 Want to know who won? Well, we'll tell you later when we announce the Ford winners in the fourth Big Jingle Contest. So listen while New Post-War Old Dutch Cleanser, famous for chasing dirt, presents... Nick Carter, famous for chasing crime. Every week at this time, two great names are joined as New Post-War Old Dutch Cleanser brings you one of the most resourceful and daring characters in all detective fiction. Nick Carter, master detective. If you're all through, Mr. Carter, we'd like to remove the body. Yeah, we're through, Officer. What do we do now, Nick? Go back to town? Right. Oh, and when we get there, Patsy, remind me to call the newspapers. The newspapers? Why? Because you can locate all sorts of things through a newspaper ad. And maybe if we advertise, we can locate a murderer. And now, the case of the martyred rat, today's adventure starring Lon Clark as Nick Carter, brought to you by New Post-War Old Dutch Cleanser. It's past midnight, and beside a dark highway 50 miles west of the city, a young man stands in the driving rain, swaying weakly as he tries to flag down a passing car. His left arm hangs useless, the hand red with blood that drips steadily from under the sleeve of his leather jacket. Hey. Hey, buddy. Hey. Hop in. I thought there wasn't anybody ever going to stop me. Oh, Nick, he's hurt. Look at his hand. Let me help you. What's the matter? We'll get you to a doctor right away. Oh, never mind the doctor. Get me to the nearest police station. Police? What happened? Were you held up? Yeah, three guys. They hijacked my truck. It shot me. I... Oh, Nick, he passed out. Is this Mr. Henry Barton of the Barton Motor Freight Company? Yes. Who are you? My name's Carter, Mr. Barton. I'm speaking for one of your drivers, Red Kennedy. What? Is Red in trouble? Yeah, I asked me to let you know that his truck was hijacked tonight, 10 miles west of Elm City. Good heavens. That truck was carrying a load worth almost $30,000. How about Red? Is he all right? He's been shot, but it's only a flesh wound. The doctor says he's in pretty good shape. You tell that doctor that I want Red to have the best of everything. What did you say your name was? Carter, Nick Carter. Oh, you're a detective, aren't you? Well, yes. I'm a private investigator. All right, then go to work. Find out who held up my truck. Get that cargo back. Report to me tomorrow afternoon. Now, wait a minute. I haven't said I'd take this case. I'm asking you, ain't I? How about it? Well, okay, I'll do it. For Red's sake, I don't like seeing people hijacked. Fine. See you in my office at two o'clock sharp. Good night. Come on back, Les. You're okay. Hold it. That's it. Dr. Dickens, are you doing back on the job today? Oh, hi, Miss Carter. Good afternoon, Miss Bowen. How's the arm, Red? Ah, it's okay. Well, you can't drive with it, can you? I'm no driver, lady. I'm the superintendent. Last night was an emergency, so I checked the load on this crate. Yeah. Oh, Les, I want you to meet Miss Carter and Miss Bowen. This is Les Gone. Oh, how do you do? Hello, Les. This is a guy that ought to have this hole in his arm instead of me. That was supposed to be his run last night. Oh, how come it wasn't? Well, I... I was sick and the boss asked Red to take over for me. I see. Lucky for you. Yeah. Come on, folks. I'll take you to the boss's office. He's waiting for you. Well, Mr. Carter, what did you find out? So far, not much, Mr. Barton. We did go out and take a look at the truck last night, but we couldn't tell anything from that. What do you mean? It's parked half a mile off the main highway on a side road. Yeah, that's where the hijackers made me drive so that they could load this stuff into their own truck. How about tire tracks? Don't you detectives locate criminals? Things like that? Well, not unless there are tire tracks, Mr. Barton. You see, there's plenty of mud with the truck. It's sort of red clay, but the rain had washed out and if wheel marks, there might have been. In other words, you haven't found out one blame thing. I see here, Mr. Barton, you can't expect miracles. Miracles? Ha! Look. What? Can you give me a list of everything that was stolen last night? Yes, I've got it right here. Cigarettes, nylons, silverware, electrical appliances, chemicals, and a lot of small stuff. Most of those things could be easily disposed of. Oh, uh, by the way, Red, what about Les? Think he can drive tonight? Sure, Les is okay, Mr. Barton. Oh, is that the driver who was sick last night? Sick! He was drunk! Sending back the Kiddery's boarding house to sleep it off. Made Red take over the run. Oh, look, boss, Les wasn't drunk. I told you that last night. I smell liquor on his face. All right, so he had a drink, maybe two, but he never done it before, did he? No. He better not do it again. If it hadn't been for you, I'd have found out. Well, Mr. Barton, I'll let you know as soon as I've got anything definite. Good. And don't make it any later than the day after