 The Mutual Broadcasting System presents the Mysterious Traveller, written, produced, and directed by Robert A. Arthur and David Covey, and starring tonight three of Radio's foremost personalities, Grace Coffin, John Gibson, and Louis Van Rooten, in The Man from Singapore. This is the Mysterious Traveller inviting you to join me on another journey into the realm of the strange and the terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So settle back, get a good grip on your nerves and be comfortable, if you can, as we follow the machinations of a ruthless woman. It's a story I call The Man from Singapore. My story begins in the San Francisco offices of the John Bates importing company. In a large, well-furnished office, Horace Riker, a junior partner in the firm, sits behind his desk, staring unbelievably at a letter which he holds in trembling hands. He reads the letter a second time, then agitatedly turns to the intercom box on his desk. Blanche, come in my office at once, please. Be right there. Oh Lord, what can we say to him? What can we say? What is it, Horace? What's wrong? Come in, come in, close the door. What is it? Blanche, this air mail letter I just received. He's coming back. Who is? You mean Bates? Yes, John Bates, our senior partner. After 25 years in the Far East, he's coming back. Flying? Yes, yes, he's leaving Singapore this Thursday. He'll be here a week from today. Leaving Singapore Thursday? Yes. Blanche, how can you stand there so calmly? You realize what John Bates will do when he finds out? $100,000. That's how much I'm short. Horace, get hold of yourself. I took the money for you. You've got to help me. Bates will send me to prison if you don't, and they'll make you give everything back. They'll never get anything back. Never. The house, the car, the money. I'm keeping it. You've never met Bates. He's a vindictive man. He'll send me to prison and you too if he can. Oh, no, he won't. He isn't sending anyone to prison. He isn't? What'll stop him? I always knew that someday he'd return to this country, that this moment would come, and now it has. Yes. Now it has. I've had a long time to think it over. And there's only one thing we can do. What's that? John Bates is never going to reach San Francisco. What? He's going to vanish in Hawaii. Vanish in Hawaii? What are you talking about? He's leaving Singapore Thursday. He'll be in Hawaii Saturday evening and we'll stop there overnight. You and I will be in Hawaii when he gets there. But for? I've told you. He's going to remain there. He's never going to reach San Francisco. Lance, you mean, oh no, I'll have no part of it. Would you rather go to prison for 15 years? But murder. Yes, murder. We're living in a jungle where we have to kill or be killed. The sooner you get used to the idea, the better. I stole Blanche, but I won't commit murder. I can't. You can and we will. We're in this thing together to the end. But Blanche, I... There are no buts. You'll do exactly as I say. Just think for us. Once Bates is gone, this company will be really ours. If he hasn't any relatives, there's no one who will come forward to make trouble. It's wrong. It's wrong. It isn't wrong. It's only wrong if we fail. And we aren't going to. You and I are flying to Hawaii on Friday under a few names. And we're going on different flights. I want you to shave off your moustache. Dye your hair. Get yourself a pair of heavy black rimmed glasses. Yes, Blanche. I guess it's the only way. Our dress is a widow. Wear a black veil. Well, won't people wonder where we are while we're gone? We'll tell them we're driving up to my mountain lodge for the weekend. There's no phone there. It's completely isolated. We'll fly to Hawaii Friday morning. We'll be back in the office Monday afternoon. You... You've... You've had this planned for a long time, haven't you? Yes. You should know by now, Horace, that I won't let anything or anyone stand in my way. I've loved you so blindly, Blanche, that I suppose I've never realized how ruthless you can be. And it's my ruthlessness that will save us. Now, here's the rest of my plan. You will take the flight that leaves at dawn Friday. Now, when you arrive at Honolulu in the afternoon, you're to go to the Dorset Hotel. When you arrive, hire a car. There's the Singapore Clipper now, taxing up to the gate. Things will be getting out in a minute. Blanche, it's still not too late to change our minds, even if we have... We've come to Hawaii for one thing, Horace, and we're going through with it. There's no turning back for either of it. But there are so many things that can go wrong. What if Bates doesn't... Nothing will go wrong if you do exactly as I told you. Look, the passengers are leaving the plane now. Point out Bates to me. But with the darkness and the distance, it's hard to tell one passenger from another. And... There he is. That tall, heavy man speaking to the stewardess? Yes. Just that's Bates. All right. You stay here in the car and wait. Yes, Blanche. Pardon me. Mr. Bates? Why, yes? I wonder if I might have a word with you outside. Who are you? We've never met, have we? No, we haven't. My name is Vera Charles. I flew here to Hawaii with your partner, Horace Riker. Horace