 Have you heard the strange tales of the Whistler? Here's the sanitarium hobby. Is he still unconscious? Yes. Well, here comes the attendant. Yeah, we're all ready for him, Mrs. Jackson. Take his feet, Harold. Oh, you had the time, huh? Yes, I had to give him a good one on the chin. You'll have to watch him. He may try to get away when he comes to. Don't you worry. We've got a lot of tough cases here. Don't let him know who brought him here. Don't let him know I had anything to do with it. Leave everything to us. It's a two-hour drive back to the city, Donna. Yes. Well, I'll phone you tomorrow. Good. If anything happens, we'll call you. Thank you. Good night. Saturday night, and again, CBS presents the Whistler. So many things before I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who stepped into the shadows. So I tell you again tonight, one of the favorite tales of death has a thirst. The long black car with the handsome man at the wheel and the woman beside him returns to the highway and speeds on through the night. The man and the woman sit staring ahead, lost in thought. The man is Harvey Davis, and the woman is Mrs. Victor Jackson, wife of the unconscious man recently deposited to the sanatorium. I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Harvey. But I had to have some help, and I knew I could depend on you. It's all right, Donna. I only hope it'll do some good. Victor never drank a drop while we were in school. He didn't drink when we were first married. After his father died and Victor took over the business, he... he started. Well, it's a huge concern, and I guess he just couldn't take it. He always had an inferiority complex. But the thing that hurts me most is that the drinking has completely changed him. He's suspicious of every move I make. He accuses me of the most disgraceful things. He accuses me of lying to him about everything, of being in love with other men. Oh, countless things. Other men? What men? Any men I speak to, even you, Harvey. Me? Well, after all, if he's going to be suspicious of any man, it would logically be me. Why? You've brought most of your troubles to me. He knows that. I'm as good a victim as anybody, and he knows I'm terribly fond of you. Are you, Harvey? From the first day I met you, I said, here's a woman, a strong woman. Maybe she'll develop some backbone in my willy-nilly friend, Victor. It's very nicely put, Harvey. Well, let's hope the sanitarium does him some good. Oh, if it doesn't, I don't know what I'll do. Don't worry, Donna. Just remember I'll do anything for you. Thank you, Harvey. Good night. The black sedan arrives at the Jackson mansion. The butler greets Harvey and Donna at the door. Evening, Mrs. Jackson. Evening, Mr. Davis. Dr. Saunders is in the library, ma'am. He's waiting for you. Dr. Saunders? At this hour? What on earth does he want? You'd better see him, Donna. Maybe he knows. How could he? Come with me, Harvey. Of course. Good evening, Dr. Saunders. Evening, Donna. Evening, Harvey. Hello, Doctor. This is quite a surprise. Yes, I can imagine. I, um, Harvey and I, we've just been for a little drive. I felt I needed some air. That's all? Did you come to see Victor? Victor isn't here. Really? But I know where he is. You do? He's in a cheap dive, a rooming house downtown. What? That isn't possible. That's where he always goes. Well, you're wrong this time, Doctor. I took him by force to a sanitarium tonight. Harvey, help me. Maybe they can do something for him. You told the sanitarium I was his physician, didn't you? Yes, I did. Well, they called me an hour ago. He's escaped. What? They said he came too and broke away from them. I know where he usually goes, and I can find him. That is, if you want me to find him. What are you inferring, Doctor? Well, Donna, I know what you've been through with Victor. I know what a trial it's been. I've tried. You've tried. We've all tried everything we could to make him stop. Not many women would have gone through what you have. Well, we've dragged him through before. We could probably do it again. I just thought perhaps you'd had enough, that's all. And you know where he is? Yes, I'm pretty sure I know. Well, then find him. Determine to cure him if I have to take him to a desert island. It's an idea. A long ocean trip might be the answer. You'd have to hog time. I could do that, too. Very well. I'll have a talk with him and phone you in the morning. Good night. Good night, Doctor. Oh, no, no. You've done your best time. Oh, but I feel