 Suspense and its 96,000 dealers present Metro Golden Mayors star, Mr. Van Johnson in Salvage a suspense play produced and edited by William Spear Happy Easter, Mr. Wilcox. Thank you my happy haxter Say that motor sounds sweet as an Easter Sonnet ignition engineered auto light spark plugs no doubt Yes, sir. I just had a tuned up for the Easter parade. Well, you know auto light ignition engineers a complete line of spark plugs Including regular transport aviation marine and the famous auto light resistor spark plug spark plug that offers four big advantages to car owners everywhere Go on, Mr. Wilcox. We're right in the middle of the Easter parade now Well, white gap auto light resistor spark plugs give greater gas savings faster starts in cold weather smoother performance even double life under equal conditions compared to spark plugs without the built-in resistor Every advantage a winner and it's all because of the 10,000 ohm exclusive Auto light resistor built right into every auto light resistor spark plug to make practical a wider initial gap setting So friends see your friendly auto light spark plug dealer tomorrow have him replace worn out spark plugs with ignition engineered Auto light spark plugs whether you choose the resistor type of the regular type You'll be right because you're always right with auto light And now with salvage and the performance of van Johnson auto light hopes once again to keep you in Suspends so it's gone up and smoke. Oh, I'm not complaining Maybe four hundred thousand dollars seems a little steep a week ago I would have said four hundred grand was a lot of money to light a cigarette with But it's funny the things you find out the things that are really important when you're about to die She came in without knocking and sat down on the edge of my rooming house bed And it was so quiet you could hear the Springs Creek both of them I went unpacking my suitcase after a quick look for the changes marriage sometimes makes in a woman. I Found none. She was still as approachable as a park bench She sat there watching me and suddenly I realized that love can be as close to hate as the two sides of a thin dime Going somewhere. No, I just pack a suitcase to keep in training someday. I may have to skip out in a hurry Miss me beat it. I'm busy Just as I thought You still love me Danny deep down. What did you come up here for to excavate? No, but you might be interested in the job any job. You could offer me wouldn't pay enough It might and my income tax would be too high beat it. It's a job flying a plane Who's plane if you're interested you can get the details tonight All I know is that there's good money in it and it's temporary. What isn't are you interested? Where do I get the details? How about Mike's on 59th Street for dinner 8 o'clock? I'll think it over You always said you like adventure better than money. I never said that I like them both Well, you get them both forget this job If I get it who will I be working for my husband who else? Mr. And Mrs. Wendell H. Davis arrived at Mike's a little after nine He was the kind of a good-natured back slapping handshaking guy that dogs rough up against and children each spinach from Sorry, we kept you waiting Connor just couldn't help it, you know unexpected business forget You know what I think Connor there are only two kinds of people in this world Those were always waiting for something and those who keep them waiting How about something to eat it can wait? What's the deal? The deal. Oh, of course, of course Gloria thinks you can handle a certain job Connor if it's a flying job. I can handle it That's what I like to hear confidence. Nothing like confidence in yourself Where did you learn to fly the United States Navy? Don't say that's wonderful I was in myself back in the First World War got myself assigned to a trim and see whether you desk as you could find in Washington How long we in four years four years don't say can you navigate? Sure, the United States Navy likes to know where it's going All right the job George if you don't mind mr. Davis, I'd like to know what kind of a job it is You'll be working for the Intercontinent salvage corporation an enterprise incorporated under the laws of the state of New York Are you satisfied? What are you gonna salvage? Gold that's nice work. Is there money in it? Say this fellow's killing me Gloria. I wonder if that would quiet you a little We're in business Connor to salvage gold in the ocean bottom Tell me do you know what a galleon is sure for quartz? All right Now this is a serious business matter Connor if you aren't interested just say so a galleon is an old Spanish sailing vessel Gallions the kind of a boat the spaniards used to use to send gold back to spain Here see this map here the circle takes in Cuba and the Bahamas right in here They went down by the dozens gold and all sometimes pirates sunk them sometimes they hit a hurricane But the gold