 Johnny dollar dollar my name is Parnell Hank Parnell live out here muddy gap Wyoming Mr. Parnell you just called me Hank all right Hank what did you say the name of your city is city why it's only a little town dollar muddy gap Wyoming muddy what which is what it sounds like muddy gap muddy gap I see if you waste a cast by south of Power River it's not too far from where the poisonous party creek begins you look it up on the map and well here we are all right I'll look it up but what seems to be your problem I'm well just about everything else and muddy gap weekly tribute yes I'm also the only agent for at least 50 miles around here for the great Southwest insurance company oh I see yes sir now I wonder if you could hide tell yourself out here and one big fat hurry well that means on that little old expense account of yours can you do it well that depends you are talking about insurance business now aren't you well not yet dollar but but put it this way yeah unless you can give us a hand great Southwest is plumb liable not to have any office or agent or anything else out here anymore afraid I don't understand well then let's put it this way yes what I want you out here for is to keep the town of muddy gap from getting itself brewed right clean off the map well sir well sir I'll be out to see it your network bring jewel Mandel Kramer in the exciting adventures of the man with the action-packed expense account America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator yours truly Johnny dollar expense account submitted by a special investigator Johnny dollar to the greatest Southwest insurance company branch office in the town with the unlikely name of muddy gap Wyoming following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of the mad bomber matter expense account item one 192 80 transportation by plane train and car to muddy gap that includes a stop and bite of late supper at Casper Wyoming where I picked up a rental car muddy gap is in the middle of thousands of acres of a range land for beef cattle in what used to be Indian country where the Sue and Cheyenne carried out many a bloody raid against wagon trains plotting along the old Oregon trail there's oil in this country too muddy gap consisted of a railroad siding one main shopping street and a surprisingly neat residential section all of it pretty much surrounded by a tank farm how many millions of gallons of crude oil were stored in those huge steel tanks I'll never know but it must have taken a mighty big pipeline to handle it it was obvious that oil storage was the town's principal business the combination insurance and newspaper office sat alone at the end of the street and despite the late hour Hank Parnell was there waiting for me he was a long lanky not too bright character dressed in jeans and open shirt cowboy boots and the inevitable white Stetson instead of a horse tied about front he had a vattered old touring car minus the top and covered with oily dust to get out and around and dig up news items for his paper he said oh and I guess I forgot to tell you dollar I'm also mayor of this town sort of city clerk and dog catcher as well Hank well now you know something that we had enough headed dogs around here to worry about I'd probably be that too oh and I'm also sort of acting police chief while rave Tucker's down to see his relations down in Texas so you see I got plenty of reason to be worried about this nice little town of ours worried about what exactly you notice all them big oil tanks all around out there you should got a lot of them yes sir you imagine what had happened one of them just even one of them was to maybe explode darling there'd be just one long continuous boom and money gap wouldn't be no more and maybe nearly 300 nice fine people either be dead or at the very least homeless but do you think something like that might happen hack unless you can somehow stop a dollar no rather I mean stop him who Billy Ben Bowles is named born and brought up right here in muddy gas young real bad boy always in trouble been a little older to spend most of his time in a jail mm-hmm so when the last war came along my father he run this paper then he got an idea for ridden us a billy yeah so we wrote a couple of editorials to sort of pass on that idea first thing you know the draft board kind of caught on the first thing he knew Billy boy was in the army well I'd say that's a pretty smart idea yes and accepted when Billy realized how he'd been kind of you well railroaded into the service he swore loud and long as to how he'd come back here someday and get eaten with this time well I don't see why what's wrong with the army well not a thing not a thing just the way he got put there that's rankled him I see anyhow all time he was on the other side they had him working on explosives he got to be a real expert every time he'd set off a charge you know to blow up a railroad or a bridge or whatever he'd say yeah now that's for so-and-so boom and this one's for so-and-so boom every time he'd need somebody here in this town starting of course with the draft board became a real obsession with him oh it was more than that it was like a mania yeah Billy Benhall since simply wouldn't forget now surely hack after all this time and now we're going where it was all