so hopeless. I don't know what to do next. Well, try the desert island. Why not? It might work, mightn't it? Harvey, you can help. Your yacht. Doctor Saunders may be right. At least it's worth a try. I wonder. Oh, please, Harvey, it may be the answer. I can't get away just now, but if you're determined, you're welcome to the yacht. Please. I'd feel better if you came along. All right, Donna, I'll go. I'll arrange it. But Victor won't want to come. No, take him aboard by force. Shanghai? Well, all right. Just let me know when you find him and I'll arrange everything. When he checked in, he was as drunk as a lord. Well, I'll leave you alone with him, Doctor. Thanks. That hypo will bring him out of this. Thanks a lot. Victor. Victor. What? What's going on here? Oh, yes. Get away. Take it easy, Victor. Who are you? Doc Saunders. Doc? What do you want? We'll talk to you, Victor. It's very important. Important? Huh? Come on, Victor, snap out of it. Hey, what's your idea? What'd you slap me for? Wake you up. I've got to talk to you. Oh, hello, Doc. What are you after? Is your head clear? I guess so. All right, then, listen to me. Do you know where you are? Yeah. You're my old heart. You know how you got here? Well, let me see. Oh, no, I can't remember. Well, I'll tell you where you're going. If you don't put yourself together. Where? The insane asylum. Did you say asylum? I did. There's nothing that hastens final mental breakdown, insanity, more than alcohol. Insanity? Insanity. Are you just telling me that? No, I can prove it. Good Lord. Want that to happen to you? Oh, no, no, but I... Well, I just can't seem to quit. You're going away, Vic. Away? Where? Sending you on a long voyage with no liquor. Oh, no. No, you're not. All right. I'll get hold of myself. Yes, you've said that before. I can take it and leave it alone if I want to. But you haven't so far you've gone from bad to worse. Now you're going away. You can't get it. But, Doc, I can't. I can't. I'd die. I couldn't stand it. You'll stand it and like it if I have to. No. I won't be pushed around by anyone. I know who's back at this Donna. She wants to get rid of me. Asylum. Ha. Head suit her fine. She'd like that. So she can cavort around with Harvey and all the others. Oh, shut up, Vic. You're all planning to get rid of me. You don't like me. You're taking a trip. Get rid of me, and you can all share in the estate. But you just see how much good it'll do. Sorry. Oh. But you're taking a trip, Victor. Yeah, you are, Victor. Several hundred miles at sea. And worried, too, aren't you, Victor? That talk about insanity really upset you. You believe it, too, don't you? What's this? Where am I? Do you feel better, Victor? Oh. What is this? It's moving. I feel dizzy. I don't think you're dizzy. We're on a boat, darling. What boat? We're on a boat in the middle of the ocean. A boat? Doc Sunders. That's what he said. A voyage. It's his idea. Now, Victor, everything's going to be all right. I know what you're planning to do. You're planning to kill me. You want to get rid of me. Want me to die? He won't die. Whose boat is this? Harvey's yacht. Harvey. Now I know it's a plot. Now I know what it's all about. You and Harvey, that's it. Don't be ridiculous, Victor. Harvey can send it and let me have the yacht. Is he on board? Yes. Of course. You and Harvey. And me, a prisoner. What a perfect setup. You don't mean that, Victor. I've been suspicious of you two all alone. Who else is on board? Nobody but the captain and the crew of four. And Harvey and the doctor. Where are you taking me? We're just cruising. Just cruising. Here you find the right spot. Right spot for what? To dump the overboard. No one will ever know, will they? And you'll see I jumped over. It was washed over the side. Oh, Victor, what has happened to you? You're like a stranger to me. I just don't know you. It doesn't seem possible that you're the man I married. What happened to you? Don't you know? If I only did. Why? Well, I'll tell you what's the matter. I'm crazy. I'm insane. My grandfather was insane. And undoubtedly my father. And so why not me? He's talking nonsense. Oh, no, no. Hasn't Dr. Sanders told you? What, he knows? No. Oh, come now. You three are closer than that. Stop talking such nonsense. I won't listen. Well, I'm getting out of this cabin. I can't stand to be cooped up like this. Please stay for a while, Victor. Please. Here, I brought just milk. Please, drink it. Oh, milk, huh? Got a funny color to it. Hmm. It smells strange. What's