 The signal oil program The whistler whistle is your signal for the signal oil program The whistler from 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 whistler rated by independent research the most popular West Coast program in radio history And remember let every traffic signal remind you with new signal gasoline You do go farther than ever look for the familiar big yellow and black circle sign that identifies those popular signal service stations in Seven Western states from Canada to Mexico And now the whistler strange story Three times a sinner Lydia hunter stood alone in the kitchen watching the coffee bubble in the electric percolator She knew Gerald would want his coffee when it was over He always did when anything excited him and she reasoned quite correctly that nothing excites a man more and Being told by his doctor that he's going to die The attack had come in the early evening while Gerald was seated at the organ playing a Bach fugue Music had suddenly stopped. She'd run from the library into the study to find him unconscious on the floor She'd call dr. Farmer and then it made Gerald as comfortable as possible until the doctor arrived Everything Gerald could expect from his beautiful wife She stared down at the coffee bubbling in the glass top of the percolator waiting then That was just like him the examination was over and he was back at the organ again She filled his coffee cup and hurried to the study Lydia just in time to celebrate dr. Farmer's prophecy of my death who went coffee my obedient wife is bringing me my coffee No coffee for me. Thanks, Lydia. I must be going now, but it's raining doctor You see Richard I've implied to my wife that I'm dying and she immediately goes into a port of prevailing weather conditions Tell me doctor is Gerald just being dramatic or if there's something seriously wrong Gerald is a sick man, Lydia And I don't recommend too much of that coffee. Oh nonsense coffees my mainstay, and it's true Oh Gerald. Oh Gerald. Oh, come come Lydia. Try those crocodile tears. They stain your makeup Furthermore, you know, you're deliriously happy. Why just think I can slip off at any moment now Don't talk like that Gerald may take years old man if you take things easy Cut out drinking and smoking entirely of course Well, I've got to be running along now Really Lydia don't you think you can find it after all these months we don't keep changing around good night Gerald Remember you have as many years as you want. It's up to you. Oh It really is serious Richard nothing to be alarmed about No vigorous schedule or anything like that though. He can't bear a quiet routine. You'll have to poor beggar You sound sorry for him. I am And I wish you could make your pity sound more convincing Lydia. Oh, he never believes me anyway. He's always been like that Yes, when am I going to see you again? Soon That's all Soon he suspicious enough as it is. He's bitter and hurt You disappointed him as a wife perhaps through no fault of your own, but he is disappointed and bitter That can make a man unscrupulous We'll be careful. I don't understand. I won't say any more Lydia. Just be careful and be honest with him. Take good care of him He needs you and you owe it to him Good night. Good night Richard yes, I love you. Oh Yes, Mrs. Hunter. I didn't know you were here mother Were you going mr. Hunter told me I might go ma'am. I'd rather you stayed a while Made him say that I don't know ma'am better see him. Well, Lydia That was a long farewell. Why did you tell Martha to leave for the night? Is it difficult for you to understand that I might like to be alone with you? But surely mother has a perceptive eye in a very sharp ear Lydia and be shocked at the thing. She knows Interesting creature Martha. She has a sort of feudal loyalty to the master of the house You haven't drunk your coffee Gerald Lydia Since you and I are not even friends any longer Would you consent to a divorce? Leave you now After Richard's diagnosis tonight. It was important to you, wasn't it? Of course it was important because now you know that soon perhaps even tonight you'll be a wealthy widow free to marry again Gerald must we go on talking like this? No not at all my dear But I know that you're awaiting my death. Oh that makes me feel as though I were Loitering I don't want to borrow time a few weeks a few months I don't want to borrow your affection kisses You don't mean a few soft words of bony solicitude. Oh really Gerald. I don't see why I don't want to borrow anything my dear I have a way Joe Where did you get that bottle? It's marked poison quite a coincidence. It is poison What are you going to do? You mean what have I already done as you see there's precisely half a bottle While you are gone. I pour the other half of my coffee. I'll never taste it supposed to be like adding sugar all I