the damage and destruction he was doing or whatever it was I'm not sure but dollar there at the end of the war well maybe it was shell shocker battle fatigue or whatever I want to call it Billy went completely off base oh that's too bad yeah the first thing he did when he set foot back in this country back there on East Coast was to start blowing things up so of course he ended up in one of them state hospitals back there and never got over never got over it well if he's in the hospital well he was but then a while back he escaped was it I mean you think he'll be coming here to carry out his old threats with dollar a couple of days ago I got a phone call right here in this office yes all the voice said to me was I haven't forgotten any hung up the voice of Billy Benball well who else who else could it have been I wonder well I don't it was Billy all right there had to be and what he meant was in his twisted way Billy meant he's coming back here to get even well now hang well who knows maybe Billy's right here in the in town right now hide not somewhere it's just we didn't for chest I blew us all the kingdom come and don't you forget for one minute dollar he was an expert with them explosives and Hank if it was this this Benbow why would he make a point of warning you dollar man with a mind like that you may be right tell me have you mentioned this in your paper have you notified the townspeople what and got them all up into a panic no sir but somehow dollar somehow we got to stop him all right now listen yeah I take it you you haven't much of a police force here yeah well and never needed much of a force in a peaceful little town like this how about the county estate police or whoever's available oh sure what oh they'd be glad to help it come right over here and help us all they can when and if Billy tries something well by then it might be too late yes sir because every day now once a day along about this time this phone of mine is wrong and when I answered there wasn't nobody there so it's Billy wherever he is just adding up to that warning he gave me possibly so well you got any ideas dollar well it'll be perfectly honest about it Hank before I believe that after all these years Billy would actually come back here I think I'd like a little more convincing evidence evidence well what's he got to do to convince you you mean to say you won't believe it until the until he oh no there it is again well maybe it's one of your subscribers you pick up that extension same times I pick up this all right if you like okay yeah now hello hello I think I'd better prove that I haven't forgotten Billy is that you Billy that's right Billy Ben Bowie and now now listen Billy at hello hello now you see now dollar I told you he wasn't fooling I told you that what was that I don't know it sounded like it came from somewhere just outside of this remember how much racket automobiles used to make time was you practically had to bellow to make yourself heard above the chatter and roar of the engine the howl of the wind rushing by and the rattling a rough road gave your poor old buggy and brains nowadays with vastly improved automotive engineering and magnificent new super highways you literally pearl along the road this is a vast improvement but one that can offer danger if you're not alert you're sitting behind the wheel with the miles of highway unrolling smoothly beneath you suddenly a sharp curve jumps in front of you and you find that you have to use all the skill of a professional racer to navigate that curve without getting into real big trouble your car was so quiet that your speed had crept up stealthily during those long miles of straightaway you were burning along without realizing it the point here a simple one is this your speedometer was put there for a purpose a purpose you can't afford to forget keep alert take care and get there thing I remember was crawling out from under Hank's desk Hank himself and tried to make a dash for the press room it was forced back by the blast and ended up beside me as for the press room and with the shambles oh my why here dollar why in here why do you pick to blow up my press this way Hank didn't you say it was your father's idea that way of getting him out of town yeah you're right and he spread the word by putting the stuff in the paper all right then maybe this is all he wants to do put your paper out of business yeah maybe so dollar hope so but he's still got to be caught and locked up again yes but where do we start looking for him well he was here to set off this year bomb wasn't he only seconds after you talked to him on the phone oh yeah you're right if he was somewhere's on the telephone there's no other buildings hereby how could he be around here too wait a minute look looks like this is the answer right here why that's a clockwork that's right a little timing device that means Hank that he could have been a hundred miles away what is it Hank what's happened around here sound like a big explosion yeah that's all looks like one to have it was all right Pete what happened hey smells to me like dynamite in here dynamite what's the matter with your smeller boy well just that big can of benzene I had for cleaning up the type of use on the paper it was huh yeah that's what it was I had to dang