 Read about your favorite NBC entertainers. Yes, in the November NBC Silver Jubilee issue of Radio TV Mirror Magazine, you can enjoy reading about such NBC stars as Fibre McGee and Malay, Bob Hope, and Groucho Marx. The national broadcasting company presents Joel McRae in Tales of the Texas Rangers. From Hollywood, another authentic re-enactment of a case transcribed from the files of the Texas Rangers. 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. These 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 White Elephant. January 16, 1950. The time, 6.28 p.m. A freight train just outside of a West Texas town gained speed and rolls through the gathering dusk. Inside a gondola car, a hobo crouches in the corner as the breakman comes toward him. Oh, this is where you get off. No, listen, pal, just let me get to the next town. I just... I said, this is where you get off. But we're moving. Yeah, you get on where we was moving, you can get off. Now come on around just the top of your head. Listen, don't, don't, don't do it, I tell you. At 2.55 a.m. of the morning following the freight train incident, a rancher named Banker noticed a small coupé parked on the shoulder of the road. It bore Oklahoma license plates. Banker turned his spotlight on the car, saw a man slump down on the driver's seat. A half hour later, Sheriff Caldwell, notified by Banker, began investigation of the murder and called in the Texas Rangers. Ranger Jase Pearson was assigned to the case. And a few hours later, Pearson, Banker, and Sheriff Caldwell stood at the scene. Pearson listened to Banker. It was just about 3 this morning when I saw it, Ranger. How come you were driving along this road that late? I've been to a rancher's meeting in Almiras. I was going to spend the night there and change my mind. Did you take this road when you left for Almiras? Yes, sir. What time? Yesterday morning, about 7.730. And then this car came here sometime between 7.30 yesterday morning and 3 this morning. I guess so. You never saw the dead man before, huh? It was the first time I laid eyes on him. All right, Mr. Banker, you can go. Hey, if you need me, I'll be home. No identification on the body at all, huh, Sheriff? Nothing in the pockets. Pick clean as a whistle. Anybody else been around the car? Nope, Deputy kept his eyes on it. The car is facing west, going west when it was stopped. Tire tracks on the shoulder tell that. Blood on the seat. Yep, 38 bullet on it. 38. Might be a police special. Banker got one? Banker, but... Yeah, just asking. For now. You see I... You see something? Look here, Sheriff, huh? Set of tracks leading up to the car. Ordinary shoes, not boots. Heal marks are too broad for boots. Yeah, looks like it. Look at this one. Soul print with a hole in it. Now look, the prints lead from that way, north, up to the car. A little scuffle. Then the prints turn back north. In other words, Sheriff, somebody walked up to the car, stood there, then turned and went back north. Oh, and here's something else. A grease. Looks like grease. Smeared on the car door, same side footprints are on. Grease might be from the car. Looks too stiff and heavy for that. What about it coming from a freight train, Jace? Why? Well, there's tracks about a mile north of here. Freights use a siden to pull on when passengers got a pass. Maybe it all ties in, Sheriff. A shoe with a hole in it, grease, freight siden. Yeah, might be worth going after. Where do we start? Here at the car first. I'm gonna check it over inch by inch. Meantime you get hold of a freight schedule. I'll meet you at your office. Check the car inside now. I found a few things that were interesting and a little puzzling. I sent a sample of grease to the laboratory for analysis and took plastic casts of the footprints. Then went on to Sheriff Caldwell's office. He had the information I'd requested. Here it is, Jace. Schedule of freight went through yesterday. How many? Three of them. You can check those, all right. Of course we might be sending the dogs up the wrong tree. Looks like a hobo to me. Yeah. Let me see the dead man's fingerprints. Sure, here you are. These match with some of the prints in the car, see? Closed delta. Here you are. How about those others you got? Pick these up on the door that had the grease on it. Smeared all over. A couple clear enough to use, only... Only