 The signal oil program the whistler is your signal for the signal oil program the whistler and 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 Yeah, 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 gasoline, you know it takes extra quality to go farther and signal is the famous go farther gasoline So look for the signal circle sign in yellow and black that identifies signal service stations from Canada to Mexico And now the whistler strange story Last curtain it was like Keith to drop the bad news into the conversation casually As if it were a moderately amusing story he'd heard that morning at the studio But to Evelyn sitting across the table from him in this California sunshine It was if a tidal wave had suddenly washed up over the wall engulfing them both in its effervescent foam And at last dragging them down across the rocks into the heaving depths of the ocean They were having lunch as usual on the outdoor terrace at Henri's but this was a special occasion Evelyn had suggested champagne to celebrate and after the waiter had brought the sparkling glasses Now darling a toast to you Keith and success in your new role Thank you darling to success but not in my new role Keith what on earth do you mean? Oh did I forget to tell you Evelyn I'm not playing the part When I got to the studio this morning they told me they'd seen yesterday's rushers Seems I'm too old for the character all that sort of thing Keith no oh no Keith Oh yes my darling might as well face it you know I'm through washed up doddering at age 45 You're not doddering you're hard and trim ever since you moved into the beach house Slim as a boy of 20 yes I know except that the bronze body beautiful is not enough darling It's the once classical L would profile the deep lines the sagging jaw muscles It's last curtain darling the end After waiting all these months for a part any part Oh Keith why did you let me sit here and talk about celebrating Why? Because I wanted to shock you Evelyn I wanted to shock you into doing something about your own career Before it's too late Keith You can do something you could do something for us You see I'm desperate Evelyn and believe me you should be desperate too Yes Evelyn it's like a tidal wave sweeping up around you isn't it Keith is right because you are desperate and you can't fight it back any longer It didn't take you long to discover that marriage to wealthy Spencer Coray wasn't worth the sacrifice of your career The glamour the glitter your whole life Evelyn And you traded it for a sprawling sleepy mansion Set back among the orange groves just outside Santa Ana And here is Keith your one remaining contact with those days that used to be Sitting across the table from you in the sunshine saying that he too is desperate Keith I'm afraid Well there's no one out here but us Now listen to me Evelyn I may be through as an actor but I could direct Broadway a play with you the star Just think of it Keith please you know Spencer would never let me and the money I haven't to soothe my own Be your age Evelyn you know what I'm talking about You've been thinking about it all along I know you've been thinking about it Keith Keith Before heaven's sake stop acting Evelyn I can always tell when you're acting You hate him why you could do it without the slightest flicker of emotion And the play Evelyn Do you know friend of mine Perry Dahlgren has written the play you were born for Keith would you help me I told you I was desperate Exactly yes yes then be here right here tomorrow night at nine o'clock no later I uh I have a gun shall I bring it No no I'll meet you but if something should happen wait exactly 15 minutes Then if I don't come go right to your cottage I'll get in touch with you there Then you have a plan Yes Keith I have a plan Evelyn you have a plan you've had a plan all these months But you had to be sure that Keith would be there to play his role Before you dare to lift the curtain And the next evening sitting in the library after dinner with your husband Spencer You see it all in your mind Spencer if you don't mind there's something I want to talk to you about There have to be now Evelyn you know I've got this confounded speech to write Oh yes a speech for the Orange Growers Association That's infinitely more important of course than the welfare of your own wife What? Now what's this about? Spencer do you remember Keith Elwood? Keith Elwood no I don't seem to recall I introduced him to you at the Shelby's he's an actor Evelyn if this is another way of leading up to going back to the state No no please listen to me Spencer Keith phoned me yesterday I had lunch with him Did you Evelyn? Spencer I'd rather cut my heart out than to have to tell you this No none of that now suppose you come to the point Well I well at one time I thought I was in love with Keith I was rather young foolish romantic I wrote him some letters Rather in discreet letters I'm afraid You didn't They really didn't mean anything but they could be so easily misinterpreted I can't afford publicity you know that My position in the county Well we'll have to pay No no no I can't let