tomorrow. Why bother starting the car, Nick? That truck's blocking the driveway. I know. We can't get out until someone moves it. Well, maybe half an hour. I'll try this other driveway. Okay, but... I notice it goes around the building. I ought to come out on the opposite side. Golly, this is a big old place. Are you serious? This is a big old place? There used to be a brewery in the old days. It makes an ideal warehouse and truck garage. Well, I hope this drive doesn't come to a dead end in the back of the building. Well, we'll know as soon as I make this turn. Ah, it's okay, see? Road goes right on out. Oh! Nick, that was a shot. No, but what's the big idea? I was just shooting at Randall. Oh, a big game, Hunter, huh? Look, lady, this place is swarming with Randall. You come out of that big drain from the old part of the building, the part that don't use anymore. And you shoot them as they come out? Is that the idea? Yeah, you betcha. Mr. Barton pays me dime apiece for sometimes you get 10 or 12, one afternoon. How much does Mr. Barton pay for innocent fine standards? I'm real sorry if I scared you, ma'am. Oh, maybe I better introduce myself. I'm Amos Kittery, the kind of caretaker around here. Kittery? Yeah. Any connection with Kittery's boarding house? You betcha. My daughter-in-law runs it. Then I betcha no less garner one of Mr. Barton's drivers. You betcha. Rooms with us. Oh, lucky for Lessie that he wasn't making his regular run last night, wasn't it? I suppose you heard that his truck was hijacked. Yeah, you betcha. Funny thing, too. Less must have had a feeling something was gonna happen on that run. Well, why do you say that? Oh, because he was nervous and jumpy all day long. Oh. Like as if he was dreading something. Dreading something? Yeah, yeah. He even started to drink in the middle of the afternoon. Less never done that since you know him. That's true. Yeah, you betcha. Acted like he had to work up his courage, go to work. He got so drunk that the boss wouldn't let him drive. So he stayed home safe and prepared, huh? Yeah, not so as you'd notice it. Went right back to the saloon and started slugging him down again. Then all of a sudden he jumped in his car and lit out. Lit out for where? No telling. Didn't get back till almost daylight. And was that car a mess? Let's give me a dollar to wash it off for him today. Dogg, gonders, red clay you ever didn't see. Red clay? Yeah, you betcha. Like to never got it off. Nick, that road left now. Yes, Betsy. I know it from me. Mr. Kettering, where is your daughter's boarding house? Well, when you get out of the street and just down the driveway there, she's about a half mile straight ahead on the left-hand side. This sign out in front. Why? Because of any of that red clay is still stuck under the fenders of Les's car. I want to compare it with some I took off a truck. He ain't likely they'd be the same. Maybe not, but if they are, Les Garner is going to have to do some pretty heavy explaining. Well, Betsy, I'm afraid it's true. Finish your analysis, Nick. Yeah. Clay from the hijack truck and that from Les Garner's car have exactly the same chemical composition. Oh, then they must have come to the same place. No question about it. But if Les was in on the hold-up, Nick, do you think he faked being drunk in order to get out of driving? Look, Betsy, suppose Les was approached by the hijackers and agreed to let them know when he'd be carrying a valuable load. Yeah. Well, it might have arranged a fake hold-up. Why, yes. That could account for his nervousness that day. Right. Then when Barton refused to let him drive, Les would have had to get in touch with a mob and warn them that somebody else would be driving. And that might be how he got the clay on his car. Of course, we don't have any actual proof. No. Oh, just a minute. Nick Carter's office. Patsy Bowen speaking. I want to talk to Carter, young woman, right now. Oh, yes, sir. You better take it, Nick. It's Mr. Barton. Oh, OK. Hello, Mr. Barton. Hello. Think I have some news for you? Oh, you do. Well, I've got some news for you. Another one of my trucks has been hijacked. Another one? Yes. Who was driving it, Les Garner? Yes. How did you know? I'll tell you later. I don't let Garner get away. Don't worry. He won't get away. Good. The hijackers put a bullet through his head. So, Les Garner, the man Nick counted on to lead him to the hijackers, has been killed. We'll see what happens in just a moment. Now, back to the case of the martyred rat. Today's adventure with Nick Carter brought to you by new post-war old Dutch cleanser. It's now three o'clock in the morning. Nick and Patsy have driven out to the scene of the holdup with Mr. Barton. State police are detouring traffic around the big truck, still parked beside the highway. The body of Les Garner slumped over the wheel. From the angle of the wound, Patsy, it looks as though whoever killed Garner stood here on the running board. Yes, and it must have happened without