 The signal oil program the whistler that whistle 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 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 tops in popularity for a longer period of time than any other 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 stations from Canada to Mexico And now the whistler strange story the dark room Moving around the crowded dance floor holding and close to him Stephen Lacey discovered that at last he was beginning to relax The trial the war of words waged with the district attorney the final unexpected victory and the excitement afterwards had been almost too much for him He was grateful that it was over now and hope that with Anne's help he could somehow set things right again Someday be welcome at parties like this What is it Steve? What are you thinking? About your uncle? How he must feel about me? Impressed I'm sure everybody else in that courtroom was But he was so determined What of it? A district attorney can't win every case he prosecutes even if he is my uncle He was so convinced Sean Fenton was guilty And you were just as convinced he wasn't and that's what public defenders are for and Oh please counselor worry about someone else for a while will you? I'm sorry Anne I'll be worried your uncle Oh Stevie isn't even thinking about the case too many other things on his mind You know why he's giving this party don't you? He's running for governor Governor? I had no idea Yes he's announcing his candidacy tonight Oh there he is now Uncle Frank, Uncle Frank Yes Oh and everything alright? I was just Good evening Mr. Kenniston Lacey? Everything's wonderful We just wanted to wish you luck on your speech tonight Uncle Frank And Lacey I'd like to talk to you for a minute To me? Of course Excuse us a minute Anne Do I? Alright Please don't be too long I'll go out on the terrace won't be interrupted Nice night Yeah I'm sorry about today Mr. Kenniston But I argued that case the way I saw it And very neatly too I think you proved to the jury that Sean Fenton was quite innocent You mean I didn't prove it to you? Yes you did Oh and that's what you want to tell me that it's all over No Lacey it's just beginning I'm far from through with Sean Fenton What? Lacey you're new to this business I don't think you've learned that there's often more to a case than Well than just what's being presented I don't follow you Fenton has a past record served time twice for embezzlement I know all about that but it's a past record You proved he was clean on this last count But I know the man's a minister society and I'm going to put him behind bars I see Matter of fact I got an anonymous call tonight Somebody suggested that we look up a man in Seattle A fellow named Josh Hogue What about him? I'll talk for some reason Tell us some things we ought to know about Sean Fenton Some things that might prove a lot more important than a forgery charge Mr. Caniston are you telling me you'd put any stock in an anonymous telephone call? I'm telling you things I think you ought to know for your own good and my nieces I happen to believe this tip I'm sending a man to Seattle first thing in the morning I'll bet you do To make yourself look good And what do you mean by that? You're right Mr. Caniston I am new in this business But not so new that I can't smell cheap publicity for a political campaign You are great Must have been a big disappointment On the night you announced your candidacy The papers couldn't also say you just won another case Why you, you'll be sorry you said that Because I upset your apple cart Well you're not through You're going to fight the case in the papers Uncle Frank Go inside Ann we're talking No you're not You're quarreling Steve I want you to It's all right Ann we can settle this if you're lonely going No don't say Steve Ann I want you to go Steve right now Please All right I'll go Good night Ann I'll call you tomorrow You're trembling as you grab up your coat And leave the house aren't you Steve Shaking and upset as you enter a bar a few blocks away And instead of your own reflection In the big mirror in front of you It's Frank Caniston Smiling that cold selfish smile And then you see something that adds to your hatred of Caniston A man in a worn striped suit A friendly looking man whose innocence you proved In a courtroom today He hurries forward instantly to clasp your hand Mr. Lacey Counselor I was hoping you'd stop by By your drink by your drink No thanks Sean I've had a drink No what's doing What's doing You should ask that hey Counselor I'm celebrating See the table there I've got friends Sure sure you have Come on meet them No another time No no not another time Counselor now When the mood is right When you've just won I'm I'm not at all sure I have one Huh? We satisfied a jury today Sean We didn't satisfy Frank Caniston He's gonna keep digging Find something else But there isn't anything else I've done nothing Besides with you on my side The facts were on your side Sean They hadn't been I wouldn't have gone along That's right He's just cut it in for me Counselor Like always Sean How's Josh Hogue Who? You've some