in it? Arsenic? Just plain milk, Victor. Drink it. Hmm. Do you like milk, Donna? Yes, I love milk. Then drink it yourself. Victor, I'll hold over my drip. They're trying to poison me. That's it. Get out of here. Get out. Victor, please, Ollie. Get out! How do you feel, Victor? They're trying to kill me. They're trying to kill me. Who? Donna and Harvey. She just brought me some milk and it had poison in it. I can tell by the color. Oh, I think you're imagining things, Victor. Oh, no, I'm not. They want me out of the way. I can tell. That made you think the milk was poison. It was a purplish color. Here, here's the glass. Smell it. Hmm. Maybe I'm not so crazy after all. I didn't say you were crazy. I only want you to stop your drinking. Drink may bring it on. Where did they get the poison? Oh, come. Forget it. Do you know where they get the poison, doctor? See you later, Victor. Hmm. Maybe. Yes, Donna. Did you take some milk, Victor? Yes, I did. What did you put in it? Why should I put anything in it? Victor thinks you did. Well, you should know me better than that, doctor. You did put something in it. Well, yes, I did. Some of that red liquid to make him quiet. Oh, yes, of course. That's what it was. He threw it all over me. Hmm. Oh, I'm thoroughly disgusted, doctor. I can't go on with him this way. He isn't drinking, but there's something wrong. I've decided to give it up as a bad job. I'm going to get a divorce. Divorce? I'm afraid it's too late for that, Donna. Too late? Or what do you mean? Something I haven't told you. I've been hoping it wouldn't be necessary. After the day, I've given up all hope. Why can't I get a divorce? You cannot divorce an insane person. What happened? Yes, Victor has all the symptoms, and it's liquor that's hastened the crack up. I couldn't be certain as long as he was drinking, but today I realized the truth. Oh, I'm bewildered. I've never been so shocked in my life. I wish you hadn't told me. I'm sorry, Donna. I wanted you to be on your guard. You see, he has some strange hallucination about you and Harvey. You think you're planning to do away with him? Do away with him? Yes. Oh, with that ridiculous eye. I've never had such a thought. Never. But now I'm frightened. Doctor, what about Alice? Your daughter? Oh, she's all right. I wouldn't worry about her. But think what this will mean. If this gets out of our victory, it may ruin her whole life. I understand that. Oh, this must never happen. It must remain a secret. That'll be difficult. It's going to be hard to handle when that craving returns. I'll think of something. I'll find a way. Doctor, come quickly. It's Harvey Davis. What's wrong, Captain? Found him in his bump with a cord around his neck. What happened? Give us this. Quiet, Donna. Come along. Dad. No. I don't know. He's breathing. We found him just in time. Be all right in a few minutes. Oh, thank heaven. Harvey. Oh, man. Huh? Harvey. Donna, what's wrong? What's happened? Nothing much, Harvey. Just a little accident. You'll be all right. Oh, my throat. What's going on? You don't remember? No. We're just taking a little nap. I feel like I've been choked. You better tell him, Donna. Come along, Captain. Oh, um, Captain. Have you any liquor aboard? Yes, Doctor. Several bottles in the locker in my cabin. Let's have a look. I gave it luck because, uh, hey, it's been jimmied. Well, what do you know? It's all gone. I expected that. I'll skin those men alive. Don't, don't blame the man, Captain. What do you mean? What the devil is that? We've had something. Come on. What is this, man? What's wrong with you? The boilers blew up. We must have hit a reef. All three of the men have crewed down there. We've got to abandon. I'm, I'm, I'm her bad Captain. It's dead. She did it like a fool. Round up the others. I'll go below. Yes, Captain. What a mess. I can kind of imagine them. Then the sun beats down relentlessly on the five survivors in the open boat. The Doctor watches anxiously over the still unconscious Captain. And Donna and Harvey keep a constant eye on Victor, who sits alone in the end of the boat staring at the horizon. How's the Captain, Doctor? He's still holding his own. He must have had a bad fall down that companion way. I don't think he fell. Huh? It's a good thing you went down after him. Now we're running low on water. We'll recite some land today. How much water have you and your canteen, Donna? How full? I say, look. Look over there. What's that? Oh, shit. No. It's land. An island. Grab a note, Victor. Come