is still there billions billions Some of the places marked here actually show latitude and longitude if the stuff is located So exactly why hasn't it been salvaged till now plenty of it's been salvaged already You don't hear about it because the government has a habit of taking such big cuts that most salvage work has kept secret And some of it's a little harder to get at why well just little things like hurricane sharks poison coral sometimes island savages But intercontinent is going down after that gold on a big scale legitimately I see you're making it a big business exactly We're a stock corporation with almost a half a million dollars invested capital and where does my job come in exactly now Conner do we have to discuss all the details right now? Glory is hungry. You're so right. I'm hungry, too Let's relax and eat forget business for a while. No, let's not All right Have a joy way Connor Briefly there are three parts to it The first is to do as you're told the second is to keep your mouth shut and the third is to fly an airplane That's simple enough, huh? How much does the third part pay? It's not piecework Connor The whole job pays 10,000 so far so good your job is to scout the area ahead of the salvage vessel The only way to cover that much water is with an airplane. Does that satisfy you? It was something about when the late stabis an intercontinent salvage corporation I didn't like and when I saw the tub charted by Intercontinent I liked it even less she was built back in the 90s Her original boilers had long since been replaced with a pair of pocket-sized oil burners There was nothing left of her bright work and the varnish had peeled off topside She didn't look safe enough to sail in a fish pond the last thing to go border was the plane a war surplus job Davis bought from somebody who had picked it up cheap from war assets It was fitted with pontoons and extra gas tanks and I took her up to the Cape and back in a trial spin with Wendell H Davis accompanying me Think she's good enough to fly non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Mexico You want to brush up in your geography just answer my question Connor don't worry about my geography my geography is fine And your sense of direction is not so good when I go on that way answer my question If you want to fly out of the Gulf of Mexico, I guess she'll oblige Out of the 11 o'clock tide that night. It was after 10 Behind me in the afterdeck. I heard a soft step in the darkness. It was Gloria Going to kiss me. Goodbye. Seems were always saying goodbye. I'll miss you darling Save it for your husband. I was just thinking of saying goodbye to him myself. What do you mean this job? I don't like I don't think this tub can even get out to sea. What are you worrying about? There's a plane on board I still don't like it. What don't you like about it Danny? Mostly Wendell H Davis I don't think he's the good natured backslapping guy. He seems It's a long trip Something might happen to him an accident an accident you heard what he said hurricane Darks poison coral if you didn't want somebody to come back it'd be easy You'd be sitting pretty if he didn't come back wouldn't you? We would Danny together Is that why you got me this job because I love you and I know you still love me We wouldn't ever have to say goodbye again. This would be the last time I'll be waiting for you darling There was a smile on her face like a cat that swallowed a bowl of cream. I stood there Everything was a matter with this setup my smiling employer whom I didn't trust a tub of a ship to sail in and a plane That wouldn't have passed inspection in World War one and Gloria whose real name was trouble. What sense was that of taking a job like that? No sense. Maybe that's why I took it. The light is bringing you Van Johnson in salvage tonight's production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills suspense Get an Easter eggs, mr. Wilcox eggs. Yes, sir half a dozen assorted colors And what do you think was in them? You're right You're right a set of white gap auto light resistor spark plugs the newest addition to the complete line of regular transport aviation Marine resistor and model spark plugs ignition engineered by auto light a man You should have heard those proud beauties all firing in perfect order after I had him installed my car The Easter Bunny was sure good to you, mr. Wilcox Sure was because those white gap auto light resistor spark plugs give every car owner greater gas savings smoother performance Faster starts in cold weather even double life as compared to spark plugs without the built-in resistor And it's all because a 10,000 ohm exclusive auto light resistor is built right into every auto light resistor spark plug This makes practical a wider initial gap setting the advantages of which have long been recognized by automotive engineers So friends see your friendly auto light spark plug dealer tomorrow