 of the Texas Rangers, starring Joel McRae as Ranger Jase Pearson. Another authentic re-enactment of a case transcribed from the files of the Texas Rangers. The dates and places in the following story are fictitious for obvious reasons. The events themselves are a matter of record. Every day, Monday through Friday, you're invited to a new program on NBC as J. Sims brings you inside news from Hollywood. Yes, this is another in NBC's stellar daytime lineup of interesting and entertaining daytime radio programs. You'll enjoy such other favorites as Walter O'Keefe, who emcees America's funniest daily quiz program, Double or Nothing, Warren Hall, who presides over the program with a heart strike at rich, and Tommy Bartlett, the emcee with the roving microphone to welcome travelers as they stream through Chicago. And there's more entertainment too with Dial Dave Garroway. Dave has an easy, relaxed manner that's certain to give you an idea or two on how to beat the heat. And every day, Monday through Friday, NBC presents the two boys from Boston who this year won the coveted Peabody Award, Bob and Ray. If you're tired of the same old thing on comedy shows, be sure to listen to Bob and Ray for a new concept of humor, a concept you're sure to enjoy. Now, here are Tales of the Texas Rangers. Now, from the files of the Texas Rangers, the case called Misplaced Person. It is 1.30 p.m. Tuesday, November 6, 1949, near Stockville, Texas. A woman and her five-year-old son are entering a path through the woods on their way to a neighbor's house. Roddy, what on earth are you hanging back for? Do you want to miss the whole party? I don't want to go that way. Hurry up, we're half an hour late already. Roddy, quit your dawdling and come on. Now, honey, ever since Halloween, you've been imagining things. I told you there's no such thing as goblins and boogie men. Now, come on, dear. There's nothing to be frightened of. Your mommy's right here with you, isn't she? I don't want to go this way. Now, Roddy, we can't be a baby all our lives, can we? Now, come along, honey. I don't want to go to the party. Roddy, you're just letting your imagination run away with you. Where is the thing you saw? It's in the bushes over there. Take hold of mommy's hand. That's right. Now, show me where it is. I don't want to go. Roddy, mommy wants to show you that there's nothing to be frightened of. Is it over that way? Yes. All right, I'll show you. Come on. Ghosts and goblins are just make-believe, honey. You don't want to go up to be a scaredy-cat, do you? No. All right, then. Show mommy where it is. Right over there. By that bush? Uh-huh. Now, mommy will prove to you that it's all your imagination. Roddy Clark was not imagining things. What he had seen in the brush was the bruised and beaten body of a dead woman. His mother immediately notified the sheriff of Stockville County, who sent for the aid of the Texas Rangers. Rangers Jase Pearson and Clay Morgan were assigned. While Ranger Morgan searched the area around the body for tracks, Ranger Pearson talked to the little boy's mother. Oh, I was scared half out of my wits when I saw it, Ranger. What's your name, ma'am? Emma Clark. My little son really found it. It's kind of tough for a little kid to see something like that. Oh, I just hope he'll be able to sleep tonight. Is the body just the way it was when you found it, ma'am? Yes, it is, Ranger. As soon as I saw it, I ran to the neighbors and phoned the sheriff. Jase, come here a minute. All right, Clay. Thank you very much, ma'am. I guess that'll be all for now. I want you to sign a statement later on. I'll be glad to. I sure hope you can catch the murderer, Ranger. Can we find something, Clay? Yeah, I found this purse just off the road, Jase. Look, it's got some blood on it. Any identification in it? I haven't been able to find any. Quite a bit of money, though. It throws out robberies and motor. Anything else? No usual claptrap women carry. Compact, lipstick, cigarettes. Wait a minute. There's a cash register receipt that has something scribbled on it. What's it say? Dr. Schiller Avalon 818. That might help. Maybe the woman was one of those patients. That's something to start on anyway. Yeah. Maybe he can tell us who she is. We checked with the telephone company and found that Avalon 818 was the telephone number of a trailer court just outside Corpus Christi. We called and found that a Dr. Schiller lived there. We