on, Doc. This place is as barren of food or water as a Sahara does it. I'm afraid if we do locate any water, it won't be fit to drink. Well, there must be water. What do you care about water? You've got a canteen full of whiskey. How much water is left? I have some, and Doctor Saunders has some. So I'd better get busy. Although my experiences on other islands like this haven't been so good. Well, here's a chance to put your chemistry to use, Harvey. You know the test for lead and zinc? Yes. Look, I'll give you two vials and some sodium sulfide tablets and potassium chromate. You know the test when you come to some water, one tablet, and 10 cc's of the liquid? A dark precipitate means poison. Yes, I know. Thanks, Doc. Well, I'll start off and keep a direct line to the other side, wherever that is. Wait a minute, Harvey. I think I'll go with you. Why? Oh, maybe I can help. I'd go with you, Harvey, but I'd better keep an eye on the captain. He's the only one who knows where we are. I've got to pull him through. It's all right, Doc. I don't need him. I think I'll go anyway. All right. If you insist, come on. Harvey, wait. I'm going to. Why? Because I want to. We don't need you. I'm coming just the same. Please, Harvey. I'd like to come. All right. Let's go. It's certainly hot. How do you feel, Donna? All right. How far have we come? Oh, 10 miles, I should say. There's already big island at that. Nothing but desert. Yeah, are you sure those last two waterholes were poisonous? Certainly. They look good to me. I'm getting mighty thirsty. Better quit drinking that whiskey. It'll only make you thirsty. Harvey, can I have a little water? I'm sorry, Donna, but you'll have to suffer it as long as you can. Please, wait. You suppose we'll ever get out of here? I don't know. It's all my fault. What a shame to get you into such a mess. Please forgive me, Harvey. There's nothing to forgive, Donna. I do it again 100 times over for you. Would you, Harvey? Yes. No one must ever know, Harvey. Promise me if we ever get out of this. Promise me you'll never let anyone go. No one will ever learn from me. Harvey! What's on Earth? Harvey, he's got a gun. Where did he get it? Come on. I got him, look. A lizard, a big one. I knew we'd find something. Put that down. You can't eat that. There must be water around here. There must be. Where'd you get that gun? Out of the captain's locker. Better take it easy with those shells. You may need them. Yeah. Maybe I will. Have a drink? No. All right. I'd sure like some water. How about it? There's just enough for one of us to get back. Yeah. And if only one goes back, it'll be Donna. Donna? How chivalrous. Who's got the water? I have. Come on. Let's keep moving. Yeah. There's water around here. There must be. And I'm going to find it. Donna, if we don't find water, he's going to start pleading for what you have. No matter how much you rave, suppleads, don't give in. Even if he threatens us with that gun, tell him you drank it all. I want you to have the best break out of this. Thanks, Harvey. I appreciate it. I found it. Water. I found water. Hurry, Donna. Hurry. What about it? What's a test show? Just like all the rest. Full of lead and zinc and heaven knows what else. It's poison, huh? Worship. How about some of that water? What water? In Donna's canteen. There isn't any more. Who drank it? I did. You both did. And you left none for me. You've got your whiskey. I can't drink whiskey all the time. You've done pretty well on it for several years. I've got to have some water. Harvey, won't you? Harvey, Harvey, Harvey. Is that all you think about? Harvey? You should have married Harvey. Perhaps you're right about that. Are you sure that water is poison? I'm not drinking it and I'm thirsty too. Maybe you're just waiting. But what? I don't know. But I can imagine a few things. We'd better stop here for the night. Are you very tired, Donna? Awfully. Better try to get some sleep. Where are you going, Victor? I'm just going to look around. I may find something. I'm hungry. I'm going to build a fire with this brush. Don't get too far away. I'll be around. Don't worry. Keep a ghost's watch on your canteen, Donna. I have an idea of what he's up to. I'll try not to sleep, but I'm dead tired. I'll do my best, Harvey. If he goes to sleep, I'll try to get that gun away from him. Good night, Donna. Good night, Harvey. Only a red glow remains. Donna, in spite of herself, drops off into a sound sleep. Victor stirs from his place 20 feet away, looks