 Stand by for crime Chuck Morgan speaking You know being a newscaster in a station the size of Los Angeles KOP You're bound sooner or later to step on somebody's toes Well reactions are varied The one I want to tell you about came from a man named John Hendricks a gold mining speculator He bought an abandoned mine up near Las Vegas on the California side of the Nevada boundary And besides diamond drilling for cross vein was working some of the old drifts This type of work has plenty of hazards But it didn't seem to me it was hazardous enough to have three men meet their deaths on the job in as many months Especially when I learned that each of the trio had been insured for a sizable amount With mr. Hendricks himself named as beneficiary When I made a vague reference to this in one of my broadcasts The next day I received a phone call from mr. Hendricks He insisted I visit him at the mine and then decide for myself whether my remarks were justified Well, the next day was Saturday So I told my blonde secretary Carol Curtis to pack a toothbrush and we'd spent a couple of days in the country We started in the pool of the only boy You know Chuck it was only about three months ago that we were driving along this very road Lama purse unless I'm wrong, which I seldom am you're right and unless I'm wrong, which I never am You promised me we were going to Las Vegas on that trip and we never got there. You're right again Well, well what did I bring my strapless evening out for nothing this time? That depends upon what we find at the straight banana I beg your pardon Okay, glamorous, I should have mentioned it before straight bananas the name of a mine that John Hendricks bought There's a range of hills nearby that looks like a banana that someone straightened up. Oh, I see Like that range over there. I think everything good. Oh, I'm glad you noticed that out of driven right by what sharp eyes you have grandma There are a lot of things about me that are sharp, but you never noticed don't start bragging There's a road that turns off to the mine. I'm not bragging but a girl likes to be complimented once in a while And you never What was that sounded like a shot and history is repeating itself The last time we're up here someone took a pot shot at us and it's different this time We aren't the ones being shot at look. What's a man running as though he were being shot at He is being shot at as a matter of fact. He's being hit grimer plus. We stepped into another one. Let's go The man Carol and I had seen running for his life was wearing Levi's a blue cotton shirt and a dirty white cowboy hat But didn't get a look at his face As a matter of fact, we didn't get another look at him at all By the time we parked the car Scrambled up the steep embankment The area behind the border where he'd fallen was deserted Well, we walked over the ridge where the ambush you had been hiding and found the same thing there Nothing. It was uncanny And glamour purse, what do you make of it? I'm beginning to think the whole thing was a trick of our imaginations What did they call it out here on the desert a mirage or something mirages don't consist of people and gunshots Come on. Let's get out of here. Okay We went back to the car drove on to the straight banana The mine buildings for an all were stacked up against the side of a cliff We stopped in front of what was obviously the owners living quarters And as we did so the door to the building opened in a tall gray hair distinguished looking man came up I'm John Hendricks. I imagine you're Chuck Morgan. Yeah, that's right. This is my secretary Carol Curtis. Hello, Curtis It's a pleasure. I'm supposed to get out and come inside It isn't much cooler, but it's better than being in this blasted son The nice trip. Yes, we had a fine trip. I'm afraid you misinterpreted the mention I made over the air about your mind Mr. Hendricks, I certainly didn't intend to accuse you of being a murderer Well, I'm glad I hear that on the other hand I'm not sure that I could blame you if you did three accidental deaths in as many months looks bad Just how do you account for the mr. Hendricks? I don't now this mine as you may know has been inactive since 1925 I spent several months studying the history of the place maps charts graphs all sorts of reports And I'm convinced that the two veins the former owners were working meat If I can locate the spot where they meet I'll find a rich deposit. Yeah, so you're a diamond drilling Yes, that's not only an expensive proposition, but it requires skilled labor Where have the accidental killings been taking place two in the drifts one among the