hey, wait a minute, Wilk I think we better go in Matt I wanna hear Oh, excuse us, gents Didn't mean to butt in Get him out of here, Sheriff, he threatened me I know, Wilk Couldn't help hearing it outside the door What's the matter, Charlie? Just a little private argument, that's all Sheriff, he's been seeing my daughter, Dorothy And I don't intend to let it go on I think we can settle that without the Sheriff, Wilk Whether you know it or not, sonny, it's settled already Um, come on, Charlie I'd like to talk to you for a minute Oh, excuse us, will you boys? I'll, uh, see you later about that, Wilk Well, what do you want? Oh, I'm just another hired hand, Wilk Trying to find out what's going on around here I suppose you're a little curious about Santa Susanna You're a wonder, Wilk By George, a seven-day wonder You can skip the sarcasm, Matt I thought a lot about this, you and me I finally worked out a way of operating with Fitz It doesn't include you Where? I got Santa Susanna at a good price I'm gonna make money with it There was no reason to dilly-dally any further That's all I see You know what's funny, I thought we had a partnership You can look at that any way you want I'm running the ranch the way I want to run it The, uh, Robertson Ranch I'll change that, too, one of these days Well, you low-down double-crossing skunk I didn't know when you were gonna... Wait a minute, Matt I'm glad you mentioned that point You seem to have forgotten now that when you took me in the whole spread was two jumps from receivership If it hadn't been for me, there'd be nothing left 14,000 acres, they were only 1,500 head poorest kind of stock the Lord ever made We've come a long way since then, Matt and we're going a long ways further If you want to come along, that's fine If you want to sell out, that's better yet You can take it over on your way to Santa Susana tonight Santa Susana Removing all our dry stock over there tomorrow to put on that rich pasture, they'll need you Is that all, boss? Yeah, that's all Charlie Hello, Matt You, you waiting for me? Yeah I want to tell you I'm leaving Leaving what? The ranch Oh, now wait a minute, Charlie I've had about all I can take, Matt I don't want any more I know what you mean It's making it hard for her, too Dorothy? Yeah I'd be forcing her to make a choice, Matt It's not right to make a choose between me and her father I'm not going to tell anyone who's going to climb on the six o'clock train tomorrow night and get out of here He thinks I'm a criminal, a killer Or maybe they're right If I... If I had a gun a few minutes ago, I'd... I could kill him, Matt He could kill him, Matt Yes, he feels the same way about Wilcanes as you do He could kill Wilcanes, too, and everybody knows it Even the sheriff after their quarrel tonight Suddenly, you see your special partnership agreement with Wilcanes The bold black letters of the survivorship clause that will make Robertson ranch all yours again in the event of his death If Wilc were found dead If Charlie Preck were picked up fleeing the scene on the six o'clock southbound just after the crime Then, Matt, the yellow lettering on the trucks Robertson ranch would mean again exactly what it said Charlie, you... You say you aren't telling anyone you're leaving? I can't The sheriff would keep me here because of my probation Still three months to go What about Dorothy? See her tomorrow Where is she, Charlie? Up at North Ranch You, uh... You're going to tell her? No I'll write her a letter from New Orleans or somewhere, that's all Aren't you afraid if you see her, she'll guess something's wrong? No, I told you I won't tell her anything I just want to see her once more, that's all Charlie, I... I think you're right No use making a big fuss about it I've been thinking about it for a long time now, Matt It's best for her She'll forget me in time That... That Bill Ashford over there is my nice fellow Tell you what, Charlie I'm going over to Santa Susana tonight I'll stop at North Ranch in the way I'll tell her you'll be over Oh, gee, thanks, Matt Charlie Yeah? If you decided to keep this under your hat Why did you tell me? Well, I wanted someone to know I guess I just trust you, Matt I figured you wouldn't say anything You're right, Charlie I won't say a word to anyone With the prologue of Silent Partner The signal oil company is bringing you another strange story By the Whistler Recognize that noise? That was the breaking of a perfectly good New Year's resolution Made only two weeks ago There's one resolution, however, that I do hope you won't break The resolution to try, just try, signal gasoline in your car Because seriously, friends There are real advantages for the driver who powers his car with signal Not only because signal is the famous go farther gasoline But also because of what makes signals good mileage possible I'm talking about the extra efficiency Today's signal gasoline gets from your motor Which naturally gives you quicker starting, faster pickup smoother, knock free power The superior kind of performance you expect of a superior quality gasoline Yes, it's a fact The same features a gasoline must have for extra driving pleasure Also give you extra mileage The thing signal gasoline is famous for That's why we say to be sure of the tops in gasoline quality There are just two things to remember One, in gasoline it takes extra quality to go farther And two, signal is the famous go farther gasoline And now back to the Whistler The plan is clear now, isn't it, Matt? Will Keynes is going to be out of your way for good And young Charlie Brecht will be blamed Driving over to the Santa Susana, the whole thing runs through your mind You can almost see it working out Here are the sheriff's questions after Willk has been found dead Kind of a sudden the way you decided to leave town, wasn't it, Charlie? Wasn't as sudden as it seemed I told Matt I was going I'm sorry, Charlie, but you're mistaken about that