thing up a little too close to the heater and it blew up that's all boy sure funny it didn't start a fire then what do you mean funny we were lucky this oh I guess you were I'll tell you this though Hank I just don't bother right now it was only the can of benzene no no I mean about your saying there would never be any excitement around here when I took on this job oh yeah yeah it looks like I was wrong what is your job Pete oh I'm sorry I should introduce you to this is Pete a Pete Pete Branson oh yeah him and Tony batten or the rest of the police force here in Muddy yeah glad to meet you now what you say your name is a Johnny dollar but now listen you hear the hoax out there yeah Tony's out there too well you and him just keep that mob out of here will you tell him everything's okay it was just that just that can of benzene like I said I'm sure I go on now you and Tony keep that mob out okay it's okay folks just had a little accident back there in a print shop everything's under control but just to make sure Hank don't want anybody hanging around yeah what you mean his face the way it's all cut up that way yeah it tells me once got drugged by a horse you know foot caught in the steering oh I say so the one thing he won't ever do anymore is get himself on top of a horse me I don't believe him Hank that excuse that you gave for the explosion oh you think I should have told him the truth and let him spread the word and get the whole town into a panic if we were sure there won't be any more of them that Billy's satisfied as Yennefer revenge by putting your paper out of business okay but if your fellow townspeople are still in danger and didn't you mention the draft board who are they oh they're all long gone daughter except for grandpa Whedon oh Lord well oh Lord that old house it is it's it's right over near the terminal and one of them pipelines off the tank farm and if that place were to get blowed up and if one of the tanks were to go why there'd be nothing left of this town then if Billy is still around how can we know wait a minute telephone what it's the old-fashioned kindness no dial which means you have to call an operator which also means that the operator has to call you come on what are you what are you going to do we're going to find out where that hello now whatever happened down there at your newspaper office listen operator whatever you had blow up over there fairly shook me out of my chair I haven't had such an explosion here in muddy gaps and Sally briskome still blew up and everybody thought the whole tank farm was gone look miss you better tell me what happened so I can well I mean you know in case somebody calls in and wants to know operator well will you listen to me a moment what are you speaking for Hank Parnell anything happened to him is he all right he's all right now listen yeah just before the accident you rang this phone well that's right I had a call for him you know who was calling no he kept his voice low what you say your name well I didn't and it doesn't matter but what I want to know is where did you know something hmm you sound exactly like that Johnny doll on the radio operator listen please if you are in your own town miss where the folks around here would sure like to know that they were now listen do you know where that call for Hank Parnell came from well of course I do where the one outside phone booth we have over outside the drugstore okay thanks you heard yeah a dollar and he is in town I'm afraid so thank you better take it okay I'll listen in hello you've got the sample Parnell the big ones coming later Billy that's right leader when what do you mean by later maybe maybe tonight Billy listen hello dollar dollar we got to get the people out of this town 300 of them before he can strike again I don't know I don't know I don't know but we got to try it's too late and you know it well then what can we do dollar it's a long chance Hank I know it is what but I'm betting that he's been around this town a long time maybe for weeks that doesn't that mean anything to you well I don't I don't I don't get it all right listen now this crazy hunch of mine maybe all wrong but if you let me handle this my own way will you Hank in spite of the fact that it may mean jeopardizing all the people in town anything you say dollars long as we do something all right those two boys on the force do you know where to reach them right now who Tony and Pete yes yes all right call them up and come over here then if you and they will follow my orders to the letter in without question well we'll do anything okay get him over here it meant staking a lot on my limited knowledge of the criminal mind possibly risking a lot of innocent lives but I felt sure now that my hunch was right fortunately for my plan Tony baton got there first when I told Hank and Tony what their job was for a moment they couldn't believe I was serious but they agreed to say nothing to anyone not even to Pete Tony went outside then waited in Hank's old car when Peter Branson arrived Hank put him under my orders and he and Tony took off and I guess I was right huh Mr. Dollar that was some kind of set explosion in here wasn't it that's right Pete it was set all right by an expert and you got some idea who might have done it either you and I are