 Box 13 with the star of Paramount Pictures, Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday. Box 13, care of the star times. If you mean what you say in your advertisement, perhaps you're the one to help me. If help does not come for me soon, I will be killed. Please use the enclosed airline ticket and come to Mexico City at once. When you arrive, go directly to the Hotel Mariposa and wait. Please hurry because every hour brings me closer to death. Closer to death? Arthur Meade. Sure, the letter had a ring to it that made me believe it. And I felt sorry for him. But 48 hours later, I had someone else to worry about. A fellow named Dan Holiday. And now, back to Box 13 and Dan Holiday's newest adventure, Mexican Maze. Mexico City. Mmm, what a place to be. Would you like to go in my place, Susie? I sure would, Mr. Holiday. All right, I'll tell you what. You take the ticket and go. Then when you get to Mexico City, you find Mr. Arthur Meade. Then what? Then keeping from being killed. What's the matter, Susie? Don't you like Mexico anymore? Oh, you were kidding when you said I could go, weren't you? What makes you think that? Oh, how could I keep anyone from being killed? And what worries me is how am I going to do it? He sure sounds like he's got his back to the hall. Susie, wall. But wherever he's got it, he sounds as though he might not have it there long. Okay, Susie, close up shop. I'm off to the land of the Aztecs. The flight to Mexico City was routine, and an hour later after I got off the plane, I registered as Box 13 at the Hotel Mariposa and was shown to my room. The bellboy had no sooner left than... Hello? Is this the man from Box 13? Yes, I'm Box 13. Thank heavens you came. I was desperate, Mr. Holiday. Dan Holiday. Listen, I've only a couple of minutes, Holiday. I've got to talk fast. Are you there? Of course, go ahead. There's an importer here. An American. His name is Robert Lucas, and he... Hello? Hello? Hello? So there I was, with a dead telephone at a name, Robert Lucas. I had no idea where to get in touch with me, and the telephone directory had no listing for me. But it had one for Mr. Lucas. And it was with Mr. Lucas that I made an appointment for that afternoon. I got there a little early and approached his office. Then I stopped. The door was open, and I couldn't help overhearing. And if that's your idea of an explanation we're through, Robert, we're finished. That's what you think, Marilyn. It's not quite that simple, my dear. Not at all. I'll make it simple. Very simple. You understand? I'm afraid I do. You didn't think I'd do that, did you? Maybe you'd like me to go to meet. Goodbye, Mr. Lucas. I ducked back out of sight and let her pass. She didn't see me. What I saw was a woman of maybe 30, and very lovely. Her heels beating a tattoo down the hall. I waited a couple of seconds then... Yes? Come on in. What can I do for you? I telephoned for an appointment, Mr. Lucas. Oh, yes. Your Mr. Holliday? That's right. Please sit down. Oh, thank you. Now, sir, you said over the phone that you were an importer. In a way, yes. In a way? You are or you aren't? Let's say I was imported. What are you driving at? Look, I'm a very busy man. If this is some sort of roost to get in here... and pester me for a job, I've no time. If you need financial help, go to the... Oh, I don't need help, Mr. Lucas. I give it. Will you come to the point? Certainly. The point is Arthur Mead. You, uh, you said Arthur Mead? That's right. You know him? What business is it of yours? Mr. Mead asked me to come here. He said he was in danger of being killed. Killed? The same. He telephoned me about an hour after I got in. But, uh, we were cut off. Or he was. Where was he? I don't know. What did he say? He mentioned your name. That's all. That's all? He didn't have time for chit chat. What's your connection with him? Let's say business. Mr. Holliday, I don't know where Arthur Mead is. I haven't seen him for days. What's he afraid of? I don't know. You don't seem to know very much. That makes us even. Yes, I guess it does. So you have no idea where I can find Arthur Mead? No, there are great many places in Mexico City where a man could hide. What makes you think Mead is hiding? I, I assume he is. Since neither of us knows where he is. And I guess