 The National Broadcasting Company presents Joe McCrae in Tales of the Texas Rangers Tonight transcribed from Hollywood another authentic re-enactment of a case from the files of the Texas Rangers Texas Rangers starring Joe McCrae as Ranger Jase Pearson Texas more than 260,000 square miles and 50 men who make up the most famous and oldest law enforcement body in North America Rangers come these stories based on fact only names, dates and places are fictitious for obvious reasons the events themselves are a matter of record Case for tonight, The Hatchet It is 8.30 a.m. Sunday, May 16, 1941 The Hallick family of Rock Point, Texas is preparing to leave for church You want any more toast, Jim? No, all I want is another cup of coffee I'll get it myself Why don't you sit down and eat? Well, I would if I could get that boy to the table Robert! I'll see the jar, you'll... Now you come sit down, Hattie, no need of your stomach being empty Just coffee'll do for me Seems like the older boy gets the harder it is to get him out of bed in the morning What time did he get in last night? After 11 Him and Sadie Lewis went to the picture show I told him I wanted him home at 10 o'clock nights Oh, Jim, it was Saturday night He goes to school all week Well, school will soon be over He'll be working with me in the store all summer Maybe he won't feel much like staying out half the night when he's been on his feet all day Look at the time Robert! Well, it's about time Get your breakfast, but the eggs will be like rubber I don't want anything to eat, I'm not hungry Well, why didn't you say so before your ma wasted her time and the food? You gotta eat something I'll have breakfast when we get back from church Sure, that'll be fine You can make more work for your ma that way Gee, I just don't feel hungry now Oh, leave him alone, Jim, I'll get him something later I just put the dishes in the soak You two want to get out of my way Why don't you go next door and tell him this address but we're about ready to leave Is he riding with us again? Yes, he's riding with us again so stop sulking about it Come on You ought to be glad to have your teacher for a neighbor You wouldn't be at the head of your graduating class but weren't for his helping you I see enough of him in school without seeing him Sunday, too Yeah, well, when you get away to college in the fall you might be wishing you had somebody like him close by to give you a hand Ring the bell You don't answer, maybe he went on He'd have told us and I didn't hear his car Come on, maybe he's out in the back Run up the back steps and take a look in the kitchen window Oh, why don't we just go without him? Well, you do like I tell ya Okay Oh, what is it? What happened to him? Come away, son Don't look anymore, come away I gotta call the sheriff It... It looks like he's been murdered Sheriff Albin Jeffers took one look at the scene of the crime and put in a call for the assistance of the Texas Rangers Ranger Jase Pearson was assigned Ah, mighty bloody job, Jase No weapon in sight No Judging by the marks, though, it was something with two edges One blunt and one sharp Probably a hatchet, Sheriff Either that or two weapons It's possible, but not likely You say the JP's been here? Uh-huh As soon as we're finished, the body'll be moved into the funeral home for autopsy Established time of death It'll help Where'd your call come from? Neighbors next door, the Hallecks Man, wife and son Man and boy spotted Driscoll through the window when they come to get him for a lift to church I'd like to talk to him Sure, I told him to stick to home We can go out back and hop the fence Avoid that crowd out front Good The front room looked like Driscoll went in big for books Yeah, he was an English teacher at the high school Halleck boy Robert was in one of his classes, I think Driscoll live alone? Mm-hmm Widower Yeah, step on this box and hop the fence Yeah, you go ahead, I can get over without it Okay Well, Halleck saw us coming There he is at the back door Howdy, Sheriff Ranger Ranger Pearson Jim Hallett Howdy, howdy Oh, my wife, Hattie, and my boy, Robert Howdy Howdy, Ranger You found Driscoll's body this morning? Me and Robert Sawed through the window What time? About quarter to nine That's when we always leave for services Oh, Jace, I ought to call my office Have the funeral home come for the body now All right, go ahead Mind if I use your phone, Halleck? Help yourself I'll show you where it is, Sheriff Oh, you'd better stay, Robert You and your dad found the body Would you mind, Mrs. Halleck? Not at all In here, Sheriff Thank you Either of you see Driscoll yesterday or last night? We both saw him outside last night, a little after six I was coming home from the store I sold groceries Robert was outside waiting for me so as he could take the car Big date, huh? Yeah What was Driscoll