talked to him and asked him to meet us the next morning at the funeral parlor in Stockville. At 10.30 the following day, we were checking over the woman's clothing in the waiting room in the mortuary when a thin, erect man walked in. Dr. Schiller? Yes? I'm Ranger Pearson. This is Ranger Morgan. How do you do? Howdy. Have a chair, doctor. Thank you very much. We sent for you, Dr. Schiller, because a woman we think you must know was found murdered yesterday. How shocking. Who is it? We don't know. But your name and telephone number were scribbled on a market slip found in her purse. Well, for the... see from where's isn't it? Have you ever seen this purse before, doctor? No, I don't recall that I have. Here's a market slip. May I see it, please? Sure. Extraordinary. Yes, it is my number, gentlemen. Do you recognize the handwriting? No, sir, I do not. Are you practicing in Corpus Christi, doctor? Oh, no. I wish that I could practice here. But you see, I've come to America on a quarter. Just recently. I'm not yet a citizen. How long have you been here? I left me in a six months ago. Are you an MD? Yes, for many years. You see, I was in psychology, clinician. I'm not much of a language, doctor. Would you... Excuse me. Clinical psychology. I was with Dr. Jung at Zoch. I see. Doctor, do you have any idea how your number got into the dead woman's purse? None whatsoever. How could I, when I have no idea to whom this purse belongs? I think perhaps you better take a look at the body. You might recognize the woman and be able to tell us something. It is possible. You come into the next room with us, doctor? There you are. Some decomposition is set in, of course, but the features are still recognizable. There's a body on that slab. She must have been frightened when she died, judging from the muscle tension. Yes. Well, doctor? I'm quite positively into a person that I have never seen this woman before this moment. You think someone else gave her your name and number? Perhaps. Did you think of anyone who might have? No, I'm sorry. I'm quite mystified. Well, thank you very much, Dr. Schiller. We have your name and address, and we'll send for you again if we need you. Do by all means. I should be happy to be of any assistance that I can. Thank you. Goodbye, sir. Good day, gentlemen. Well, where do we go from here, Jayesh? Looks to me like a long, hard night digging into the files on missing persons. Examination of over 200 reports on missing persons finally produced a record which described the murdered woman. We sent for Mrs. Fields, who had reported her sister missing for several weeks. She identified the body and expressed distrust of her sister's husband, Thomas Red Arm, a fisherman. She stated he had recently collected insurance on the drowning of Mrs. Arm's son. Since the husband had filed no report on his wife's disappearance, we drove to Corpus Christi to talk to him. We located Arm on the shrimper, Caroline, a beat-up trawler moored to the slime-covered piles of a wharf in Red Fish Bay. Caroline, here it is, Jayesh. Ain't you sure a rusty old tub? Let's go board and play. Right. You can smell that brine from here to Galveston. Well, you're not in the pilot house. You know, no sign of him. Maybe he's blowing the cabin. Come on, let's go down, all right? Who's there? Mr. Arm. Who is it? I'm Ranger Pearson. This is Ranger Morgan. What's on your mind, Ranger? We'd like to ask you some questions. Well, I'm pretty busy getting ready to pull out tomorrow on the three-day haul. I'm afraid you have to change your plans, Mr. Arm. What for? Hold shrimp fleets out ahead of me now. If I don't get moving, I'll be lucky if I drag in a stingery. I'm glad we got you before you took off, then. I want to ask you a few questions about your wife. What about her? You've been missing for several weeks, hasn't you? Yeah. And I owned eight weeks since I said I was on her. You tried to locate her? No. Why not? Because I was fed up with her beefing and belly-aching around, figured it's good riddance. I think we ought to tell you, Mr. Arm, that your wife's dead. Somebody murdered her. Oh. He's beaten to death? You've been having trouble with your wife, hasn't you? What about it? Maybe you better tell us about it. Well, there's nothing to tell. It didn't get along, that's all. After a kid drowned, she got worse and worse. You collected insurance after the boy was killed, didn't you? Sure, why shouldn't I? Supported