 Suspense and the producer of CBS radio's outstanding theatre of thrills, the master of mystery and adventure, William M. Robeson. What you're about to hear is more than the lurid figments of this writer's imagination. It has happened in the prisons of Michigan and New Jersey, of Massachusetts and Colorado, and most recently in the prisons of Montana and Tennessee, when desperate men oppressed beyond endurance turn on their tormentors. Not a prison break, not a prison riot, but a prison mutiny. Listen, listen then as John Lund stars in Eyewitness, which begins in just a moment. And now, Eyewitness, starring Mr. John Lund, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. You got the assignment because you've never been in jail. A fresh point of view in the state prison, yet as I said, not an expersay, nothing sensational. Just a Sunday feature story of the average citizen's reaction to the stone walls and iron bars of a big penitentiary. Oh, it's a depressing tour and you've had enough. But the captain of the guard has one more point of interest for you. Is something you ought to see before you go, Mr. Kelly? Yeah, what's that? The old block built more than a hundred years ago. This is where we keep the bad ones. The bad ones? Yeah, in solitary. The tough guys, the deviates. Softens them up fast, most of them. You stop in front of the heavy steel door, but no guard appears through the bulletproof glass peephole. The door is not instantly unlocked as the others have been. That's funny. Should be a man on the door at all times. Oh, there he is. Go ahead, Arnie, and Mr. Kelly. You walk in, the door clangs behind you, and then you feel something sharp. All right, both of you, stay where you are. Hey, what is this? If you make one move, Wolf, I'll drive this ship straight through your gut. Mr. Kim Joe? You know, here's a sap. Good. Here's his gun. Good, we can use him. This one's clean. He's an outsider. You can't get away with this. We can. We have. I'm happy to report, Captain Wolf, that the old cell block is completely in control of its 32 inmates. Listen, you're asking for trouble, Mr. Kelly. He is from the Capital News Telegram. Oh, a journalist. Oh, the name, Mr. Kelly, is Jake Conrad Allen. That's spelled with one L, Mr. Kelly. Whether I end up alive, lifer, or a dead hero, be sure, Mr. Kelly, to spell it with one L. I'll try to remember that. Hey, Conrad, what do you want me to do with these two? Lock them up with the guard? Not yet. I'll need Captain Wolf's cooperation. You won't get it. Would you like to bet on that? How about you, Mr. Kelly? Are you going to cooperate? Well, I don't know. I will see. All right, men, listen to me. Now, here's where we stand. We got Limby to thank for this. He pretended to be sick and got that green horned guard to open his cell. He charged the guard, locked him in the cell, and let Big Joe and me out. We took care of the rest of the guard. They're all locked up in cell number three. Everybody here? Wait a minute. That's not all. Just after we got them locked up, who should walk in but our old friend, the captain of the odd, large, tub wolf? Now, now, wait a minute. We also have another guest. Mr. Kelly of the Capital News Telegram. He ain't no good choice. I hope he's not sure about that. We're going to get plenty out of this. Stick with me, I'll show you. First, they don't know anything's happened yet. Well, let's tell them. Get on the telephone, Captain Wolf, and call the warden. I will. What did you say? It is sharp, isn't it, Lord? Now, get on the phone. Tell the warden where you are and what's happened. Tell them to send over our supper just the same and to wait for further instructions. Hear out, silent. In our talk. This is Captain Wolf, Warden. Yes, yes, Wolf. Warden, I'm talking from the old cell block. The cons have taken it over. What? They got me and McGuire and that new kid in Feeney. Oh, yeah, and Mr. Kelly. Now, Warden, if I was you, I'd always... I'm giving the advice around here. Give me that phone. Stop whippin'. You only stuck you a little bit. I come up at cell three, Joe. Okay, Conrad. Come on, you. Hello, Warden. What have you done to Captain Wolf? Don't worry, Warden. We just threw a little blood. Now, get this... Who is this speaking? Jake Conrad Allen. No, Warden. Jake Conrad Allen is the name. What do you want? Plenty. We don't want any funny business from you. Now look here. Now, you'll look here, Warden. Just sit tight until you hear from me again. But don't forget to send supper over as usual. I will not. Okay, Warden, okay. Don't send the supper then. But you'd better send a stretcher. Because we're just about to beat up a guard. And now, starring Mr. John Lund, act two of eye witness. Did you have to do it? Why? Beat up that guard. Of course. Why? Of course. That's the only thing they understand. The guards, the Warden. That's the way they treat us. You don't have to