 Nick Carter, Master Detective. This is the story of a man known the world over as one of the most daring and resourceful characters in the history of detective fiction. A man whose name has become a symbol of the triumph of right and justice over the sinister forces of crime and lawlessness. Nick Carter, Master Detective. Today's exciting adventure, the life and death search for a man who didn't see a murder that was not yet discovered. The witness saw nothing. Jefferson Heights is a suburb of the city that's still half country. Only a few houses are sprinkled over the winding roads, and Lundy Lane is the lonesomest of all. There is a small white cottage at the end of Lundy Lane, and in it, Mrs. Peter Grogan, a small white-haired lady, is entertaining her first visitor in many days. Another cup of tea, Mrs. Dennis? No, no, I thank you kindly, Mrs. Grogan. Another crumpet, maybe? No, thank you. I've had five already. You've had six, Mrs. Dennis? Ah, but then who counts? Mrs. Dennis, would you believe you're the first visitor I've had in two weeks and three days? Ah, but not the last, Mrs. Dennis. Oh, no, indeed. Time was when the trip out to Lundy Lane was too much trouble. It isn't now, eh, Mrs. Dennis? I don't know to what you're referring, Mrs. Grogan. Well, why to the story in the newspaper yesterday about me? They called me Lady Miser of Lundy Lane, all about how I don't trust banks, and how I have $50,000 hidden in pots and pans and other similar places around the house. If you think for one moment I believe that story, Mrs. Grogan, then the reads it well, ah, just like you, Mrs. Dennis. They'll all be visiting me now. Why, Mrs. Grogan, I never so much as thought of your money when I think. Are you tired of it through, Mrs. Dennis? I made it all up. What? It was only a trick of mine to relieve the lonesomeness. Ah, sure, I got that tired of looking at the four walls with never a new face. Ah, now there'll be plenty of faces coming to visit all, Mrs. Grogan, the Lady Miser of Lundy Lane. Well, I never. I'm taking myself out of this house of mine. No, Mrs. Dennis, oh, sure you do not begrudge your old friend. I've got friends to believe you were rich in all the time it's a lie. You will not be seeing me again, Mrs. Grogan, I assure you. And them that do visit will be nothing better than no fortunes. I wish you well of them, Mrs. Grogan. Goodbye. No, I wonder how many others saw the story in the paper. Ah, they'll all be coming sooner or later. I don't act nervous, Wilson. I think we're a couple of businessmen with a little proposition. Yeah, yeah, I get it. Okay, case. Bring the bell. Afternoon, ma'am, could we speak to Mrs. Grogan? Ah, you've got your wish, young man. Mrs. Grogan, me and my friend got a little business proposition we want to talk over with you. Could we come in? Visitors are always welcome, young man. Sure. Come in, come in. Tea while we talk business, eh? No doubt it's regarding the money of mine you read about in the newspaper. Yes, ma'am, it's about the dough, but we can't stay for tea. Quick, Wilson. Nice work, Wilson. You got that wire in your pocket? Yeah. Get her tied up. Stick a gag in her mouth. I'll start looking for the dough. It shouldn't take us more than ten minutes to locate it and get out of here. Ten minutes, he says. Ten minutes. Cash, we've been looking through this place for half an hour. I know. The dough ain't here. It's gotta be here. I heard her talking about it when we came in. Well, if it's here, we can't find it. This is no good cash. We're wasting our time. Come on back to the living room. We've already been to it four times. I know. This time we're gonna ask Mrs. Grogan to find the dough for us. She ought to come too by now. Yeah, her eyes are open. Give me a sap. Yeah, here. Listen, Mrs. Grogan, my friend's gonna take the gag out of your mouth. You see there's sap in my hand? It's a leather bag full of steel shot. You try to yell, you get slugged in the head with it. Got that? Take the gag out, Wilson. Okay. What do you want? Why did you... Where do you want the dough, Mrs. Grogan? The 50 grand you got stashed away in this house. Where is it? There isn't any money. Don't give me that. I've been