 And now, Auto-Lite and its 60,000 dealers and service stations present... Suspense! Tonight, Auto-Lite brings you Mr. Dana Andrews in. If the dead could talk. A suspense play, produced and directed by Anton M. Leader. Friends, you know what happens when you take a fish out of water? Sure, it does. Well, by Cornelius, the same thing happens when your car's battery runs out of water. It lies right down and quits. No water, no life. So, what did the Auto-Lite people do? They made the Auto-Lite stay full battery with an extra large liquid reserve. Gave it more room for more water. Result? The Auto-Lite stay full battery needs water only three times a year in normal car use? Think of it. Auto-Lite stay full batteries need water only three times a year in normal car use. Just like that, Auto-Lite practically eliminates one of your major battery bothers. So friends, be right with Auto-Lite. Switch to an Auto-Lite stay full battery tomorrow. And now, Auto-Lite presents Dana Andrews in a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. They'll never know how it happened. No one will ever know. I knew I was going to have to kill him almost from the first. That's how I am. That's what my blood is. I couldn't change it even if I tried. We were on a circus train. The three of us in the Trapeze Act. Going from Tulsa to San Louis. Fran had asked me to come and sit with her. She had something to tell me. When I went over, she was staring out the window into the night. And the dim train lights made her features kind of soft and blurred. And I stood watching her getting all choked up like I always did. Wanting to freeze this picture of her in my brain with all the other pictures. Then she saw my reflection on the window glass and she turned. Oh, Joe. Hi. Sit down, Joe. Sure. What's the secret? Joe, I can't keep it inside me a second longer. If I do, I'll bust. Tommy and me have been talking about getting married. Hi, you kids. Well, honey, did you tell him? How she told me. Congratulations. That's all, just congratulations. Well, you know, Joe's a man of few words. So what do you think, Joey boy? At least we'll be able to keep her in the act now, huh? Yeah. That's probably the only reason he's marrying me. Well, the way I figured it had to be one of us. Joe, you're my pal. I couldn't let it happen to you. Wow. And then Tommy threw his arm across my shoulder. I felt every nerve in my body tighten up like somebody was turning a screw. And I thought, so this is how your life goes smash. Rattling through the night on a dinky train with a circus fat lady sitting across the aisle munching chocolates. I didn't know what I was going to do. Not then. At first I tried to go on just like before. When we got to St. Louis, Tommy and me shared a room in a theatrical hotel like always. And the three of us went on through our routines on the high trapeze like always. Yeah, that part was the same. That part was as natural as breathing. But the other things, like the looks they gave each other, they're long walks together. Nothing worked for me. Drinking myself blind, taking out a different girl in the show every night of the week. Nothing worked. I still woke up in the middle of the night, shivering, my heart pounding and crying her name. Friend! Friend! Friend! Joe, Joe, what's wrong? Nothing's wrong. You were yelling in your sleep? I'm okay. You sure? Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. What are you getting dressed for? It's the middle of the night. I'm going for a walk. But, Joe... Look, I want to go for a walk, so I'm going for a walk. Joe, Fran and I were noticing. Noticing what? We've been going at this night life pretty hot and heavy lately. A fellow who works on a trapeze 60 feet up and without a net, ladies and gentlemen. Well, that's not so good, Joe. What's the matter? You afraid someday I won't catch you, Tommy? Look, why don't you take it a little easier, kid? It's all right to have a good time. Good time? So that's what I'm having. What do you know? I walked the dark, empty streets for hours. I didn't know where I went or why. Why did it have to be him and Fran over and over again? Why did it have to be him and not me? And then it was like coming out of a sleep almost. I realized that for a long time I'd been looking through the lighted window of an all-night pawn shop, looking at a gun. At first I started walking away fast. Then I turned back and went into the shop. What can I do for you? That revolver in the window there, the black one next to the binoculars. Oh, yes, that's a beauty, ain't it? I want it. Good enough. Can't