what, Jace? You know, there wasn't a single print on the steering wheel. Seems like the dead man's prints ought to be on it. Gloves? I didn't find any gloves on him nor in the car. Yeah. Oh, by the way, I got a call out if any hobo picked up a scene on those trains. Good. Now, I found these tucked under the sun visor in front of the driver's seat. Gas lean receipts made out to Carl Thompson. Oh, that'll save a lot of checking. I'm looking forward to the dead man's prints, anyway. That steering wheel bothers me. Excuse me, Jace. Sheriff Caldwell. Oh, yeah. Good. Hold him. We'll be there as soon as we can make it. Something else, Jace? Brakeman on one of those freight we've been checking has a story. Some hobo slugged him and jumped. Okay. Let's go. Some had spot the hobo jumped off the freight. Sheriff Caldwell and I picked up the trail and followed it by horse. We hoped to apprehend the suspect before he could reach a town and lose himself and us. After six hours, we stopped. What's the matter, Jace? Tracks are different. Come here and take a look. Different? Yeah, look. Right prints a little deeper. Favoring is left a little. Hurt himself, huh? Must have twisted his leg when he took the jump off the freight. Kept getting worse. Sat down here, smoked a cigarette. Here's the butt. He ain't gonna make such a good time with a bum leg. We've been traveling at a steady trot. Uh-huh. Okay. Let's get going. The trail showed increased favoring of his left leg. His progress became slower. More and more often he stopped to rest and the trail became fresher and fresher. Evidence in a deserted shack showed suspect had rested there for quite a while. We picked up the trail again. We're getting close, Sheriff. How do you know? Notice something just now. Take a look at these prints. Those are the ones we've been following. Not quite. He's not that. I'm talking about this ant hill he crushed. What about it? Quite a few of the prints had ant hills in them. Crushed and rebuilt. Ants start working on a new hill when the old ones have been trapped down. This one's so fresh they haven't had time to rebuild. Hey, that's right. He can't be far off. We better leave the horses tied up here, Sheriff, and start moving on foot. At 15 that evening we found the man we were hunting. He was asleep. He was in trouble and he denied anything and everything about the crime. We took him back and I kept questioning him, but he stuck to his story. I never was there. I didn't do it. Ever owned a gun? 38 police special? I told you a hundred times. I never owned no kind of gun. Why don't you take all that skin off your arm? I don't know. Fair or maybe. You got that while you were running away. When you jumped off the freight, after you slugged the breakman. No, no. Grease on your jacket. How did it get there? Maybe, maybe off in the freight. I've never seen before. It's a truth. Hold up your right foot. Hold it up. Hold on the right shoe. Here's a plaster cast. Cast at the print of the scene of the murder. Take a good look. But I wasn't there, I tell you. Ever hear of fingerprints? Here are yours. And here's a set found at the crime. They match. You still say you weren't there? I didn't kill nobody. Let me see your hands. I don't know. Maybe a couple of days ago. You know we can tell if you fired a gun. I never had no gun. Did you rob the man in the car? No, no. Look at me. You were there, weren't you? We can prove it. All right. All right, it was there. But I didn't kill him. Why'd you lie? Well, I was scared. If you're innocent, you don't have to be scared. I got a couple of wraps, bag wraps. That all? Sure. We can check that too. All right. I got a couple of wraps, pinching stuff. Nothing big. Now, look. Tell me exactly what you did. Well, coming off afraid, I was walking across when I seen the car. I figured it was funny, something funny. Why? Well, car parked like that. Then I walked over, seen the fella in there. He was dead. I beat it. Hopped afraid. That all? You know what else? Hopped now. Did you get in the car at all? No, sir. No, sir. Did you touch the body or take anything from it? I swear. I didn't. Did you touch the steering wheel and then wipe it off? Wipe it? Wipe it? No, no. What's wrong? Look, I'll tell you. Jay? Yeah, Sharon. Come here, will you? Sure. You stay put. I got no place to go. Here's all the dope on