our little chit chat is over. It would seem so, Mr. Holliday. Well, I may call on you again. Oh, please do. We'll talk about the importing business. Perhaps we may even talk about exports. I didn't like the way Lucas said exports. He could have meant me. The second thought convinced me he did. But he knew plenty about Arthur Mead, which gave him aces against my deuces. But I had an ace too. A girl named Marilyn. Now all I had to do was find her. So I started right away. And the first stop was the elevator man in Lucas' office building. Yes, Senorita, I know the Senorita. She comes here many times. Uh, who is she? What's her name? Why do you want to know the Senorita? Well, she's very pretty. You like her, see? If you want it that way, yes. Bueno, bueno. I'm going to tell you. She's Senorita Marilyn Cooper. Oh, an American. Where can I find her? I do not know where she lives, Senorita. Oh, I see. But I know where she works. Oh, that's better. Where? She's a dancer in the club de la Tres Flores. Where's that? Alameda Street. Alameda Street? Yes. Oh, thank you. And here? Gracias, Senorita. Muchas gracias. You're welcome. In Spanish. I went to the club of the three flowers that was closed in the afternoon, so I had to wait until evening. My Spanish being somewhat on the rusty side, I had a little trouble getting to see Marilyn Cooper. But I managed it, and ten minutes later, I was sitting across from her at one of the tables. I, uh... I don't know you, do I? No, you don't, Miss Cooper. You're an American. Mm-hmm. So are you. Why'd you come to see me? Two reasons. One, Arthur Mead. What? The other Robert Lucas. Who are you? I'm the man who always pops up to scare people with things I'm supposed not to know. Well, I'm not scared. No. How... How do you know about Mead and Robert? Why do you call Mead by his last name and Lucas by his first? Does that make any difference? No, except that I happened over here, a little spat with him today. Well, I... Please, please don't get up. I didn't mean to. But you were talking in something more than a soft whisper, and I... You know what he did. If you mean that slap, yes. What's your name? Dan Holliday. Do you know Arthur Mead? No, I'm beginning to think I'll never know him. I... Are we going to say? If I tell you where you can find Arthur Mead, what'll you do? That all depends. You'd better find him before Robert Lucas does. Oh, why? Listen, I'll talk fast. I'll say it once because Robert's capable of having me watched and getting even with me. Go ahead. What have you got to say? Robert's got Mead tied up. Mead's only chance to get back on his feet financially is a deal he's got on the fire with a man named Barnes. What kind of a deal? I don't know exactly. Something to do with the export business. Robert's trying to prevent that. Why doesn't Mead go to the police? Police? Mead's no angel. He's got plenty of tar on his record. But he's got to keep out of Robert's way until he closes the deal with Barnes. That's why he's hiding. Yeah. And our Mr. Lucas would like to close the deal with Mead permanently if he found him. Yeah, he would. Lucas has a lot of friends, some of them are real ugly, outside and inside. All right. Where can I find Mead? 34 Alvarado Drive. 34 Alvarado Drive. You better get out of here. That's one more question. What? Tell me how you know where to find Mead. I got friends too. I found out. And we're going to make Lucas pay for the information. What do you think I am? Someday we'll go into that matter. Right now I'm going to find Mead and get myself straightened out, if possible. I left Maryland-Crooper and I was firmly convinced that a nicer pair of characters than Maryland and Lucas I'd never meet again. No tears shed if I didn't. I took a cab to 34 Alvarado Drive and when I got there, a clerk told me Senor Mead was in number 107. I walked down the hallway and I stopped. The door to Mead's room was open and I heard I looked in. Waited a second and then aren't you far from home plate, Mr. Lucas? You! Let's not be hasty, Mr. Lucas. Take your hands off me. Let's go inside. Take your... Inside, please. Where's Mead? Do you see him? I'd like to. Take a look around. You'll see what I saw. Empty drawers, empty closets, empty room. That is except for you and me. Brilliant. Elementary. Now