go wrong on that one. You got your permit, of course. No, I'm just passing through town. I didn't have time to get one. Well, I'm sorry, mister, but I can't help you. I've got a hundred dollar bill that says you can. You've just bought yourself a gun. It was after three in the morning when I got back to the hotel. The gun was in my topcoat pocket. As I walked through the lobby, the circus fat lady was sitting on the big sofa, counting the faces that went through the revolving door. She stopped me as I went past her. Turn an angel? Yeah. Lucky you can sleep. Wish I could sleep. I started for the elevator and then it hit me. How dumb can a guy be walking into the lobby like that, being seen going up to the room? Is that all you want, Joe? That he should be dead, no matter what happened to you? Don't you want friend? Don't you want to live? I turned back and started out again. No, Patsy, I guess I won't go upstairs after all. Oh. Nothing to do till tomorrow afternoon, anyhow. Maybe I'll take in an all night show. I haven't seen a show since I was a little girl. Can't fit in the seat. I went around to the back of the hotel. Tommy and me roomed three stories up next to the rusty fire escape. It was so quiet there I could hear the pounding inside my head. The wrong of the fire escape was a good ten feet off the ground. I jumped for it and pulled it down. It made enough noise to wake up half the building. I scrambled up into the shadows. I expected the lights to start going on in every window. But nothing happened. So I started up the fire escape. I started up for Tommy. I reached the landing. The room was dark. The window was closed. I tried raising it, but it was locked. Why did everything have to go bad for me? Oh, wait a minute. He never locked the window before. Why did he lock it now? What was he afraid of? How could he know what was inside me? Well, suddenly I had to do something so I smashed the window with my fists. I didn't care. Let him know it was me. Let him know what was coming. I reached in, unlocked the window, went over the sill. I took the gun out of my pocket. I could feel the blood running warm down my arm. And then I saw that he was gone. The room was empty. I sat down on the bed. I felt weak in my knees. I sat there a long time, numb. Then I heard a key in the door. It was him. He'd come back. I put the gun back in my pocket. I held it there. The door swung open. I saw him framed in the light from the hall. And I thought, now, do it now! For suspense, Auto-Lite is bringing you Mr. Dana Andrews in Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrill's Suspense. You know this spell of freezing weather that drifted over sunny California by mistake last week? I'll see. Well, by Cornelius, I haven't had so much fun since my Auto-Lite stay full battery last needed water. And that's a mighty long time ago. You mean you enjoyed the cold? But, listen, I was purring along up in the mountains in my Auto-Lite equipped car, you see, when I spied a stricken stranger stuck in the snow. He had on a raccoon coat and a coon-skinned cap, and he was looking under the hood of his car muttering water, water everywhere, and not a drop in my battery. Friend, I said to this shivering shambles, if you had an Auto-Lite stay full battery in that thirst-starved convertible, you'd be singing how deep is the ocean instead of how dry I am. What do you mean? Ask, see. So, of course, I told this chap that Auto-Lite stay full batteries, have an extra large liquid reserve. Auto-Lite stay full batteries, I said, need water only three times a year in normal driving. You get that, pal, only three times a year. And then I explained that thanks to extra plates and special fiberglass insulation, Auto-Lite stay full batteries have extra power and extra long life, too. But, hollow, did you get the poor fellow on stuff? Sure did. I just happened to have an extra Auto-Lite stay full battery in my trunk. So I lent it to him until he could get one of his own at his nearest Auto-Lite dealers. I'll sure switch to Auto-Lite, he said, as he zoomed off. And I answered, you're right with Auto-Lite. Right, hollow, but right now, suspense. And now, Auto-Lite brings back to our Hollywood soundstage Mr. Dana Andrews as Joe, in a tale well-calculated to keep you in, suspense. I held the gun in my pocket. The door swung open and I saw him, he came down the light from the hall. And I thought, now, do it now! Why don't you come back, Joe? A while ago. Where's that light switch? Don't turn the lights on, Tommy. What's the matter with you? I said, what do you got against