him for now under 10 years who had a better right. Why didn't you turn in a missing person's report on your wife, Mr. Arm? That man has to wig-wag it to the whole world when his wife walks out on him. How many weeks ago did you say she left you? About eight, I reckon. She took all my money with her. I've been saving for years to buy me a new motor for this stink bucket. Really fixed me up, she did. Have you seen her since she left? Yeah, just once. A couple of days after she walked out. Tried to get her to come back to me, but she wouldn't. You know where she was staying? No. I can tell you what she's doing, she's taking all my money on some crackpot doctor. Doctor? Yeah. The Falmers laying in the locker now it's all his fault. He's the one got her crowjacking in the wrong direction with all his blubber about what's going on in her mind. As if he could tell what her body's thinking. Her mind, huh? Yeah. She used to come home nights and go to me with a lot of big crazy-sounding words. Didn't know what they meant herself. Said he was helping her to get over losing the boy. Only reason I put up with it. What was the doctor's name? Don't know. She never would tell me. Was he a psychologist? He's a quack. That's what he was. Did you ever see him, Mr. Armstrong? No, and I never want to. Talked to him on the phone once. That was enough. When was that? One night when I called Alma, called him from a payphone in the fish house, grabbed the phone and told him to man his own braces, leave my wife alone. That was the night she left me. Said I disgraced her. Can you remember anything about his voice, the way he talked? Yeah. Sounded to me like he had a mouthful of snap beans. Well, thanks, Mr. Armstrong. We'll see you later. Now, you ain't going to keep me here in court when the shrimp are running out of you. It's my living, you know. Service is for your wife or tomorrow. I'll do my thinking alone, Ranger. I reckon I wouldn't want to see you now, anyways. Would you only be gone three days? That's all. You got a radio on board? Sure. You can always contact me through the Coast Guard. I'll be with the shrimp and fleet out yonder in the Gulf there. Okay, Mr. Armstrong. Go ahead. We don't know where to find you. Just my luck to haul in a message jellyfish. Wish you luck. Come on. Thanks. This doctor sounds like our friend Shiller to me, Jase. Uh-huh. And then he was lying to us. Yeah. Let's go get a wand. In just a moment, we will continue with tales of the Texas Rangers starring Joel McCrae as Ranger Jase Pearson. This long Labor Day weekend means a glorious holiday for millions of Americans. But it also means death, injury, heartache, and grief for several hundred of the throng. Since Friday evening, more than 40 million automobiles, one for every four persons in the United States, have been taking to our nation's highways. So today and tomorrow, as you drive, please be careful. If roads are slippery from rain or crowded with returning vacationists, the safe speed is much slower than the posted speed limits. Drive safely. Drive in accordance with road conditions. For the life you save may be your own. And when you reach home safely tomorrow, once again remind yourself that school starts this week in many localities throughout the nation. Four times a day beginning this week, these school children will be walking to and from school. Watch for children whenever you drive. A child may dare. So drive with care. Now the second act of tales of the Texas Rangers. We continue now with tales of the Texas Rangers and our authentic story, Misplaced Person. We got a search warrant and headed for the court where Dr. Schiller lived. When we got there, Mrs. Acres, who ran the place, told us he wasn't home but walked us over to his trailer. We wanted to get a little background on Schiller, so we let her rattle on about the doctor. You see, it ain't often an old shoe like me get a chance to talk to a famous V&E psychiatrist like Dr. Schiller. I suppose not. Yes, ma'am. Besides, it sure is gratifying to have one four-wheeler in here that ain't loaded with up to ten kids. Oh, this is it, Rangers. How long has the doctor's trailer been parked here, Mrs. Acres? Oh, about four months, I reckon. And, Ranger, in that short time, I've learned things about myself. What I mean is the doctor's brought out the inner someone. That's really me. You mean he's been telling you what goes on in your mind? Yeah. You