doing? Digging a flower border on his lawn You talked to him? Just called to him after Robert took the car and drove off Asked if he planned on riding to church with us Since taking two cars, her neighbors are going to the same place I see, and that all? That's all You didn't hear anything during the evening or the night? Nope Me and Haddy turned in a little after nine How about you, Robert? What time did you get home? Um What time did you get home? You can tell him, I know you was late Your mother heard you come in A little after eleven Where were you? To a picture show With Sadie Lewis What did you see? I don't remember the name of it Bing Crosby's in it Jayce, you gonna be much longer? Oh no, Sheriff, why? I spoke to my office One of my deputies got a report Rancher named Finney chased somebody off his place with a shotgun last night Doorbell, Haddy I'm going Haddy, the deputy think the report might have anything to do with the Driscoll's murder? Who knows? fellow Finney saw was doing something around a cattle tank though Good place to get rid of a weapon Cattle tanks have been used before Maybe we ought to go out and take a look Yeah It's Gene to see you Hi, Bob Hi I'm Mr. Hallecks, Sheriff Hello, Gene Yeah, I just drove in to see if Bob wanted to go out to the Shacken camp And I saw that crowd in front of next door Somebody killed old man Driscoll, huh? Yeah, I can't go with you today Well, yeah, I guess not Are you helping the Sheriff, Ranger? We're helping each other Well, boy, I sure hope you catch that guy Mr. Driscoll was the best teacher we ever had We'll try to square things for him, Gene Coming, Jayce? Yeah Thanks for your help Well, you may want to talk to you again later You're sure welcome, Ranger Bye Bye, man So long, folks So long, Ranger Who was that kid, the one who just came in? You mean Gene? No, name's Gene McCready Hello, Roberts, they go to school together Why? Just wondering Robert Hallecks ever give any of you any trouble around here? Yeah, we'll take my car No, he's a good kid, why? Just got a feeling he was covering up for something That's all Like what? If I knew that, I wouldn't be wondering about it How far to Finney's Place? Turn off to the right about six miles out Just this side of the Lewis Place The Lewis Place? Well, Robert Hallecks says that he was out of the movie last night with a girl named Sadie Lewis Yeah, she lives out there Mike Lewis' daughter Only 15, but a big girl for her age Lewis watches her like a hawk I'd like to stop by the Lewis Place and talk to that girl Okay, we can go out there after we check at Finney's Right here's about where he was when I spotted him I called, but he started to run through a little buckshot after him You didn't see who it was No, I didn't It was too far off, about 300 feet back to all the house What time was that, Finney? Oh, just 4, 11 o'clock last night Wasn't that kind of late for you to be out here? Well, I'd been visiting I was cutting across the ranch, walking home From where? Mike Lewis' place We'd get together, Sadie, nights, play cards Oh, no, no, not for money, just passing time You always carry a shotgun when you're passing time Matter of fact, I do Bag a jackrabbit once in a while Going, coming, between here and Mike's place So I always throw the gun just in case I see I see better than you do, Jace I've eaten out here Mrs. Finney can do more things with a jackrabbit And a pot than most women can do with a chicken Okay, I was just checking Now, about the fella you saw Oh, yeah, yeah Well, like I said, when he didn't answer my call I flushed him with a shot Don't think I hit him, though A little too far Barely saw him as it was Which way do you take off? Well, that way Highway's about a mile across country there You chase him? Yep, sure did But I reckon he was like younger than me What makes you say that? Well, after two minutes of running I was a puffin' like an engine to tunnel He was pullin' away with every jump Is there anything around here he might have been trying to steal? No, not a thing Unless he was trying to make off with a cow And there'd be nothing to try on foot Well, Sheriff Guess we'd better chuck our boots and hop in there Ain't it my cattle tank? That's right, Finney But what for? If we're lucky The weapon that was used in the killing of a high school teacher And Driscoll The cattle tank was big The bottom was covered deep with a couple of inches Of oozing mud and slime And then slithered around in it for almost half an hour Very thick along the bottom, Jayce Yeah, it sure is I was gonna have it cleaned out next month Looks like we're gonna have to save you The trouble and the expense We'll have to call a pumping crew, Sheriff Yeah, it looks that way Hey, give me a hand up Any time Thanks Wait over here, Jayce, and we'll boost you out Okay, Sheriff You're gonna feel silly if we haven't just