 This is Conrad Nagel inviting you to stay tuned for the next half hour for one of radio's outstanding dramatic productions on Proudly We Hail Proudly We Hail. Oh another Proudly We Hail. One of radio's outstanding dramatic half-hours transcribed coast to coast in cooperation with this station and presented by your army and your Air Force From Radio City, New York Here is your host and star on Proudly We Hail, the distinguished star of the theater, screen, radio, and television Conrad Nagel Welcome again to Proudly We Hail. Our story is entitled Passage to Bombay This play is what we call in the theater an actor's story. It's a drama of thrilling mystery. The story is exciting But it's the people you'll meet that you'll remember the most Our first act curtain will rise in a few moments after this very important message Who's the smartest girl in your town? Why that bright young girl next door who just joined the WAF women in the Air Force? See her walking down the street in her smartly tailored blue uniform You'll notice she walks with pride because she knows she's doing a needed job a job that requires an all-out effort by every American If you are between the ages of 18 and 34 and can qualify your services are needed in the WAF women in the Air Force Visit your local United States Army and United States Air Force recruiting station learn all the facts today And now with your star Conrad Nagel and the role of Samuel Burke your army and your Air Force present the Proudly We Hail production Passage to Bombay Island of Ceylon hangs like a teardrop off the southeastern tip of India It's a lush mountainous island whose capital and main port is Colombo To Colombo came the schooner Mandrake her holes filled with cotton and tin from Rangoon The Mandrakes owner and master Samuel Burke was a man of education and good breeding and a shrew trader as well But more than that He was a big man who handled his crew with a firm but humane hand in a day when humanity was a condition Seldom found aboard ship. I'm off. Mr. One. Hi captain You should be able to start loading before bells the men won't be able to do much in this heat Don't press them. We're no great hurry even so we can have it done by noon tomorrow, sir That'll be time enough We plan to ship out in the evening tired Four days and hardly a breath of wind. Yeah, so I've noticed Well, we'll hope tomorrow brings an improvement. Have you taken a look at the glass, sir? I uncommon high but not uncommon to these parts I should be back by six bells perhaps sooner. Take charge. Mr. One. Hi, sir Been a pleasure to do business with you captain Burke. I think the arrangement is equitable all around any kind of luck Mr. E's we should make Bombay by the 18th Strickland will be looking for you. Oh now there's one of the matter Come in Dr. Ferrell and his daughter are here, sir. Very good. Show them in will you please? This is the matter of which I was going to speak captain. Oh good afternoon miss Farrell doctor Afternoon mr. Reeves allow me to present captain Burke of the Mandrake miss Farrell and dr. Farrell How do you do miss Ferrell a pleasure, sir? How do you do captain? Sit down one. Thank you. I Was just about to speak to captain Burke of your difficulty doctor now that you're here suppose you tell him yourself gladly Captain I and my daughter are most anxious to get to Bombay Mr. Reeves tells me that you have a fast ship much faster than the packet which I'm afraid will not be leaving before next week We should like to buy passage on your ship. No You realize the Mandrake has no accommodations for passengers. Yes, so mr. Reeves has pointed out However, we'll be glad to take whatever accommodations you can offer upon occasion We have carried a passenger to you understand that you'll be putting up with a rather rough and primitive life aboard. I Think it can be done a reason for haste is a good one captain They've just received word that my wife has been taken seriously ill. Oh, I regret sir I hope we have more favorable winds once we clear port and the weather is a bit sticky When will you be able to leave captain leaving tired tomorrow? I suggest to be aboard but two bells. That's five o'clock and Helmets will you charge for passage be no charge sir the Mandrake is bound for Bombay. It'll be no hot I wouldn't think of it sir. I'm sorry sir those the only nations under which I'll take you you're in trouble. You need help. I'm happy to assist Following days saw no change in temperature continued hot and humid but toward even tired a fitful breeze sprang up the mouth the northeast It seemed to assure some headway and perhaps a break in the weather The doctor and his daughter arrived at the dockside at the appointed time They made quite a contrast He a tall thin man with a bony for lawn looking face She a small quiet slip of a woman with large soft eyes Filled with a strange emptiness. I Gave up my cabin tour and placed her father in the ward room All secure sir. You'll fill out the log mr. Owen. This breeze won't last It may freshen. There's a nasty swell captain. She looks like lead helmsman Had her up a point Think you've been better spirits mr. Owen with a pretty young woman aboard She is a looker isn't she sir? You'll excuse me while I have a word with the Looker and her father Good evening Good