the murdered man, Thompson. Come in just now. Carl Thompson, resident Tulsa, Oklahoma, traveling salesman for Prince Extract Company. Dischecked? Double. Telly's with a gasoline receipt. What about him? The hobo? Yeah. I think the only crime he committed was failure to report what he saw. His fingerprints were all over the outside of the one door of that car and none inside. Seems to me if he thought of cleaning up the inside, he'd have done the same outside. Yeah, looks like it. We were given the paraffin test anyway and see if he's fired a gun lately. And if he didn't? Start all over. And start with that clean steering wheel. In just a moment, we will continue with tales of the Texas Rangers starring Joe McCrae as Ranger Jase Pearson. It's the Silver Jubilee on NBC. This evening, be sure to hear Douglas Fairbanks in The Silent Men based on the authentic adventures of your government security agents. Monday, Herbert Marshall assumes the mysterious identity of the man called X. Tuesday night here, big town with another hard hitting adventure by Steve Wilson of The Illustrated Press. Yes, there's always pulse quickening action on big town. Tonight, hear The Silent Men. Monday, it's the man called X. We continue now with tales of the Texas Rangers and tonight's case The White Elephant, an authentic story from the files of the Texas Rangers. The result of the paraffin test was negative, but we held the hobo pending further investigation. I reported back to my captain, Stinson in the headquarters. I told him I was pretty sure that the hobo's story checked out. Yeah, it looks like it. But somebody killed Thompson. Killed him and then drove him in his own car to where that rancher spotted it. There wasn't anything on Thompson, huh? No money, no papers, only these. Gasoline charge account receipts. Somebody went to an awful lot of trouble to clean him, but they overlooked these. On top, this looks like a plain case of murder with robbery as the motive, but if that was it, we'd have all the risk of being spotted in a car with Oklahoma plates. Why not just kill him and leave him? I don't know, Jase. What's your thinking? Well, Thompson was a traveling salesman, traveled a lot in a few days. Now, suppose the killer realized that with Thompson far enough away from the scene of the crime, we'd have a pretty tough time finding out just where the murder was committed. Yeah, that could be. But why? Well, maybe the killer couldn't leave the spot. So he did the next best thing. Maybe he could get his body away. And maybe it wasn't just robbery. Or what else? I don't know yet, but I got some more checking to do. It'll take maybe a couple of hours, and then I might have some answers. He's on the nose, Jase. You get anything new? It's more dope on Thompson, Captain. He never carried much money, never was known to have picked up a hitchhiker. And I got a pretty good idea of where he was killed. Yeah? How? Well, this one, for example, dated the 15th day before he was killed, made out in Bannon. He got 16 gallons of gas there. Or did you ever think somebody else might have been using his credit card? Yeah, but Thompson traveled that route pretty often. Chances are he was well known at the service stations. Yeah, that's right. Okay, go on. I ran a mileage test on his car. He got about 17 miles a gallon. Now, his tank holds 16. Just about enough gas was used to get him from Bannon to where his body was found. But he could have been killed anywhere between Bannon and where he was found dead. Sure, I know that. But it still looks like my next stop is Bannon. Whatever she'll take. Ah, sure thing. A couple of years. You work alone? The night, yeah. Take a look at this, will you? One of my receipts. Credit card, sir. You know this Carl Thompson? Oh, four or five months. When'd you see Thompson last? The evening he bought that gas. Why, anything wrong, Ranger? Was Thompson alone that evening? Uh, yeah. I never remember him ever having anybody alone. What else do you remember about that evening? Oh, one of the worst sleet storms we ever had. He'll be tough for him to drive then, huh? Oh, sure. Hey, he was asking about some place to stay. He never stayed in Bannon before? I don't know. He told him to try the hotel. He said it was full up. He said the motels were jam-packed. He knows where he went. He said he was going to try