Well, of course I told you that day after my argument with Willk That wasn't your last argument with him, was it, Charlie? You went back again and shot him No, no, I didn't Matt, tell him I'd like to help you, Charlie, but... Well, Willk was my partner I have to think of him, too Yes, Matt, it'll be that simple You're confident as you pull up in front of North Ranch House And go inside to talk to Dorothy What brings you over here this time of night? Well, for one thing, I promised Charlie I'd deliver a message to you, Dorothy Oh, how is he? Oh, he's all right Kind of a hot-headed young fella, but... You know, if people would just make an effort to understand, Charlie... We're talking about Dad, aren't you? Well, I... Please, Matt He and Charlie have quarreled again, haven't they? Dorothy, you know I don't like to go mixing into things Tell me, Matt Well, yes, they did Sort of a showdown, I guess Each calling the other names and all They stopped when Sheriff Walker and I came in on him I see Matt, do you mind if I ride back with you? Oh, I... I wouldn't do that But I want to see Charlie, I want to talk to him But he's going to meet you tomorrow, Dorothy That's what he wanted me to tell you He's coming over here? No, uh, not here He wants to meet you in town About one o'clock In town? But he usually comes here Well, I... I guess he figured it would be best that way Because of Dad? I suppose Well, I'll have to get someone to drive me And maybe Bill Ashford will do it Oh, good I'll tell Charlie when I get back Thanks, Matt I... I wish Dad could be as understanding as you are You have to lie, Matt To send Dorothy into town When Charlie will be looking for her at the North Ranch Above all, you can't take the chance of having them meet Of course, you know there'll be questions later on And Sheriff Walker is investigating But you can always say you lied to prevent more trouble That's a good excuse, Matt And all through the night as you're giving orders to the hands You're thinking it through But in the morning when you meet Charlie back at your place You find there's something else to think about Matt, I... I know you'll think I'm screw a change in my mind But I've got to tell Dorothy about leaving It don't seem right to just run off That won't make it any easier on her, Charlie Oh, but I didn't sleep last night thinking about it I feel that I should tell her I think your first hunch was best I didn't ask what you think I'm telling her and it's none of your business Oh, I'm sorry, Matt, forget it I... I'm all mixed up Sure, kid I understand But you should know I'm gonna have one of the boys tell her to meet me in town Just before train time tonight Why don't you ride over and tell her yourself, Charlie As long as she's expecting you I got everybody over at Santa Susana moving stock I'm holding down the fort here alone Does it matter if you're quitting? You know, Wilk, my work isn't done He'll start wondering about it and maybe get suspicious Oh, sure, the sheriff Yeah, not that Wilk wouldn't be glad to see me leave But the sheriff won't I want things to look usual right up to the time I climb under that six o'clock train Hmm, seems a shame You'll just get to see Dorothy for a minute Hey, look Maybe I can help out You don't mean you'll work for me Why not? Well, after being up all night handling your own shift While that's no good, you're worn out already Oh, well, I'm not so tired I can't do a friend a favor, Charlie Yeah, but, Matt... Go on, get over to North Ranch and talk to it Oh, gee, I sure appreciate this, Matt Forget it, forget it Oh, uh, I wouldn't take the station wagon Forming my check on you Oh, I won't, I'll just saddle up I can be there this afternoon Well, I'll leave right away if you want it, Charlie And don't worry I'll be taking care of things for you here And it's a deadly eight hours you spend Taking Charlie's shift at the main ranch After that long night of work at Santa Susanna By two in the afternoon There's a weary throb at the base of your brain An ache in your back A gritty heaviness in your eyelids But you manage to stick it out somehow And late that afternoon You drag up the stairs of the ranch house Down the hall to Charlie's room He's angrily throwing his things into a suitcase When you open the door Hey, say what's wrong, Charlie? Huh? You and Dorothy have words or something? Oh, hello, Matt No, I didn't see you But I thought you... Look, Matt, I appreciate you taking my place and all But I'll just soon not talk about today Whatever you say, Charlie I'm sorry, Matt You might as well know She, uh... She wasn't at the ranch when I got there Wasn't there? That's right I hadn't left a message or anything When I got inquiring around One of the boys said he saw a drive off for town With Bill Ashford What? Why, but that isn't like Dorothy I'm sure she... I'm sure she'd been listening to her father Probably swung over to see him things his way Anyway, it don't make no difference I'm leaving On the six o'clock, just like I said Well... Good luck to you, Charlie Thanks, Matt You would swell It's one thing I won't forget about Saunders' junction Listen, if... If I can ever do anything for you Yeah, yeah, I know, I know Well... I'm going up to my room And stretch out for a little while, Charlie You know, I'm kind of tired after 48 hours So long, kid So long, Matt And thanks for all you've done You leave, Charlie, and go up to your room You can hear him finishing his packing And you sit down on the edge of the bed Let your shoes drop to the floor So he'll hear them Then you lean back to relax for a few minutes Close your eyes and think it all through again When you sit up and glance outside It's already dark The clock on your bureau says 5.30 The time is just right for what you have to do And as usual at this hour The light is on and Will Keynes is working alone in his office Down by the gate Hello, Matt What's on your mind? I suppose you know Charlie Brecht left