see, I used to fool myself all the time. Just to rationalize, sublimate, all them defense kind of things. Now, I've just thrown away my inhibitions. I'm beginning to look like Square and I. It's bleak but rewarding. I see. How long has Dr. Schiller been helping you, Mrs. Acres? Oh, almost ever since he came, I guess. Of course, psychoanalysis is just exhausting. But when I think of all the years I was looking was my primary urge. Well, I didn't even know what a libido was in those days. How much has Dr. Schiller charged you for these treatments, ma'am? Relax. He don't charge me anything. I just give him a check once in a while for his relief fund. Relief fund? Yeah. See, doctor's always thinking about them poor, misplaced persons wandering all over the map of Europe. Likes to send them over money for shoes and grub for their knapsacks and all. Has the doctor any other patients, Mrs. Acres? Well, I told you he ain't practicing. He just likes to unscramble a few friends of his out of the kindness of his heart. Mrs. Acres, this picture is from a missing person's file. You ever seen this woman in your trailer cart? Well, I see. Oh, yeah. Oh, that's Ms. Orm. She's a real good friend of Dr. Schiller's. Used to come see him right often. When was the last time you saw her? Oh, it's been quite a spell now. A month or two anyway. He must have left town, I reckon. Well, thank you, Mrs. Acres. I reckon we'd better go in now, Clay. Yeah. Oh, I told you the doctor was out, Ranger. We have a warrant, ma'am. Warrant? He ain't in any kind of trouble, is he? We don't know yet. You want to come in with us? I can't. I gotta get back to Dice-Maham, but you go right ahead, Rangers, because I'm dead sure Dr. Schiller's got nothing to hide. Thanks very much, ma'am. Seems like there's nothing much in here but books, Jace. Most of them are foreign. Have a look in that desk over there. Look at this address book, Clay. Find some? Yeah. Here's Alma Orm's name and address. Here he is, Jace. Good evening, gentlemen. Is it no old American custom to be called when the host is not at home? We have a warrant to search your trailer, doctor. So, well, I see that you've already found what you want. That's right, doctor. I thought you told us you didn't know Mrs. Orm. As I recall when I talked to you, you did not know her name. Isn't it not so? That's true. When you looked at her in the funeral parlor, you said you'd never seen her before. Come on, let's not waste time, doctor. We have evidence that she came to your trailer often. Quite right. So she did. And you must have recognized the body. Yes, I recognized Mrs. Orm, but I did not wish to be questioned as to what I know about her. Why? Because in my profession, such information is confidential. Even when she's dead? Of course. I'm afraid we can't go along with that, doctor. We're investigating a murder. What ethics are concerned? What about your practicing without a license? I do not practice. I listen to the troubles of a few friends of mine. That is all. Did you receive money from them? Yes, I did. But not for myself. For those persons aboard who have to stare into the rubble of their home in Trajan, the memory dragging down on their backs. I have been destitute and penniless myself. I know. Can you actually prove you sent these donations? Of course. Here. This is my canceled check, gentlemen. Made out of the relief organization at Oberagen. And here on the back, you will see the notation. Mrs. Akkas, $55. Mrs. Orm, $40. As you will see, my check represents the total of their donations. If you don't practice here, doctor, then you have money of your own to live on. No. Do you see these hands? Yes. These are the hands that once held a tree pan in the most delicate brain operations. Now they fold dressings, boil instruments, push patients in wheelchairs. Where? At the thanks and clinic here in Corpus Christi. When? Mondays? Wednesdays and Fridays? From 2 until 10? Well, you can easily check that, you know. Precisely. That's why I told you. Why didn't you want to identify Mrs. Orm's body? You are intimating, of course, that I'm under suspicion of murder. You lied to us, doctor. Why shouldn't you be? I see. We want to know why you lied to us. Now, Dr. Schiller, I asked you a question. All right, gentlemen. When I learned that Mrs. Orm was dead, I was afraid. Afraid that if I admitted knowing her, I would be accused of practicing without a license. And my chances for