 The Whistler I'm the Whistler and I know many things for I 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 Tonight transcribed it's the Whistler strange story a case for mr. Carrington As usual on Saturday afternoon the veranda of the Myrtlebank Hotel Jamaica was a gathering point for men in white linen suits whose only talk was of sugar 24 hours a day but Gordon Stone for once wasn't thinking of sugar the girl was too charming the cool windblown American beauty of her too irresistible he was admitting it to himself now this wasn't just a passing thing with a summer tourist he was in love and he knew it how's the drink wonderful what is it Myrtlebank punch especially of the house I didn't enjoy it more under different circumstances oh stop it Paula you're not gonna leave Jamaica you're going to stay we're going to be married and everything will be you're wrong Gordon I'm sailing next week now wait a minute that's not giving me a chance Paula please stick with me just a little while longer these things can't be done in a day it's been three months it doesn't seem so complicated Gordon you own part of a sugar plantation tell us just like that it would bring a lot of money not enough Paula the interests are all split up with Wakefield his son weighed only 20% his mind are you asking me to wait you're not being fair Paula this is no time to desert me why I'm almost ready now I what do you mean almost ready why to talk things over with old man Wakefield he beg pardon sir oh yes a message for you Inspector Carrington waiting for you at your house Inspector Carrington he's an old friend of Mr. Wakefield's dear you'd better tell the inspector that I don't mind Gordon I must go anyway all right Paula I'll get in touch with you goodbye the rumble of thunder sounds overhead as you guide the car through the outskirts of town and down the road bisecting tall fields of cane on the flatlands of the north and you wonder Gordon if Paula knows if she suspects there's a reason for those accidental remarks of yours that from the moment you first saw her Jamaica became a prison and the trap feeling inside you began to build like the storm overhead and that now with her final decision to leave you it's got to break at your house on the plantation you brace yourself a little as you walk in to meet your guest hello Inspector good afternoon Gordon sorry I kept you waiting oh that's all right hated to pull you away from that charmer of yours but it's rather important I think your meeting with Wakefield this afternoon yes in 10 minutes as a matter of fact you know of course of the old boys my closest friend went through Cambridge together and all that and I'd hate to see anything happen what do you mean I'd never say this to him Gordon but frankly I'm quite worried about his boy Wade I understand the two of them have almost come to blows on this hidden proposition Wade wants to sell his interest his father of course refuses to consider it well it's a sort of chronic condition no it's more than that I think I know human character Gordon to get to the point I'm very much afraid that boy is liable to do something violent you think it's that serious it could be easily Wade is capable of anything such as killing his father for example oh come now Inspector I've seen it before Gordon I know that look he's fully capable of murder and above all he's got the motive incidentally I see you have a copy of my book on homicide investigation yes I've had it for some time a little out of date now I wrote it in the 30s while I was at the yard in London but there's one thing in it that'll be sound as long as there are human beings Gordon given the motive nine times out of ten you've got the murderer now Wade's got the motive and I'm afraid now don't worry Inspector I want you to look out for his father Gordon you're with him all the time the two of you in business together and so on you needn't say anything to him of course but if you suspect that boy is up to anything I want you to get in touch with my office at once you see him to the door and then walk thoughtfully back into your study take his book on homicide investigation off the shelf flip the pages to a passage you've studied many times underlined in red pence if there is one essential in the investigation of a homicide it is the element of motive given the motive nine times out of ten you've got the murderer Carrington's Creed Gordon and the key to your escape from the prison here the open sesame to New York and Paula and a $300,000 in proceeds from the sale of the plantation that will come to you if old Mr. Wakefield your partner dies and above all the thing that will send his son Wade to the gallows for a crime that you committed your mind is made up now there couldn't be a better time for the storm the inspector it's going to happen tonight yes Gordon yes Mr. Wakefield Wade is here you'd better get over right away looks like I may need your help I see yes sir I'll be right over in just a minute the whistler will continue tonight's story all of us are proud of our hometowns and rightly so in this brief moment before we continue with our program we'd like to offer a salute to one of our hometowns in America New Orleans Louisiana it has a colorful and fascinating history that dates back to the year 1718 when the French founded it and named it in honor of the Duke of Orleans later it was part of the Spanish Empire in America and became part of the United States under the terms of the Louisiana purchase thus New Orleans has been under three flags as a memento of the old days the city has a French quarter which holds a fascination for tourists and for gourmet the narrow streets are crowned by the iron trellis balconies of quaint old dwellings and shops the restaurants are world famous for their good food New Orleans is sometimes called America's most interesting city and it is a unique combination of the old world romance and modern progress it is the greatest distribution center in the south and the second greatest port of the United States with