 The signal oil program The whistler whistle is your signal for the signal oil program The whistler. Hey, I'm the whistler and I know many things for I walk 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 by independent research the most popular 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 service stations from Canada to Mexico Now the whistler strange story curtain call Somehow standing there at the bar glass in hand Martin Elliott found himself thinking that even his wife Julia had her good points He looked across the room of the restaurant at her sitting there alone And in a strange wave of generosity almost forgave her for the wedding he had to go through The honeymoon he had to smile through the two years of marriage he had to live through after it Yes, it had paid off now. He was no longer Martin Elliott a hopeful juvenile Standing hat in hand in front of the desks of assorted Broadway producers. No not now All afternoon the casual remark he dropped during lunch at Bronelle's had been hustling around the Broadway hangouts like a genie Sitting at a hundred tables leaning on a thousand bars between noon and six Until now as he stood in the pleasant gloom of Raymond. He was at long last important. Oh Martin my boy. Hello season. Let me be the first of you're the 28th in the last half hour Congratulations. Anyway, it's all over the stem. You know, yes, sir Hamilton Tervis the great Tervis himself is writing a starring vehicle for Broadway's most promising juvenile layoff And you know what your heritage months for only one reason my boy You're looking for just the right character man, and it just so happens that I'm at liberty Heaven's sake stop being such a rotten snob and say hello to your secret sorrow Now look here Martin Hamilton Tervis always writes an old witch into his comedies and I mean to get the party Hamilton's only been working on it a few weeks hurry him up my boy He's your wife's brother, isn't he walk right into the sanctum sanctorum and tell him he'd better get a move on after all Skip it. It works out. We'll get in touch with you. How do you like that the brush? Nothing new to yes, it's a show now if you'll excuse me. I think I'll get back to do it. Well, I'm sorry I left you long so long darling. I wasn't alone long dear Gordon Tucker's here Getting really fat and close. He has wonderful news Martin. He reached Hamilton by phone an hour ago in the contract Signed oh better yet. It's in the mail. Oh Julia darling did I ever tell you what a wonderful brother you have sometimes I think that's why you married me What what else did Gordon say? Oh, there might be a picture contract after the play. He's working on it Maybe the guy's a real agent after all just think darling Now you won't have to take that awful stock party offered you in Boston. Yeah Get a match, Julia. Uh-huh. Here you are. We can go away together now Martin All by ourselves. I wired for reservations this morning at that little hotel at Lake Louise. Oh wait a minute, honey Wait a minute. You're not serious. Why not? Oh, I can't run off just now. Good Martin. You promise I can't help it darling. I take two weeks together as soon as you got the play angel the play There'll be a lot of advanced publicity and I Gordon job Martin I've got to be around now beautiful. That's all there is to it. This is the big chance sure sure Martin and Now that I've got it for you. Isn't there some other way I can help or is there no wait a minute Julia. Listen to me Julia Will I do mr. Barrymore? Oh? Hello Gordon sit down. Thanks Caught the last few lines of that scene. Ah, Julia's upset and I wish times weren't so tough There was a day once when I only worked for honest here. Yeah You were got a match Gordon. Yeah, sure and some free advice Don't kick Julia around too much Martin She talked him Tevis and the writing that play around you. She could talk him out of it. This is easy. Ah, she'd never do that I'm not so sure Tell me something Martin If Tevis had laughed at you when you made that pitch about the play how much longer would you have stuck with Julia? About five minutes Maybe I was a little hasty you are an honest here. Okay Gordon. Okay now suppose we get down to business Huh, you didn't come here to discuss my moral shortcomings. What about the contract? I made it pretty tough I want it that way. Does it guarantee to Tevis. I'll write the play, right? I'll have it in my office tomorrow morning You know sometimes I think you almost earn your 10% Sometimes I wonder if you earn your 90 By the way, what do you want me to do about that Boston job? That's a silly question. Tell them I'm not interested in second leads Martin you're a whole new girl Well, it's life yesterday a bum today Julia Tevis Julia over the phone vote. Come on. Come on. Excuse me, please. Let me through with it. Come on Julia darling, what is it? What is it? What's the matter? See so what happened? She was on the phone mark and she just screamed and collect bartender give us a brandy I can't believe it. I can't what is it Julia? Hamilton at least cabin Hamilton. Why I was so angry and upset. I didn't know what I was doing. Oh, forgive me My Julie, will you tell me what is wrong? I was going to ask Hamilton to reconsider About you. Oh You