 You. Finding life pretty dull. You. Dreaming again of exotic places, wishing you were somewhere else. We offer you escape. Escape. Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure. Escape with us now to a ship on the high seas and a cargo of mutants criminals as western martyr tells it in his gripping story, a sleeping draft. That helps. But it's like I say, you can't forget. You can never forget. It's at night that you think about it. With the water outside rushing past the hull. That's when you think that it can never be the same. You can't trust anybody. Never. Not a soul. I can tell you, you just can't trust them. Not even yourself. What is it, Mr. Finch? Mr. Finch says he's ready to board, sir. Oh, he is, eh? All right, I'm not stopping him. He insists on bringing them aboard one at a time. What? Does he think I'm going to miss the tide? There's over 400 of them. It'll take hours. Well, that's what I said, sir. I'm captain of this blasted elk. What she is. But I'll not be told why a slum gullion lands on what to do. Mr. Finch! Come aboard, if you please! I'm sorry, sir. I should have resigned. Stinking, filthy poor devil cargo. Everything high cock-a-law and captain? No, everything is not high cock-a-law and what in places do you mean ordering my mate about? No offence intended. In untaken, I hope. I want those scurvy wretches aboard now. All of them. You put them below and we'll weigh anchor. One at a time, sir. One at a time. We've got to search them. Why didn't you do that before you took them out of jail? There's many a slip, captain. If you know what I mean, you'd be surprised what those three can pick up between jail and the docks. It ain't safe. Now, we've got to search them. One at a time, and that's a fact. You let me handle this, captain. He ain't no ordinary cargo, you know? They're murdering devils. Every last one of them. They convicts came aboard, one by one. I watched them. They were going from London to a land they'd never seen. A colony at bottom. Australia. Four hundred. The sweepings and scrapings sorted out from the muck of the jails with finch in charge of them. Oh, I've carried dirty cargos. Dye wood, for instance, crawling with scorpions and spiders, not to mention snakes. And then there's cattle. But this, weeks and months at sea with a human cargo to soon cut your throat as spit. And what made it worse was, I felt sorry for the poor beggars. I watched them come aboard until there were two left. Nine. Wilkes is the nine. Search him. Take your bleeding hands off me. I've got nothing. I just stole my last part of them. Shut your jaw. That's enough, Finch. I won't have the cat used on my ship. I'll get enough of it where they're going. Oh, trust in us all you are, captain. How would you like that between your ribs? A touch of the cat's a lot better than letting this swine bring a knife aboard, eh? Take them below. I said, all right. I don't know how they do it. Help me, I don't. You've got to watch for them knives. Next! Right. Ooh, he is a terror. Look at the size of him. Kind of a swine. Three murders in Australia. He's kiped. He's in for it when he gets back. Nine. Abby. Jonathan, Abby. Abby. Well, well. A gentleman in chimes. Oh, I'm sorry, Your Worship. Forgive us for daring to lay ends on Your Highness. I'm sure as out you've been wrongly accused. That's enough, Finch. Search him. Then take him below. I want Mr. Jonathan Abby shackled. He's a prize. We mustn't let anything happen to him. From the day we left London docks, I'd taken a violent dislike to Finch. He seemed to be happiest when he was laying about with his cat on the convict's herded like sheep below decks. He kept him quiet enough, but one night I decided to have it out with him in my cabin. Oh, I made it strong, I can tell you, so that even he could understand what I meant. You all finished, Captain? All right. Now, you ear me out. They're a bad lot. 400 of them. All banned for Australia, and they don't want to go. You follow me? There's that bloke, Abby. As soon as we touch Sydney, the guy's up for him. They'll hang him, sure. Do you have the right to make life even worse for them here? Oh, no. If I don't, where do you think we'll be? You, me, your mates. And the crew, from what I've seen of them, they're not much better than what's below. You're doing a lot of drawing, Mr. I am. What would you do if you were down there? I'll tell you, you'd get older, they'll ship and clear out. That's what you'd do, and it'd be easy. They're locked in and we've got to guard. You don't know them like I do. There's another thing. When I searched them, there was one to five sovereigns stolen away on every man, earned or stolen. That'll come to over a thousand pounds by my figures. They're entitled to that money. It's little enough to take to a wild country. Struth, with the Zim down there, whopper'd slit the gullet of any man for two barb. And you asked me to be dinty with them. That's the way he talked to me. You know, I can tell you, I didn't feel easy anymore. I did something I hadn't done for a long time. I brought two pistols out from ship's stores and kept them under my pillow. It was when we got round the horn that the first convict died from scurvy. We had to put him over the side, of course, and there was a lot of grousing. I went down to the hold with Finch. It was hot and stinking. Now, you let me talk to them, Captain. I'll put it to rights. You tell them it