 This is the mysterious traveler inviting you to join me on another journey into the realm of the strange and the terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip and it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. Go settle back and a good grip on your nerve and be comfortable if you can. Where are we going? Why we're going to follow the adventures of a man who thought he could commit murder and escape punishment. I call the story death laughs last. It was while I was practicing medicine in an eastern city that Edward Harrison brought his wife Mary to me for an examination. I could see at a glance that she was dangerously ill. When I had finished my examination, however, I tried to conceal her true condition from her till I had a chance to speak privately to her husband. It isn't anything serious, is it, Dr. Smith? Well, please tell me that it isn't. Well, I'm afraid it's too soon to say, Mrs. Harrison. Until the X-ray plates are ready, I can't say yes or no. Now your husband is waiting outside. He's probably beginning to worry. So yes, of course. Here's your wife, Mrs. Harrison. You must have thought I'd kidnapped her. No, but I was getting a little worried, Doctor. I hope you didn't find anything very wrong. Well, I took several X-rays, but I won't be able to tell much until they developed. I'd like your wife to come back a day after tomorrow if she can. Of course, Doctor. What time would be the best? Well, any time is convenient to you. Now I'll write out a prescription your husband can have filled. Will you step in for a moment, Mr. Harrison? Sure thing. Then we'll be in a moment, Maryam. Of course, darling. Sit down, won't you, Mr. Harrison? All right. Now, what is it, Doctor? Mr. Harrison, your wife is dangerously ill. Does that mean she's going to die? Her only hope is a brain operation. A very difficult and delicate operation. Without it, well, I could only give her six months a year at most. No, no, it mustn't be. She's got to have the operation, you hear? I must tell you, Mr. Harrison, that only one man in this country has the necessary skill for the operation your wife needs. He's Dr. Howard Richards. And naturally, he's in great demand. His average fee for an operation is about $1,500. $1,500? Of course, if you can't afford that, you might consider the circumstances. No, no, I can afford it. I can afford anything Mary needs. Well, then I'll get in touch with him at once. Yeah, sure. You make the arrangements right away, and I'll get a hold of the money. I'll get it to you by tomorrow, sure. Darling, help me off with my coat, will you, please? Oh, sure, sure, Mary. Yeah. How are you feeling? Oh, much better, since Dr. Smith gave me that medicine in his office. He's a swell doctor. He'll fix you up in no time. Did he tell you anything more, Edward? Not a thing, except that the treatment might take a little time, and that's all. A little time? Oh, dear, I hope it won't be too expensive. Your business hasn't been good, and we've used up all the money in our savings account, and... Oh, don't you fret about money. Don't you worry about anything. All right, darling, I won't. Oh, but aren't you going to take your coat off? No, I've got to get the prescription the doctor gave me filled. You just take it easy until I get back. I might stop in at the shop, too. There's something I've got to attend to there. I'm Ed Harrison. Oh, yes, Mr. Harrison. Please sit down. I see that you want to borrow $1,500 from us. That's right. Unfortunately, the security you offer, your home. What's wrong with it? A swell little house, good section, all in good repair? Yes, yes, that's true, but you already have a first and second mortgage on it, totaling $4,000. And, well, I'm afraid we can't make any further loans. But I've got to have the money. I just got to. I'm sorry to hear that, because there's nothing we can do to help you. Nothing we can do. You say you're not employed, Mr. Harrison. No, I own a shop. I'm a locksmith. That means you're never certain of your income. If you had a job now, or a regular income, you could depend on. What are you getting at? You mean you're not going to let me have the money? I certainly wish I could, but under the circumstances, well, I'm sorry, very sorry, but there's nothing I can do. I'm afraid the collateral you suggest isn't satisfactory, Mr. Harrison. We'd lend you the money if we could, but we just can't. Sorry. But I've got to have it. I've just got to. Sorry. It's to save Mary's life. She'll die if I don't. Sorry. And I won't let her die. I won't. Sorry. Sorry. Look. Sorry. Listen. How are you working? You aren't eating. Oh, and you're so quiet. Is there anything wrong? Oh, no, of course not. You're worrying about me, aren't you? What? No, Mary. I was just thinking about making some changes at the shop. Darling, you don't have to lie to me. I know I'm not well. But I'm going to get better. Really, I am. I promise. Of course you are. Dr. Smith said so. You're going to be well in no time. Now I've got to go out. I have an appointment over the other side of the city with Horace Latimer. He wants to see me about something. Something