 The Blue Beetles. Weeping down upon the underworld to smash ganglin' comes the mysterious, all-powerful character who is a problem to the police but a crusader for law. In reality, Dan Garrett, a rookie patrolman, loved by everyone but suspected by none of being the Blue Beetles. As the Blue Beetles, he hides behind a strange mask and a suit of impenetrable blue chain armor flexible as silk but stronger than steel. Today's transcribed episode of the Fox Feature, the Blue Beetle, is entitled The Whale of Pirates Polly. As our story opens today, patrolman Dan Garrett, who is really the Blue Beetle, is in Dr. Franz' little apothecary shop for an early morning call on his way to report at police headquarters. He is just about to leave. Well, Doc, I'll be getting along. Ah, Danny, I see you were in your civilian clothes. Left me uniform over at Sammy's place to be pressed. Anything special doing at headquarters? No, no, just routine duty. Good morning, gentlemen. Could I interest you in some very fine perfumes? Imported they are. Whom do you represent? For myself, I'm selling them. I buy perfumes only from recognized jobbers. Yeah, and pay double the price. All imported perfumes carry import duty, which adds to the cost, of course. Not my perfumes, mister. Duty is for saps to pay. Where do you get your perfumes? Well, that's a secret, mister. Maybe for your girl you'd like a bottle, huh? What sense have you? All the famous names, mister. Midnight Rose, Love's Ambrosia, Passion Flower, Here's the Viniscence, I got them all. Let me smell them. Sure, sure, mister. Here. Sweet, ain't it? Yes. It seems to be the real thing, all right. What do you charge for Midnight Rose? $2 an ounce. But, of course, if you buy in large quantities, it's cheaper. Oh, then you have a large source of supply? Oh, sure. All you want, mister. Then it's smuggled into the country. Shh, mister. Hey, the cops might hear you. Of course it's smuggled in from the West Indies. Why don't you buy an ounce, Doc, and make a test? Huh? Huh? Oh, yes, yes, yes. If I found it the real thing, I might be interested in doing a little business with you. Sure, Doc. Here, I'll give it to you out of this big bottle just to prove everything's on the open up. Yes, yes, of course. We want everything on the up and up, as you say. Here, pour it into this. Okay. There you are, Doc. And here, here's your money. That completes the transaction. Thanks, Doc. Well, how about you, mister? You must have a million sweethearts, a handsome fellow like you. Thanks, but I can't buy any today. Some other time I may run across you. Okay. Thanks again, Doc. I'll be in to see you later. Remember, I can get you any brand you want. No duty, understand? Yes, yes, I understand. Perfectly. And if you want imported liquor or wines, I can get them for you too at reasonable prices. Quick, Doc, phone headquarters, and I'll be down later. Tell them I'm on the trail of a smuggling racket. I want to keep my eye on that peddler. His perfume smells swell, but his racket doesn't. Now, look, Van Schmidt, you imported perfumes from Holland, but now you can't get chipmints through, right? Yeah, that's right. So, in order to make yourself some money, you're going to handle the goods we smuggle in from the West Indies. Oh, but that is dangerous. None of its handle right. Now, look, you have a large supply of perfume and liquor on hand, on which you pay duty, right? Yeah, yeah, that's right. Too much. Okay. Now, here's the way we handle this business. I'll set up a lot of small sales agencies to market the stuff through small peddlers. Yeah. You'll go on selling to your regular customers in the regular way at regular prices, including the duty you've paid legitimately. Yeah, but how can I... Wait a minute until I get through. Now, every so often, the government will check on the amount you've sold. Yeah, they do that. Okay. But what they won't know is how much smuggle goods we ship into your warehouse and how much my sales organization takes out of your warehouse. Yeah, but, uh, but, uh, suppose maybe they catch one of your boats bringing in a load to my dock from there? No, they won't. We don't land our stuff in a regular way. But where and how? That's my secret, Hans. But why not ship direct to your sales organization? It might be traced back to the real source. This way, only you and I will know how much of the smuggle goods go through your warehouse. But, uh, what do I get for the risk and the use of my name? A cut on every bottle, every ounce that's sold, and that'll be plenty at our prices. Okay. When do we start? I've got a load hidden up the coast at peace. I'll bring some down tonight. Very good. One minute. Yeah. Come in. Mr. Van Schmidt? Uh, that's right. Uh, are you busy? Well, I have not. That's all right. I was just going. I'll see you tonight, Van Schmidt. No, you are. Uh, that's all right. Tonight you