 From Hollywood, it's time now for Edmund O'Brien as... Johnny Dollar. This is Bill Hudson, Johnny. Grand Industrial Assurance. Remember? How could I forget? Who's assembly line busted down this time? It's Steel, Johnny. Cornel Steel Pittsburgh. Lots of so-called accidental deaths in the open-heart furnaces. Frankly, it smacks a murder to me. Could be hot work. I'll bring my sweatshirt. When's the next plane for Smokeville? Edmund O'Brien in another transcribed adventure of the man with the action-packed expense account. America's Fabulous Freelance Insurance Investigator. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. By Special Investigator Johnny Dollar, two great industrial assurance corporations of America, Hartford, Connecticut. The following is an accounting of my expenditures during investigation of the dead first helpers. $83.24 plane fare to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A land of chimneys and open-heart furnaces where I met supervisor Joel Barrett. What's a first helper? Well, it goes like this. Walter Foreman is in charge of a number of furnaces. The first helper is in charge of an individual furnace. Under him are the second helpers and the cinder snaps. I see. Well, how did the deaths occur? In a number of ways. One man tumbled down a flight of stairs. Two were killed by a crane magnet. Another one fell from the pouring flat form. And just last week one of our best men was killed in an explosion of a hot-cap mole. You better explain that one. Certain types of steel have to be capped after they've been poured from the ladle to the ingot. See, sometimes the pressure is so great inside of them that when the pourers shoot water on the cap to seal it, the cap flies off and sprays a man with molten steel. I've seen it happen only once, Mr. Dollar. That's enough for me. Any connection between these deaths? How do you mean? I mean any common denominator. Anything that could provide a motive for murder. Well, none that I know of, except for the fact that all the men had been with us for a long time, 15 or 20 years. Just the boys who know their way around, eh? That's what's so strange, Mr. Dollar. None of them have ever been found to ignore safety regulations. Uh-huh. Uh, how do you plan on proceeding? Well, it's been my experience that plant investigation from the outside is pretty often a waste of time. The men are on their guard. You want to go right to work in the shop? What did you say they call the lowest man on the open hearth furnace? Cinder snap. Well, you break out the overalls, Mr. Barrett. We'll see how good I am at snapping cinders. Two 25 cents for work cap. Every other item of equipment provided by the company expense account item 3, $1 for blister salve and adhesive tape for hands after first eight hours of work. Expense account item 4, 75 cents for linemen for back after second eight hours of work. Expense account item 5, $10 first union fees, United Steel Workers CIO. Footnote, the fourth day on the job is the hardest. Really something to watch the straight white hot steam pound into the ingot molds from the ladles. And I began to know these men whom you never hear about. The men with the big backs and the soaking red bandanas around their waists, like Andre with a funny last name who got a kick out of helping me along. It's all right, Doe. You get the swing of it. It's not half so hard like you think. After a while, you get strong, get tough like nails. Oh, my aching back. Bet you never eat so good, huh? Bet you never sleep so good. Oh, I dream about lying silicon ratios. You want to sit down tomorrow? Yeah, if you mean the midnight shift, yeah. Who would you be with me? I show you lots of things. Well, I don't mind the work, but frankly, I'm scared. You work good. They no fire you. It's not that, Andre. I mean, cranes and scrap cars and ladles of steel 3,000 degrees hot. You learn how to go around. You have no trouble. You remember the rule, you have no trouble. You be fine. Maybe. But some of the boys were saying that five men died in the last month and boys that should know how to get around. Right, Andre? Accident always happens. Fools. The old ones, they are the careless ones. They think they know so well the rule that you're a fool. Yeah, you said it. Poof. But sometimes it isn't so easy to make friends in a steel mill. