 Now, AutoLite and its 60,000 dealers and service stations present... Suspense. Tonight, transcribed, AutoLite brings you Miss Joan Crawford in... The Ten Years. A suspense play produced and directed by Anton M. Leader. Friends, are you saving up for that vacation? Well, here's a way to save while on vacation. Replace those worn-out narrow-gap spark plugs with a set of revolutionary new wide-gap AutoLite resistor spark plugs. Your motor will idle smoother. Yup, and give better performance on leaner gas mixtures. Yes, sir. He actually saved gas. What's more, AutoLite resistor spark plugs with the exclusive AutoLite built-in resistor cut down on radio and television interference. So, folks, see your AutoLite dealer and have him replace old worn-out narrow-gap spark plugs with a set of the sensational new wide-gap AutoLite resistor spark plugs. You can tell the difference in your car. Remember, you're always right with AutoLite. And also, remember to see the outstanding Suspense television show in many parts of the country every Tuesday night brought to you by AutoLite. And now, AutoLite presents Joan Crawford in a tale well-calculated to keep you in suspense. Everyone is so good to me. I like being here, but some of the others don't, I guess. Do you hear? They scream sometimes like that in the night. Maybe they scream because they remember things. But I remember things too. Especially when people come out from town to see me, to bring me things. But there's nothing. Nothing that I want. They can't bring back my sister. My beautiful sister Adele. They came today and with some they brought back memories of Adele when we were children. The night that mother died. The night we made the promise. Try anymore, Adele. I'm afraid, Clara. We're alone. We're not alone. But it's something happened to you. Nothing's going to happen to me. I'm going to take care of you. But that's what mother said. Now she's left us too. But Adele, mother didn't know that she wouldn't have left us if she could have helped. Promise me you won't die, Clara. And that whatever I do, you'll do. And that you'll never leave me. I promise. And we'll be together, always and forever. Always and forever. I promise. For years I kept that promise. Adele and I were as close as anyone could be. We had few friends, but I didn't mind as long as she was happy. But sometimes I was frightened at the way she clung to me after we were grown. I was afraid of what would happen to her in case anything ever happened to me. And then something did happen. I met Douglas Foley. Adele liked him until she realized that I'd fallen in love with him. Then she hated him in a childish, vicious way. He tried to win her over, but it was no good. And then he asked me to marry him. And I said yes. That night, after he'd gone, Adele was waiting for him in my room. Adele, you're so white. You're ill. But you promised me. But Adele, I'm not leaving you. You're going to live with us. No, it won't be the same. You were children, Adele. You promised. But we were married. And we believed that Adele would forgive us in time. But she didn't. She refused to see us and letters went unanswered. Then when we learned that my husband's new job was to take us to Europe, I first thought of Adele. If she would only go with us. But when we drove to her house, she refused even to come to the door. And we were forced to sail without her. My son, Doug, was born in Europe. And I wrote Adele a long letter telling her about him. But the letter was returned unopened. When Doug was just 10, we returned to America. I went directly from the station to Adele's house. She was working in the garden when we drove up. I was shocked at her appearance. Her hair had turned almost white and there was a strange look about her. I sent Doug to the gate to introduce himself. She looked at him in a puzzled manner. Then she saw us sitting in the car. And she turned and walked into the house. The next thing I remember was that day one month after my return home when I was put on trial for murder. For my husband's murder. Mrs. Foley, will you tell us again what happened the night of your husband's murder? My husband was working in the garden all day. When it began to grow dark, I called him in. But he insisted that he had something to finish. I called him several times after that. And then I became irritated and I gave up. I had my dinner alone and I went up to my bedroom. Then you do admit that you quarreled with him the night of the murder? We didn't quarrel. I was irritated, but I said nothing to my husband. I see. Your husband's death was caused by a deep, narrow wound in the vicinity of the heart. It is the opinion of this court that the instrument used might have been an ice pick. Mrs. Foley, have you any other ideas as to what might have inflicted this wound? No. Had your husband any enemies, Mrs. Foley? No. And so I was acquitted that day because of insufficient evidence. I thought Adele would come to see me during those awful days, but she