evening. I hope we weren't in the way not at all doctor. We don't seem to be going very fast. I'm afraid not However, my last passenger was a minister when we needed when he prayed for it It blew up a gale Should you be tempted to pray please do so with moderation? I'm sorry. I sometimes forget. Well We'll hope the weather improves by morning. I Think we can go below now. I'm sure you must be famished. This heat doesn't exactly stimulate the appetite No, it does this swell. I'm sure you both feel better after you've eaten eaten Sweet My my daughter has a droll sense of humor. You you must excuse her We're barely making steerage way sir. I'm aware of that the glass is dropping good means a change I don't think the Mandrake takes to being be calmed nor do I sir especially with this dirty cross swell Mr. Owen what you're trying to convey is the feeling that this has all the earmarks of typhoon weather. Is that correct? I had it in mind sir. I've had it in minds since yesterday However, this is not the China's sea and you know as well as I the typhoons in this area are most uncommon I know sir, but even granting it such an occurrence is possible. We'll have apple time to put into port before it strikes Should it come out of the Arabian Sea will run before it back to Colombo Comes out of the Indian Ocean will put into a Trivandrum should it come out of the Andaman Sea will make for the locality Does that put your fears at rest mr. Rowan? I I'm sorry, sir nonsense man a good mate is an observant one It's your job to be aware of these things and to worry about them if you see fit Well, sir If I may be so bold, there's there's another matter. I'm worried about What's that the lady miss Farrell hmm at the table she seemed well I don't know, but she said things that didn't seem to make sense and she'd laugh for no reason at all Kind of gave me the creep. Yes. I can't deny that Take charge mr. Rowan There you are captain Isn't it rather late miss Farrell? No, I think it's rather early besides I get all mixed up with your bells They they don't make sense. I Thought perhaps you'd like to show me around your ship. Well This is hardly a good time for a tour miss Farrell. It's a very dark night. I know, but isn't that the best time though? I like the dark so much better than the light it hides things Have you things to hide captain? It's such a big strong-looking man even in the dark Are your arms strong captain? Now I'm teasing you. I shouldn't tease dr. Farrell. I mean father says I We're here dr. Farrell over with the mason mask. Why did you tell him? He'll only spoil things He always spoils things and I think it's time. You're in bed. It's been a long day. Yes It's been a long day such a long day And the nights are so dark and empty Good night captain. I'm Dr. Farrell. Are you awake? Yes, captain. I'm awake. I think we'd better have a talk The talk I'm not blind dr. Nor am I a fool Is it that obvious it's becoming increasingly more so? I'm the one who's a fool thinking I could deceive you is Is she Demented I'd better tell you the whole story She's not my daughter. She's the daughter-in-law of a friend of mine in Ceylon Her name is really Ellen Cartwright She and her husband and child came out for a visit a little over a year ago One day the three of them went for a sale sudden squall came up the boat capsized. She was the only survivor Never did get the complete story other than that. She saw her husband and child round The charge of course was very great Ellen was very ill for some months and when she recovered she seemed to have no memory of what had happened Those are the times. She's perfectly rational I'm afraid the association of being on board ship again has had a bad effect I'm not a doctor, but it seems obvious to me that it naturally would and I realized that but it was felt by her Family and myself that the sooner we could get her away from here back to her own people the better chance She'd have for recovery did did Reeves know about this No, I Deceived him as well How is it she plays the part of your daughter? She's like a child in that respect. I Have made her believe that she is my daughter and see you were afraid to take her on the packet. Yes, I thought this would be Well better from all standpoints. How does she act when a storm comes up? Yeah, I'm afraid her actions border on the uncontrollable. There's a subconscious connection Why do you ask in other words the worst condition you could put her in would be on board ship than a storm? Yes, but I'd forgive me for being so blunt, but you're not only a fool. You're an idiot. I Am sorry, I've deceived you more so before this voyage is done, but I I Don't understand. Do you know anything at all of weather? No, no, I'm afraid I don't that instrument hanging there as a barometer The last two hours has been dropping steadily the sea swell has been growing more violent There's not a breath of wind and the air is thick and humid. Yes, I'd noticed but What does it mean? Mean sir if there was any breeze at all I'd come about and head back for Colombo as fast as I could We're in for a bad blow perhaps a typhoon And I don't look forward to having a mad woman aboard my ship when it comes They go starring in the role of Samuel Burton the proudly we hail production passage to Bombay will return in just