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you know that you've lived too soft a life to ever get information from a steel man like Joe Poland. I found him in the company cafeteria. Where you come? Chicago. You don't look Chicago. What do I look? You look from office building. Where you work before? Office building. Baby, soft like milk. How'd they take you? Yes, I've got an honest face. What? I was working with him, Joe, my conscience. You're nosy. You may be work for Barrett. About Mr. Barrett. You'll learn what it's like, darling. You married? Not yet. If you were married and maybe had a couple of kids you'd find out, you'd lie awake at night and you'd wonder, will it be me if I get that blue slip tomorrow? If something happened to me, would she get anything from the insurance, things like that? How long you been here? Five years. Tomorrow they can say, that's all, friend. Where are you? You sound like you know your way around, Fred. What's your idea on these accidents? Accidents? There's no such thing as an accident, dollar. People who want to live across the street with the light, the same way in steel, like Kirk Brody killed last week. I decided to pay Kirk Brody's widow a call. But there was so little to go on, I had nothing to lose. She lived in a cold water flat. There was still a black wreath in the door. That's right. I wonder if I could see you for a moment. I'm with Cornel Steel. Come in. Won't you sit down? Thanks. My name is Dollar. I'm investigating the accidents that occurred in the open hearths, Mrs. Brody. I'm sorry to trouble you about it, but there are some things I have to know. Kirk was the last one. Three weeks ago, Tuesday. On the accident reported, said he was killed when a hot cap blew off a mold. I knew it would happen, Mr. Dollar. I knew it would happen. It was as if I could have stopped it. Kirk was always careful, always. Only that day when he left the house, I had a feeling something was going to happen. Kirk, please be careful. He smiled. It was the last I... I saw. I won't trouble you any further, Mrs. Brody. Oh, Nora. I want to tell you what's happening, Mr. Dollar. I'll tell you what it is. It was this way with Kirk. It's this way with the others. It's their jobs. They're scared for their jobs. You want to investigate. You want to investigate Barrett. He's the one to investigate. Nobody saw you come in here. Nobody did, Barrett. What did you find out? Nothing you could call factual, but there's some kind of tension in the shop. Something's going on. No, they work all right. But it's like they're frightened of something. I want to look at your employment records. Sure thing. Right in that file drawer. That's something you neglected to tell me on my first visit here, Mr. Barrett. Slipped my mind. Seems several other things slipped your mind. What do you mean? Like a little communication I found on the bulletin board in the locker room. What communication? To the effect that due to various conditions beyond our control, layoffs will be necessary in some cases and men will be laid off consistent with their seniority. What possible connection could that have with the five deaths? You had the answer to that question, but I had to find it out on my own. Corration, Mr. Barrett. The five men were killed in order of seniority. The killer, whoever he is, obviously is scared to death of losing his job. According to your files, the next man slayed of accidental death is another first helper, Mike Baroldi. Now, you knew all that. Why didn't you speak up? Why is particularly important? You know Cornel Steel isn't laying off anybody right now. Maybe you're trying to scare the men into more work. And I doubt if that's company policy, Mr. Barrett. You have your job to do, Dollar. That's to find this killer. I have my job to do. That's to boost production. Is that all right with you? And I'll take my job any day. Look, this won't take long. Mike, you're on somebody's death list. You know that? What are you talking about? I'm with the plan insurance company investigating the five deaths that occurred here in the last month. According to my figures, you're next. It's not just a matter of accident, Mike. It's murder. You're the highest man in the shop in seniority outside of the melter foreman. Somebody is knocking off the top of the list one by one. So just watch your step. I believe it when I see it. When you see it, Mike, it's going to be too late. At the end of the shift, must have been about six in the morning, Mike was cleaning cinders from the furnace floor on the taphole side. I was making it my business to keep an eye on him. He was sweeping the cinders off the platform into the empty ladle pit 30 feet below. As a first helper, it wasn't his job, but Mike was like that. Suddenly, from the other side of the furnace came the huge figure of a man in the asbestos cloak and hood over his head and body. Mike turned, and a look of terror came into his face. I started for him, but too late. Whoever it was picked Mike up, held him aloft for a split second and hurled on to his death. In just a moment, we'll return to the second act of yours truly, Johnny Duller. But first, to politely paraphrase history, George burns while Gracie fiddles. And the result is, of course, the laugh riot heard every Wednesday evening over most of these same CBS stations. George and Gracie are two of America's best purveyors of nonsense, and two neighbors everyone enjoys visiting. You can never tell what Gracie has up her sleeve, but you can always bet it'll get George into trouble. Be sure not to miss the Burns and Allen show this Wednesday and every Wednesday at that spot on your dial marked CBS. And now with our star, Edmund O'Brien, we return to the second act of yours truly, Johnny Duller. I gave chase to the killer. It was like running after a brown ghost. He ducked up the