didn't. I saw her in the courtroom, but she never looked my way. I believe it was about two months after the trial that my son and his friend Roy went on an all-day hiking trip to the beach. They were late getting back. It was almost dark when I saw Roy coming up the street. He was alone and he was running. Mrs. Foley! Mrs. Foley! Roy, where's Doug? He's down at the beach with her. With whom? Your sister. My sister? Oh, for heaven's sake, Roy, will you tell me what this is all about? Well, you see, Mrs. Foley, Doug and I went down to the beach. It seemed that Roy and Doug had forgotten to take along their drinking water, and they hadn't missed it until they'd come to a very deserted strip of the beach. We can get some water at that little house over there. Funny place for a house, isn't it? Yeah. Come on. Looks like nobody lives here. All the better. Just drink out that faucet in the yard. You won't have to ask nobody. Come on. Sure run down, ain't it? Maybe the faucet isn't working. The garden's all dead. Sure it's working, see? Someone's just plain lazy, then. Or maybe no one lives here. Sure they do. There's a mailbox. Maybe there's a name on it. Look, Mrs. Del Norris. That's Mom's sister. Yeah? Let's drop in and see her. She wouldn't even know who I was. You could tell her, couldn't you? Say, maybe she'd give us some cake or something. No, she's mad at me and Mom. Come on, let's get out of here. Hey, Doug. Look at all those dead leaves on the porch. Let's have a look around. No, she might come out. Oh, she can't hurt you, can she? Let's peek in the window. No, Roy. Look, Doug, the place is all upset. It's all dirty and everything. Let's look in the rest of the windows. There's no one around. Here's the kitchen. Hey, look at all the dirty dishes piled up. Say, maybe my aunt's sick. Look, someone's coming to the window. Oh! What do you want? We wanted to see if you were all right. Go away. Don't you recognize me? No. Are you sick? No. I'm your nephew, Douglas Foley. Go away, whoever you are. I'd like to help you. Go away, I said. Mother wouldn't want me to leave you here like this. Who is your mother? I told you. Don't you remember? She's your sister. I have no sister. My sister died when I was 18. Roy, you go home and get my mother. My aunt's sick. I'll climb through this window and I'll see if there's anything I can do. I'll tell you how to this house. Doug, let's both go. She doesn't want you here. She's sick. You go for my mother and hurry. If you come into this house, you'll be high. If you dare. Did you say your name is Douglas Foley? Yes, that's right. Douglas Foley is dead. Forever and ever. No, don't you see? The one who died was my mother. Douglas Foley became between two sisters. And then he died. Now, what I'm trying to tell you, my mother and Roy... If he isn't dead, then I guess he'll have to die again. That's it. You'll have to die again. You'll have to die again. He'll have to... Oh, look. You're sick. You need help. I'm sick. Don't you want me to come in? Come in. Douglas Foley? For suspense, auto-light is bringing you Joan Crawford in Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills. Suspense. Are you going Hollywood? Why the darkness? Well, Hap, you see, there were two gals having an argument. So I told them naturally you've got to replace old narrow-gap spark plugs with white-gap auto-light resistor spark plugs. Naturally. Yes, I said to the blonde, those white-gap auto-light resistor spark plugs make your engine idle smoother, give better performance on leaner gas mixtures, actually save gas. Sound? Perfectly sound. Turning to the brunette, I said auto-light resistor spark plugs have the newly developed 10,000-ohm auto-light resistor found in no other automotive-type spark plug. By the way, what were they arguing about? I don't know, but it gave me a wonderful opportunity to tell them those new 10,000-ohm exclusive auto-light resistors increase electrode life 200% and more. And it's these electrodes that carry the spark to your engine. I see, and then what happened? Redhead came along and I forgot to duck. You forgot. Here's suspense. And now, auto-light brings back to a Hollywood soundstage Miss Joan Crawford as Clara in The Ten Years by Mel Denelli. A tale well-calculated to keep you in. Suspense. You see how clearly I remember things? I remember so well the horror of that moment when Doug's little friend finished telling me how he had left Doug there along with my sister Adele. And I even remember what Roy said at the end. So I came back to tell you, Mrs. Foley, when a kind of Doug made me. Now I wish I hadn't left him there with her. I know she's your sister and all, but I saw her face when she came to the window. She looked awful, Mrs. Foley. She looked awful crazy. I followed Roy's directions and I went by foot north along the ocean. I must have walked a good mile before I came to the house. The front door was standing open. There was a lamp burning on the table. Adele. She lay on the bed. I couldn't