lied to by experts. Where's the dough? Where you got it hid? I tell you, I haven't any money yet. That's all a mistake. Says you. You're crazy. There isn't any money. There never was any 50,000 dollars. It's just a news paper story. It's all a joke. They did something to do with it. Help! Your video, shut up! She cares. You slugged it too hard. I think you killed her. Yeah, she's dead, ain't she? Well, she must have been pretty feeble if that little tap I gave her cropped her. Mrs. Dorbell again, what do we do? Keep quiet. Whoever it is, it'll go away. Yeah, but maybe whoever's at the door heard a yelling. Look, I don't want to get caught in here with that corpse. Shut your mouth. Shut the door, you dope. What do we do, can't you? That guy might come in here. Hello. Anyone home? I'll take care of this. Stay back here, Wilson. I'm coming. Who is it? Ajax Vacuum Cleaner, salesman. Are you right, whether you... Ah, good afternoon, Mr. Grogan, I presume. The lady of the house in? No, I'm sorry, mister. Well, I'm Albert Higgins, salesman for the Ajax Vacuum Cleaner. Oh, here's my card, Mr. Grogan. We're conducting a door-to-door demonstration campaign to acquaint the public with our sensational new post-war vacuum cleaner. Now, if you allow me to come in... Excuse me, Mr. Higgins, I'm just a little busy right now. I wonder if you'd come back tomorrow at the same time. My wife will be glad to see your machine. Why, certainly, Mr. Grogan. Tomorrow at, uh, say, four o'clock. Goodbye. But he saw your case. He got a good look at your face. Yeah, I never thought of that. Okay, Wilson, after we finish locating the dough in this house, we'll spend tomorrow locating Mr. Albert Higgins. He ain't gonna sell many more vacuum cleaners. 55, 45 automatic slugs of the type known as... All right, sit right in here, folks. Oh, it's all right. There's nothing to be afraid of. Well, no. Hello, Nicky. Hello, Patty. I want you to meet Mr. Albert Higgins and his sister, Barbara. Nick, this here's a serious problem you've got to apply your brains to. But, Walter, we've got so much work to do. Oh, just a couple of minutes, Nicky, please. All right, all right. Please sit down, Miss Higgins. You too, Mr. Higgins. Thank you. Now, what's the problem? Albert's haunted. What? He is, Mr. Carter. Oh, look, Barbara, this is ridiculous. He is haunted, Nick. Haunted by death. I heard him arguing about it out in the street, and I brought him in. Mr. Carter, I think my sister's crazy. I don't want to bother you with it. All right, now, wait a minute. Let's start at the beginning. Albert was almost killed three times today. But, Barbara, they were natural accidents. They could happen to anyone. Who should tell me the whole story, Mr. Higgins? Oh, Mr. Carter, I was nearly killed three times today. Once in the morning, I was jostled on the subway platform and almost thrown in front of the train. A second time, as I left my office at noon, I was standing at the curb waiting for the light to change. Somebody bumped into me and almost knocked me in front of a passing call truck. And the third time after lunch, when I was crossing the street, I was almost run over by a cab, that's all. And I say that three accidents like that are impossible in one day, Mr. Carter. Why should anyone want to kill you? There isn't any reason for anyone to murder me. I haven't got any enemies. I lead a calm, peaceful, life-selling vacuum cleaner. It's just that Barbara's got too much imagination. She may be. Did you notice anything funny about those accidents? Oh, not a thing. Subway platform was crowded. It could happen to anyone. The cab driver was just as scared as I was. Did he stop? No, he just kept on driving. Get a look at him. He was just an ordinary hacky, grey hat, grey coat. Grey cap? No, grey hat, a felt hat. Very interesting. Oh, Mr. Carter, now that we've bothered you enough for the day I'll be going, I've got an appointment at four o'clock. Higgins, so happens your sister was right. These weren't accidents. They were attempted murders. But why, for Pete's sake, why? I don't know. Maybe you've got enemies you don't know about. Maybe you saw something you shouldn't have seen. Maybe you heard