drilling crew You see all of the drifts and superstructures have partially decayed I'm having them replaced as rapidly as possible is with the custom of mine owners to ensure their men Well, I don't know about the ideas of other mine owners But I take out two policies and all of my men one for five thousand dollars naming the mine as beneficiary and one for ten thousand dollars Naming the insured's family is beneficiary. Well, that seems more than fair to me You didn't know about the policies for the insured's families. Did you Chuck? No matter fact? I didn't However, I'd like to ask you mr. Hendricks how the insurance company feels about all this the company carrying my policies cancelled them after the third Accidental death after considerable amount of effort and wire pulling I finally succeeded in getting the inter mountain insurance Corporation to write up the business. I see over now. I'm having trouble hiring labor Trouble is I have to have a good many technical men and the best I can do at the moment It's too high a spindle stiffs at an exorbitant wage Bindle stiffs. What are spindle stiffs? Bindle stiffs are peculiar to the West glamour first back east. They're called hobos. Oh Where I come from they call them bombs. Well, you're not in Brooklyn now. So let's stick to spindle stuff Oh, I'm sorry. Not at all my dear. Come here. Come here. Miss Curtis. Mr. Morgan. This is my daughter Laura Well, now my dear was there something in particular that you wanted to see me man Yes, dad. There's a man waiting in the office. He wants to see you about a job. He says he's a mining engineer Well, there's his good news. Does he know about yes? Yes. I asked him. He says he doesn't care He still wants a job. He's English. I don't I'll go talk to it once you two will excuse me. Of course. Oh, thank you Oh, Laura, why don't you make the folks cool drink? Of course dad John Hendricks went to another room and left the door at jar. His daughter disappeared into the kitchen Glamour person I could plainly overhear the conversation that Hendricks had with the man who was applying for the job Well, sir, my daughter tells me you're looking for work. That's right governor. I'm a mining engineer I've got references for mine. I worked in South Africa and Alaska too. That's fine You want to stand the risk you'll be taking if you come to work here. Why sure, sir That's why I came out. I think you'd be paying a real decent wage scale Well, that's rather sharp reasoning I doubt that we'll have any trouble over wages if your references prove you're as good a man as you'd like me to believe We'd himself see for yourself. Well, I see Hmm Yes, indeed, I couldn't ask for anything better than this. Oh, I'm a good man, sir I know all about go mining and even worry about that. You're all about it, huh? That's fine now. I tell you what you do see that small building over there white you that's the foreman's office His name is Hal Browning. Tell him I've signed you on and then they'll come back here I want you to talk to my insurance company this afternoon. I have to be sitting here a window They looked out on the side of the house the man Hendricks had been talking to came into my line of vision He was wearing Levi's a blue cotton shirt and a dirty white cowboy hat As I watched he turned and called a reply to Hendricks last remark This time I had a full view of the space he wore drooping moustaches and seemed about 50 years old I was positive. He was a man Carol and I had seen shot an hour before I'm sorry. I was so long, but I'm sure you'll find these were worth waiting for they certainly look good They were Ms. Curtis. Mr. Morgan. Thank you. Is dad still talking to that engineer? No, I saw the engineer leave for the foreman's office a couple of minutes ago. Oh, excuse me. I'll go in and see what's keeping Alright. Oh, dad, there you are. I can't find it, Lara. Where did I put the telephone number of that insurance company? If it were any closer to you, I'd buy you. There it is, right on the spindle. Oh, yes, yes. Well, I'll have to call them. Tell our guests I'll be a minute longer. Will you my dear? Of course. I'm sorry. Dad's calling the insurance company. He'll only be a minute longer. Oh, that's all right. How many men do you have working at the mine, Ms. Henry? About 25 right now. And none of them wanted to quit after the accident? Yes, three or four did quit. But dad's paying such high wages that the rest decide to stay. I see. Well, I'm in luck just hired a man who seems to know his business. His name's Paul Anderson. Laura, I've made arrangements with Cranson of Intermountain Insurance Corporation to