 ADVENTURES BY MORSE Cartony Morse presents the Cobra King Strikes Back, featuring Captain Friday. If you like high adventure, come with me. If you like the stealth of intrigue, come with me. If you like blood and thunder. Come with me. Most from the moment they reached Angkor town from Saigon, Captain Bart Friday, his secretary Patricia and Skip Turner became prisoners of the strange folk of the Cambodian jungle and with them Professor Lebrun, Celia Carter and Perry Mills. They were kidnapped from Angkor town by an elephant caravan and abandoned in the temple of the gorillas where they were recaptured by hillmen and strapped to wild ponies. They were taken behind a giant waterfall and forced to climb the interior of a hollow mountain or series of ladders until finally they reached an ancient monastery situated on the peak. But listen to Captain Friday tell it. All the time we were laboring through these square adventures. We were wondering what had become of our original leader, Dr. Howard Carter, the old archaeologist who so strangely disappeared from Saigon and also Taquan, the young Cambodian scholar. When finally we were brought high up to the mountain temple, we were led before a huge door that reached to the vast ceiling of a great hallway. The door was thrown open and Celia, exhausted by the strain of the journey, gave one look into the room and fell headlong across the threshold in a faint. She'd seen her father, Dr. Carter. Dr. Carter, you here? What's happened to my daughter? She's okay, just exhausted. She'll be all right. My friends, my dear friends. Oh but it's good to see you again. Here, lift her onto the couch beside the fire. Easy now. Yeah, there she is. Oh poor child. The shock of seeing you, Dr. Carter, after such a hard trip. You'll find a stimulant on the table, Captain. It's been a bad trip and nothing to worry about. I'm only surprised it hasn't happened sooner. Too hard on the girls, I'm afraid. By the way, where are Perry Mills and Professor Lebrun? I'll be here to jiffy. Hey, what kind of a burglar's hangout is this anyhow? Are you a prisoner too? Hello there, Skip. What's this about prisoners? A lot of monkey face guys took us prisoners and they've been packing us all over the landscape like a lot of cargo. Ain't you a prisoner here? My dear Skip, none of us are prisoners. You haven't been prisoners at any time. The heck we ain't. Celia's coming around. Poor child, I warned her what it meant to follow me into the jungle, but she insisted on coming. Hello there, Celia. All right now? Did I faint? I'm afraid you did. Hello, Dad. Sorry, I'm such a baby. Now, now, my dear, a little rest and you'll be fit as a fiddle. How do you like being secretary to an archaeologist for this time? Is that what I've been doing? Exactly. Swell, can I have another sip of that? But you need is a good long sleep. What I need more than that is a big plate of ham and eggs. And that's exactly what you shall have. At least what corresponds in Cambodia to ham and eggs. Yeah, what's that, elephant ham and hummingbird eggs? Anyway, I'll have some of the same. There'll be Cambodian ham and eggs for everyone. What a beautiful room, Dr. Carter. All those deep furry rugs on the floor. All of you make yourselves comfortable. Those fur rugs are to lie on, just stretch out and relax until the food arrives. Hey, you carry on here like you was a boss. You ain't kidding us, are you? No, Skip, I'm not kidding you. Oh, who's this? Sel hungar pon ti anthoha. Chanting. He strikes a silver bell and servants appear. Dr. Carter, you're not a mistake. Not at least, at least not in the sense you'd give the word. Dr. Carter, you say you're not a prisoner and that we're not prisoners? No, I repeat, you were never prisoners. At any time in your journey, all you would have had to say was turn back and your party would have been returned to Saigon. In fact, at the temple of the guerrillas, weren't you warned? Yes, made to return to the coast. That's right, Dr. Carter. Well, Professor Lebrun and my assistant, Perry Mills. How are you, my boy? Oh, fine. Thank you, sir. Ah, Professor Lebrun, between you and Taquan, you brought them through splendidly. What's this? Taquan? Hey, say, Professor Lebrun, did you and Dr. Carter slip something over on us? Fred, so, Perry. You mean you knew all along that we weren't prisoners? Quite right, Dr. Schafer. Well, how perfectly abominable. See here, Lebrun, why did you do that? Orders, Captain. Orders from home. Dr. Carter, the head of the expedition, and his right hand man, Taquan. Taquan? Taquan? Where does he come into the picture? We haven't seen him since we left Angkor. And yet, he was with you all the time. Hey, you mean he was in our elephant caravan? Yes, Skip. And was he at the temple of the guerrillas, when we thought we'd been abandoned? I'm afraid he was. And did he ride those wild ponies with us and climb that mountain