have to do is lift it to my lips like this and I was hoping you'd stop me You realize what will happen if I drink this yet you stand there watching Letting your little dreams multiply Well, I won't disappoint you my dear. I shall drink it like that Sail off happily on a requiem of Bach Appropriate for the occasion Tested in a crucible of time You can hardly believe it. Can you Lydia? Here it is happening before your very eyes You hardly know what to think all you can do is stand there speechless Staring at him as he plays on and on It's happened and long last all those wretched years are over and he lies there slumped across the keys You stifle an impulse to laugh. You've got to be shocked Lydia. You've got to call Martha and go through with it Come quickly. What's the matter? Something is happening. Mr. Hunter. Is he ill? Oh, I'm afraid it's more than that. He's dead. I know it So soon the doctor no sooner told him Come on my servant and my bride my servant weeps bitter tears over my corpse But my wife oh hers have been lost the woman who does not blush also does not cry You have disgraced your sex With the prologue of three times a sinner the signal oil company brings you another strange tale by the whistler Today being April 1st, I'd like to bring you this timely warning April showers bring May flowers But they also bring accidents Here's what I mean of the deaths caused by autos one out of five occur when roads are wet or slippery One out of five when drivers vision is obscured Fortunately precautions can be taken to help prevent these two types of accidents For instance tires that are worn smooth tend to skid more readily But a deep heavy retread job the kind signal gasoline dealers are prepared to give your tires Will restore their grip on the road help you stop more quickly And if a worn windshield wiper is leaving streaks across your vision signal gasoline dealers will install a fine new Rainmaster blade while you wait So next time you're at your neighborhood signal gasoline dealers have your tire tread and your windshield wiper checked You'll feel a lot better knowing your car is prepared for any kind of weather and it may help save a life Possibly your own And now back to the whistler. Oh Gerald had his little joke didn't he Lydia? Watching you out of the corner of his eyes He slowly raised a cup of coffee to his lips putting it down for a moment to tantalize you a little more Raising it again chuckling to himself when you couldn't keep the eagerness from showing in your face Yes, Lydia. It was Gerald's little joke He's made a fool of you hasn't he forced you to show your hand to come right out and tell him you want him to die The next morning at breakfast your tents in silent watching Gerald munch happily on his bottled toast as he reads the morning paper Have some more coffee, Lydia darling Oh Come now, dear Okay, all right Made it myself not a drop of poison in it will you be quiet Oh, Lydia Lydia You're such a comfort to me in my last hours The beautiful beautiful wife offering peace and consolation to her lord and master in his declining days Giving freely of her strength. I've had all I can stand Gerald now. That's enough. Very well my dear That's half bottle of poison on the shelf in the medicine cabinet Oh here, let me buy you a piece of toast. I'm not hungry When are you going to kill me my dear? Oh, uh, pass me the marmalade will you thank you Gerald why did you do it? You, um, didn't answer my question When are you going to kill me? I I can't stand this any longer sit down, Lydia There that's better. I'm very happy about last night, you know Yes, it brings things right out into the open I've known for years that the only thing you wanted was my money Probably good marmalade won't you have some what did you do with a half bottle of poison? That's missing Gerald. I poured it into the fireplace still half left though or to do the job quite nicely I signed for it pharmacy myself if you're wondering Told them it was for the moths Oh, you see It's all ready for you, Lydia Anytime you feel in the mood What do you want me to say? Nothing, Lydia Very well I'll go Where I have an appointment at the hairdressers Oh, um, Lydia. Yes Give dr. Farmer my regards will you Tell you Gerald was tempting you, Lydia. Why Richard? I don't see by pretending to be dead He gave you five minutes of being a widow He wanted to to enjoy that feeling at the same time. He's shown you how simple it would be to kill him Practically put poison in your hands Now he wants you to kill him with it. He wants to die. Don't you see? No, I don't it's very simple He wants that death on your hand. So you'll die with him Oh, I can't believe that Not even of him you'll hang on until you're desperate But be careful Don't let him trick you into it Into what? murder darling murder So you go home, Lydia and determined