see him this afternoon and arrange for the man's physical examination. Can you drive him into Vegas? Of course, dad. Oh, we could save you the trip if you want. We're going into Vegas. Oh, no, thank you. I wouldn't miss a chance to drive into Vegas. I see what you mean. I was thinking the same thing. Don't worry, Glamopush. You'll get your trip to Vegas. First, I'd like to look around here a bit if you don't mind, Mr. Henry. No, not at all. Was there anything in particular that you wanted to look for? Yes. As a matter of fact, there is. Oh, what's that? A dead body. I had a purpose in making that crack about looking for a dead body. I wanted to see Hendrick's reaction. What did I get? Nothing. He made a joke of it. Kitted me about thinking of him as a mass murderer. Glamopush and I spent an hour looking the mine over. We took an elevator to the top of the cliff and watched the diamond drill crew at work. While we were up there, we saw Laura drive out with the new employee. And I couldn't help wondering if the poor devil was going to be victim number four in the accidental death routine. And we looked around for about 15 minutes more, went back down in the elevator, thanked John Hendricks for his hospitality, and headed for Las Vegas. I just can't believe it. I can't either, Glamopush. You can't? You can't believe what? That those deaths are accidental. Oh, fiddly-dee. Of course they were. John Hendricks and his daughter were the nicest people ever. Besides, that wasn't what I meant when I said I couldn't believe it. Well, don't you want to know what I can't believe? No. I can't believe we're actually on our way to Las Vegas, Turkey Boy. Boy, are we going to have fun. Well, anyway, I'm glad I didn't mention to Hendricks about the shooting we witnessed. Hey, how about that? What were you being so coy about? Two reasons. If Hendricks is playing games, I didn't want to warn him. Secondly, was anybody actually shooting at the man in the white hat? Of course someone was. We saw it happen. No, we didn't. We heard a shot, saw a man running. We saw him being hit and fallen. We saw him stumble, perhaps. We didn't find his body. And I saw the guy when we were at the mine. He wasn't dead. You saw him? When? Was it the same man? He was the engineer who applied for work. I'm sure no two men in these parts would be wearing Levi's blue cotton shirts and dirty white hats. Oh, well, maybe we'll find out something from the insurance agent. Hold on to your bonnock, Leverkus. I'm going to step the old crate up to 30 miles an hour. We reached Las Vegas around four o'clock and I turned Carol loose at the desert end casino with a word of caution that if she lost her shirt, she'd have to walk home. Then I got Pappy Mansfield, owner of KLP, on long distance. Told him if he was so inclined, he could hop a plane and come up here just to keep his eyes on the star newscaster. Well, Pappy didn't ask any question, which was like him. Just said he'd see us around midnight. So then I found the address of the Intermountain Insurance Corporation. The office was a dinky little room over a drugstore. And Sidney Cranston, the local agent, was a dinky little man with gimlet-like eyes. Hello? You Sidney Cranston? That's right. Want to buy some insurance? No, thanks. You selling anything? No, I'm not... Then what do you want? If you stop budding in, I'll tell you. Don't get fresh, young man. I'll throw you out in your rear. You'll throw me... All right, Cranston. I'm Chuck Morgan, newscaster and KLP in Los Angeles. I'm up here to make inquiries about those accidental deaths at the straight banana mine. Oh, then. What about them? Since you're carrying the insurance, I wondered if you thought they were accidental. If I didn't, I wouldn't be carrying the insurance. But three deaths in three months... You're reaching, son. I went over that mine with a fine-tooth comb. The shoring and the drips and the drill, Derek, are as solid as a rock. It implied to me that there shouldn't have been any accidents. You're reaching again. Those three deaths were coincidence. The law of averages says there won't be a fourth. The law of the state says somebody better try to prevent a fourth. Oh, by the way, what did you think of Anderson? Anderson? Yeah, the new engineer that Hendricks hired. Oh, him. He hasn't gotten here yet. Hasn't got here? They left a half hour before we did. No, I can't help that. I've been right here all afternoon waiting for them. And I say they haven't been here. Well, if something... Sorry, we're late, Mr. Cranston. Oh, hello, Mr. Morgan. Well, Ms. Hendricks. And this must be Anderson, the new engineer. It's