important. Edward had no appointment with Horace Latimer. He'd went to see Horace anyway. For he and Horace had been boyhood friends. Then their paths had separated, and Horace had grown wealthy. But in his desperation, Edward Horace hoped that Horace would remember the past and would lend him the money he'd been trying to raise all day. Horace could spare it easily. But would he? $1,500. That's rather a lot of money, Ed. I know it is Horace. But it's for Mary, for an operation. I've got to have it. Yes. Why don't you try the bank? You have a house, a business. I have tried the bank and all the personal loan companies in town. They all turned me down, said the security wasn't good enough. I see. Well, that's too bad. But I don't quite understand why you came to me, Ed. Because we're friends. That's why. Because when we were boys, we agreed that we'd each of us always lend the other a helping hand if we could. Boys don't understand business very well, I'm afraid Ed. Oh, I suppose not. They don't understand business. They just understand friendship. You know if I had the money and you needed it, I'd lend it to you in a minute. I don't doubt that at all, Ed. And you can bet I'd lend it to you if I had it. But that's the trouble. I haven't any ready cash. The income tax, you know, and a couple of shaky investments that I had to bolster up lately. All right, Horace. Never mind explaining. I get the idea. You're not going to lend me the money. Really, Ed, I would if I could, but I can't. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for somebody else. I don't need your money here. I'll get it someplace else. Yes, I'll get it. Somehow. Slammed out of Horace Latimer's expensive home, Edward stood for a moment on the dark street corner, staring back with bitterness in his face. I'm sorry. Yes, you're sorry. And a pig's eye, you're sorry. What a sap I was to think you were a pal of mine. What's that, buddy? Oh, was you talking to me? Oh, no, sorry. I guess I was thinking out loud. Oh, that's OK. Hey, you got a match? A match? Sure. There you go. Thanks, sir. OK, just hold it like that. Make a move and I'll plug you. Gun. Yeah, this is a stick up hold. You're a whore. Hand over your dough and make it fast, see? My dough? That's a hot one. I'm out trying to raise money myself. I mean, both out of luck. I've only got a dollar on me. Take it if you want it anyway. It's more than I could raise. Don't try to kid me. Stand still while I see what you got in your pockets. A wallet, a leather case of some kind. You'll find just one dollar in that wallet. Yeah, a buck. One measly buck. I bet you got a roll hidden in this leather case. It's heavy enough. There's nothing in there but my emergency kit. Yeah, well, I'll just see for myself. Hey, oh, this kid is full of skeleton keys and pick locks and stuff. What are you anyway, second story worker? I'm a locksmith and a safe repairman, if it's anything to you. I'm about taking the dollar and letting me go on my way. I'm in a hurry. Not so fast, pal. Not so fast. Were you leveling just now when you said you was trying to raise dough? Yeah, I've got to have $1,500 by tomorrow. What's it to you? You'd be surprised, pal. OK, I'm putting the gun away, but you ain't leaving yet. Me and you, we're going to talk business, because I got a plan that'll get us both all the dough we need. Two more beers, waiter. Coming up. Well, is it a deal on my proposition? I don't know, ma'am. Sure, you do. There's nothing to it. You can open locks and safes. I know where there's a house with plenty of dough in it. You and me together, we'll go get it. We'll make a team. But, burglary, I've never stolen anything in my life. Listen, you said you needed a dough bed, didn't you? So do I. Plenty bed. You said you'd do anything to get it, didn't you? Yes. Yes, I did. Then what are you hanging back for? All you got to do is get the back door opened and the safe. In half an hour, you'll have your $1,500 and more. How else are you ever going to get it? Answer me that. I don't know. You're sure the money's there, Mike? Positive. I was casing the joint, looked in the window, and time to see the old geezer put a whole roll of bills in a safe that's like a bread box. Ah, you could open it with your teeth. All right, I'll do it. I've got to have the money. I'll go on a job with it. The luck looks easy. But I shouldn't be doing this. There must be some other way to get the money saved. Don't be a sucker all your life. You've got to take what you want in this world. If you don't, you'll never get it. Everybody's a crook of some kind. Take it from me. Well, get on. Get that door open. We've got to get inside before we're spotted. All right. Let me take a second, I think. Yes. There, it's unlocked. OK, get inside. This is the library down this way. Here's the old guy and his book. I'll have it open inside half an hour. 40 minutes on that thing. It's coming now. There. It's open. About time, too. And now let's see what's in it. Here's the cash box. Then I open it. Cash, Missoula, what the hell are you? There must be thousands there. Easy. Come on. We'll count it and divvy it up. No, never