 The Linux show starring Nick Carter, master detective, presented by ACME, America's great producer of fine quality paints. This is the story of a man known the world over, as one of the most daring and resourceful characters in the history of detective fiction. A man whose name has become a symbol of the triumph of right and justice over the sinister forces of crime and lawlessness. A man recognized as one of the great masters of deduction. Nick Carter, master detective. Today's exciting case, the make-believe murder. Another exciting chapter dramatized from the life story of Nick Carter. In just a moment, we'll hear how Nick Carter was initiated into one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, and how his initiation turned out to be not one murder, but two. These are busy days, and no one is any busier than a lady who keeps house. It seems as if you know sooner get one job done than another pops up. 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Ah, to the left, about eight feet, eight inches. I'll try again. Left again, nine feet, two inches. Nine feet exactly that time. Nick, hey Nick. Yes, Patsy? Cease firing. I want to come in. Come ahead, I've just about finished. I've got to close up shop, but today Nick, you'll be late. Patsy, I've won my bet with Sergeant Matheson. What bet? I bet him a dollar the Austrian Mauser wouldn't eject a cartridge more than 10 feet. I've just fired 50 rounds and not one cartridge is more than nine and a half feet from the gun. I win a dollar and Jansen is cleared of the motor charge, which proves that he couldn't done it. Personally, I think... I was waiting for you to notice. Evening, Ghana. Well, Miss Bowen, you look most charming. You really think so, Nick? May I ask where you're going tonight? Out. With you. With me? Please, hurry. Nick will be late. Late for what? Don't tell me you've forgotten. And you were so anxious to go and let it came. Honestly, Nick, sometimes I believe you're not human. Now hurry and get into your dinner clothes. I'll explain on the way over. Patsy, where are we going? To a murder. Right. You can stop kidding me now. I've remembered Patsy. I was so wrapped up in that ballistics work, it slipped my mind. You sure? I'll recite it like a lesson. I've been invited to join the famous alphabet club, the most exclusive gathering of eminent talents in the country. Right? Right. Incidentally, why is it called the alphabet club, Nick? Because the first letters are the names of the charter members of the first four letters of the alphabet. Arnold Archer. The financier. Nelson Burns, the architect. Walter Crane, the boy wonder engineer. And George Dennis, the attorney. Oh. Oh, Mr. Adley. They're not only charter members. They're the initiating committee, too. They're the ones who are going to put me through the ropes before the rest of the club arrive for dinner. That initiation's done. It's a cute idea. Yes. The fact rather tickles me. Staging a make-believe murder. They swear I'll never be able to break it. Challenging the mastermind, eh? That's the club over there. You can park in front. Right on. We're just about on time. Oh, please, hurry, Nick. I saw Burns the other day. He swore they'd cooked up a beauty. You know, I'm really intrigued. Mr. Bohen and Mr. Carter. Oh, yes. Good evening, madam. Good evening, sir. Welcome to the alphabet club. Thank you. The members are waiting in the lounge room. Will you follow me, please? Could I join too, Nick? No, Patsy. They don't admit women. But they asked me to bring you along because they said they knew I worked with you in my cases. Mmm. Pretty swank place, isn't it, Nick? I wonder how much the club dues are. Right here, sir. Just one moment, please. Gentlemen, Mr. Carter and Mr. Bohen. Oh, for the love of... Gentlemen, gentlemen, open the door, please. Mr. Archer, Mr. Burns, please open. Mr. Crane, Mr. Dennis. The house of dead murder awaits Nick Carter. Golly, it's pitch dark. Watch your step, Patsy. Don't trip on any dead bodies. What's that noise I hear? Sounds like we're in a toy shop. Let's close the door, Miss Bohen. Lights, please. Let's have some light, Walter. That said, here we are. Oh, golly. Who's that lying on the floor? I assume it's Santa Claus. All right, you are. The name of this mystery is Who Killed Santa Claus? And if Mr. Carter and Miss Bohen want any dinner, they'd better find out who done it and quick. Very well, gentlemen. I shall begin with the taking of the evidence. My name is Arnold Archer. I love Santa Claus, but today I hate him. Why? Because he brought me this cap pistol, and I really wanted a horn. My name is Nelson Burns, and this horn is a sad disappointment to me. I hate Santa Claus. I really wanted the sword he gave Walter Crane, and I wanted the cap pistol he gave Archer. Who's Santa Claus? Oh, that's George Dennis. He'll say hello after Mr. Carter finds out who done it. Well, gentlemen, I see you all have a good and sufficient motive for killing Santa Claus. I must now examine our make-believe corpse to discover the method of this brutal, foul, and illegal make-believe