a moment for the second act Here's a special message for you young women Next time you see a WAF woman in the Air Force take a good look You're looking at the smartest woman of the year in Air Force blue It isn't just the uniform. She's demonstrating her smartness in another way even more important She's found a career that means something she's serving in the world's greatest Air Force and she's proud of it She's working on equal terms with the men of the Air Force She has good pay comfortable quarters opportunities for travel and the deep sense of personal accomplishment That goes with doing a needed job. Well She's working in interesting fields as a technician in medical and dental fields in air traffic photography or one of many others She's learning new skills and liking it a lot in short. She's the smartest woman of the year If you are a young woman between 18 and 34 and can qualify you can join her in that smart uniform All you have to do is stop in at your nearest United States Army and United States Air Force recruiting station You are listening to proudly we hail and now with your star Conrad Nagel in the role of Samuel Burke We present the second act of passage to Bombay A pretty kettle of fish For some reason the praise stuck in my mind Perhaps I'd been unduly harsh to the doctor but under the circumstances I could afford him no sympathy My sympathy lay with the poor tortured woman whose sanity was balanced on a thin line Certainly topple over the brink of what was to come Through the night the glass continued to fall We could no longer hold steerage away in the ever-increasing swell was sweeping us out into the Indian Ocean The mandrake heaved uneasily Canvas limp and useless I can only hope when the wind sprang up We would have time enough to run for nager coil on the tip of the Indian mainland The Sun the next morning rose is an angry copper ball When I saw the smoky yellowish smudge of clouds off our starboard beam. I called mr. Oh into the quarter-deck alone Seemed as though our worst fears are to be confirmed. Hi, sir I want all canvas offer but are jib and topsils. They'll not last long on this I would all hands off watch battening down above and below decks when it hits. We'll try to run We may be able to stay on the edge of it. You're an optimist sir. That's right, mr. Mate you do better to have a little of it yourself. Sorry sir. Must be the heat Or the fact that I went through a typhoon. Well, then there should be nothing new about it to you It seemed to have survived it well enough. I was on land, sir There wasn't a ship in the area that wrote it out safely I Was she still asleep I believe I haven't disturbed her that's a help the winds come up. We seem to be making good time Let's hope it's good enough We're running for the tip of the Indian mainland If the full force the storm hits us before we get there we'll have no other alternative but to write it out You can't go on selling not with bare poles When we'll shred our canvas as though it were tissue paper. It's a typhoon. Yes I'll have my hands full we all will It'll be up to you to see to it that your patient is kept in a cabin. Even if you have to use force If we're caught up in the full strength of this blow it'll take all the ability of every man on this ship to see that we survive And even then our ability may not be enough It'll be your job to see that we have no outside problems to contend with that clear perfectly captain I The wind won't I don't like it make it stop laughing at me doctor She's in your care Make the wind stop Ellen my child there's nothing in the wind it won't hurt you it's going to take you home Those men been on the helm since they came on what sir have them relieved No one's to be on the helm more than two hours in a stretch. They've got to conserve our strength. Hi, sir The tops of the gun they're in shred. I'm not blind mr. Owen Have her brought into the wind. We'll have to try and ride her out as best we can All the rest of that day and on into the night we've battled the ever-increasing fury of the storm Our canvas gone. We could no longer run before its might Instead we had to turn and face its brutal force Great thunderous seas rose about us And it was more the almighty's work than our semen shift that we were not engulfed and completely swallowed up As it was an occasional wave found its mark and the man break would shudder from stem to stem and the Crushing tons of swirling water that fell upon her with unearthly force Beat into my knees gasping and choking. I would think well. This is the end She can never rise out of this but always somehow she did and I would regain my feet with the insane Gibbering wind tearing at me The men on the helm were lashed to it. I had a line around my waist tied to the main mist The rest of the crew under the mate's direction were below deck some of the pumps some of the cargo holes But every man aboard ship was fighting grimly to keep a man drake of float and as time passed It seemed as though the tide of fate had turned against us. Make your way carefully man For it holds her she's opening up The pumps are working fast enough sir. There's two feet of water and hold on hold on keep her headed up I said all right I'll have a look below Try this line around you. I'll send two new men for the helm