friends in Seattle Haven't you? Seattle? No What are you getting at Counselor I've never been in Seattle I got so I knew it He's trying to dig up something on you To help his campaign Forget it Counselor I'm not afraid Now wait a minute Counselor You can't go anywhere like this No whatever it is stop it Put it out of your mind That's not so easy Caniston claims he got a phone tip From someone in Seattle tonight He's threatening to use it against you Part of the case is over he can Oh look Counselor There's no need to worry Let's forget it Come on now stay with me Meet my friends I don't know Let me buy you that drink My privilege And we'll talk about other things Bartender Hey Dave Fix the drinks Drinks for everyone Come on Counselor Drink up Any friend as sharp as a friend of mine I'm Brian Counselor I get home You sink back Surprised to find yourself Lying half dressed in your own bed For a few moments You stare up at the ceiling Unable to remember anything Then as you doze off You have a vague impression Of walking into a darkened room Of sharp words A struggle But before you can remember anything Or You get to your feet Walk painfully across the room To the phone Catching a glimpse of yourself In the mirror There's a cut over one eye In a red welt across the back Of one hand Yes Steve I'm to get you And? I've found Uncle Frank Found him And he said it's sometime around Three o'clock With the prologue of the dark room The signal oil company is bringing You another strange story By the Whistler But first friends A question What gasoline is known as The go farther gasoline Well if you've lived out west Any length of time You know that signal Is known from Canada to Mexico As the go farther gasoline Now naturally we're mighty proud Of signals famous mileage But even more so We're proud of the extra Efficiency signal gasoline Gets from your motor Which makes such mileage possible For when your motor Runs more efficiently You also enjoy quicker Starting faster pickup And smoother knock free power The things which make driving more fun That's why folks who want superior performance As well as those who insist on mileage Are both switching to signal They've discovered that to get the tops In gasoline quality There are just two things to remember One in gasoline It takes extra quality to go farther And two Signal is the famous go farther gasoline And now back to the Whistler It's coming back to you isn't it Steve As you stand at the telephone there Listening to Anne You remember the quarrel with district attorney Frank Keniston The party with Sean and his friends Then awakening in your own room And suddenly the terrible nightmare returns Again you recall walking into that darkened room And now it seems to be Frank Keniston's study And the man with whom you struggle Steve You hang up on Anne abruptly Afraid to talk to her to see her Until you find out for sure You do your best taking care Of your cut face The bruised hand Then dress and go downstairs To talk with Mrs. Everett The apartment house manager There are a few things you must know Steve Answers you might have to have For the police Oh yes I heard you come in Mr. Lacey A little after midnight Midnight You're sure of the time Well quite sure You see I'd been to a bar Oh I knew that Mr. Lacey You were not exactly quiet coming in I'm sorry There was a little celebration after the trial Oh you don't have to apologize Mr. Lacey Nice to know you're human You're so quiet and reserved You're certain it was me that you heard Mrs. Everett Oh yes you walked me up My apartment being right under the stairs here Yes I'm sorry And then when you came down I opened the door to see if you were alright I came back down Yes and went out again No I didn't hear you come in the second time You must have been feeling a little better Mrs. Everett Did you actually see me going out? Oh absolutely You were wearing that check Don't the coat of yours Just going through the front door is a glance down My coat Where is it? I must have left it Some place Sorry Mr. Lacey Your coat's just not here Like I said I'm pretty sure you were wearing it when you left And I didn't come back No I was on duty right up the closing time Look Dave You remember I was with some people Mr. Fenton and some friends of his I remember I had quite a party I wanted you to go with them But you left Said there was something you had to attend to Did I mention what it was Dave Or where I had to go? What's on your mind Mr. Lacey? Oh nothing Really I've had a few too many Just wondered if I got out of line or anything Why don't you forget it Mr. Lacey Forget it? You know I've been in this business a long time Sometimes when I'm standing back here Polishing glasses and filling them I see in here quite a few things I shouldn't Oh? I always make it a habit to forget them Okay Dave That was sure as a nice day today Mr. Lacey Dave Yes Mr. Lacey Did you know either one of those guys we were drinking with? Remember the big guy? Vaguely Runs a pool hall over on 17th street Names Al, something or other He's always around Next Dave Uh Mr. Lacey Yeah Leave me out of it You remembered