where's Mead? I don't know. How'd you know he lived here? This afternoon you told me you didn't know. That's none of your business. You were searching this room for what? Expect to find Mead tucked away in a drawer? Holiday, you're meddling in something that's none of your business. Now let me out of here. Not until you... Let me out. Is that loaded? It is. Now get away from the door. Certainly. It's all yours. You show good sense, Holiday. Good night. First tricked Mr. Lucas. But I still wanted to know what became of Mead and what I was doing in the game. I was sure Lucas didn't know where Mead had gone. I looked around the room. It was left in the drawers, the closet. Mead had cleared out, clean. Then on the battered telephone table I found a bus schedule. The departure time of a northbound bus had been ringed in red. I wondered if Lucas had seen it. If he had, I had to beat him to the busty pole as I opened the door. Que tal, amigo? I speak English. So do I. You will please to sit, señor. Please to sit. Aren't you in the wrong room? Señor, and I'm a little muchacho. I have learned to throw a knife. Very good. I have not forgot. You like to see me do it with this knife. No, thank you. Then you will be pleased to sit. Ever come face to face with a big toothy grin holding a knife in your face? Now it isn't pleasant. I sat. Does this make you happy? Sí. Bueno. Look, I'm afraid you've made a mistake, señor. No, señor. You make the mistake. Ah, yes, muy triste. It's very sad. What do you mean? No, señor. I have only come to kill you. He said it so calmly, so matter of factly, but he... but he meant it. His grin got wider, and the knife that glenned in his hand looked very, very sharp then. I am paid to kill you, señor. I do not have something against you. But business is business. You will please to stand, amigo. With your back to me. Now listen, I... With your back to me, señor. I like your face, and I do not wish to see it when I do with the knife what I am paid to do. And now back to Mexican Maze, another box 13 adventure with Alan Land as Dan Holiday. I turned my back on the grin. It wasn't easy to do. I saw his reflection in the window I faced. He came toward me. The knife held straight out in front. Then he... I needed something I couldn't understand. Until later. Much later. He stopped and spoke. Amigo, I like your face. How much you pay me not to kill you? What did you say? A peso is a peso, amigo. If I did not like your face, I would kill you. But since I like your face, I will make the bargain. How much do you want? How much it is worth your life. I haven't got that much with me. I will take what you have. Do not try the tricks, no? No, no, don't worry. Give me what you have. All right. The little coins that you keep. Now, amigo, adios. End the por favor. Do not try to follow me. I would not like to break this bargain. Adios. I didn't get it. Why didn't he kill me? I stopped thinking about it because I had to get to me. It was too late to get to the bus terminal before Mead's bus left. The next best thing was... Bueno. Hello. Give me the Mexico central bus terminal. Sí, señor. Gracias. I want you to page one of your passengers leaving on the 10-18 bus for the north. His name is Arthur Mead. Gracias. I waited. I waited and wondered if Lucas had beat me to the punch then. Hello? Mead? This is holiday. Where have you been? Never mind that. Why did you ring off this morning? I had to. Listen, holiday. I've got to leave Mexico City. I think Lucas knows where I'm staying. I know he does. He was here. Yeah. Where are you? 34 Alvarado. He did know. Look, what's all this about? Holiday. I've got everything arranged. Go to the Hotel Del Grado. Register there in my name. Your name? Please. I'll miss this bus and I've got to leave. Just listen to me. Go to the hotel. Register in my name. A package will be delivered to you. Later, a man named Barnes will come to see you. Give him the package. It contains money. He'll give you an envelope. Keep it until you hear from me again. Have you got that? Yeah, all right. But how will I get in touch with you? You won't. I'll contact you. And holiday. Yes, what? Protect yourself because Lucas will do everything he can to keep that deal from being closed. Even murder. Mead hung up and left me