lights? How can you just sit there in the dark? You know, Fran and I wonder what happened to you. We were out looking for it. I held tight to the gun in my pocket. I followed him with it as he moved around the room, stopping at the dresser to comb his hair, whistling because he was getting Fran and it was such a good feeling. And all I had to do was just squeeze the trigger. Money! Say, honey, Factor tells me that you... Oh, you got back, Joe. Yeah. Yeah, what did you do to yourself? Look at that arm, Tommy. His arm, it's bleeding. I didn't know to say. Joe, you take your coat off. I'll get some towels and a cure-crome from the bathroom. What'd you do? Get yourself on a bra? Tommy, where's the cure-crome? Hurry up. I'll show you where it is. Get your coat off, Joey. Yeah. I hurried to the dresser, dug the gun out of my pocket and put it in the drawer. Fran came back with an armful of stuff. Her fingers started to probe my arm while she was rolling up my sleeve. Look what this guy did to himself. Joey, you big, silly kid you. What are you fighting for? Tommy, get enough... What happened to this window? Well, that's how I cut myself just now. I thought it was stuck. You know, me, long on muscles and short on brains. It's all right. Just a little cut. Our boy's gonna be all right, Tommy. The show goes on. Doesn't it, Joey? Sure. Sure. Such a sweet, helpless guy this is. We gotta take better care of our boy, Tommy. Yeah. You know, our Joey's just a great, big kid. We used to go on adventures with silly blondes, but nobody got risks like this man to catch my Tommy when he flies through the air with the greatest of ease. You know, Joe, I wouldn't trust Tommy's life in anybody's hands but yours. And she leaned over me and I could smell her hair and her warm breath danced around my eyes and him and that whistling. Why shouldn't he whistle? He had the world. He had Fran. How's that feel, Joey? Her talking into my face. Smoothing my hair. Now don't you punch any more windows in the nose. You understand? Didn't she see what she was doing to me? Didn't they see what was happening to me? How could two people be so blind? Couldn't they see? Feel better, Joey. I asked you. Leave me alone. Leave me alone! So I went walking in the street again, burning inside like a guy with 105 fever. Still smelling the perfume in her hair. Still hearing her voice in my head. It was after four in the morning when I got back to the hotel. Nobody in the lobby. Nobody with a room click, taking a snooze at the desk. This time, Tommy was in bed asleep. I sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, listening to his breathing. Then I went to the drawer and got the gun. I laid it aside for a moment and I scattered the stuff on the drawer like a burglar would. He was looking for something. Then I went over to where his pants were hanging on a chair. I guess I got a little excited as I grabbed for the pants. The chair fell over. Heart hammering away like it was trying to break loose. But he didn't wake up. I found his wallet and his pants. Then his watch on the nightstand. Then I went over to the broken when I looked down. It was dark, not a sound. Tomorrow all the cops in the city would be looking for the burglar who came up the fire escape and killed his victim when caught in the act. I went back to the dresser for the gun. I went over to the bed. I wouldn't let him take her away from me. Simple as that. I raised the gun barrel level with his head. My finger curled around the trigger. I felt a tiny nerve start throbbing in my wrist. I squeezed the trigger. What is this? Yeah, yeah. Gonna bet you. Okay. When Tommy gone back to sleep, I broke open the gun. It was empty. But it had been loaded before. They must have found the gun after I left. But why had they taken the bullets? I didn't understand. How could they know anything? All of a sudden I was afraid. I put the wallet and the wristwatch back. I put the gun back in the drawer. What was I going to do? I flopped down on the bed and tried to think. But somewhere along the line, I fell asleep. I slept until almost noon. When I woke up, Tommy was gone. I dressed and went down the hall to friend's room. She was gone. At the desk, they didn't know what had happened to them. I went down to the armory where we were playing. They went around there. It was getting close to the matinee. There was no sign of either of them. Then, just a few minutes before we went on, the door was open and they were standing there. We thought we weren't going to make it. That's no kidding. Where are you? I just feasted my eyes on the