were didn't reach him Julia. Oh So much I Talked to a doctor Doctor My brother's dead much prologue of curtain call the signal oil company is bringing you another strange story By the Whistler, but now since most of you will be driving somewhere over this coming Labor Day weekend I'd like to pass along a tip for you motorists Wherever you travel throughout the Pacific Coast states from Canada to Mexico You'll discover that signal is known as the go farther gasoline Now naturally we're mighty proud of that reputation But even more so we're proud of what makes signals famous mileage possible The extra efficiency signal gasoline gets from your motor that also means more thrilling knock-free power for your car More driving pleasure for you Yes, that's right Performance is the result of the same features a gasoline must have to give you extra mileage That's why signal says to be sure you're choosing the gasoline that stops in quality There are just two things to remember one in gasoline It takes extra quality to go farther and to signal is the famous go farther gasoline Now back to the Whistler. Yes Martin Hamilton Tevis is dead and the play he was going to write for you the one thing that distinguished you from a thousand other aspiring juveniles The thing that made success a matter of months instead of years. That's dead too a heart attack The doctor said and that's the thing you're mourning at Hamilton Tevis's funeral. Not the man Martin You're in mourning for your career Oh Martin I need you so much. No, I know I know Yes, Martin you thought a lot about Julia. She looks her age in black doesn't she? But you're much too good an actor to give Julia the slightest hint of how you really feel Martin She has no way of knowing of course that the minute Hamilton Tevis died you made a decision Late that night you tucked Julian to bed with extra tenderness Gently closed the door to a room take the suitcase You'd already packed out of the closet and just before leaving you lay a note on the mantle of the living room Dear Julia, when you read this, please don't phone or write. Please try to understand. I Know what I'm doing is best for us both I'm taking that job in Boston Goodbye dear what and two hours later you're walking toward the door of your compartment on a night train Right here sir compartment C. Oh, that's fine for today. Yeah. Thank you, sir. Bell's right handy if you want any okay, okay? All right at the rock pigeon hole founder This is compartment C and thought it was me. I'm afraid not the poor. I'll be I'm sorry, mister I'm supposed to be next door. Yeah, let me help you store those bags. Oh, no, never mind. Nice. No bother at all And there That ought to do it hearties the name Howard hearty didn't catch yours Martin Elliott at least a major you were traveling man. That's my line You know plumbing Republic pipe and fittings. Maybe you've heard of us. No, no that opposite Boston. You were Boston Yeah, no New York. Yeah, you've got a match, honey. Yeah, take my lighter You said you're a traveling man. I didn't say I'm an actor an act Wait a minute Elliot, well, you're the guy why I've just been reading about you in the morning paper here Sorry, too bad about your brother. Yeah. Yeah, look, I've just come from his funeral mr. Hardy I'm very tired if you don't mind it. Well, anyway, I'm sure it'll be a great play play We mean the one terrorist finished just before he died Well, you won't have to worry about the box office. My wife and I'll be there with bells on Good night, miss Elliott. See you for breakfast in the morning. Yeah, fine fine It's all there Martin in the theatrical section of the morning paper. Mr. Hardy left on the seat of your compartment Shortly before the Tevis funeral today agent Gordon Tucker revealed that a rough draft of the playwright's new comedy to star Martin Elliot Had turned up in his personal effects Production would probably be arranged this fall as scheduled through Tevis's sister Julia Elliot You stand there looking dumbly at the paper peeling the wheels under your feet and then As the wheels of the train slow to a stop your brain is spinning faster and faster Raging at Gordon Tucker sure now that he kept the news of the play from you on purpose that he'd find it decided His 10% wasn't enough There's only one thought in your mind now to get through to Gordon and find out what's at the bottom of it You fumble for a coin walk into the phone booth on the station platform Drum your fingers impatiently while you wait for the connection This Martin Elliot I want to speak to Gordon Tucker, please Look miss hurry it up with you, I'm sorry, but you're not thinking of Tucker Martin As the rage dies down, you remember Julia asleep the note on the mantle Julia's going to produce the play now Martin if you can get back in time if you can destroy that note You slowly hang up the phone and open the door Then you hurry across the platform to the New York local no time to worry about the other train in your baggage on it Fortunately, you're barely out of the city and if you're lucky you can be back at your apartment in an hour It's two in the morning when you slip into the darkness of the living room move silently to the mantle Grope for that all-important note Then is your