any warning. Otherwise, Les wouldn't have just sat there behind the wheel. Ah, you're right. There wasn't any fight. Just plain cold-blooded murder. Then you'll be taking another big loss, won't you, Mr. Barton? No, I won't lose anything. All my trucks are fully insured against robbery. This cargo wasn't worth much anyway. Oh, it wasn't? No, no, the whole shipment consisted of tin kitchenware, toys, rat poison, cheap lampshades, dried fish. Nothing valuable. Well, I hope the hijackers were plenty disappointed. They weren't, though. They went to the trouble of unloading this stuff even after they saw what it was. They must have been pretty dangerous, too, right on a busy highway like this. Maybe they took the truck over on a side road to unload it and then brought it back here. No, Mr. Barton. Les was killed here. The bloodstains show that his body hasn't been moved from behind the wheel. If you're all through, Mr. Carter, we'd like to take the body into town. Okay, officer, and thanks for your help. That's what we're here for, Mr. Carter. Okay, Doc, you can take over now. Oh, by the way, officer, exactly what time was the body found? Let me see. We've got it down here. 12.45. 12.45? Yep. But you didn't notify Mr. Barton until after 1.30. That wasn't our fault, lady. We tried to phone him, but there wasn't any answer. Yeah, well, I... My pinocchio club met last night, and I didn't get home until after 1.00. Pinocchio club? Yeah, come on, come on. Let's get back to the car. Oh, that's a good idea. Hey, Mr. Barton. I'm getting cold. How long would it take to move the sort of load you had on this truck from one truck to another? At least half an hour. Why? I'm trying to figure out what happened. Well, it's plain enough. They made a big hole the first time, so they tried it again. No, no, no, no. Highjackers don't rob just any truck. They always have information about which trucks are carrying valuable cargoes. But Nick, this truck didn't have a valuable cargo. Which proves Mr. Carter is wrong for the second time tonight, young lady. The second time? Didn't you say that Les Garner was mixed up with the Highjackers? I did. Well, the fact that they had to kill him to get the cargo proves you were wrong there, too. No, Mr. Barton, the Highjackers didn't kill Les in order to get that worthless cargo. They stole the cargo in order to cover up his murder. What? You mean that Les was murdered so he couldn't talk about the first robbery? Exactly. The truck was Highjacked to make it look like another holdup. Oh, you're crazy. Who knew what was on that first truck and what route it was going to take? Les knew, and Redd and the superintendent knew. Even before he took over his driver. But that's all. Didn't anyone else know? Absolutely not. Not even you? What? Yes, yes, of course. I knew. Oh, Patsy, when we get back to town, remind me to call the newspapers. Call the newspapers? That's why, Nick. Because you can locate all sorts of things through a newspaper ad. And maybe, if we advertise, we can locate a murderer. Hey, Mabel, listen to this in the personal column. Wanted to contact motorists who are driving west from Dever Springs Friday night between 11.30 p.m. and 1 o'clock. Call Surrey 905. Herbert! We were on that road about there. Yeah. Let me write that number down. Maybe I can help this guy out. Yes, Mr. Hammond. I'm trying to get information about a trailer truck that was parked just beyond the top of the long hill 10 miles west of Dever Springs Friday night. A Barton motor freight truck? Yes. Did you see it? I'll say I did. I got stuck behind it at the bottom of the hill and had to go all the way up and low. That's why I remember the name. Do you remember what time that was, Mr. Hammond? Yes. As a matter of fact, I had the car radio on waiting for the 12.30 news. It started just as I went around with the top of the hill. Was there another truck on the hill at the same time? No. Just one other passenger car in me. We were both stuck behind the truck. You said there was another passenger car. Yeah. And you know there was something funny about that, too. What was that? Well, I stopped about a mile farther on because I thought I had a flat. Uh-huh. But neither the truck nor the other car ever did pass me. Well, maybe the car turned off on a side road. Ah, there aren't any on that stretch. Well, what sort of a car was it, you know? No, no. It was behind me. All I could see was the headlights. Afterwards, Mabel and I wondered what happened to it. I think I know what happened to it, Mr. Hammond. In fact, with what you've told me, I think I know the answer to a lot of things. What's the idea of exploring the basement of this old warehouse? Oh, I thought it might be interesting to see what's down here at the unused part of it. Oh, but it's like a dungeon down here. I can take something right across my foot. Probably a rat. A rat? Oh, dear. I thought we'd run into some rats. That's why I warned you that there's slacks in your