little gold object. The third finger left half. Sometimes called a wedding ring. Well, I should at least say bon voyage, won't I? Sure, sure. Best of everything. Fran left to change into her costume and Tommy started getting ready. Happy as a log. And I felt the hate choking me till I couldn't breathe. Burning in me like fire. Then I realized something that sent the cold shivers through me. If I went up on that trapeze today, and if his life depended upon my catching him, he would die. It made me sick thinking about it. Everybody's got to have some kind of belief. I grew up different, not like most people. The only belief I had was the act. I had to keep the act clean. I couldn't let it happen that way. But it would happen. If I went up there, it would happen. Three minutes. Okay. Well, we better be getting out of here, Joey. Well, Joe, come on, come on. They're not going. What? What are you talking about? I'm not going on. Can't you understand English? What, Joey? I'm not going on. He couldn't do anything with me and the time was running out. He left and I thought, what I'd better do is just pack and leave and never see either of them again. Then, just beyond the door, I heard him whispering to somebody. I knew what it was. He was putting her to work on me. I didn't want to see her. I went to close the door, but she was already standing there, her hand on the door knob. But it was the wrong hand. It was the hand with a ring on it. His ring. Is it something to do with the act, Joe? No, nothing with the act. Well, then... Don't ask me to go out there, friend. You know we can't go on without you. Well, do what you can. Fake those triple plays. Look pretty and swing hard. Just don't ask me to go out there. Joey, what's wrong with you lately? Look, don't... I'm worried about you. You've been acting so funny the last week or so. What were you doing with a gun, Joey? I... We found it in your dresser last night. Scared me to death. I made Tommy take the bullets out. I just bought it for protection, that's all. Protection from what? Joe, you've been so moody, so melancholy. I'm so afraid you might hurt yourself. You think that's why I bought the gun to hurt myself? Gosh, I hope not. It's our cure. Come on, Joe. She moved up close to me. Her hand touched the side of my face. Soft and warm. We'll be waiting for you. We won't go on without you. She left. I don't know what to feel. Inside me, some of the hate was unwinding. I didn't want to hate him. I began thinking maybe I could... I could get by today after all. And after today, I'd just beat it and never see him again. I began thinking how lucky it was that everything had gone wrong last night. I started for the door. And then I saw the two of them behind some props kissing each other. While they were waiting for me. I'd never seen him kissing her before. I felt cold and empty. I went back into the dressing room. On the table was the tube of Vaseline I used to hold my hair in place. I stuck the tube into the waistband of my trunks. I didn't worry anymore about hurting the act. The act went off like clockwork. It always did. It was such second nature to us by now. The precision climbed up the ladders to the two little take-off platforms. Only on one side of the ring. The two of them on the other. I felt good like I always felt up here. I knew what was going to happen, but I wasn't fighting it anymore. When it came, it came, that's all. And then it was time. All the easy stuff was over. We were ready for a big specialty. Tommy's triple somersault. I was already on the lower trapeze. Lolling on the crossbar. It was Tommy's stunt. So no one noticed me. I reached up into the waistband of my trunks and flicked the cap off the tube of grease. I pinched the tube and a coil of Vaseline spurted into my palm. I greased my wrists until they were as slippery as a pair of eels. That was where he was going to hang on to. Where he was going to try to hang on. Tommy signaled that he was ready. I was ready too. I turned lazily on the bar until my head hung down. I was dangling by my legs. Flexing my arm. My eyes running over the row upon row of tiny upturned faces. It was a matter of seconds now. Five thousand pairs of eyes watching. Five thousand hearts starting to speed up. Even the peanut and popcorn boys had stopped. Just the roll of the drums building up. Louder and louder. Without looking, I knew Fran was putting on Tommy's blindfold. In another second, I'd swing around and face them. And begin the count. I began turning. What happened? I turned quickly. Fran was alone on the platform. For a split