something. Why were you yesterday? I was making the rounds up in Jefferson Heights. I sell vacuum cleaners. Nick, I bet he saw something in Jefferson Heights. The only thing I saw was customers. All right, we won't argue about that now. Higgins, I want you to go home. Your sister will go with you. So will Waldo. Waldo, you're the bodyguard. Nick, why do I always get the dull jobs? You brought this case in, you work on it. Guard Higgins. But Mr. Carter... Higgins, you must know something that someone doesn't want you to tell. That something may cost you your life unless I can prevent it. So go home and try to remember what it is. I'm going down to headquarters to see if I can find anything that might help your memory. Hello, Maddie. Oh, hi, Nick. What's up? Tell me, Maddie, what's the news from Jefferson Heights? Why are you interested in Jefferson Heights? Read off the crime sheet first, then I'll explain. Okay. You want yesterday's report, sir? Yes. Now let me see. Inwood, Washington Heights, Harlem, Astoria. They've been pretty quiet all around. Nope, nothing for Jefferson Heights. Nothing, huh? No. It's tough. What makes what tough? Maddie, I'm involved in a peculiar case. A young man named Albert Higgins was up in Jefferson Heights yesterday. Must have seen or heard something. He wasn't supposed to. Someone's trying to kill him. Eh? Who? Don't know. It's kind of a reverse, Maddie. I know the intended victim in advance, but I don't know the killer or the motivation. Hope maybe I could get a lead through the crime sheet. No crime in Jefferson. No crime reported from Jefferson. I'll beat it, Nick. If you think that I... No. Homicide, Sergeant Matherson. Hello, Sergeant. He is Nick there. Yeah, just a minute. It's for you, Nick. Buffalo Bill on the phone. Thanks. Yes, Waldo? Nick, you've got to come over to Higgins's place right away. Why? Albert Higgins is gone. He's disappeared. I tell you, it happened like a thunderbolt. Like, oh, I don't know how it happened. All right, all right. Take it easy. Now let's have the story. We took a cab home, Mr. Carter. Albert was pretty angry, but Mr. McGlynn here insisted he follow your orders. That I did, Nick Boy. When we got out of the taxi and started up to the apartment, Albert said he wanted to get some cigarettes. So you let him go alone, huh? Well, he was just in the corner, Nick. I thought... Yes, yes, I know. You and Miss Higgins started up the stairs to this apartment. You didn't realize anything was wrong until you got up here. Albert wasn't following, so you ran back to the corner store, right? Right, Nick, and he was gone. Did you ask the store man what happened to him? There wasn't a store in the store. No one in the store? Let me have that phone. Yeah, yeah. All of you have been pretty stupid today. But, Nick, I... How many stores have you ever seen with no one in them in the middle of the day? Nick Carter's office. Fatsy Nick. Get this and get it fast. Uh-huh. Call the Ajax Vacuum Cleaner Company. Tell them you must have a record of the calls Albert Higgins made yesterday. He was a door-to-door salesman. He must have filed a list of those calls this morning. Right. I'll call you back in ten minutes. Now, let's get moving, Walter. We're going down to that store. But, Nick... You need to realize Higgins has probably been hijacked by the men who've been trying to kill him. If we want to keep him alive, we can keep him alive in ten minutes. You see, Nick? This place is empty. Never thought you'd look in the back of the store, huh? I did. So help me. There's not a soul there. All right, I'll take your word for it. How about behind the soda fountain? Behind? Yes, behind. Take a look. There's a body here. Did it bruise behind his ear? Nothing worse. Help him up. I'll be right back. Now listen to me please. I'm Nick Carter. I can't take the time to be gentle with you, because a man's life may depend on minutes. What? A man was kidnapped from this store by someone who came in and slugged you. Did you see who it was? No. My back was torn. I saw it. No. That's too bad. Wait a minute. Look here at the floor, Walter. You mean them BBs? They're not BBs. They're chilled steel shot. Dollars were pennied. The