heavy walking groups. Oh, but, oh, honestly, this part of the building is alive with them. Here. Let's see what's on the other side of this door. You seem to know exactly where you're going. Look right through the flashlight. See those marks in the dust? Oh, yes. Well, I'm following him. But if you asked Mr. Barton, you probably would have sent somebody along too to clear the rats out of the way at least. I didn't want Barton or anybody else to know we'd be snooping around this part of the building. Oh, here's another door. Can we go through that too? Mm-hmm. Golly, it's musty in here. Yeah. These must have been used for storage rooms when the place was a brewery. Oh, Nick, it's another rat. Look, Patsy, you insisted on coming along. Oh, no, but, hey, they still use this room for storage. It's full of boxes and crates. Yeah, let's see what they are. Mm-hmm. Marvell kitchenware, dried herring, psaltex lampshades. Patsy. But... That's the cargo that was supposed to have been stolen from Les Garner's truck last night. And it wasn't stolen at all. Say that again. Oh. That truck was unloaded before it ever left the warehouse. Nice pickin', Mr. Cardiff. But, Red, Red Kennedy. Yeah. And don't reach for your pocket, Mr. Cardiff. You couldn't draw very fast, wearing them heavy gloves. My gun is aimed at you right now. I wore these gloves for protection against four-footed rats, Red. Can you... can you hijacked your own truck? Yes, then murdered his own partner. That jerk wasn't my partner. I gave Les a chance to get in on the deal, but he was a nice little boy that didn't believe in takin' things, that didn't belong to him. You're saying that Les Garner wasn't mixed up in that first robbery? He would have been if Barton had let him drive that night. But he didn't really want any part of it. That's why he started drinkin'. But he was there that night. The red play on his car proved it. Yeah, he was there, trying to talk me out of it. Ha! He said he was appealing to my better nature. So that's how you got shot. There was a fight... No, I just left. The jerk can send him back to town. Then who shot you? I put that bullet hole in my arm myself. You? Just to make the hole look like the McCoy. For a $30,000 cargo, it was worth it. And then when you learned that Nick was suspicious of Les, you killed him. That's right. Oh! Jellyfish would have spilled everything if he'd been pinched. So I unloaded his truck, told him his schedule had been changed, and that he was to pick up a load in Pittsburgh. And when he left, I followed his truck, flagged it down, and got rid of him. Won't be so easy getting rid of us, Red. No? No. If anybody hears shots coming from this part of the building... Are you kidding? You could shoot off a cannon down here without nobody hearing it outside. No. No, I got a better idea. Yeah? What is it? You're going to get locked in down here by accident. Oh, no. Yeah, wait a minute, Red. Sorry, Carter. Maybe I'll come back and see you again in a couple of years. Red! Red, please! Oh, Nick. Nick, what are we going to do? Get away from the door, Cassie. I want to try something. But we can't. Did it work? No. Well, it's don't mean a thing against the door like that. But Nick, nobody knows we're here. Nobody'll come looking for us. We've got to break out of here somehow. We can't break out. Maybe if we yell out enough, somebody'll hear us. Cassie, these walls are over a foot thick. No one can possibly hear us. No one can possibly... Oh, Nick. Nick, it's like being in a tomb. Locked in a forgotten basement room of the old brewery, unable to break out or make themselves heard, Nick and Patsy are faced with almost certain death. We'll see what happens in just a moment. Now for the conclusion of the case of the martyred rat. Today's adventure with Nick Carter brought to you by new post-war old Dutch cleanser. Red Kennedy has left Nick and Patsy to die. Locked in a small windowless basement room deep inside the old brewery. Now Nick examines the door with his flashlight. Can you do anything with the lock, Nick? There isn't any lock on this side. Not even a keyhole. It's all on the other side. We've only somebody new we'd come here. Patsy, what's the matter? Another rat. They're all over. Hey, rats. Yes, rats. Look, Patsy, those rats must come from somewhere. And these are brick walls. There has to be a... Let me see. Yeah, there it is. There what is? A drain pipe. Here, hold the flashlight while I move some of these boxes. Nick, have you got an idea how we can get out of here? Martin said this stuff included a shipment of rat poison. Yeah, but... Shine the light on this box. Sure kill rat poison. They die outside. Outside, Patsy, and the rats can get outside through the drain pipe. Oh, but what good does that do us? Look, when I was a kid, I used to make rabbit crafts out of a box, a stick and a piece of string. Yeah, but Nick... You prop the box up with the sting and tie the string to it. Then when the rabbit goes under