its 11 mile system of state owned and controlled docks along the riverfront the Mississippi River is the heart of modern New Orleans industry everything centers about it from its docs are shipped oil sulfur salt molasses sugar and furs here comes much of the nation's trade with South America and on up the river to Chicago to Canadian ports through the Great Lakes and to New York through the Erie Canal New Orleans is the gateway to some 15,000 miles of navigable waterways the most spectacular and gayest festival in the United States is held in New Orleans the Marty grow which involves a week of carnival and reaches the climax on Shrove Tuesday the day before the beginning of length whether it's a matter of pleasure or business whether you admire the charm and grace of old world settings or the beauty of the modern city New Orleans is proud of the part it has played in the building of America and now back to the whistler the downpour has turned the plantation road into a pair of muddy ruts as you slog in second gear toward Wakefield's big house on the high ground near the gate and you're thinking now Gordon of the murder that will take place before the storm passes of a custom-built case for Mr. Carrington with a motive so strong against young Wade Wakefield that he made a special trip to discuss it for you you're thinking too of Paula and Fifth Avenue and dinner together at the Colony Club and a life in which sugar is simply something you put in coffee as usual there is a violent argument in progress between father and son when you arrive a question wait you understand playing English of course I understand English I was brought up on it but I can't understand stupidity I've operated this plantation for 30 years without your help easy now Mr. Wakefield easy oh oh Gordon it better run along Mr. Stone my father and I are having a private discussion and maybe you'd better shut up who do you think you hear what I said you're going to say it once too often oh boy and that happens let me know now what is it go the same old thing he wants to sell his 20% to head and I thought we'd settle that well you were wrong and now that you're both here I might as well tell you go on I instructed your clock yesterday afternoon to draw up the contract Mr. Headman I've already had an understanding what the deal in short is made wait I'm a vague father it's my interest my money and my decision get out of this house they hear me get out really don't you think you're being a little bit out of here before I throw you out well sorry to leave the old ancestral home oh if you want me I'll be staying down at the hotel I'm sorry Mr. Wakefield that this had to happen you'll have to excuse me Gordon they think it better lie down for a while yes Gordon you miss Paula I've been trying to get you for an hour I wanted to tell you my stailing has been moved up the boat leaves tomorrow night oh you haven't listened to me dear I'm going to see you tomorrow we can discuss it all you haven't told me Gordon are you going to sell I can't tell you now Paula I'm sorry so am I goodbye dear Paula Paula that's all right angel you'll feel better tomorrow it's three o'clock now Gordon time still to run through it once again in your mind time to temper your weapon add weight to your legendary loyalty to Mr. Wakefield your obvious hatred of his son at four you're sitting at the bar and wait so tell waiting for him to appear talking to Sid Rick financial editor of the Kingston Express so the old man threw the boy out of the house hey I'd know it'll go that far you just don't know Wade no sense no perspective hates his father like poison rate is absolutely unprinted go on stone sit hello Wade I didn't see you come in obviously not that it makes any difference I've been waiting for a minute Gordon this is no place there'll never be a better place Sid stay out of this what's eating you stone if you had an essential cell I would break your neck now listen I'm listening I want you to get out of town leave your father alone so the tool you can go on running the company in the same old runner yes if he wants it that way what's your pitch still where do you get home and when there's got to be more to it than loyalty to a stubborn old man another crack like that and I'll kill you if it's a fight he wants I'll give it to him I'll call the police you can't fight in my hotel come on Wade outside you feel that this isn't settled yet so please mr. Stone don't continue it I can't say I blame you but the other page I know I know I'm I'm sorry mr. Grayson all right all right it's all over and there's more drinks at the bar perhaps if we talked in the lobby mr. Stone of course I'm going anyway I do hope you realize I understand your position in this that young way no of course I wish he weren't staying here at all look mr. Grayson as long as he is you can do me a favor well he upsets his father terribly any time you hear that he's calling or trying to see the old man would you let me know I certainly well thank you and I'm really sorry about what happened in there it's all right mr. Stone gives them something to talk about over their drinks but I hope it won't happen again I hope it won't be necessary good night mr. Grayson and you know that it won't be down to work because everything is fitting into place at eight o'clock you pull up in front of the house reach into your pocket for the copy of an old letter of agreement which you've been holding out until this very moment you find Wakefield in his study and as he reads the contract you know exactly what his reaction will be according to this Wade can't sell out before you're a wizard an absolute wizard well I thought there ought to be some out for you it's just a matter of tracking this agreement down you certainly found the answer to Wade can't make a move he'd forgotten all this hey yes sir oh well I enjoy telling that young I wouldn't be too hard on him sir after all he's got to learn if he's ever going to be worth anything he's got to learn when he's going to talk to him sir going to