hands fumble against the coal stone? Hello Martin, you'd let me know when you go out. I thought you were asleep Everything's all right Yeah No, I haven't Thank you. I want to burn something but that that's just a note. I left here. Really? I haven't read it Well, there's nothing in it just said that I was going over to my mind All burned up Goodbye Martin. What? Well, I look here darling. We still morning Martin. You left your suitcase in the whole closet all past Of course, I wanted to surprise you about going away together There now Martin what I can explain and who told you about the rough draft of Hamilton's plays and that's what brought you back Wait a minute, how did you find out Martin? You mean you know about it all the time Gordon told me you didn't say anything What it has made a difference if I had Julia. There's no use shouting at me Martin Julia You know you know and you didn't tell me you just let me run out. Yes, Martin. I was Oh You and Gordon making a fool of me cutting me down trying to ruin me Let me come crawling back so you could kick me like a runaway dog You poor sick miserable old All right, Julia Sorry, I let my temper go. I shouldn't have done it Here let me help you up. You didn't mean to do it. Did you mark? No, but that doesn't change anything Julia is dead lying at your feet where her head struck the heavy and irons for the fireplace It's like a dream, isn't it Martin? But as you stand there shivering your brain awakens from the dream begins to tell you that this is the way out This is what you really wanted to do all the time only you didn't have the courage The play will be yours now hold it Martin because your Julia's air just as she was Hamilton's air So now all you have to do is get away from the apartment prove some way that you haven't been back since this morning And then you remember Martin your baggage on the train to Boston if you could be on that train miles from New York You couldn't possibly be linked to the murder That's my fight you wanna hurry mister, huh? I said I in a hurry well usually when folks travel by Yeah, yeah, I know it's well. It's just that you look like an old-time at air travel like it might be routine stuff You know, oh well Yes, as a matter of fact, I do more flying for my company than any 10 salesman. They've got uh-huh How'd you like to sell something? Hi, I don't know what your seat your seat on the plane fair plus $50. What oh? Now look it isn't that tough to get on a well Don't you see the flight is so loud and it's the last one the green briar until tomorrow and I just have to get there I well, I I want to surprise my wife. Oh Now how about it miss down this trip is just routine to you and 50 bucks extra to spend here in town mister You've got yourself a deal. There's nobody. I want to surprise that much. Oh, that's well. That's well Thanks. Thanks a lot. That'll put me in green briar right on time. Oh, thanks, but I'll get dressed right away Off on dinner. Yes, sir, and it's working perfectly isn't it you were never missed from the train The porter will remember calling you in the morning. You even had breakfast with the talkative. Mr. Hardy And now back at the theater You're just slipping into your rehearsal costume when the tragic news comes to you from New York, but My wife murdered sorry to have to break each you right away. Oh, yeah, yeah, of course lieutenant, but The shine is there you got off the train at Mount Vernon's apartment. Yeah, yeah, of course. I made a call Right, of course. I'll leave right away. I I want to be there lieutenant I I wouldn't be worth anything here not after this The most difficult role is ahead of you now, isn't it Martin, but you're confident that you can play it successfully Confident that they won't suspect you that no matter what questions the police lieutenant asked You will have the answer Back at the apartment you square your shoulders before entering take a deep breath The same as you do before an entrance to any scene and then you step inside Marty well hello Gordon they got in touch with me. I came right over. He's here lieutenant. Huh lieutenant. My name is Michael Roy Sit down, Mr. Elliot Marty on some things that lieutenant can't figure you out. I said I'd try oh Just how am I supposed to express my appreciation Gordon? I get this straight, Marty. I don't want anything All I want to do is give you a nice white reputation Look Did you or did you not kill Julia? I certainly did not I say it and I mean it Okay Let's just step in the other room here. Shall we wait a minute? Isn't that where Julia was? Do I have to go in there? It's only the living room now, Mr. Elliot and There's somebody who ought to know you in here remember him Marty Well the porter on the train sure I thought you'd need a good witness Marty. I had the lieutenant look at him for us. Oh, it's fine Thanks, Gordon. I'd save it Williams. Yes, sir. This is mr. Elliot. He was on your train last night But what about this morning? Do you remember seeing him? Why? I Don't know sir, but of course you do you woke me up you you call me as we're coming into Boston I wake so many people up. I don't know you could have been on the train, but I can't lie, sir You couldn't really prove it by me, but that's right. I'll get