murder. Am I... Fatsy. Nick, what is it? Get on the phone. Call Maddie. Get the homicide squad up here fast. Mr. Carter... I'm not joking, Mr. Archer. You'd better call the other members and cancel the dinner. Your make-believe murder has turned real. Dennis has been shocked to death. Oh, just a minute. I want to get you guys straight. Who's the corpse, Nick? George Dennis, the lawyer. You remember him, Maddie? He was retained as an expert in the Wilner case. Yeah, I got that. Now, which one is Arnold Archer? I am the Finnenseer, our Sergeant. Believe me, Sergeant Matheson, this must be some kind of ghastly mistake. Well, none of us would want to kill Dennis. We were his friends, Sergeant. Of course. We couldn't have any reason to kill him. Oh, you're Burns, huh? Nelson Burns. Yes. And the gentleman over there is Walter Crane. I think this isn't pretty bad taste, Carter, and I don't like it. Dennis was killed actually. There's no doubt of it. It's pretty cheap to try and turn this into a murder case for the sake of notoriety. Now, listen, my son. Wait me. Mr. Crane, you're positive this was an accident. Why? Well, isn't it obvious? The four of us were alone in this room when the stew had knocked on the door. Dennis lay down on the floor. I put out the lights, and Nelson Burns fired off the blanks. Yes. Well, evidently, a round of live ammunition must have gotten mixed up with the blanks. No, no. That's not true. I swear it. Mr. Burns is right. I checked the gun. There are four rimmed fire blank shells in the chambers. Only four? I see Patsy understands what I mean. Doesn't anyone else? What is this, Nick? When Patsy and I were outside, we heard five shots. Five? Meaning that a fifth shot was fired along with those four blanks. Meaning that one of you three gentlemen took advantage of the make-believe murder to murder George Dennis. Ah, no. Quiet, gentlemen. Please. None of you to leave this room. Maddie, get your squad in here. Search these men. Then take this place apart if you have to. I want to find the gun that killed Dennis. Okay, Nick. The murderer wants to save us the trouble he can talk now. You leave me, gentlemen. This won't be any make-believe search. Nobody have anything to say? All right, Maddie. Get going. Right. Got anything to offer, Sergeant? Well, let's hear what you've got first. Well, Archer's the famous financier. Worth over a million. Wouldn't kill for money. Yeltsinburn, same status. Plenty of money. Ditto for Walter Crane. All four men were pretty close friends at college, known each other for years. Apparently, they're still friends. Now, that might not be true. People grow apart sometimes. On the other hand, all three are pretty ruthless kind of men. I imagine you have to be tough to make the success they have. And you have to have a certain amount of cold courage to pull off a murder the way this one has been handled. Now, how about the gun? There ain't no gun. What? You heard me, Patsy. There ain't no gun. Nick, we took them guys apart and put them together. Again. We took the room apart. There ain't but one gun in the place. The one that fired the blanks. But that's impossible. You're telling me? Nick, we opened every book. We even took the toys apart. No soap. And the gun couldn't have been thrown out the window because there ain't no window. Look, it's getting pretty late, Nick, and they're getting kind of sore in there. Do you want me to hold them? I'll tell you what, Mary. There are bedrooms upstairs. They can all go upstairs if they want and try and get some sleep, but they're not to leave the club. Right. And I want a ballistics report on the bullet that killed Dennis as soon as possible. Right. If you want me, I'll be in the kitchen. Yeah. What doing? Getting something to eat and pumping the steward. I'm hungry for food and facts. Now, this is a man that can cook after my own heart. Thank you, sir. Mm, me too. I'll take lessons from you any day. Thank you, ma'am. Too bad a dinner like this had to be wasted. Oh, it's not the dinner I mine, sir. It's the fact that you're joining the club was so, so... Inauspicious. The very word, sir. You think they'll take me in anyway, despite what happened tonight? Well, of course, sir. I'm sure the gentlemen are still anxious to have the famous Nick Carter as a member. Even what it means, the famous Nick Carter has become merely an infamous detective accusing the members of murder. I'm sure it was an accident, sir. You think a live shell might have gotten mixed up with the blanks? Yes, sir. I see. Steward, do you know who loaded the gun? It was Mr. Crane, sir. The engineer? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Crane always plans our little festivities, sir. He planned the entire initiation tonight. Talking about it all week, he was, sir. I used to see him late at night, thinking it over in the lounge, chuckling to himself. Was it his gun? Yes, sir. I see. Well, thanks very much, Steward. Both for the excellent food and for the information. Especially the food. Come on, Betsy. Mm-hmm. I think I'd like to go upstairs and have a few words with Crane. Nick, do you think Crane... No, no, Betsy. Certainly, he's a likely prospect. I didn't like the way he kept insisting. It was an accident. What I don't like is the fact that Walter Crane engineered gentlemen with a calculating and mechanical frame of mind gentlemen who loaded the gun himself. Failed to notice, an extra shot was fired. Nick! That's no initiation. Come on, upstairs quick. Hey, Nick, you hear that? Come from upstairs, Maddie. Come quick. Sounded like Crane to me. Nick, this might be a trap to get us up here. Hey, wait a minute. This is Crane's room right here. Glory be. It's Crane all right. Dead on the floor. With a toy sword in his heart. Who's the man who turned make-believe murder into reality and then covered it up by second murder with a make-believe sword? How will Nick break this strange case? We'll see in just a moment. Most folks remember what a long, tiresome job it used to be to keep floors and linoleum spick and span. But now, Linux Self-Polishing Wax, the modern shortcut to beautiful floors has cut that job to a minimum. For Linux Self-Polishing Wax, made from a new formula developed by leading chemist to give you the finest, is designed to save you work, to give your floors and linoleum amazing new beauty, new protection, new skid resistance. For one thing, Linux Self-Polishing Wax takes only a jiffy to wipe on and dries without tiresome rubbing to a handsome, satiny luster. For another, because Linux Self-Polishing Wax contains the greatest possible amount of genuine carnauba wax, the finish lasts longer. What's more, the underwriters' laboratories have proved by actual test that any hardwood, linoleum, or rubber tile floor is less slippery after Linux Self-Polishing Wax has been applied. No wonder it's called the anti-skid floor finish. And it always gives that satiny look that only real wax can give. So it's just common sense to depend on Linux Self-Polishing Wax, the new way to perfect floor care. Enjoy greater leisure, greater convenience, greater beauty in your home with Linux Self-Polishing Wax, available at your hardware, paint, or department store. Ask your dealer now for all three great Linux home brightners. The easy way to more attractive living. And now back to our story. The make-believe murder of George Dennis, which was staged as Nick's initiation to the alphabet club, suddenly turned real. Nick could find no motive for the murder, and Sergeant Matheson was unable to locate the gun that fired the death shot. While Nick and Patsy were collating evidence in the club, they heard a scream and rushed upstairs to find Walter Crane stabbed to death, a toy sword in his heart. Now, with Sergeant Matheson and Patsy, Nick examines the dead man and the other club members, Burns and Archer, rush into the room. For heaven's sakes, Carter, what is it? Who screamed? All right, all right, don't park here. This ain't no Coney Island peep show. But Arnold, it's Crane! What do you think this is, a reunion? Go on, get out of here. Go on back to your rooms. That's a bit of a matter. I want to ask a couple of questions. Okay. Mr. Archer, where were you when you heard Crane scream? I just finished breathing. I was in the shower room. I see. It's why you're still carrying a bathtub. Yes. And you, Mr. Burns? Well, I was in my room waiting for Archer to finish. I was smoking a cigar at my window. Where's the cigar? I don't know. I think I dropped it out the window when I heard Crane yell. I don't get one of you men to check that. Right. Be back in a flash. Now let's have a look at that sword. May I borrow your towel a moment, Archer? Certainly. I don't want to smudge any prints that might be on it. You are? Thanks. Let's wrap this towel around it. Mr. Carter, surely you don't think I... You what, Mr. Burns? Well, merely because I said ingested, I wanted Crane's toy sword during the make-believe murder. You don't think I... I kill Crane with it? Deductive reasoning isn't that obvious, Mr. Burns. You have nothing to worry about on that count. Thank you. But both of you have plenty to worry about on other counts. No, Mr. Carter, surely you... Look, I don't think either of you understand. Two murders have been committed in this club. Someone's guilty. That leaves three suspects. You, Mr. Archer. What? You, Mr. Burns. And the steward. They execute men for murder, gentlemen. Try to understand that. Well, I just held the cigar all right, Nick. All right, Maddie. Thanks. These gentlemen may return to their rooms. All right, gents. Well, Nick, what about Crane? He held almost instantly. Just time enough to scream. Uh-huh. Whoever killed him used plenty of power to thrust this dull blade deep enough to penetrate the heart. Any prints on the blade, Nick? I'll take the towel off and look. No. Blades dry and clean as a mirror. You look at it by reflected light. Not a latent printer. Not even a smudge. That doesn't help much. Well, I got news it ain't gonna help much more. Yes. They took this slug out of Dennis. Here, look at it. Thanks. Hmm. 22, I see. Ain't it... wait. Hello. Do you see, huh? Nick, what is it? No rifling marks on