meeting him Okay I remembered meeting him By the way What do you want to see him about? As you said Nice day today isn't it? You want a rack up buddy? Uh no thanks Al or uh You've got business with him? Yeah we're old friends You see him around? Uh That's him Back there isn't it? Last table Yeah Al, somebody wants to see you Send it back Go ahead buddy That takes you Joey Yeah Al what can I do for Oh How you feeling this morning? I'm alright Al Talk to you in a minute What are we talking? Oh Uh Joey get lost uh Business Okay Okay Al I don't know you very well But I'm a good friend of Sean Fenton's And I couldn't reach him No you want Sean He'll be back Probably buying some stuff He's gonna take a vacation A friend of mine is getting his ticket I don't have to talk to him particularly Maybe you can help Sure I'm A little mixed up about Last night Al If anyone was to ask Just when I left you guys You want us to say you didn't leave us No I was only trying to find out I will say it That settles your problem No Al you misunderstand Oh that's so Well straighten me out pal Straighten me out Maybe you can straighten me out Did I Say anything about where I was going When I left you Listen pal I had a few myself you know Well you were sort of belligerent like But if you said anything Well I'll see that none of us Mentioned it That what you want Oh thanks Al But no that won't settle anything for me I'm sorry Look will you have Sean Get in touch with me at my apartment Here here's a card My number's on it Oh sure thing Got your number now Hey consular Yeah Yeah Guess you have You find your over cold Mr. Lacey No Mrs. Everett Sorry to trouble you again But Well now I've misplaced my keys Or left them in the apartment Locked out Mr. Lacey Well this is your day I'll get you another one Thanks Anybody around asking for me Your young lady called Oh I'm awfully upset There you are She tried your number Then she rang me She wanted you to call her back as soon as you got in Yeah well thanks I will Say is she related to the Attorney Kinston You know the one Yes that's his niece Poor thing And no wonder I was just reading about it Horrible the things that happened to these girls Well thanks for the key Mrs. Everett I'll return as soon as I find mine Oh and one more thing I almost forgot A package came for you Package? Yes it's right here You know come to think of it Perhaps this is your overcoat Someone could have found it No I It's probably a suit I ordered Mrs. Everett Do you mind if I use your phone a moment Oh not at all Go right ahead If you'll excuse me I left a... I'm I Yes of course Thank you I know Anne I got the package And you did send it Darling I Let me do the talking There isn't much time Somebody might hear I want to meet you in about an hour Drive your car out to the 27th Avenue Entrance of North Park When I drive by following We'll find some place where we can talk All right Steve I'll leave right away No I've got something to do first And I might want to get in touch With you stay there until I call again Yes Anne Yes Steve Don't talk to anyone Until I've seen you All right darling And Sean Fenton come in yet Do you want him No I'll be right over Wait a minute counselor I don't think I get you right I do anything to help you I want a passport Sean Personal papers Anything I might need But you Asking me to do a forgery job That's what I'm asking But I I get it You're not sure about me You're putting me to the test hey Well you've got nothing to worry about No No more of that for me No I won't go back on my word to you counselor You're talking to an honest man Sean This isn't anything like that This has to be done I'm in a jam You Counselor I read in the papers Don't mind what you read in the papers I need those passports You once told me counselor It does no good to round this I'll decide the points of law Will you do what I ask All right counselor I'll get a name from the Old death notices at the library You'll need some photographs All right I'll get them Old print sir not too clear Okay I'm not a word to anybody Sean Would I dare say anything No When can you have the passports ready Tonight Ten o'clock All right I'll call you Oh one more thing What Where are you going on this trip South America There's a boat leaving at midnight It's a bad idea counselor Bad idea But I'll do it for you Over here Steve Get in Oh Steve The coat What about it It was in the study Right close to Did you discover the body No one of the servants They notified me They hadn't seen the coat I got it out of the room And hid it And Steve I've got to know Did you I don't remember anything I did threaten to go back You found my coat What other answer is there Oh Steve What are we going to do We're not going to do anything I'm going to take you back To your car and you're going to forget this Forget me Forget it ever happened I can't Steve You know that I can't It's bad enough that I'm in it I can't let you Oh Steve Steve darling Passports You got them ready Yes everything you need Can you bring them over Counselor Yes Sean It's the only way The whistler will return in just a moment With