couldn't be helped. Now, don't you mind. I'll tell them. Yeah, fly me. Here comes the old bloody Pa. Oh, Finch! Did you steal the clothes off the poor beggars' back for your thrill, man? Man! Man, we ain't man-daddy. We're dogs, I haven't charged. Why don't you wait a very poor old smithy in the grounds to the chuck them in the shade? All right, all right, all right. We've got another two or three weeks before we reach land. I'll make a bargain with you. The next one, what dies, now that it's getting nice and hot, I'll leave him down there and you can take care of him and mourn till we get to Australia. How's that? How's that? I'll have a crown, you don't keep him for three days. That's so bloody pot. Always a nose for business. Well, if you ain't satisfied with that, I'll see that the edge is closed down tight for the rest of the voyage and you can boil for all of me. That seemed to settle it for a time. I began to see that in spite of Finch's hardness with them, the prisoners knew he was master and behaved themselves. That is, most of them did, but there were others and that's what began the trouble. We were two days out of the Cook Islands when it happened. Yes? Captain, captain, there's a man on deck. We brought him up from below. It's horrible. Why, what's happened? One of the convicts, sir. Oh. All that blood, sir. Oh, devil. I tried to do something, but it's too late. By the time we got him up... Right, eh? Yes, sir. Here we are, captain. Mr. Darling ain't much of a surgeon, I must say. Well, I did what I could. He must have been dead before we got him up here. Why, he's... he's been cut to pieces. Not half, he ain't. How did it happen? Oh, I heard him shouting. When I went down in the old, there he was, propped up like, uh, against the bars with his arms through holding him up. He must have been dead. He must have been. Poor devil. Oh, him? No, no, no. He's dead. There's others in for it, though. What do you mean? Well, how do you think he got cut up like that? Knives, captain. Knives. But you searched them before they bought him. I did, and it's true if I don't know how they come to do it. Small knives, captain. Small knives. We're getting close to Australia. That's what it is. Whoever's got them knives, he's after money. The thousand quid or more, what's on this cursed ship? Well, I don't see how... trust in the soul you are, captain. Maybe there's a dozen of them. Maybe 20 with knives. Follow me. They'll run the others and rob them blind. Gold sovereigns, captain. You didn't forget, did you? If anybody objects, cut him up in small pieces like him. We've got to go down there and put a stop to it. Yes, I don't think. How many guns you got aboard? Two pistols and four masquots. That's a fat lot of good. We've got to go down with the sour. We can dry. There's no arm in that. Mark my words, captain. Before we get to Sydney, all of us probably will have our throats cut. Come on. Finch and I, with two seamen, armed ourselves and went down into the hold and stood outside the bars. The men inside were quiet. Very quiet. They just looked at us. Dark like. You, men! Listen to me. We know some of you are carrying knives. I want you to throw them out here. Nothing further will be said about it if you do as I say. Captain, dear, my porridge wasn't hot enough this morning. And please, sir, can I have sugar in it tomorrow? This is the stomach. The captain's a gentleman. I'm not. You know me, don't you? He knows you all right. You, Ebby. Yes. And you're the leader down here. Good old Ebby. I'm flattered, Mr. Finch, but you forget I'm shackled to my bunk. You sort of that. You listen to me. I'm giving you till morning to throw them knives out here. Till morning. If every blasted one ain't out of your dirty hands, I'm going to have you flogged. Every ruddy one of you. Fifty lashes. Do you hear me, Mr. Ebby? I'll think about it. You think about that, Mr. Abbey. I didn't think they'd give them to us that easy, Captain. There's going to be trouble, though, with this flogging. There'll be more if we don't get the knives away. Good morning, Captain, dear, and Mr. Finch. You feel these come? Where's their knives? They'll do the most good. All right, all right. I give them your chance. I've played fair now. Mr. Finch, may I have a word with you? Oh, come to your senses, Abbey. Yeah, been closer to the bar circles. Well, I've got the same. I've got to whisper. Well, what is it? What is it? Mr. Finch. Wilkes, I'll take you first. And I'll look at myself. Oh, Nelson! Why not take... him first? He won't feel it like I will. The crowd of men parted suddenly and from out of them was pushed what had once been a man. It fell against the bars and then no longer with the support of living arms it slid to the deck. We looked at him, Finch and me. His life had been worth a sovereign. Maybe two. He hadn't either now. And the knives were still in the hold with them that had killed him. Tonight, some more of Radio's greatest stars check in at CBS, the stars address. The first you'll hear are Amos and Andy, who are going to be on hand with the Kingfish, Shorty the Barber, Algonquin J. Calhoun and of course Sapphire. Then a little later, Red Skelton. With Joey Adams, Eve Arden, Jack Benny and Coralus Archer already on hand, be sure you add Amos and Andy and Red Skelton to your Sunday night listening date starting tonight over most of the same CBS stations. And now, we return you to Escape! Now, as