do anything. You just have to have a guard down on you. You don't have to wait three days in a straight jacket. Get in a real rhubarb and you can go to the dungeon for anywhere from a week to a month. The dungeon? Yeah. Down to the cellar of this block. The cell's a five foot long, five feet high, and three foot wide. You can't lie down and you can't stand up. And there's no light. It's not a pretty place, Mr. Kelly. You know what I mean? I'm beginning to. Okay, Mr. Kelly, it's your story. What do you mean? Mr. Kelly, for a newspaper man, you amazed me. It's your story. I witness. You're gonna let me out? No, indeed. We need you. Well, then how can I? Found it in. When's the morning edition go to press? The bulldog has put the bet at 8.15. Right. You got a little more than an hour. Can you make it? Sure. If I can get a call through. You'll get a call through. Outside line, please. What? You heard me, Warden. Tell the operator to give us an outside line. Why are you crying? Mr. Kelly wants to file a story. Oh, no, no, no. No story goes out of here without my okay. No? I bet you're holding a press conference in your office right now, aren't you? Well, so am I. Mr. Kelly wants to file a story. I will not be... How spiny, Warden. Resting easy. Who do you want next? Maguire? Or the green kid who opened the first cell? Name him. We'll deliver him to you in pieces. Look, look, look. Okay, big Joe. Look at the next goon. Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. You can't. It's inhuman. I suppose the dungeon isn't. No, but you can't. Get me that outside line, Warden. I give you my word. For now. Get me the line. Get me the capital news telegram. The managing editor. Person to person to the managing editor, Mr. Wiley Brooks. How did you know? And to make it snappy. How did you know the ME's name? I've been around some, Mr. Kelly. Now, I needn't warn you, I suppose, not the double crosses. How could I? I don't know. Oh, just don't. You saw what happened to Feeney. Yeah, I saw. But I have to include that in my story. I want you to. It happened. We're not ashamed of it. And here, you'll want to include this. What is it? A list of demands. I want to get that in. I want the warden to see that in print. The prison board. And the governor. News telegram. Brooks speaking. Hello, Wiley. This is Conrad Allen. Prison. I am. From him? You've forgotten what you did for me during my trial. After all, you were the best city hall reporter I ever had. Well, thank you. Told you I'd return the favor someday. I got an eyewitness story for you on the mutiny in the old cell block. Well, it's happened. Well, you know me, Wiley. I never was very good phoning a story in. I think better at a typewriter. So I'll turn you over to your Mr. Kelly. Is Bob there? Yeah, he's one of our hostages. One of your what? Take it from here, Mr. Kelly. Hello, Wiley. I'll fill you in when I get out of here, if I get out. Right now, here's the story. You ready? Yeah, ready. At 3.43 this afternoon in the old cell block at State's prison, John Vicky. You dictate the story as fast as you can, including the mutineer's list of demands. Well, that winds it up as of this minute, Wiley. Wait a minute. I got something to add. Oh, just a minute. Conrad Allen. That's spelled with one L. I know. He wants to add something. Hello, Wiley. Yeah, Conrad. I got three guards left. Your bulldog still hits the streets at 10 p.m., doesn't it? That's right. If they don't meet our demands by midnight, we beat up a guard. The next one goes at 4 a.m. The last one at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. You can print that. You're OK, Conrad. But listen, let Bob Kelly out of there, will you? I need him on this story. Uh-huh, Wiley. He's on this story. And we need him. If they don't give in by 8 a.m. when I run out of guards, I'll need your Mr. Kelly very badly. Three of eyewitness. 11 o'clock. Attention mounts. Slowly Conrad's midnight deadline approaches. The hands creep toward 12. They meet. Point upward. 10 seconds pass. 15. Nothing happens. Then Conrad reaches for the phone. OK, boys. Who's next? How about McGuire, the blackjack specialist? Use his own on him. OK. Set a stretch award and McGuire will be ready for you in five minutes. Use your answer, Allen. Hey, the lights! Somebody turned off the lights! That's the way he wants it. What word do you want to use? Pandemonium, chaos, anarchy, they all fit. While the screaming guard is beaten into unconsciousness, the roaring men break apart the wooden furniture, dump the cots over the balconies, rip open the mattresses and build a fire in the middle of the cell block. And at last, after the guard has been dumped into the yard and carried away, their anger subsides into sullen silence. Four more hours drag by, and at last Conrad's next deadline arrives. Ready to give in, warden? You thirsty, Allen? What do you mean? Crummy. Hey, Libby. Yeah? Turn