pumped out And there's nothing here You'll feel sillier if we don't have it done And there is something here that turns up later I think we ought to... What's the matter, Jayce? Feel something here under my foot I felt it coming over this way, too Some stones in the mud No, this is metal Wait, I'll get it What is it, Jayce? Look for yourself, Sheriff Just about what we're looking for A hatchet You are listening to Tales of the Texas Rangers starring Joel McCrae as Ranger Jayce Pearson We continue now with tonight's case The Hatchet, an authentic story from the files of the Texas Rangers It was the murder weapon, all right The blood had been washed away from most of it but there was skin tissue and hair that had stuck to the blood end And I reckon that's it, all right, Jayce But who threw it away on my place, and why? The killer wanted to get rid of it in a place he thought nobody'd be liable to find it Must have thought of this spot last night That means he knew the place He wouldn't cross the range on foot unless he did You say he ran off that way? That's right, like Sheriff said, highway's about a mile He could have left a car there he was getting back to, or he might have cut off in another direction when you lost him Don't you, Finney? Why, sure, sure, but nothing like one you're told in that trailer behind your car It's really a horse ranger I think so too What I want is a mount for the sheriff here Where do you figure on riding, Jayce? Out on the range, see if we can pick up a trail I'll unload charcoal and start ahead and you walk back to the ranch house and get one of Finney's horses and catch up to me Not too heavy on this ground, though They're easy to lose Yeah, but this is a straight shot from the ridge Looks like he was sure going for the road, all right? No doubt about it If he left a car there, we might be able to find some tire marks where he parked Frade, you're going to be stymied there, Jayce Why? County just worked the roads over Shoulders are all fresh gravel Oh What's the shortest way to the Lewis ranch? Go back for the car or keep riding? We'd save a little time going back for the car, not much Well, charcoal's full of run Let's give him a chance for a workout Come on The Lewis ranch was big and well kept But there was something dismal and brooding about it When we got inside, I knew what it was It was as though the place were reflecting the personality of the heavy-browed man who owned it So you want to see my daughter, huh? That's right What about? Just want to ask her where she was last night She was into the movie house with Robert Hallick Yeah, we'd like a little more information than that, Mike The Ranger I know everything my daughter does I can tell you anything you want to know That may be so, Mr. Lewis But we still want to see her That's an official request I'll call her Sadie Come into the house Into the parlor The body was here Sheriff and the Ranger want to talk to you They don't think you and Robert was at the show last night Nobody said that You don't have to say it Look, if you can't keep out of this you can take your mind-reading act into another room until we're finished It'd be better if you didn't interfere, Mike Go ahead, ask Maybe I'll be interested in the answers, too Sadie, don't be nervous Just tell the truth Were you with Robert Hallick last night? Yes Where'd you go? We went Where did you go? To the movie Remember the name of the picture? The new one was being crossed You saw that with me a month ago when I took you to Sweetwater I saw it again There's no other show to see in town Is there? Robert brought you the ticket stubs, didn't he, Pa? Brought you the ticket stubs That's right, Ranger Brought me the stubs My daughter's supposed to be someplace I want to make sure she's there I'm not gambling on being fed any lies No, I can see that You're not gambling that your girl might tell you the truth, either given the chance Reckon the law's got nothing to say about that I reckon not Let me have that packet, Sheriff Here What's in it? Just something I want you to look at Catch it Yeah You ever see this before? No How about you, Sadie? You ever see this before? No, sir, I never Why are you asking us about it? Just routine This is the weapon used to kill Driscoll, the high school teacher All right, Sheriff Wrap it up again, let's go Sorry to bother you, Mr. Lewis Yeah You ready, Sheriff? Yeah Goodbye, Mike, Sadie Bye Sadie, you been lying to me? Answer me! Looks like Sadie's in for a rough time, Jayce She wasn't telling the truth He knows it Her story ties in with Robert Helix, Jayce I know Be dark by the time we get back to Finney's place Movie house open tonight? Sure Why? I want to talk to the manager The theater was a small town show place The manager couldn't remember seeing Robert Halleck and Sadie Lewis He referred us to the ticket taker