hanging. Way out on a limb. Sure, I could have taken a plane back home. But I owed something to Mr. Lucas for sending the grin after me. Sure was Lucas who'd done that because only he knew I was in Mead's place and I... Only he and Marilyn Cooper. I left 34 Alvarado with no regrets. Went to the hotel Del Grotto and registered as Arthur Mead. I signed the register and no sooner had I done so when the clerk said... Ah, Senor Mead! There was someone here earlier this evening. He left this package and asked it be delivered to you. Oh, thank you. Just a minute, please. Is he, Senor Mead? Has there been a Mr. Barnes asking for me? Barnes? Barnes. No, no, Senor Mead. No one has been asking for you. Who left this package for me? It was delivered by messenger, Senor. I see. Well, thank you. It is a pleasure, Senor Mead. I hope your stay here will be very pleasant. Pleasant, you said. You didn't know what he was saying. I just turned away from the desk when I caught sight of Marilyn Cooper. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her go toward the back of the hotel. I waited a moment and went out another entrance, cut through to the back of the hotel and ducked into a doorway, where I couldn't be seen. Mal and Cooper was waiting for someone. She hadn't longed to wait until a bellhop came up to her. Senorita? Here I am, Tomas. Ah, si. Here's the bottle and the note. And the money, Senorita? You'll get that when the job's done. No, Senorita. I want it now. I said when the job's done. Now, Senorita, there will be no job. How do I know you'll go through with it? I have made a promise, Senorita. A promise. It is a very bad thing to kill a man with poison. You're being paid. Now. I... All right here. Thank you. You know what you're to do. Yes. You take the coffee to Senor Mead. With what is in the little bottle in the cafe. That's right. Senorita, it will kill quickly, si? Yes. Now just listen. When you've done that, wait outside his door until you're sure he's drunk the coffee. And go inside. Put the note I gave you on the dresser in the room. You understand? Si, si. It is quite simple. All right. Adios, Senorita. Wait. Si? You'd better not slip up, Tomas. If you do. I do not make these slips. Hasta la vista, Senorita. Now, here was a twist. Marilyn Cooper paying to have Mead poisoned and the note left with his body. And a cold chill hit me. I just remembered I was Arthur Mead. I went back to the front of the hotel and was just about to go inside when I saw Robert Lucas leaving a car. You come with me, Ernesto. Ernesto was none other than the grin. He and Lucas went into a telegraph office next to the hotel. I looked into his car. It was luggage in the rear seat, lots of it. I saw it toward the car trying to keep one eye on Lucas and the telegraph office and the other on the car. I ducked back. But not before I saw something dangling from the key ring and the ignition lock. And what I saw made me blink. And Lucas and the grin came back out. I twisted away and out of sight. They drove off and I went into the telegraph office. I found the pad of message blanks Lucas had used. I tore off the top and ten minutes later I showed it to Lieutenant Cassadro, Mexico City Police. But, uh, senior holiday, I do not understand. You say you did not send this message? I did not, Lieutenant. Lucas sent it. That's the impression of the telegram he sent. Simple kid's trick. Just run a soft pencil over the sheet and the writing comes out. If the writer pressed hard enough when he wrote it. And Lucas did. Box 13 care of start times. That is a newspaper, senior? Yes, yes, read the message. I finished work in Mexico City. Going to Criotas for a vacation. Take care of things, Susie. See you soon. Dan. I happen to be Dan. But why should senior Lucas send this? If we play out this little game, we'll know. He wanted this Susie to think you had gone to Criotas. That's it. But why? Lieutenant, if you'll send a wire to the United States asking about Arthur Mead, I think we'll have part of our answer. Very good. I will send it. Then what? Then you'll be in the hotel later. I'm in room 512 and I'll be lying on the floor with an empty poison bottle and a suicide note. Senior holiday, this is a Chinese puzzle. Senior Lieutenant Cassadro, this is a Mexican maze. But I think