on the water tap in your cell. Turn it on. Hey, it's just a trickle. It stopped. Uh-huh, figures. Hey, Conrad, something's going on outside. What is it? Oh, I can't tell. It sounds like digging out and back. As you see. Yo, Ken, we ain't got no lights. Remember, the yard lights are out. Time to throw them another bone. Yeah, which one this time? How about the Greenhorn kid? Hey, he's the one that let me out. He's a guard, isn't he? Gotta work on him. So the Greenhorn kid gets his, and is dumped into the yard, and he sit and wait in the darkness, until gray light spreads over the gray walls and through the tiny windows, turning the blackness of the block into a lighter black. And at last, it's eight o'clock in the morning. Okay, boys, this is our deadline. Let's do this. Wait a minute. What the? What's the matter, Conrad? The phone, kid. They cut off the phone. Conrad, we got no lights, no water, no phone. What are we gonna do? Well, boys, how'd you like a little exercise? Huh? Big dough? Yeah. I'm lucky a lot of them. Give them to me. I owe him plenty of money. Now, boys, with lots of work, it's gonna be different. Everybody gets a price. That's a lot. Because everybody's got unfinished business, with a tough isn't that right? I got an idea. He might quit his job. After he's able to walk again. Hey, Conrad, I just thought of something. What's that? What are we gonna do next? Nothing. Is there a move? Yeah. We ain't got any more guards to beat up. That's right. But we still got Mr. Kelly. Your heart stops beating for a long instant, as the wild bloodshot eyes of 32 desperate men center on you. You don't know how long you sit there across the table from Conrad. Time has stopped. You wait. Conrad waits. The men wait in silent little groups. You wait for the next move. The wardens move. And at last it comes. What's that? They just pull a loud speaker truck into the yard. Where? Oh, yeah. I'll bring out this window. Yeah, warden, I hear you. I'm not talking to you, Alan. I'm doing the talking for the guys. I'm talking to all of you men. I have just come from a meeting with a counter. We are in agreement. We will not permit the authority of this state to be bullied by a tiny group of men who haven't even the rights of citizens. Make it simple, warden. You're turning us down. I'm willing to discuss your grievances with you. But I will not be forced to give in to your man for what can be done for you. That's a lot for nothing, warden. We'll sit tight. And don't listen to Alan. He must be crazy to keep you there. And I think he is keeping you there. All right, you remember I said I heard noises out there during the night? Yeah. You're getting something, warden? We still got the newspaper reporter in here. Mr. Kelly. I can't be responsible for anything. Looks like you aren't as valuable as I thought you would be. Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Well, we're licked. We've got to give in. Give in and lose everything? Do you realize that in this state they can give us all life for what we've done? Me, I'd rather get blown up than spend the rest of my life in this hole. No, Conrad. No. Please, you've got to get us out. It's all your fault, you little punk. What do you mean, my fault? Have you hadn't conked that Greenhorn guard yesterday just because you wanted to make up the Conrad? We wouldn't be in this state. Lay off the kid. Lay off the kid. Lay off the kid. You did a lot of mistakes, Conrad. This is one too many. You had a ball order of surround. Promising I see a mastermind that's out of here. Where you got us? Five minutes from Kingdom Conrad. The warden's only bluffing. He wouldn't dare blow us up. I'll get you all out of this. No, Con. I'm not waiting five minutes to find out if he's bluffing. I said you made a lot of mistakes and the biggest one was passing out the guard's guns. Remember? No, no. Stand where you are. I'm taking over now. Don't move, Con. Are you stinking a little? Five minutes, boys. I'm going out. Anybody joining me? Mr. Kelly, I feel that I must apologize to you for the inconvenience and the discomfort you've suffered. That warden is the understatement of the year. Now, of course, you clear any stories you write about this situation through me. I doubt it. Oh, he can't permit you a free hat. I'm going to report it just as it happened. And when I get through, I don't think that J. Conrad Allen is spelled with one L. Mixed up and twisted, though his values may have been. Well, I don't think he'll have died in vain. John Lund starred in High Witness, written, produced, and directed by William M. Robeson. Supporting John Lund in the night story were Joda Santis, Barney Phillips, Norm Alden, Sam Pierce, Lou Krugman, and Lawrence Dobkin. Listen. Listen again next week when we return with Vincent Price starring in A Currents at Owl Creek Bridge, another tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.