second, I couldn't figure it out. And then I saw Tommy falling through the air. He grabbed at a guy wire as he passed and he held on. He slid down the wire spiraling down in a sickening, crazy corkscrew. Down all the way to the bottom but never letting go. He landed in a huddle at the bottom. But then he picked himself up. So he was all right, nothing broken. Except the way he held his hand you could tell it was as raw as if he'd cut it open with a knife. I swung around and looked up at Fran. She caught my eye and formed the words, my fault, with her lips. And then, sorry. Then she had made him slip. She had kept him from swinging out on their trapeze. But why? I swung back all of a sudden. I wanted to get down. I wanted to get away. But why my back was turned to her? She must have passed along the signal because suddenly I heard... I guess at first I was just too shocked to think. This was something I'd never figured out. Sure, she'd done the trick before but then there was a split second in which she signaled me to drop my head and begin the count. And then before I could get my own desperate signal back to her to stop, not to go ahead, the black mask had dropped over her eyes and I was cut off from her. Fran, don't do it! Don't do it! But the drums had already begun that time. My voice couldn't reach her now. She'd swung the empty trapeze out into space. I counted the gun. One, as she let go. Two, as the trapeze made a talk. Three, as it returned. Twice more the empty trapeze would swing out and then on its return she would grab it. Fran, don't do it! Don't do it! But I knew she could only hear the drums. If there were only some way to stop the drums. I heard the terrified roar of thousands of throats and I knew it was death. Look officer, I told you I'm only the manager of this outfit. Why don't you ask those two over near the body? They know all about it. They're part of the act. I told you I'd get to them. Now, how exactly did the deceased- Listen officer, why so many questions? It wasn't Murdy or No, it was just an accident. Slipped and fell off the trapeze. I guess it was the excitement of seeing Tommy take that bad spill. Why can't you just put it down as an accident and let it go at that? Locke, I'm only following the rules, Mr. I don't tell you how to run your circus. Yeah, yeah, but when you're all finished with your questions it'll still add up to the same thing. An aerialist named Joe Crosby was accidentally killed while giving a performance. Just as simple as that. Yeah, poor Joe himself couldn't tell you anymore. Even if the dead could talk. Thank you Dana Andrews for a splendid performance. Mr. Andrews will return in just a moment. Uh-huh, oh. Yes, Hap? A question. Shoot, do you ever run out of words? Oh, now Hap, be sensible. How could any guy run out of words with those sensational auto-light-stay-full batteries to talk about? I got my answer. Why, Hap, those auto-light-stay-full batteries have the start of a jackrabbit, the power of a bulldozer and the life of a redwood all wrapped up in one. And to top it all off, they need water only three times a year in normal car use. So friends, when you buy a battery, buy the best. Switch to auto-light, makers of over 400 automotive, aviation and marine products in 27 plants from coast to coast. Auto-light, the lifeline of your car. Always remember, auto-light means batteries. Stay-full batteries. Auto-light means spark plugs. Ignition engineered resistor spark plugs. Auto-light means ignition systems. The lifeline of your car. And now here again is Mr. Dana Andrews. My thanks to Tony Lede for the opportunity of appearing again on Suspense. It is always a pleasant and rewarding experience. And you'll have a pleasant and rewarding experience, I'm sure, next week, when Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills brings you Robert Montgomery, in another gripping study in Suspense. Dana Andrews appears through the courtesy of Samuel Goldwin, producers of Enchantment. Tonight's Suspense play was adapted by Larry Marcus from the short story by William Irish. Music was composed by Lucian Moraweck and conducted by Led Bluskin. The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Leder. In the coming weeks, Suspense will present such stars as Fibre McGee and Molly, Charles Lawton, James Wyman, James Mason and many others. Make it a point to listen each Thursday to Suspense, Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills. Next Thursday, same time, here Robert Montgomery. Switch to AutoLite. Good night. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.