is here in Hawaii? Yes. As a matter of fact, he's waiting in a car park just up the avenue. If we can step outside. Very well. What's Horace doing here in Honolulu? Perhaps it would be better if Horace told you. It isn't a very pleasant story. Just who are you, Miss Charles? I'm Horace's fiance. Oh, I see. I suppose I should offer my congratulations, but... At this point, there are a great many things that need clearing up. Horace will explain, Mr. Bates. Where's the car? Right up ahead. That's the black one. There's Horace in the back of the car. Yes, yes, I see. Horace, what's all this about? It's quite an involved story, John. Will you get in the car? Thank you. Oh, I think you'll be more comfortable in the front, Mr. Bates. The suitcases in the back will be in your way. Very well. And I'll get to it. What's happened? You remember when I was in Singapore last year? I told you about the office manager I'd hired. Blanche Warby. Yes, yes, who said she was a very efficient woman. What about her? Well, she's absconded. Absconded? Yes, with $40,000 of the firm's money. What? Yes, Mr. Bates. She took the money Wednesday. Through sheer accident, Horace learned that she had flown to Hawaii under an assumed name. My word. Horace decided not to waste a moment. Yes? Horace decided not to waste a moment, but to take action. What action? Really, Miss Charles? Uh-oh. I thought you were never going to hit him. Now, let's get going. Did... did I kill him? No. He's only unconscious. But so far, so good. I doubt if anyone even finally the air terminal. How far is it to the spot you picked? It's 30 miles out. They'll never find him, believe me. Blanche, I won't do it. I can't. I didn't expect you to. I'll do it. We'll bury him out there. Four hours from now, we'll be on a plane going back to San Francisco. Yes, Blanche. There's no question in your mind as to what has to be done, is there? John Bates dies just as you planned and is buried in a lonely grave on a Hawaiian mountainside. After all, identification has been removed. Then you and Horace drive back to the airport. He returns the rented car and, as to what are strangers, you board a plane for San Francisco. You sit far apart, never even looking at each other. Eight hours later, you land in California. Disguises are abandoned at your apartment. In the pool, you go to the office, acting as if you'd just turned from the mountains. As you enter Horace's office, he sinks despondently onto the couch. Get hold of yourself, Horace. It's all over. I admit it was quite a strain, but it's all over now. But the police... What about them? Bates' plane is due to land this afternoon at four. When he doesn't turn up here at the office, we'll start making inquiries. In the end, we'll turn to the police. They'll establish that he reached Hawaii and disappeared. We have nothing to worry about. You're sure, Blanche? You're sure? Of course I am. With Bates dead, we don't have to worry about the books. They're in perfect order. And in time, we'll own the company outright. Yes, it's going to be nice. We haven't a thing to worry about. Not a thing. Blanche. Yes? It's almost six o'clock. His plane was supposed to have arrived at four. Shouldn't we call the police now? Certainly not. It's much too soon to become alarmed. Tomorrow morning at eleven or so, when Bates hasn't arrived, you'll call the airlines and make inquiries. The following day, we'll go to the police. All right. Just as you say. Oh, relax, Horace. I'll do the thinking. Yes, Blanche. It's six o'clock. What about supper and some drinks at the club? Oh, fine. We can stand a little relaxation. I'll get ready. Someone came into the office. The staff have all gone. Perhaps one of them came back. I'll see. Uh, can I help you? Yes. Yes, maybe you can. My name is Garrett. Fred Garrett. Well, uh, come into my office, Mr. Garrett. Thank you. Now, what can I do for you? I said, what can I do for you? I don't like people who stare. Sorry. Uh, haven't we met before? No. I always remember people with bad manners. You still haven't stated your business, Mr., uh, Mr. Garrett. I'm looking for Mr. Bates, John Bates, Mr. Bates. We expect Mr. Bates in the office tomorrow morning. Oh, well, then you've seen him, uh, spoken to him? I know, not yet. His plane only arrived two hours ago. Oh, well, the plane arrived, but, uh, Mr. Bates didn't. He didn't? You must be mistaken. We have a letter here from him that says it was... Well, he wasn't on that plane. I know. How do you know? I boarded that plane in Singapore with Bates. I sat beside him all the way to Hawaii. Got to know quite a bit about him after a while. Well, Mr. Garrett, if you say he didn't arrive this afternoon, then I suppose he didn't. Possibly he decided to spend a few days in Hawaii. You're wrong, again. Wrong? Yes, because he told me he was in a hurry to get to San Francisco. In fact, we had tickets on the same plane, adjacent seats. I see. What do you make of it? Well, this I do know. I left Bates in the air terminal in Hawaii to buy some cigarettes. When I turned to look for him, I caught sight of him going out the door... with a woman. You're staring again, Mr. Garrett. Yes. You know something? What? The woman I saw Bates leave