I see it, we've got to have a Council of War in a manner of speaking. I'll tell you one thing, Mr. Finch. There'll be no flogging. Ah, I can see you're as sharp as you are. No, no, that's right. Too dangerous. We ain't armed for it and they're in a nasty mood. Now, we've got to be crafty. Same as them. I wish we could spill the whole lot of them over side. Lose your contract for carrying them? Not bloody likely. Now, listen here, I'll get them knives. How? It's Abby behind this. Tell them what's what. Get him out and the others will come around. Mark my words. Are you going into the hole to get him? No, not yet. It wouldn't be safe now, not for nobody to go in there, but in four or five days, after we cut off their water and food, seal the hatch, you see what happens. They die. They'll die from the knives then, but which do you want? They'll be begging you to take the ready knives in three days. You don't? We tell them to hand over Abby to us. But he's the one to blame for them his fortune. They'll do it. All right. If it's the only way I'll give the order. But not just yet, Captain. We'll let him sit down there and wonder. Wonder what we're going to do about him. Some of them may get nervous. We'll let them wonder a bit. I didn't see Finch the rest of the day. The barometer had fallen suddenly and with it came a storm. I can tell you I had my hands full for the next 24 hours. There was no time to worry about what was going on in the hold of the ship, but I didn't think they'd have much stomach for knifing each other and killing. I was wrong. The next morning, at breakfast, Finch didn't turn up. He didn't turn up at all. We searched the whole ship and then I went down into the hold and that's where he was and he hadn't died quickly. Someone had held him against the bars and the others had he hadn't died quickly. Good morning, Captain. Present for you. Who did this? Who did it? I wouldn't waste sleep mourning him, Captain. He was a bully and no better than us except that he was outside. I thought you were shackled. I was, but Mr. Finch kindly supplied the key to one facile meal. You're going to pay for this, all of you. A will of the nice. There ain't any, Captain. Had you like to come in and get them. You'll pay for this. You're repeating yourself, Captain. Good morning. That blasted convict had dismissed me like I was a clerk in an office and there wasn't anything I could do about it. With Finch out of the way I knew I was an easy mark. It was the nights that got on my nerves. I could hear things happening lots of things and it was awful. Those devils with the knives and each morning we'd have to pull out six or it doesn't all cut about and bleeding and most of them died. Those with the knives were getting money. Money they sold from the victims. I began to be afraid of my crewmen. One would take a bribe and let that murdering crowd out. I walked around with two pistols in my jacket all the time and then late one afternoon something very bad happened. I was standing by the wheel. You hear me? He got outside. Hey, two of us were standing guard. We had a screen. It was Abby. He said he'd been stabbed. Benson here opened the grill to get him in. Abby bashed him on the head in boat. What about the others? I got the grill closed in time. They're safe enough. He must be somewhere on the ship, sir. Unless he went overboard. No, not that one. He's up to mischief. You take one of my pistols, mister. Aye, sir. You both pass out the muskets. I want every inch of this ship searched. If he puts up a fight, shoot him! You hear me? Shoot him! The night comes quickly in southern parts. Did you ever try to search a ship at night with lanterns? It's not easy. Too many shadows. Too many sounds which could be rats or a murderer who's bigger than what you are and could choke your life out in half a minute. We couldn't find him. But he was somewhere aboard, waiting his time. Because we were short-handed, what with the crew searching, I stood to watch. And I thought about that man who Finch said had committed three murders in Australia. Don't turn around, Captain. It's only elderly life. Don't move. What do you want? A talk. I've nothing to say to the likes of you. That may be. But I have an offer to make you. An offer? It's not safe here. One of your men will be along. Can we go to your cabin? Do you think I'd trust a man like you? Alone? You make it difficult for me. If someone comes, I may have to cut your throat. I'd as soon have it cut on deck. What do you want? All right. You know what I'm in for when we reach Sydney. Finch told me I've no pity for you. I'm not asking for pity. I have an offer to make. And I can do no more than listen. The men below I'm planning to take to ship. I don't think they've got a chance, but they'll be killing. Those that have got the knives have got all the money too. It's 1,200 pounds. I'm aware of that, mister. I can get the knives for you. All I want is the chance to get away before the ship docks. How do you know? How do I know? It's not a trick. Turn around, Captain. Here. My knife. Will that convince you? I'm unarmed. You must have a pistol. You can shoot me if you want. What makes you think that you can get the knives away from them? I can. That's all you need to know, but... But? Will you help me? How can I trust you? I don't know, Captain. Except that I think you do. I... I couldn't help you openly. You know that. You were put aboard