you do that There's another way There's another letter's back We'll have to do it tonight There at this beach house in Cherry Cove And do we just walk right in? That's why I had to talk to you about it tonight I happened to know he won't be home until quite late And you're suggesting that we break in? No I have the keys And how did you happen to have the keys? Does it matter now Spencer I have them And we're perfectly justified in whatever we do After all he's a criminal Will you go with me Spencer? Yes Yes I'll go Yes Evelyn it's like the business in a well rehearsed stage play And an hour later as you and Spencer turn off the highway And head down into Cherry Cove The fog moves up from the ocean like a grey ghost As if it too were anxious to play a part in your drama And as Spencer parks the car off the dirt road Not far from Keith's cottage You note that the clock on the dashboard shows 9.13 And then a few seconds later you're at Keith Edwards cottage Draw the curtains when you spend time All right let's find those letters and get out of here I don't like this whole thing Well I can assure you I'm not too happy about all this myself After all I... You look for those letters All right you watch the highway I'll start with this desk Evelyn that cabinet in the alcove perhaps they're in Well what are you standing there for? Where'd you get that gun? It was in the desk Well put it down find those letters Evelyn what's the matter with you? Put that gun down No Spencer I won't put it down What time is it? Evelyn for heaven's sake what time is it? It's 9.17 now will you put down that gun? No not until... That's right Now you want the police Evelyn And after telling them your story on schedule You go to the window on schedule And stand impatiently hoping that Keith will arrive on schedule too Then you see the lights of a car swing off the highway And down the road through the fog You watch tensely until you're sure it's Keith And then a few seconds later Come in quickly and close the door All right wait until 9.50 Evelyn what's happened? He's dead Keith I told you He's here in my house What difference does it make how aware he's dead? Keith darling I did it for you as well it's for myself we're in this together All right Evelyn All right but we can't stand here talking about it we've got to get rid of it Yes yes you're right but how? Here I can take him out those French windows and down it Oh no no no that won't work they'd be sure to find him Here you better take this tool The gun Evelyn You use my gun What difference does it make we can get rid of it I suppose so but there's bound to be an investigation Well for Maddie Keith I thought I heard something A car door Wait a minute I'll look out front I better get ready to pick him up in case Well is there anyone out there? No No there's no one out here Keith Oh good now give me a hand with him Evelyn for heaven's sake What is the matter with you He shot my husband Evelyn you all right that's my husband Yes I told you they were fighting when I called I thought you'd never get here He was going to kill me too There's your husband here on the floor Yes yes Watch him Mac I'll get homicide All right too don't move away So this was your plan Evelyn How can you speak to me you murderer Allow me to congratulate you my dear This has been by all arts the greatest performance of your career It even had me foo French windows How did I shoot Don't let him get away he killed my husband Out here There he is going out to the dock We'll get him lady and get him good When he went through that window he signed his own confession Come on Mac let's go Last curtain the signal oil company is bringing you another strange story By the whistler Right there's real news for drivers in that announcement Higher octane rating now in signal gasoline And at no increase in price Will it come Well an important ingredient which controls octane rating is now more plentiful So signal oil company has immediately increased the octane rating of signal gasoline And when I say higher octane I don't mean just a little higher I mean considerably The result Now you'll enjoy even smoother knock free power with signal as you breeze up those steep hills in high This in addition to the quick starting the fast pickup and the efficient engine performance Which makes signals good mileage possible So now you have more reason than ever to switch to signal Let the performance of today's higher octane signal gasoline show you why we say In gasoline it takes extra quality to go farther And signal is the famous go farther gasoline And now back to the whistler Well Evelyn take your bow Keith called it the greatest performance of your career and it certainly was But then Keith played his role rather well too didn't you think Walking in as he did just after you'd called the police to report a violent argument Standing there with a gun in his hand dumbfounded when he realized how you'd framed him Then crashing out through the window to remove the last trace of doubt as to his guilt Yes it was an even better performance than you'd hoped And now with the funeral of your late