with. She looked like you. Well, that's preposterous. Why, Miss Werby spent the week at her lodge and the mountains. You don't say. We do say. I hope it stands up. What do you mean? Let's skip the preliminaries. I'm betting that if the police found out what I know, it would give them an entirely different slap on the whole disappearance. That weekend in the mountains wouldn't stand up. Blanche, if he... Shut up! How much? Swanky office you have here. How much? You know, on that plane trip, I managed to get quite a bit of information out of Bates. Told me he hadn't seen the States in 25 years. Alone in the world. No relatives. What are you getting at? The office force expects to see John Bates here tomorrow morning. Right? Well, they're going to. What are you talking about? What's the matter, Mr. Riker? Don't you recognize your partner, John Bates? No, that's a price we won't pay. Oh, now let's not be too hasty. Look at it this way. If I'm John Bates, then John Bates can't be missing. Which means there'll be no need to notify the police, start an investigation which may end, uh... Well, who knows where. From the looks of this business, I'm sure there's enough for three. No. I'm afraid I can't take that as an answer. Tomorrow morning at exactly 9.30 a.m. I'm going to walk into the reception room of this company. The rest will be up to you. Good morning, Horace. Good to see you again. Good morning, John. Welcome home. When did you arrive? Yesterday afternoon on the four o'clock plane. Well, so this is our San Francisco office. Yes, uh, I think you've never seen it before. Oh, uh, John, this is our office manager, Miss Werby. Blanche, this is Mr. Bates. How do you do, Mr. Bates? Well... So, you're Miss Werby. Horace has written so much about you. This way to your office, John. Oh, thank you, Horace. It's good to be back in San Francisco after all these years. It's hard to believe I've been gone 25 years. Here we are. I hope you like the way it's decorated. Hmm, yes, yes. Very nice. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Very nice indeed. I'm glad to see that you two decided to act sensibly. It shows excellent judgment. I think we'd better have a clear understanding about everything right now. Of course. Now, as far as the business is concerned, I have no wish to interfere with the way it's being run. I'm sure that I can trust you too and that the books will be in perfect order. There's more to it than that. I want to know just what... Come now, Miss Werby. Let's not go into details when I've been home less than 24 hours. We'll discuss it another time. Horace, would you have the cashier make out a check to me for $5,000? $5,000? Yes, yes. I'm going to spend the day looking for an apartment, buying a car, acquiring all the necessities that a man in my position must have. Now, hurry it up, will you, Horace? Blanche, why don't you stop pacing the floor and sit down? Have a drink. In two weeks, he's taken $17,000. Well, it isn't as though the business couldn't afford it. Oh, you fool. Where do you think it'll all end? He'll milk the business dry. Well, perhaps if you were to have a talk with him, point out... It'll take more. Oh, to have gotten rid of Bates and then have had this happen. Well, he isn't going to get away with it. Now, Blanche, there's no use... The second Mr. Bates is going to join the first. No, no. You think I'm going to let him blackmail me out of everything, Blanche? Blanche, no. We were lucky the first time. This time, something's bound to go wrong. No, Horace. I'll take care of everything. Yes, Blanche. You've known it would have to be this way since the day that Fred Garrett walked into the office, haven't you? In the two weeks that have passed, you've already formulated a plan. Your coldness towards Garrett gives a way to warmness. Soon he's spending more and more time in your office. In one day, you invite him up to your mountain lodge for a weekend. He arrives on a Friday evening pleased to find that he's your office. You know, pleased to find that he's your only guest. Ah. Then it was wonderful, Blanche. That was the liquor. The place. Most of all, you. Thank you. You're the perfect guest, Fred. Easy to please. Not Fred Blanche. John Bates. Yes, of course. I keep forgetting. You shouldn't. John Bates is a much safer name in more ways than one. Another drink. Sure, why not? You having one too? Of course. Right. You and I are going to get along, Blanche. Going to get along. Fred. Fred. That's it. Fall asleep, Fred. Horace. Yes, Blanche. Is he, is he out? He's dead of the world. I thought he'd never pass out. It's almost 1 a.m. The late hour makes it all the better. The road will be empty. Pick him up, Horace, and carry him out to the car while I get his suitcases. Yes, Blanche. He's real heavy. Hard to manage. He won't be for long, Horace. Not for long. Hold Mr. Garrett steady, Horace. He's leaning on me. Yes, Blanche. We're almost there. Did you park my car where I told you to? Yes. It's hidden just off the road. Good. Well, we haven't passed the car yet. The mountains are really deserted at this hour. What if one comes along? It isn't likely. But if one does, we'll see the headlights long before it reaches us. Here we