and find a place along the highway. Why, anything wrong? Plenty. Here's for the gas. I might come back and ask you some more questions. Thanks. I began a check of every possible place Thompson might have stayed that night. But I drew one blank after another. Then I got a lead at a motel on the outskirts of Bannon. That sleet was an inch thick. We was full up here, but I sent him to a place down the highway, the Star Motel, been closed and up for sale for quite a spell, but I heard it was opened up again. I went to the Star Motel. It was closed tight. Every cabin was locked, the windows boarded. There wasn't a soul around. I was just about to leave when I noticed something. The electricity must have been on somewhere in the place, because the little wheel under the dials of the meter was spinning. It was enough to send me back into town to ask a few more questions. Let me see, Ranger. Star Motel. Yes, sir. Here's what we want right here. Uh-huh. Are these all the electricity bills? Yes, sir. Let me see. Up to three months ago, the bills were just for meter installation. Minimum service charge. That's right, Ranger. For the last three months, 475, 389, 560. Kind of funny, isn't it? A place is closed, but for the last three months, the bills have averaged over $4 a month. Didn't that seem peculiar to you? Well, Ranger, we just sure. Sure, I know. Now can you give me the name of the person to whom these bills were sent? Get it for you right away. Why, yes, Ranger, Mr. Calsons here. I believe he's on the phone right now, but if you come in... You, Mrs. Calsons? Yes. I hope I'm not bothering you any, Mrs. Calsons. Not at all, Ranger. My husband's here. Tell you what, I'll come out a little later. I'll bring the client with me. Sure. Thanks for calling. Goodbye. Andy, this is Ranger Pearson. Oh, hello. Sorry to barge in like this, Mr. Calsons, but I've got a few questions. Questions? Sure, what about? A white elephant. White elephant? I haven't tried to get rid of it for two years. Why? Well, like Basie said, it ain't been worth the hoot since the new highway went in two years ago. We have the traffic that used to pass it. It hasn't been used for two years. Well, I guess I didn't mean exactly... What did you mean? I tried to keep it going for a year after the highway went through, but couldn't rent enough rooms. It wasn't worth trying to save. Do you have any ideas to it? Keys? Sure. Is something wrong, Ranger? Might be, ma'am. Can you take me through the motel, Mr. Calsons? Any time. Right now, suit you. Couldn't be better. Let's go. Ain't been out here for close on three or four weeks. Did you go through the cabins then? Oh, just take a look. See, kids sometimes fool around. That's why I boarded up the windows. Want to take a look in the office? Yeah. Go ahead, Mr. Calsons. Yeah. You have this floor washed lately? Oh, heck no. Ain't no use paying for something like that. It's been washed recently. Huh? But why? How do you know? Scrubbin' wood with hot water always raises the grain. And hot water isn't as good as cold to wash out blood stains. Blood? Blood? Reach! Come on, Ranger. My guess is a couple of men I want from murder, Mr. Calsons. Murder? What's that guy? Me, boy. I never carry a gun. Well, we just make sure. Yeah, he's clean. All right, now strip the Ranger's gun, Belk. Wait a minute. You've got the drop on me. Maybe I'd have to be a fool to draw. But if you don't want me to be a fool, don't touch these guns. You try and take them off me, and I'll go down and use them. And I might get lucky. All right, Locke. Let him alone. Get that little truck out and start loading our stuff fast. Well, what about them? We can lock them in, fix their car so they can't get out of here for a while after we leave. If they try to come out while we're still here, we'll blast whatever door or window they try to come through. Get that, Ranger. I get it. Okay, I'll be outside, Chuck. So your name's Chuck, huh? Good as any. What are you and that other fellow doing in my place? Go ahead, Chuck. Tell him. Some other time, friend. Now you two listen. Because I ain't going to say this twice. Try to bust out before you hear us drive off and you'll get it good. Now stay put. The gut is locked in. Yeah. Look, don't go near that window. You heard what he said. It'll crack in the boarding. I'm just taking a look. What are