lamented husband and the bothersome details of the inheritance out of the way There's only one item marring a future that belongs to you Come in lieutenant you have news for me Not exactly but I think you should know what we've done I'm very anxious to know Well it's one of those cases we searched the beach all the way from Balboa down to Capistrana Not a trace We've had boats outproving through the kelp babes He was an excellent swimmer he might have Swam around the dock and got into shore some place Yeah we thought of that But people don't just disappear Unless someone's helping him Someone helping him That's only theory We'll probably never know No the words you've given up lieutenant No not at all But I've seen these cases develop before You can almost feel right from the beginning that they'll end up in the unsolved file I might as well be honest and tell you we'll probably never know whether he's dead or alive Yes that's the one item that marrs your future Evelyn And after the lieutenant is gone You pace your upstairs sitting room wondering if Keith is alive or not And later that evening you lay in bed with the lights left burning Thinking over what the lieutenant said He may have had health Yes He may have had health And the next day you don't set foot outside the house or the next But on the following day your maid Clara comes into the drawing room Yes what is it Clara A gentleman is waiting to see you madam The lieutenant of police No madam a Mr. Dolgren Perry Dolgren The playwright Yes madam I believe that's what he said Show him in Clara Yes madam Mrs. Corey will see you Thank you Mrs. Corey I do hope you'll forgive this intrusion What do you want Mr. Dolgren It's about my play Mrs. Corey Keith mentioned it to you Your play Oh yes yes he mentioned it I realize this isn't the time to bring this up But you see I'm quite anxious about this play of mine And I knew you You came to see me about your play Mr. Dolgren Oh yes What else would I come to see you about Mr. Dolgren won't you Thank you Mrs. Corey It's kind of you After what Keith did I wasn't certain just how you'd accept me I intend to forget this horrible affair as quickly as possible That's why I plan an early return to the stage Your play Is it a good one I can't be modest about it It's just the play you were born for Really Keith said that it's You've seen me on the stage before Oh yes many times I lived in New York for many years you know I went to all your plays Oh nice Mr. Dolgren would you care to stay for tea I know we have so much to talk about Of course Mrs. Corey I'd love to I I can't think of anything I'd like better Yes there's so much to talk about isn't there Evelyn And you find Perry Dolgren a very personable young man And rather attractive too In fact any doubts you might have had about him at first Are soon dispelled by his quiet disarming manner In fact that evening as you sit propped up in bed Eagerly reading the play he has left for you Keith is almost entirely out of your mind And you find it interesting reading As the pages move between your fingers Faster and faster And the print begins to blur and Evelyn Madam what is it You're sick No Clara get my grace dude I'm going out Out Madam Yes yes yes tell Frank to bring the coupé What you do is I say tell Frank to have the car in front right away I'll drive myself no hurry Sit down Mrs. Corey fix you a drink No thank you You won't mind if I fix one for myself then I do mind Mr. Dolgren just what are you up to I'm afraid I don't understand This play you brought me this afternoon Oh you've read it God like it I repeat Mr. Dolgren what are you up to Oh then you don't like my play Oh I'm so sorry I thought it was rather good Excellent plot Man and woman plan to murder husband They murder husband they're caught The woman frames her lover gets away with it It's quite plausible you know It's been done What do you want What do I want Mrs. Corey I want my play produced that's all You want the play You know that's out of the question Well perhaps it's just that you don't like this play No matter I have another In fact I think it's much better really I know you like it Mrs. Corey It could be a hit on Broadway Or we might give it a whirl around Connecticut for a bit Try it out and all that And who would finance this play of yours Mr. Dolgren Well I sort of thought you'd be willing to risk it Mrs. Corey Of course I'll have to have the Let us say 50% of the gross Author's royalty 50% What if the show fails It probably will But then I have lots of more plays We can go on and on You can be both star and angel I'll just take my modest percentage This is blackmail Blackmail Why how can you say that Mrs. Corey Has a business proposition And you know Mrs. Corey Somehow I think Keith might like that Knowing that you and I are partners Well Evelyn What was that feeling you had About the tide sweeping up around you And dragging you down It really hits you now hasn't it Keith is alive and Perry Dolgren Is his go between To bleed you of every cent of that money You wanted for yourself True Some details of Perry's play Were not exactly as it happened