 The Cavalcade of America, sponsored by Dupont, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Tonight, Cavalcade presents Edward G. Robinson in a true-to-life drama, A Case for the FBI. A radio story written for the Cavalcade of America by Stuart Hawkins with the approval and cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Though all names mentioned are fictitious, the incidents portrayed are typical of the day-to-day work of the FBI. And at the close of the program, you will hear a message from J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, presenting Edward G. Robinson as Special Agent McVane in A Case for the FBI on the Cavalcade of America, sponsored by Dupont. Getting to be a habit. What time is it, anyhow? At past 10. Gosh, if I don't get out before the swing shift comes off at 11, I'll never get home. Last night, I had to wait 40 minutes before I could squeeze into a trolley car. Tough all right. Boss still inside. Uh-huh. Go on in. I haven't got time to announce you. May I come in, sir? Of course, of course, Graham. What have you got there, more headaches? Priority forms on the E-2 contract. You'll sign them now. They'll catch the midnight air mail and save a day or two on deliveries. Good. Let's have them. Any word, Mac, me about those screw blanks, Mr. Hendrick? I just talked to Michelson long distance. He'll try to ship half the order tomorrow. Hey, what goes on? Oh, so on things. You all right, Gray? Any of that glass, hit ya? No, I'm okay. Of all a dirty trick. Quick, let's see if we can see who did it. Nobody in sight. There's a car going pretty fast up the street there. Shunkin' a rock through a window like that. He might've hurt one of us badly. Hey, hey, look here. This thing's wrapped in paper. Wrapped in paper. Let's see it. There's writing on it, sir. Mr. Hendrick, your daughter. Let me have it. Yes, sir. The contemptible scunks. What's the matter, sir? I don't know. Wait a minute. Yes, Mr. Hendrick. Miss Mead, get my wife on the phone. Hurry. Yes, sir. Better sit down, sir. You don't look well. No, I'm all right. If this is somebody's idea of a joke, he's got a rotten sense of humor. What is it, sir? Read this. Mr. Hendrick, your baby daughter is a pretty little kid, but she won't live to grow up unless you do what you're told. If you call in the police, it's curtains for her. Sure. What's this all about, sir? I wish I knew. Just a minute. Hello, Molly. Have you picked up the baby yet? How long ago? Only five minutes ago, huh? Fine. Oh, no, no, I... I'm just sorry I didn't time this so you could hold it up to the phone and let her say nighty-night to me. No, no, no. There's nothing wrong. I... I just... Well, I... I got lonesome working here like this. Wait up for me, will you? Yeah. Yeah, I... I'm leaving in a few minutes now. Goodbye, dear. The baby's all right. Mrs. Hendrick just finished tucking her into bed again. What the devil do you do about a threat like this? 7-11. Was it capital? No, no, no. National. That's it. What? Don't you remember the newspapers all carried it a few years ago? The lucky number you can't ever forget. National 7-11-7. What are you talking about, Gray? The FBI in Washington. Call National 7-1-1-1-7 and any phone operator in the country will connect you with FBI headquarters and nothing flat. Call it, Mr. Hendrick. This is a case for the FBI. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Director's office. Yes. Yes, sir. Will you spell that last name, please? Yes. And your address, Mr. Hendrick? Yes, right. Uh, Dolan. Yes, sir? See if McVayne's still in the outer office, will you? It's a national. Right, sir. Uh, now, uh, Mr. Hendrick, tell me exactly what's happened on this... Oh, McVayne. Come in a minute. I was just calling a cab. Take me out of the airport. What's up? Phone call. A national. Well, now, uh, Mr. Hendrick, Mr. McVayne, the special agent in charge of our branch office for your territory is here in Washington tonight. I'm going to put him on to talk to you. This is Mr. McVayne, Mr. Hendrick. I see. Well, Mr. Hendrick, we could have our man at your house within three hours, but until you've received a more definite demand, Chief Murphy of your police force can handle this. Oh, yes, we know Chief Murphy very well. He's a graduate of the FBI National Police Academy and an excellent officer. Yes, phone him right away. He'll take every precaution to safeguard the child. Well, I'm catching the midnight plane. Tell Chief Murphy to call me at my office first thing tomorrow morning. Good morning, Chief Murphy. Morning, Mr. Hendrick. This is Mr. McVayne of the FBI. How to do so today? Come in, gentlemen. Certainly didn't take you long to get here, Mr. McVayne. Well, I