this bullet, Patsy. No rifling marks? No lands or grooves on the slug at all. Now, what's that supposed to mean? The killer threw it at Dennis? That's impossible. We heard the extra shot. Maddie's just being difficult, Patsy. I think Maddie's bad news is the best I've had on this case. Well, now, what's that supposed to mean? It means I think I know where to find the gun that killed Dennis. Come on, Patsy, we're going to have a look at Dennis's house. Well, how in blazes did the gun get there? I didn't say the gun was there. The gun's in this house. Then why do you go into Dennis's place? To find out why it was fired. Not a scrap of paper worth looking at in his desk, Patsy. Looks like we'll have to open that safe. Too bad Dennis was a bachelor. No one here to give us the combination. We could wait for a court order to have the safe open, but we'll bother. Let's have the stethoscope in my bag. Okay, Chief. You're going to crack this crib. Okay, where did you pick up that jargon? From a crime magazine. Here's your scope. Thanks. Well, that magazine must have been 15 years old. Crooks don't talk that way anymore. No? Well, how would they describe what you're doing? They'd say that I was exercising in natural facility and delicacy of touch to turn the dial. Meanwhile, using a medical device to hear the tumbler's call. Quiet now. It shouldn't take long. It's a three job. Three bulk job. What made you go straight, Nick? That Patsy is a base insinuation. My criminal facility was acquired during a long career of fighting crooks. There we are. All right, let's go through this stuff quickly. Here's Dennis's insurance. $100,000. Bar association's beneficiary. Packages of old letters. Skip them. Oh, here's a note from Archer. Offers Dennis $150,000 for the shares of stock. Dennis holds an arches company. Nice. Wait a minute. Here's a will. Oh, let's see. Ah, now, this is very interesting. Mr. Dennis leaves all cash and stock holdings to his old ex-college roommate, John Wendell. Who's John Wendell? John Wendell happens to be the steward of the alphabet club. Well... Old college friend, eh? Maybe that won't interest Mattie. Nick, do you think it was Wendell, the steward? He killed Dennis for the stock? Let's have a look at that envelope here. Looks like it contains stock shares. It does. Nick, there's only one share of stock in here. One single share. Pa, there, you $500. Someone's taken the rest. Just one share, huh? Mattie, where's that note from Archer you just read me? Here, Nick. Why? Let's see. Offer you $150,000 for... Uh-huh. Mattie, you didn't read this correctly. It says that Archer offers Dennis $150,000 for his share of stock. Dennis only owned the one share. Why should Archer offer him $150,000 for a share of stock worth only $500? You'll find out shortly. Let me have that phone. Why do you always have to be so mysterious, Nick? I don't like making statements until I'm positive. Mattie, this is Nick. What do you find, Nick? I think I've found all the answers. Well, Nick, leave me here. Not on the phone. I'm going to demonstrate. Now listen. I'm listening. Get the surviving members out of bed. Tell them I've broken the case. Tell them I'm going to reenact the crime for them. When Patsy and I come to the door, I want the steward to meet us. Then we'll play the make-believe murder all over again, just as it happened. You can take Crane's part. Right. I think you're crazy, Nick. Maybe. At this time, the make-believe murder is going to lead to an honest-to-goodness solution. All set, Patsy. I've got it, Nick. We're going to repeat everything we did earlier this evening. Right. And that repetition means every detail, no matter how small. Right. First, I rang the bell. Yes, sir? Miss Bowen and Mr. Carter. Good evening, madam. Good evening, sir. Welcome to the alphabet club. I think I asked you to follow me, Mr. Carter. Right. Go ahead. All set in there, Maddie? Lights out and ready to go. Gentlemen, Mr. Carter and Miss Bowen. Make like I'm screaming, Nick. That was Crane's job. Then I said, gentlemen, please open the door. Right. And then... Only four shots that time. That was Burns opening the door. Then what? I said something about entering the house of death. We came in... And heard toy sounds. Then I told Crane to put on the lights. I'll take care of that. Thanks. I asked who was lying on the floor. And I assumed it was Santa Claus. And you started explaining, aren't you? So explain. The name of this mystery is Who Killed Santa Claus? If Mr. Carter wants any dinner, he'd better solve it. Gentlemen, I shall begin with the taking of the evidence. Oh, this is screwy. My name is Arnold Archer. Today I hate Santa Claus. Why? Because he brought me this cap pistol. I wanted a horn. My name is Nelson Burns. And this horn... One minute, Mr. Burns. Yes. We left out a detail. Mr. Archer was supposed to snap his cap pistol when he spoke. Go ahead, Mr. Archer. Well, go ahead. Fire that gun, Mr. Archer. You'll never get me. Oh, no, you don't. Watch out for that toy gun! Glory be, that cap pistol was loaded. It fired a real bullet. And that... I