come. Yes, sir. Uh, well, uh, you know, young men, you wish to speak with me? Yes, I, uh, see, I was in a store when one of your perfume salesmen came in. He offered me some perfume at a reduced price, but I didn't have the money at the time, so I couldn't buy any from him. But I borrowed some money later, and, well, you see, I have a date with my girl, and I thought... Well, now, how do you know he was one of my salesmen? Uh, besides, we don't sell retail. Oh. What makes you think he was one of my salesmen? Well, uh, one of the brands he carried, I understood, was imported exclusively by you. Well, I am sorry. You will have to buy it from the stores in the regular way. We do not sell retail. Uh, good day, sir. Oh, I'm sorry too, sir. My mistake. Good day, sir. Well, Danny, I see you're in your blue beetle chain armor and mask. Where is the blue beetle headed for tonight? The warehouse of Hange Van Schmitt. You got a clue to the smugglers? I think so. There was a man talking with Van Schmitt, as I entered his office today. He said something about seeing Van Schmitt tonight. Do you think he is one of the smugglers? I don't know. But I want to be there when he visits Van Schmitt. I always thought Van Schmitt was anonymous Dutch importer. I buy perfume from him frequently. Well, I'm convinced he's mixed up in this somehow. And tonight I hope to solve the mystery. Oh, by the way, here's an interesting item in the newspaper. Sort of a mystery too. What is it? This item here. See. Large whale, sighted off sandy beach light. Several fishermen reported seeing a large fish, probably a whale, just at dusk today as they were hauling in their nets. According to their story, the whale seemed to be feeding on garbage, thrown overboard from the southern star, which was entering a port from its west Indies cruise. Now, that's queer. What's queer about it? Whales don't eat garbage or refuse. That's true. I've got a hunch that wasn't a whale. Then what was it? That's a question the blue beetle will answer after tonight. I think the answer to our smuggling question may be in the stomach of that whale. Is that you, Rangan? Yes. I got Frenchie and the Viper with me. Open up. Very good. I got the stuff here. Okay, Frenchie. You and the Viper unload. Okay. Stop, boss. Look out for that loading net over the door. It's heavy. It'll not get cold if it falls on you. All right, boss. You know why I fixed that up there? Sure, boss. If somebody comes in, we cut your rope and the net falls on him. That's right. Keep your eyes peeled. Sure, boss. We got you. Where do you want this load put, Benjamin? Put it back up those cases there. We sell this stuff in front first. Okay. Put those cases and glass bottles back there, boys. Don't break any. That's expensive stuff. Sure. Okay, boss. Okay. Come on, backup. We take the spelling stuff out. We'll need more room soon. I've got another shipment coming in tomorrow on a trawler. Well, how was you expecting to bring that in? I don't expect to. Not on a trawler. Yeah, but you... I mean her out of sight of land. But you're bold. The Coast Guard may see it going out. Not this boat. This is something special. The Coast Guard will never get wise to the... It's the blue people. It's the blue people, and he's going to nip a band of smugglers. Oh, no, he's not. I'm gonna... No, no, no. Don't shoot. The police will come. Well, come anyhow, Hans van Schmit. They'll put you in jail with these smugglers here. Oh, no. I am a respectable importer. These men here have tempted me with gold. They are bad men. Stop squawking, van Schmit. You're in this as much as we are. Frenchie. Yes, boss, I know. Don't move any of you, or I'll burn you with my magic ray. All right, Blue Beetle, how much money to keep your mouth shut? Not a cent. You can't buy the Blue Beetle. As long as there's a crooked liberty, the Blue Beetle will... Frenchie! Good work, Frenchie. Knocked him cold, all right? Is he dead? No, not yet. What are you going to do with him? Keep your eyes open and you'll see. Hey, Frenchie. Yes? Open that door there on the water side. Okay, boss. All right, Viper. You and Frenchie, give me a hand here. Here. We'll drag Mr. Blue Beetle over to the edge and drop him in. Yeah, but that will be murder. No. Just exterminating a pest. The Blue Beetle. All right, boys. Over it goes. Mr. Blue Beetle, get out of that if you can. What a terrible fate for the Blue Beetle. Will he be able to extricate himself from the net before he drowns? Or will the Blue Beetle's crusade against crime end here? These questions will be answered in the next transcribed episode of the Blue Beetle. The Blue Beetle is a copyrighted box feature appearing in Mystery Men Comics magazine and the Blue Beetle magazine. The Blue Beetle is on the air twice a week on this same station. Consult the broadcast schedule in your local newspapers. 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