about him, and crawls silently toward the sleeping Donna. Puts out his hand and... Put it down, Victor. I want some water. There isn't any water. I think there is. You heard what I said. You're lying. You have got some. Victor, what is this? You've got some water and you won't give me any. Harvey. I'm wise to you. You don't want me to have any. You want me to die. You're in love with each other. You're drunk. What if I am in love with Harvey? What of it? Donna, you want me out of the way. Either one of you is very thirsty. No, because you had some water and you got it out of that pool. You're lying to me. It's good water. You're crazy. You sneaked it out while I was asleep. Tried to make me think it was a poison. I... I ought to shoot you. All right, Victor. If you're so positive, go on down and drink out of the pool. That gives me an idea. I'll just find out if that water is poison. Go drink some of it, Harvey. Certainly not. I'll give you 30 seconds. It's poison. Go ahead, drink. Or I'll shoot. No, don't do it, Harvey. No. Then supposing you drink out of it, Donna. Well, I will. No. Victor, it'll kill her. Wait, Donna. I'll drink it. You're a fool, Victor. It's going to be interesting. Not as much as you think. Get off of me. I'll shoot you. Maybe that'll hold you, Harvey. It's all right, Donna. Just hit my shoulder. Here. Well, I hope you're satisfied now that it is poison, Victor. Maybe. But you two are getting water someplace. Please. Please don't take that canteen, Victor. It's for Donna. All right. All right. You two are getting this water from someplace. Hand over that canteen, Donna. No, no, I said that's for Donna. I'll take care of it for all of us. And if either of you make a move toward me, I'll shoot you both. Good night. And sleep tight. Both of you. Slowly fades and the chill of dawn creeps in. Then as the sun comes over the horizon, Harvey stirs fretfully, opens his eyes and looks for Donna. She sits beyond the dead embers of the campfire. Her hands folded before her, staring blankly into space. Harvey races up with a star and moves quickly to her side. Victor is sprawled on his back the hilt of a hunter knife protruding from his chest. Donna. Donna. Good Lord, what's happened to Victor? He's dead. Dead? That knife? I choose Donna. No, no one will ever know. Excited to ship and build a signal fire. They're waiting for... What's this? Victor must have gone crazy on the night and stabbed himself. I see. He's dead, Harvey. How'd this happen? I told you. He must have stabbed himself. No, no, he didn't. No, I stabbed him. Huh? It's my knife. Cripped over him. When did you do this, Donna? It was that more than an hour ago. I couldn't help it, Doctor. I couldn't help it. Please, Donna, please, you've nothing to fear. I didn't want anybody to know. Because of Alice, my daughter. They all know, Donna. You didn't kill him. What? He's been dead for at least three hours. What do you mean? Look at his lips and his tongue and the swelling of his stomach. You test this pool, Harvey? Yes. Every pool we've come to has been heavy in mineral content. I warned him, but he thought we were lying to him. Last night he pulled the gun and took down his canteen. It wasn't very much in it, but it was all we had. We've been drinking whiskey. Naturally, just a little water wouldn't satisfy him. So he drank from the pool. Ah, poor Victor. I guess it's just as well. Don't worry, Donna. No one will ever know. You did your best. You tried hard to make things work out. But somehow fate seemed to take things right out of your hands. But you know better, don't you, Harvey? You know what happened. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us, Harvey. After Victor took the canteen from Donna and drank the few swallows and that he fell off to sleep, then I took the canteen and filled it from the poison pool. I knew he'd wake up at the greater thirst. And he did. But I'm not sorry. He's better off. And I found I do love Donna. And I'll take care of her for the rest of our days. There you are. From drama to tragedy. And from tragedy to a beautiful love story wherein they'll live happily ever after. I know. CBS has presented The Whistler. The music for this production was composed and conducted by Wilbur Hatch. The Whistler is written and directed by J. Donald Wilson and originates from Columbia Square in Hollywood. Next week, same time. I, The Whistler, will return to tell you another unusual tale. Good night. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.