going to find out of this towns and danger being blown to bits are you kidding not a bit of it I see you carry a gun yes sir right here in handy and of what you say is true maybe you want to have one too well you better let me have yours and Pete wait a minute Mr. Dollar your idea well yeah I know but let me have it orders Pete you're under my orders remember yes sir all right yes sir here you are good now should we go where we hit it out to see an old man old grandpa Whedon or now you don't think he had anything to do with this explosion do you Pete I think this mad bomber plans to hit him next did you say mad that's right oh I see we're gonna go up a grandpa's place with a fine tooth comb because a bomb may be planted may be taking away out there right now and if we don't find anything out there well we'll see why do you think this this man had picked on him is it a man well for certain to guess so but why I'm grandpa well because once he was a member of a draft board that don't make sense doesn't maybe not but does anything make sense or a madman is concerned you're calling him that again you don't like that wouldn't well there's no difference to me but if there was a madman on a loose out there he might look every bit as harmless as you do or as I do see okay there that's going out there and have a look but I'm betting we don't find anything you don't think so well I bet on well then maybe we want it seems to me Hank had a little trouble remembering your last name Pete how long is it that you've been on a force a few weeks against ever since you first came to town why yeah practically and before that well you know working around the ranches and oh I thought you didn't ride well I don't know anymore what do you do then oh you know our jobs well we ask you well your hands they look kind of soft to me you know another thing come to think of it seems to me you immediately recognize the smell of dynamite when you came in here didn't you look you want to go out there let's go and the little scars on your face what you getting at there from an explosion aren't they I said what you getting at I've seen too many of those kind of scars not to recognize them and you knew that because of them nobody around here would recognize you didn't you Billy okay doll that's enough you see this get another gun that's right so instead of reaching for the one I gave you just you reach up high now reach I knew I'd have trouble when you come in town because you ain't dumb like the rest of these jerks around here but not any more dollar because I'm gonna kill you you think so Billy yeah yeah yeah and then I go back to my place and I get the rig it's already except for the setting of the clock on Billy and shut up you know where I planned it then yeah out by old grandpa we you hear me out there by the tank farm and I set the clock so I only got time to get away get away in that nice car yours dollar now Billy listen to me no no no you're only trying to stall me so first it's you and then I go get that rig this week this bomb we found over in your room you found it you better drop that gun Billy no you pull that trigger Tony I still get off a shot it's right let me take care of it while we had some mighty good left you got there door I guess he was right though I ain't about you're being pretty stupid well now you just we didn't want to think about what might have happened if Tony pulled off a shot right next to that bomb you have in your hand oh my gosh you should have remarks why bother on this one as for the expense account let's call it a total of 350 bucks yours truly Johnny dollar oh here is our star to tell you about next week story next week a beautiful girl a handful of coins and a mysterious disappearance join us won't you yours truly Johnny dollar truly Johnny dollar is written by Jack Johnstone produced and directed by Bruno Zirato Junior music supervision by Apple Huber Johnny dollar is played by Mandel Kramer also featured in our cast were caught Benson is Hank Parnell Lawson's early as Pete Branson Cliff Carpenter as Billy Benbow and Barbara Kassar as the operator be sure to join us next week same time same station for another exciting story of yours truly Johnny dollar Art Hanna speaking the number one network for news expanded CBS news on the CBS radio network this is W. R. W. music in Albany New York a newcomer in town can feel mighty lonesome welcome wagon hostesses make these newcomers feel wanted when they make their cordial welcome wagon business their baskets contain useful gifts from civic-minded businessmen invitations to participate in various social and volunteer activities of the many civic agencies in the community in addition every welcome wagon call recipient in the greater Albany Earth's Connected areas as well as Del Mar Latham or Scotia is invited to attend the local welcome wagon club this is an organization of newcomers all anxious to make friends various welcome wagon clubs vary from 30 to 150 members who meet monthly their interests include bowling golf cards handcraft and dancing you can help to make your new neighbor feel at home call state 5 9 6 4 0 today and make your neighbor eligible for the many opportunities in a welcome wagon club remember state 5 9 6 W. R. O. W. music time now 25 minutes before 7 p.m.