killers bought the shot and fixed up a homemade blackjack and used that to knock this man cold. See? That's right, Nick. He must have broken open. Walter, pick up some of that shot. Go down to the wholesale munitions district and Forton Street. Take that shot to every manufacturer. Find out who made it and to what retail stores it was sold. Nick, you're turning me into an errand boy. Me, you fine surgical insurgents. Walter, we're fighting for a man's life with no ammunition for our guns. We don't know who wants to kill him or why. The smallest clue may turn the balance. I'll get moving. All right, Nick. I'll see you later. Oh, my head. Now look, my friend. I'm going to make a phone call. And I'll have to leave you. I'll send the policeman into you on my way out. Thanks. Patsy? Nick? What about that report? Oh, Higgins made 11 calls yesterday in the Jefferson Heights suburb. Read them off backwards. Last call is first. Uh, Mrs. John A. Gerstabolton Road. Demonstrated vacuum cleaner from 4.30 to 5.00 p.m. Right. Next. Mrs. Peter Grogan, Lundy Lane. Not at home. Her husband made appointment for her for the following day at 4.00. That must have been the date he wanted to keep today. Next. Mrs. Allenby. Oh, wait. Hold it. Hold it. I thought the name was familiar. That's the old lady who was written up in the paper two days ago. That's right, Nick. The lady miser of Lundy Lane. You say her husband talked to Higgins? Well, that's what the report says. There's something fishy right there, Patsy. I'm going up to Mrs. Grogan's house. Stand by for a report from Waldo. Well, what's fishy, Nick? Mrs. Grogan is a widow. There isn't any husband. Maddie, this is Nick. Yeah? He better hustle up to Lundy Lane and Jefferson Heights, home of Mrs. Peter Grogan. What for? I found that unreported Jefferson Heights crime. It's murder. I swear I'll never doubt your word again. Even if you tell me I'm a murderer. This is fantastic. One of the nastiest, rottenest murders I've seen in a long time. Yeah. Some cheap guinzel must have read about Mrs. Grogan's dough and tried to grab it. Then slugged it to death in the process. Well, look, Nick, where does Higgins come into the picture? Maddie, I figure it this way. Higgins came to the house while the killer was here. Yeah? In some way or other, he got in. I get it. The killer thought fast and played he was Mr. Grogan. Gave Higgins the brush off. Right. Then the killer was afraid Higgins might be able to identify him, so he tried to murder him. Yeah, probably has by this time. No, Maddie, I don't think so. No, why not? Because if he'd wanted to kill Higgins, he wouldn't have kidnapped him. Why, the kidnapping? The killer was probably following him all day. So he must have seen Waldo bring him to my office. I get it, Nick. The killer wants to know how much you know. He's got Higgins someplace, and he's trying to sweat it out of him. And sooner or later, the killer's going to get tired of asking questions that Higgins don't know how to answer. So he'll knock him off. Right. Maddie, I have an idea how we can gain a little more time. What? In the mean while, get your department working on that wire that was used to tie up Mrs. Grogan. See if you can trace it. Right, Nick. I'll meet you down at headquarters in the stolen car department in one hour. For heaven's sake, how long are you going to keep me here like this? Until you're ready to talk, Higgins. You've got no right to treat me like this. Keep me blindfolded. Tied up. Now, what did you tell Carter about the murder? What murder? I don't know anything about it. I told you not to hand me that line of guff anymore, Higgins. You know plenty. You're told Carter. I want to know what you told him. I swear I never told him anything. How could I? I don't know anything. I'm getting a little tired of smacking you around, Higgins. You better spill it. What did you tell Carter? Ah, now you're playing dumb, huh? Okay, Higgins. I guess maybe I'm finished asking questions. Maybe I better fix it so you can play dumb forever. Ah, is that you, Wilson? Yeah, cash. Come on out here quick. Okay. Well, what's the matter with you? Here, take a gander at these headlines tonight. Lady miser of Lundy Lane