dropped everything when Murphy phoned that you've received another note in this morning's mail. Where is it? It's in the living room. This way. Mully dear, this is Mr. McVayne of the FBI. Oh, I'm so glad you're here. Oh, I'm glad to meet you, Mrs. Hendrick. Hello there, youngster. You don't mean to tell me. She's a cute youngster. How old is she, Mrs. Hendrick? Fourteen months. And why should anyone want to threaten her? Our only other child died three years ago. Now, if anything happened to Betsy... Well, we had to see that nothing does happen to her, Mrs. Hendrick. Now, where's that latest letter, Mr. Hendrick? Here on the table. As Chief Murphy instructed me, I haven't even opened it. Good. I'll slip this end of the envelope and take the letter out with these tweezers. There. Oh, Chief, will you hold this cellophane envelope so I can slip it inside without touching it? Oh, sure, sure. There. Well, now we can read it through the cellophane and not worry about smudging any fingerprints. Let's see now. What does it say? If you want your baby to live, bring $20,000 to the B-Pijoux Theater Wednesday at 7 o'clock. $20,000? Wednesday. That's tomorrow. Have it in five and $10 bills, unmarked. Sit in the fourth... Look at that last sentence. Don't try any double-cross or the kid will be dead by this time next year. Oh, the sneaky devil. Well, now there's nothing to worry about, Mrs. Hendrick. I'm going to put on one of my best men in the house here. His name is Stevenson. He'll watch the child every minute and until I get back, he'll be in charge of the case. You're not staying? No, Mr. Hendrick. I'm catching the 10-30 plane to Washington with this letter and the note that was thrown through your office window. I'll have them in the hands of our laboratory experts by 2 o'clock this afternoon. Hello, McVane. Thought you went back to Ohio last night. And I'm back with a couple of hot ones, Charlie. Register them and shoot them through quick. Yeah, sure thing. Yeah, what's the heading? Subject unknown. A.J. Hendrick, victim, extortion. Oh, and have the boys look at the capital W in the line we mean business. They may find it interesting. Any latent fingerprints on that Hendrick letter, Charlie? Well, the first and second tests were negative. I haven't finished the third test yet, but it's not a tall promising. How about it, Nolan? Microscopic examination finished? Yeah, I found some dust particles under the flap of the envelope, McVane. What kind of dust? Well, mostly it's clothes lint. Ordinary pocket dust. But three of these particles aren't dusts. They're metallic filings. Metallic filings? Well, what kind of metal? Well, two minute for a metallurgical examination. Okay, let me have them. We'll see what the spectrograph can tell us about them. Here's the documentary report on those Hendrick notes, McVane. Well, what's the dope? Well, the handwriting shows distinctly masculine traits. Writer, probably under 30. He's probably working without accomplices. Without accomplices? Capital W is the tip-off. There's definite indication that he started to write I mean business and changed the I to we before finishing the sentence. Yeah, well, I thought that might be it. Yeah, thanks, Charlie. I'm going to see if the spectrograph has shown anything useful. Well, you boys are up against a tough problem, Marlowe. 75,000 people in this city and they all know Hendrick and the Hendrick plant. Could be any of them. Well, we've been up against tough problems before, Chief. Good evening, gentlemen. Hello, McVane. Well, McVane, we didn't expect you back from the late plane. Well, they work faster than the laboratory. Oh, Marlowe, we've got some work to do. Laboratory, turn up something. Spectrograph analysis shows three small particles of a magnesium alloy on the envelope flap. They must have come from the rightest pocket. Magnesium alloy. Yeah, I'll find out how many factories in Columbia use any kind of magnesium alloy in their products. Oh, and get floor sweepings from every department where that alloy is work. Right. These three little dust particles have got the leaders of the man who wrote that letter. There are only five factories in town working with magnesium alloy in McVane. Here are the samples of floor sweepings. Oh, good work. Send them off for midnight air mail so we'll get a telephone report from the director tomorrow morning, okay? Yes? Send them in. Mr. Hendrick. Come in, Mr. Hendrick. Evening, sir. Good evening. May I see you alone, Mr. McVane? Oh, I was just going along, Mr. Hendrick. See you later, McVane. Mr. McVane, I... My wife and I have been thinking this thing over. It seems to me we're dealing with a very clever and dangerous