of stepladders? He was in the rare party of gods coming up the mountain, Perry. Right behind Skip Donnellier. Most of the time. Well, I'm a son of a gun. See here, Dr. Carter, this hocus pocus is all very amusing and dramatic. But why did you vanish from Saigon, leaving word for us to follow? Why didn't you meet us at Angkor as you said you would? And why were we brought here in the guise of prisoners? What's the object of it? Not so fast, Captain Friday, not so fast. There's plenty of time for everything just now. It's much more important that you relax. You've made a tremendously hard trip. But where's Taquan now? Why isn't he here? He is. What? He is here. Well, perhaps he is, Doctor, but I'll be doggone if I can see him. Perry, look in the chair just behind Patricia. Behind me? For Pete's sake, oh, so besides his cell, all dressed up like a Chinese junk show. Say, how long have you been sitting there, Taquan? All the time you have been in the room, Perry. You were sitting there when we came in? I was. Well, why didn't you speak? I don't like to have people sneaking around behind my back. I do not waste words, Miss Patricia. Only when I have something to say do I open my mouth. Why are you in those robes? The last time we saw you in Angkor, you were in American clothes. Dr. Carter will explain all. Taquan is wearing his rightful costume now, the robes of the Khmer priesthood. You a priest? What? Why, at the University of California, I never thought of you as anything but a Cambodian student. When I was at your American university, I was a student, Perry. But you probably knew more than most of the professors even then, is that it? Even so. And what then? Well, apparently with your knowledge, you should have been doing the teaching. To have boasted of my knowledge would have been a display of pride. Pride and learning are not brothers. You must forego one or the other. Oh, here's food. No, no, no, no, don't get up. Stay right where you are on the rug. You aren't going to ask us to eat off the floor, I hope, Dr. You see, they're bringing tiny benches for tables. You can be comfortable and still enjoy your food. Oh, I don't want to be on this couch. I want to lie on a rug and eat off a little table, too. Oh, my daughter's getting to be a problem child. But I'll get a rug for you. Selonga Puyet de Tom. Archartron! Hey, what about it, preacher? You going to join us on the floor? Preacher? Sure, you are, ain't you? I have a Camilla priest. If that is what you mean. Sure, priest, preacher, what's the deal? I'm afraid the Camilla priest is quite a different specimen from the American clergyman's gift. Well, that's OK. Anyway, you want to come down here on my rug? Thank you, Mr. Skip. I have eaten. Oh, yeah? Well, I hope you won't feel hurt then if I tear into this jungle hash. I shall not feel offended. Fun, isn't it, Patricia? Food's good, too. It isn't ham and eggs, though. I'm too hungry to care what it is. Why so pensive, Captain Friday? I've been watching those queer logs burning in the fireplace. They look like bleached human bones riding in the flames. Limbs from the Fromminger tree, Captain. They give off a peculiar greenish light, don't they? Hmm, a strange scent. I didn't suppose one could travel back through the centuries through the sense of smell, but that's exactly what the fumes from that fire do to me. Sends my imagination plunging back through the ages when this must have been a stronghold of the Camilla civilization. Oh, my boss, what's gotten into you? I always thought of you as a very prosaic detective. I have never heard you talk like this before. It's probably because I never smelled the smoke of burning Fromminger logs before. Well, the wood of the banyan tree also has a very decided scent, Captain. Is it any wonder that the rest of the world looks up in the east as a realm of magic when even the very jungles can make the imagination real? My senses are really all right, but not because of any magic. Dr. Carter, could you please tell me if I'm going to have a comfortable bed tonight or do I get another pile of straw to sleep on? Much more to the point at this moment than the smell of Fromminger banyan smoke. Yes, Patricia, I assure you you will have comfortable sleeping quarters, different from any room you've ever occupied before, though. But come, come, drink up. You'll never sip another beverage like this anywhere else in the world. Hey, you got much of a kick? Mm-hmm. It isn't that kind of a drink, Skip. It'll relax and restore your tired bodies. In the morning, you'll awaken cool and refreshed, and much of your renewed vigor, you may later this drink. Okay, I'll take your word. Bottoms up, everybody. Now I'll show you each to your sleeping quarters. Just a moment, Dr. Carter. Aren't we going to thrash out all this funny business? There's another day tomorrow, Captain. Rest now, and tomorrow your mind will be clear