murdered. Albert Higgins' key witness to murder disappears. Yeah, and he's gonna disappear for good. I made up my mind. We bump him, Wilson. We don't take chances. Oh, no. You don't understand, Cash. Read the rest. In an interview today, Nick Carter revealed that Albert Higgins had identified the murderer as George Spelvin's small-time crook and racketeer. A police dragnet has been set for Spelvin and also for his accuser. Ah, so that's what he told Carter. You see, we're in the clear, Cash. They can't put their finger on us. They're looking for the Spelvin character. Yeah. Yeah, maybe you're right, Wilson. Maybe we'd better not knock off Higgins' cash. Maybe if we bump him, we'll be killing our alibi. Let's just sit tight and see what happens. How'd your department do with that wire trace, Matty? Well, not so good, not so bad. Here's a list of 21 retailers that sell a kind of wire used on Mrs. Grover. Thanks. Waldo? Finish the trace on this to your shock, Nick. Perhaps he's got it. Right here, Nick. 17 stores sell that type of shot. Thanks. And I've got the list of the 14 cars reported stolen for today. What's stolen cars got to do with Higgins? It was almost killed by a taxi, Matty. And I know that taxi was stolen by the killer that was after him. Oh. I'm going to read this list of stolen cars out loud. If I mention any neighborhood, it's on any of the other lists. Let me hear it. You ready? Right. Yeah, good. Checker cab, stolen from corner of 70th and Broadway. 70th and Broadway. Uh-uh. Packard cab, stolen from Bayon Park District. Bayon. Checker cab, stolen from Nelson Square District. Nelson Square. I've got a Nelson Square here, Nick. Yeah, I got one, Nick, right here. Galvanized iron wire. Two reels sold at Hanley's hardware store, Nelson Square. 10 pounds. A Number 7 chill steel shot. Sold to Adam Sporting goes Nelson Square. Cabs stolen from Nelson Square. Shot bought at Nelson Square. Wire that down Mrs. Grogan from Nelson Square. Maddie, I think we've got our first break in this case. Gosh, Nick, you're right. The connections are too obvious to miss. Killers evidently using Nelson Square as a base of operations. Let's get up there fast. I think that's where we'll find Albert Higgins. I want to hope we find him alive. This is Nelson Square, Nick. Now what? Let's see. About 12 small apartment houses on the square. Say about 10 apartments in each. Yeah, making 120. I figure the killer is hiding out in one of them and he's got Higgins there. Okay, the question is which? I don't know. We'll have to cover everyone. Hope we have enough time. But look, how are you going to know it's the killer when you see him, Nick? I'm going to make him give himself away with Waldo's help. Oh, what do I do, Nick? Take this business card. It's one of Higgins. Uh-huh. Better go from door to door as Albert Higgins vacuum planer seals it. Ah, I get you, Nick. When he hits the killer, the crook will be so surprised he'll give himself away. Right. Especially in view of the fact that he's probably seen Waldo already. Anybody, Waldo? I'm ready, Nick, but I prefer action. Not my old forty-four. Forget the forty-four. You sell vacuum cleaners. Leave the action to us. Good evening, sir. I'm Albert Higgins of the Ajax vacuum cleaner company. He is the lady of the house. You better fast. Ninety-nine wrong numbers. I'm beginning to get discouraged. Good evening, madam. I'm Albert Higgins of the Ajax vacuum cleaner company. My card, madam. I... I'm going to cut some billa. We'll keep you in glory, bee. Well, that makes a hundred dead ends. And it must be crazy, but... All right, this is all. This one's next. Good evening, sir. He is the lady of the house. I'm Albert Higgins of the Ajax vacuum cleaner company. Oh, you're saying you was? Oh, me card, sir. I'm Albert Higgins of the Ajax vacuum cleaner company. Why are you... You're caught as like man. I've seen that muggy yours. You're not real, sir. I've got your rod, Wilson. There's a plan. Get inside you before I blast you. Can other other drop that gun? What? You're covered on both sides, mister. Reach. Fast. No tricks. Step aside and we'll come in. I think I know this gentleman, Maddie. His name's Cash Hagen. Yeah, that's