have him replace worn-out spark plugs with ignition engineered Auto light spark plugs whether you choose the resistor type or the regular type You'll be right because you're always right with auto light And now auto light brings back to our Hollywood soundstage our star van Johnson in salvage a tale well calculated to keep you in Suspense When the tub went out on the 11 o'clock tide that night I was on it I kept thinking about Gloria and why she got me that job. I kept wondering if the tub could stay afloat I kept wondering why Davis asked about flying the Gulf of Mexico And then I found something else to wonder about It took me a couple of days to realize that there was something funny about the crew There were six Chinese who slept below deck aft and none of them could speak English Cook was a Korean and this conversation consisted of a wide grin the three deckhands were fresh from Portugal The mate was a sullen German and the captain was almost completely deaf Boozer besides It took me a couple of days, but suddenly I realized what it was There wasn't a man in that crew I could talk to see anything a mr. Davis The big boys Look, you don't have to talk my ear off just answer. Yes or no Listen, you're the mate on this tub and we're off our course I tried to tell the captain, but he's so tanked up will be in Gallipagos before his head clears. Hey Oh nuts I've beat it into the radio cabin the operator ought to be told we're off our course I opened the door and saw the operator at his table earphones clamped on He looked around at me and I stopped it The operator and the radio cabin was a skinny red-headed kid with a frightened look on his baby face The only one in the crew who could speak English was a badly frightened kid. My name's Connor I'm the pilot for that crate out there mine Scott. Come on in I can get in this cubby hole must have been built to hold a captain's toothbrush What I wanted was to to check the time from Arlington. Sure. They'll be on in a few minutes You're not exactly an old sea dog. Are you? This is my first job You look nervous well, I I Want to make good, but I anything wrong Do you know exactly where we are somewhere along the coast of Florida? Why what's the latitude and longitude of where we are now? Well, let's see now the latitude is about 30 and the longitude is around 78. That's right So why does mr. Davis tell me to send a message that our latitude is 25 and longitude is 72 what? We are within 500 miles of there. Why does he want anyone to think we are I wonder Did you see the diving equipment? Yeah, I once saw some divers work. This stuff is no good That's what I thought myself. I wouldn't wear it in a bathtub. I hate to think of anyone going down in it Maybe nobody has to get down on it. Huh? Maybe nobody was ever supposed to get down on it What do you mean? Maybe this whole trip is a fake fake Maybe what Wendell H Davis is doing is skipping with the money invested in intercontinent salvage corporation That would explain everything a broken down tub that's going nowhere a crew that asks no questions A plane that's meant to fly Davis out of the country while this tub has reported 500 miles from here Oh, I I don't know what to do. I'm not supposed to send false information when I know it's false You might get yourself in a lot of trouble scotty if you don't you're right But I ought to do my duty report our position accurately And that's what I'm gonna do the plane started gonna he was just a scared kid Get the plane started just a kid worrying about his first job. You heard me Connor Get the plane started There was blood oozing under my shoe. I looked at the table at the dangling earphones Then I went out with davis following me the gun trembling a little in his pudgy hand He got a black release like bank messengers carry out of his cabin On deck the crew got steam on one of the winches They freed the boom and davis climbed into the plane beside me. I turned on the ignition We bobbed on the water and taxied for a minute to find the wind and warm the motor We gathered speed like a roller coaster the waves slapping at the pontoons I climbed to about 3 000 feet and leveled off The gun was still pointing at me. You can throw that gun away davis keep flying Where to about 10 miles south of tampa my wife's waiting to be picked up We rented a beach cottage there a couple of weeks ago. Are you sure she's waiting? That's the trouble with you connor you don't trust women because you don't understand them Woman has no sense of justice like children and madmen. You can't hold them responsible for anything Maybe she's waiting maybe not and after that across the Gulf When do you pay me when we land in mexico safe? Look davis as long as we're both in this plane anything that happens to me happens to you too So we're not going to land anywhere. You throw that gun away when we land in mexico. You'll get your money It's a matter. Don't you trust me? How much