But that's like Keith To be subtle You're trapped and you know it And during the next week you fight for a way out But only one thought occurs to you Keith would never dare come out of hiding So it's Perry you have to deal with Just Perry And then one night When he's making one of his friendly calls The way opens up for you All right Mr. Dolgren What is it this time As a matter of fact Mrs. Corey Something unexpected has come up I'm afraid I won't be able to wait For my share of the play I expected this How much do you want I'm afraid I'll need five thousand Five thousand You know I can't get that much The estate is too tied up Yes yes I thought of that But you're a jewelry Mrs. Corey Mr. Spencer was quite generous with jewelry wasn't he Jewelry? Yes the jewelry Whatever you happen to have over there In that wall safe Mrs. Corey I'm sure that'll do Yes I'm I'm sure it will I'll get it for you Do hurry will you please I'm in a bit of a rush Mrs. Corey Sorry to have to barge in And out like this you know But then as I said If you put that gun down you'll No Mr. Dolgren I won't put it down You'll never get away with this But I will They'll find you with my jewels In your pocket A burglar You see what I mean Mr. Dolgren But you can't You can't do this Can't I You're quite confident You won't fail this time aren't you Evelyn Now you'll call the police And tell them about the burglar And how you had to shoot him in self defense But before you do that You've got to set the scene again Though you hurry to Spencer's desk Pull out the drawers And spill the contents all over the floor You rush to the small cabinet Near the window and do the same Then the bookcase For the next few minutes You busy yourself placing the jewels In Dolgren's pocket And adding as much confusion Into the hall to call the police But before you can pick up the phone The doorbell ring Yes Evelyn There's someone at your front door Rather inconvenient time For callers isn't it But you've got to answer it You've got to get rid of whoever it is Lieutenant I was just going I have some news for you Mrs. Corey News Yes We've found Keith Elwood In a moment with a strange ending of tonight's story Those of you who heard the Meredith Wilson show Canada Dry Sparkle Time last Friday evening Heard Meredith deliver a really fine tribute To service station operators Which went something like this Here's to those friendly guys Who fill your radiator And your battery with free water Your tires with free air Who clean your windshield And furnish your maps And convenient rest rooms And then cheerfully say thanks Come back again Meredith Wilson also brought out another Particularly interesting fact In a recent nationwide survey To find out which employees Re-converted to courtesy The quickness after the war Folks named service station operators 8 to 1 Judging by the enthusiasm he put into it I couldn't help thinking Meredith must have had signal dealers In mind as he said this You see Meredith Wilson has been A good signal customer for 10 years Ever since he was one of the stars Of that other popular signal oil program The famous signal carnival Thanks Meredith for a swell tribute About a swell bunch of guys From a swell person And now back to the Whistler So they found Keith Elwood Yes And you wonder just what he's told The lieutenant And what of your burglar sprawled You'll have no time to rehearse This scene Evelyn You're on stage now The spotlight is on you And you've got to perform As you never have before You say they've found Keith Yeah we sure did Did he tell you He didn't tell us anything Mrs. Corey He couldn't He had a couple of police bullets in him We found him buried under Perry Dahlgren's beach house Buried under That's right The surgeon figures he couldn't have lived More than a few minutes after he crawled Out of the water and across to the beach At Dahlgren's place But he must have lived long enough to tell him Tell him what Mrs. Corey You know there are still a lot of angles To this case we just can't figure What do you know about this Perry Dahlgren Me I don't know anything about him lieutenant I only heard Keith mention him once or twice Then you've Never seen him I know I Mrs. Corey what is this What What do you mean lieutenant I mean we didn't want to alarm you But with Keith not accounted for We figured we'd better have a man Keep an eye on your place He phoned a report to me Every time Dahlgren has been here And he phoned me again Just a few minutes ago Mrs. Corey So we know he's still here I'm sure you want to see this thing Cleared up as much as I do So do you want to call Dahlgren Out of that room Or do we go in and question him together Let that whistle be your signal For the signal oil program The Whistler each Monday at nine 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 Mary Lansing, Joseph Kearns And Edmund MacDonald The Whistler was produced By George W. Allen Based on a story by Jean Fromhurst Music by Wilbur Hatch And by the Armed Forces Radio Service This is Marvin Miller speaking For the Signal Oil Company To CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System