see her very clearly by the candlelight, but I could see that she was fully dressed. Her hair was undone and it spilled down over the pillow. For a moment I thought... I thought she was dead. What do you want? Adele. What do you want? It's me, Clara. Where's Douglas? He's dead. Adele! Your husband is dead. I don't mean my husband. I mean my son. Where is he? He was murdered with a long shot. Be still! You don't know what you're saying. Where is my son? I haven't seen him. You have. He was here. I know that. I haven't seen him. Yes, you have. Try and remember. Where is he? I don't know. Yes, you do know. What have you done to him? Was he your son? Yes, Adele. Please. I hated him. I know. Where is he, Adele? He went away. Where? Where did he go? He went to the village for a doctor. Are you telling me the truth? Yes. How long ago did he leave? I don't remember. When do you stop questioning me? Can't you see that I'm sick? I tell you he went for a doctor. Come here, Clara. After ten years. I've come to help you. I don't need your help. Adele, did Doug really go for the doctor? You think I'm loud? I don't know. But if he isn't back soon, I'm going for the police. The police? Those fat fools. No, I know. I'm going to take your things off, Adele. You'll be more comfortable than when the doctor comes. If he comes. Don't you touch me! You're sick, Adele. Let me take your things off. No, no! Can't you leave me alone? Leave me alone! How do you know what's good for me after all these years? The heavy pain in my heart. When I'm tightly laced, I can almost bear it. All right. All right, darling. We'll leave it till the doctor comes. Will the doctor help me, Clara? Of course he will. Douglas Foley came between two sisters. Oh, Adele. He worked in the garden. Bending down low. Oh, tired, Clara. I know. Try and rest, Adele. Close your eyes. He was working in the garden. And I was on my way home. I saw him there, Clara. He looked the same after ten years. Because he had your strength to draw from. But I was alone. I had grown old. And he had stayed young. And then she seemed to doze off. Her breathing was so labored. And I thought, perhaps she'll rest more easily if I am dressing. And I went over to the bed. She was wearing a corset. I reached over and I began to unhook it. She started mumbling something in her sleeve. You broke your promise. Always and forever you would say. But she didn't wake up. Always. I finally managed to take her corset off. But as I went to place it on a chair, I noticed something sticking out of the material. At first I thought it was a broken stay, but it was round. And one end was sharp. I looked closer. It was a steel knitting needle. A long steel one. And there was rust on it. Or was that brown stain rust? A dell had concealed a knitting needle. And there was proof of what I guess I'd always known. That a dell had murdered my husband. I dropped the needle to the floor. And something caught my eye. There was a hand sticking out from beneath the bed. It was white and still. It was a child's hand. I fell to my knees. I dug. Dug. And just as I reached out for him, I felt a sharp blow on the back of my head. I dreamed that a dell and I were children again. And that she was laughing. And we were playing an old game of ours where we tied each other up with our bathrobe cord. And then we waited for a knight and armor to rescue us. And then I think it was the odor of kerosene that brought me to. The room was filled with it. Oh, my head was pounding. I couldn't seem to focus my eyes. I tried to raise myself to my feet, but I couldn't seem to move my arms, my legs. Suddenly I realized why. I was tied with a bathrobe cord. I was a child again. A dell and I were playing our games again. My husband and everything that had happened between a dell and me had been nothing but a bad dream of feeling of relief swept over me. Suddenly I heard footsteps. And the door creaked slowly open. And then I knew that what had happened had not been a dream. For a dell stood there in the doorway. Not a dell the child who would rescue me, but a dell with gray hair who hadn't spoken to me for all those years. She wore a long dressing gown. She was barefoot. Her long hair streaming about her shoulders. And there was a vacant, stupid smile on her face. She carried a bucket in her hand. And the odor of kerosene filled the room. She didn't seem to notice me as she went past me. She threw the liquid from the bucket onto the day. A dell! No, a dell! It paid no attention to me as she left the room again. I struggled. I struggled wildly, but it was no use. Oh, I was tied securely, and then I saw a still figure on the bed. It was Doug. Oh, his face was so white. He was unconscious, and there was a deep gash at the side of his head. Then a dell came back into the room. She had filled that bucket to the brim. And she walked to the bed again. A dell, untie me. Untie you, why? A dell, listen to me. This is your son, Clara. Yes, yes, a dell, untie me. He's untie me, a