becoming a citizen would be seriously impaired. But if you weren't practicing, what'd you have to worry about? Her husband. Mr. Orm? Yes. He threatened to accuse me of taking money for the treatment of his wife. I see. This man is vicious. A hypomanic type. I was always afraid if Mrs. Orm stayed with him longer, some violence would come to her. So you told her to leave him? Actually, if she had taken my advice, this tragedy might have been averted. You know, don't you, doctor, that just by giving advice, you are guilty of practicing without a license? But what would you have me do? Stand by and see this poor woman suffer when I had the power to help her? A licensed psychiatrist you could have sent her to. I tried to. But she wanted advice from me as a friend. And it was as a friend that I gave it to her with no thought of compensation. You don't make the laws in this state, doctor. But if you could have seen as I did, the terror in that poor woman's mind, you would have done the same thing. It doesn't take a doctor to know that this man is dangerous. Even the night he was here, he flew into a rage and struck her. Wait a minute. You'd say you've seen Mr. Orm? Certainly. When? The night he came here to my trailer and threatened to accuse me of illegal practice. Mr. Orm said he'd never met you. The man nearly strangled me. There was a shameful scene on the steps out there. Anybody else see you with him? Of course. He must have aroused the whole trailer court. Was there any specific witness who could identify him? Hmm. Oh, yes. Mr. Harker, Willie Harker. He lives down there in the last toilet. What was the date of all this, doctor? It was the last time Mr. Orm visited me. Let me look on my calendar. Let's see here. Yes. Yes, it was October 3rd, about five weeks ago, I should say. Ah, it checks pretty closely with the approximated date of the murder, Clay. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Did Orm take his wife with him when he left here? Yes. I was alarmed for her safety. Looks like you had good reason to be. You know, don't you, doctor, that we're going to have to check up on all these things. I hope you will. Why don't you come along with us while we talk to Willie Harker? Of course, gentlemen. Dr. Schiller led us to a two-wheel trailer parked about a hundred feet from his own. You could hear a baby crying and a thin, shallow little man was sitting on the steps. When he saw us coming, he got up quickly and went inside. Was that Harker? Mr. Harker? Yeah? Texas Rangers. If you come outside, we want to talk to you. Yeah? Oh. Hello, doc. Dr. Schiller here says that you saw a man named Red Orm drag his wife out of the doctor's trailer several weeks ago. Is that right? No, no, I don't know anyone by that name. Never heard of him. Mr. Harker... Just a minute, doctor. He's a big fella. He's got a red face. I understand he was pretty rough with his wife. I'm sorry. I can't remember anything about it. If that's all with you, excuse me. I'd like to go change a baby. My wife's out. The kid's kind of fussy today. Wait a minute, Harker. Yeah? You're sure you didn't see a man and his wife quarreling outside of the doctor's trailer? No, sir. Ain't seen anything out of the ordinary that I can recall. Mr. Harker, what do you mean you didn't see anything? Just what I said. I don't know nothing about any quarrel. Well, doctor? Mr. Harker, you followed him out to his car. Don't you remember? No. No, I'm sorry, doc. Oh, Mr. Harker, I know what it is. You're trying to protect me. You think I'm in some kind of trouble, no? I just can't remember anything about it. We're investigating a murder, Harker. You do know anything I'd advise you to tell us. If you don't, you're practically convicting me. How can I tell what I don't remember? He's lying. You are deliberately lying. Why? Why? Tell me that. What are you afraid of? You have to tell the truth. I wouldn't be holding back anything if I were you, Harker. But I don't know anything. Tell them the truth. Mr. Harker, if I had not been afraid, I would not be under suspicion now. I was brought up on fear, but why should you be afraid? Well, Harker, all right. I was afraid to tell what I saw. I braved my wife and kid. I got more reason to protect them than to protect you, doc. Let's have it, Harker. Tell us what you saw that night. Well, just like the doc here said, Arm dragged his wife out of the car and then he started beating her. She