to absorb what I have to say. And there are many things I assure you. If that's the way you want it, Doctor. Come along now, Cecilia. You and Patricia first. I have a range for you to be together. It'll be more companionable. Hey, are you asleep, Cecilia? Oh, no. I thought I was dead tired. Oh, it's no use. Who ever heard of a bedroom with a fountain in it? Well, this is one. In what tremendous room. It's like a room in a museum. I'm glad your father left us plenty of tunnels. Gosh, it gives me the shivers to think of hopping out of bed in the morning on that coal stone floor. We might even dash into the fountain for a morning dip. Oh, no, thanks. I'm inclined to be clean, but not that clean. Bed's comfortable, though. I always did like these building beds with canopies and things. Makes me feel like the Queen of Sheba. Now, seriously, Cecilia, do you suppose this is the end of our journey? You mean, is this the lost temple dad was looking for? Mm-hmm. Only I thought it was a whole city, not just a temple. Yeah, so did I. And I got the idea the place he was looking for was uninhabited. Well, this place looks like it had always been lived in. I wish those shadows way over at the other side of the fountain wouldn't keep moving. Gives me nerves. Where? Oh, over there. That's just the flickering of the candles when a breeze blows through. This place is airy, isn't it? I suppose so. Oh, I wish I could sleep. Well, it's the newness of the surroundings as much as it is the fountain that keeps us awake when we're dead tired. Aw, I'm so tired I don't have the least reaction of relief or pleasure now that I know we're no longer prisoners. Hold it, Cecilia. What is it? There is someone in the room with us. Are you sure? Of course. I heard a step. And so a shadow. What's that horrid smell? Smells like an animal, doesn't it? I don't know. It's an animal smell, all right. I've been around zoos in places long enough to recognize that. You think there's an animal in our bedroom? It smells kind of doggie smell. There. There, did you see it? Yes. Yes, I saw it, Patricia. That wasn't a dog, it stood up like a man. Probably is a man. Darn it. What's the matter, Patricia? I can't find my revolver. Give me yours. Well, I... I left mine in the room where we ate. Oh, fine. Oh, what a horrid smell. Did you suppose we could get out of the room? Well, we don't know where to go. Cecilia, it's coming toward us. It's got robes on it. Why does it make that terrible noise like a dog? Look, look at its face. Go away. Go away. Captain Friday, skip! Go away! Don't let it touch me. Get it away. Oh, Cecilia, Cecilia, don't fade. Help! You have disobeyed. You die. Fool! You've murdered him. Takuan, you killed him with a knife. Left to themselves in their exotic bed chamber, in the temple of priests high on a Cambodian jungle mountain, Patricia and Cecilia experienced adventure of utter terror. An animal-like thing on two feet crept to their bedside. And at the last moment, was stabbed by the Cambodian student Takuan. And now in the sunshine of the next morning, Captain Friday and Professor Lebrune are on a balcony overlooking the dazzling landscape. Bye, Joe, Captain Friday. Isn't this tremendous? Where else in the world could you stand on a balcony anywhere from 12 to 15 centuries old and look out over an unbroken jungle such as this? Hmm, not up to snuff this morning. Yeah, well enough, Lebrune. Bed-armed? Answer the purpose. Food give you indigestion. The suggestion's perfect. I see. Ah, then it must be your conscience. See here, Lebrune, what's the idea of all this prodding? Proding? I say you've got me wrong, Captain Friday. I've been standing here trying to make conversation for the past ten minutes and all I've been able to get out of you was a grudge. Sorry if I've been rude, but this whole thing is beginning to get me down. I've taken on a big responsibility in this matter. Not only with the French government, but the safety of my secretaries involved. All of which is quite true, Captain Friday. Yet you and Dr. Carter and Taquan have acted secretly and without my knowledge you consent. I insist on knowing why I've been brought here. What it's all about. I appreciate your position thoroughly, Captain, but I have nothing to do with the telling of the story. That is Dr. Carter's business. What? Do I hear my name up for discussion? Oh, good morning, Captain Friday. And you, LeBron, how did you spend the night? Oh, I assure you, Doctor, in pleasant slumber. Then I suppose a good substantial breakfast in order. Splendid morning air at this altitude, isn't it? Remarkable. Remarkable. Oh, by the way, Doctor, Captain Friday feels that he shouldn't be kept in the dark any longer. Quite right, too, Captain. Oh, here's Perry and Skip. Good morning, Captain. Oh, what a night. What a night. It could have been twice as long and I wouldn't have moved a muscle. Slipped well, then