 The signal oil program The whistler That whistle is your signal for the signal oil program The whistler and the whistler and I know many things for I walked by night I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak Yes friends, it's time for the signal oil program the whistler Rated tops in popularity for a longer period of time than any other West Coast program in radio history and Signal gasoline is tops to tops in quality It takes extra quality, you know to give you extra mileage and signal is the famous go farther gasoline So look for the signal circle sign in yellow and black that identifies friendly dealer owned signal stations from Canada to Mexico And now the whistler strange story chain reaction Johnny Turner was packing his suitcase, but mentally he was tearing up his train ticket to Chicago It had been several years since Johnny used to wonder while barnstorming the country if his mind was playing tricks on him If Diana could really be as beautiful as the image of her that clung to his thoughts like adhesive When he came back he found that Diana was everything he dreamed of and more She was not only as beautiful. She was married She had everything that money could buy but still she kept coming around to see him still as approachable as a park bench Now as she sat on his bed in the cheap rooming house watching impact He realized all over again how close love is to hate as close as the two sides of his last thin dime So you're leaving John you catch on quick just to avoid me is that it? Are you going traveling? I got a road job selling song sheets and razor blades if I work hard to put me on buggy whips any more questions Johnny go away. I'm not in the market Johnny. Why don't you stop pretending you still love me? You know you do I said go away. You depress me You need me Johnny. I need you like I need three thumbs You really don't mean that Try me again All right, all right Johnny have it your way. I just dropped by to see if you'd be interested in the job I have a job this one pays a lot of money and my income tax will be too high. No a lot of money Just fly a plane hose If you're interested you can get all the details tonight. It's a nice setup Johnny and Temporary like everything else Are you interested? Yeah In the dough sweetheart You're so eager But then you always were I don't ever remember you throwing rocks at me darlin Where do I get the details? How about Mike's cafe for dinner? Do you have enough money to get your pants pressed? Yeah, sure maybe both legs. Oh here Johnny take this I told you before I don't need any hand being so touchy You won't get this job if you come looking like a tramp if I get the job. Who will I be working for? My husband. Oh your husband, huh? What are you up to Diana? Nothing at all darling see you tonight Bartender yeah, my clock right sure. It's a matter of time to go friends. Thank you. No, maybe your husband did Skip it. Give me another bourbon of water and send it over to our table. Will you bartender? Yeah? Hello, Johnny This is Frank Sorry, we kept you waiting Turner. Oh, that's all right. There are two kinds of people in this world Those are always waiting for somebody and those who keep you waiting. You just made that up. Yeah. Yeah, I get better as the evening goes along Shall we go to our table gentlemen? Sure. Ah waltz my barbill take care of it, huh? I left my wallet and my other suit You do get better as the evening goes along don't you? Somehow you hadn't pictured Diana's husband this way had you Johnny? A bald red-faced chubby little man with bright beady eyes thin moist lips that seem to be fixed in a perpetual grin He keeps sizing you up all through dinner asking question after question. You become slightly annoyed Look walsh are you gonna write the story of my life or give me a job? Now don't be that way Johnny naturally Frank has to know a few things before I thought you'd given him the build-up she has Diana is quite certain you'll be able to do the job Haven't told me yet what the job is walsh and there are three parts to it One you do as you're told two you keep your mouth shut Three you fly a plane How much does the third part pay? It's not piece work The whole job pays five grand and it won't take us more than three weeks to complete the job Five grand is a lot of dough for three weeks Keep talking You'll be working for the continental salvage company. What are you gonna salvage gold? Well, that sounds like nice work There money in it when business to salvage gold from the ocean bottom and take a look at this Oh a map Just like in the movies, huh? Now this area here Cuba Jamaica During the war several ships went down here. They were carrying large shipments of gold Most of the gold is still there most of it I don't recall hearing a lot of it has already been salvaged You don't hear about it because the government has a habit of demanding a rather large cut in the profits So most of the salvage work has been kept quiet However, we're going down there after the gold on a big scale Legitimately, uh-huh Big business for a stock corporation turner With half a million dollars invested capital Where out is my job come in your job is to scout the area ahead of the salvage vessel And the only way to cover that much water is with a plane What do you say Johnny? Do you want the job? Okay, walsh You just bought yourself a pilot Even for five thousand dollars there's something about this deal you don't like Johnny And the following day when you see the queen oriana The ship chartered by continental salvage corporation you like it even less An old broken down tub built back in the 90s as a yacht now part of a small fleet of fishing boats There's nothing left of her bright work and the varnish is all peeled