Steady as she goes For heaven's sake don't let her fall off or we're done How fast is it rising we've got about two and a half feet in our captain have the pumps brought in from the main hole Brian bring four men. We'll get at it. Look like Steven's look that relieved them in on the helm Even with the pumps from the main hold it was a losing battle But still we had to fight it as best we could and pray that the storm would abate before the man drake became a sea coffin It was close to dawn when I left the for it hold and made my way out planning to go on deck and take over for mr.. Owen then I Suddenly thought of a doctor in his charge and felt it would be a good idea to look in on them dr. Farrell Dr. Farrell dr. Fennel you'd come. I knew someone would come you brought this storm come yourself Don't come near me Don't come near me. I know you I know all of you trying to trick me, but you can't do it I'll kill you with this gun just like I did him. Oh, he's in there. All right, just as quiet and peaceful Now wait a minute. Mesh may I have a look? Oh, yes Do by all means have a look Have a good look at the poor man Well if the storm was a threat to my life in this poor wild eye creature where the revolver gripped in her hand Was just as great a one and just as capricious Took every bit of nerve. I had to turn my back on her knowing she might shoot me without thought or reason Kaleid just inside the cabin door. She was right. He was lying quite still But it took only a moment to realize he wasn't dead only superficially wounded the bullet had grazed his skull I Picked him up with ease and placed him in the bunk. Why did you do that? I didn't tell you you could do that well now Now you mustn't be unkind to the dead No, you must never be unkind at them stand over there what Are you going to do I'll make you dead, too. If you don't stop this awful wind Standing and holding on like that Why don't you sit down in that chair? It's fastened to the floor. You stay away from me What are you gonna do with that rope tie the doctor in the bunk so he won't roll out? Remember we must be kind to him. I'm going to kill you right now They killed everything I had a long time ago. Why should you live put down that gun put it down at once? Now you can say you've lived through two typhoons It wasn't the kind that comes out of the China sea sir We wouldn't be here now a small typhoon is better than none at all. I Oh, it my life. Oh, it's your life, sir Another six hours of it and why we'd have been in Davy Jones locker Always thinking of the worst mr. Rowan How's the doctor? Oh, he's got a headache, but he'll do It's the other one that I'm thinking about sir. Yes She's um She's calmer Never a word out of her. Just sits there staring at nothing The storm must have been too much for Are you sure sir that it's necessary to keep a man on watch down there at all times at all times mr. Rowan But but sir, she's such a quiet harmless little body. Yes You saw the doctor's head. No, he probably did it himself sir slipping and slapping around the way we were Oh, you asked me she couldn't harm a flea, but I didn't ask you mr. Rowan You'll keep a man down there with it till we make port So it was a strange paradox to think about is now the man Drake limp painfully under shortened sail for the safety of the mainland The typhoon had nearly ended all our lives And yet as I said to oh, and I owed it mine For Ellen Cartwright had been in the act of shooting me dead When the most violent sea we had yet sustained crashed over our decks Nearly putting the man Drake on our beams end and knocking us both into a corner the blows thunder After lashing her in the ward room bunk. I'd made my way up onto the deck now. It was all but done I've not seen fit to enlighten anyone concerning my actions When we reached port they would take Ellen Cartwright to shore and out of my life She was truly a tragic and lost creature Someone to forget But I knew no matter what seas I sailed or in what kind of weather I Would never forget the look of her or Shake her mad laughter Turn in just a moment with a word about next week's show The woman in the Air Force is a woman who has found that it's smart to serve her country She wears the trim waft uniform and she has a good future in a good outfit See you're walking down the street in her smartly tailored blue uniform You'll notice she walks with pride because she knows she's doing a needed job a job that requires an all-out effort by every American If you are between the ages of 18 and 34 and can qualify your services are needed in the weft women in the Air Force Visits your local United States Army and United States Air Force recruiting station learn all the facts today This has been another program on proudly we hail presented transcribed in cooperation with this station by the United States Army and the United States Air Force recruiting service proudly we hail stars Conrad Nagel Supporting mr. Nagel and the role of Ellen Cartwright was Helen Christian This is Kenneth Banghart speaking and here again is your host and star Conrad Nagel friends We hope you'll be with us over this same station for proudly we hail next week our play takes us to Spain in 1588 for a story of Sir Francis Drake in the Spanish Armada and is entitled Hugh and cry until then Goodbye