to wait him out. He can't last long There's no point in thinking about it anymore. Time will take care of everything get your mind off at lydia Don't think about it anymore The words keep coming back like the thought of a new toy to a child And you can't surrender like a child and turn to thoughts of other new toys Murder is the only toy you want. Isn't it lydia? As the days pass it keeps returning unconsciously The bottle on the shelf in the medicine cabinet half full bought in gerald's name flaunting its power at you every day And finally the night comes when you can't resist it any longer You go into the medicine cabinet and take the bottle hold it tightly in the palm of your hand and walk back into the kitchen When the coffee is done you pour a cup and add the contents of the dark little bottle No sugar lydia Gerald has told you the poison is sweet Now a little cream That's it You're ready now The bottle is in your pocket empty. You're ready for gerald playing on the organ in the library Lydia Is that really my coffee or some silly substitute? It's coffee dear You haven't had any in such a long time now. I'm sure richard couldn't have just Oh, thank you darling By george, I wonder if i'll recognize the taste of course you will you know What I don't think I have a taste for it anymore. Oh not this The moment after your first sip you'll be clamoring for more Habits funny though Once you've broken it is lost Friendship marriage Coffee all the same Oh, aren't you joining me? No gerald. I I've been too nervous lately Mind if I go ahead please do What's uh making you so nervous? Well, I don't know gerald Past few weeks have been rather strange Maybe the awful weather, eh? Well cheer up my dear springs on the way your spirits can improve overnight, huh? I suppose so Well Here goes My lord woman, what are you trying to do kill me kill you? What are you talking about? This is hot liddy. It's hot cool it down for you. No, no No, but stop Oh, it's my heart again It's acting up tonight Coffee might be bad for it. Anyway, shall I call dr. Farmer don't be so anxious Your coffee is getting cold. Oh Oh, yes, I forgot all about it I say now, what is it? This is sweet You sure you haven't put too much sugar in it. It's just your imagination I suppose That does taste good Now my dear yes, you may put the empty bottle on the organ What that will make it look like suicide if they don't find the bottle by my side You'll be suspected of murder go on put the bottle on the organ. I'm going to play for a while As I wait for it So you know And you're not at all embarrassed Not the faintest sign of a womanly plush You're the worst kind of sinner there is a deliberate one You sinned when you married me for my money You sinned when I tried to commit suicide and you didn't attempt to stop me Now you've sinned again because you've tried to kill me Do you honestly think my dear that anyone three times a sinner can escape punishment? In a few moments you'll be dead, Gerald perhaps What do you mean? The sweetness of the coffee betrayed you my dear. I knew when I first tasted it it was poised But you drank it anyway It is suicide Gerald you knew all the time Did you think that that was poison? I'd left so conveniently in the medicine chest Well, of course I did Martha emptied the bottle weeks ago I told her to replace the contents with syrup to see if you chance another attempt on my life Well, you came through very nicely my dear Well, Lydia he's trapped you again, but why why Lydia? He wants you to die for his murder. You're sure of that He wants to let you go through all the motions time and again only to be frustrated at the last moment He wants to build you slowly into a rage that will lead you to a crime of violence And assure conviction It's clear now, isn't it? Somehow you managed to keep calm to appear unconcerned as he sits there playing on that infernal organ You don't look disappointed Lydia why Why aren't you disappointed? A minute ago you thought I was going to die. I tell you that I'm not you aren't disappointed Why why aren't you disappointed? That smile Lydia why are you smiling wait a minute you You you you found out about the syrup, didn't you? You you discovered it wasn't poison, didn't you? Lydia Answer me Answer me your coffee was too sweet wasn't it? Was it sugar or did you put real poison in it? Couldn't tell me Lydia strange look on your eyes gel Seems to be getting stranger by the minute Sugar doesn't do that does it Lydia you're taking a new tack aren't you Lydia? There's no poison in the cup But there's a new deadlier one that you hadn't counted on until now The poisonous power of suggestion He actually believes he's dying and you're making the best of it the real poisonous sweet gel Remember you're lying. You you didn't do it, but I did Did you actually believe I'd let you make a