off her rotting mahogany She doesn't look safe enough to sail in a fish pond The last thing to go aboard her is the plane you to fly The trim sleek looking cabin cruiser fitted with pontoons You look her over very carefully, don't you Johnny? And you notice the extra gas tank And you also notice that the plane is without radio As you slip out of the plane and jump down to the deck walsh comes towards you Where what do you think of her turner? She'll do think she's good enough to fly non-stop over the Gulf of Mexico Gulf of Mexico You ought to brush up on your geography My geography's all right and your sense of direction is not so good. We're not going that way Answer my question Okay If you want to fly the Gulf of Mexico, I guess you'll oblige But I wouldn't figure on setting it down on the water the Gulf can get awfully nasty at times and bad weather This plane wouldn't last an hour. I said non-stop, didn't I? Yeah Yeah, that's what you said You watch him as he waddles down the deck and disappears into his cabin And you wonder about his sudden interest in the Gulf of Mexico Yes, there's something about all this you don't like And then just before you sail that night while walsh is below decks You meet Diana her eyes are glazed with a sweet sorrow of parting. Goodbye darling. Goodbye Diana When you come back Johnny, I'll be waiting for you You said that the last time remember don't you think I know what a terrible mistake I made I think saying goodbye is a sort of pastime with you Some women enjoy crocheting or tatting it's not too late Johnny when you come back We'll have enough money to go away together If we do come back according to plan your husband will still be able to outbid me But I love you Johnny I may decide to stay in Cuba you won't Because you love me. You know you do no matter where you go. You will always come back to me You know something Diana What darling? You're so right The way I feel about you is like a disease I'll come back without him What did you say? If anything happened to him on the way back and An accident you'd be sitting pretty wouldn't you all that dog? We'd be sitting pretty darling And we'd never have to say goodbye again. This would be the last time the last time Johnny Well Who knows Accidents do happen With the prologue of chain reaction the signal oil company is bringing you another strange story By the whistler But now a word to you drivers If you want to keep performance up and wear down during the months of hard summer driving ahead It's time to see your signal dealer now for a spring changeover from winter weary lubricants Costly transmission and differential gears need the protection of fresh summer weight signal gear lube For limbering up the chassis. There's no spring tonic like a signal double check lube job And of course your motor should be drained and refilled with fresh motor oil Wait a minute. Did I say motor oil? Well, don't you say motor oil be sure you say signal premium compounded motor oil For signal premium is the improved type lubricant that far outperforms the finest regular motor oils money can buy You see because signal fortifies 100 pure paraffin base with scientific compounds Signal premium does more than just lubricate In fact tests prove signal premium actually keeps motor six times cleaner and reduces cylinder wear one third Your guarantee of a sweeter running motor But remember this only signal service stations have signal premium compounded motor oil A mighty good reason i'd say why there's just one place to take your car for this spring's changeover Your neighborhood signal service station And now back to the whistler You could hardly ask for a better job. Could you john? $5,000 to fly a plane for the continental salvage corporation in the carabin The work is easy and the opportunity unlimited Yes unlimited john If anything should happen to waltz an accident you and diana his wife would be sitting pretty The boat goes out of the 11 o'clock tired that night On the second day out you discover the ship is off its course and you'll hurry to find waltz There's no answer from his cabin as you turn and start down the deck you run into the mate Hey, you seen anything you mr. Walsh Well look you don't have to talk my ear off just answer yes or no Listen you're the mate on this tub. We're way off our course. I tried to tell the captain, but he's so drunk We'll be in Madagascar before he straightens out Why don't you answer me? What's the matter with you? He stares at you stupidly then walks away without a word Yes, that's something else you'd notice. There's something strange about the crew, isn't there johnny? There are six chinese who sleep below decks none of them speaks english The cook is a korean and his conversation consists of a wide grin The three deckhands are fresh out of portugal the mate is a sullen german and the captain lies in his bunk in a drunken stupor There isn't a man in the entire crew you can talk to But wait You've forgotten the radio operator quickly. You hurry to the radio shack You find him at his table a kid a gangly kid with a shock of red hair that keeps falling down over his forehead And he looks nervous My name is turner johnny turner. I'm the pilot for that plan on deck mine scott melvin scott. They call me scottie Glad to know you. I uh, I just wanted to check the time for marling. Oh sure beyond a few minutes I was just writing a letter to my kid's sister in scranton Thought I might get it in the mail when we put in somewhere You're not exactly an old sea dog. I is scottie. No, uh, no, it was my first job. You like it I don't know I I want to make good and all that but You send our position in lately Yeah, a couple hours ago. Mr. Walsh gave me the message. There it is on the