screamed, so I followed him. I tried to help her, that's all. What happened? Grabbed me by the neck and liked to strangle me. Wouldn't let go of that promise to keep still about what I seen. Is he hurting more? No, no. I beat it as fast as I could. I was afraid he changed his mind and really croaked me. He was putting his wife in the back seat of the car last I seen. Was she unconscious? Sure looked like her. She wasn't moving anyway. Why didn't you report this to the police? Well, because I was scared of them. All right, Mr. Harker. You and the doctor come down to the sheriff's office with us. We want to take written statements from both of you. We took the statements of the doctor and Willie Harker. While Red Arm was still at sea, we located his car. There were blood stains on the floor of the back seat. We took these to our lab in Austin for examination. The stains matched Mrs. Arm's blood type. We headed back for Redfish Bay when we reached the whore if the Caroline was riding in her moorings. There he is, Jase, up forward, drying his nets. Hey, Arm! Who is it? Texas Rangers! Got that white doctor yet? Yeah, we talked to him. Weasened up little crawfish. I'd throw him back if I caught him. What'd you do? Lock him up? Not yet. So the killer's still walking around loose, is he? Yeah, he is. Hey, what's eating you? What do you stand there glaring at me for? I thought you said you'd never seen Dr. Schiff. I ain't, and if I ever do, I'll beat the tar off. I think you've done about enough beating. What do you mean? You were seen dragging your wife out of Schiller's trailer, Arm. The night she was killed. Yeah? Two witnesses saw you hit her. That's a lie. No, it isn't. You even found blood on the upholstery of your car that matches your wife's. Why are you sneaking loppers, snooping around my digs while I'm out at sea? I'll throw the both of you off here. I wouldn't try it, Arm. Put out your hand. I'll delish your glimpse for you. That's right, Jase! Told you not to try it. Get up now. Give me the cops, Clay. Hey, Jase. They ain't gonna get beef from murder, because I didn't mean to do it. I just wanted to teach her a lesson. You did kill her then. No, I just got sore and I struck out at her. And when she wouldn't answer me, I got madder and madder. You better come along, Arm. You can't blame me for this. She had it coming to her. She had it coming to her. Suppose we let the court decide this. Come on. In just a moment, we will tell you the results of the case you have just heard. Many of your favorite NBC programs already have returned to the air in their regular fall time periods. And throughout the coming weeks, many more great programs will once again be featured on the NBC radio network. This week, we know you'll want to hear the Cavalcade of America on Tuesday with Robert Cummings in the starring role. Wednesday brings another authentic big story and the recounting of a reporter's battle to prove the identity of a killer. Thursday on NBC features both the Roy Rogers show and Father Knows Best. And this Friday, Guy Lombardo will bring you the nation's most popular music on Your Hit Parade. These five favorite programs are sure to please, and they're only a small part of the entire weekly lineup of enjoyable listening on NBC. So remember, this week it's Cavalcade of America, the big story, Father Knows Best, the Roy Rogers show, and Your Hit Parade. Five favorites back for the fall season on the NBC radio network. Now, the conclusion of today's tales of the Texas Rangers. And now, here are the results of the case you have just heard. Confronted with the evidence against him, Thomas Red Orm signed a confession admitting the brutal killing of his wife. He was charged with murder with malice and sentenced to 99 years in the state penitentiary at Huntsville. No charge was made against Dr. Schiller. Next week, Joel McCray and other authentic reenactment of a case from the files of the Texas Rangers. McCray is currently seen in San Francisco's story, a Warner Brothers release. The cast included Tony Barrett, Herb Ellis, Henry Rowland, Dan Riss, Virginia Gregg, and Dick Beale. Technical advisor was Captain M.T. Lone Wolf Gonzales of the Texas Rangers. This story was transcribed and adapted by Betty Mears, and the program was produced and directed by Stacey Teet. Tales of the Texas Rangers is heard overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. This is Hal Gibney speaking.