get him over here tonight I'll have him here within the hour you know I thought that's what you do mr. Wakefield I wouldn't you in my place I think so yes sir but there'll be words Wade won't take this lying down that's why I took a little liberty sir yeah I told your servants to take the rest of the evening off you and Wade will have a house to yourself you can shout his head off oh Gordon you're wonderful I made no mistake taking you in as a partner the drive across the plantation to your own quarters is pleasant isn't it good in spite of the mounting wrath of the storm there's a tense expectant feel some nervousness but not enough to destroy the excitement it's going so well if there were any doubt that Wade would come out to his father's house it's a race as you let yourself in and fumble across the storm dark and room to answer your insistently hello and Mr. Stone speaking this is Grayson at the hotel and Mr. Stone you asked me to call about Wade what about him his father telephoned a while ago from the place out there shortly after that Wade left I'm sure that's where it's going I see I hope there isn't anything to be alarmed about the way you rushed out of here and you did the right thing Grayson I'm glad you called I'll get right over to the other house I don't believe you get there before he does Mr. Stone I'll do my best Grayson don't worry about it you hang up smiling knowing that your timing is almost perfect but you'll have to hurry Gordon Wade can't leave that house before you arrive you've got the murder Wakefield only a few moments after the two men argue and Wade drives off heading back to town yes you've got to go through with the one thing that can bring you and Paula to get grinding over the rain soaked road you hope that you haven't already delayed too long a few moments later angry voices barely discernible through the storm tell you that the argument between way Wakefield and his father has reached you stand straining to listen watching your house wishing that the storm hadn't cut off the light then you draw back as the house becomes silent you watch tensely moment later a figure slips out the side door and you hear Wade's car start up and you know that he's walked out on his father once again that he's heading back to town it's simpler than you planned isn't it Gordon knowing the two of them so well makes it almost mechanical you even know where to find Wakefield in the dark house you swing onto the veranda climb easily up to the bedroom window where he's certain to be lying down exhausted from his own anger you peer in cautiously see him on the bed moving restlessly slowly you ease the window up lean into the room slightly take careful aim at the sleeping figure of old Mr. Wakefield on the bed we'll be together Paula sooner than you think don't be half right use you Safi for example if you're interested in raising bees how many different species would you say there are 750 no that's only half right brush up on your zoology tell your eye and e-officer you want to study with the United States Armed Forces Institute you Safi it's easy it's simple if you don't want to be half right use you Safi and now back to the whistler well Gordon the case for Mr. Carrington is complete now it's simple isn't it so simple with the lowliest amateur in Kingston can add up the facts come to the conclusion that inspector Carrington must inevitably reach that Wade Wakefield furious with frustration shot and killed his own father as the minutes ticked by you paste the floor of the old man's study glance up occasionally at the door to the upstairs bedroom the room which holds the key to all your plans to Paula and New York and freedom it's only 25 minutes since you call the inspector and describe young Wade's crime when a car pulls up and you hear footsteps on the porch oh come right in inspector you better come with me Gordon upstairs I think the doors lock never mind I have the key here we go dead all right shot through the head yes it's just as I told you on the phone I saw Wade raise the gun and you get a good look at the body on the bed your knees buckle as it hits you of all the men in Kingston Gordon of all the men in the world you've managed to kill the one man against whom in the eyes of inspector Carrington you had a solid motive but mr. Wakefield was Wakefield's waiting outside in the car they quarreled Wade fell and struck his head his father brought him up here before going for the doctor wait it was way yes it was a way you shot honey isn't it Gordon only this afternoon I was telling you given the motive and who had the better motive to kill young Wade than you now a question do you know the origin of the expression not enough room to swing a cat contrary to popular belief the expression has nothing to do with a four-legged house pet in the very early days of the Navy when crews became difficult to handle after many months at sea the cat an iron tails was often used but when this form of punishment was used below decks the low beam ceilings prevented the cat an iron tails from being used with any degree of force in other words there wasn't enough room to swing a cat though such cruel form of discipline disappeared long ago the expression still remains in our vocabulary this is but one of many interesting facts which can be found in the history of your United States Navy featured in tonight's transcribed story were Bill Foreman as the whistler Paul Duvall Gene Tatum Larry Dobkin Eric Snowden Jack Moyles and Jack Edwards the whistler directed by Gordon T Hughes with music by Wilbur Hatch is produced by Joel Malone and transmitted overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Service tonight's whistler was written by Joel Malone and Harold Swanton the whistler was entirely fictional and all characters portrayed on the whistler are also fictional any similarities of names or resemblances to persons living or dead is purely coincidental this is George Walsh speaking and reminding you to listen again next week for another strange tale by the whistler