criminal. Well, all criminals are dangerous. They're never as clever as they think they are. You hope to catch him at the theater tomorrow night. But suppose he suspects a trap and doesn't try to pick up the money. Well, then it may take us a few days longer to get him. And he'll know I disregarded his warning and told the police. No, it's too big a risk, Mr. McVane. My wife and I both want you to withdraw from the case. Now, wait a minute. No, let me give him the money. I can afford it. Then he'd have no reason to harm little Betsy. Well, the first and most important thing to us is your child's safety. But she won't be safe unless we stop this man. And if you fail to get him, we'll never have another moment's peace about her. A year from now, two years, we can't keep her guarded forever, Mr. McVane. Oh, we'll get her, Mr. Hendrick. No matter how long it takes, your daughter will be protected until we do. The FBI has been called in on 328 kidnapping cases since 1932. We've solved all but two of them. And in both those cases, the child was taken before we were called in. I don't care about other cases. I'm thinking of my child. I insist you drop this case. Well, Mr. Hendrick, the FBI never drops the case until it's closed. Oh, yes, Mr. Hoover. Yes, of course. Yes, sir. Goodbye. Good morning, McVane. Oh, who's... Oh, hello, my friend. The director just phoned me the laboratory report on those floor sweepings. Our man works in Section K of Hendrick's factory. No kidding. Definite. The spectrograph shows that Hendrick's plant is the only one using the same type of alloy as those dust particles. Ah. Well, there are a lot of men working in that factory. Yes, but this fellow can't be working from 3 to 11 to 9 if he keeps that theta date. And there are only 340 men on the other two ships in Section K. Mm-hmm. 340. That's still quite a crowded suspect. Mm-hmm. Right. But we've made progress. Yesterday noon, we had 75,000 to pick from. You want to meet McVane? Oh, yes, yes, Marlowe. Tell Robertson to get the list of all men working in Section K at Hendrick's factory. Section K. Right. And then have them go to the ration board and compare the handwriting on their gasoline applications with the photographic copies of the extortion notes. Yes, Mr. Clemens outside. Oh, good. Send them in, Brian. Now, come on in, Mr. Clemens. Oh, thanks. Yeah, right over there. Yeah. Uh, you wanted to see me about something, Chief? Yes, Mr. Clemens. This is Mr. McVane of the FBI. Oh. It's a pleasure, I'm sure. Sit down, Mr. Clemens. You're, uh... you're a manager of the Bijoux Theater, I understand. Yeah. That's right. Now, the FBI wants to put some men in your theater tonight. So, am I doing something wrong? Oh, no, no, no. Not at all. Yes, but, uh, someone else is. Oh. In my theater? Mm-hmm. Uh, how many male ushers do you have on duty? Only the two head ushers. The rest are girls. Girls, huh? Well, uh, Mr. Marlowe and I would like to be your head ushers tonight. Oh. That is without letting anyone know about the change in advance. All right? Yeah, I don't know where. Uh, what's going on? Well, we're after an extortionist. Oh. Hey, uh, look, there won't be any shooting. Well, I wouldn't want anybody should get hurt in my theater in a crowd like that. That could be bad. Oh, well, don't worry. If there's any shooting, it'll be after he's left the theater. We've handled this kind of thing before, you know. Hello? Yeah, this is McVane. What? Oh, uh, what do you say? Yes? Uh, repeat that, will you? Yeah? Yes, I got it. Yes, of course, do exactly what he said. Yes, we'll handle it. Cancel all plans, boys. What's up? That was Hendrick. Our unknown friend has changed his mind. What do you mean? He's called off the theater date and ordered a new pay-off. And, brother, we've got to work fast to get there ahead of him. You are listening to A Case for the FBI, an authentic picture of the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and starring Edward G. Robinson as Special Agent McVane on the Cavalcade of America sponsored by DuPont. As Special Agent McVane of the FBI was completing his plans to capture the extortionist at the payoff rendezvous in the theater, he received a phone call that changed everything. Now, a moment later, we hear him saying... Theater date is off. Instead, Hendrick is to take the 310 train for Cincinnati this afternoon. Now, get this. He's to take the 310 train, stand on the rear platform of the last car, and when he sees a white flag way from beside the tracks, he's to toss out the package of money. 