Yeah, good riddance By the known in time And I sent a brass band down to the depot I don't think Dorothy would agree with you Dorothy will forget him in a week I'm not so sure I didn't come in here to discuss that Look, I'm busy trying to hurry through this stuff If you don't mind... I mind everything you've done I don't want to get on that again I've told you what you can do Sure Just like you told Charlie Only it's different with me, Wilk I'm not running out I'm staying What are you talking about? I invited you to stay or go Or do whatever you please I think that last is more to my liking, Wilk I want to do whatever I please With the Robertson ranch Just like in the old days That's why I brought this along Matt, are you crazy? Don't point that thing at me Sit down, Wilk You're not going anywhere What are you thinking of, Matt? You'll never get away with this There's a survivorship clause In our partnership agreement, Wilk I think it'll make things pretty simple Matt, you fool You'll hang Oh, no, Wilk, no I'll give you the satisfaction of knowing That you even took care of that for me When you drove Charlie Brecht to the breaking point He killed you and ran out No, Matt It's that clear cut, Wilk No, Matt, no Sheriff Walker You, Matt? Yes, I'm calling from the ranch Will Keynes has been murdered What did you say? My partner, Will Keynes He and Charlie Brecht had another fight I got here too late to stop him Charlie Brecht? He shot Wilk? Yes, that's right Look, Sheriff, I'm going after Charlie I'll contact you as soon as I catch up to him Good, but be careful, Matt And call in the minute you're locating Yes, Sheriff Twenty minutes later, you're in the station wagon The headlights cutting through the darkness The clock on the dash shows almost six As you reach the depot Just as the train is pulling out Just a minute, wait Don't close that window Huh? Oh, Matt Oh, say You don't want to take it out of here, too No, no, no, no I'm trying to catch Charlie Brecht Charlie? Well, you're a little late, Matt You missed me But he... he did leave Yeah, he sure did And I... Wondered if I could use the phone I want to call the sheriff The whistler will return in just a moment With a strange ending to tonight's story Meantime, for you drivers Who are not already enjoying the convenience Of a signal credit card I'd like to mention just a few of the ways In which this simplified modern method Of taking care of your driving needs Can add to your driving pleasure With a signal credit card Instead of paying cash each time You buy signal gasoline or lubricants You just say charge it Then at the end of the month You merely send signal oil company a check To cover your month's purchases Just as you now take care of your telephone, Electric or department store bills This gives you a handy record Of what it costs to run your car And on trips, it eliminates the necessity Of carrying large sums of money For driving expenses And possible emergencies For signal credit cards are honored At all signal service stations Almost 2,000 of them Throughout the Pacific Coast states From Canada to Mexico To add to this convenience to your driving Here's all you do Just stop by your nearest signal dealer And tell him you want to fill out An application blank For a signal credit card And now back to the whistler It was made to order, Matt This opportunity thrust in your hands When Charlie suddenly decided to leave secretly On the six o'clock southbound He left you free to kill Wilk Without fear of the consequences To once again look on Robertson Ranch Is yours Only a few minutes after your call To the sheriff's office He's there with you at the station And the questions you knew were coming Are on his lips Now, wait a minute, Matt You say you heard Charlie and Wilk In his office Ran across the yard in time to see Charlie Run off after the shot That's right, Sharon When was that? About an hour ago, I think What were you doing just before that? Well, I came in kind of tired And laid down for a few minutes When was that? This afternoon What's the matter with that? Just beginning to wonder, Matt You really wanted To get back, didn't you? That's got nothing to do with it Charlie's on that train, you better send someone I already did Dorothy's on her way now She wants him back Dorothy? What is all this? Well, that man's a killer Wait a minute, Matt Charlie couldn't have done it He was 200 miles from here When it happened What do you mean? Charlie got on the six o'clock train tonight And then laid down on that bed Tired the way you were That was a big mistake, Matt I don't know what you're talking about Take a look out that window there The east window See that funny light out there That's dawn coming up, Matt You forgot, this is the dead of winter And the nights are long It's six o'clock in the morning now Morning? You stretched out on that bed yesterday Passed out like a baby and didn't open your eyes 12 hours 12 hours I slept the clock around Yeah, now Let's go up to my office and wrap this up All nice and formal Let that whistle be your signal For the signal oil program The Whistler Each Wednesday night at this same time Brought to you by the Signal Oil Company Marketers of signal gasoline and motor oil And fine quality automotive accessories Signal has asked me to remind you To get the most driving pleasure Drive at sensible speeds Be courteous and obey traffic regulations It may save a life Possibly your own Featured in tonight's story were Bill Boucher and David Ellis The Whistler was produced by George W. Allen With story by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton And music by Wilbur Hatch And was transmitted to our troops overseas By the Armed Forces Radio Service Next Wednesday For a full hour of mystery Over most of these stations Tune in a half hour earlier Enjoy the Saint As well as the Whistler This is Marvin Miller speaking This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System