the box after the bait, you pull the string and the box falls down on top of it. I still don't see. Patsy, if we can get some of these rats into a trap, maybe they'll get us out of the trap we're in. What time is it? Four o'clock in the afternoon. Been in here 23 hours. I... I guess it didn't work. Did it? I'm afraid not. It was such a nice scheme, too. Tying messages to the legs of those rats, then letting them eat the rat poison and escaping to the drain pipe. Donut! One or two of them must have got through. The box is containing the poison, so they always go out into the open air to die. Well, maybe they died and nobody found them. Yeah, maybe. Patsy, that's Barton. He's found us. We're in here, Mr. Barton! In here! I tell you, Carter, when old Amur's kiddery brought me that dead rat with a message tied to its leg, I thought he was crazy. I don't blame you, Mr. Barton. I gambled on the chance that kiddery would either shoot or find one that had a message tied to it. Well, it turned out to be a good gamble, but why did you think you would find the stolen cargo where you did? Because Garner's truck was seen climbing the hill at 12.30, just 15 minutes before his body was found. And you told us it would take at least 30 minutes to unload the truck. That's why I figured that truck must have been empty when it left the warehouse. I see. Then when I heard about the car that followed Garner up the hill, but no farther, I was pretty sure the driver of it was the one who killed Garner. Why? Well, there was nothing wrong with the truck, which meant that Garner wouldn't have stopped without being flagged down. And by somebody he knew. Yeah, she's right there. He wouldn't have stopped for a stranger. It also had to be somebody who worked here, Mr. Barton. Sure, otherwise the driver of that car wouldn't have known the route. And he wouldn't have had a chance to unload the truck before it pulled out of here. Well, it could have been me, of course. Don't think I didn't think of you. Oh, you did, did you? Of course I did, but I checked your alibi. You didn't do very well in that pinochle game, did you, Mr. Barton? Hey, no. That's why you didn't care to talk about it. Well, by the way, Rats confessed at the first cargo, the one that was hijacked when he was driving is hidden in an old barn nearby. You better send out a truck for it. Yeah, I'll do that right away. And Carter, I have got to give you credit. You did a fine job. Oh, thanks. But there's just one thing. Yeah. What's that, Patsy? Well, I still loathe Rats, but I feel kind of sorry for the one that got our message through. We poisoned him, and then he saved our lives. Well, he was a martyr and a good cause, Miss Bowen. We'll bury him with honors. Yes, Patsy. And every year on this day, you can put a piece of cheese on his grave. The winners of the four 1948 Super Deluxe 4V8 four-door sedans in the fourth new post-war old clutch cleanser jingle contest which closed March 20th. Nick, you mind if I make the awards this week? Sorry, Mike, but it's been just too much fun giving away Fords. OK, go to it. Try and stop me. Well, folks, here are the lucky people who get brand new Fords this week. Mrs. Bruce Gordon, Box 636, Hamilton, New York. Ann Hall, 5500, North Newland Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Mrs. Theodore Payne, P.O. Box 408, Washington 4, District of Columbia. And Mrs. Vera Peter, 8017, North Whitney Road, Milwaukee 11, Wisconsin. And to all these fortunate folks, as well as to all the other contest winners, let me say congratulations. And remember, we'll announce winners of the last week's contest as soon as possible, so be sure to keep listening. And, Nick, that reminds me, what do you have in store for us next week? Something really exciting, Mike. You see, it all started when an East Indian Maharaja lost a 100-carat diamond. Oh, no, Nick. It really started when the movie producer's daughter disappeared. Well, maybe so, Patsy, but it was because of the diamond that we found a dead body 3,000 miles from where it should have been. Hey, take it easy. This is getting too rich for my blood. What do you call this story, Nick? I call it The Case of the Star of Evil. Nick Carter, master detective, is presented each week at this time by the Kadahi Packing Company. It is produced and directed by Jock McGregor and is copyrighted by Street and Smith Publications Incorporated. Charlotte Manson is featured as Patsy. Today's script was written by Jim Parsons. Original music is played by Henry Silverne. This program is fictional and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Because of the state of our schools, the future of 28 million American children is in peril. This means we must all work to improve educational conditions. Because the future of these children and their teachers is the future of America. This is Michael FitzMorris saying, when minutes count, use new post-war old Dutch cleanser. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.