310? Well, that's the limited. No stops between here and Cincinnati. Yes, and he can be anywhere along the line and no way of telling where. No use in our riding the train, McVane. Even if we pull the emergency cord, as soon as Hendrick tosses the money, we'd be carried half a mile for the train stopped. Well, it's the cinch. You can't have men stationed along the tracks, McVane. It's 160 miles. It'll take an army to cover that and be even halfway sure of spotting them. Well, I'm not so sure. Yeah, what time is it? It's 1130. 1130. Well, we've got three and a half hours. By golly, we can just about do it. Chief Murphy, I want cars, radio cars, four of them at least. You can have them, but what's your idea? Marlowe, you call the Esterbrook at American Aviation. Tell them we want a small cabin plane, one of those crews, about 60, and radio quick. Right. I'll send out four cars from here and Cincinnati will send out six. I'll station them every 20 miles along the road nearest the track. We'll follow the train in Esterbrook's plane and in the moment we see the signal, we'll direct the nearest cars to that spot. Stevenson, you will take the walkie-talkie and ride on the train with Mr. Hendrick. Keep talking to us on the plane and tell us the moment the signal is given. Right. Just in case the radio fails, you better take some photo flashbulbs to set off. Okay. We'll be flying high so as not to scare the man off, but we can see the flashbulbs clearly even in bright sunlight. Hey, you guys think of everything, don't you? Well, we try to, chief. I was pulling out right on time, Mr. Hendrick. See anything of a plane overhead yet? No, not yet. Do you suppose something's gone wrong? If McVane said they'd be there, they'll be there. You keep watching for a white flag beside the track. Gotta get this radio working. The train just pulling out of the yards. Let it get a little ahead of us, Esterbrook. Okay, I'll circle around. That's swell. Now hold her in this position. Right. Marlow, advise the cars we've started. Okay. 3XBYF calling Columbia Airport. Calling Columbia Airport. Command. Police broadcast to all special cars. Train en route. Left station 310 on schedule. Have that transmitted by police radio. Once, please. Message received. Every leg is ready. Well, if we don't hear from Stevenson pretty soon, we'd better dip down and see it. Calling 3XBYF. Oh, that's swell. Oh, Esterbrook, it takes a bit higher. Okay. I don't want that man to see us and lose his nerve. Columbia. This is 3XBYF. Come in. Well, a strong likelihood isn't a certainty. If we catch him in the act, we'll know for sure. Play that and tell Peter's car number two to start closing in behind us. We're well past his position now. Okay. Calling Columbia Airport. 3XBYF calling. Hold it. Hold it, Marlow. Hold it. I saw a flash from the rear of the train. Yeah, so did I. Calling Columbia Airport. Special cars. Signal wave. Signal wave. Take us down, Esterbrook. Dive at that spot. Here we go. We are diving at location. All special cars on site. Close in. We are diving. There he is. Bank to the left, will you, so we can keep watching him. Blasted all. He's heading for those woods. Keep circling over him. He's heading for his car. Do you see it under those trees? Relay to police. All special cars close in at location. 46 miles from Columbia. Playing his circling location. He's in the car now. He's not backing out into the main road. He's going ahead down that side road. Look, that road comes out in too fast. You're beyond that little rise. Esterbrook, set us down in that field. Are you nuts, McVayne? Don't you see those rocks? Oh, never mind. The rock set us down quick before it gets over the rise. Okay. If you guys don't care about your next, why should I worry about mine? Here we go. Boy, some landing. All right. You told me to set you down, and you're down, aren't you? Yeah. Right in the middle of the road, too. How'd we get here? Well, the road looks safer than the field. Come on, Marlo. Have your gun ready. Don't use it unless you have to. Okay. Hope he sees the plane in time to stop. He'll stop all right. Here he comes. Party accident, license 4M625. It's Wallace, all right. Yeah, just a kid. All right, son. Step out quietly. You took the wrong road, and this is as far as it goes. Edward G. Robinson. Ladies and gentlemen, in a moment, Mr. Robinson will return to the microphone with a statement from his friend J. Edgar Hoover, head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a statement Mr. Hoover prepared especially for this program. Meanwhile, we have another story, vital to every American today. The food situation is critical. All of us are going to have to pitch in and grow some of the food America needs this year. That's one reason why the United States Department of Agriculture asks for 18 million victory gardens. Your victory garden