 And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theatre of thrills, Suspense. Tonight, we bring you a transcribed story of a boy who ran from a prophecy but couldn't escape its deadly promise. So now, starring Sam Edwards and Richard Crenna, here is tonight's suspense play, The Prophecy of Bertha Abbott. He moved on into the night. It was dark in the boxcar and Ernie was scared. He didn't want to think about where he was going or why he was there. He tried to fill his mind with plans for the jazzy sports car he intended to have one day, but somehow he didn't find the comfort in this that he usually did. The image of the car blurred and became distorted. So he just sat, huddled behind a crate in the corner. He listened to the sound of the quills on the rails and realized that he was awfully hungry. Whitey, you still asleep? No. You're so quiet. I've been thinking. About what? About how hungry I am. Gee, me too. Got any dope? A couple of bucks maybe? I guess I got about that much. You have any idea where we are? It'll be light pretty soon. We'll check. We'll check? Then what? Well, we're near a town or something. We'll get off. One thing's sure, we've got to watch. We don't ride this car into a stopping place. You mean maybe they'll be looking for us? You're improving, man. Whitey, what now? We've got to run, Ernie. He remembered she had lived alone in a little house at the end of the block. Her hair was gray and stringy and she had a long, thin face with a beat nose. Her name was Bertha Abbott and she was generally regarded as a somewhat peculiar but harmless old woman. However, it was whispered among the children of the neighborhood that she was a witch, a real witch. And no child ever passed her fenced yard without a quickening step and a strange tingle of fear. Except in early summer. When the luscious golden peaches hung heavy on the tree just inside the fence. Then fear momentarily forgotten that children were apt to slow down and pause and contemplate the fruit. Tempting, tantalizing and beckoning. Ernie, it'd be easy. Can't you? No, she wouldn't. She might? What then? She's a witch, a real witch. She would could climb that old fence easy as anything. Whitey, let's go home. Ernie, look at them peaches. When it's dark, nobody see it. I don't want to. You wouldn't even have to climb the tree. Just stay inside and watch. Ernie, look at them peaches. But he didn't run far enough. Before he reached the fence, he stumbled and fell. Then fear as big as the night closed in on him. He was in the clutches of the witch. She had him by the collar and she was shaking him and screaming at him. Ernie, come on my property and come steal him. You know what's going to happen to you? Do you? What happened to you? No, no. He didn't tell his mother. He couldn't tell, but he never forgot about it. Then it made his sleep restless and troubled. And the days and the years passed. Now Whitey, suppose we got caught. We won't get caught. I got it all figured out. The brain. That's right. You reached the second plateau. Look, Ernie, have you ever figured how much goofy takes in on a weekend on this joint? Maybe five, six hundred bucks. That much? Sure. You know what he keeps it until he can get to the bank on Monday? In a shoebox right there in that back room. How do you know so much? Never mind. You just stick with old dad. I also know there's a window in that room that opens to the alley. Well, there you have it. I don't want it. Ernie, think of all that dough. Yeah. Ernie, that neat car we saw down the Shweiger's line. That one just needs a little fixing up. Yeah? Did you mention it to your old man? Yeah. What'd he say? Nothing. Just like he didn't hear me. Just like always. Like I never said anything. Like I wasn't even there. You should have heard my old man take off when I mentioned it. Like how? Same old jive. Like I'm a no good bum. And if I'm such a big shot, I gotta have a car. Why don't I pay some rent? I don't even know. Gee, that car, just a little fixing up. Sure. Well, tonight? I don't want to. You won't even have to climb inside. Just stay outside and watch. Ernie, think of all that dough. Through the side streets and into the dark of the night. Whitey led and Ernie followed. Ernie didn't know where he was going, but he knew his legs hurt. His throat was dry and his heart was a big pounding, aching thing inside of him. They climbed a rail fence and started to cross the field. Ernie tripped and fell face down on glass. Ernie, give me a minute. Come on. Over smell good. We gotta run. You shot him. You shot old goofy. No, you didn't. I didn't mean to shoot him. You didn't tell me he had a gun. Where'd you get the gun? Well, let's go. Oh, where are we going? Just follow me. Not