they doing? Come here and take a look for yourself. I'm sure they've watched the place more. I never knew anyone who's used it. Look what they're taking out. Birds. All kinds of stuff. Let's begin it to make sense. Closed-down motel made a nice storage bin for stolen and smuggled goods till they could run it to the markets. They'll get away. You said there was a murder. Take it easy, Mr. Carlson. We'll get them. They'll be across the border in a half an hour before we could even reach the phone. Maybe you better take a chance and get shot down in cold blood. No, but we'll get them all right. Know why, Mr. Carlson? Why me? Because you helped. Mr. Carlson with a quick headlock and then got one arm behind him and applied pressure so I could keep him still while I had a free hand. I reached into his jacket and found what I was looking for under his shoulder. Then I pushed him. You crazy. He almost broke my arm. Shut up, Carlson. Don't you think I saw this gun bulging under your coat? And they deliberately missed it when they frisked you? You played it real smart, almost. This gun and electric bills. You paid them. Paid bills that were being run up in a place that was supposed to be shut down. It seemed kind of funny. You never complained to the power company. So what? Where are you going? So you got a phone call from your friends out there. They tipped you because they saw me nose and around here earlier, right? No. Okay, take a look out there. They're almost finished. In a couple of minutes, they'll be gone. In half an hour, they'll be over the border. How about you? You want to stick back here and face a murder charge? We can prove, Carlson. And you're holding the bag. We'll have a tough time explaining those electric bills and them missing your gun. I didn't kill that man. Did this chuck do it? Yeah, yeah. That salesman came in. Show was going on. Chuck killed him. Then drove him away. All right. Now listen real careful to me. I'm going to fire this gun at yours. Then you hammer on the door and holler for him. Get it? What do you want to do then? Just listen. When they come up, tell them you had to kill me. They've been out of the way fast. They'll be gone in a minute. Make up your mind. All right. Go ahead. I'll do it. Any funny tricks and you get it first. Now, ready? Turn that door and holler. Now, when it's open, step back. Open the door. I had to kill him. He was making a break for it. Hey, what's the bigger idea? We'll come back for him later, Carlson. Meantime, let you and me get back to town. I got you a deal for this. White elephant motel. You can trade it for a jail cell. Andrew Carlson was convicted for his part in the murder. His sentence, life imprisonment. And as the star of our show, Joel McCrae. Almost a year ago, a faithful listener wrote to us and said she'd heard of an official Texas Ranger prayer and inquired if such a prayer actually existed. We assured her it did. And in response to her letter, we read the Texas Ranger's prayer over the air. Folks, I wish you could have seen the hundreds of letters we received after that broadcast. Since that first reading of the Texas Ranger prayer, there's hardly a week goes by that we haven't had a request to repeat it. And we're mighty pleased to read it for you again tonight, because we know now how many of you, like the men it was written for, realize the importance of a power that we provide ourselves to whom we may turn. The Texas Ranger prayer by Captain Pierre Bernard Hill, Chaplain of the Texas Rangers. Oh God, whose end is justice. Whose strength is all our stay. Be near and bless my mission as I go forth today. Let wisdom guide my actions. Let courage fill my heart. And help me, Lord, every hour to do a ranger's part. Protect when danger threatens. Sustain when trails are rough. Help me to keep my standard high and smile at each rebuff. When night comes down upon me, I pray thee, Lord, benign. Whether on lonely scout, or camped under the Texas sky. Keep me, oh God, in life. Every day shall end. Forgive my sins and take me in. For Jesus' sake. Amen. Good night, folks. Good night. It's the Silver Jubilee on NBC. Today, the big show presents stage and screen stars, James and Pamela Mason, Jimmy Durante, Dorothy Sarnoff, Jack Carson, The Inkspots, and all the other great actors. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.