is in that bag all the assets of intercontinental salvage corporation 400 grand A lot of fish to toast to the sharks sharks down there big enough to swallow a guy like you in one gulp Which goes into the drink the gun or you? The gun stays where it is Okay, the 6 000 feet I looked at him this hand was steady the gun still pointing at me I cut the throttle and we drifted a moment and lurched a nose straight down The wind screamed louder and louder past the wings. I looked at davis again He was pale, but his hand didn't move an inch at a thousand feet it twisted at 500 I stopped breathing the plane was twisting out of control the water coming at us like a tidal wave At 300 feet I threw open the throttle the plane clawed for altitude But the wind was hitting it like a pneumatic drill trying to crack it wide open It was a miracle that I leveled off Davis you win I I could have told you I always do you don't know how close you came to being wrong I almost lost control. We almost hit the water like a tub of cement. Yeah for a minute there you look kind of worried It's easy to make a mistake about someone like Wendell H Davis He looked like a good natured back slapping guy until you got a close look at those gray murderous eyes On a dark beach with the dim lights of a car I brought the plane down on the water and taxied as close as possible I climbed out with davis behind me. We waited in He was grinning as gloria came taught us Ah Got a rented car sure got in Tampa like you said well started I don't like flying with Connor. He almost spilled me in the drink He might try it again. Is this where I collect like that frightened kid in the radio cabin? What happened the lesser woman knows the smarter she is Start the car you won't get away when that tub is found you'll be wanted for murder me why I I couldn't kill him. I don't even exist and neither do you what do you mean? The captain will swear this plane was upscouting ahead of the salvage vessel when it crashed into the sea And both of us were lost you paid him and now so he'll stick to his story We were over a bad stretch. No chance of finding us little things like hurricanes sharks poison coral Even savages so you had your disappearance from that tub all planned You don't look happy carna That's too bad. I like to see a man die happy I stood there paralyzed She tried to hold on to his arm after knocking it aside Blood was crawling down her face He wrenched his arm free and she sank down on the beach I don't know how I got to him, but I heard the crushing sound as I hit him I could feel his nose spread under my fist like unbaked dough The gun dropped him his linked fingers, but I didn't stop to look I threw myself at him His heels kicked up in my face and I stopped back The look of his hudgy face was more astonishment than pain He sank to one knee and tried to get up and fell He lifted his head like a lizard in the sand, but there were no more words before it dropped again She was still firing the empty gun at him. I took the gun gently from her hand. I lifted her head Smooth back her hair Is he dead? Dead enough. Just just put your head back Everything's blurred You'll be all right. That shot just sampled your skin. Just a superficial wound. That's all That killed him I thought when you got me that job, you know, that would pay off would be I was all wrong about you You risked your life for me My head spinning. Oh, you're gonna be all right. Everything's gonna be all right now Once we get across the Gulf just as he said he doesn't exist The plane fell into the sea while scouting ahead of the salvage vessel the captain will swear to it Your late husband bought us our freedom paid for it himself Gloria She blacked out I thought of getting her a doctor right away, but that would be too risky. It was just a superficial wound mostly shock I tore off part of my shirt and wetted at the water's edge I washed the blood from her hair and face and bay of the wound I lifted her gently in my arms and carried her out to the plane and made her comfortable Then I went back for davis I searched him, but he wasn't carrying anything no identification just a claim ticket on express office in mexico city I took it and I got his body into the plane and climbed an after him with the black bag I turned on the ignition and the plane moved out into the gulf I got rid of everything in my own pockets everything that could identify me just to be safe All I kept was an old cigarette case with no initials A pocket compass and the express ticket Then I began prying open the lock in the black bag. I felt good A strange feeling of being completely detached from the world down there free of it Them I didn't exist anymore 400 grand could make a world of its own a world for just gloria and me A bright moon road between broken patches of cloud as I got the lock open I stared in I heard myself breathing hard as if somebody else was grinning over my shoulder