are. Now, help me get him over here behind the wheel. That's what I'm doing. There. Good. Now get out and come around here. Are you unconscious? Yes. Look up and down the road. Is there a car coming either way? No, Blanche. And stand aside while I release the brake and close the door. There. Now, Horace, one push. There it's going. Look how fast it's picking up speed on the downgrade. It'll go off the road at the curb. There. It's going through the guardrail. There it goes over the cliff. That's what comes of drunken driving. Come on, Blanche. Your car's parked up the road behind those trees. Oh, no. We're going down the side of that mountain to make sure he's dead. But he must be. That was a hundred foot fall. Maybe he is, but we're going down to make certain. But, Blanche, it'll take us... No buts. I've got to be sure. There's the car. See the stream. It's completely demolished. He couldn't have lived through that. He'd better not have. Look, Blanche, there he is. Lying near the car. He was thrown out by the crash. Yes. See if there's any heartbeat. No, Blanche. I don't want to touch him. All right, I'll do it myself. Is he dead? I can't find any heartbeat. Yet I'm not certain. He must be dead. No one could survive that fall. Maybe not. He'll play it safe. What are you going to do? Of course, help me drag him a few feet to the edge of that stream. We'll leave him by the edge of the stream. Face down in the water. Blanche, must we? I'm sure... One of his arms. Now, pull him along slowly. That's it. As if he'd called to the stream for water. There. His face is in the water. We'll wait a few minutes and then we'll leave. What did I tell you, Horace? It's worked out perfectly. Come in. Miss Werby's here, sir. Sure, and Sergeant. All right, come in, Miss Werby. Yes, Lieutenant. That'll be all, Sergeant. I have a seat, Miss Werby. Thank you. I can't tell you how shocked I was, Lieutenant, when you phoned and told me that John Bates had been killed in an automobile accident. How did it happen? Well, suppose first you'd tell me when you last saw Mr. Bates. Why, Friday night. He arrived at my mountain lodge at about eight o'clock as a weekend guest. He'd told me that something unexpected had come up and he'd have to return to the city that same night. Well, then what happened? We had supper and he started drinking. Very heavily. At 1 a.m. he started to leave. I see. I told him to stay overnight that he was in no condition to drive but he wouldn't listen. And that was the last you saw of him? Yes. How... how was he killed? His car plunged through a guardrail. Fell a hundred feet down the side of a mountain. Oh, I... I never should have let him drive off in that condition. That looks like an open and shut case. Except for one thing. Yes. An autopsy was performed on Bates. Seems his neck was broken. He was killed instantly. Oh, I see. But there's one little thing. What do you mean? What we want to know is how could a dead man drag himself six feet to the edge of a stream? I don't understand. Unfortunately, we do. Seamus Werby, we've been questioning Horace Ryker for the past three hours. He's finally confessed to everything. It was your idea from beginning to end. No, that isn't so. I had nothing to do with it. Ryker claims you forced him into it. He's made a full confession. Looks as though you're it, Miss Werby. No. It was he who planned it all. You must believe me, Lieutenant. You must. He threatened to kill me if I didn't do as he told me. I see. Well, they've been questioning me for hours, questions, endless questions. I told them we don't know anything about Mr. Bates' death. I told them. Then you didn't confess. Now, Miss Werby, he didn't. We haven't been able to break him. But your confession will do. You tricked me. You tricked me. Yeah, but I wasn't the only one who tricked you. So did Fred Garrett. Fred Garrett? You know that he isn't John Bates? Yeah, we found out this morning he isn't. Garrett blackmailed you, didn't he? I knew you'd kill the real John Bates. Yes, he blackmailed us. He was bluffing you all the way. Bluffing? But he threatened to go to the police? Police? He'd hardly have done that. Why not? Fred Garrett was a fugitive. A fugitive? He was wanted by the Singapore Police. For murder. Fred? Trying to make sure her tracks were well covered? But she was too efficient. If only she hadn't made the mistake of dragging poor dead Fred Garrett to the edge of that stream. Oh, well. You can't be right every time. Unfortunately, in Blanche's case, the mistake was fatal. Well, that reminds me of next week's story. Retreat from tomorrow. It's about two scientists who try to learn what the future has in store for our frightened world. And... Oh, you'll have to get off here. I'm sorry. I'm sure we'll meet again. I take this same train every week at the same time. You have just heard The Mysterious Traveller, which is played by Maurice Tarpless. In the cast were Grace Coffin, John Gibson, and Louis Van Rooton. Original music is composed and played by Alphana. Bob Emmerich speaking. All characters in our story were fictitious, and any resemblance to the names of actual persons was purely coincidental. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.