spindle. Can I look at it? Sure Well, I thought so What what's the matter? Well, this is all wrong kid. We're not within 200 miles of this position What? Yeah Oh, this is all beginning to wear it up Have you taken a look at that diving equipment on deck? Yeah, yeah, I kind of wondered about that. It doesn't look so good to me. I wouldn't wear it in a bathtub I hate to think of anybody using that stuff Maybe no one was ever supposed to use it kid What do you mean? Maybe this whole trip is a phony A broken down tub that's a cinch to go to pieces before we reach the caravan Morph eat and diving equipment a crew that doesn't speak a word of english and Look kid. Yeah, you better report our correct position Gee, I figured it out scottie. I know exactly where we are Look, mr. Turner. I don't want to get into any trouble. You will if you don't do as I say I didn't know that stuff. I was sending with phone while you do now Okay, kid. What'll it be? All right, mr. Turner good get on the key and start sending scottie. I'll give you You turn around to find waltz standing in the doorway His eyes wild red rim the gun trembling a little in his pudgy hand Come on turner. We're getting out of here. He was just a kid. Why did you have to very sad? I know now come on the poor dumb innocent kid. I said come on We're going for a little airplane ride turner Time you started earning your money On deck you find the crew ready to set the plane over side of the cargo boom Walsh holds a small black valise in one hand waves the gun and the other shouting orders Then the two of you climb into the plane A few minutes later you're gathering speed like a roller coaster the waves slapping at the pontoons And then slowly she lifts You climbed to 3 000 feet and level up the gun in waltz's hand is still in your back You're gonna put the gun away now walls keep flying Where to a few miles north of campers My wife will be waiting there on the beach And after that mexico across the gulf Think you can make veracruz That depends on what When do I get the five grand when we land in mexico? You expect me to believe that why not? Don't you trust me look again friend. I'm not a stockholder What do you mean didn't take you long to pack that valise how much is in it? All the assets of the continental salvage corporation Like diana said you're a smart boy Almost half a million That's a lot of fish to feed to the sharks shark. Yeah, look down there Makes me dizzy As long as we're both in this plane anything that happens to me happens to you Throw the gun away. Sorry Come on waltz which goes into the drink the gun or you the gun stays where it is Okay Time to five thousand feet his hand is steady the gun still in your back You cut the throttle and drift for a moment then lurch and nose straight down Through the windshield is the blue water of the atlantic You can hear the wind sing louder and louder past the wings you look at waltz again He's pale, but his gunhand doesn't move an inch at two thousand feet at twitches At one thousand you stop breathing the water comes at you like a tidal wave the plane twists wildly You pull open the throttle the wind hits you like a nomadic drill Threatening to crack the plane wide open and then by a miracle you level off Okay, waltz you win. I I could have told you I always do At the risk of being delightfully corny again may I say something what? You'll never get away with this no When that boat captain's soul was up. He'll get a message to the coast guard. You'll be wanted for murder Let me tell you something turner By now there's nothing left of that ship that splinters. Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you a friend of mine named vogel Sort of a clockmaker very handy Especially with explosives explosives. That's right I planted mr. Vogel's bomb in the ship myself Now that old tub is gone and we you and I We were blown apart with it You see turner. I I thought of everything. Yeah Yeah, you sure did By nightfall you reach the west coast of florida Finally waltz gives you the signal and you bring the plane down on the smooth water of a lagoon You taxi as close to the shore as possible and then cut the motor The plane barbs gently up and down and you sit waiting Walsh keeps looking in the direction of a small cottage some 200 yards up the beach Then it is watch Well, we're gonna wait here all night. I'm going ashore wait here. I'll make you think I will This my boy This little release with half a million dollars in it. Oh Ever since we left the boat you've been figuring on some way to relieve me out of it, haven't you? Frankly, I have kicked the idea around once or twice stop wasting your time turner All you're getting out of this deal is the five grand. I promised you Who knows When you drop a safe and sound in mexico, I might be tempted to throw in another five That's a big onion I'll be right back. Don't uh go away. I won't walsh I won't You watch him as he wades ashore still holding the small black police You can see him in the bright moonlight running along the shore Then he disappears into the trees that surround the cottage and you wait 15 minutes a half hour goes by and still walsh hasn't returned You slip a wrench into your jacket ease yourself into the water and start for the shore A few minutes later you're hurrying toward the cottage and you're almost there when the front door opens And you duck into the shadows the wrench is in your hand and you wait Then you hear the footsteps coming along the path closer And closer as they reach you you step out of the shadows holding the wrench high in the air Johnny Diana Where's walsh back there in the cottage. What happened? What difference does it make? I have the bag. Let's get out Diana what happened? He's dead. I