Wally Wilson inside. A fine pair of thugs. You got nothing on us, Carter. This here's an invasion of privacy. If you ain't got a search warrant... Did you bring a search warrant, Patsy? Oh, no, Nick. How unfortunate. And that means we'll have to find Albert Higgins here to justify this illegal entry. Where is he, Cash? Never heard of Albert Higgins. In the bedroom, Maddie? No. Nowhere in sight, Nick. Must be in the kitchen at a bath. How about it, Waldo? No, he's not here, Nick. You killers murder Higgins? Hey, and Wilson never heard of this guy. He's got to be someplace in here. Hey, look, Nick. They might have bumped him off and got rid of him already. I hate to believe it, Maddie. We'll never have a case against these mugs if they did. They must have got rid of him, Nick. There's nobody else here in the apartment. He'll be stymied like this at the last minute. Nick, there's something wrong with this living room. Now, Patsy... Well, look at it. It's lopsided. There's more wall on one side of the window than on the other. And there's more floor showing on one side of the rug than on the other. Patsy, this is no time for interior decoration. Even the chandelier is off-center. Patsy... Wait a minute. Wait a minute, Maddie. Patsy's right. Huh? Come over to the wall quick. Listen here. If you... Shut up. Wait a minute. This bookcase is high enough to conceal a door. Help me swing it away from the wall. My heavens, you are right, Nick. It is a door. In a false plaster wall, making a partition just big enough to conceal a man. I'm only helping them. I didn't tell them anything. I didn't tell them anything. All right, Higgins, all right. Take it easy. You don't have to lie anymore. You told Nick Carter plenty. Enough to execute Cash Higgins and Wally Wilson for murder. There's just one thing about this case that I don't understand. What's that, Patsy? When Alba told the story about those so-called accidents, how did you know they were attempted murders? Oh, that. Well, remember Higgins said the cab driver looked like an ordinary hacky? Uh-huh. In gray hat and gray coat. When I said gray cap, Alba said, no, gray hat. A felt hat. That was a tip off. Well, how? Because no genuine cab driver wears a hat. All cab drivers in this city are required by law to wear caps. So, obviously, the driver was a phony. Well... I don't know. I don't know. Well, you certainly put the lid on those thugs with that felt hat. Mr. Carter, I take my hat off to you. And now here's Nick Carter himself with an extra-special announcement of interest to every one of you. This is the last time that the adventures of Nick Carter will be brought to you on Sunday. Beginning Tuesday, March 5th, this program will be heard over most of these stations at 8 o'clock in the evening. So put this down in your little black book, starting on Monday. Put this down in your little black book, starting on March 5th. That's one week from day after tomorrow. The adventures of Nick Carter, master detective, will be heard every Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock. So be with us at that time and tell your friends about the change, too, won't you? Now, Nick, can you tell us something about next week's story? Well, can next week. I'm going to tell you about a brand-new post-war racket. That's robbing Americans of thousands of dollars and driving hundreds of Europeans to death. Nick found out about it when my janitor went to check a grocery order and disappeared. He was found murdered with his shoes full of rice. What's rice got to do with murder and racketeering? You'll find out when you hear the case of the wholesale killer. Nick Carter, master detective, which is produced and directed by Jock McGregor, is copyrighted by Street and Smith Publications Incorporated. Lawn Clark is starred as Nick. Charlotte Manson is featured as Patsy. Mattie is played by Ed Latimer. Waldo by Humphrey Davis. Original music is played by George Wright. Script is by Alfred Bester. And any resemblance in these programs to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental. This is Ken Powell saying, So long until Tuesday evening, March 5th at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.