The ticket taker turned out to be Robert Halleck's pal, Gene McCready Come on, Gene, talk up Was Robert here for the show last night or wasn't he? I... I don't know He's your best friend and you were on the door last night If he came in, you saw him Yeah, he was here Did he stay for the whole show? No No, he didn't stay for any of it How do you know? Did you see him leave before it was over? Well, he... He didn't even go in He just stopped by to get a couple of ticket stubs from me So that's it Why didn't you tell us that right off? Because I... I promised Bob that if anybody asked, I'd say him and Sadie was here Well, why would anybody ask? Bob thought Sadie's father, Mike He's asked me before when they were supposed to be here Well, I guess that's what we wanted, Jase It's part of it, not all of it Gene, I want you to forget that I asked you anything, understand? Yes, sir Let's go, Sheriff I guess we better pick up Robert Halleck and the Lewis girl, Jase Not yet All we know is they didn't see the show That isn't enough Don't see why not This wasn't just a transient thing Driscoll didn't have no enemies Unless it was one of his pupils hated him We can narrow it down to one student, though Not until we've checked on all of them I'm gonna sleep on this tonight When school opens tomorrow, I'm going out there Driscoll had been a popular teacher at Rock Point High But he had an iron-bound code of ethics where honesty was concerned And that was the key I needed I found the answer in a batch of test papers he'd been grading I took the papers back to the Sheriff's office Morning, Jase Morning Out the school Plenty Look at these What are they? English class test papers of Robert Halleck and Gene McGrady I see Halleck's mark's pretty high, 94 Yeah Hey, only half the answers on McGrady's paper have been checked His isn't graded Compare them and you'll see why His answer to every single question is exactly the same as Halleck's All the way down the line Driscoll must have noticed it while he was marking You think McGrady was cribbing his answers from Bob Halleck's paper? Halleck was at the head of the class McGrady was just barely hanging on Those papers were clipped together in the drawer of Driscoll's desk With this slip of paper A few notes scribbled on it and Driscoll's handwriting Yeah, read what it says An obvious case of cheating Flunk McGrady If Halleck knew of this Advised principle Neither should be permitted to graduate Well Hest was on Friday Driscoll must have been grading those papers after school let out Halleck came home, but Gene McGrady was sitting out of punishment In another class for being late That means Driscoll might have run into Gene Friday afternoon and asked him about it That's what I figured Of course Gene could have told Bob later Yeah, he could have Robert Halleck's the boy, all right, Jayce He lied about where he was Saturday night And Gene was working at the theater Maybe yes and maybe no Do you have a topsy report yet? Oh yeah, I came in this morning What time did Driscoll die? Between 9.30 and 10.30 Saturday night Then we can't eliminate Gene McGrady Why not? He starts taking theater tickets at 6.30 But the box office closes at 9 When the main feature goes on again He's got nothing to do after that His work's finished I didn't think of that You better give me the hatchet, Sheriff I'll need it What's your plan? You go out to the school, get Bob Halleck And bring him to his father's store I'll meet you there What do you want Gene McGrady to? He's not in school He's supposed to be home sick We can pick him up later I don't want him and Robert together Ranger, you're crazy Crazy, I tell ya Now calm down, Mr. Halleck You admit the hatchet comes from your place No A minute ago you said it did Well, it disappeared Months ago it was lost It got lost again in a cattle tank Where's your car? Out back through that door All right, let's look it over Your son was using this car Saturday night Yes Why? What are you looking for? Hatchet had to be carted away from Driscoll's And there was blood on it I'm looking for a stain Well, you don't see any do you? No, I see a spot on the front seat That's cleaner than the rest Can you smell that? It's been rubbed with gasoline Ranger, you're wrong You've got to be wrong My kid wouldn't do a thing like that Out here, Robert Here we are, Chase Paul, what's the matter? Why did they take me out of school? Son, son Whatever you've done, me and your mall stand by Now tell them the truth You were at the show Saturday Tell them you were How about it, Robert? Gene said you just dropped by to pick up ticket stubs I wasn't at the show Why didn't you tell me? Why? I couldn't Because of Sadie's father, he'd kill her You better tell us what happened, boy Why? I picked up Sadie in the car at 6.30 We went into the movie house To leave the car with Gene and get