dell. I never know. He's only ten. He's just a boy. A dell, you're sick. Untie me and we'll go for a doctor. You want me to be well, Clara? Yes. Once again, Clara? Yes, we're friends. I want to help you. But I can't forget the ten years. I must wash those years away. Oh, forget those years. Let me help you. We must wash them away. It's gone. Your son is all of... I don't know what you're doing. Untie me, a dell. No, you see, you're sick. That's what I put into the lamps to make them burn. Remain on the bed. And you've tied me with this cord. And now you must untie me like you used to do when you left me too long and I cried. You're lying. We're not sisters and we haven't been for years. And now I'm going to punish you for lying. Just as Mother used to punish us when we were children. Then she started walking unsteadily toward me, a lighted candle in one hand, the bucket in the other, the liquid slopping over her dressing gown as she walked. Clara! You remember the time Mother washed out my mouth with soap when she caught me in a fib? That's what I'm going to do to you now. Or perhaps it would be better if I burned you. Tell him, Tommy, I promise you that I'll take Dung and we'll go away. You'll never have to see us again. No. And she kept moving toward me, holding the lightest candle close to her breast. You mustn't ever lie to me again, Clara. Adele, Adele, you're ill. You don't know what you're doing. Why? With the fully dressing gown, she'd held the candle too close. Her entire dressing gown was a mass of flames that sped swiftly to her hair. She was a blazing torch. And the order of burning filled the reaming out the door and torched the... You mustn't scream like that. I wasn't screaming. That was my sister Adele. Yes, I know. Try not to think about it, Mrs. Foley. You knew my sister was burned to death, didn't you, Mrs. Willard? Oh, she was so very beautiful. Yes, I know. Try and rest. Is there anything I can get you before I go to bed? No, thank you. Well, go to sleep then. I will. Good night. Good night and pleasant dreams. Was that my sister, Mrs. Willard? No, no, Mrs. Foley. It's one of the others. Oh. They scream because they remember things. Yes. Yes, I suppose they do. Good night. Good night. I remember things too. I remember. Promise me you'll never leave me, Claire. And that whatever I do, you'll do. I promise. Always and forever. Always and forever. I promise. Thank you, Joan Crawford, for a magnificent performance. Oh, Miss Crawford. Yes, Mr. Wilcock. AutoLight also wishes to thank you for your cooperation in their look-alike National Magazine campaign. Oh, yes. I've noticed that picture in several publications lately. You had no trouble choosing which of the two was your own picture, I suppose? Not at all. But that's because I know Joan Crawford so well. Just as you'd have no trouble choosing an AutoLight resistor spark plug. You mean because I know AutoLight resistor spark plugs so well? Well, and so do millions of car owners who know wide-gap AutoLight resistor spark plugs are made by AutoLight, which makes more than 400 products for cars, trucks, airplanes, boats. In 28 AutoLight plants from coast to coast. Yes, Suri. And AutoLight also makes complete electrical systems for many makes of America's finest cars. Batteries. Spark plugs. Generators. Starting motors. Coils. Distributors. All engineered to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly, because they're a perfect team. The lifeline of your car. So folks, don't accept electrical parts that are supposed to be as good. Remember, you're always right with AutoLight. Now here again is Miss Crawford. I want to thank Tony Leader and his wonderful cast of actors, especially Lorraine Tuttle, who played my sister, for helping me to make my appearance on Suspense so very pleasant. Like all of you, I am a great Suspense fan, and I'm looking forward to hearing next week's story. It's another gripping study in... Suspense! Miss Crawford may currently be seen in the Warner Brothers production, Flamingo Road. Tonight's Suspense play was written by Mel Dinelli, with music composed by Lucian Morawek and conducted by Lud Bluskin. The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Leader. In the coming weeks, Suspense will present such stars as Agnes Vorhead, Ralph Edwards, and Joseph Cotton. Make it a point to listen each Thursday to Suspense, Radio's Outstanding, Theatre of Thrills. And next Thursday, same time, hear John Lund in Lunch Kit. You can buy AutoLight Resistor Spark plugs, AutoLight Stayful Batteries, AutoLight Electrical Parts at your neighborhood AutoLight dealers. Switch to AutoLight. Good night. Suspense was transcribed. Over CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System. Stay tuned for crime photographer on WCBS, AM and FM, New York. Mmm-gut, mmm-gut Campbell's Vegetable Soup is mmm-gut. Fifteen garden vegetables and homey beef stock. Folks say it's almost a meal in itself. That's Campbell's Vegetable Soup. You are tuned to CBS.