I take it. Oh, all over. Same goes for me. Well, shall we wait out here for the girls? They should be out presently. Sure, why not? Oh, boy, this air is great. Captain Friday, it will, uh, it'll take some time to go into all the details of what's happened. I might as well begin now as any time. Go ahead, Doctor. In the first place, you were all brought here from Angkor as prisoners because you couldn't have penetrated the jungle otherwise. The native Cambodians are up in arms over the rumors that the famous seven-headed emerald cobra has been found. Even your guards would have taken pleasure in slitting your throats. Had they not been told by Taquan that you were prisoners being brought to the Temple of Priests for sacrifice? Sacrifices? Oh, that's a swell idea. Who thought that one out? You see, with the exception of Taquan and Fen Loh, there's no one this far back in the jungle who understands English. That's one of our greatest protections. As long as they don't turn the natives against us, we're safe. You mean to say our safety depends on the friendship of Fen Loh, the murderer, the man I intend to take out of this jungle a prisoner? I do. Then why the Sam Hill did you ever bring us to this place? Supposing I had not brought you. What would have happened to you then? What would you have done then? Formed a caravan of my own, come into the jungle? Exactly. That's just what I was afraid of. You'd have been let out into the jungles by faithless Cambodians and killed outright. Hey, you really mean they'd have taken us for a ride? Well, in the parlance of the underworld, that's exactly what you were facing. Still, you could have told us all this beforehand. Captain Friday, believe me. Your safety lies in the fact that you didn't know you were prisoners. You acted like prisoners. You were sullen and resentful in the presence of guards. You wouldn't have been actors enough to pretend all this had you known the truth. Why did you disappear from Saigon? Yeah, and why didn't you meet us in Angkor like you said you would? Gentlemen, I've been places and seen things in this jungle that no other white man has ever laid eyes on. Things that no other occidental even suspects exist. Taquan Fenlo have shown me the treasure houses of the old Khmer kingdom. Wealth and glory that even the natives of Cambodia don't know about. So you've been playing along with Fenlo? Fenlo the outlaw? Captain Friday, he may be that to you. To me, he is Fenlo the prince. Fenlo the priest. Well, Dr. Carter, did you see the seven-headed cobra? Perry, my lad, you always were one of the last questions. Oh, sorry, Dr. Hey, here comes Celia, Patricia. Come on over and join the party. I hope you realize you've been holding up breakfast. Hey, boss, how soon can we get away from here? What, Patricia, what's happened? You're quite as a ghost. You too, Celia. Well, if you'd been through what we have... But my dear children, if anything was wrong, why wasn't I told? We screamed, but no one answered. Screamed? Screamed? But why on earth should you scream? Tell them, Patricia. I don't want to even think about it. Oh, come, both of you, sit down on this stone step. I'll have food brought out here. Well, in the first place, they put us in a room with a fountain in the center. But every room used as sleeping quarters as the same. It's a combination. Ornament, drinking fountain, and bath. Well, anyway, the running water kept us awake. You say the fountain kept you awake? Oh, it's too bad. Breakfast will be out presently. We were lying there talking when suddenly we saw something moving in the shadows. We couldn't see what it was because the fountain was between us. We began to smell the most peculiar odor, like animals. Celia said it was like a dog. Did you say dog? You're sure it wasn't wolf smell? I don't know. All I know that it was horrible. And then it began to come towards us. It was between us and the door. It kept creeping closer and closer. At first we couldn't tell whether it was an animal or a man. Oh, it was a man, all right? Yes. Then suddenly we saw its face. We both screamed. Well, what was it like? Was it like an animal? More like a madman. It whimpered and whined like a dog. Impossible. I didn't know there were any such things in this part of the world. What on earth are you talking about? Let the girls tell their own story. We both screamed. And then it leaped toward us and grabbed Celia. Oh, yes. Wait a minute. Let me get to Clon. No, please, Dr. Carter. I'd rather tell you folks what happened first. Very well. Well, just then a shadow raced towards us. And I heard a voice say, you disobey me, you die, fool. Or something like that. And then... Yes, picturesher? It was to Clon. He stabbed the thing to death. He killed it right before my eyes. What did you do then? Oh, boss, I fainted. I don't know what happened after that except that I have vague recollections that there