as a murderer. You're in my charge, and it's my job to turn you over to the police as soon as we arrive. But... Well, if... If you could get the knives, though, I might be able to give you a chance to clear out. That's all I want, the chance. All right. I must have a pistol. What? A pistol. You take me for a fool. No, no. It was the only way to get the knives. I'll give you this pistol, and you shoot me down. Look, not likely. Captain, if I'd wanted to do that, I'd have cut your throat two minutes ago. You're a murderer. I know. You can't have it. It's either them or your ship and probably your life. Well... Hey... You talk like a gentleman, but suppose you want my pistol so that you can free them. You just have to trust me as I trust you to give me a chance to get away. Take it. Here. What about the guards below? They'll shoot. I'll take you down. Say I caught you. How do I get out again when I've got the knives? Send word that you want to see me. All right. Captain, I'm trusting you now. I want that chance to get away. We'll talk about it if you get the knives. I'll take you below now and come back tomorrow. Keep your voice low. They think I'm tricking you into making a bargain. They think I stole the pistol. I told them that I had to have the knives to make you believe that we wouldn't make trouble. I'd said that we'd take over the ship tonight. What do you want me to do? Leave me the key to the grill. I'll slip out tonight and bring you the knives. They'll want you to let them out, too. I won't. I'll lock it. How do I know you will? You told. You'll have to trust me. Do they know about this plan? Except for the fact that I'm going to lock them in once I'm out. Give me the knives now. No, no, no, no. They'd know something was wrong. I'd never get out alive. Give me the key. All right. Here. Tonight. I waited and I can tell you that I didn't like it. The wind came up a bit and I knew that before sunrise we would be in Sydney. That is, if I should trust a murderer. At 10 o'clock that night there was a tap on my cabin door. Your crew nearly caught me coming down here. Well, I've kept my sight of the bargain. Yeah. Oh, they're all there. You needn't worry. Yeah. Here's your pistol. You may need it. What? Thanks. Well, how do I get away? We'll be in port in about six hours if the wind holds. You stay aft in the longboat. When you hear the anchor go, drop over the side and swim for it. I'll try to anchor as close to land as possible before I take her in. If I can land without being seen, I've got some friends who will hide me. I don't want to know about it. Just remember, when the anchor's let's go, that's your signal. Thank you, Captain. I trust you. And, uh, I'd like to shake hands with you. I took the hand of the murderer and we shook hands like old friends. And then, he was gone. Two hours later, the wind went down, and in its place came fog. Thick, mucky fog. I had my hands full, not with danger from other ships, and the blasted current that knocks you about off the harbor entrance. By three o'clock, the fog had shut in properly, and the blessed tide ran us all over the place. It was proper dangerous, I can tell you. We were about 15 miles off shore, and I didn't like the looks of things. There's shoals there about, and I sent the mate for it to heave the lead. I got a proper start when I heard him sing out, By the sea, fog! We'd got off course right enough, and at this rate, we'd shear the bottom clean off her. I saw it was high time to bring the ship up and wait until we could see something. One too soon, sir. She was shoaling fast. Blasted current must be making five knots out to sea. Listen to her. It was empty. He'd heard the signal as the anchor paid out. He couldn't see in the fog, and had gone overboard into a five-knot tide running straight out to sea. 15 miles from shore. He trusted me. That's why I tell you, you shouldn't trust anybody. Sometimes it's hard sleeping at night. When you hear the water outside and you think, that's when it's hard to sleep. Escape is produced and directed by Norman MacDonald. Today, we have brought you A Sleeping Draft by Weston Mortar, adapted for radio by Anthony Ellis, with Ben Wright, starred as Captain Godfrey. Featured in the cast were John Dudsworth, Bruce Payne, Anthony Barrett, John Daener, and Lou Krugman. Special music was arranged and played by Ivan Dittmarz. Next week, escape with us to a train rushing through a European night, and a beautiful woman who demands your help. As Anthony Ellis tells it in his exciting story, Roulette. Escape is the first in a series of CBS features recently programmed for your Sunday afternoon listening. Later this afternoon, you'll hear Make Believe Town, a series of dramas set in Hollywood with Mr. Walter Wanger as your host. Later you will hear on most of the same CBS stations the first Sunday broadcast of Arthur Godfrey's Digest, a half hour of the cream of wet and humor from the Redhead's weekday show on CBS. Earn your vacation also returns to CBS this Sunday afternoon, and starting next Sunday, Frank Sinatra checks in again at CBS The Star's Address with his new hour-long radio program, so be sure to listen for Frank Sinatra. Stay tuned now for Make Believe Town with Mr. Walter Wanger as your host, which follows over many of these same stations. This is Roy Rowan speaking. This is CBS where you enjoy the contented hour every Sunday night, the Columbia Broadcasting System.