we're going to come out of it. On top. And here's what we can do. I need your help send the wire to the United States. Then come to a hotel. Come in. Senior Mead, here's coffee. Coffee? I didn't order. I know, senior. But it is the custom of the hotel. It is very good, senior. Americans like coffee, see? Yes, we do. Thanks, put it on the table. Yes, senior. I'm going to pour for you, see? Please. Senior, you just write to drink. How bad it is. Okay, here you are. Thank you very much, senior. It is bad. I hope you are going to sleep well. I'll just bet you do. Good night. I listened for a moment. Then I made with the coffee cup. Then I went into my act. The bellhop came back in. Put the note on the dresser and then... Andres! Andres, help! Help! Senior Mead! Senior Mead! What is it, guys? Police! Hey! Senior Mead is dead! Silence! What's the matter? Senior Rita, you know this man? Yes, it's Arthur Mead. And you, senior Rita? Marilyn Cooper. What's the matter? Good Lord. Mead. Come no closer to the body, senior. You know this man, too? Yes, I know him well. Arthur Mead is dead. Very dead, senior. It is... Oh, no. A note. I can no longer face the world after what I have done. This is the best way out. Arthur Mead. Oh, poor Mead. Robert, please take me away from here. Why so fast, Marilyn? Holiday! Holiday! Lieutenant Graham, have you made that bellhop? One momento, senior Lucas, senior Rita Cooper. I do not wish to fire this gun. You idiot, you said it was safe. You fool! Shut up, shut up, Marilyn. Well, this looks like a real argument. Not like the one you staged for me before, Lucas, or Mead. No matter what you call yourself, your name's mud from now on. Senior Holiday, it was a great pleasure. All mine, Lieutenant. But will you please explain? We have no time before, and there are my reports to be made out. Sure. Well, Mead was an ambassador. See, my telegram to the United States verified that. So the trail was getting hot. Now the one sure way to make the police stop hunting for you is to... Well, is to be dead. But sooner or later, we would have received a description from the United States. Even so, you'd have wired the states that Arthur Mead had committed suicide down here. You had verification that I was Mead, Marilyn Cooper, Lucas, or Mead, and the hotel clerk. And the big deal Mead was going to have? A fake, a blind to keep me from getting suspicious. There's the envelope that was supposed to contain money. Full of cut up newspapers. But one more point. Why did not the man kill you at the 34 Alvarado? Because he wasn't supposed to. You see, that was a stall to keep me from getting to the bus terminal before Lucas did. The red mark on the bus timetable would make me think Mead had taken a bus. But Lucas had to get there before I did. Or at least in time to answer my call if I had him paged. Senor, if people spent as much time making good things instead of bad things like this, what a wonderful world it would be. It's not so bad, Lieutenant. But it has a hard time keeping ahead of the Meads and Marilyn Coopers. Gee, Mr. Holiday, I didn't know what to think when I got that wire saying you were going to take a vacation in Cree Assault. Susie, Cree Otis. Anyway, you were supposed to think I'd gone there, and well, it would have been a dead end. Just think. You might have been killed as Arthur Mead. I might have been killed as Dan Holiday. Oh, wait a minute. There's one more thing. What's that, Susie? You said you noticed something dangling from the key ring in the ignition lock of Meads. Well, in the ignition lock. Oh, it was a tag, Susie. A tag attached to a key, and the number on the tag was 107. 107? Mead's room at 34 Alvarado. Now I ask you, why would Lucas have had that on his key chain if he hadn't have been neat himself? Sheepers. Now, that's the kind of adventure I like. When are you going again? Oh, good nights. Next week, same time, through the courtesy of Paramount Pictures, Alan Ladd stars as Dan Holiday in Box 13. Box 13 is directed by Richard Sandville. This week's original story was written by Robert Mitchell and Gene Levitt. Original music is composed and conducted by Rudy Schrager. The part of Susie is played by Sylvia Picker. Production is supervised by Vern Carstensen. Box 13 is a Mayfair production from Hollywood.