aisle between furnaces and hopped gingerly over the coupling of a train of coal scrap. I wasn't so lucky. I climbed up, but my foot got caught in the coupling guide and I fell on my face. I was in the plant inspector's office. He was dismayed. He took one gander at my noggin and launched Intellecture 1A of the safety inspector's manual. And look at this one. Another example. Look at his head. You're lucky to be alive. What rule did you break? Section 3 code 2. Don't you be funny with me? You know, I could have you fired, you know. I'll bet you could. What have you found out about Mike Baroldi? I filled in a full report. He was cleaning the platform. Not quite. What? He was pushed. Pushed? Who pushed him? I don't know. The killer had an asbestos cloak and hood over him. A killer? This is worse than I thought. You got a skeleton key to the lockers. I want to see Mike's belongings. Look, just who do you think you are? I'm with the grand insurance company, Mr. You give me the key and I think we can have this thing straightened out in no time. He was so stunned. He sent me to the open heart production office where I got a key. The locker room was empty. I opened it in three dollars in cash. It was a picture of a woman holding a baby. I put the wallet back, looked through the inside pocket of his coat, empty. I closed the locker and started a methodical search of each locker in the place. About two-thirds down the first row, I came to a locker label, Andre Le Maire. I opened it and found what I was looking for. An asbestos cloak and hood. There had been a tear on the sleeve of the cloak worn by the man who had killed Mike Baroldi. I took the cloak with me, locked up right down the aisle to the door. Somebody was coming in just as I was coming out. It was Joe, Big Joe Poland. What you do here, Nozzi? Aren't you supposed to be at work? I feel sick. Where's Andre? Andre work. Number 10? Like always, number 10. You're Nozzi fella. I got Nozzi here. Did you ever see this asbestos cloak before? Sure. He used to blow a topple when they put out new heat. You seen it lately? Like on somebody? Sure. Andre, you have one coat. When? Before? Before what? I don't know before. All right, thanks, Joe. See you later. You tell Andre Joe sick, Joe go home. I'll tell him, Joe. Hey, hey, wait. Inspectors say Mike Baroldi pushed from rail. That's right. How he know? I told him. How you know? I saw it. You see Andre push Mike, huh? What makes you think it was Andre? Andre bad fella. He don't like this, Mike. Always make trouble for this, Mike. You don't like Andre? Sure I don't like Andre. Why you think I tell you? Did you see Andre? I see him go to furnace where Mike is. Stomach too big. You go on home, Joe. You don't look so good. I was concerned. There were two main possibilities. Two big boys. One was Joe Pollan. The other was Andre Lamea. I stuck the asbestos cloak that I found in Andre's locker in the production office where I could get to it later. And Andre was standing there enjoying the fresh air before going down to the locker room. It's beautiful day. That man should have to bury himself in his dirt and filth when all the world is so beautiful. That is the shape, no? Yeah, that's right, Andre. You going home now? Yeah, I go home now, yes. Oh, I have wonderful, wonderful suggestion. Wonderful suggestion. You come home with me, huh? We have good French meal. You like good French food? Yeah, sounds great. Your wife won't mind. Well, who cares for the wife? Ah, come. What's your name, Monsieur? Johnny Dollar. Funny name. Ah, you have no sense. Woman, you do not tell a man he has funny name. I'm sorry, Monsieur. Oh, think nothing of it. You work at Mill? That's right. He will make a wonderful worker, a very good man, because he know, he think, he use his head. Oh, I forget, Marie. The most terrible thing has happened. What? We know Mike Baroldi. Well, Mike is pushed from rail and killed. No, killed. Oh, terrible, terrible. You see it, no, Donna? Yeah, I saw it. Somebody do it, somebody. They catch him, boy. Andre, I think it's about time I let you in on a little secret. I'm with an insurance company. I'm investigating these murders. Ah. I found an asbestos cloak in your locker today. I have no asbestos cloak. I saw and I killed, Andre. The killer wore this cloak. The cloak was in your locker. Maybe you'd better take it from there. You say I killed, Mike? You tell me this? I take you to my house. You say terrible things to me like this. You lie to me. You say you're a friend of mine. You leave. You leave. Leave. Well, there goes some nice French cooking. Expense account, item 6, 25 cents for coffee and donuts at a corner café. I kicked myself a couple of times for breaking out the evidence before I should have. And I went back to the open-heart office. Barrett had just arrived. He greeted me with a frown that reminded me of the last conversation we'd had. Well, darling, have you found anything else? You heard what happened early this morning? About Mike, yes. I thought you had it all figured out. Well, I still haven't. I chased the killer across the