had to do it johnny for us. I had to there's a half a million dollars here darling And it's all ours now Johnny wait. Where are you going with cottage? We can't leave him there. Why not? He was supposed to have been blown up with a boat remember What are we good to do? I'm gonna take him with us. We can dump him out in the gulf. Come on. No, johnny No, I don't want to go back there. Oh here you can have the bag if you think i'm going to run out on you All right Wait here. I'll be right back You find walsh sprawled on the cottage floor Stabbed to death the murder knife a few feet away Quickly you pick him up and return to the beach where diana is waiting for you Then you wait out to the plane and a few minutes later you're skimming across the bay headed towards the gulf Some 20 miles out you help diana open the door a bright moon rides between broken patches of clouds With a vicious kick you help her push the body of frank walsh out into space Its size shrinks like a punctured balloon and disappears into the dark waters of the gulf You know the plane up for a steady climb and then level off Mexico johnny a little more than a thousand miles over the gulf Mexico with diana and a half a million dollars Johnny yeah I'm not sorry. It turned out this way. Are you Why should I be I got you on a half a million bucks? I'm walking a guy once I told you we'd be sitting pretty and I meant it Yeah, by morning. We'll be in Mexico. We can land this crate burn it up known 11 o'clock We can start all over like nothing ever happened and we'll never have to say goodbye again, darling Never baby never The whistler will return in just a moment with a strange ending to tonight's story Meantime a tip to you drivers who have wished there was some way to be sure that the gasoline you're choosing is tops in quality Check your speedometer Because in gasoline it takes extra quality to go farther Which explains why we're so proud of the fact that throughout the west from canada to mexico Signal is famous as the go farther gasoline Sure, you signal drivers are enthusiastic about signals quicker starting signals faster pickup and signals smooth knock free power But remember this the only way today signal gasoline can give you that superior kind of performance Which you expect of a superior quality motor fuel Is by helping your motor run more efficiently? And when your motor runs more efficiently, you don't have to guess about it You see proof of it right on your own speedometer in mileage. The thing signal gasoline is famous for That's why signal says to be sure of the tops in gasoline quality. There are just two things to remember One it takes extra quality to go farther And two signal is the famous go farther gasoline And now back to the whistler Yes, it was a lucky break wasn't it johnny when you accepted frank waltz's offer to fly for the continental salvage corporation in the caribbean Now waltz is dead and you're on your way to mexico Racing through the night sky over the gulf with diana and the small valet containing half a million dollars You look down at the dark churning waters of the gulf and you feel strangely detached from the world Free of it free of its laws and its justice Yes, johnny No one will ever think of looking for you They will all believe you were blown up with the boat chartered by the continental salvage corporation 36 hours later You scarcely enter the minds of the coast guard officer and the police lieutenant Abort the salvage ship queen noriana as they look down in the lifeless body of the murdered radio operator Well, there he is just the way we found him any identification. Mm-hmm his radio license named scott melvin scott Oh, we also found this the latter. He was writing to a man named bogel now. Let me see It's about meeting bogel in the warlands with a half a million dollars. Yeah You should see me play the innocent kid my own mother wouldn't know me I found the bomb you gave walsh. He'd already planted it. I dumped it overboard the first night out The way I got it figured Walsh won't try a getaway in the plane to mexico until the night It'll be a cinch for me to get into his cabin and switch bags on him And I'll have a half million bucks when I meet you in your audience. It's really funny. Yeah Looks like the joke was on scott. He was shot before I got a chance to switch bags You send an alarm out on this man walsh his pilot turner. Mm-hmm the whole gulf area has been in the lookout But no one said of them No one will mean walsh and turner got away. No, they didn't I managed to get some information out of the mate with my limited knowledge of german and a lot of gesture What's that? The mate saw this radio operator scott around the plane the other night. You can still smell a gasoline in the afterdeck Scott drained the extra gas tanks That plane didn't have enough gas to take the more than a hundred miles out over the gulf Let that whistle be your signal for the signal oil program the whistler each wednesday night at this same time Brought to you by the signal oil company marketers of signal gasoline and motor oil and fine quality automotive accessories Signal has asked me to remind you to get the most driving pleasure drive at sensible speeds be courteous and obey traffic regulations It may save a life Possibly your own featured in tonight's story were frank love joy and jone banks The whistler was produced and directed by george w allen with story by sydney renthal and music by wilbur hatch And was transmitted to our troops overseas by the arm forces radio service Next wednesday for a full hour of mystery over most of these stations tune in a half hour earlier Enjoy the saint as well as the whistler Marvin miller speaking This is cbs the columbia broadcasting system