all right, Governor. Paul Anderson, just down from Malasky. I'm surprised that you didn't get here ahead of Ms. Curtis and me, Ms. Hendricks. We left the mine a half hour later than you. Oh, we did get here ahead of you, or I suppose we did. We've been in town a half hour or more. Mr. Anderson wanted to buy a few things, and so did I. You might have come to my office first, young lady. Been waiting here since your dad phoned. I don't like working Saturday afternoons. Well, I'm sorry about that, Mr. Cranston. Well, never mind. Let's get to work. You through asking dumb questions, Morgan? Yes, yes, yes, I'm through. Only just for the record, those questions were a whole lot less dumb than you seem to think. Well, so far, I'd succeeded only in increasing my own suspicions. There were a lot of questions I wanted answers to, but right at the moment, the possibility of getting answers to any questions seemed remote. I walked over to the casino where I left Carol and found her shooting crabs. She had a stack of chips in front of her that reached almost up to her chin. Come on, little Joe. Be good to mama. There he is. Break him over here, Charlie. No, I'll let the bun will ride. Give me the dice, Charlie. Having fun, Glamourpuss? Oh, hello, Chucky Boy. Hey, look what I've been doing. Yeah, yeah, I see. You know, the smart gambler quits when he's ahead. Come on, come on, let's go. Oh, just once more, Chuck. Okay, sit yourself. Roll him and see what happens. Okay. Here we go. Come on. Seven. What do those two aces mean, Chucky Boy? They mean snake eyes, Glamourpuss. You lose. Let's go. Oh, gee whiz. Chuck Morgan, you did that on purpose. It's all your fault. You bought me bad luck. At three o'clock in the morning, Las Vegas is as bright daylighted as Broadway and 42nd Street is at 8 p.m. The casinos operate 24 hours a day, as do most of the restaurants and stores. You take one look at those bright lights and wish you owned some stock in the power company that provided them. Well, at midnight, Carol and I drove up to the airport, picked up Pappy and the three of us stopped at Sal Saggy's for a cup of coffee. Well, Chuck, I'm not going to tell you. You've got a crazy idea because ever since I first heard you talking about those accidental deaths, I was inclined to go along with your theory. But what can you do about it? You haven't got a shred of evidence. No, no, Pappy, I don't know. Seems to me it's a matter for the police. But we haven't got time for that, Glamourpuss. We're in Nevada. That means we've got to get back across the line, scare up a California deputy sheriff, and the idea we aren't nuts, it might take days. And unless I miss my guess, Paul Anderson isn't long for this world. I met him at the insurance office this afternoon and he says ignorant is what's in store for him as I am of the fourth dimension. Well, that's pretty ignorant. So what do you propose to do? Pappy, I guess the three of us will have to handle this one alone. The three of us? Against those 25 cutthroats of the straight banana? Oh, they aren't all cutthroats, Glamourpuss. Here's a plan that might work. In about three hours it'll be getting light. Streaks of light were showing along the eastern horizon when I turned the old jalabi off the main highway and headed up toward the straight banana. About a mile this out of the mine, I parked and set out on foot. I kept well away from the darkened buildings of the mine, climbing to the ridge in the south where the ambition had crouched. Here I thought a secluded spot and waited, smoking endless cigarettes until the sun tipped the eastern horizon and dawn crept across a desert like a benediction. Then I began my search, inching over the ground, covering every likely spot where I might find the thing for which I searched. I found it. A freshly dug hole in the ground, beside it were three not too old mounds of earth, three graves and a new one ready for its occupant. So far so good. But my good luck ended right here. Well, Mr. Morgan, I thought newscasters slept until noon. Oh, hello, Miss Hendricks. Out for some early morning rabbit shooting? Yes, and I hope you'll be smart enough not to make like a rabbit. This rifle shoots true. These three graves testify to that fact. The occupants of the graves weren't shot, Mr. Morgan. Of course. Bullet holes would be telltale evidence. Well, you're in command. What shall I do? Dig another grave for myself? We have more capable hands for that chore. In the meantime, let's go down and have a talk with Dad. The mother-of-law's rifle was an uncomfortable pressure in the small of my back as we walked down to the mine. We went