fool of me again? When when did you buy it yesterday? No getting hold of you Gerald inch by inch Here's the bottle here. I'll put it beside you on the organ just as you said me that bottle What I told them you were trying to poison me What do you mean? The police police For once you're a step ahead of them So we told them you were trying to poison them you can't resist now you've got to laugh about it relieve free at last Gerald slumped over the organ keyboard death So much simpler now death of a stroke no poison no suicide no prying medical examiners Adjust one thing Lydia the bottle That would cause suspicion wouldn't it? When there's nothing to be suspicious about So you take the bottle from Gerald's hand go down into the basement and crush it to tiny bits with an axe There's nothing left now, but a few fragments of glass then at long last Richard Richard darling Lydia. What's up? You must come at once dear Gerald is dead When 10 minutes ago He died of a stroke Richard all you must come at once. I'll be right over good And Richard Yes I love you the whistler will return in just a moment with a strange ending of tonight's story Meantime a word about those big red and yellow signal billboards you've been seeing That tell you you now go farther than ever with new signal gasoline Unfortunately, there isn't room on those billboards to tell the rest of the story the finer performance in new signal gasoline That makes this good mileage possible Here's what I mean New signals quicker starting naturally saves gas Signal smooth fast pickup saves gas And signals effortless anti knock power that sends your motor purring up the steepest hills saves gas So you see the features in gasoline that make driving a pleasure are the very same ones that add up to more mileage That's why we say your speedometer is the best proof of gasoline quality If you want the tops in performance from your car The logical place to find it is the new super fuel that now helps you go farther than ever New signal gasoline and now back to the whistler Over and you're free at last For the first time since you and Gerald were married, you're genuinely happy You want to shout it from the house tops tell the world that Gerald is dead and you're free At all his cruel cunning and practical jokes got him nowhere That the trap didn't work You almost wished Gerald were alive for a moment Just so you could tell him But instead you must sit quietly in the living room in your black dress and wait for richard farmer to finish the examination What a day I can imagine We'll have a drink in a moment so I could use one. Are you finished? Yes A simple death can be just as troublesome suicides and murders, you know, I can imagine Lydia Lydia has it occurred to you that Gerald might not have died from a stroke. Of course not. Why? He might have committed suicide. Why that's impossible. I was with him all last night. You didn't leave him No, not for a moment. We talked quite a bit But he might have slipped something in his coffee while you weren't looking. Oh, don't be absurd darling Please don't try to make a suicide out of this. I remember everything clearly He clamored for coffee. I made it for him. He drank it and soon after he had the stroke Why don't you go to let it go? The medical examiner from the police department What? He was the man in the gray suit Police What are they to do with this? Lydia He's analyzed the coffee cup and found it contained poison But richard Martha, Martha, tell me About that bottle of poison in the medicine chest You emptied that bottle, didn't you? You replaced the poison with syrup. I I don't know what you mean ma'am. I never touched the bottle Martha Martha, you what's the matter? He did it It was a trick Lydia dear don't worry about it Everyone knows it's suicide You just didn't see him pour the poison into the cup. That's all And if he didn't leave the room as you say then the empty bottle must be somewhere in the room with his fingerprints on it That's all the evidence the examiner says they need Just the bottle don't you see dear? Lydia Lydia what's the matter? You look white as a sheet Next Monday at nine o'clock the whistler will bring you another strange tale The whistler is broadcast for your entertainment by the marketers of signal gasoline and motor oil And fine quality automotive accessories and by your neighborhood signal dealer This program produced by gordon hues with tonight's story by robert s brody music by wilbur hatch Is transmitted to our troops overseas by the arm forces radio service at whistle Is your signal for the signal oil program the whistler? This is marvin miller speaking reminding you to look for those familiar yellow and black circle signs That identify those popular signal oil stations in seven western states from canada to mexico This is cbs the columbia broadcasting system