mind. Just give me $1,500. That's all I want. You can keep the rest. Are you kidding? No, that's all I want. Just the $1,500 I need. OK, it's your funeral. Here you are. 10, 11, 12, 18, 14, $1,500 bills. $1,500. Yeah, for just an hour's worth of easy money, huh? What do you say we grab a couple more creeps tonight? No, no. I just want to get out of here now and get behind this door. Now, take care of it. Good. Thank you, but please help her. Hey, what'd you expect me to do? Shake his hand? Would you kill him? Yes. I'm an accessory to murder. Cut that stuff and let's get out of here. Or do you want to get caught? No, no, of course not. Let's get going. Come on, we can stand still, both of you. I have a gun and I have you covered. The bottle. If you move while I shoot, I can see you perfectly. He's standing on the stairs. He's got a gun. We caught, we caught. No, not yet, we ain't. Not by an old-scare crew with a rusty horse pistol. Put up your hands. I'm going to call the police. You've done something to the bottle. OK, we'll put up our hands. I found my rope. Oh! I shan't. We've got to get out of here in a hurry. No shots. Here we are. Come on in. Why did you make me come here? Can't I go home? You hide me. Come on in. Take off your hat and stay a while. I can't stay a while. She'll be worried. Hold her. You've got other things than your wife to worry about. What do you mean, Mike? I mean the cops. Or have you forgotten you wanted from my daughter? No, I haven't forgotten. I'll never be able to forget her. Why did you kill her? Well, I was either killed or go to jail. Or would you rather have gone to jail? Oh, no. I'm all mixed up. How did I get into this anyway? You need a dough. That's how you got into this. And you got it. So now cut out the sob stuff. Why won't you let me go home? Why did you make me come here to your room? You're here so you and me can have a little talk. Can I have a talk? Well, chum, that door and that safe open, you and me got a future together. I won't do it. I won't. Sure, you can always send a little note to the cops. They'd get you too. I'd be a long ways out here. You've got a sick wife. You can say you don't think you can pull a job and go on as if nothing had happened. Somebody's always got up here another. I did it only for a minute now and you can't get out. Wait. All right. I'm going to get it off my chest. Oh, no. You think this can defy talk? Hey, get away. Go. You got me into this. Get away from me. He's dead. I'm going to get away. In a days of horror, he made his way to the street. Thoughts which he could not control around in his head. They'll hang me. I had the money. The money to make Mary. Now they'll catch me. They'll hang me. I've got to. Paid for somehow. But it can escape if you're lucky. I need a drink. I've got to have a drink before I go crazy. So when Harrison stood in the street and struggled to control his shaking as normal, he ordered a double whiskey and gouted the senses cleared a little. You heard the radio at the end of the bar broadcasting a warning to the city. Attention. The police stopped for the following men that committed in the Buxton Park cellar. Please make a note of the following men. Say, buddy, what's the radio war for? Because I was dead. And I got a knife. I want to hear it. So I'm going to turn it back on again. No, no, you must not. But I'm going to. And if you try a gun right here under the bar, see what that dirty killer looked like. I repeat, be on night, lean and wary with reddish-brown hair in Buxton Park earlier this evening. A man reported once to now turn you back to our regular night owl program, a popular dance tune. Well, lean and wary with reddish-brown hair, huh? Well, that ain't you. You're heavy-set and black-head. But for a minute there, you had me going. I was positive you was the killer the way you didn't. You want me to hear the description. I guess you just jump, huh? Well, here, have another drink. On the house. Thanks, thanks. I need some sleep. Yeah, that's what I need. Some sleep. How close he had come to giving himself away, Edward Harrison hurried. Mike, the police were looking for. Not Edward Harrison, and they had. Edward Harrison was safe. His own good luck, Edward was asleep. Quiet and troubled by nightmare Mary was already preparing breakfast. Good morning, darling. Who? I, I was pretty late. I stopped at the shop. I, I was pretty little work. I forgot to watch the time. Oh, fun. This morning you look terrible. I know. You're worrying about me. Really, I am. Of course you are. I'm going to see to that. What do you think? Dr. Smith called up last night. He wanted to talk to you. Said he had some good news for you. Good news? Yes, but he wouldn't tell me what it was. I don't know why. He asked for you to stop in at his office this morning. I think I know what it is. Yes, sure. I'll go right over and see him. But darling, you're going to eat breakfast first, aren't you? I'll eat when I get back. I want to see the doctor first. Anyway, I'm not very hungry. Well, all right, Edward. But please hurry back. I want to know what the doctor says too. Yes, sure, Mary. I'll be right back. But