The bag was filled with strips of newspaper I don't know how long I stared straight ahead like a blind man I heard gloria murmur and coming out of it. I grabbed her arm The money it's not in that bag that black bag's a fake Told me just before he sailed What he really did with it told you what? Didn't tell me till just before he sailed Didn't trust anyone not even me Freight I might double cross told you what where is it must be carrying an express ticket an express ticket That's why I was waiting for him at the beach cottage. What's the express ticket for? Where are we Danny? Are you taking me to a doctor? We'll get to a doctor. Don't worry. What's the express ticket for? trunk Mexico city express office More money is in it The express ticket then everything is okay. That ticket's worth 400 grand and we've got it. We've got it Where are we Danny? Don't worry about a thing darling once we get across the gulf everything will be all right Now don't worry. I'll get you to a doctor as soon as we get across you blacked out But it was only a shock just a superficial wound turn back. I got you into the turn back Danny What's wrong? We'll be across the gulf. Did you hear me turn back? Ah look darling get a hold of yourself. I haven't sakes listened to me turn back. What's wrong with you? I'm doing this because I love you. Do you want to risk a murder charge? You can't prove you killed him to save me You you think I cared what happened to you? I did it because I hated him because he killed who? You don't mean scotty turn back. Please What's that poor kid got to do with you? Poor kid That baby face could fool anyone and always did We once had a dancing act together. I got him a job on that tub job We had it all planned it was so simple we thought all we had to do was switch black bags and once you took my husband across the gulf Something's wrong that first night out scotty drained the extra gas tanks He left enough gas to take this plane about halfway out over the gulf like rats teeth By the third night gloria was completely out of her head Weren't pretty bad shape yourself when this freighter picked you up by the seventh day. I gave up all hope Till then I figured I had a chance maybe maybe one chance in a thousand Chance worth 400 grand And you made it If you kept quiet about that express ticket, there is no express ticket Found a soaked cigarette in my case It didn't take long to dry So I had a cigarette But no match till I remember the compass in my pocket Compass with a little magnifying glass on it You know how the sun's raised through a glass like that can set fire to the paper And I had a piece of paper just one piece That express ticket I didn't touch it day after day a clunk of that one chance in a thousand for seven days seven We picked you up on the seventh day You mean just before we like I said, I'm not complaining That cigarette sure felt good felt like a million dollars Suspense presented by auto light tonight star van johnson What a parade. I'm sorry. It's over over why my merry man of motors the auto light parade is never over It's a parade of over 400 products for cars trucks planes and boats in 28 plants coast to coast These include complete electrical systems used as original equipment on many makes of america's cars spark plugs batteries generators coils distributors starting motors bullseye sealed beam headlights All engineered to fit together perfectly work together perfectly because they're a perfect team So friends don't accept electrical parts supposed to be as good Ask for and insist on auto light original factory parts at your neighborhood service station car dealer garage or repair shop Remember you're always right with auto light Next thursday for suspense our star will be dan daily The play is called six feet under and it is as we say a tale. Well calculated to keep you in a spend Night suspense play was produced and edited by william spear and directed by norman mcdonnell Music for suspense is composed by lucian morroweck and conducted by ludd bluskin Salvage is an original play written for radio by sydney renthal Van johnson is appearing on suspense by arrangement with metro golden mayor Producers of the Irving burley and technicolor musical anne get your gun starring belly hutton howard keel and luis calhoun In the coming weeks, you will hear such stars as arthur godfrey magnus moorhead Don't forget next thursday same time auto light will present suspense starring dan daily Auto light resists to all regular spark plugs auto light stay full batteries Auto light electrical parts at your neighborhood auto light dealers switch to auto light. Good night Join in the fight against a killer which claims 562 americans each day Strike back at cancer by giving a generous contribution to your local committee of the american cancer society Mail your contribution to cancer care of your local post office do it today This is cbs the columbia broadcasting system