really, Whitey. Where are we going? We'll cut across this field and swing around the back way to the freight yard. And then what? And we hop a freight, stupid. We gotta get out of town. I wish we didn't. I wish you hadn't shot goofy. I wish you... Come on, Ernie. We gotta run. I'll see which one looks like it's going to be pulling out. Remember, when I was a little kid, I'd come down here this railroad yard and always I'd get kind of sad. Why? How should I know? It's as lousy with cops. You saw them? In the light of that switch engine, about three. F-figures. What figures? They look for us down here. What do we do? Stay down. Crawl along the ground to that loading platform. We'll hide under that. Whitey. Shut up. If that switch engine with the beam turns this way, lie flat, and don't move. Whitey? Do you suppose they know it's us that they're looking for? Maybe. What do you mean, maybe? I think Goofy recognized this. I maybe told him. You mean, maybe he didn't die? Yeah. Why still? Turns back. Move fast. Head for that platform. I hope he didn't die. Train on that second track. We'll watch, just as it starts to pull out, we'll climb on. I've never been on a train. You'll have to let it get up some speed. I used to think a lot about how I'd like to take a ride on a train. Now, when I tell you, you just follow me. It's the craziest thing. I think about going for a ride on a train. I got a real bang out of thinking about it. About getting a bag packed and saying goodbye to everybody, and how I was going to send postcards, you know, all that stuff. Then it, it's so crazy. When I think about the train pulling out, I get sick. Really sick. You know, Whitey? Huh? I get really sick when I think about the train pulling out. Oh, you're a real square. I think it's about time. I follow you, Whitey, huh? Yeah. And I'm at the 56 car there, you see? Look, never mind. Just follow me, but you got to move fast. What do you mean? I like he's always telling me I'm no good. Like, I'm going to get in trouble. Yes, I got it made. Yeah. Whitey, listen. Huh? The wheels. What about the wheels? Move a sound, they make. Like they're talking. Oh, come on, man. Let's not get spooky. Are you crying? No. You are, too. Knock it off. To the prophecy of Bertha Abbott. To a nice presentation on radio's outstanding theater of thrills. Suspense. Those were an ingenious means of communication, back in the days when America was young. But for up to the minute word about the important developments that occur in our complicated and fast-moving 20th century world, you'll find CBS News a much more reliable source of information. On the job seven days a week, 24 hours a day, the CBS News Room makes every effort to keep you well informed via our regular schedule of news broadcasts and by means of special bulletins whenever a significant story breaks. We bring back to our Hollywood soundstage Richard Crenna and Sam Edwards starring in tonight's production, The Prophecy of Bertha Abbott. A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. You gotta help me slide this door. Now the window gets you. Hang on. You're here someplace. Seems like we've been going forever. Can't you make any better time than that? It's my ankle. I heard it when I jumped off of that train. Do you suppose... Well, I figure it this way. Maybe it won't be so bad. Do you suppose we ought to forget it and we'll just go back? Are you crazy, man? No, really, Whitey. Maybe it won't be so bad. Ernie, I don't dare go back. My old man. You know how he is. Yeah, yeah, that's right. My old man. You know what he's probably doing? What? Crying. Crying? Yeah. He cries lots of times. Why? What should I know? Well, your old man cries. You ought to know why. He's sad, I guess. I never did dig your old man, reading all him books all the time. Yeah, that's it. He's sad, I guess. Gee, it's hot. It's hot. It's cold. All the time, beef... Well, it is hot. I'm thirsty. That's gonna be a town pretty soon. Seems like we've been going forever. That newspaper on the counter. Don't grab it. You can see it from here. I'm going over to the Duke Bucks. Leave the door for the check on the counter and follow me. Keep your head down. Gee, Whitey, down. You got a dime? Here. They got our pictures and everything. Yeah. That's my picture that took for the school book. I wonder if this drink got it back door. Yeah, down at the end of the hall where the washroom is. Let's go, man. Make it easy now that we get around this corner. Let's hurry it up a little. We'll head for that draw we passed on the way in. Stay there, let's dark. What now, Whitey? You know something, Ernie. You get out of this country, you go someplace maybe like South America. You got a little dough, you can live like a king. You know that, Whitey? Oh, that's no jive, man. You got a few bucks, that's all you need. I've been thinking about it. Yeah? Yeah, I've been sitting there thinking about it, about how we go to South America. See, and we fall into something real good like we discover uranium or something. We make a pile and we come back and I got a big car. And I go home and I drive up there in front of my old man and we're like he's all the time saying, oh, I'm no good and I'm never going to make it. Only now I've got this big car and all this loot and I'm a big man, see? Ernie, wouldn't it be the most? Yeah, only we can't go home. Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, well. Whitey, it's almost dark. What now? South America. What? We're going to South America. You're talking crazy. No, no, I'm not. Do you notice that sign on the highway back there? We're almost to San Diego. San Diego, man, they got a harbor there and boats. You know anything about boats, Whitey? Well, not exactly. See? You're talking crazy. I tell you, I'm not. First, we got to pick up a car. You know how to pick up a car, Whitey? Yeah, be easy. You're sure you know what you're talking about? Ernie, you just follow old Dad. This is a neat car. Yeah, we got to dump it pretty soon. It's too conspicuous. Oh, man, she really is a gas, huh? Look at her cut out. Wow! That neat car we saw on Swiger's lot. Yeah. Well, that car, I know just what we could have done to it to fix it up. It wouldn't have taken a lot, just a little work. That was a good car. That's something. Those boats are big, aren't they? Sure. Now, you see how easy it's going to be to hide somewhere on one of those things? Now, look here. This one over here. See where they're loading that stuff up there in front? Just get on. When nobody's looking, climb down in there. You're on your way. I suppose they'd find us. Well, we'll have dosy. If we get caught, we just pay our way and there we are. We got it made. Whitey, where are we going to get this dough? Well, I still got that gun. No, Whitey. Ernie, when you take it easy, it'll be easy. You're sure this is going to work? I never steered you wrong yet, did I? This job would be a breeze. I got it all worked out. You just stay here and keep the motor running. We're ready to take off. Now, you know the way. Like we planned it, yeah. Where are we going to ditch the car? Behind the warehouse on the dock, yeah. In the boat? The Nino Perdido. Yeah. Nino means boy. What does Perdido mean? How should I know? Okay, now. Wait. And Ernie waited. He didn't want to think about why he was there or where he was going, so he tried to fill his mind with other things. Then he remembered that Perdido meant lost. Let's go, man. What? Big as the night was on it. This is Joe Beschke. I'm a seaman on a Nino Perdido, able-bodied, that is. I'm standing gangway watching and I hear this shooting down by the warehouse. Well, I'm like this. I always figure when they're shooting, that's when I'm going to make myself scarce. So I duck down behind this winch and I see this kid come running down a dock. He's running real crazy. You know, zigzagging all over the place like he lost his rudder. And he heads this way, him before I can stop and he's aboard. Well, now, like I say, I wasn't in my station, but anybody could have seen them signs all over the place. Quarantine, danger, keep off. You see, we was due to sail, but we discovered rats and we had a fumigate. Anyway, before I knew what he was up to, we had to cover off that small forward hole and he was down there. Psh, boy. There's enough hydrocyanic acid down there to kill 10 men. It's awful to think about. That kid closed up in there. Died like a rat. Richard Crennus starred in tonight's presentation of the Prophecy of Bertha Abbott. Be sure to listen again next week when we bring you another presentation of Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills. Suspense. Transcribed in Hollywood by Anthony Ellis. You've heard the Prophecy of Bertha Abbott, written by Ann Dowd for Suspense. The music was composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith. Featured in the cast were Stacey Harris, Paula Winslow, George Walsh, Bill James, Jack Prussian, Richard Beals and Peggy Weber. If a prowler entered your home, you'd track him down, wouldn't you? Then why not seek out and eliminate possible sources of accidents in your home? Make frequent checks to see that stairways are uncluttered. Make sure that throw rugs are securely anchored to the floor. Keep matches, medicines and any poisonous household materials well out of the reach of children. See that lamp cords and switches are kept in good repair. Make everyone in your family a private eye for home safety.