shop, but he got away. I see. No, you don't see. He had an asbestos cloak and hood over him. It's big. I've got it narrowed down, but that doesn't help much. I suppose you've come to look through the files again, just so you can tell who's going to be killed next? Maybe it'll be different this time, Mr. Barrett. I think I'll just take that seniority list with me if I may. I'm, uh... I'm going to go home and get some sleep. How do you like the night shift? It's anything but dull, Mr. Barrett. I'll see you later. I was to which a surprise taxi driver chauffeured his first overall customer in what must have been years. When I fell asleep, the driver shook me awake. I paid him, went upstairs, and flopped in the cart. Then I opened the paper. The next name on the list was none other than Andre LaMaire. I had a made 75 cents taxi fare. I got to Andres in 10 minutes. I was 20 minutes too late. The police were out front. His death... They killed him. Who killed him, Mrs. LaMaire? Killed him. Killed. Who? Who, Mrs. LaMaire? The man. The big man. Sergeant, take care of him. I'm sorry, Mrs. LaMaire. I tried to tell myself that there was nothing I could have done that everything had pointed to Andre. But I'd seen his name on the seniority list. Right below Mike Baroldi's. I'd drawn too many conclusions. It was clear now, the asbestos cloak in Andre's locker had been a frame. Maybe insurance investigators shouldn't make mistakes, but they do. And sometimes fatal ones. I could lay the blame for Andre's death on nobody but myself. Myself. And a big first helper named Joe Pollan. Can we send him home? What's his address? I have it right here in my book. Bring it with you. You and I are paying a visit to Joe Pollan. Just in case. Where from the mills? This is Mr. Barrett. Can we find your husband, Mrs. Pollan? In a town. Mind if we come in and see? I'm sorry, Mrs. Pollan. We'll have to make sure. You stop. You try that door, Barrett. Look, Mrs. Pollan, be reasonable. Reasonable. You'll be reasonable. Five kids. Be reasonable. You must have a peculiar theory of management, Barrett. I've been in dozens of plants and I've never seen anybody loved like you are. What do you do to them? My theory of management is very simple. Men work better when the pressure's on. There it is, cruel but true. I have the top production result in the plant. You can't beat that. How did you ever get off a bookkeeper's stool as a supervisor? I'd like to meet the man that hired you. I give you ten days as a supervisor in the steel mills, dollar. You'd change your opinions fast. Men are no different now and there. Give them an inch, they take a mile. Give them five minutes off, they take an hour. Let them out of your sight for a minute and they're playing cards in a corner. You know, in a production chart. Could that be why you lost a lot of good first helpers, Barrett? That run solution, you condemn the whole method. Stick to investigation. You were the one who had a lot to... There was so much difference between us, there was just nothing to say. Barrett got off and said he'd call the police if I had proof that Joe Pollan was the killer. I said I didn't have any proof and for him to call the police anyhow. I took the stairs to the furnace floor. I knew Pollan would be there, I don't know how I knew, I just knew. I wandered from furnace shanty to furnace shanty. I found him at number twelve. He was cleaning out the clay of the taphole before the pour. There was nothing to see. The slag and cock of steel in place of his body. Barrett was standing there, standing to one side and Mrs. Pollan and Mrs. Brody and Mrs. Lamere. When the minister finished his little speech, Mrs. Pollan turned to Barrett. I've never seen hate like that in anyone's eyes. Barrett, you killed them all. You still killed them. They're all... Marie Lamere, let me take you home. I wondered who are the murderers and where does murder start. Though I don't like to see anyone lose his job, I like petty Simon LaGriese even less, so I'm pleased to report that Joel Barrett has been replaced as supervisor. I finally concluded that if you trace a murder far enough, you get right back to evidence. Expense account total $520 and 25 cents. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Johnny Dollar stars Edmund O'Brien and was written by Gildowd and David Ellis with music composed and conducted by Leith Stevens. Edmund O'Brien can currently be seen starring in the Harry M. Popkin United Artists production DOA. Featured in our cast were Joe Forte, Junius Matthews, Jack Petruzzi, Raymond Burr, Jack Krushen, Kay Stewart and Peggy Weber. Yours truly, Johnny Dollar is produced and directed by Jaime Del Valle. Join us again next week when from Hollywood, Edmund O'Brien will return in another transcribed adventure of yours truly, Johnny Dollar. To these same stations along with Bing, Groucho and George and Gracie. Stay tuned now for the adventures of Philip Marlowe which follows immediately over most of these same CDS stations. This is CDS where Wednesday night is Bing Crosby night the Columbia Broadcasting System.