will be a serious undertaking. You'll want to do everything in your power to make sure that your seeds come up and that they grow into strong, vigorous plants just as a commercial grower does. And that means two things, fertilizer and seed treatment. A special victory garden fertilizer has been authorized by the government containing nitrogen from organic sources and from chemical sources like Dupont-Urman fertilizer compound. You'll be able to buy this victory garden fertilizer at your dealers. Another way to produce a bigger crop is to treat your seed before you plant it. Professional growers know about seed treatment. Many home gardeners will learn about it this year. Here's how it works. Plants are subject to many diseases, many of which are carried on the seed. They aren't mere passing ailments either. Often they kill the plants. And there are soil-borne organisms that cause seeds to decay before they sprout and seedlings to die as soon as they come up, especially in early spring plantings. This year, home gardeners should conserve seed, fertilizer and labor by treating seeds before planting. What is seed treatment? Well, it might be called preventive medicine for plants. Scientists have discovered, among other things, a number of chemical compounds effective against these seed-carried diseases and soil parasites when they are applied to the seed. One of the best for all-around use on ordinary home garden vegetables like beets and tomatoes and cabbage is an organic mercury compound sold under the trademark semisand. How do you treat seed? It's really not hard. You just dust a little semisand into the packets of seed or soak the seeds in an old jar filled with water with the right amount of semisand dissolved in it. The directions are on the package. Semisand is a safeguard against disease carried on the seeds themselves and it keeps seed from rotting in the ground. To help you with your victory garden, special victory garden packages and two-ounce cans of semisand are on sale at your seed dealers. Nature can do a lot when it comes to supplying food. We only have to do our part. And that's something every American will do cheerfully and gladly. We'll tell you later, as summer comes on, of a number of chemical helpers for your victory garden. Products listed among Dupont's agricultural better things for better living through chemistry. And now the star of tonight's cavalcade, Edward G. Robinson. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. It's been a pleasure and a privilege to play the role of special agent McVane. Our story tonight depicted the seriousness of the problem of youth and crime. Here's what the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Mr. J. Edgar Hoover has to say about this problem. Quote, Federal Bureau of... Today, with our country at war, many people assume that the most serious problems which the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other crime prevention agencies face must of necessity be sabotage and espionage. That is not the case. We are, of course, unceasingly alert to detect and prevent sabotage and espionage. But one of the major evils today is wartime juvenile delinquency. From our point of view, the youthful criminal has far less chance of escaping detection than ever before. Local enforcement agencies have instant access to our file of more than 60 million fingerprints and to the latest developments in laboratory technique and crime detection. But it is up to you people, you parents, you teachers, you friends of these youngsters to help keep them from going over the line from taking that first wrong step. It is everybody's business to prevent youthful wildness from becoming criminal. Unquote. Thank you. Norman Bethune was a doctor by profession, surgeon, healer of bodies. He was a scientist, discoverer, creator of new knowledge for mankind. Through his efforts, the blood bank on the field of battle became a reality and a bright hope for those who had been wounded. Next week on Cavalcade, we present Alfred Lunt as Dr. Norman Bethune in a new radio play, Lifetime. Our special guest will be Major General James C. McGee, Surgeon General of the United States. Be with us again next week is the first star of the American theater, Alfred Lunt portrays Dr. Norman Bethune in a new radio drama, Lifetime. A story of the man who took the blood bank from the laboratory to the field of battle. The orchestra and musical score on tonight's program were under the direction of Don Burry. This is Clayton Collier sending best wishes from Cavalcade sponsor, the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This program has come to you from New York. This is the National Broadcasting Company.