a strange ending To tonight's story Meantime Here's another reminder About the free safety service Which signal dealers Are featuring this month I'm referring to the checkup Without charge of your fan belt And radiator hose You know of course The importance of a sound Properly adjusts just a fan belt Keeps your cooling system Operating efficiently And helps keep your battery up Also I don't have to warn you Of the hazards of a leaky Or weakened radiator hose Yet it's a fact Most people never give a thought To these two little items Until they fail completely And more serious trouble develops That's why signal service stations Are offering this free checkup As independent business men With a personal interest In keeping your goodwill You'll find that signal dealers Make a habit of going out of their way To give you little extra services Like this If you're not already A signal customer A good way to see for yourself What I mean is to stop by Your neighborhood signal service station This week And ask for this free Fan belt and radiator hose checkup And now back to the Whistler It's over now, isn't it Steve? The wondering, the waiting The agony of doubt That began with that nightmare Of a struggle in a darkened room You're certain now That you did go back And kill the district attorney Frank Keniston And though you've advised A hundred clients against it Running away seems to be The only answer Then as you wait for Sean Fenton To bring your forged passports Another terrible thought strike Fenton is a witness The only one who can link you With all that's happened Your hand trembles As you reach into the desk drawer For your automatic And then You reach up quickly And switch out the light Come in All right, Sean You can put the passports on the table there It isn't Sean, Steve Ann Ann You little fool Steve Since this afternoon I've been thinking It isn't right I know what I'm doing Ann, believe me I know what I'm doing Do you You've got to get out of here Someone's coming out of here You're running away, aren't you, Steve? Your suitcase is all packed You're overcoat on the chair And you've got to get Steve Who is it? It's me, counselor Open up Sean, then Yes Just there we are Forget anything you might hear All right, Sean Okay, counselor I don't like this coming around Who's this? Never mind Have you got the passports? The passports, counselor? Well Look, I tell you She's all right Where are the papers? I've got them here They're pretty good All right, let me see them under the light Move my overcoat Bring up that chair All right, counselor What? Sean What's the matter? I said to move my coat Yeah, yeah I'll move it What? What? My keys My missing keys They fell out of the pocket They were in my coat all the time But Steve If they were in your coat How did you get back In your room last night? I couldn't have Without breaking down the door And the landlady didn't hear me come back Maybe I didn't go out again at all Counsel, it's late, I... Wait Wait a minute, Sean Yes, counselor Where did you go after I left you last night? Why, I... I was with Al I mean after you left Al Steve, do you think... You came here, Sean Followed me home You knocked me out And took my overcoat It was you the landlady saw Going out the door, not me But I... Would I steal your coat? Yes, you would If you wanted to frame me You knew I'd argued with Keniston It was a perfect setup for a frame, wasn't it? You purposely left my coat In Keniston's study When you went back there to kill him Steve No, no, counselor You got me wrong You won my case for me I had no reason You had every reason That phone call from Seattle About Josh Hogue It meant something, didn't it? You silenced Keniston Before he could start an investigation And after you had me out of the way You were probably going after Hogue What was it up there in Seattle, Sean Another murder? No I don't know anything about this, Hogue You're turning on me, counselor Just like Keniston Steve, shall I get... No, no, I'll get it Yes Yes, he's here No, I'll give him the message Okay, thanks Yes, I'll tell him That was your friend Al, Sean He wanted me to tell you He managed to get those airplane tickets For your vacation In Seattle No, don't move Keniston was right about you from the beginning He said you belong behind bars And that's where you're going Except that when your murder trial is over It won't be for long, Sean Not for very long That whistle be your signal For the signal oil program, the Whistler Each Wednesday night 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 at sensible speeds Be courteous And obey traffic regulations It may save a life Possibly your own Featured in tonight's story Were Elliott Lewis and Francis Robinson The Whistler was produced by George W. Allen With story by Joel Malone And music by Wilbur Hatch And was transmitted to our troops overseas By the Armed Forces Radio Service Next Wednesday for a full hour of mystery Over most of these stations Tune in a half hour earlier Enjoy the saint As well as the Whistler This is Marvin Miller speaking This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System