still, Archer, you'll never break away. That, Mary, is a solution of our missing gun. But, Nick, why? The single share of stock Dennis held was the answer. He never owned more than one share of stock, and yet Archer wanted to buy it back for $150,000. $150,000? What for? I'm afraid Mr. Dennis was guilty of an old legal racket. As a stockholder in Archer's firm, he had the right of access to the company's books. You seem to have all the answers, Carter. Yes, he sits through those books until he dug out enough of the evidence of illegal market operations to ruin us. And then offered to sell his share of stock and stockholders' right to bring action back to you for an ex-turbinant sum. Aha! Blackmail. Legal blackmail. Mr. Archer, you were afraid Dennis was going to blackmail you for the rest of his life, so you killed him, which is the final irony of the case that the make-believe murder was committed with a make-believe gun. In just a moment, Nick will be back to give you the final details and tell you how a toy gun could commit a make-believe murder. Here's a special message for the man of the house. If you're a golfer with pet clubs that must last for the duration, or if it's your special job to keep the household woodwork in shape, Linux Clear Gloss is good news for you. For Linux, Clear Gloss gives a good-looking, yet tough, protective finish to any surface. When you use it on your treasured golf clubs, they'll look like new. And when you put Linux Clear Gloss on closet doors, window frames, and stairway banisters, what a help that is. Yes, any surface protected by Linux Clear Gloss requires only a minimum of upkeep, for the whisk of a damp cloth removes finger marks, dust, smudges, leaving a gleaming, lustrous surface that lasts and lasts. One application of Linux Clear Gloss, which flows on evenly, leaving no brush marks, will serve you for months, and look well the whole time. Ask your dealer now for Linux Clear Gloss, the finest in household finishes. You'll find all three great Linux home brightness and Linux Clear Gloss, Linux self-polishing wax, and Linux cream polish for fine furniture at hardware, paint, and department stores everywhere. And remember, your dealer is headquarters also for ChemTone, the miracle wall finish. ChemTone covers most wall surfaces in one coat, dries in one hour, bringing bright new loveliness to your walls and ceilings in bedroom, living room, or hall. And now let's hear from Nick Carter himself. Nick, I thought Sergeant Matheson checked the toy gun when he searched the room and found nothing wrong with it. That's right, Ken. A point very few people know is the fact that certain types of cap pistols can fire live ammunition. The bullet is wedged into the barrel through a small hole in the plate that should support the cap. Then the hammer is snapped and discharges the bullet accurately enough to kill at short range. So Archer killed Dennis with the gun, and then pretended it was a toy. Right. He disposed of the cartridge by the simple means of swallowing it. I guess that, and he admitted it. Why'd he kill Crane? Because Crane's methodical memory couldn't be fooled. The shot came from. When he called Archer into his room and confronted him, Archer killed him. Said he just grabbed up the toy sword and stabbed. Did you know that before? Well, I had a pretty good idea. On the pretext of protecting fingerprints on the sword, I borrowed Archer's towel. He claimed he'd been bathing, but his towel was quite dry. Didn't even dampen the metal blade. That's right. I remember you mentioned it. I staged the repeat performance to frighten Archer and save us the trouble of a long cross-examination. I knew that Archer and self-defense would probably load his toy gun again, hoping to use it to effect an escape. That was what I was playing the scene for. Golly! Pretty clever. What story have you got in mind for us next week, Nick? Well, Ken, next week, Patsy and I are going to meet a corpse that has been shot to death by a person or persons unknown. The only clue to the mystery is a letter in the pocket of the dead man. But the odd thing is the fact that there wasn't any stamp or address on the envelope, and there wasn't anything on the paper inside. A letter without anything on it? What do you call this story, Nick? The case of the unwritten letter. Potter Master Detective is copyrighted by Street and Smith Publications Incorporated. Lawn Clark is starred as Nick. Charlotte Manson plays Patsy. Original music is played by George Wright. Any resemblance in these programs to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental. The entire production is under the direction of Nick Cotter, Master Detective, is presented at this time and over these same stations each week by the three great Linux home Brightoners. Linux self-polishing wax, Linux cream polish, and Linux clear gloss, created by ACME, America's great producer of ACME fine quality paints. This is Ken Powell speaking for the thousands of Linux dealers all over America, and saying so long until next week. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.