are people working over me. Girls and women with long black hair. Any number of people. And hushed voices. All that sort of thing. But it was so far away. So detached from me that I hardly know whether it really happened it was only a dream. Well, that's exactly the experience I had too. It couldn't have been a dream. Hypnosis. Eastern mysticism. And when did you have your next clear normal consciousness? When did you awaken to your normal cells again? About half an hour ago. I woke up and the sun was streaming into our room from those high arched windows and Celia was still sleeping beside me. Everything was normal? No blood on the bent clothing or on the floor where this strange being was murdered? No. Patricia, tell them about our pajamas. Well, there must have been evidence of the murder on us. The thing was killed right over us and I remember seeing blood before I fainted. Go on, Patricia. Well, when we awakened this morning we weren't in the pajamas, we went to bed in. Our baggage had been opened and clean things put on us. The bed clothes had been changed and everything was different. What I would call super-excellent service, hm? Your humor is a little misplaced at a time like this, liberal. Oh, really now? I say, may I ask you a question? Go ahead. Look here, Celia, have you and Patricia examined your luggage? Yes, and that's something else that's queer. How's that, Celia? Well, we found the pajamas that we put on when we went to bed last night. The ones we were wearing went to Kwan kill the man. We're all freshly washed and pressed and with our other clothes. Patricia, are you certain you two didn't dream all this? We didn't dream it, boss. It happened. What do you make of it, Dr. Carter? It's beyond me, Captain. I never heard of such a thing before. Oh, the hallucinations of overtired brains. Professor LeBron, are you trying to make me sound mad? I tell you, it happened. Please believe me, Patricia. I'm only looking for a normal explanation to a highly improbable situation. Why do you say improbable? Nothing is improbable so far from civilization. What do we know about this place? What do we know of the people who inhabit it? This is a hotbed of black magic and cobra worship. Captain Friday, please, don't jump to conclusions. The priests in this place are wise and holy men. So wise and holy that they'll choose a pair of murderers like Fen Loh and Taquan for their profits. Captain Friday, you must not fly in the face of fate like this. Patricia's safety, the safety of the entire party lies in your hands. You know what you're doing here, Dr. Carter? Are we safe? Whom do you trust? What right did you have to drag us all out here into the jungle? Can you answer these questions? He do not need to answer them, Captain Friday. Hey, Taquan, I will answer for him. Oh, here you are. With your kindness, indulgence, I am here. What do you mean by entering Patricia's bedroom last night to slaughter one of your victims? Slaughter? Enter Miss Patricia's bedchamber? I think I do not know what you mean. You did kill that thing that made a noise like a dog. You did, you did. I fear you are torn by the sinister claws of delusion. All last night I rested peacefully upon my couch. You did kill. I saw you. You said to me, he disobeyed me, he had to die. That was the last thing you said before I fainted. You deny that you were near the girl's room? It is my humble opinion that I was nowhere near there. Hey, look here, Taquan, you got any proof? Proof? Proof of what? You know doggone well what I mean. Just a minute, Skip. Taquan, can you guarantee our safety in this temple of priests as this place seems to be called? Safety? Who am I to promise safety? Even you, Captain Friday, whom I know to be a great detective in your own San Francisco, cannot hope to promise all of the citizens safety. He can do his utmost to protect them. Yes, but even he cannot know what fate has in store. I'll be a bald-headed monkey if you can't say the least in the most words. You see, Dr. Carter, even your trusted guide won't promise us safety. You must admit, Captain, his reasoning is sound. Look, look there on the terrace. Hey, what's that, Taquan? What is that thing those priests are carrying into the jungle? A body, Mr. Skip. The body of a man? The body of a priest. You see, even a priest of the ancient Camille line is not safe in this temple. If what, Taquan? If he forgets the tenets of his religion or the laws of the ancient Camille's. I see. And what law did he violate? That no Camille priest shall ever come near unto a woman. I told you. I told you. Safe within the temple of priests, but not safe after all, for within the temple are stranger terrors than they have yet had to face. Listen next week to the eighth episode of The Cobra King Strikes Back, entitled, It Was Not Cannibalism. You are listening to the newest experiences of Captain Friday in Adventures by Morse.