the stubs You left the car with Gene? Yes So it'd be around the theater in case Sadie's pa came by Well, then what happened? Then we arranged for Gene to meet us out at the crossroads Between the Lewis place and Finney's at 11 o'clock So I'd have the car take Sadie home See, see, Ranger? He didn't have the car all the time Go ahead, Robert Where did you and Sadie go? We went for a ride with somebody Who picked us up behind the theater What do you mean by somebody? Who? Sadie's mother What? Why, Sadie Lewis's mother is dead No, she isn't That's what Mr. Lewis tells everybody They were divorced before he moved here with Sadie Could that be true, Sheriff? Well, Jase, I don't know Mike Lewis always had his wife died She didn't He just hated her, that's all Well, if he finds out Sadie's been seeing her He'll beat her up All right, Robert I think you're telling the truth There's something I want you to identify This Why, that's our old kindling hatchet Where'd you see it last? The shack Me and Gene built a shack up in the woods last fall We go camping up there I built most of it because Gene He was working part-time after school at Finney's ranch That's right, Jase Gene did work for Finney for a while Come on, Sheriff We'd better go pick him up Gene McCready wasn't at his home And he wasn't sick We got the location of the shack He built with Robert Hallock Got horses and rode into the woods to look for him There's the shack, Jase Just through that clump of trees Yeah, come on, Sharky Hey, the door's open and it's Gene Party, Gene What are you doing up here? Let's come up to take you into town, Gene A few things we want to ask you about Like what? Like how you spent Saturday evening Between the time you stopped taking tickets And the time you met Robert at the crossroad Between the Lewis Place and Finney's Come on, Gene I'll boost you up behind me Well, can I... Can I get my jacket? It's inside Go ahead He don't look guilty, Jase Not a bit rattled I know We could be wrong But you better give me your holster, Sheriff If he's going to ride behind you Yeah, I guess you're... Look out, Jase You hit Sheriff? No, but I hit him He had a rifle in there He stepped out shooting just as you leaned over Oh, you hit me Yeah Let's see There's a flesh wound through the side I didn't want to hurt him But Mr. Driscoe wasn't going to let me graduate The old fool All right, shut up Hold still Till I fix this wound Well, he'll be all right, Jase Yeah I'm sorry I had to do that Shooting a kid Yeah, but His being a kid doesn't make you bulletproof And it didn't stop him from killing Driscoe There All right, Sheriff Let's rig a letter and carry him in Gene McCrady was just old enough To stand formal trial for the murder Of his high school instructor On September 20th, 1941 He was taken to the state penitentiary At Huntsville to serve out A sentence of 25 years And it's the star of our show, Joel McCray There's a poem that was sent to me By Captain M. T. Lone Wolf Gonzalez Whose commander company be of the Texas Rangers It's not only amusing That seems to reflect the thoughts Of many a police officer I hope you'll enjoy hearing it It's called Not Guilty I guess I've seen a thousand men Go in this jail and out From tramps with month old whiskers To rich men with a gout Not one of them was guilty of the crimes The law accused Seems they were all just victims Of some officer's abuse From the time the keys are rattled Till they're locked up in the cell Their voices, though they differ From a whisper to a yell The song is always just the same That everyone will sing I don't see why they put me here I haven't done a thing Makes no difference what they've done Or how mean the crime has been When they're locked behind those prison bars They're always free from sin Though the evidence be solid And their voice with guilt may ring They'll stand right up and tell you I haven't done a thing Good night, folks See you again next week Good night We beat Joel McCrae in another authentic Re-enactment of a case from the files of The Texas Rangers Joel McCrae is currently seen starring In the Universal International Technicolor Production, Frenchy Tonight's cast included Tony Barrett, Harley Bear, Mike Barrett, Sam Edwards, Joe Duvall, Tom Cook, and Gerald Moore This story was transcribed and adapted By Joel Murkart And the program was produced and directed By Stacey Keach Hell, give me speaking Three times mean good times on NBC There's music fond and prizes Monday through Friday on NBC To help your busy morning along Tommy Bartlett brings you Welcome Travelers Walter O'Keefe, MC's Double or Nothing Clever Quizmaster, Bud Collier Asked the questions on Break the Bank Jack Birch presents Songs and Stories And Dave Garroway with Melody and Humor That's Monday through Friday on NBC Now hear the $64 question Three times mean good times on NBC