it Look you gotta remember I I told you I get dressed right away. Don't you remember? I came out later And I went into the dining car. I had breakfast with another passenger. I didn't see you mr. It might be but I didn't see you all the man's name was Hardy Lord you probably never locate him now Hardy What in the world? It's a place to see me old man didn't think I'd take you up on that offer to drop in Oh, I ever glad that you did you were you two were on the train to Boston together. Oh sure. I should say so You know, what is it something wrong again? Oh, no, no, nothing. It's wrong. Just just tell him we're on that train Hardy tell him all right. Wait a minute. You've got identification mr. Hardy Yeah, driver's license Remember ship and you were on that train of course at least three people on that train or knew me and Elliot was aboard too We talked last night that breakfast together this morning. You'll bet we were on that train I could prove it anybody just proving it to the lieutenant here's enough party. Thanks Thanks a lot The whistler will return in just a moment with a strange ending to tonight's story But now since many of you will be making the acquaintance of new service station operators while you're away on your Labor Day trip I'd like to pass along to you tonight the experience of another driver who recently did just that I Referred to mr. D. W. Wheeler of Los Angeles who writes After listening to one of your broadcasts. I decided to try some signal gasoline The station I drove into was in Maywood, California and is owned by mr. Lloyd raider He not only gave me the gasoline, but without my asking for it Mr. Raider also checked the water oil tires battery and washed the car windows Everything was done with such apparent desire to please that I'd like to say this If all signal dealers are as courteous as mr. Raider and all signal products are as good as signal gasoline Then signal stations should multiply a great deal Well to mr. Wheeler, I want to express our thanks for those kind words and to the rest of you I'd like to explain There's a reason why you find more conscientious service at signal stations You see because signal dealers are in business for themselves They have a personal reason for giving you the kind of service that will keep your car happy and keep you a satisfied signal customer For the best way to discover what I mean plan now to make signal stations your headquarters for gasoline Motor oil and other automotive services and accessories while you're away on your Labor Day trip Now back to the whistler Well Martin it was a breathless frightening moment wasn't it when the porter failed to recognize you Couldn't remember for sure if you were on that night train to Boston It almost collapsed your careful plan made useless your desperate flight to intercept the train a greenbrier after murdering Julia Though Tennis McElroy was staring at you accusing me Martin the whole thing almost mirrored in his eyes as he thought it out And he'd have broken you down for sure if it wasn't for the sudden appearance of a man You never thought you'd see again Harday the talkative salesman the man you met on the train last night and had breakfast with this morning He pulled you out of it. Didn't he Martin? And now you're thankful that he talked so much For everything he's saying makes it safe for you as you stand there in the apartment listening to him with Gordon and Lieutenant McElroy Anybody I got into his compartment by mistake. Didn't I Elliot? That's how we met lieutenant introduced us south I see and then he wanted a light for his cigarette. Yeah, well, I guess we don't have to have all that it tells you've been very kind Mr. Honey, yes, yes, and I hope you're all satisfied gentlemen. That's right. I'll give it to him old man Killed your wife. Why the very idea. We all make mistakes, Mr. Harday You made a big one lieutenant suspecting my friend Elliot like I said I could prove it to anyone He was on the train with me. I think you have already. Well, if there's any doubt about it I'll tell you what brought me here. They they seem to be pretty well convinced. Remember, I said he wanted the light Well, I gave him one. I went in my cigarette lighter That one right there on the mantle. He carried it off with him. Oh by mistake. Oh, wait a minute. Well, a hundred dollars that lighter Company gave it to me. Cops salesman of the year wouldn't want to lose it. That's why I came after it That's clear everything up. It certainly does Doesn't it Martin? Well, I Yeah, look, I However, I'm afraid we can't return your lighter right away. Mr. Hurley You see, it's a very important piece of evidence of murder Your lighter was found right beside Mrs. Elliot's body That whistle be your signal for the signal oil program the whistler each Wednesday at the 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 its sensible speed be courteous and obey traffic regulations It may save a life possibly your own Featured in tonight's story were Tony Barrett and Virginia Gregg Whistler was produced by George W. Allen with story by Robert Eisenbach and Jackson Gillis Music by Wilbur hatch and was transmitted to our troops overseas by the armed forces radio service The CBS the Columbia broadcasting system