everything's OK now, darling. Everything's OK. After he left the house, Edward bought a morning paper. Big headlines told of the murders the night before, but he scarcely saw them. His eyes hurried through the story until he found what he was looking for. The news that Mike's body had been found. The butler Mike had shot, had given the police Mike's description and then died before he could tell them there was anyone with Mike. So the police had listed Mike's death as a suicide or an accident and closed the case. Edward Harrison was safe. Perfectly safe. Safe. I'm safe. Mike was wrong. Sometimes you can get away with murder and not have to pay anything if you're lucky. And I've been lucky. I've been lucky. When Edward Harrison entered my office, he sat down beside my desk and tossed a folded newspaper into the wastebasket. His expression was that of a man who had just faced disaster and been rescued at the last moment. Good morning, doctor. Mary said you'd phone. You had good news. Yes, Mr. Harrison. I called you last night after I got in touch with Dr. Richards. I wanted to tell you that he had agreed to operate on your wife. Oh, that's sweet. And I've got the money right here in my pocket. Money, yes. Yes, I was also going to tell you that Dr. Richards had said not to worry about it. You could take as long as you wanted to pay it. As long as I wanted. Then it wasn't necessary. I didn't have to do it. I didn't have to do it. I'm afraid I don't understand. Never mind, doctor. I mean, I've gotten the money. I want to pay it. He's got to take it right away. Well, what's the matter? What are you looking at me like that for? The operation is going to save Mary's life, isn't it? You said it would. You can't go back on your word. You can't, do you hear? It's not that, Mr. Harrison. Yes, the operation would save your wife's life, but unfortunately, Dr. Richards was the only man in this country able to perform it. Well, so what? He said he'd do it, didn't he? And I've raised the dough to pay him. So what's the hitch? Mr. Harrison. Dr. Richards can't perform the operation now. But you said... He was tragically murdered last night by a burglar who broke into his home in Buxton Park. This is the mysterious traveler again. Did you enjoy our little trip into the life of a man who thought he could make good come out of evil? Poor Edward Harrison. He didn't believe that crime must always be paid for by someone. Did he? What became of him? Well, after his wife died a few months later, he confessed everything to the police. He didn't have anything to live for, poor fellow. I hope his experience will teach you that crime really doesn't pay. I always say that it... Oh, you're getting off at the next stop. I'm sorry. But perhaps we'll meet again soon. I take this same train every week. You've just heard chapter 42 of The Mysterious Traveler, a series of dramas of the strange and terrifying. In today's story, Death Laughs Last, Philip Clark played Edward Harrison, Carl Emory played Mike, and Elizabeth Morgan played Mary Harrison. The Mysterious Traveler is written by Bob Arthur and David Cogan, and original music is played by Henry Silverne. The entire production is under the direction of Jack McGregor. Now, an important message for all of you. This is Jack McGregor speaking. The National War Fund Drive begins tomorrow. As you probably know, this fund includes over 22 of the major war relief and service organizations. As the war progresses on all fronts, more and more people will need help. Our armed forces, American prisoners of war, our allies, and people right here at home. And by giving to the National War Fund, you will be helping. Consider just one of the many organizations that the war fund supports, the USO. More than 3,000 service units are in operation. Clubs for our service men and women find recreation, dances, educational activities, reading, writing, and game rooms, and religious council. The USO is responsible for the Travelers Aid Desks which help service men make connections and find sleeping accommodations. It operates the lounges in railroad and bus terminals. USO camps shows bring American entertainment to our troops at camps and stations throughout this country and in all the combat zones. Groups who play the jungle circuit in the South Pacific, the desert circuit in North Africa, the grass skirt circuit in the Hawaiian Islands, and the foxhole circuit in combat zones just behind the front lines. We can't measure in money the good accomplished by the USO, but we can help to continue that good work by giving our money the National War Fund. So when your community war fund or war chest representative calls on you, give and give generously. Let's the next time to a tale titled The Man the Insects Hated. Another tale of the Mysterious Traveler. The Mysterious Traveler is presented by WOR Mutual from the WOR Studios in New York. Beginning Saturday, October 7th, the Mysterious Traveler will be heard at a new time. It will be presented every Saturday evening at half past 10 Eastern wartime or the most of these same stations. So remember the new time, 10.30 p.m. Saturdays. This is Mutual.