directly to the owner's residence and stepped inside. Hendricks was there. And another man, Anderson. He was lying on the floor bound and gagged, and wearing only his underclothes. The Levi's cotton shirt and dirty white hat were piled beside him. It was sight of these that gave me the answer to the big mystery with a jolt that rocked me back on my heels. Greetings, Morgan. Glad to see you gave Laura no trouble. Shooting you would have been messy. And don't tell me it would have bothered your conscience, Hendricks. Or do you prefer to be called Anderson? Ah, I see you guessed the answer to our little game. Sure. But one time you must have been an actor of sort. An actor, dear fellow, of excellent reputation. Specializing in dialects, I might add. Particularly cockney English, huh? That was only one in which I was petitioned. Okay, okay, Dad. Let's forget that and get this over with. In a moment, my dear. First I must know what aroused Mr. Morgan's suspicions. That's a ham, Madam Laura. Well, I'll be glad to satisfy your curiosity. The police aren't due for five minutes. How corny can you get? The police aren't due at all, and you know it. Marie, well, you are going to explain. To begin with, we never saw you and Anderson together at the same time. While you were hiring Anderson in the next room yesterday, you were changing into the clothes you'd taken from the poor devil an hour before. Then you passed in front of the window where I was sitting. So I'd be sure and see what you looked like. Excellent. I congratulate you, Mr. Morgan. Later, we saw Laura drive you away from the mine. But by the time we got down from the cliff, you had time to return and appear once again as Hendricks. That's why we were able to get to Las Vegas a half hour ahead of you. But you didn't expect to find me in the insurance office, did you? It was almost your undoing. A pity such brilliance can't be put to more profitable work than newscasting. Well, I prefer to live, Hendricks, as I imagine those Bindle Stiffs would have liked to live. So you figured out about them, too. Bindle Stiffs usually have obscure backgrounds, don't they? No one would be likely to know if one died or had been murdered. That's why you always selected one of approximately your own size. Dressed yourself in his clothes and played the role of cockney, French-Canadian, or any other character of which you were proficient. Then you merely redressed the Bindle Stiff in his own clothes and let the accident occur. Which is exactly what I'm going to do now. Laura, keep them covered. Don't worry. Hurry it up. I waited until Hendricks had his prisoner almost completely untied, then walked deliberately over to the window and waved. Keep away from that window. Don't forget that bullets leave tell-tale holes, Laura. He gave some sort of signal. Someone's up in the ridge. Give me that rifle. All right, Anderson, let's get him. Anderson had presence enough of mind to give me the help I hoped would be forthcoming. It was Carol who'd fired the shot. Pappy was waiting outside and he was in on the fight like a marine. We found a sheriff after considerable search, turned our prisoners over, told him our story, and then Carol and I persuaded Pappy to ride back to LA with us and lead Jelopy. But how about the man we saw being shot at, Chuck? Was that Anderson? It was Anderson. The ambusher was on the ridge. He couldn't see our car, but he could see Anderson. He shot over Anderson's head. Anderson took cover, and behind the border there was a second man waiting for him. That was so there'd be no bullet holes when the dead bodies were examined, eh? Right. Now, about the second insurance policy, the one made out to the deceased family. You know how they hunched, Pappy? That Hendricks' organization was pretty far-reaching. The families were probably plants who took the money and split it with the Hendricks. Well, that makes sense. Say, Chuck. How long have you owned this car? Well, Pappy, I'm glad you asked that question. It's so old that the record of its birth was lost before the war. Ah, I thought so. Pappy, getting you to ride back with us was a trick. He thinks you'll take pity on him and buy him a new car. As a matter of fact, it might not be a bad idea. Oh, hold it. My, were those bumps or did a wheel fall on? You see, Pappy, I knew if you were made aware of the crate your star newscaster was forced to ride around in. You'd want to buy me a new one. Yeah. Now, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll make your deal. Good. What's that? If you let me off at the next town so I can catch a train for the rest of this trip, I'll buy you one.